August 2nd, 1995
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE WAS ATTACKED BY DEMENTORS?" I heard shouting coming from the kitchen, my wife's furious voice discernable clearly even from the entrance hall. I winced, knowing that Mundungus must have just told her that he had left Harry's watch to make a deal. I had been at work when the news had spread that Harry had been expelled; Dumbledore had shown up minutes later, and after a screaming match with Fudge himself, a hearing date had been set and Harry had been suspended pending the results of the hearing. Once I knew that Dumbledore was on the case, I'd come straight home, hoping to head off Addie before anyone else told her. Obviously, I was too late.
Addie was already upset that Harry had been forced to stay with the Dursley's for much longer than we had promised him. It had been the best plan for him though – now that Voldemort was back, he needed the extra protection that Petunia offered him; at least until we'd had headquarters up and running. It had taken us a while to rid the house of the dark protection spells that my mother had left behind and Dumbledore had just cast the Fidelius Charm last night. We'd been planning on going to get Harry soon, now that the house was protected, but of course Dung had to go and fuck it up.
She'd been especially upset, because she knew how angry Harry was with us. We had told him at King's Cross that he needed to go home with the Dursley's for now – that Oak Place wasn't safe enough for him – and he had seemed understanding of that. But we hadn't anticipated it being nearly six weeks before we were up and running; we knew based on his letters that he was furious with us, especially since we weren't able to give him any information via owl, per Dumbledore's orders. Addie hated agreeing with Dumbledore, but even she acknowledged that the risk of an owl being intercepted was too high.
"MUNDUNGUS FLETCHER I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" Oh shit. I should probably go and make sure Addie doesn't actually kill him. Not that he wouldn't deserve it, but I'd prefer she not end up in Azkaban – especially when she's cooking my baby.
I made my way downstairs, taking the stairs quickly to the basement. I pushed open the door to a wild scene, exactly as I had pictured it. Mundungus was backed in to a corner, holding the walls on either side of him for dear life; Addie was advancing on him, frying pan held in her hands, her baby bump beginning to show – making the scene almost comical, although I knew that realistically Addie was about to gravely injure Mundungus unless someone stepped in. Molly was backing Addie up, looking concerned at the violence, but downright furious as well. Moony was in the middle of the two groups, eyeing the frying pan in my pregnant wife's hands with clear reluctance to get any closer to her.
"Hello, kitten. Stressful day?" I said in a cheery voice, trying to diffuse the situation without getting too close.
"Hello, love," she said, turning to look at with, her entire demeanor changing. Suddenly she was kind and cheerful; when she turned back to Mundungus, however, the fury was back. I was happy to, for once, not be on the receiving end of her anger. "You could say stressful. This absolute pillock decided that right in the middle of his watch was the best time to go and buy stolen cauldrons!"
"Come on, Addie," Dung begged, trying to back up even further against the wall he was cowering against. "Figgy's already given me a good telling off!"
"Oh, did she? WELL TOO BAD! HARRY WAS ATTACKED BY DEMENTORS, YOU ABSOLUTE WORTHLESS PILE OF OWL DROPPINGS!"
"Come now, Addie," Remus said soothingly. "Do try to calm down – all of this shouting can't be good for the baby."
"YOU STAY OUT OF IT, REMUS LUPIN!" Addie shouted, turning her fury towards Remus. She glared at him for a moment before turning back to Dung and continuing to shout at him.
"Come on, mate," I said under my breath, coming to stand next to Moony. "Never tell a woman to calm down. Surely Tonks has taught you that by now." I said this last bit with a wink, chuckling upon seeing Remus's face turn bright red at the mention of my cousin. He had thought they were being so subtle, until I dropped the bomb last week that I knew they were shagging; the look on his face had been so priceless that it was fine that the witch in question was my baby cousin.
"Are you going to do something?" Remus asked out of the corner of his mouth, watching to make sure Addie didn't advance any further.
"Nope," I said matter of factly, still whispering. "For once, the crazy witch isn't mad at me – her pregnancy hormones have made her a right menace. I'm almost glad I missed the first pregnancy."
"AND IF YOU EVER SHOW YOUR FACE AROUND HERE AGAIN, I WILL MAKE SURE IT IS THE LAST TIME YOU DO SO WITH YOUR NOSE INTACT, GOT IT?" Addie was shouting, her face beet red with the exertion and her voice reaching hysterics. She was definitely overexerting herself and placing too much strain on the baby, so I decided it was time for me to step in.
