A/N: The chapter you've all been asking for. xx

Boomer

["Loquacious is what McGonagall called me on a good day," Sirius laughed, then added with another grimace. "Garrulous on a bad one." ]

Sirius was on his feet at once, looking out the window towards the driveway.

Hermione liked that he was so excited to see Harry, and she stood too, picking up their lunch plates as she moved toward the back door. "Come on," she said, as she put the plates in the sink, "let's go and meet him."

They stepped out into the sunshine, the limestone yard was crunchy under Hermione's bare feet. They both looked quite sloppy, she realised. She was in yet another summer dress, because she never got to wear them any other time, and Sirius of course was relying on Bill's wardrobe. Neither of them wore shoes, and her hair was still up in an attempt at a bun, but there were loose curls tickling her neck and one that kept falling into her eyes. She'd barely looked in the mirror since they arrived. Not that Harry would care, or even notice.

Then, around the curve in the drive, not one but two men appeared. Harry on the left, instantly recognisable with his confident gait, weekend-dad attire and infernally untamable hair. He was walking next to a figure she knew just as easily. Taller than Harry by half a head, wearing his favourite faded Jurassic Park t-shirt and a broad smile beneath his flop of turquoise hair, was Teddy Lupin.

"Who's that with him?" Sirius said to her quickly. He sounded nervous, so she smiled reassuringly at him.

"You're in for a treat," Hermione said. "That's Teddy Lupin, er, brace yourself." She didn't really know how else to prepare him for this, Teddy could be a bit of an acquired taste. Charming in his way, but it was definitely his way, no one else's.

"Isn't he an Auror too?" Sirius asked, he glanced back toward the house, like he wanted to go back inside.

Hermione frowned. "What's the matter?" She asked, and Sirius took another step back from her.

"You promised you weren't going to arrest me, right?"

"Right," she said. "Sirius, you can trust me, and them, they're just here to meet their dads' best mate, that's all, I promise."

He nodded, but still looked wary, "Okay then."

"Teddy!" Hermione cried, as the two men approached close enough to hear her. "I didn't –," but she cut herself off, deciding she didn't need to point out that he wasn't expected. "I'm so glad you're here too," she said instead. He had just as much reason to meet Sirius as Harry did after all. She walked forward to greet them, but Sirius stayed a step back, hands in his pockets again, eyeing Harry and Teddy interestedly.

"I'm so glad you're here," she said, when she reached Harry. The words left her without conscious thought, she hadn't realised how much she needed him. She threw her arms around him at once, revelling in the familiar feel of him as his arm went around her back. Because other than her children, he was the only person that hugged her these days.

Harry didn't break the hug, but his grip was a little lacking after a moment, distracted by the sight of Sirius observing him silently.

Teddy had come to a complete stand still, halfway between Sirius and Hermione. "Bloody hell, Harry, you never said he looked like that!"

Hermione turned to see Sirius with his eyebrows up, his handsome face confused. She'd had no chance to warn him that Teddy had pretty much no filter, and was decidedly ambiguous when it came sexual preferences. He openly appreciated attractiveness in all its forms. He'd only ever had a girlfriend though, he'd been in an on-again off-again relationship with Bill's daughter for the last three years – it drove both his grandmother and Bill and Fleur around the twist. One minute they were in love, next, door slamming and tears.

Harry laughed nervously, eyes still on Sirius, his arm around Hermione's shoulders now. "He wasn't as pretty when I knew him."

Hermione felt suddenly nervous too. Barely five minutes in and already Harry was saying things that could give too much away.

She glanced at Harry's profile, the smile lines around his eyes were pale in the creases. Mainly because he spent as much of the summer weekends as he could out playing Quidditch with his kids at the Burrow, squinting after the snitch in the Cornish sun. He was watching Teddy greet Sirius with a restrained tremulous twist to his mouth, and he squeezed Hermione a little tighter as Teddy spoke again.

"I'm Teddy Lupin," Teddy said proudly. He had moved forward, his hand outstretched to Sirius. "Remus's son. I can't believe I get to meet you."

Sirius snorted a little chuckle as he shook his hand, his normal confident countenance returning. "It is quite an honour I suppose."

