Author's Note:

I really wanted to give them some bonding time and I thought: What if she was there for him when Sirius couldn't be? Let me know what you think. I've also really been wanting to add this in since Tonks told Remus that she wanted to be there for all of him.

Reviews and Comments: To Wolf's scream: I agree, Snape having a serious conversation with Luna would be highly entertaining to witness. Ah, puberty and yes, poor Harry is going through it. Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you! To Steelcode: Yes, a new argument between Harry and Sirius. Thanks for loving the Firebolt scene and McGonagall's new pet! To darkhk: Thank you for saying it was the perfect end to your Christmas! To AntarticInferno: Thank you! To storp930: I love Luna too! I just find her character difficult to write well. As to Nyx, she is more or less McGonagall's familiar and will be closer to her as she grows. Yes, the map will be modified as Harry discovers more about the castle than the Marauders did. Yes, Harry was being a little brat but he's becoming a teenager which means he acts out irrationally. Ah, to be controlled by our hormones. Thank you! To MMMARGEAU: Yes! I loved writing Luna being so entertaining in Snape's class! He did get it the proper way, with a family to enjoy it with, and a chance to get to try it out! Sirius would look sexy in anything so yes, grey hairs would not deter his sexiness (despite his worry). Thank you!

To Ana: Thank you for loving my normal family stuff chapter! I thought it was a cute idea for Sirius and Harry to get McGonagall her own little kitten. Yes, Remus is worried about his transformation and will Harry listen and stay home? Stay tuned to find out! To Lost: Happy to see you kept reading! And yes, harry is a teenager and I plan to portray him as such. Thanks for loving my million points of view because a lot more are coming! Thank you! Thanks for leaving a second review and we will see more of Harry as a teenager and more Harry and Sirius moments, yes. Thank you! To coloredwords: Sirius is going to lose his mind when he finds that first grey hair! They will make up, no worries. Thank you! To alix33: Luna wouldn't consider it courageous, it's just her. Thank you!

Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!

Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE:

The One Where Harry Throws A Tantrum

"Harry, I have to get going," Sirius called up the stairs three hours later. Harry had stubbornly stayed upstairs in his room that afternoon after their argument.

Harry reluctantly came to stand at the top of the stairs, crossing his arms in front of his chest defiantly. "Tonks gets to be there this time, why can't I?"

"We've already talked about this, Prongslet. Uncle Remus is nervous enough for that fact, so you will stay here and stay out of trouble. Kreacher will pop in around ten to check up on you."

"You're sending a bloody house elf to check up on me?"

"Hey, I've ceded having an actual babysitter here with you so, yes, I am sending a bloody house elf to check up on you!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "But the potion makes —"

" — Prongslet, we already talked about this. You are to stay here with Kreacher. Understood?"

Harry sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest again. "I don't need a house elf to babysit me!"

Sirius only stared at him. "Tough. Kreacher will just be around to keep the house safe. And I already told him that if you go to Uncle Remus' he will bring you right back here." Harry's eyes flashed in annoyance at that. "Harry, there's still leftover soup in the fridge from last night if you get hungry. Finish up your homework. I'll be back just after dawn. This conversation is over."

Harry watched Sirius step into the fireplace to head to Remus' cottage and he huffed in annoyance. It wasn't fair that he was sending Kreacher to check up on him. He always went to Remus' and stayed the nights on the full moon; he liked to be there, knowing that Sirius was helping Remus stay calm and deal with the horror that he was undergoing. He knew that staying in his bedroom or the living room didn't help much, but he felt like he was doing something; he felt like he was helping Remus by being there in the house. He was there in the morning and he helped make breakfast and he'd help Remus bandage up any cuts he had received during the night.

It was stupid to be upset, but he wanted to be there. He knew that the first time Tonks experienced Remus' transformation was going to be hard on her. He could help her deal with that.

He kicked the wall stubbornly, but that did nothing but make his foot hurt so he headed downstairs into the kitchen to heat up the potato soup from the night before. He was eating in the kitchen by himself when the front door opened.

"Hello? Sirius? Harry?"

Harry jumped to his feet and hurried out of the kitchen. "Hi, Zee!"