"Hey there, angry kitty," I said, stepping around Remus and putting myself between my wife and Mundungus; as before, her face immediately relaxed upon seeing me.
"Hi, love. Good day at work?" She said serenely. It was honestly scary seeing her go from downright furious to lovestruck in barely a second; I swear her pregnancy has made her more emotional than I had ever seen her. Last week she cried when I told her the bakery down the street had been out of the banana nut muffins, but they had banana muffins – I knew she preferred the banana and didn't care for the nuts anyway. But, she had cried anyway because she was upset that if someone else wanted nuts, they weren't able to get any. Absolutely barmy.
"Love, I know that you're upset – but –" I said quickly, seeing that she was ready to turn back to anger at Dung. "Dumbledore's already been to the Ministry and sorted everything– Arthur and I wrote to Harry and told him to stay put, not to do any magic and that we would be in touch soon."
"Harry hasn't been expelled?" She asked, lowering the frying pan.
"No. Dumbledore got him a hearing on the 12th. He's going to be stopping by tonight for an emergency meeting – so we can plan our retrieval of Harry."
"We're getting Harry?" She said, excitedly.
"Yes, love. As soon as possible. Now that we know the Dursley's aren't keeping a good eye on him – and the house is protected – we can bring him home," I said soothingly, wrapping my arms around her and taking the frying pan from her hands. I held it out to Remus, who rushed to take it as far away from Addie as he could.
"I suggest getting out of her, Dung," Remus said quietly. "I'll find you after the meeting and fill you in. Stay out of Addie's way for a couple of days."
"Done, mate," Dung said quickly before fleeing from the kitchen.
"Alright, well, now that that's all cleared up, how about some dinner, eh?" Molly said briskly, rubbing Addie's back. "Sirius, dear, did Arthur say when he was coming home?"
"He should be on his way home now. He was just mailing off our letters to Harry before heading home – I was trying to get here before Dung, but, well…" I trailed off, gesturing to the frying pan helplessly.
"No matter," Molly said fitfully. She began puttering around the kitchen, pulling out a big pot and starting to chop vegetables for a stew.
"Can I help?" Addie asked, holding on to my hand desperately. She was shaking, the first indication I had seen that her anger was hiding concealed nerves – she had been terrified upon hearing that Harry had been attacked, and had taken out her nervousness on Dung.
"Kitten, sit down for me, okay?" I said, pushing her gently in to a kitchen chair that Remus had helpfully pulled out for me. "You're shaking."
"No I'm not!" She protested. She held her hands out, as if to prove that she was fine, but blanched upon seeing that her hands were in fact shaking. "Ugh, fine I am. But I'm fine – just adrenaline."
"Just relax, dear. I have dinner under hand," Molly said, coming over with a glass of water and fussing with Addie to make sure she drank the entire glass.
"Sirius," Addie hissed. "Help Molly."
I looked at Molly, who really did look like she had everything under control, but figured it wasn't worth inciting any more anger in Addie. "Of course, sweetheart." I decided that the least destructive thing I could do is set the table, so I moved towards the cabinet and started pulling out plates. I did a quick count to see how many plates I needed – we had Addie, Molly, Remus, Arthur, Fred, George, Ginny, Hollyn, Ron, Hermione, and myself here daily, but we often had guests stop in for dinner unannounced. "Anyone know if Tonks is coming for dinner?"
"Yes, sir!" I heard from behind me, turning to see the witch in question walking down the staircase, her hair periwinkle blue today. "Kingsley is right behind me too – I convinced him to leave work early and come before the meeting."
I took out two more plates, making the total thirteen, and laid them out on the table. I waved my wand and summoned cups and silverware to finish off the table. Tonks, attempting to be helpful, took two pitchers of pumpkin juice out of the cooler, and promptly dropped them. Remus, having expected this, waved his wand and caught them before they hit the ground.
"Thank you, dear," Molly said exasperatedly to Remus. We'll be ready any minute, Tonks, if you want to call the kids down? Quietly."
"Sure thing, Mol!" Tonks said brightly, bounding back up the stairs. We heard her shouting for the kids, and we all winced, knowing that soon my mother would begin shouting.