Teddy's grin was broad at the joke, he looked back at Harry and Hermione. "This guy!" he laughed, with a thumb in Sirius's direction. "I can't believe my nan is your cousin," he added, with a disbelieving shake of his head.

Sirius laughed properly at this. "Mate, if she's a pureblood, they're all my cousins."

"She is, but she's a Black, didn't Hermione tell you?"

Sirius looked at Hermione, something she couldn't quite read flickering in his eyes. "His nan is Andromeda Tonks," she told him at once. "Remus married her daughter."

"Nymphadora is your mum?" Sirius said in shock, searching Teddy's face. Hermione hadn't realised he even knew Tonks yet, she would have only been seven or eight. But he must have at least known about her, because he grinned and muttered. "Explains the hair."

Teddy smiled and rolled his eyes skyward, as though he could see his hair, then he scrunched his face up, and his hair grew longer and shining black, exactly like Sirius's.

Sirius blinked. "That is so cool." He was clearly impressed, but his eyes kept flicking to Harry who was still standing with Hermione, arm around her shoulders, unmoving, seeming to need her proximity as much as she had needed his this last year. Hermione was surprised he was being so cautious, both of them seemed a little weary to approach each other.

"Hermione said you drink Stella," Sirius said to Harry then, clearly trying to break the awkward atmosphere. "There's a few in the fridge."

Harry smiled, so uncharacteristically uncertain as he watched Sirius. Then, finally breaking contact with Hermione, he took a few steps in Sirius's direction, swallowing heavily. "Sounds good," he said, his voice uneven. Hermione finally understood. He wasn't hesitant at all, he was just emotional. Seeing his godfather, alive and well after a quarter of a century. It would be a lot to take in.

Then Harry reached Sirius, and Sirius put out his hand as Teddy had done to him. Harry did take it, but only to use it to pull Sirius in for a tight back slapping hug. "I can't believe this," Harry said, his voice gruff and still wobbly as he pulled back to look at him. "I suppose I was just a baby the other day for you?"

Sirius nodded mutely under the scrutiny. He seemed quite affected by Harry's reaction to him, that same soft smile on his face that Hermione had seen when he'd talked about James always being there. "You're nearly walking," Sirius said fondly. "Its fucking adorable. You look so mad at me every time I stand up."

Harry gave a watery laugh. "I've never heard a baby story before."

This made Sirius frown, and Hermione decided she needed to intervene. "Shall we have a drink then?" she suggested hastily.

Sirius led the way back into the house, Teddy close behind him, and Hermione snagged Harry's arm, linking it with her own and whispering into his ear. "He doesn't know when your parents died, or about Azkaban, I don't think it's fair to make him live with that knowledge."

Harry nodded, he still looked a little dazed. "I guess," he said. "I hope it's okay that I bought Teddy."

"He should be here as much as you, '' Hermione said firmly. "James and Remus would want you both to know this Sirius, the same one they did."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it's bloody weird though. Although he doesn't look as young as I thought he would. Still so easy to see it's him."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, weirdly pleased by this comment, and leaning on Harry as they went inside. Teddy and Sirius were nowhere to be seen when they entered the kitchen. She whispered again, "Can you just mention to Teddy that we're not telling him about your parents or Azkaban?"

"Sure," Harry agreed. "Where are they?"

"No way," came Teddy's voice from the buanderie, in answer to Harry's question. "That is sick!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said to Harry, tugging him around the thick wall and into the old fashioned laundry room. "It's the bike."

"Oh right," he said as they entered, finding Sirius and Teddy standing either side of the big motorbike. "I thought it was wrecked?" Harry asked.

"No anymore," Sirius said proudly. "It's done I reckon."

"Can I have a go?" Teddy asked. His hair was back to normal now, short on the sides, with longer turquoise waves on the top flopping forward over one eye. "Like, once you know it's sweet?"

"Sure,'' Sirius said, eyeing him speculatively. "You are not like your dad. He doesn't come near this thing. 'We're at war Padfoot, I don't know why you need to find more reasons to die.'" He looked at Harry, "James though," he said, "he reckons it's too slow. Too hard to control."

"Prefers a broom?" Harry suggested and Sirius nodded. "Me too. What does he ride? My dad?" Harry asked. "I'll have to see if I can find one to have a go on."

