~*T*~.

"Um," Myrtle's Victoria looked terribly nervous.

"Um," she said again.

"Yes?" Taylor asked, not unkindly.

"I'm sorry!"

"What for?"

"I betrayed, I was the secret keeper, I told you where your parents were hiding, I cut off my finger when Sirius found me, they threw him in Azkaban, and I," she broke off, "He kinda was my friend, and he didn't do anything, and they haven't let him out."

"Huh," Taylor gathered Victoria's hands in her own, "Amy grew your finger back?"

"Yeah, it was this one," Victoria held it out and touched it with her other hand.

"What are we going to do about that?" Taylor asked, "We can't turn you in, you're Myrtle's, and I doubt Amy could get you all the way back to the way you were before, anyway."

"Blame Crouch?"

"You're brilliant!" Taylor said, and gave the woman a hug.

"Thank you," she hugged back, blinking, eyes shining.

~*i*~

Barty Crouch: No Trial for Black!

By Rita Skeeter

Lisa dropped the paper, leaned over it, and gave Taylor a kiss.

Since this was in no way a rare occurrence, the only one to complain was baby Malfoy, "People are trying to eat, Potter!"

Taylor gave him the reversed V for Victory. A scattering of laughter and applause greeted the gesture.

~*i*~

"Mmm," the voice woke her as much as, or more than, the hand that rubbed her tummy, slid under, "Taylor," the soft hips that rolled against her butt.

"Lisa, wake up!" Taylor said firmly, rolled. Lisa's hand pulled out of her pants.

Lisa's sleeping face crumpled, and she cuddled closer, "Taylor," she almost whined.

Taylor grabbed her shoulder, gave her a little shake.

"What?" Lisa blinked sleepy blue eyes.

"Molesting me in your sleep again?" Taylor said, lightly teasing.

~*i*~

"That tickles," Amy complained.

The paranoid, in its bones, climbed mostly out of her shirt, and explained in ASL, "I need to practice getting my bones on, it shouldn't take more than ten seconds to unhook them all and get them on, but last time I was still getting dressed when you decided it was safe."

"Well, then lets make your drills part of our morning exercises, how's that?"

The paranoid nods, this set of bones had a neck, "sounds good."

~*i*~

"So I could have a baby?" Victoria paused, "Well, I know that in theory I could have a baby before you changed me, but," she went silent, "Yeah. Anyway. This is permanent? Totally safe for growing babies?"

"Permanent unless you have me change it. As safe as it gets for having babies."

Victoria wrapped Amy in a big hug, "Thank you!" and she bounced out. Jiggled out. Whatever.

~*i*~

A large black dog bounded into the great hall at breakfast, then made a beeline to where Taylor and her wives were sitting.

When he tried to lick Taylor, she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and pulled him back, "No. I don't like dogs, but I will put up with them if they behave."

The dog cocked his head and gave an inquisitive whine.

"No licking. Feet on the floor. Don't smell like a dog."

The dog ducked his head and implored her with his eyes.

"No, you don't need perfume, just a bath at reasonable intervals."

The dog huffed out a sigh, and shifted smoothly into a tall black-haired man with a cultivated scruffle of beard on his chin, "With that many rules I might as well be a human," he pouted.

"How are you doing, Sirius Black?" Lisa asked him.

"Much better, now that I'm out of Azkaban again."

"Able was I, ere I saw Elba," Amy quoted the palindrome.

"Napoleon, wasn't that?" Sirius asked.

"Supposedly," Amy nodded.

"How are ya, Harry?" Sirius asked, a bit sing-song.

"How are ya, Sue?" Taylor asked back, the same way.

Sirius broke down laughing, then sat on the bench next to Taylor. Taylor wrapped an arm around him as his laughter turned to sobbing.

~*i*~

This time, when they climbed through the portrait-hole, no one yelled "Happy Birthday" until after they'd seen the banner and cake.

"I'll take our projects upstairs," Taylor said.

Lisa nodded. She and Amy handed Taylor their bags, and she hauled them off.

"Wait for her to get back," she said, when the rest of the kids looked like they'd be bursting into song.

Taylor clattered back down the stairs, and they celebrated Luna Lovegood's eleventh birthday together.

Sirius howled along as Lisa sang, "Don't play that song, that achey-breakey song, I just might blow up my radio . . ."

Taylor whispered in his ear, "If you don't stop I'm going to kick you, dog abuse or not."

Sirius turned back into a human, and . . . danced . . . maybe . . . until the end of the song.

"I've paid my dues, Time after time . . . " Sirius started singing. Lisa starts to accompany him on the guitar after a bit.

By the second chorus the entire common room is mauling the harmony, "We are the champions, We are the Champions, no time for losers, 'cause we are the Champions of the World . . ."

"Do my knee bends, press ups, touch my toes. Look in the mirror at my pigeon chest, have to put on my clothes 'cause it made me depressed." Lisa shifts to the Kinks after a couple more Queen songs.

Lisa somehow played the opening bells of the song on her guitar, then shifted to the electrified crunch, "When I was small I believed in Santa Claus, though I knew it was my dad . . . "

Taylors eyes got shiny, and she blinked as Lisa got to "Father Christmas, give us your money."

Tears are dripping down Sirius's cheek, and his lips tremble at "Give my father a job 'cause he needs one," and he breaks into sobs at the second, "Give all your toys to the little rich boys."

Taylor climbs in his lap and pulls his head against her shoulder.

~*c*~

I have no idea where 12 Oct came from, but that's Luna's birthday for this story. Luna's WoG birthday is now 13 Feb . . .

~*i*~

Lisa woke, sobbing, and clutched Amy tight, cuddled against her back.

"Hey," Taylor reached over Amy, and was drawn into Lisa, squashing Amy a moment until she could turn over and arrange the smaller girls in her arms.

"There there," she said, petting Lisa's hair.

Taylor nodded against Lisa's shoulder.

~*T*~

13 August 2018 Note: Back from Annual Training. 156 105mm howitzer rounds on Ft. Irwin, convoy ops and dry fire on Camp Roberts. Hot, sweaty, smelly, but fun.

Another pause, while the Author goes back, fleshes out earlier chapters, and rearranges some things to better show the passage of time.

Notes added to the first two chapters, and 3 & 4 expanded and reposted 14 August 2018.

5 & 6 updated & reposted 16 August

7 & 8 updated, reposted 17 August

9 & 10 updated, reposted 19 August

11 & 12 updated, reposted 27 August

13 & 14 updated, reposted 2 Sept

12 November 2018 Note: Today's songs are "We are the Champions" by Queen, "(Wish I could fly like) Superman" and "Father Christmas" by The Kinks.