"I've got it," Remus said, resigned. He walked up the stairs as well, and a moment later the portrait had stopped shouting. I really had to figure out a way to get that damn portrait off the wall – she was going to drive me barmy. And since it appeared we were going to be here for a while longer, we probably should start making the place actually habitable. I know Addie had wanted to strip all of the wallpaper, but it had taken a backseat to all of the order business we had been attending to – Addie had been much more involved in the Order this go around, even taking her turn in the Harry watch rotation. I wasn't able to take part due to my job at the Ministry. I was trying to keep a low profile – basically going to work, and coming straight home. I didn't need any other reason for the Minister to be breathing down my neck – he was already doing enough of that without flaming the fire. It was worth it though, as I had been able to recruit both Tonks and Kingsley from the Auror office; both were proving to be extremely capable allies. Kingsley was well-accomplished and highly respected – plus he was well placed to derail some Ministry objectives that we didn't necessarily agree with. Tonks had been trained by Moody himself, his very own protegee, and although she was clumsy she was a master of disguise and handy with a hex. She was particularly useful taking turns guarding Harry, as she was able to completely alter her appearance to blend in to any situation.
I heard the thundering of feet coming down the stairs, indicating that the kids were coming downstairs. Tonks and Remus came down first, followed moments later by the kids.
"Everyone wash up, supper is almost ready. Ginny! What have you been doing? You're a mess!" Molly called, looking at Ginny sharply. Her hands were filthy, but I knew for a fact that she had been collecting dungbombs in her room – for what, I don't know, but honestly I'd rather find out the old-fashioned way; by running in to whatever she had planned and claiming plausible deniability.
The kids swarmed the sink so they could wash up, and I walked behind Hollyn and ruffled her hair. "Okay, pup?"
"Yeah, Sirius. I was worried about Harry but Professor Lupin told me that he's home safe, so I feel better now. Ginny and I were worried sick," Hollyn said truthfully.
"I've told you a hundred times, Hollyn – you don't have to call me Professor anymore. Remus is just fine; by all rights I'm basically your uncle anyway," Remus said, coming up behind us and chuckling. "Besides, my career as a Professor was embarrassingly short lived."
"Hey, it's not your fault that you 'turned in to a werewolf' and 'engangered a group of students'," I said, using my fingers like air quotes.
"Yeah, Remus!" Fred called from the kitchen table. "It was just a practical lesson, eh? Letting Harry, Ron and Hermione prove what they had learned?"
"Really, if that lot didn't get top marks in their exams, they were robbed," George joined in, shaking his head in mock shame.
"Oh shove off," Ginny said, defending Remus. "You would have wet yourself if you'd been outside that night – so stop teasing." I laughed at Ginny's wit; for as much as she looked like Lily, she had very little of Lily's sweet temperament. Ginny was a force to be reckoned with – smart, funny, beautiful and quick-witted. It was only a matter of time before Harry realized that she had moved on from him – just in time for him to fall for her, I'm sure.
"Harry's fine, love," I assured Hollyn quietly while the rest of the kids – minus Hermione who was helping Molly at the stove – began to bicker among themselves. "He'll be coming home soon, okay?"
"Okay." She said quietly. "Thanks, Sirius."
I noted that she hadn't called me Dad since the Quidditch World Cup, after we had found her in the woods, and I know that she had barely been conscious at that point. I knew that it was going to take time, especially seeing how she wouldn't even call Remus anything other than Professor Lupin, but I selfishly wanted her to get there quicker. I wanted her to truly see me as her father, but I knew that I had to earn that.
I put my hand on her back, guiding her gently towards the table. She sat next to Ginny and I took my place between her and Addie. Addie was sitting, glaring at the bottle of butterbeer I had put down in front of my place setting, as though it had personally offended her.
"I can drink something else, love," I said, noting the expression on her face.
"What?" She said, scrunching her nose adorably. "Oh no, enjoy your drink. I was just missing the taste. The one downside to pregnancy – not being able to drink. Plus my boobs hurt all the time."
"They've gotten bigger though," I said under my breath, making sure Hollyn and Ginny, who were whispering about a boy named Dean Thomas, didn't hear me. I made a note to ask Harry who Dean Thomas was, and to decide if I needed to kill him or not. "That's a plus. For me at least."
Addie smacked my arm, although I could tell she was amused. Remus rolled his eyes at me from across the table – fuck, I forgot about his werewolf hearing. "Classy, Pads," he deadpanned. Addie's face burned red, although she had nothing to be embarrassed about. "The baby doesn't appreciate you talking to it's mother that way, either. Spud just rolled over."
When we'd realized that Remus could literally hear the baby moving, it had started to feel weird referring to it as an 'it'. But since Addie didn't want to know if it was a boy or girl, we'd decided to start calling the baby Spud.