"Do you like flying?"

"I like Quidditch," Harry said, and Sirius nodded again, as if this was only to be expected.

"He was the youngest house player in a century," Teddy put in boastfully. "James is always banging on about it. His dad the great seeker, and his mum the chaser."

"My wife played ten seasons for the Harpies," Harry told Sirius. "She's the real star."

"Wow, that's cool, professional? Amazing." Sirius was very impressed. "James would have loved that. I mean, mostly for the box seats, but still, wicked." Sirius seemed a bit more comfortable now, but he still looked at Harry in fascination. "He rides a Silver Arrow at the moment, he got it for our last year at school."

"You gave me the best broom I ever owned," Harry said. "International standard too, it was called a Firebolt. Bloody amazing thing, the whole school was jealous."

Sirius grinned at him. "I must have had to fight James for that honour!"

The happy look on Harry's face faltered, "I -I was certainly surprised that it came from you." Hermione wondered if Sirius would hear the same nostalgic sadness in Harry's words that she did.

"I'm pouring a wine," Hermione announced. The whole situation was making her anxious. She kept telling herself that nothing they did or told Sirius mattered, because the past was fixed, her memories unchanged. But she hated the thought of him living with such knowledge.

To her surprise it was Sirius that joined her in the kitchen first. She hoped that Harry had pulled Teddy back to warn him about the things they weren't sharing with Sirius.

"I'm so glad I got to meet Teddy,'' Sirius said quietly, standing close, his arm brushing hers where they stood at the counter. "Why didn't you tell me Remus married Nymphadora? Sly old dog, she's so much younger than us."

"She was an Auror," Hermione told him. "Moody's favourite. From what I know she had to convince Remus to marry her, he let his personal hang ups get in the way."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "He would. Moody? Like Mad-eye? He has favourites? Longbottom always says he's a maniac."

"I think that's probably very true," Hermione said, "but she was very good apparently."

"I've only met her once, just by chance," Sirius still stood so close, and the little sly side-eye he gave her as he reached for the bottle opener on her far side, putting them in even closer proximity had little to do with the conversation. Hermione was surprised by this, he'd been a bit flirty this morning, but this brazen advance seemed a bit out of the ordinary, but then grinned as usual, and said, "She had bright pink hair, and was an absolute pain in the arse."

"I'd believe that." Hermione laughed, stepping back from him.

"Are you talking about my mum?" Teddy asked from the doorway.

Sirius nodded, turning to talk to Teddy. "I've only met her once, at an Order Party last summer – same one," he said, plucking at his t-shirt, another one of Bill's, as he opened the fridge, "where I met the Weasleys."

"You met them?" Harry asked, he'd entered the room with Teddy, and he took the bottles Sirius held out to him. "They've been –," but he stopped, obviously rephrasing in his head. "Mrs Weasley collects kids." he said, he handed one of the beers to Teddy. "I spent a lot of time there, Ginny is the same," he nodded at Teddy. "When Remus and Tonks were killed, she was very happy for this thing to be part of our family."

Teddy rolled his eyes, "Please, I was adorable, how could she say no?"

"Did you grow up at their place?" Sirius asked interestedly, opening his beer.

"No, just the weekends, Nan wouldn't let me go full time."

"You were all she had left Ted," Harry childed him gently, "you know that."

"I do. She's just so strict," Teddy complained. "Even now she gets all salty when Vic wants to stay."

Harry gave him a disbelieving look, "That's because she knows you two will be moping and crying about each other next week."

"Who's Vic?" Sirius asked.

"My girlfriend," Teddy said. "It's a bit rocky at times, her mum is part veela, they get a bit … unpredictable."

Hermione coughed. "And you are a dramatic sod, don't blame it all on her. Her dad is Bill Weasley," she added to Sirius.

Sirius smirked, "I know you think you've fixed the world, but there is clearly still an inbreeding problem. All three of you with Weasleys."

"Nah," Harry chuckled, "there's just so many Weasley's these days, it's either them, a muggle or the kid of a Death Eater."

Teddy snorted, and clinked his beer on Harry's. "On point, as always, Harry."

