Dear Mum and Dad,

Hi. I know I usually write only once a month, but I've found myself in a situation that I need to tell you urgently. It may seem like a prank, but I reassure you it's the truth. I am somehow pregnant.

Remus bit his lip as he read what he'd written so far. This was his third draft of the letter and he just had no idea how to phrase it. How was he supposed to tell his parents without sounding crazy?

It had been a week since he'd found out about the baby, and he still hadn't told Sirius. He'd tried, sure, but every time he'd chickened out. He couldn't help it, he was an anxious, cowardly mess.

While Remus was writing the letter, James and Sirius were playing wizards chess, thinking Remus was just doing homework. With Remus so focused, the two of them decided to discuss the odd things they'd noticed about their friend over the past weeks.

"I'm just really worried about him… Every morning he wakes up and runs to the bathroom. I know we said it was likely because of the full moon, but it's been going on for ages. What if he's seriously ill?"

"I wouldn't be surprised…" James muttered back. "A few weeks ago, I saw him take a bite out a chocolate bar and wretch before running off to the bathrooms. Chocolate made Moony sick! Something's definitely up."

"Not to mention he's been eating a lot of weird shit…"

"And putting on weight…"

"You think we should ask him about it?"

"Well, duh, of course!"

The two of them quickly finished their game of wizard chess - Sirius won - before heading over to sit either side of Remus on the arms of the chair he was sat on.

Remus quickly moved his hands to cover what he'd written as they did so. "Um, guys? Trying to write an an essay here…"

James nodded at Sirius, who nodded back. "Moony… there's something we need to talk abou- "

Sirius was unable to finish as a screech came from the staircase to the boys dorms. Peter appeared, running down and over to the other Marauders, face pale. "B-B… B-b-b…"

"You okay, Wormtail?"

"B-Boggart! In the dorm, a boggart!"

Immediately, all thought of interrogating Remus or of writing strange letters left the minds of the other three. They all drew their wands, heading up their stairs to the dorm. James led the way, opening the door as they reached it. There was a 'CRACK' as he went inside, and stood before him was none other than Lord Voldemort himself.

James just smirked. "Riddikulus!"

Voldemort's head turned into an egg, and the four Marauders erupted into laughter. James turned to Sirius, taking a step back. "You're up, Padfoot."

Sirius stepped forward, and 'CRACK'. The boggart shifted into the form of Walburga Black. She started screaming at Sirius, calling him a blood traitor, drawing her wand at him. Sirius wasn't phased. "Riddikulus!"

The woman suddenly started to shrink and change. Soon, a little cockroach was in her place, which Sirius didn't hesitate to step on.

He stepped back, and Remus was the next up. He took a deep breath, remembering what his boggart was: his friends, dead, after killing them on a full moon. He raised his wand, preparing for the horrifying image…

'CRACK!'

Remus blinked in surprise as cries filled the room. A bassinet was there in front of him, a baby curled up inside. On the other side of the crib, stood Sirius. And Boggart Sirius looked mad.

"I can't believe you did this! You let this happen and then never told me?! We're done! I never want to see you again, you freak! You horrible, disgusting freak!"

Remus was completely caught off guard at his boggart's change. As Boggart Sirius continued to yell, his hand shook, the word 'Riddikulus' on the tip of his tongue, but no ideas of how to make this funny came to mind. Tears welled in his eyes as it hit him that this was what was going to happen. Sirius was going to hate their baby, Sirius was going to hate him.

Boggart Sirius yelled and yelled and yelled. Remus could hardly focus on the words properly, a few phrases sticking out to him. 'Freak' came up a lot. 'Mistake'. 'We're over'. 'Disgusting'.

Then, the situation escalated.

Boggart Sirius drew his wand. He held it over the crib, pointing directly at the baby inside. "Avada-!"

"NO!" Remus' shriek overlapped the second half of the curse. As a green light burst from the wand, arms wrapped around Remus' waist and pulled him back. Real Sirius' arms.

