Resolutions

By Neurotica

Two

Inside Emmeline's office, she and Sirius sat watching a charmed surveillance video of the last couple of days. They were trying to discover who had broken into the office and stolen the information on Floo registrations. So far, they'd not seen anything, but Sirius found out why Remus hadn't been in his own office in the Department of Magical Creatures the few times he'd gone to see his best friend. It seemed he and Emmeline had used Ministry time for not-so-innocent private time. The Head Auror could feel the heat of the witch's blush when those images appeared before them.

"You know," he said slyly, "technically, I'm supposed to report this—Ow!" He rubbed his shoulder where Emmeline had hit him with a very mild burning charm. He repaired the hole in his robes, scowled at the smirking witch, and turned back to the video.

Thirty minutes later, they found what they guessed they were searching for: at two-thirty in the morning that same day, a hooded figure could be seen creeping through the dark department. Sirius added sound to the video to discern the charm the figure had used to unlock the office door, but neither he nor Emmeline could make it out. Inside the office, the figure, careful to keep his or her face covered, conjured a Muggle crowbar, pried open the filing cabinet, and flipped through the folders inside before selecting a stack. The figure slammed the drawer shut, and quickly left the office, sealing the door shut behind them.

Sirius muttered a freezing charm on the image and slowly turned his head to look at Emmeline. "Well, that doesn't help us one bit."

"Is there a way to get a shot of their face or anything?" Emmeline asked. "You already checked for fingerprints and got nothing..."

The Auror shook his head. "That's the best shot I could get of him—assuming it was a him... And he knew what he was doing. Save the dented cabinet, this picture, and the mess, there's no sign of anyone but you and Remus being in here. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this person was trained in Forensics and he might have even had some Auror training."

"So you think it could be someone who works in the Ministry?" she asked.

He sighed. "It's possible... But the number of people who've had Auror training over the years... Nearly everyone in the Ministry had some sort of training if they were here during the first war, so it's not going to be exactly easy to identify who broke in here." He looked back at the dented filing cabinet. "Do you keep Floo files anywhere else?"

Emmeline nodded. "We've got copied archives of every registered Floo in the past ten years."

"I would suggest you go through and try to figure out which files are missing, and then contact those families to keep them on their toes, maybe put a few charms around their fireplaces."

Emmeline blinked. "Do you have any idea how long that will take?"

Sirius shrugged. "Put some of your junior employees on it. We can't just leave them unwarned and find out next week they'd been targeted and murdered..."

When lunchtime finally rolled around, Remus gratefully dropped his quill to his desk, grabbed his wand, and made his way down to the Ministry cafeteria on the Atrium level to meet Emmeline and Sirius. He was growing quite uneasy with the lack of activity on the Death Eater front—there hadn't been one mysterious death or "accident" since the bridge in London was snapped in half by a dragon. It could never be a good sign when Lord Voldemort was quiet and not causing mayhem. So what was he up to? Even Dumbledore was at a loss for the reason the war had suddenly been halted. Snape hadn't been summoned for a Death Eater meeting or even contacted by the Dark Lord or his followers in months.

Sirius had said people were still reporting odd behavior or strange noises outside their homes, but when the Aurors arrived to investigate, they'd found nothing. Though he hid it well, Remus could tell his best friend was also quite worried. If only there'd been a solid Death Eater sighting or a death (as horrible as it was to wish for such things), perhaps their worries could be slightly alleviated. At least then they would know what was going on.

Remus entered the crowded cafeteria and looked around for his wife and best friend. After a moment's search, he found them at a corner table, sitting across from each other, but leaned over the table talking in low voices. "If I was a more jealous man, this would look very suspicious," he teased as he approached. He sat beside Emmeline and gave her a quick kiss. "What's going on?" he asked when neither of them said anything in reply to his comment.

Emmeline leaned over on the pretense of grabbing the salt shaker and whispered, "Somebody broke into my office last night."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he said, looking between Sirius and Emmeline. "Did they take anything?" The pair recapped their morning for him, leaving him just as confused as they were. "Well, if it was somebody with no intention of harm, like someone in your department, they would have told you they had the files, and wouldn't have used a crowbar—that in itself is odd—why couldn't they have just used magic?"

"Because they don't know the charm I use to lock the cabinet. They've got two chances to get it right, and then alarms in my office go off," Emmeline said quietly.