Sirius laughed. "My third cousin married a Weasley, huge drama back in the thirties, they were famous bloodtraitors even then – and my mother was still going on about it when I was a kid thirty years later. But then, both Elladora's siblings married into notoriously light families. A Longbottom and a Crouch, Although, old Crouch has gone pretty dark these days."

Harry met Hermione's eyes, and she knew he was remembering their Sirius, thin and gaunt, sat on the floor of a cave, a pilfered chicken leg in his hand, as he spoke of Crouch sending him to Azkaban without a trial.

"No war talk," Hermione said firmly. "Why don't you tell these two some Hogwarts stories? You must have a few good ones."

"Yes!" Teddy looked very pleased at this idea, and threw his arm around Sirius's shoulders, like they'd been friends for years, and led him into the sitting room. "Please tell me my dad actually did have fun, McGonagall always told me he was the good one."

"Minnie has a selective memory," Sirius muttered, amused as he sat on the sofa, Harry joined him, still watching Sirius like he couldn't quite believe his eyes. "He was the good one … but only by comparison, and only because he was better at not getting caught."

This made Teddy smile, he plonked down next to Hermione, on the smaller sofa, leaning forward as Sirius spoke, so keen to hear what he had to say about Remus. "I wish I'd known him."

Sirius's easy smile faded. It must have been very strange for him, Hermione thought, seeing this boy, who really did look like Remus, and knowing what he'd missed out on. "Hermione said none of us survived the final battle, how old were you?" Sirius's voice was careful, clearly worried that he'd upset Teddy.

But Teddy shrugged. "I don't remember them at all. I was only a month old when they died."

"Oh, you did say twenty years ago," Sirius said, looking at Hermione.

She nodded. "Yes, Tonks shouldn't have even been there," Hermione said sadly. "But she couldn't leave Remus to fight alone."

This made a little smile lift Sirius's face again. "She sounds like the perfect woman for him."

"Hufflepuffs," Teddy muttered, a little bitterly. "Loyal to the end."

"So…" Sirius said, tapping his beer bottle against his lip, obviously trying to think of a story to tell them, to get them off this grim topic. "What about in fifth year?" he grinned. "We were so close to getting our Animagus transformations right, but I'd had a bit of a slip up, and when I turned back human, my voice didn't come back with me," he grimaced at them, a flash of white teeth as he pretended to look horrified. "It was a massive inconvenience, especially when you have as many opinions as I did at sixteen."

Harry chuckled under his breath. "My James too," he said in exasperation.

"Loquacious is what McGonagall called me on a good day," Sirius laughed, then added with another grimace. "Garrulous on a bad one."

Harry and Teddy were both listening, wrapt. Hemione drank her wine, feeling like this was exactly why she'd wanted Harry to come.

"Anyway, I could only bark, and obviously we didn't want anyone to find out what we were up to, so when I had to sit in Transfiguration for an hour, without saying a word, much to McGonagall's suspicion, Moony - Remus, he basically got her to tell us how to fix the problem, without actually admitting what we were up to. It was pretty impressive. We were turning teapots into tortoises, and he asked this convoluted series of questions about turtles versus tortoises, and what if the transformation only happened part way, anyway, he was so brilliant. I think she actually realised that he was after information about something else, because the advice she gave us worked, and I could talk again. Much to Slughorn's annoyance. We had potions after that, and I had a lot of silence to make up for."

Teddy was grinning broadly again, and Sirius, apparently keen to please, continued. "Or the time he turned all the Slytherins pink, at the first match of the season?"

Harry, Teddy and Hermione all laughed in surprise at this. She didn't think Remus would have done anything quite so obviously mischievous. But she supposed she'd only known him as a man in his thirties. And as she was coming to realise with Sirius, they were different people before their friendships were ripped apart by Voldemort.