Zee smiled brightly at him. "Hi! How was your Christmas?"

"Good," he said with a grin. "Did you just get back?"

"Literally," she said with a laugh. "I put my luggage in my cottage and came over." She took off her boots and followed him into the kitchen where he was eating his soup. "Dinner?"

He nodded. "Leftovers. Uncle Siri's not here."

"Oh," she said in surprise as he finished his soup and put the dishes in the sink.

She stood up as he started to wash the dishes.

"Here, let me help you with those."

Harry shrugged. "It's okay. The rule is whoever cooks doesn't have to clean, but I just heated up the one bowl."

"Sounds like a pretty great rule."

He nodded as he filled the sink up with soapy water. "Uncle Siri says that he regrets letting you teach me how to cook because I've somehow mastered the art of using every dish and pan that we have in one sitting. He really hates doing dishes."

Zee chuckled and grabbed the dish towel to dry. "I know, he's rather adorable when he complains about it, but he always does them anyway. How was your Christmas?"

"Brilliant," he said with a smile, turning to hug her. "Thanks for my new broom! It's incredible!"

She smiled and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "You're welcome. Sirius picked it out, obviously, but I wanted to chip in. You are an incredible flier and you deserve something amazing to work with. I can't wait to see you at your next match."

He beamed at her. They worked in companionable silence for a bit and Zee carefully put the rest of the soup in the ice box for leftovers. She dried her hands and smiled. "Well, I guess that I should get back home then. I came straight over here, didn't even unpack."

Harry shrugged, his hands going into his pockets in a very Sirius gesture that made her smile. "You don't have to go, I mean, if you don't want to. You could stay for a bit."

"I'd like that," she told him, honestly. "I'm still a little wired from the portkey actually."

"We redecorated my treehouse yesterday, want to see?"

"I'd love too," she said as they both dressed warmly and she followed Harry out to the back and up to the treehouse.

She had only been inside the treehouse once when Sirius had shown it to her. They'd shared a passionate snog by the pirate's wheel, she remembered. Now the fairy lights inside lit up almost a brand new room. The hammock had been replaced with a red and gold one, red and gold pillows inside of it. A large Gryffindor banner covered one wall followed by posters of the players from Pride of Portree. There were now quite a few posters of broomsticks as well and Zee noticed a few posters of females modelling the new brooms as well as some pin-up girls including the muggle classics like Betty Gable and Marilyn Monroe as well as another Muggle one of a woman holding a drill in overalls and nothing else and the recent Miss PlayWizard in a red bikini lying on a magic carpet. Quidditch statistics hung next to the poster of the Muggle woman in overalls and the male players from the Pride of Portree poster kept making kissing faces at the poster of Lexie Longhorn, Pride of Portree's newest Chaser and voted Wizard Weekly's Sexiest Woman Alive.

"I see your taste is turning into your father's a bit."

Harry blushed. "Uncle Sirius gave them to me for Christmas. Except the one of… Lexie Longhorn, I er, I found that one on my own."

Zee smirked at him. "I used to have a huge poster of Angus Young in my room. I had the biggest crush on him. My cousin Mikhail, the one who is the artist, used to tease me for making kissing faces at him and don't even get me started on my love of David Bowie and Stubby Boardman."

Harry grinned at her. "We also did this." He said, showing her the chalkboard wall. "Uncle Sirius says that I can use it to record my thoughts or something, but I think it's fun." He pointed to the wall on the cork-board in the corner. "And here we hung up our pictures from our road trip."

Zee laughed as she looked at the thirty odd pictures hanging haphazardly across the board of Sirius and Harry making stupid faces in front of national landmarks. They looked like they were having an amazing time.

"Sirius told me how great that trip was. You both look like you're having a good time in the photos."

"It was the best," he told her with a smile. "You should have seen Auntie Minnie's face when Uncle Sirius gave her the picture board and she saw us making all of these faces at her. She said that she put it up in her kitchen."

Zee grinned. "It looks great in here. Much more like a man's cave instead of the playhouse of a boy." She smiled at the photos of Harry and Remus, and Harry and his friends, and of Marauder scattered around the walls as well.

Harry shrugged. "I like it."

