Tempus Magia

Part Two

Chapter 13: Fire on the Drapes

Hermione Granger made a grave error during the final battle that resulted in Remus's death. Working as an unspeakable she spends two years working on a spell using powder from time turners to go back to Remus's greatest hour of need. What if Remus's greatest time of need wasn't in *this* war?

Remus woke in Potter cottage in the guest bedroom. His bones were mildly achey, reminiscent of waking up after a really easy full moon. He stretched and yawned wondering why he was so exhausted. Had they been drinking?

He should probably ask James what his opinion on Dumbledore's proposition is. He knew that several Order members disliked him for his lycanthropy and that it was a point of contention at Order meetings.

Knowing James, he'd probably call the lot tossers and beg Remus not to do anything as foolishly dangerous as the Headmaster suggested. If he was really worried he'd likely call Sirius. Peter was barely around, his mother had caught the dragon pox and given how many people were dying of it he didn't expect to see his friend anytime soon.

Remus had gone to visit Peter the day before and his broken-hearted friend cried on his shoulder for a long time while waiting for the Healers to finish bathing his mother. He had already lost his father to the pox, like James.

Sitting up slowly with the rising sun peeking through the windows, he looked around. Remus was definitely in Sirius' bedroom, rather than his own at Potter Cottage. The Playwizard and Playboy cutouts permanently stuck to the walls and the black chrome and leather were a dead giveaway.

As he pulled back the blanket tucked around him, he saw James snoring in a rocking chair in the corner of the room. His glass askew and his hair looking like he'd be shocked, his friend looked like he had been put through the wringer.

It all came flooding back.

Remus sat up his sandy hair falling into his eyes. What was that gold dust and why did he transform in the middle of the day? He hadn't just transformed, he had become the wolf but retained his mind as Remus. He wasn't Moony. He was Remus.

The concept of being able to control or at least not massacre a small village while he was changed was a sobering thought that eased his very bones into a relaxed position. Remus reached out to Sirius' nightstand shoving his random knick-knacks aside until he could silently draw his wand.

He had a lot to think about and he wanted a nice cup of tea to do his thinking with. Casting silencing charms on his feet, he grabbed a lumpy sweater from Sirius' closet and pulled it over his head. He was wearing snitch covered pajama bottoms and idly wondered as he silently stubbed his door on the doorframe if he would be able to go back to the Shack to find his robes. They were his last pair.

Remus carefully shut the door behind him, allowing his friend some much-needed sleep. Walking down the hallway, he felt momentarily drawn to his room but shook his head, silencing the howling within and turned around heading for the stairs that would lead to the kitchen.

He was halfway into the kitchen when he saw a familiar head of... well, Black. "Remus?"

"Sirius? You… they said you wouldn't be back for at least a month?"

Sirius stood and hugged his friend tightly. The time for squeamish boyhood superstitions was in the past. They were in a war and you never knew when it was the last time you were going to see someone.

"Merlin, Remus I was so worried. Albus sent me an emergency portkey. He said you shifted right in front of him and that you were completely in control! Well, other than the magical sparkling portal you went through. Honestly, Remus, what have I told you about sparkly things?"

"That they only look good on you and Lily," said James from the doorway. He smiled tiredly at Remus. "You're not as stealthy as you think. You tripped on the doorframe again."

Remus shrugged and hugged James. "I saw Peter two days ago. He's a mess. You two should visit more often."

James sighed, "Lily was in Saint Mungos yesterday morning before the whole Remus and the stranger in a bloody tornado situation." Remus and Sirius were alert immediately.

"Where is Lily? is she alright?"

"James, what happened?" Remus asked as James slumped into a chair at the table grabbing Sirius' coffee.

"I was coming out of the loo and I scared her. She… fell."

Sirius looked from James to Remus in confusion. "Was it a bad fall? Why would it-"

"Sirius, think. Why would a married witch falling cause such a fuss that they would have to go to Saint Mungos?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Shit, James. Shit. I'm so sorry. Is it… What did the Healers-"

James downed the coffee, "They're both okay, but she's on bedrest for the next two weeks and we need to go back and have a check-up after. Not really how I wanted to tell you guys. I had a whole party planned with a cake and then Peter's mum got sick and…"

"James," Sirius said suddenly. "Oh, god. James! I'm going to be a dad!"