"So it had to be someone who knew this..." Sirius said. "I'm rather curious as to how they could get rid of every magical trace of themselves. They used their wand to open the door and to conjure the crowbar, but I can't pick up anything on what kind of wand was used or who it belonged to. I'm completely lost."

Remus nodded slowly. "This reminds me of when Malfoy was sighted at Azkaban. Remember how you couldn't find the slightest trace of him being there save one eyewitness, Sirius? And then when the prisoners were broken out, you found even less than that."

"Don't remind me." Sirius sighed. "This is just as bad. A Death Eater never could have gotten into the Ministry, especially not at two-thirty in the morning; there are guards here twenty-four hours a day."

"What if it was someone under Imperius?" Emmeline asked.

Remus sighed heavily. "If that's the case, our problem just got worse. Have you reported this to the Minister?"

"She was in a meeting when I went to talk to her," Emmeline said. "Her secretary said to check back after lunch." Remus nodded and picked idly at the sandwich Emmeline had gotten for him to eat. "Should we tell Dumbledore, do you think?"

"Of course," Sirius said. "He wants to know about every odd thing that happens at the Ministry."

"Oh, Sirius, I've been meaning to ask you if your Aurors found anything on Greyback and his pack," Remus said.

The Head Auror shook his head. "Not a bloody sign anywhere. Honestly, it's like Voldemort and all his followers just disappeared of the face of the earth."

"Which means we should be ready for something really bad to happen," Emmeline said quietly. The wizards nodded darkly. "Wonder what he's up to..."

"I was wondering that myself," Remus muttered. "As much as I'd love it to happen, Voldemort isn't just going to stop. It seems like he's trying to get our guard down, make us think we're safe."

"Or maybe he's just trying a new approach," Sirius said. "I think we've made it clear that we're not going to let him scare us into submission. What he's done so far is terrible, yes, but he's ruthless, we've know that for more than twenty years..."

"Well, there's an Order meeting on Wednesday. Maybe Dumbledore can shed some light on all this," Emmeline said.

Remus shook his head. "Dumbledore isn't going to be there." Sirius and Emmeline raised their eyebrows. "I thought I'd told you... Anyway, he owled and asked me to lead the meeting. I've got to go to the school tomorrow to pick up a few things from him."

"Why you?" Sirius asked. "Not that I don't think wouldn't be excellent, I just thought he'd have McGonagall or Mad-Eye do it."

"Don't know," Remus said, shrugging. "He asked, I accepted. End of story."

"Did he mention why he wouldn't be there?" Emmeline asked.

"No, but he may tell me tomorrow. I assume it's something he'd rather not put into writing."

Sirius finished his lunch and sat back in his chair. "On a lighter note, I called Naomi on the mirrors before lunch, and she and Harry seem to be getting along."

"Good." Remus smiled. "I figured they would, once Harry got to know her a little." He glanced at his watch. "I should be getting back to work."

"Do you plan on eating?" Emmeline asked, looking at the still-whole sandwich in front of her husband.

"Not really hungry," Remus muttered, kissing her cheek. "See you two after work."

Sirius and Emmeline watched him leave the cafeteria in a hurry. "What's gotten into him?" Sirius asked.

Emmeline shook her head. "I don't know... But I should get back too. See you tonight."

The next afternoon, Remus walked through the deserted halls of Hogwarts on the way to the Headmaster's office. He nodded hello to Nearly Headless Nick and a few of the portraits as he passed, and finally found himself standing outside the stone gargoyles guarding the spiral staircase that would take him to Dumbledore. "Mars bar," Remus said. The gargoyles sprung aside, revealing the staircase. Remus stepped on it and it began to ascend, stopping before the oak door with the griffin-shaped doorknocker.

"Come in," called the voice of his mentor after he knocked twice. Remus opened the door and entered the office, smiling his greeting to Dumbledore. "Ah, Remus, please, have a seat."

Remus obliged and accepted the cup of tea the older wizard handed him. "How are things, Albus?" he asked once Dumbledore took a seat once more with a sigh.

"Very well, Remus, thank you. And you?"

"Not too horribly. I assume you heard about what happened in Emmeline's office the night before last."

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Indeed I have. Madam Bones contacted me shortly after Emmeline reported it to her. There are no leads as of yet?"