He led her back out of the treehouse and back into the house, plopping down onto the couch, petting Marauder who rested his head into Harry's lap looking for attention. Zee smiled and took a seat in the armchair.

"So, where is Sirius tonight?"

Harry shrugged. "He had to go to Uncle Rem's for the night."

Zee's eyebrow rose. "And he left you alone?"

Harry glowered at her. "I'm thirteen. I don't need a babysitter! Besides, Uncle Padfoot has every ward imaginable on this place and it's only for a few hours! Plus, he said he's sending Kreacher over to check up on me at some point. I don't know what he's so worried about."

She nodded. "I didn't mean that you aren't old enough to be on your own only that Sirius is a tad overprotective and I'm surprised that he left you alone, but if he has Kreacher checking up on you, that makes more sense."

Harry shrugged, his fingers running through Marauder's fur in contentment. "I told him that I would be fine, but he wouldn't listen to me. He said that I'm not old enough even though I am." He rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance. "What did you do in Russia?"

Zee smiled at his annoyance and she sympathized with him. She knew that Sirius often was a bit overprotective over his son, but she also agreed with her boyfriend, thirteen was much too young to be left home alone all night. Telling Harry that however was bound to only make him angrier so she voted on keeping that quiet. Having Kreacher pop by later on was probably a wise choice. The elf would make himself scarce while still keeping a close eye on Harry.

"Well, I celebrated Christmas with my family; technically they don't celebrate until the first week of January where we celebrate something called 'Little Christmas,' but this was when my holiday time was so that's when I home to celebrate with them. My father's family lives in St Petersburg and we always have a big Christmas dinner with lots of food and drink and we talk late into the night and sometimes we play Poker. Baba always wins. She's sneaky."

He smiled. "I've never had grandparents before."

"My mum died when I was young and when my dad remarried, I was lucky enough to gain another set of grandparents. I have more grandparents than I know what to do with. I love them to pieces though and I know that they love me too. Though my one grandfather thinks that my job is too dangerous for a woman."

"Why?"

She smiled. "He's old fashioned. He thinks women should be at home, married, barefoot, and pregnant. But then when I do something admirable he always smiles and says, I'm his adventure girl."

"Uncle Sirius says that one day I'll get to meet your family. Will I?"

Zee's eyes lit up. "Well, my parents live in Russia most of the year as my father works out there, but they usually come and stay in Scotland for a month or two in April and May. If you want, you can meet them then."

"I'd like that," Harry told her. "You make Uncle Sirius really happy."

"He makes me really happy, too, and I'm really happy that you don't seem to mind me hanging around so much."

Harry shrugged. "You're nice and you cook really good food."

Zee laughed. "Through the stomach my grandma always said."

Harry wasn't sure what she meant by that so he only shrugged. "I think I'm going to finish up my homework now. I still have two essays to finish before I go back to school and Uncle Sirius told me that I had to do my homework while he was gone."

Zee nodded, standing up. "Of course." She grabbed her coat and slipped it on, hesitating on her way to the door before she shook her head as if deciding something and she turned to smile at him as she put on her boots. "Harry, why don't I head home and unpack and you can work on your homework, but then I'll come back in about two hours and we can watch some movies together? I've been craving a good Back to the Future marathon and I'd love to have someone to watch it with?"

Harry beamed at her. "All right, that sounds brilliant!"

"Good. I'll be back around eight. Good luck on those essays in the meantime."

He grinned as she took off. The movie marathon sounded way better than his homework he thought as he bitterly opened his History of Magic textbook in the meantime.

~ ASC ~

Tonks was staring at Remus while he drank the potion, her eyes on Sirius who was drumming his fingers on his friend's kitchen table that evening.

"I don't want you here, Dora," Remus said for the umpteenth time that day.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "I don't care. We've talked about this until you've been blue in the face. You asked me to move in with you, Remus, and this is a part of you. I want to be here. I need to be here."

Remus shook his head as he unbuttoned his shirt and draped it over the back of the kitchen chair. "Sirius, make her leave. Now." He turned and headed down the stairs into the cellar.

Sirius gave her an apologetic look. "He's stubborn, you already know this."

"I want to be here with him when he transforms, I want to help him."

