Remus and Nymphadora arrived home on the evening of the 29th of July. They were obviously very happy together, still in the bliss of their honeymoon, holding each other close and whispering sweet words to each others.
The minute they arrived at the Marauder's lair, the noticed the new, finished, house next door with light coming out the living room window, sign that someone was inside and Tonks laughed out loud when she noticed that Sirius (who else?) had called it "The Wolf's Den".
"Sirius..." Remus growled while his wife laughed.
"You didn't know about this?" She asked him.
"I probably should have expected something like this coming from him." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.
He was sure that Sirius had already made it permanent, so there was no need to show him it bothered him a bit. He'd get him back some day, he'd find another joke to bother him too. Maybe visit Hogwarts, whisper to Sybille Trelawney that Sirius has a secret crush on her, yes, that would be fun.
"What's that smirk for, honey?" Tonks asked her husband.
"Oh, just thinking of what I could do to get Sirius back, that's all." He smiled.
"Come on, it's fun. I don't mind living in the wolf's den. The big bad wolf doesn't scare me." Tonks chuckled and winked.
Sighting, they headed for their own house instead of Sirius's and were surprised to see that their friends and family were waiting inside with a surprise party, food and plenty to drink. They had expected it to be just Sirius and the kids, not everyone.
The first thing Remus noticed is that the Foe Glass that Alastor had given them for their wedding was standing in the middle of the living room, placed where a muggle would have placed a TV. Surely he'd be able to find a better place for it. In the bathroom maybe? In the future garage? He was sure that Sirius had placed it here himself, as some sort of joke. What was the ideal place for such a mirror?
After greeting everyone, they were quickly separated by the group to speak with them separately about their honeymoon. Remus was surrounded by the men while his wife was with the women, all asking the same kind of question.
"So, how was it?" Andromeda asked her daughter.
"It was great! I had so much fun!" the new Misses Lupin exclaimed.
"Oh come on, you've got to give us more than that!" Rose insisted with a smile.
"Yes, you don't want us to think all you did was play chess, right? What did you do? Did you see some interesting sites? Do fun things?" Ginny insisted, making her mother chuckle.
"We didn't have much time to visit anything. Let's just say that Remus might act like a perfectly calm and geek like gentleman everyday, but in the sheets, he's a real beast and I enjoyed every minute of it!" Tonks whispered, blushing bright red.
"I didn't need to know that Dora!" Andromeda exclaimed while the girls giggled and Molly Weasley agreed with Andromeda.
For a minute, seeing Rose and Ginny giggling at Tonks' comment, Molly wondered if they needed to have the safe sex talk with the girls, or, better yet, the NO SEX talk. She'd talk to Sirius and Remus about it later. They saw them both a little girls, but now more than ever, Molly realised that they were teenage girls, almost adults.
"You shouldn't have asked then. And no, we didn't have time to play chess, which is a good thing since I suck at it." Her daughter replied with a wink before she walked back to her husband, who had managed to escape his friends as well.
The party didn't last very long, most of them had obligations the next morning.
Most of the guests had left the Lupin's house and it was just Sirius, Harry and Rose now.
"You're going back to work tomorrow?" Sirius asked the couple, they both nodded.
"I don't want to stay away from work for too long and the twins need Remus too. Apparently the shop's going very well and they could use the help." Dora replied.
"Definitely. The shop's always full. I'm only there part time and I can tell you that it's a success. Fred and George had to move to the apartment on top of the shop to save some time, they work so much. If I didn't work there part time, I wouldn't get to see Fred at all. They're only at the Burrow on the weekends, and not all the time. they do try to get there at least once a week for dinner though." Rose replied.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you two can spend some time together now." Remus smiled at his goddaughter.
"Thanks Remus." She smiled, hugging him back.
"Anyway, tomorrow I also have a meeting about my book, just a few weeks until it's out, I'm kind of nervous. What about you, aren't you driving to Surrey tomorrow?" Remus asked his friend.
"Yes, Harry, Rose and I are driving there to pick up Dudley. We're planning on arriving there around 11am, then we'll eat somewhere on the road and drive back here. Maybe take the time to do some shopping or something." Sirius replied.
"I don't work tomorrow, Fred insists that I work even less for the two weeks Dudley is with us." Rose frowned.
"He just wants you to relax and have fun." Sirius reminded her.
"I know and I love him all the more for it." Rose nodded.
"I have a hard time believing that his parents haven't changed their minds yet." Remus commented.
"Me too, but they're trying to change for their son. It's a good thing." Sirius nodded.
"I think they were this way with me all this time because aunt Petunia was afraid her son would feel the same jealousy towards me as she felt towards mom when they were growing up. Now that he's okay with us, that he wants to spend time with us, she's changing too and Uncle Vernon just goes along with things. Plus, I think Rose's presence helps Aunt Petunia make peace with our mom." Harry declared.