"No, sir," Remus replied, taking a sip of tea. "Sirius is still investigating, but he doesn't really know where to begin. Emmeline alerted most of the families whose files were stolen and encouraged them to put alarms and passwords on their fireplaces."

"A very wise move," Dumbledore said approvingly. "On a more personal note, how is Naomi fairing?"

"She's doing all right. She's getting to the point of her pregnancy where she'll eat anything and everything, and has Sirius awake at all hours of the night to fetch her the oddest combinations I'd ever heard of eating." Remus chuckled. "I think it's safe to say she's looking forward to the end of this, as is Sirius, for obvious reasons."

Dumbledore smiled. "I still find it hard to believe that Sirius Black will be a father in just three short months."

"As do I," Remus admitted. "But I think he'll do an excellent job. He's already rather excited."

"Judging by how well Harry has grown up, I agree. And, of course, I give credit to you, as well." Dumbledore inclined his head to Remus. "How is Harry coping with all of this, by the way?"

"As far as I can tell, he's coping just fine. He and Sirius had a long chat before mine and Emmeline's wedding, and since then Harry has been very supportive. Or at least, he isn't showing any signs of anything to the contrary."

"It is quite difficult for an only child to suddenly not be," Dumbledore said. "Why, I remember when my brother Aberforth was born. I grew so envious that my mother and father were so busy doting on him and not me that I actually ran away to our backyard where I'd built a tree fort. Of course, my escapade only lasted a mere two hours before Mother called me back in for hot chocolate, but there you have it."

Remus laughed. "Well, I don't think Harry will react in quite that way, but he's had a few anxieties. He's never been the most secure of children—and I understand why, of course; I just wish there was something I could do to alleviate his worries."

Dumbledore smiled. "Harry has led an interesting life," he agreed. "But for the last ten years, I believe that not only his life, but yours and Sirius' as well, have been greatly benefited."

"That they have, Albus." Remus smiled into his tea, remembering the day he'd come to Hogwarts to tell the Headmaster about an odd dream he'd had involving Sirius, Lily and James, and Peter Pettigrew. "I don't know that I've ever thanked you for believing me," he said quietly. "If you hadn't, Sirius would probably still be in Azkaban, and our lives would be no better than they were back then."

"There is no need to thank me, Remus. I should thank you for trusting me enough to bring your concerns to me. I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to realize the truth those years ago—it was quite a gamble; dreams can be misleading at times."

Remus nodded.

"But you are here for another reason, I believe," Dumbledore said a few moments later, after they'd both relived the days following Sirius' release from Azkaban. "I have a few notes I'd like you to go over with the rest of the Order on Wednesday night. Nothing too complicated, since Voldemort and his Death Eaters have been oddly silent over the last few months. Just a bit of catching up on who is doing what and so forth."

Remus nodded again. "Do you have any thoughts on why Voldemort has just... stopped?"

"None at all," Dumbledore replied, his eyes lacking the brilliant twinkle they usually held. "Severus left the castle just after term ended, and I've yet to hear from him." Remus furrowed his brow in confusion. He'd been under the impression that Snape had been at the school—the wizard was supposed to have made his last few batches of Wolfsbane... "I've asked Horace to prepare your potions, if that is satisfactory for you, of course. Severus had one last batch that needed a bit more heating before it could be taken to you, and I believed myself quite capable of that."

"That's fine, sir," Remus said, another thought crossing his mind. "You haven't heard from Snape at all?"

"I have not. If he has not contacted me by the end of the week, I believe I will make a trip to his home; it is not like him not to owl at least once a week over summer holidays."

"Do you think something's happened to him?"

The headmaster sighed. "I do not know, Remus. It is possible, of course, but considering the lack of activity from the other side... Well, we will just have to wait and see, as they say. Though in my old age, I find myself becoming more and more impatient."

"You'll let us know if you hear anything?"

"Of course. Though, I was under the impression that, after what occurred with Emmeline's eldest brother, you were not too bothered of the comings and goings of Severus Snape."

"I'm not," Remus admitted. "But he is an asset to the Order." Even if he's just an ass to the rest of us, he added silently. "And I would rather not see our last tie to Voldemort's plans lost."