"He made all their banners say, 'Fluffy Bunnies For The Cup'.' It was hilarious. James and I had been arguing, I can't even remember what about now, but I decided to try and apologise. Oh –," he paused, suddenly remembering. "It was because I wouldn't go to stupid Slug Club with him, to try and woo Lily. So, anyway, he was shitty with me, so I thought, being me, that a dramatic grand gesture would do the trick." Sirius waved his hand deprecatingly, apparently embarrassed by his younger self, he was getting into the story, holding their attention easily, as he went on. "Remus is brilliant at planning, and the logistics of bright pink fireworks, fluffy fuschia robes and dazzling bunny covered banners were pretty difficult. I strung the fireworks under the stands, but he'd got Pete to learn the switching spell, and had figured out how to get all their robes to change at once. James thought it was brilliant. Totally forgave me, even though it was pretty much all Remus's doing."

Harry and Teddy were both laughing. "Amazing! I'd forgotten you were an animagus." Teddy mused, "I'd love to see."

Sirius didn't need any encouragement, in a few moments, he'd changed from lounging laughing bloke into the big black dog Hermione remembered from so long ago. The dog got down from the couch and promptly sat on its haunches before Teddy.

"Woah," Teddy breathed, sliding down onto his knees to look Padfoot straight in the face, and Hermione knew what would happen before it did. The dog's tongue lolled out and then he licked a wet stripe up the side of Teddy's face.

"Argh!" Teddy spluttered, wiping the slobber off, but he was still grinning broadly, he pulled his phone from his back pocket and chucked it to Harry, "Take a photo of us?" He asked, "I can't have one with the real Sirius I suppose?"

"Well, not to show people,'' Hermione said.

Teddy threw his arm around Padfoot's neck, smooshing his face against the shaggy coat next to his ear. His turquoise hair so bright in contrast to the deep black of Padfoots fur. Harry took the photo, then gave the phone to Hermione.

"I better get one too." He said, but held up a hand as he crouched next to the dog, "You don't need to lick me," he said sternly, "I've already been subjected to that in my lifetime." Padfoot yipped happily, and licked his face anyway, just as Hermione took the photo.

Then Sirius was human again, falling back on the floor and laughing his head off. Hermione realised how quiet he'd really been these last few days. Having these two here with him, he was a different person.

Harry was straightening his glasses and getting to his feet, smiling fondly at the two young men who seemed to find the situation hilarious. Both lying on the floor, laughing all the harder when they saw him standing over them, pretending to look stern.

"Refill?" he asked Hermione as they continued to laugh. She held out her glass.

Sirius had finally controlled himself, sitting up and looking at the phone in Hermione's hand. "Is that a camera?" He asked, "where does the film go?"

"It's digital." Hermione told him, wondering how best to explain it, "like a computer? There's a little chip in here that keeps a record of the photos, instead of them going on to a film." Sirius nodded, but he still looked confused, "You can see the picture now though." she said, turning it around to show him the screen. The photo of him licking Harry's face while Teddy laughed was a good one.

"Does it stay in there?" he grinned at the screen, "Or can I have one on paper?"

"Er, to take home?" Hermione didn't want to say no, but it did seem unnecessarily risky, "That might not be a good idea."

"They won't believe me anyway," He shrugged, "I'm not even sure I'll tell Prongs and Moony what's happened, it's all too strange."

"Not even for the story of the dirt juice?" Hermione asked, remembering his little performance at the supermarket yesterday.

"We still haven't tried it!" He exclaimed, "How could I forget!? Oh but wait," he passed the phone to Teddy, "Can you take one of us?"

"With the real you?"

"Just one?" He turned pleading eyes on Hermione then, his affected pout seemed to have much more power over her now. "Please?"

Hermione shrugged, trying to appear unbothered by this realisation, "I don't know why you all think I'm in charge here."

Harry chuckled from the kitchen, she heard him and his ironic amusement over the glugging of wine from the bottle into a glass.

"Shut up!" Hermione called cheerfully to him, and he laughed louder.

Then Sirius put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, and Teddy held up the phone, "Don't lick me,'' she warned in faux seriousness, and he laughed, eyes bright at close range, and instead, planted a big wet comical kiss on her cheek. The flash went and she knew Teddy had captured the kiss. Harry was watching from the kitchen, enjoying the silliness. Hermione on the other hand was trying very hard not to blush.

Sirius, it seemed, was not bothered in the slightest, he was on his feet again, hurrying to the fridge. "Dirt juice for all!" he proclaimed, as he came back with the bottle of veggie juice and four glasses.