"You can't really do much, Tonks. I'm here and as a dog, in my animal form, I can comfort him. The potion helps a lot, it keeps him calm, it keeps him as himself to a great extent as he is more aware of everything, but he's still the wolf and he's still very dangerous."

"Harry has been here," she insisted bitterly.

"And Moony reamed me out for that, don't you worry. But he protected Harry, like his pup and he… the potion keeps him safe, but he is still the wolf; still has his claws and his teeth and if anyone angers him he will strike out," Sirius told her. "He is still a werewolf, Tonks. He lets Harry stay now, but never in the cellar. The rule is that Harry sleeps in the guest room while he and I are locked in the cellar. I already had it out with Harry tonight over not coming, please don't start with me too."

Tonks sighed. "I want him to know that I love all of him, Sirius, even the part of him that he still considers a monster. I'm not staying in our bedroom and hiding from him."

Sirius sighed. "A stunning spell will slow him down, but not much. Stay by the door, get your look, and then get the hell out and lock the cellar door behind you."

Tonks only nodded and followed Sirius down the stairs into the cellar. She watched as Sirius transformed into a dog and Remus sat completely naked on the floor, his long legs stretched out in front of him as he leaned his back against the wall, his eyes closed. The walls around him were stone and she winced at the scratch marks that aligned the walls; chunks of wood were missing from the chair and the small cot in the corner was torn apart. It broke her heart to see him in such a terrible place. The moment she stepped into the room, she had felt his heartbeat speed up. He knew she was there, but he refused to open his eyes and look at her.

She sat down on the bottom step, folding her hands in her lap and fighting the urge to go lay with her mate, to hold him in her arms. He sat naked on the stone floor, eyes stubbornly closed, arms crossed in front of his chest. The change seemed to come swiftly and the whimper Remus made shot a dagger straight through her heart. He sounded like a wounded animal and the increase in his heartbeat against her breast hurt her now that she could physically see why his heartbeat had increased — he was in pain. She watched as Sirius trudged over and Remus' arm went out, hugging the dog to his side.

His body seemed to split; hair sprung up on his legs and arms, across his chest and back in a dark gold, glinting silver in parts. She could hear the sounds of his bones breaking and she bit her tongue to stop herself from calling out to him as his body shifted, it changed into that of the wolf. His face elongated, those sharp teeth shone from his mouth and his long tongue slipped outside of his snout. He fell to his knees, his hands and feet changing into massive paws and his body shifting to the large canine form. She watched as he sniffed the air and then those golden eyes, the ones that she loved to lose herself in, turned on her, and they glinted.

Tonks swallowed. He was dangerous in this form, she knew that, but she was too scared to move as he prowled towards her. Every move he made was predatory, determined and she could feel the steady heartbeat between her breasts beating slowly and rapidly at the same time — and she suddenly knew without a doubt that he wouldn't hurt her. She held her hand out cautiously as Sirius growled at her, warning her to step back.

"It's me, Remus, it's me, baby. It's your mate," she whispered, softly.

At the word 'mate,' his eyes darkened and he moved closer to her.

His snout pressed against her hand and she held her breath as his hot breath moved over her skin, sniffing her. He pushed forward, the wolf pushing at her chest, whimpering as he kneaded at her breasts as if desperate for something. Tonks carefully slid her hands down and unbuttoned her shirt, spreading it open over her heart. She didn't care that Sirius was in the room, she didn't care that she wore nothing under the blouse. Her gaze was locked on the golden eyes of her mate, who's eyes left hers to find the scar under her breast from where he had marked her. The wolf stared at the mark and his tongue licked it and then he howled, loud and long, before he placed his head in her lap and closed his eyes.

Tonks' heart was beating quickly in her chest as she carefully placed a hand on the head of the wolf, her fingers in the soft fur, the mark on her breast tingling from his touch. She pet him and he seemed to sigh in contentment. She kept her hand on his head, petting the wolf until the dawn.

~ ASC ~

Harry had finished one essay and most of the second by the time Zee came back with the three Back to the Future movies. She let Harry set them up in the living room, laughing as he told her about how Sirius had set up this new surround sound system the day after Christmas and had been using it to blast vinyl throughout the whole house. It had taken him almost four hours to connect it, putting speakers in every corner of the living room and then blaring the music as soon as Remus had fallen asleep on the couch. He told her how Remus had jolted awake so quickly that he had fallen off the sofa and Sirius had laughed himself silly.