"Awww, Spud's moving around?" Hollyn asked, her attention immediately caught by the mention of her baby brother or sister. She had taken to the news much better than either Addie or I had expected – she was more excited than any of us, I think. Besides Molly, maybe. But Molly was so obsessed with children, having seven of her own, that it was to be expected she was excited to add more to the family.
This sparked a merry conversation, which held us through the rest of dinner. Fred and George took great pleasure in coming up with as many ridiculous names as they could for our baby – many of which I was sure were already featured somewhere on the Black family tree. Ginny and Hollyn were arguing with them, coming up with much more sensible names – although the disagreed on whether the baby would be a boy or girl. At the other end of the table – the adult's end – Kingsley, Arthur, Remus and Molly were discussing the latest press conference that Fudge had given. He had lied for twenty minutes straight, and honestly I had tuned him out minutes in. Addie was jumping back and forth between the two conversations; I was happy one of us was being an adult, because I was having too much fun adding my own ridiculous names to the mix. I had Fred and George on the ground when I suggested Ophiuchus. It had been a family name – an Uncle several generations ago. I used to stare at his name on the family tapestry when I was younger because I liked the way it looked.
Before long, Molly was ushering the kids back upstairs in preparation for the meeting to start. We expected Dumbledore to arrive any moment; many of the other members had started to filter in towards the end of dinner, signaling that it was time to wrap it up. Addie was chatting with her brother and Ellie who had joined the Order at her request. Ginny and Hollyn typically watched their kids, Max and Louisa while we were in our meetings; they had taken them upstairs already to play dragon and dragon tamer. It was good for Hollyn to get to see her cousins so frequently. Plus, the more experience she got with kids, the more help she would be when the baby came. I wasn't above exploiting my daughter for free babysitting when the time came.
Bill was kissing his mother on the cheek and was carrying a stack of paperwork from our last meeting. He had taken a desk job back in London with Gringotts so that he could join the order. Although he missed Egypt and the tombs, his intern was Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons Triwizard Tournament, and he was helping her with 'her English'. Just like Remus, he hadn't liked it so much when I had pointed out that I knew he was shagging her – and honestly, good for him. She was a real looker; not that I would ever tell Addie that. She was scary, especially since the pregnancy. And I wouldn't put it past her to be jealous of an nineteen year old.
Charlie was in the order too, although he hadn't given up his job in Romania. Dumbledore thought it was a good idea to have him international, trying to get as much foreign support as he could. Luckily most of the dragon tamers he worked with were extremely liberal and had believed him instantly; several of them had pointed Charlie to relatives in England who would be sympathetic to the cause.
The rest of the crew had filtered in at this point, so I took my seat next to Addie in preparation of the meeting. Everyone else followed suit, sitting around the large table and looking expectantly at the door. I put my hand on Addie's thigh under the table, noticing that she was already yawning, although it was barely 8PM.
"You okay, kitten? Tired?" I asked her quietly. She looked over at me, brown eyes shining with exhaustion. She was, even looking as tired as she did, still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. As much as I would joke with Bill about how good-looking Fleur was, I knew that she didn't hold a candle to how beautiful my wife is. At nineteen or at thirty-five, Addie was the most beautiful woman in the room, always. Call me biased, but any woman who would voluntarily have my baby had to be.
"Yeah. This baby is kicking my ass. I'm so tired all the time," she said, wrapping her tiny hand around my bicep and laying her head on my shoulder. "So lame right? We won't be going out to any parties any time soon."
"I don't think we'd be going to any parties any way, Add," I laughed, kissing the top of her head. I took my hand off her thigh and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me. "Put your head down and relax. Close your eyes if you want."
"Mmkay," she said sleepily, letting her eyes flutter shut. Merlin, she was so fucking adorable. I kissed the top of her head again, and squeezed her closer to me. I saw Bill making kissy faces at me from across the table, and I wasted no time in flipping him off. Thankfully, Molly had her back turned making tea for the group and hadn't seen me flip off her first born. I can't imagine the telling off I would have gotten if she had. Arthur, however, had seen it, but he just smiled amusedly and shook his head at me.
Just then, we heard the telltale sound of Dumbledore quietly walking down the stairs.
"Tighten up," Moody ordered, looking around the table sharply, making sure everyone was up to his standards. "Black, wake up!"
Addie waved him off with her hand, not even opening her eyes. Merlin, I love this girl. Moody is scary, even for me – I don't even stand up to him much. But Addie, she does it without even flinching. I married such a badass, I grinned to myself.