Remus chuckled into the cup of tea he was preparing for himself. Leave it to Sirius to make the entire thing about himself. "Sirius, you realize that-"

"Nappies! James, do we know how to change nappies? What if the baby barfs? My leather jacket! It won't come out!" Sirius' jaw dropped in horror. "What if the baby doesn't like Quidditch?! What if the baby doesn't want to go to Hogwarts at all? I mean we could send them to Ilvermorny, but then how will he get the map?

"Fuck! What if it's a girl! Merlin , with Lily's hair, your seeker skills, and my good looks we're going to be dueling wizards from the time she's in nappies!" Sirius finished miserably. He took a long breath, thinking hard about something. The pause was long enough for the laughter from the other occupants of the room to be heard.

"I got it! James, we can become teachers! This way no one will try and hit on our daughter until she's at least fifty. That should be safe then, right?" Remus choked on his tea imaging any of them as professors.

"Hey, Sirius?" James asked, his smile proud on his face.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna be dogfather, I mean godfather to our son , Harry James Potter?" The room quieted immediately. Sirius paled considerably.

Remus felt a pang in his chest. He knew his lycanthropy would prevent him from the magic that would bind him as a godfather, but he was happy it was Sirius. He knew that Lily would probably have wanted Frank and Alice Longbottom who were dear friends to the witch.

Remus playfully nudged the frozen and suddenly silent Sirius, "You know if you don't answer James might assume you don't want to be Harry's godfather. James, can we call him dogfather?"

"I think it's a great idea. Or we could call him shaggy-"

"Yes," breathed Sirius. "I… James. This is a huge responsibility. I mean… Do you trust me? I'm…"

"My best mate." James finished.

Sirius' eyes filled with tears. "Thank you, James."

The sound of shuffling turned all of their attention to the door. Three sets of wet eyes met Lily's alarmed ones as walked into the kitchen. Sirius and James jumped up immediately. James settling her into a seat while Sirius making her a tea and hunted for biscuits.

"I guess you told them?" Lily asked looking annoyed.

James smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't help it," he whined.

"You know I wanted to take pictures of their faces and personally witness Sirius' meltdown when he found out we were having a baby. I still can't believe he didn't write himself into the vows."

Sirius and James suddenly became very distracted with the underside of the table. Remus burst out laughing.

"JAMES FLEAMONT POTTER! YOU WROTE A THIRD PERSON INTO OUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT?!"

"No," said James quickly. "I just added the addendum of a certain large grim-like looking dog! That we keep around, but strictly for petting reasons!"

Remus roared with laughter.

Lily's wand was out in a second and she was hexing his idiotic friends before either of them could blink. They both attempted to make a hasty exit from the kitchen but not before being hexed on their backsides repeatedly.

James yelped and grabbed his bum as he ran, while Sirius made a comment that got him three more hexes.

"YOU REALIZE YOU CREATED A LOOPHOLE FOR US TO HAVE AN OPEN MARRIAGE, YOU IDIOT!" she yelled after him. The door slammed closed behind them as Lily began to curse under her breath.

Remus wiped tears from his eyes as Lily upset her teacup. He cleaned it up and poured her a new cup, with less sugar. "Thank you, Remus. How are you dear?"

Remus leaned over the table and hugged her, carefully not crush her belly. "Firstly congratulations on becoming a mum! I'm so happy for both of you."

Lily beamed. "Thank you, it's a whole new type of magic. I really wish we could have made you godfather, Remus."

Remus waved her worries away, "Please. We both know Sirius will make a great godfather and it's good for him to have some responsibility. After Regulus was killed by death eater's last summer, he's become…"

"Reckless and almost died eleven times?"

"Essentially," he nodded.

Lily sipped her tea. "It's why we chose him over Peter. I know Peter could use the good news now, especially with how sick his mother is but I'm worried Sirius won't live to see Easter."

Remus understood and he didn't hold it against James and Lily. If anything, he was grateful for the small bit of happiness in his friend's life. Remus had two healthy parents. Sirius had… Sirius had James and Lily, literally apparently.

"How are you feeling Remus? You gave us quite a scare. You showed up moments after the girl did."

Remus looked up in confusion. "What girl?"