She made them popcorn and poured them each a large fizzy drink before they sat on the sofa, Marauder lying both between them and half on them, and they watched the movies. Zee commented on how nice the surround sound was and that Sirius had done a good job, even if it had taken him a ridiculously long time to set it all up. Harry laughed at Doc and they spoke about the wicked car. By the time the third movie ended, Harry had fallen asleep on the couch.

Zee smiled at him and reached over to gently tug his glasses off, putting them on the table. She wrapped him up in the thick blanket and gently brushed his hair out of his eyes. He looked so sweet and young when he was sleeping and not the gangly teenager that he had become.

She put the movies away and headed into the kitchen, glancing up at the clock. It was already after one in the morning. She knew that Harry was all right to be alone, but she felt strange leaving him with only an elf. She nodded at Kreacher who had appeared a few hours earlier and was cleaning up the kitchen. She smiled at the house elf.

"I know Sirius asked you to come, Kreacher, but you can go now. I've got it from here."

"Master Sirius says Kreacher must stay with the young Master until he returns."

"I will stay with Harry, Kreacher."

Kreacher stared at her for a long moment. "You are Master Sirius' lady. Kreacher will do as you say."

And he snapped his fingers and vanished into the air.

She headed outside and whistled loudly for Lady Godiva and within a few moments, her panther pranced across the lawn and into the house.

She pet her gently, rubbing her between her ears and smiled. "We're going to stay here tonight, Lady G," she whispered. "We don't want to leave our boy alone, do we?"

Lady Godiva glanced at Marauder who was snuggled up to Harry and she merely looked back at Zee and then carefully lay herself next to the sofa in front of Harry as if she was guarding him. Zee smiled and made her way upstairs. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, slipping into one of Sirius' jumpers and a pair of his sweats, rolling them up at the ankles. She grabbed the duvet from his bed, then the duvet from Harry's and made her way back down the stairs. She wrapped Harry up in the duvet from his bed, putting the other blanket back across the back of the sofa.

She turned out all of the lights, made sure the doors were locked and then she curled up in the big armchair, the duvet from Sirius' bed wrapped around her, and she ducked down for the night.

The distress sounds that woke her less than an hour later had her heart jumping into her throat. She turned automatically, reaching for Sirius in an attempt to comfort him before she realized where she was and that it wasn't Sirius making the sounds. She jumped from the chair to where Marauder was head-butting Harry in an attempt to wake him and Lady Godiva had placed her paws on the couch to check on him as well as he groaned in his sleep.

"No, no, please, not Ginny… no!"

"Shh," Zee said, moving to sit on the couch next to him and pushing Marauder out of the way. "Shh, Ginny's safe, darling, she's safe. You saved her. It's all over. You are both safe now." She pulled him into her arms, burying his face in her shoulder, crooning words of comfort to him.

Harry's breath hitched and the tears came and he clung to Zee tightly as he sobbed. She continued to murmur words of comfort to him, her fingers running through his hair as she held him. When he finally managed to compose himself, he pulled away from her.

"I'm-I'm sorry."

Zee smiled and gently ran a finger down the side of his cheek. "Never be sorry, darling, nightmares happen to the very best of us."

He glanced around, realizing that he was still in the living room. "Did you… did you stay?"

She smiled, still running her fingers through his hair. "You fell asleep about halfway through the third movie. I know you don't need a babysitter, Harry, but I didn't want you to be here all alone anyway."

Harry nodded and wiped furiously at his eyes, grabbing his glasses from the table and standing up. "Sometimes… sometimes the nightmares are more real than… I'm sorry to have woken you. You can head home now. I don't need you to stay with me."

"You're just like him." At Harry's raised brow, she smiled. "You're just like your father. He does the same thing, tries to push me off when he has a nightmare. There's nothing to be ashamed about. I'm only here to comfort you if you wish it. Nothing more."

Harry stared at her for a moment and then nodded. "I don't like to make people worry. I'm not ashamed of my nightmare."