"I think you're right. Now come on you two, let's go and get some sleep, let the happy couple get to... Well, whatever they want to get to at this hour." Sirius added with a smile before he guided the twins outside.
"Goodnight kids." Remus and Tonks called out.
"We'll see the two of you tomorrow for dinner." Sirius called back to the couple as the twins waved.
.
Harry and Rose were having breakfast and Serenity arrived with a letter.
"It's from Luna. She's back from vacation with her father. She had fun. I told her that she'd be welcome here anytime she felt a bit lonely, that there would always be someone. She'll be there later this afternoon." Rose declared.
"Well, we'll have a full house then, won't we? Draco, you two, Dudley, Ron and Ginny, now Luna. Who knew that I'd end up being the one people trusted to keep an eye on their kids!" Sirius exclaimed.
"And then it will be our birthday, with Hermione and Neville to add to the counts." Harry added with a smile.
"Plus Fred and George who are taking the day off for the occasion." Rose declared, happy.
"And the other guests like Dean, Seamus, the Patil twins, Lavender..." Harry nodded.
"Let's concentrate on one day at the time, thinking of tomorrow and your birthday, makes me feel old. I still remember the day you were born like it was yesterday... Finish your breakfast and we'll get on the road." Sirius exclaimed, making the twins chuckle.
Harry and Rose quickly finished before they hurried to the car. Harry would take the front sit now, and Rose would take it on the way back, while Harry seats in the back with Dudley.
The road was pretty calm, and fun for them because of Sirius' jokes and the music he had played. It was music from his youth and with every song, he had a comment. James loved this one. Lily used to sing that one while pregnant. James hated this one but Lily liked it. Remus loves this one...
They arrived in front of the Dursley's house a little earlier than planned. Of course Petunia, being the gossip she was, had seen them arrive through the window and had opened her door before they were done getting out of the car. She seemed welcoming, which surprised Harry. She had never looked this happy to see him.
"You're earlier than we expected!" She exclaimed, motioning for them to come inside.
"We were lucky on the road. Plus, I expected us to run late so I told you a later time, but we weren't late so... here we are." Sirius smiled.
"I think I remember Lily saying something about you always being late, while she was planning her wedding." Petunia nodded.
"They sure worked hard that day to ensure I'd be on time. James set 20 alarm clocks just to wake me up..." Sirius chuckled.
Then Vernon and Dudley walked down the stairs and everyone greeted each other. Petunia even offered Sirius a cup of tea before he drove away again, which he happily agreed to. Harry and Rose noticed that their cousin had lost some weight over the year, he looked better now.
"Now Dudley, you didn't forget anything, son? Not even the money?" Vernon asked his son while they drank a cup of tea, making sure his son was ready.
"No, dad, don't worry." Dudley shook his head.
"Money?" Harry asked and Dudley blushed.
"Well, Dudley wanted to get something special for your birthdays, but he wanted something from your world, we figured you wouldn't mind taking him shopping, so we gave him money. I know he can change it at your bank." Petunia explained.
"Of course, we'll go there this afternoon. We can even get our lunch on Diagon Alley." Sirius nodded.
"And then get ice creams at Florent Fortescue's!" Harry nodded eagerly.
"Of course you'd want that." Rose rolled her eyes.
"He has great ice creams, it would be a crime not to share it with Dudley! And Florent is super nice, the summer before my third year when I stayed at the Leaky Cauldron I used to do all of my homework there, he even helped me with my history of magic work and gave me free ice cream!" Harry explained.
"I remember him, he's always been a nice guy. He could have been so much more with his abilities, but he chose to make and sell Ice creams... A lot of people were disappointed in him at first." Sirius nodded before he took a double way mirror out of his pocket.
"I trust Dudley showed you how this works?" Sirius asked the couple who nodded and took the mirror, happy to have a way to contact their son as Sirius placed a small box full of dark powder on the table.
"What is this?" Dudley asked.
"This is Floo powder. With the Order, we've decided to give you some, in case of an emergency. Your chimney isn't supposed to be connected but the Minister of Magic has agreed to do it and keep it a secret, in order to protect Harry and Rose better. Since you're their only living relatives, Voldemort could try to find you and kidnap you, hoping they'd come to your rescue. This way, you have a safe escape. You throw a fist full of it in the chimney while it's light and pronounce 'Marauder's Lair' or 'Grimault Place' or 'Wolf's den' as you do it. It will transport you safely. We've written the entire process here. You'll have to light the firet first, with this special lighter. Dumbledore made it himself to cast magical fire. It's the only kind of fire that works with Floo Powder." Sirius explained, showing them a piece of paper that was in the box along with the powder.
"Be warned though, it's quite a ride." Harry told them.
"Well, I hope we won't need it, but thank you." Vernon nodded.