James took Remus' place, and 'CRACK!', Voldemort was back. "Riddikulus!" His head was an egg again. James let out another laugh, before the boggart was destroyed.

There was a pause before James, Sirius and Peter all turned to look at Remus. Their friend was trembling, hugging his stomach, tears pouring down his face. Before the others could say anything, he broke into sobs, turning and going to sit on his bed. He pulled its curtains closed around him and placed charms so they couldn't be opened.

Sirius stepped to go over to him, but James caught his arm, shaking his head. Remus needed some time alone for a bit.

Lily looked around the common room, biting her lip. Where was he…?

She saw James, Sirius and Peter all sat at a table in the corner, exchanging hushed whispers. She made her way over to them. "Hey, do you guys know where Remus is? I need help with my astronomy homework."

"Um… He's in the dorm, but, uh… He needs some time by himself," Sirius replied.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "What's going on? Why hasn't Potter flirted with me yet despite me having been here for longer than ten seconds? Something's up."

"It's Remus."

Lily sighed. "He finally told you, huh?"

"Told us what?"

"Okay, I'll take that as a no…"

"There was a boggart in our dorm," James explained. "Remus' has changed since third year, and it confused and concerned us. It made him break down completely, he burst into tears, and isolated himself in his bed."

"Oh, jeez… What was it?" Lily asked.

"There was a crying baby in a crib for some reason," Peter replied. "And Sirius, and he was yelling a bunch of mean things at Remus. And then he killed the baby."

"Oh… Damn…" Now Lily understood why Remus hadn't told Sirius yet, if he was that scared of the results.

"Yeah," Sirius nodded. "What does it mean? Maybe Hope's pregnant and Remus is getting a baby brother?"

"Doesn't explain why you'd be mad at him," James pointed out.

"Unless he thinks you'll get jealous of Remus spending so much time with his new baby sibling?" Peter suggested.

"Still doesn't explain why I'd call him a 'freak'," Sirius replied.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I admit, I know what this is all about. I probably shouldn't be the one to tell you, so I'll just drop one hint: maybe Hope's not the pregnant one."

There was a long pause. Then Peter spoke up. "Are you pregnant with Remus' kid?"

"WHAT?!" Sirius cried.

"NO! No no no, no way!" Lily quickly replied. "Jesus Christ, no!"

Peter shrugged. "It was just a guess…"

"You don't have to guess anymore."

Everyone turned to the new voice. Remus had come downstairs, making his way over to the table in the corner. He took a deep breath as he did so. "Pads, there's something I need to tell you. I should have told you sooner, and I tried, but I got scared and chickened out at the last minute. But now I guess I have no choice. Believe me when I say this is not a prank. Sirius… I'm pregnant."

A deafening silence followed. Remus debated whether to run back upstairs as he looked at his friends' stunned faces. Then finally, Sirius spoke.

"This isn't a prank?"

"Not a prank."

"Not a joke?"

"Not a joke."

"And it's…?"

"Of course it's yours, you're the only person I've ever dated."

There was another pause. Remus kept his eyes on his shoes, afraid to look Sirius in the eye. After a few seconds, he heard a sob. He looked up to see Sirius had tears welling in his eyes, and a smile on his face.

"We're having a baby?"

Remus nodded. The next thing he knew, he was wrapped in Sirius' embrace, and having kisses pressed all over his face.

"Y-You're not upset?"

"Why would I be? I'm starting a family with the man I love; that's not bad, that's wonderful!"

Now it was Remus' turn to become teary eyed. He threw his arms around Sirius' neck holding him close, smiling.

"I love you so so much…"

"I love you too, Moony." Sirius pulled away a little, placing a hand on Remus' stomach. "You and our little pup."

Remus chuckled at the nickname before he and Sirius shared a kiss.

And then James called out. "Is no one else wondering how the fuck this works?!"