She nodded as Lady Godiva settled herself back on the ground and Marauder lay next to her, both of them with their eyes on Harry. "I know that I'm a poor replacement for Sirius and Remus, but if you need to talk, I was in that Chamber last month, I have some idea of what happened down there."

Harry sat on the coffee table, holding his head in his hands. "Sometimes… sometimes I just dream about… when I find Ginny, she's already dead and I'm too late… and Voldemort comes back and… the prophecy and… I'm always too late and everyone is… dead… and it's my fault."

Zee reached a hand out to him and he let her pull him forward into her arms again, cradling him against her like a child. She ran her fingers through his hair and pressed a kiss to his temple. "You saved her. You are a bonafide hero, Harry Potter."

Harry's hands fisted in the back of the large jumper she wore that smelt like Sirius but still smelt like Zee too, and the combination made him feel oddly safe and loved.

Zee kissed his cheek. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I'd like to watch the end of that movie. What do you say?"

He grinned cheekily at her. "Is there anymore popcorn?"

Zee ruffled his hair, kissing his cheek before she jumped to her feet. "I'm sure we can scrounge some up!"

She was halfway to the kitchen when he called her name and she turned to smile at him.

"Zee, thanks for staying with me tonight."

Zee smiled brightly at him, her heart bubbling with happiness. "It was my pleasure, Harry."

~ ASC ~

As the sun came up the next morning, the wolf's body began to change back. Tonks could hear the snapping of the bones again and she winced, her hand still on his head, cupping the chin of the wolf as it changed into her mate kneeling before her. She ran her thumb over the rough stubble on his chin and bent her head to kiss him softly.

Remus opened his eyes when her lips touched his and he sighed into her. "Nymphadora," he whispered.

Sirius smiled when he changed back into himself. "Well, I'll leave you two to talk then." He trudged up the stairs, closing the door to the cellar behind him.

Remus seemed to come back to himself and he jolted, wincing at the pain that shot up the back of his legs as he moved to stand. "You shouldn't have stayed."

Tonks stood up, her own muscles stiff from sitting on the stairs and holding the wolf all night as she followed him across the cellar and pulled his trousers from his hands. "You knew me. I comforted you."

Remus' golden eyes stared at her, his eyes moving down to where her blouse was open. "What else did I do?"

She smiled and traced the mark on her breast with her finger. "You wanted to see the mark. I showed it to you and the wolf… touched it and you calmed right down. You slept in my arms, Remus."

At the words 'see the mark,' Remus felt himself growing hard. His eyes on the bite mark on her breast and he found the urge to mate with her was stronger than ever.

Tonks simply smirked at him. "I think the wolf wants me now, doesn't he, Rem?" She asked seductively, pushing him back against the wall and fondling him. "You want to claim me; you want me to make you mine?" She bit down on his neck slightly and he groaned. She smiled at him, licking her lips and stepped out of her jeans and knickers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "Lift me."

He did and she took him inside of her, both of them groaning as he entered her. She held onto his shoulders, one hand holding the wall, and she rode him slow and steady, her eyes never leaving his as they both went over the edge, sighing in pleasure.

Remus tugged her down to the ground with him, covering her face in kisses. "I love you."

Tonks kissed him deeply and grinned mischievously as she reached up to touch the shackles on the wall. "Maybe next time we can use these."

Remus blushed deeply and she laughed, oddly touched by his utter embarrassment.

"Remus?"

"Hmm," he asked, nuzzling her neck in contentment as he burrowed closer, burying himself deeper inside of her as she sighed in pleasure.

"If that offer is still open, I'd love to move in with you."

Remus smiled down at her, his golden eyes staring at her with such intensity as his heartbeat pulsed between her breasts. He bent his head and his tongue trailed along the underside of her breast, along the mark, and he kissed it gently. "I love you, Nymphadora."

"I love you more," she whispered as he brought her over the edge once more and she held on, desperate to touch him and to keep him close, where he always belonged.

~ ASC ~

Sirius rubbed his tired eyes as he unlocked the front door to Black Cottage and let himself inside. He stifled a yawn, smiling when Marauder came over to greet him, rubbing the dog behind the ears. "Good boy," he whispered, "Did you keep Prongslet company all night?"

