Amelia Bones started her mandate as the Minister of Magic in the beginning of August with the support of most of the wizarding community. Everyone knew her job wouldn't be easy, especially with a war happening, but changes could already be seen in the way the ministry was dealing with the threat of Voldemort's return: most of the Auror department, now under Kingsley Shacklebolt's command, was concentrated in finding and catching Death Eaters, as well as patrolling the most populated areas for protection; several new departments were created to deal with the crisis and 'panic keys', random everyday objects that were charmed to directly alert the Auror department of the occurrence of an attack, were spread freely among the whole wizarding population.
Still, despite the efforts, attacks kept occurring every other day and people kept getting killed, being the favourite targets unknowing Muggles, though wizards were still thrown in the middle. Emmeline Vance had been the first member of the Order to fall and, so far, the only one, being killed in a battle, while defending a whole village full of Muggles.
Every time Sirius was called to fight on a battle, Mia's heart clenched, only relaxing once he made it back home unharmed and enveloped her with one of his tight, warm hugs. She loved her unborn baby immensely but sometimes, all of those happening when she had to stay behind while he was in a fight, she wished the pregnancy hadn't come in such an inconvenient time so she'd be able to fight by her husband's side…
At the moment, Mia sat on the living room sofa, unsuccessfully trying to distract herself with some reading. She huffed and glanced at the clock that rest near the muggle telly – it was nearly two in the morning. Sirius had been fetched by the order a couple of hours before as an attack was happening near Cardiff and, as far as she knew, he could take two or three more to come back. Yet, she never went to bed without him being back from a battle, even if her eyes threatened to close every five minutes…
Kreacher had already came around twice, trying to convince her to go to sleep, promising he'd wake her up as soon as Sirius was back but she'd preferred to stay the way she was. Just because she couldn't be at the battle, it didn't mean she had to sleep right through it. Besides, she was sure she wouldn't get any restful sleep with her husband out and possibly with his life in danger.
She made an effort not to let her mind drift to those thoughts and closed the book, knowing trying to read at that moment was pointless. Just as she put the book down, Mia heard her daughter's voice coming through the door, making her turn. "Mom, what are you doing awake?" Izzy asked sleepily.
"Nothing at the moment, really," Mia replied as Izzy approached, dragging her feet. "What are you doing awake, sweetie?"
Izzy sat on the sofa by her mother's side and reached to lean her head against her mother's shoulder like she used t when she was a little girl. "I went to the bathroom and saw the lights on down here. Where's Dad?"
Mia wrapped one arm around her. "He's out, doing something for the Order."
"Was there another attack?" Izzy inquired, a little anxious.
"Yes," she said, honestly.
Izzy sighed. "It's like they happen every day, now."
"It won't last forever."
"I know. Harry will beat them all senseless," her daughter stated. She trusted him completely to beat Voldemort and fulfil his part of the prophecy – Harry was her big brother, after all, and since they were little kids, he'd always been one of the people she looked up at. Izzy needed to believe he'd be the one to win or no one else would. "But it suc… it's awful while they do happen."
Mia's hands soothed her daughter's long hair that matched hers perfectly. "We'd stop it right now if we could," she said. "You should go to bed, sweetie. It's late."
"It's late for you too," Izzy replied, putting her hand in front of her mouth to cover a yawn. "Can't I wait for Dad to come back?"
"It can take a while," Mia pointed out. "Honey, you're tired. Just go to bed and sleep – he won't come any faster if you stay awake."
Izzy sighed. "Fine." She kissed her mother's cheek before standing up. "Give him a kiss for me when he arrives okay?"
"I'll give him two," she replied, smiling warmly at her daughter as she dragged her feet back out of the room.
Mia sighed, then, wondering what she would do to entertain herself. Trying to read was useless as her eyes kept dropping and, according what Lulu said, Muggle telly was terrible after midnight. She got up, knowing that remaining sitting likely wouldn't help her with anything… She sighed and made her way out of the living room, turning the lights off behind her. For now, she'd go check on Alex.
After going up a few flights of stairs, Mia reached her son's room and, carefully not to make noise, she opened the door and went through it. The room wasn't completely dark as either she or Sirius usually left a soft light on so the little boy wouldn't be scared by the darkness if he woke up during the night.
Alex slept peacefully in his cot, his little arms wrapped around his favourite toy, the black stuffed dog, which he'd christened Shuffas, a toddler version of Harry's suggestion for a name, 'Snuffles'. With his face flushed by the slumber, he looked like a little angel, tough, as she saw so much of Sirius in him, he'd probably get some marauder features at some point.
That idea brought her back to thinking of Sirius, though not in such a depressive way. He was up to something, she knew. Lately, he'd go out from time to time, just telling her he had to go 'take care of something' with that plotting grin of his all over his face. Then, he'd be gone for an hour or so. She'd inquired him about it a few times but he'd either tell her to trust him or, when the question came during one of her hormonal rages, would seduce her into forgetting it.