"Why are you calling it dirt juice?" Teddy asked, his eyebrows tented, unimpressed, "it's just veggies."

"Don't ruin my adventure in the future, Mini Moony." Sirius snapped lightly.

Teddy burst out laughing again, "Please don't call me that." he groaned.

Sirius smirked, "You idiot, now I have too, never fight a nickname, Mini-Moons. Anyway –," he opened the juice and poured four glasses. Harry put Hermione's refilled wine down on the coffee table, and sat down next to her, because Teddy was now perched next to Sirius. Hermione picked them both a glass of Sirius's juice and Teddy took one too, even though he really didn't seem to understand what was going on here.

Sirius took a sip and his face fell in disappointment. "Its nice." he said. He picked up the bottle, squinting at the label dramatically, "What sorcery is this?"

Hermione was finding it very hard to keep a straight face. She drank some juice to distract herself from his antics. He really did enjoy an audience.

"It will be mostly orange juice with just a bit of whatever vegetables it promises," Harry said, and Hermione could hear his Dad-voice in the statement, "not really enough to do you much good."

"I'm so disappointed." Sirius said, looking completely deflated. "All those poor people with no teeth. No real veggies for them."

Hermione couldn't hold in her laugh at this, while Harry and Teddy looked confused. "When we were at the supermarket yesterday," Hermione explained, "Sirius's girlfriend at the checkout told him that this juice was 'Vegetables for people with no teeth.'"

"Is it really different from your time?" Teddy asked, "if you've been out and about?"

"It is," Sirius said, "but that might just be because it's France, I've not spent much time here."

"And yet you talk like a local." Hermione murmured.

"You can speak French?" Harry asked, "I never knew that."

"I bet your Nan still can too," Sirius said to Teddy, "the Blacks have strong ties to France, we all had to learn as children."

"That must have been useful," Harry said to Hermione. "Ron always complained about that on your trips here, how the locals got annoyed if you didn't try to speak to them properly."

Hermione nodded, "Yes, although I find they don't mind at all in the tavern, last time I came here, for that weekend just after Christmas, the barman thought my attempts at French were so hilarious he gave me a free drink."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's why." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

Harry stifled a tiny little snigger against his hand. "You're a braver man than I." he said under his breath to Sirius.

Hermione didn't quite get it. She'd sat at the bar, feeling rather lonely. She'd had a lovely Christmas with her children, and Harry's family, but couldn't handle Ron and Padma yet, their happiness had been very hard to be around. So she'd run away, to this little safe place. She'd tried very hard to answer the barman's questions, but she really struggled. In the end he'd put another glass on the bar with a smile and some murmured words she hadn't understood.

"He was hitting on you," Sirius clarified, when Hermione continued to look confused at their amusement, "Pretty lady at the bar alone? He was definitely hitting on you."

"Oh," Hermione said.

Harry started to laugh properly. Nudging her with his elbow, "How can you be so clever and so … not?"

"What are you looking at?" Sirius asked Teddy then, who was thumbing at his phone screen, "More photos?"

"No, just watching the latest reel from this guy I follow."

"I speak French, but not 2019 apparently." Sirius said. "So it's a camera, and a phone you called it before, and what, like a tv?"

"I guess,'' Teddy shrugged, "Not a tv like you know though, I choose all the stuff I watch, it's based on stuff I already like, you know like gamers or artists or whatever, so you see more of the stuff you like."

"How do you see new things? Wouldn't that stop you from learning stuff?" Sirius asked.

"Ok Boomer." Teddy muttered, then he held out his phone. "This guy makes street art using the cracks in buildings and trees and stuff, it's amazing."

Sirius watched the little screen bemused, the art really was very impressive.

"He really is a Boomer, you realise Teddy." Harry put in, "Born between '45-'65"

"What's a Boomer?" Sirius asked, handing the phone back.

"Just the generation," Harry explained, "Baby Boomers, the big generation born after the muggle and wizarding wars of '45. They are having a hard time at the moment. The world has changed a lot, and everything they thought was acceptable, suddenly isn't, the kids like to give them shit."

"Oh," said Sirius, "Well, by the sound of it, this world is exactly what I've always wanted it to be."

"You're the exception then." said Teddy, apparently pleased by this.