Marauder burrowed closer to him, eager for affection and Sirius pat him gingerly on the head, kicking off his shoes as he called Kreacher to him.

"How was he?"

"Kreacher did not stay. Master Sirius' lady said she would stay."

"What?" Sirius asked in surprise as his gaze zeroed in on Zee, stretched out across the armchair, his duvet burrowed around her, her mess of dark curls hanging over the back of the chair. "Go back to Grimmauld Place, Kreacher, thank you."

The elf vanished and he smiled at the image of 'his lady' curled up and walked over to her, bending his head to kiss her forehead and then he realized that Harry was stretched out across the sofa, glasses on the table next to an empty bowl of popcorn kernels with Lady Godiva sleeping in front of the couch as if keeping watch.

Sirius stared at the two of them, his heart quite literally swamped with love. He tenderly brushed Harry's hair out of his eyes and kissed his forehead. He stood up, pulled his jumper over his head and tugged his tee shirt down in its attempts to ride up and then he lifted his son's legs to plop himself onto the couch, putting Harry's legs on his lap. He pulled the duvet close to him and punched one of the throw pillows into position next to his head and was asleep in minutes.

Harry shifted uncomfortably when he felt Marauder jump back up onto him, "Off Marauder," he said, sleepily, pushing the dog, he rolled over a bit, shifting and found his face buried in the sofa cushions. He let out a grunt and sat up, blinking owlishly. He recognized the blurry image of Sirius on the other end of the couch, felt comforted by it and he tugged the duvet to his chin, shifting slightly before he went back to sleep, dog curled at his back.

Sirius woke up less than three hours later to the smell of bacon. He rubbed a hand over his face, grinning at the sight of boy and dog snuggled on the sofa. He carefully extricated himself from the couch, wrapped Harry up a bit tighter and bent to kiss him. He was so innocent and young looking when he was asleep and his heart ached for the little boy that used to want to sit on his lap and ask for slooches. He kissed him again, because Harry was asleep and he could, and then he snapped his fingers at Marauder who jumped down, shaking his fur, and followed Sirius into the kitchen. Lady Godiva was still stretched out next to the couch as if keeping watch. He let Marauder outside and then grinned at the image of Zee at the counter frying up bacon and sausage and scrambling eggs in his sweatpants rolled at the ankles and his favourite worn jumper.

He slipped his arms around her waist, kissing her ear and her neck. "How do you look so fucking incredible all of the time?"

She laughed and tilted her head to the side so that he could kiss her neck some more. "With flattery like that, I'll give you all the extra bacon you want."

He smirked and blew a raspberry on her neck and she laughed. "When did you get back?"

"Last night. I came straight over."

"You stayed the whole night with him?"

Zee shrugged, smiling as he held her in his arms, swaying gently too and fro while she continued to fry the meat and scramble the eggs. "Harry and I had a movie marathon and he did some of his homework. I didn't really feel like being alone and since you had run off all mysterious like, I thought we could keep each other company."

"Sometimes my wife needs attention, Zee and my kids… I mean, I'm a wanted man."

She snorted and elbowed him. "I already know Remus is your wife, you prat."

Sirius grinned and kissed her ear. "Thank you. You didn't have to stay with him last night, but… thank you. I didn't really want to leave him alone, but I'm trying this whole 'he's not a little boy anymore so I should trust him just a bit' parenting attitude."

"And how's that working out for you?"

Sirius blew his hair out of his eyes and grinned, his arms still wrapped tightly around her waist. "Well, I don't have him wrapped in a bubble yet so bully for me. I mean, this school year has been pretty easy going for him, outside of the Dementors, but with these Horcruxes and trying to figure out what the next step is, I just… sometimes I want to just hold him in my arms and never let go."

Zee carefully put the scrambled eggs onto three plates along with the bacon and sausage before she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes and kissed him deeply.

"You are a wonderful father, Sirius Black and Harry is very lucky to have someone as amazing as you loving him. But you do have to let him grow up. Even when it's scary and terrifying and the thought makes you want to throw up at not being able to protect him all of the time, you still have to do it. But, he's thirteen, not quite a boy, but not quite a man, and right now, you can still hold him close, but you have to learn to let go as well."