"We had just arrived home from Saint Mungos and we felt big magic in the living room. There was an actual tornado made up of golden sand. I've never ever felt such powerful magic. We had half of the Ministry show up on our land. Luckily, it's James' mums and it's unplottable. The girl was inside the tornado and after Euphemia managed to get her out she passed out. You showed up moments later." Lily's cheeks became pink. "Er, are you seeing someone Remus?"

Remus' eyes widened in shock. Remus didn't date. Ever.

As a werewolf, he was terrifyingly strong even in his human form. One wrong move because he lost control and he could snap a witch's neck. It was one of his greatest fears. Finally, finally being able to give in and then having to abandon the hunt because he killed his prey.

That's really what everyone was to Moony, pack, predator, or prey. Those who he considered family were pack and depending on the enemy, they fell into the prey or predator category.

"No, Lily you know I… I can't .."

"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, Remus. The girl that came through, she was definitely a witch. She's still unconscious so we don't know her name. I have a hunch though," she said thoughtfully.

"A hunch?"

"The name Hermione ring a bell?" One word and it was as if Remus had been sucker punched in the gut. He felt the smell of parchment, toothpaste, and shampoo wash over him like the tide. "I'll take that as a yes. You were erm… moaning her name quite a bit and then there was evidence of…"

"Stop! Lily, what-" Remus felt the warm fuzzy feeling flee from his stomach as embarrassment took over instead. He buried his head in his hands, hoping that he could die of embarrassment or at least get swallowed by the floor. When neither happened, he opted with an apology. "God, I'm so sorry you had to see that."

Lily patted his shoulder consolingly, "There's nothing to apologize for. I mean she's a pretty witch and it's a biological reaction stimulated by the-"

"No!" Remus bolted out of his seat as Lily burst into chuckled. "I'm going to make sure Sirius and James haven't erm… set anything on fire."

He bolted out of the room rushing towards the den where he heard panicked voices.

"Put it out, you git!"

"I'm trying! It's not my fault your bloody drapes caught fire!"

Remus cast an aguamenti soaking his friends and putting out the fire licking its way up the drapes and towards the ceiling. "Seriously, I left you two for five seconds."

Sirius soaked and chuckling with James smirked at him, "Really Moony, did you hit your head while you were moaning about Hermione? You're not Sirius, I am!"

Euphemia stood in the doorway watching as Remus sent another aguamenti at Sirius. That of course started an all-out water war, which Lily was going to kill them for later. The Potter matriarch left the boys to their games.

With some difficulty, she climbed the stairs. She was old. She'd been old when she had James originally. She was finally at the head of her career in the department of mysteries when she became pregnant with James. When she discovered how late into the pregnancy she was, she retired and spent the next ten years raising her beloved son with her husband at her side.

It was nothing short of a miracle that she had her son, especially at her age. Her friends had called it downright biblical. Most of which, had long since passed on through the veil. After all, she was no spring chicken and living was for the young.

Standing on the second-floor platform, she took a breath leaning on the banister. When she was composed she walked to Remus's room. She was unsurprised to find the room was covered in literature and neatly stacked odds and ends. In direct contrast to Sirius' room, the walls were tastefully adorned with old maps and drawing of mythical magical creatures.

She ran her fingers along the edge of a worn map of Avalon, the sigil of Merlin etched along the edges. "Flabney," she called. Her loyal elf appeared silently before her. "Please ensure I am undisturbed for the duration of my work. The magic to contain the sand dust took a lot of my strength and I fear I may not be able to handle the legilimency."

"Yes, Mistress. I will make Missus Lily lunch and cause mischief for the boys."

She nodded and entered the room. The girl lay in the bed, her hair tied back in a braid courtesy of Lily. Her daughter in law sat vigilantly over the girl's side the entire night, fretting over her and gazing at her marked arm.

When Lily was Head Girl she was on the receiving end of a nasty hex from a Slytherin she was docking points from. Lily now had a similar scar on her arm that reminded her of the racial slurs she had endured throughout Hogwarts.

Conjuring a chair, Euphemia sat gracefully at the head of the bed. Generally, legilimency was utilized by making eye contact with those awake. When a person was asleep it was harder to see in their minds. Sleep made people erratic and confused.

Pressing two fingers on each of the girl's temples she delved into her mind. "Legilimence!"

Okay, so the dogfather was a typo and when I went back to correct it I just kept it because I thought it was funny. -Chefke