He was as slick as a weasel, she'd give him that. And she had a feeling her son would inherit that trait as well, seeing as he could charm anyone into doing nearly anything his one and a half year-old mind wished. Mia reached down and pulled the covers, which had apparently been kicked down to the bottom of the bed, over Alex so he wouldn't get cold and caressed his soft baby hair. For now, she didn't really have to worry about his possible future slick ways…
A light knock on the door announced someone else's presence and she turned to see Sirius had arrived and was standing right outside the door. He didn't look harmed or grave, just tired, which was a fairly positive sign. "Hey," he whispered.
"Hi," she replied softly, glad to see him. Mia gave her son one last look before she made her way to the door, closing it behind her not to disturb Alex. Then, she felt herself relaxing as pressed her body against his in a hug and her head rested on his firm chest.
Sirius's arms came around her waist and he kissed the top of her head, just letting her hold him in relief for a few seconds. He wished he could make it easier for her but it wasn't simple… He hoped that little surprise he'd been preparing would help.
She pulled away and looked up at him a few moments later, reaching to kiss his cheeks,. "Izzy asked me to give that to you earlier." Then, her lips touched his in a loving and welcoming fashion. "That one was from me."
"Kisses from two beautiful ladies. I'm not worthy," he said, giving her a tired smile. "I'd keep on trying my luck but I think I'm too weary for something fancier than a kiss."
Mia moved to his side and gave a little nod towards the entrance of the room. "Come on, let's get you to bed, then."
After the made it into the room, she sat on her side of the bed and watched him change out of his clothes. "Did anyone die?" Her tone came shakier than she'd expected as she looked at his face reflected on the full-length mirror that stood in the corner of the room.
He shook his head. "No. Some got wounded but it was nothing life-threatening. They didn't put much of an effort to it this time – rookie Death Eaters, Kingsley said," he quoted, his tone sounding rather disgusted. "It's bad because they're recruiting but at least those new blokes are as clumsy causing havoc as a teenage boy about to shag a girl for the first time."
"You're not making it sound better just so I don't worry, are you?"
He turned around, still bare-chested and looked her right in the eyes. "I promised I wouldn't lie to you again and I meant it, Mia. You can ask Lulu if you want to – she and Gabe were there and she'll tell you just the same."
Mia shook her head. "No, I believe you." she got up, making her way to him, and touched his forearm with her hand. "And I suppose I wouldn't see you trying to shield the pregnant woman from the awful battle as much of a lie. I did believe it when you promised you wouldn't lie to me again – that fight we had two months ago is more than behind us."
He visibly relaxed and reached for her cheek, placing a light kiss on it as his hand softly caressed the bulge on her stomach covered by the thin nightgown she was wearing. "I know – I'm just a little edgy. It wasn't bad but it was still a fight with Death Eaters."
She made her way back to the bed as he released her from his hold. "Tell me about it," Mia requested. "Who exactly got hurt?"
"Well, Tonks fell down a flight of stairs and broke a leg – Moony fixed it for her and gave her a scolding for always managing to get herself hurt, she laughed it off and said it was a good excuse for him to feel manly by carrying her all the way home." He snorted before putting on a grey shirt. "You should have seen him trying to keep a serious face. Also, Charlie Weasley will have a pretty neat scar on his arm to show off when he goes back to Romania – the bloke says those girls at the dragon reservation really have a thing for scarred blokes and I suppose he'll use that as much as he possibly can to impress them."
Mia chuckled as he joined her in the bed and lied down by her side. She let out a sigh and rested her body against his, laying her head on his shoulder as he wrapped one arm around her. There was no comparison between sleeping with him by her side and sleeping alone.
"I should tell you now that I have plans for both of us tomorrow."
"What kind of plans?" she asked, looking up at him curiously.
"That's for me to know and you to find out, Mrs. Black," he told her, grinning
"Is it about that secret plotting you've been having lately?"
"Maybe. I'll tell you in the morning," Sirius promised. "But for now, let's go to sleep. I'm exhausted, okay?"
Mia just didn't push it because she could hear the fatigue in his voice. "I'll make sure you do tell me," she stated, reaching to his face to press a kiss to his lips. "Good night."
"'Night," he replied, grinning as she cuddled back on his side. And sweet dreams for my baby, he thought, gently brushing the tips of his fingers on her stomach. "Love you."
"Love you too," she replied. And, seconds after she closed her eyes, sleep took her in gently.
In the following morning right after breakfast, Mia inquired her husband about his plans for the day as they carried their son up to his room in order to dress him. Sirius's answer came as a wide grin and another question.
"What are your plans for the next few days?"
"Nothing specific." She raised a suspicious eyebrow as Alex reached for her while Sirius carried him up. "Sirius Orion Black, what exactly are you planning to do?"
"I'm trying to surprise you," he replied and decided to go ahead with the full explanation. "At first, I thought of giving us all a break from this mess of a war by taking us and the kids out for a little vacation in some tropical island like last year. Still, when I asked the kids if they wanted it, they were a little… hesitant."
"What do you mean?" Mia asked, confused.