Dumbledore entered the kitchen and floated over to his seat at the head of the table. "Good evening, all," he said in an ethereal voice. His entire demeanor was entirely different than it had been when he was screaming at Fudge earlier this evening.
"Let us first discuss old business, and then we will get in to what I am sure you are all anxious to discuss. Updates on our research from last week?" He said, looking to Bill who had been assigned to get information for us.
We spent the next forty-five minutes discussing things that frankly, neither Addie nor I could give a rat's arse about. We wanted to know what was going to happen to our kid – when were we going to get Harry, what was the plan, how soon could we leave? Guarding the Department of Mysteries didn't interest me at this point, especially since I was 100% sure that Dumbledore knew exactly what Voldemort was after, and just wouldn't outright tell us.
Finally, the conversation regarding guard duty wrapped up, and Dumbledore turned his attention to Addie and I. I jostled Addie and she woke up quickly. "Harry?" She whispered to me, and I nodded. She sat up, suddenly looking entirely awake.
"As you all know, Harry was attacked by dementors tonight," Dumbledore said.
"But what were they doing in Little Whinging?" Molly asked suddenly, looking as though she had been unable to help herself from interrupting.
"It is my belief," Dumbledore continued. "That they were sent by someone at the Ministry."
"I bet you it was Fudge himself," Kingsley said in a deep voice. "He is certainly out to get the boy."
"Fudge may be an idiot but he's not stupid," Moody disagreed. "He wouldn't outright set the boy up like that. No…one of his lackies did it. And I doubt he even knows about it."
"Who cares who sent them!" I said. "I want to know when we can get him."
"We need to come up with a solid plan – I'd say at least of week of planning," Moody said, looking to Dumbledore for his input.
"Absolutely not," Addie spoke up. "Sirius and I promised him that we would get him as soon as possible. Grimmauld Place is secure now. He's already been attacked. We get him tomorrow."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Moody growled. "We need to make a plan, and then run through the plan until we know it by heart. We won't be prepared by tomorrow."
"We go to his house, we get him, we come here. There's your sodding plan," Addie shot back angrily.
"With all due respect," Kingsley said, looking at Addie, "we do need a slightly more fleshed out plan than that."
"Fine," she agreed. "But we go tomorrow, or I'm going alone."
"You won't go alone," Molly waved her off.
"I wouldn't underestimate her," I said, raising my eyebrows and looking at Dumbledore. "You guys didn't know her well during the last war, but I can guarantee you she would have been this forceful then too; add in the pregnancy hormones…I'd stay well out of her way, mate." He said, looking between Kingsley and Moody, who were the biggest protestors against going to get Harry tomorrow.
"I agree with Addison," Dumbledore said. "I want Harry here as soon as possible. He'll be safer here, with his friends and family. Alastor, you will lead the mission. Addison, Sirius, I assume you would like to go?"
"Of course," Addison confirmed immediately, answering for the both of us.
"Good. You will apparate early and inform the Dursley's that a group of witches and wizards will be coming to collect Harry. I assume they will elect to leave the house rather than wait around – there is a lovely gardening competition occurring that you can direct them to. Alastor, Kingsley, Nymphadora, Remus, Emmeline and Elphias, you will meet them in the evening. All of you will fly there, collect Harry, and then fly home. Remember, the Ministry may be tracking apparition, so we want to be careful with when we are using that method of transportation," Dumbledore laid out the whole plan. It was a true testament to how much she respected Dumbledore that Tonks didn't correct him for the use of her first name.
Everyone mentioned in the plan agreed immediately, happy to be able to assist in such an important mission. I had my hesitations, mainly with Addie coming with us, but I knew that nothing I, or anyone else, said would deter her in any way. I just had to make sure that as I was paying as much attention to her safety as I was to Harry's.
The meeting ended shortly after, and everyone who didn't live in Grimmauld Place currently went home. Addie and I checked on Hollyn, who had taken up residency in Regulus's old room, before we went to bed. As we laid curled in my childhood bedroom, staring up at the old muggle posters of girls on motorcycles, I let the anxiety that I had been holding all day release. I had to put on a brave face for my girls, but deep inside I was terrified – terrified of losing them, of losing Harry, of losing this war. But I had to keep it together for them and pray that we would all make it through this. I wrapped my arm around Addie and smiled as she curled up against my chest in her sleep. I let my eyes drift slowly shut and felt the familiar pull of sleep take me under.