After that, they talked some more, mainly to reassure Vernon and Petunia that Dudley would be safe with them and they left.
They drove to London and went on Diagon Alley to get their lunch and do some shopping since Dudley wanted to buy his two cousins something from the magical world. They had a quick stop to Gringotts and went to show him the different shops.
"Since we're here, maybe I could go to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes for a while? You know, see if Fred has some free time or if he needs help with anything..." Rose asked in a small voice.
"Sure, you go. We'll come and get you before we leave. If you want, you'll be able to stay and come back later with Remus." Sirius nodded.
"Thanks Sirius, see you, Dudley!" Rose exclaimed with a happy smile before she entered the brightest shop in the street.
"You let her work here? With everything that's going on in your world?" Dudley asked Sirius.
"It's safe. It's always packed, and competent people I trust work there too, including her Godfather." He smiled.
They walked some more, seeing several shops that could be interesting for Dudley.
"I still have a hard time believing that this whole other world is out there." Dudley whispered to Harry.
"Oh no, you boys stay here, stand tall, and hide me. You haven't seen me, you don't even know who I am!" Sirius exclaimed with horror before he hurried in the nearest shop, leaving the two teenagers in front of the door.
Had he paid more attention, Sirius would have noticed that the shop he had just entered was full of lingerie.
"What's wrong with him?" Dudley asked, confused.
Harry shrugged his shoulders, just as confused, until he noticed a group of girls coming their way. There was Cho Chang, who'd be in 7th year in September, and three other girls that had graduated this year.
"I think 3 of these girls liked him a lot last year and are trying to charm him. You know, like in the song, they're Hot for teacher." Harry chuckled.
"Hi Harry." Cho said as she stopped in front of him, her friends motioning that they were going to look next door at the Quidditch store to see if Sirius Black was there.
"Cho. Dudley, this is Cho Chang, she goes to school with us. Dudley's my cousin, on my mother's side." Harry introduced, deciding not to mention what she had tried to do.
"Nice to meet you Dudley. Harry, I've been looking for an opportunity to apologize to you for what I did, or almost did... I... I have no excuses, I know I was wrong. I hope we can still be friends..." She declared, looking very sincere.
"Of course." Harry nodded, wishing Rose was here with him, because she'd be able to tell if Cho was sincere or not.
"And Dudley, is it your first time on Diagon Alley?" Cho asked, trying to make conversation until her friends came back.
She hoped Harry wouldn't see right through her.
"It is, yes." He nodded, a bit shy.
He found this girl very pretty and she seemed interested in knowing more about him, since she seemed to be a friend of his cousin's, he decided he could answer honestly. Harry would stop him if he was to say too much.
"Where do you usually live?" She asked him.
"Private Drive, Surrey. I go to school at Smelting. Anyway, I'm going to stay a couple of weeks with Harry and Rose." Dudley replied.
Cho smiled and they chatted for a few more minutes. Cho seemed to want to get to know Dudley and Harry wondered why that was but let it go. When Cho's friends came back, they looked disappointed.
"Potter, you haven't seen Professor Black, have you? I mean, he's your godfather and you live with him, he has to have come here with you." One of them asked the Boy Who lived.
"Oh, he went to see Remus, Lupin, at Wealsey's Wizard Wheezes. If you hurry you might still catch him there." Harry lied.
Happy, the 3 older girls grabbed Cho's hand and they ran away.
"I'm not sure I understood all of that." Dudley whispered to his cousin.
"Sirius is very popular among the female students. Hey Sirius, they're gone, you can come out now!" Harry replied before he called Sirius who walked out, smiling.
He had a bag in his hands. Indeed, since he had walked inside in such a hurry, the owner had rushed to meet him and see what he wanted. He couldn't walk out yet and the owner, a pretty old lady, seemed to understand that he was hiding. She had told him that he either bought something or she'd call out to the girls outside to let them know that he was inside. That's how Sirius ended up having to buy lingeries. He had let the woman choose, and she sold him an ensemble that could magically fot anyone who decided to wear it. Blushing, he hid the bag, deciding on burning it once he got home or to give it to Tonks.
"What was that with Cho Chang?" Sirius asked.
"She apologized for what happen at the beginning of the year, then she just made conversation, waiting for her friends." Harry replied.
"She seems nice, polite. She's definitely pretty." Dudley added.
"I used to have the biggest crush on her. She plays Quidditch too, same position I play, but she's in Ravenclaw, another house at school. Anyway, turns out we weren't meant to be and I'm fine with that. I'm happy with Ginny." Harry explained as they walked some more.
The three of them walked into a few more shops. Dudley bought for Rose a bottle of magical perfume who changed your scent depending on your mood. Then Harry went to get them a table at the Ice cream shop while Dudley went to the Quidditch store with Sirius. There, he bought Harry a t-shirt from one of the Quidditch teams Sirius said he liked, along with the shorts that went with it.