Dumbledore inclined his head. "And I do appreciate what little faith you have in Severus. I understand that you shall never be the best of friends after all that's happened between you, him, and your friends in school, but it is important to understand the difference between childhood bickering and what we are trying to achieve." The headmaster sighed.

"There is another piece of business I should like to discuss with you, Remus. You of course remember the conversation we had some months ago, about Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes?" Remus nodded and sat up straighter in his chair. "I believe I've located another recently, and will be leaving the school this evening to investigate. I will not tell you where, lest something were to happen to me, and you were to be questioned about it. But there is something I would like you to do for me, if you are so inclined."

Remus nodded. "Of course, sir." It wasn't often that one refused to do something for Albus Dumbledore. And Remus had never refused the Headmaster a favor—the old wizard had done so much for him in his life, it was the least he could do in repayment.

"I would like you to research some information for me." Dumbledore reached into a desk drawer and retrieved a scroll sealed in red wax. "You will find all you need for your search in this scroll. Whatever you discover will be beneficial to my own search for the remaining Horcruxes."

Remus took the scroll and examined the wax seal—there seemed to be some sort of animal on it—a badger perhaps. "I'll do my best, Albus."

Again, the Headmaster inclined his head. "That is all I've ever asked of you, my boy. Now, I am sure you are eager to return home. I will contact you when I return from my journey, to see how you've faired."

"Please do, sir. And have a safe trip."

"I will also do my best, Remus."

In the library a few nights later, Sirius sat on the sofa with Naomi's head resting in his lap while she took an after-dinner nap. Harry and Emmeline were playing a game of chess, and Remus was somewhere behind them, working for a change. Since the day of the Order meeting, he'd been researching something, and he wouldn't tell anybody what. He'd even gone so far as to charm the books and scrolls he used so that only he could see what was written on them. Sirius glanced at him every so often and always found his brow furrowed, a quill held over a long sheet of parchment. A few times, the werewolf's lips moved as he read, but Sirius could never make out what it was he was saying. Emmeline was starting to get rather annoyed with him—not even she was privy to the information Remus searched for. He hadn't stopped to eat and only went to bed when his wife threatened to lock their bedroom door and force him to sleep in the library.

"Checkmate," Emmeline said happily as her black knight captured Harry's white queen. "Good game, Harry."

Harry didn't reply; he was too busy trying to figure out how he'd been beaten.

Emmeline chuckled at the look on his face and asked the room in general if anyone wanted a drink. "I'll take a cup of tea if you're making it," Sirius said, running his hands through his wife's long blonde hair.

"Butterbeer, please," Harry muttered.

She nodded and looked over to Remus. He obviously hadn't heard a word she'd said. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "He can get something himself, then."

When she left the library, Harry looked up at Sirius. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked quietly.

Sirius shrugged, his hand moving from Naomi's hair to her swollen belly, rubbing it softly while she slept on. "You've seen how he's been for the last couple days. He won't talk to anybody, won't eat or sleep... I'm surprised he's even made it to work on time."

Harry started to reply, but a quiet whimper from Naomi cut him off. Sirius looked down at her and found her face looking as though she was in pain. "Naomi," he whispered, shaking her shoulder gently. "Naomi, wake—"

Naomi's eyes snapped open and she drew in a sharp, deep breath. She blinked a few tears from her eyes and Sirius helped her sit up. "Are you all right?" he asked, startled. "You're not having the baby already, are you?"

She sniffed a bit and shook her head. "No, I'm fine... I just..." She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "I think I finally know how I got away from Voldemort in December."

Sirius blinked in surprise. "What?"

She nodded slowly and looked from Harry to Sirius. "Peter helped me..." Silence met her admission. "It sounds odd, I know, but..." she trailed off, shaking her head again.

"When you say Peter," Sirius began carefully, "are you talking about Peter Pettigrew? The man who got the Dementor's Kiss?" She nodded. "I think you've eaten too many pickles and mayonnaise, dear."

Naomi glared at him. "I'm not delusional, idiot."

"No need for name calling, love," Sirius said. Emmeline reentered the library and passed the drinks around while Naomi told them about her dream.

"It started out all fuzzy," she began quietly, finding comfort in Sirius' arms, "but sharpened, and I could see myself in Peter's quarters, on the floor, bleeding from everywhere... He didn't say anything, but picked me up and put me in his cot, and covered me with a blanket so that no one could see me if they checked. He sat on the edge closest to the door, rocking back and forth, like he usually does. He did that for hours before he picked me up again and took me down a few corridors to another room where I Apparated to Hogwarts."