"Although, what is with the music videos?" Sirius said, glancing at the black TV screen, and Hermione knew he was remembering the booty shakers from the day before, "Not to sound booming but, there is a LOT of skin."

Hermione and Harry both laughed at this, and Teddy sniggered, "'Booming' that is the most Boomer thing I've ever heard, getting your own derogatory label wrong."

"Can it, Mini-Moons." Sirius shot at him, eyes narrowed just a bit.

Teddy scrunched up his nose at him, "You're mean."

"I can be." Sirius agreed, smugly.

"What about a story about James?" Hermione asked, because although they were joking she knew that neither of them were likely to back down.

"Oh no," Harry said, enthusiastically, "I've got a question, so once I was in detention, and I had to copy out all your old detention records for Filch's files –,"

Sirius's eyebrows went up, "That seems like a ridiculous punishment, wouldn't it just give you more ideas? Here you go rule breaker, here's a guide, from the experts!"

Harry's answering smile didn't reach his eyes, Hermione knew it had been a very effective punishment, being reminded of how much he didn't know and wouldn't ever know his father.

"I was in sixth year by then, had plenty of my own ideas." Harry said, and Sirius looked rather proud, "But there was one record about a kid's head being twice its normal size, how does that even happen?"

Sirius burst out laughing, clearly knowing exactly what that was about. "Because your dad is a cocky twat, that's how."

"Oh right," Harry said, "that is the general consensus from most people."

"It was Lily, because it was always about Lily by then." Sirius rolled his eyes, "She'd told James he had an over-inflated head, so full of himself you know. Which he was, is still really." He smiled indulgently. "But she was going out with Bertram Aubrey and so James decided that she could see what an actually inflated head looked like. Except he didn't know the counter charm and Moony refused to help him fix it because he was sick of James being a twat about Lily. I was, er, otherwise engaged when it all went down, although he roped me into it at the end and we both ended up in detention."

Harry laughed, "I used to wonder how they ever ended up together."

"Don't we all, mate?" Sirius agreed. "I didn't think it would last. Lost twenty gallons to Moony, I really didn't think the wedding would go ahead."

"Did they fight lots?" Harry asked.

"At the beginning," Sirius said, "Yeah, but by last winter, you were nearly due, they'd both realised that they are perfect together."

"Bit late by then?" Harry said.

Sirius shrugged, "Love and hate are both pretty powerful emotions, sometimes I think Lily mistakes the huge amount of love she has for James as hate. Or she used to. They're a good team now. Did they fight much when you were a kid?"

"Er," Harry was caught out, but before Hermione could intervene, Teddy came to the rescue.

"Oh my god!" Teddy burst out, he shoved his phone under Sirius's nose, "Look at this! That dog looks just like you!"

Sirius smirked, "It does a bit, is it a wolfhound? That's what we reckon I look closest to."

Teddy tapped at the screen, leaning in close to Sirius to see, "Yeah, I think it is."

But Sirius wasn't looking at the screen any more, his eyes were on Teddy's wrist instead. "Where did you get that?" Sirius asked Teddy, reaching out and touching the braided leather around his wrist, so like the one he wore.

Teddy smiled at him, "I noticed you have one, it was my dad's. My nan had it in a box of stuff she kept for me."

"I didn't know that." Hermione said. She'd always just thought it was a fashion choice.

Sirius held his own wrist out. "We all have them. James's idea, it was right after we found out that Moony was a werewolf, and he was so sure we were going to abandon him. So James made us these. I thought it was so daft at the time, but it meant a lot to Remus. Mine's got black in it, for my name I guess, and Pete's is red, although it faded to pink pretty fast, Remus's is yellow, and James's green."

"You mean my dad's was green?" Teddy corrected at once.

"No," Sirius looked closer, "that's James's one." He looked at Harry in confusion, "Why would Remus have your dad's one?"

Harry shook his head mutely, a terrible sadness shadowing his eyes. Hermione thought he was thinking the same as her. Remus had kept it all those years, a tiny piece of his long dead friend, a symbol of the friendship promised to him at twelve years old.

This realisation seemed to be dawning on Teddy too.