Once they had eaten their Ice Creams, they went to WWW to check on Rose. As soon as they entered, Sirius went to check on Remus.
Harry showed Dudley the different articles, watching with interest his reactions and planning on sending him his favorite for Christmas or his birthday. Dudley did love the glasses to see in the dark, and the candy that made you sick.
"Hey George, have you seen Rose?" Harry asked his friend after he greeted Dudley and him.
"She went to help Fred get something in the back room a while back, you two can go ahead and check it out." he replied with a small smile.
"It seems to be going well, it's hard to think you only opened 2 weeks ago!" Dudley complimented.
"I know, everyone's surprised. Anyway, did you see anything you liked?" George asked him.
"The Pygmy Puffs are adorable, I'd love to get one, but I don't know how I'd explain what he is to my friends. I wouldn't be able to take it back to school with me anyway. Unlike yours, our school has a strict no pets policy." Dudley replied.
"They're very successful." George nodded.
"Ginny hinted that she wanted one." Harry added.
"Really? I'll bring her one while we still have some, they're selling so fast we have trouble breeding them fast enough. Anyway, you could get one for your mom if you think she'd like it. Whenever she has visitors it could stay hidden in her room and you could take care of it when you're out of school." George suggested.
"Maybe... you're right, I'll call her on the mirror, show it to her and see if she'd like one." Dudley nodded happily, walking towards the Pygmy Puffs with his mirror out.
"I have to go and refill a shelf Harry, but let me know when you guys are ready to check out alright? I'll give your cousin a special discount, to apologize for having used him as a test subject in the past." George told Harry before he moved away.
When Harry joined Dudley again, he was placing the mirror back in his pocket.
"So, what did she say?" Harry asked his cousin.
"She was with Dad, I explained what they were, that they were super small and not overly magic. Mom immediately loved them and asked me to get two, so they it wouldn't get too lonely. I'll get everything we need for it here. She especially loves that it eats anything, even spiders. She agrees that since they're small, they'll be easy to hide whenever we have visitors, but she thinks she can tell some people like Aunt Marge that it's a rare animal and that their presence has to remain secret." Dudley replied happily.
"Which one will you get?" Harry asked.
"I think this pink one and the purple one over there." Dudley pointed.
"I'll get George, he'll get everything ready." Harry smiled.
Looking at the price tag, Dudley realized that this would be the end of his allowance money, he'd have spent everything, but it didn't matter. It would be something magical that would make his mother happy, so it was worth it.
George came back and surprised Dudley by giving him the two Pygmy Puffs for free, as an appology for testing one of their best selling candy on him all these years ago.
"You don't need a cage to transport them, they'll stay with you or in your pocket, but you should get them their own space in your house." George advised.
"I figured. Mom was so in love with them, I'm sure dad is already working on a tiny house or something, I heard him mumbling, thinking out loud before I hung up." Dudley replied with a smile.
"Anyway, we were wondering, would you mind coming over with Rose at some point? We'd like to see if Muggles can use some of our magical objects. Nothing dangerous, I assure you. We just don't know any other muggle to ask..." George asked Dudley.
"Sure, if I can help." Dudley nodded.
"Great! Well, Rose will sort this out later. At the moment she's a bit busy with Fred, and I doubt they're doing any real work." George chuckled before he left them to scold a second year who was trying to steal from the shop.
"Thank you for helping him." Harry told his cousin as he lead him to the back room, hoping to find either Rose or Sirius and Remus.
"It's no problem, it could be fun." He smiled.
In the back room, they found Sirius and Remus, looking over copies of the Marauder's map. Together, they went to look for Rose and found her making out with Fred behind some boxes.
"I guess she'll be coming home with you then." Sirius whispered to Remus as he pulled them all back.
"You're not going to interrupt them?" Dudley asked, surprised.
If his father found him making out with a girl in a dark corner, he'd pull them appart.
"No, they're serious, don't see much of each other lately and they're safe. Plus, I remember what it was like to be their age." Sirius replied.
"I'm not sure I like this... Fine, I guess I'll leave her be for today. Verity, their new full time store employee, told me that Rose always worked when she was here, she never took time to spend alone with Fred. I guess we can let them have some alone time today..." Remus nodded with a frown.
"See you tonight Moony!" Sirius waved before he led the two boys back out of the shop and to the car, so he could drive back home.
Review please
What did you think of Dudley adopting Pygmy Puffs? What about Cho? Her appearance is important, she'll have a chapter dedicated to her later. Maybe over Christmas... Something will happen... In this story she's not a very good person, I'm sorry for those of you who don't like it.
YES, I've read the books, many times, and I know she's not like that in the book, but this is a fanfiction, I chose to change a few facts about her, for the sake of this story.
Lorelei Candice Black