The other three stared at her, their mouths open a bit. "Maybe he was under Imperius," Sirius muttered uneasily.

Naomi shook her head. "I don't think he was. I never told any of you this, but I used to visit him regularly. There were a few times when I swear he recognized me. He never said anything—I don't know that he even could—but there was a... a flash... of something behind his eyes."

"There was a study," Remus said quietly, causing them all to jump a bit, "on Dementor's Kiss victims done years and years ago. The wizard conducting the study was trying to test a theory he'd heard about a victim's ability to regain some part of their soul. All of his findings were dismissed when it was discovered that he was certifiably insane. But from what I've read of his studies, he put the victims under the Imperius Curse—this was before it was named an Unforgivable— for long periods of time, and eventually, though they weren't cured, they could recognize things, like people."

"I read that book—well, parts of it," Naomi said. "I'd thought about that after the first time Peter recognized me..."

"How'd he react when he recognized you?" Emmeline asked.

Naomi touched the side of her face with her whole palm. "He touched me, and I held his hand—that was when I saw the flash in his eyes."

"How powerful a wizard would it take to do something like that, though?" Harry asked quietly.

Remus sighed. "Well, the wizard who received the Kiss has no powers, or at least he's not supposed to. If we're going by this study, then whoever performed the Imperius Curse on Wormtail would have to be very powerful."

"Malfoy," Naomi muttered. They all looked at her. "Lucius Malfoy was in charge of Peter... Whenever Peter left his quarters, Malfoy had him under his control."

"And as often as I try to deny it," Sirius said resignedly, "Lucius Malfoy is a very powerful wizard."

Remus nodded. "Precisely."

"So what you're saying is that it's possible Wormtail would be in Voldemort's castle right now, trying to regain... What, exactly?"

"His sense of self?" Remus said unsurely. "There was only ever one study of this, like I said, and the wizard died in St. Mungo's ten years ago. And I've never heard firsthand of this type of thing happening."

"Why can't we all just live normal lives where things stay the way they should, and things out of the ordinary don't occur every bloody day?" Sirius asked wearily.

Remus grinned at his best friend. "What kind of life would that be? We'd all go stir-crazy without all of the strange things that happen to us."

"If our lives were normal and uneventful, I'd be married to this git," Naomi said, gesturing over her shoulder at Remus.

"Not if I had anything to do with it," Emmeline muttered with a grin.

Naomi turned to her. "You would have stolen my husband?" she asked, her lips twitching.

"In a heartbeat," Emmeline said without hesitation, smiling mischievously. Naomi rolled her eyes and leaned against Sirius. "Besides," Emmeline continued. "You've got Sirius. I got the good-looking one."

"Oy," Sirius said indignantly. "I am much better looking than Remus."

"Maybe in your dreams." Harry grinned.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at him. "At least I never had to hide out in Severus Snape's pocket. I do hope you took a very long shower after that, by the way."

"Three hours," Harry assured him. "Scalding hot, to sterilize me. I was wondering how long it would take you to start harassing me about that."

Remus finally decided to abandon his books and join them. He sat beside Emmeline on her armchair and pulled her against him. She stiffened at first, still looking rather annoyed at him, but when he started rubbing his hands up and down her arms, her irritation seemed to melt. "Honestly, I'm still surprised that plan worked. There were so many things that could have gone terribly wrong."

"But they didn't," Sirius said, looking proudly at Harry. "Our boy kept his head and did his job, and everything turned out excellent. How's Ron feeling, anyway?"

"Good," Harry said, nodding. "He still has nightmares every so often, but he's fine. And Pomfrey stopped making him take all those potions before term ended."

Naomi shook her head. "What I still don't understand is why Voldemort let him off so easily. It's not in his nature to be so hospitable to his hostages, or his followers for that matter." Sirius hugged her tighter to him as she shivered a little.

Remus shrugged. "We'll probably never know. Maybe he was spacing out Ron's injuries so he could make a large spectacle out of killing him when they captured Harry."

"There's a cheerful thought, Moony," Sirius muttered sarcastically. "That's almost as brilliant as Wormtail getting his soul back."