"We lost James quite early on," Hermione said, her voice coming out a little hoarse, "Remus obviously kept that to remember him." Harry's hand suddenly squeezed hers and she knew it was in thanks, because if this idea had upset her, she couldn't imagine how it made him feel.

"Oh," Sirius said into the silence. "Fuck. I want to know, but at the same time … I think I'd go mad, you were right," he said to Hermione, "the day I arrived, you said I'd try to interfere. There's no way I could handle waiting for James to die. Or Rem or Pete. Couldn't do it."

The mood was suddenly so sombre. They'd all turned inward a bit, or Hermione certainly had. Thinking of all Sirius was going to lose. She glanced at him, only to find his eyes already on her, a small line of consternation between his brows. She lifted one of hers in question, but he just shook his head minutely and looked away. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was annoyed at her.

Sirius stood abruptly then, stretching, with his empty beer bottle in his hand, "Shall we give this bike a go before it gets dark?"

"Hell yes!" Teddy agreed, getting to his feet too.

Harry and Hermione followed the two younger men through the kitchen, and watched as Sirius rocked the bike forward off its stand and wheeled it out the buanderie door into the yard. The afternoon sun was casting long shadows now, and it was quite cool in the shade next to the house. Hermione leaned against the white washed wall. Harry went to join the other two.

She wondered if this bike gave him any kind of ominous feeling. Knowing the next time he'd ride on it, from the bike's point of view anyway, was when Sirius would give it to Hagrid on Halloween night. Then, after that, he'd ride on it away from Privet Drive, pursued through the sky by Death Eaters, just like Sirius had been the night he ended up here.

Sirius came jogging back to the house after a minute, "Shoes." he said as he passed her. He came back out a moment later, hopping on one foot as he tugged his heavy lace-up boots on. They looked quite hilarious with his baggy borrowed shorts.

The bike roared into life not long after he reached Teddy and Harry. The noise of it startled Hermione, not to mention all the birds in the big ash tree and the field next door. The sky was suddenly black with a cloud of undulating, twittering birds, rising high above them, rolling a pitching, casting shadows over the green fields. It was quite mesmerising to watch.

Then the bike revved so loudly Hermione had to resist the urge to cover her ears. Sirius was astride it now, his boots only half laced. Harry and Teddy backed away, there was one more air splitting racket from the engine and he took off down the drive, the limestone kicking up in a pale cloud behind him.

Hermione watched somewhat nervously, remembering the grotesque grinding pop his shoulder had made when she relocated it on their first afternoon. Of course he wasn't wearing a helmet again, and despite putting his boots on there was no other safety gear, shorts and t-shirt would do nothing to protect him if he came off again. She dreaded to think what Andromeda would say if she learnt that Teddy was in that position, which he was very likely to be, judging by the way his eager eyes followed Sirius's departure.

Hermione was right, and when Sirius came rumbling back up the drive, Teddy all but lept on the seat behind him. His arms around Sirius's waist, and after a tight circle, which threw up even more dust, and Hermione was quite sure was just Sirius showing off, they disappeared down the drive again.

Harry came meandering over to her shady spot, he was perspiring slightly from standing out in the direct sun. He pulled something from his pocket as he joined her, a golden chain, from which swung, the time turner.

"I can't believe you haven't asked about it yet." Harry said, holding it out to her.

She couldn't either really, and she really didn't want to think about why that was. "I thought you getting to enjoy this time was a bit more important." She told Harry, and it was true, living in the moment was the best way to deal with this.

"More important than making sure the world we know isn't going to be destroyed?" Harry asked, an unusually suspicious expression on his face.

She smiled at him, and as she did so she realised Sirius's defection technique was catching, "I can still remember meeting him at thirteen. Can you?"

"Yes," he said stoutly. His eyes back on the boys doing another loop on the bike.

"Then it works, or something works." Hermione said confidently. "The past is fixed. This always happened to him."

Harry nodded, accepting her logic, "I'm cooking," he said, pulling at his collar, "Time for another beer." He was clearly embracing this surprise little holiday.

"Come and sit under the tree with me," Hermione suggested, "we can watch the show from there. The bike was roaring in the distance, and Hermione wondered how long it would be before they were flying.

A/N: Thanks for reading, I've had a hard week - but doing this helps xx