Sirius kissed her, his hands sliding up her back to play with her messy curls, his lips on hers, his tongue meeting hers. He pushed her back up against the counter, lifting her hips to hold her up as he kissed her, hard and soft, long and deep as she sighed against him happily.

"Can you two at least snog in a room where the bacon isn't?" Harry said, snatching the plate from behind the snogging couple with a grin. "I'd like to keep my appetite, thanks."

Sirius smirked and cuffed Harry lightly across the head making his son grin. "Brat."

Harry munched on the bacon and grinned at Zee. "Thanks for breakfast." He moved to the table to sit down and eat and Sirius and Zee followed him to do the same, plates in hand. Once they were both seated, Harry looked at Sirius. "How's Uncle Rem?"

Sirius shrugged. "He's good. He had an interesting night to say the least." At Harry's raised brow, he sighed. "He slept in Tonks' arms."

"Wow, really?"

Sirius nodded. "I can't imagine he's going to take it well this morning, but we'll see."

Zee only watched the two of them. "Does Remus not normally sleep in Tonks' arms? I'm very confused here."

Sirius sighed. "It's not my secret to share, Zahira."

She nodded and stabbed her eggs. "If you mean the fact that he's a werewolf, I've known that for ages."

Harry grinned. "She's smarter than she lets on."

"I am a Magizoologist," she said with a smile. "And while werewolves are not magical creatures per se, I did notice the signs, not to mention the fact that my very attractive boyfriend tends to take three nights a month around the full moon to hang out with Remus. Once I found out about the Animagus thing, it all clicked into place."

"Yes, well, he takes the Wolfsbane Potion, the Potions Professor at Hogwarts brews it for him, and it keeps him calm, tame almost as if he can be himself mostly, but still he's the wolf. Tonks insisted on staying with him. She wanted to see him as the wolf because she says that as much as he denies it, he is the wolf too, and he was furious at the idea, but he has a hard time saying no to her," Sirius explained as he ate. "So, she stayed. I warned her to stay back but he went to her and he just put his head in her lap and he slept all night. I've spent almost every full moon with Rem since he was fourteen and I have never seen him sleep through a full moon until last night."

"He was comfortable with her, she's his safe zone and he knows that," Zee said simply.

Sirius shrugged. "I guess. I hope he knows how amazing that is. She's his mate and I guess he realized that or the potion did, I'm not sure." He finished his breakfast and drank back his glass of orange juice with a smile. "Well, that was great, but I need a shower and possibly another little nap. Prongslet, did you finish all of your homework yet?"

"Almost. I just have this thing for Runes to finish up."

Sirius smiled and ruffled Harry's hair. "You finish up your homework. I'm going to have a quick nap and a shower. When I wake up, we'll do something fun, I promise."

"Uncle Sirius?"

"Hmm?"

Harry grinned at him. "When I become an Animagus can I stay with you and Uncle Rem in the cellar?"

Sirius smiled, standing up to kiss the top of his godson's head. "Of course you can. Do you want to become an Animagus?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes."

"It's a lot of work."

"I don't care."

Sirius smiled at him, pride beaming from him. "All right. When I wake up, I'll give you the book to study from and then we'll talk about it again. Okay?"

Harry grinned at him as he headed up the stairs for his shower and nap. Zee finished her own breakfast and moved to put her dishes in the sink.

"Well, I should head home and shower myself. Not to mention that Lady G needs her breakfast. I have about a million things to do today before I go back to work tomorrow."

Harry nodded and watched her start to clean up. "You can leave it, I'll clean it up since you cooked, remember the rules?"

She smiled. "I do. Thank you for a lovely evening, Harry."

"Maybe you can come by later and do something fun with Uncle Siri and I?"

Zee smiled brightly at him. "Maybe I will." She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for hanging out with me last night. I had fun. Come see me later and let me know your plans."

She whistled and Lady Godiva stretched as Zee put on her boots and coat and headed outside.

Harry watched her go with a small smile. Having Zee around the house was kind of nice, different, but nice. And he was fairly surprised to realize that he couldn't wait for her to come back.