"Well, we don't know if Peter's got his soul back," Naomi said, "but I do know he helped me."

"And that's creepy in itself."

The two couples and Harry sat in silence for a few minutes before Remus cleared his throat. "Is anybody in the mood for ice cream?" he asked quietly. The others accepted the offer eagerly—Naomi only after the promise of peanut butter and cornflake topping—and they made their way to the kitchen. Though Peter Pettigrew remained in the back of their minds, they'd come to a silent, mutual agreement not to discuss him anymore. Instead, they mused teasingly about how much of a terror Sirius and Naomi's daughter would be when she was born, just three short months from now.

The following Saturday morning started out as normally as possible. Naomi had breakfast, and thirty minutes later fought her way to the bathroom to get sick again. Sirius held her hair, rubbed her back, and whispered soothing words to her, even though she was cursing his very being for "doing this to her." Harry and Remus were in the library working on some of Harry's summer coursework, particularly the assignments McGonagall had given him. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was the sudden bout of flu Emmeline seemed to have caught—or at least Remus figured it was the flu. Not long after lunch, her eyes had widened, she clenched her stomach, and ran full force to the bathroom on the second landing. Afterwards, she'd said she was fine, maybe the turkey sandwich she'd eaten was bad... But Naomi and Sirius exchanged a smile, musing that it'd been nothing Emmeline had eaten.

When Naomi entered the library and told Remus his wife was sick again later in the evening, he'd paled, but something akin to hope had shined in his eyes. Little things from over the last week or so floated through his mind, like her being irritated with him one minute, but kissing him the next. "You don't think she's..." he whispered to Naomi as he made his way out of the library.

Naomi smiled and shrugged. "Maybe you should go find out," she said mysteriously.

Remus swallowed and nodded, going down the hall to the bathroom. He knew it was possible that he was getting his hopes up for nothing—just because a woman was sick and easily irritable, it didn't mean she was pregnant. And it wasn't like they'd been trying for children so early in their marriage; though, he definitely wouldn't be upset if it'd happened. In fact, they'd probably hear his screams of joy all the way in France.

"Emmeline?" he called, knocking on the bathroom door. "I'm coming in..." He turned the knob and found his wife sitting against the bathtub with her knees pulled to her chest, her face still flushed from being sick. "Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling beside her and moving a strand of hair to tuck behind her ear.

She nodded. "Sirius and Naomi think I'm pregnant," she said quietly.

"I know," he responded. "Have you done a test yet?"

She shook her head. "I wanted you to be with me when I did it."

He sighed shakily and sat down cross-legged in front of her. "What are we waiting for then?" he whispered, trying to smile—he only managed a nervous sort of grimace.

She bit her lip, nodding, and picked up her wand, which lay beside her on the floor. Glancing at Remus, she pointed the wand at her stomach, muttered a Pregnancy Revelation spell, and waited. Remus held his breath without meaning to as he watched the tip of the wand change colors—red, gold, green, purple, pink—before finally settling on blue. Remus felt his eyes widen and was quite relieved he was sitting, or else he would have collapsed.

"Oh my god," Emmeline whispered, staring at her wand. She looked up at Remus, a large smile growing on her face. The werewolf had tears in his eyes, unable to react in any other way but by leaning over and thoroughly kissing his wife. Some long minutes later, they pulled back, both of their faces wet with tears.

"You're pregnant," he whispered over and over as he pulled her into his lap. He bent his head, lifted her shirt, and kissed her belly. "We're going to have a baby…"

They sat there for nearly an hour until Sirius came searching for them. Very reluctantly, Remus and Emmeline separated and stood, still smiling widely, going to the door. Sirius raised an eyebrow at their beaming, tearful faces. Neither of them said a word, but the brilliant Auror seemed to come to his own conclusion. "Well, it's about bloody time," he said, repeating his words from the night they'd told him they'd gotten engaged, thumping Remus on the back. Grinning widely, he turned back towards the hallway where, when Remus stuck his head out to look, Naomi and Harry were watching eagerly.

Sirius cleared his throat importantly. "Minerva McGonagall will be very horrified to hear that the Marauders will be returning to Hogwarts in eleven years time." Harry and Naomi cheered loudly, causing Sirius' mother to begin shrieking profanity. Nobody paid attention as they ushered Remus and Emmeline to the kitchen for a celebratory dinner.