"Well, they seem to know that we… we're very affectionate lately and they'd rather have a good excuse to escape when we have one of those moments, such as going to the Burrow or the twin's shop." He coughed, embarrassed with the situation and tried to find something to add. "Besides, Harry's with Ginny and you know during the first year leaving your other half behind is like leaving a limb. As for this little bugger," he tickled Alex as he said that, making him giggle and call him 'Daddy', "well, he's still having a little trouble with expressing his opinion with more than three-word sentences."
"So, no vacation," Mia concluded as they stepped into the room and made her way to the dresser to get Alex's clothes.
Sirius sat on the rocking chair with his son, the little boy trying to stand up on his lap and touching his face with his tiny little hands. "Actually," he started, "they suggested we went instead. Just the two of us."
She raised an eyebrow. "Sirius, going far away and leaving the kids by themselves…"
"They won't be by themselves," he replied. "Lulu and Gabe say they'll be more than happy to stay here and take care of them, Alex included. You know they'd never let them get hurt, Mia. Besides, it won't be as long or as far away if the kids are staying here – you won't even have to leave the country." Or the city, he added in his mind.
Mia sighed and approached him, watching her son hold himself up by gripping his father's shoulders. The longest she'd been away from him was a single night… she wasn't sure how she felt about going on vacation and leaving her little boy behind. "We really won't have to leave the country?" she asked, just trying to convince herself to give in.
"Nope," Sirius confirmed. "I knew you wouldn't want to stay too far away without them and, honestly, neither do I. It will only be a couple of nights now and we'll just be a fireplace away, though I'm hoping people will leave us alone while we're out…" he stated, sitting Alex on his lap so she could dress him more easily. "Let the two of us take a break before things get even worse, okay?"
Two nights aren't that long. And having the floo available… Mia supposed she didn't have a reason to say 'no'. She sighed, carefully pulling the pyjama shirt over her son's head and replacing it with a freshly clean baby blue t-shirt. "If something happens…"
"We'll be back in a heartbeat," Sirius promised immediately. "Trust me on this, okay? I've been making sure this will go as smoothly as it can possibly go for you. This is something we need to do."
She felt there was a deeper meaning behind the world 'need' that time around… "Alright. But you have to take the two-way mirror. I want to use it to contact the kids and make sure they're okay." Mia let out a breath. "So, when do we leave? Tonight?"
"Actually, a couple of hours from now would be the best," he stated, naturally, making her suddenly stop her task of dressing their little son and look up at him in surprise.
"Merlin, you really have been planning all this ahead, haven't you?"
He smiled. "It's something I've been thinking of doing for a while. I talked to Gabe yesterday and he said he and Lulu could be here around noon," he stated.
Mia sighed. The mention of her father had reminded her that he was now 'alive to the world', after Bones had taken care of making it official for them with no questions as a way of thanking the Order for having protected her after the attempt on her life. The new Minister had offered to keep the fact that he was alive a secret but Gabe, and Lulu as well, had decided it was time he stopped hiding, as it was likely a bunch of Death Eaters already knew he was alive, from seeing him in the Department of Mysteries, where glamour charms didn't work. So, as of a week before, Gabriel McKinnon had 'resurrected' for the world. Even if he was a target now, Mia was sure he'd give quite a fight to anyone who tried to harm him or his family.
"Mama, shoooo," she heard her little son saying, his little hand pointing at his bare feet, a tiny frown on his face.
Mia looked down at the rocking chair and saw Sirius looking at her with an eyebrow rose too. "Day-dreaming?" he asked her. "The little man here thinks you've forgotten him."
She reached down and caressed the little boy's hair. "Mummy hasn't," she assured him.
Having the attention back, Alex giggled and this time pointed at his mother's overgrown stomach. "Bebe!"
"Yep, that's a baby brother or sister for you, mate," Sirius confirmed as Mia went to fetch a pair of small-sized shoes. He looked up at his wife questioningly when she made it back to him. "Well and what do you say, Mrs. Black? Will you let me take you away for a couple of days?"
Mia sighed. "Well, I suppose I will." She reached down to place a kiss on her son's cheek. "Lulu must be able to handle this one and the other two with Gabe…"
When the time to actually leave arrived, as much as she was excited to find out what Sirius had planned for them, Mia felt a little hesitant when leaving the kids at home. While Harry and Izzy had promised to try to stay out of trouble, Lulu didn't seem to be in a patient mood after her oldest grandkids left ahead of her to go have lunch at the burrow.
"Mia, I'm going to say this as nicely as I possibly can at the moment… Get your pregnant arse of this house before I make you," Lulu threatened, narrowing her eyes. One thing that had always impressed Mia was that even though her mother was at least three or four inches shorter than her, she was damn intimidating when she wanted to. "Stop worrying, go out with your husband and get laid until you go blind." That last part made Gabe shiver a little and pretend to be absently looking out the window, which made Lulu raise her eyebrows at him. "Where do think her kids are coming from? Baby-bearing storks? If you do, that bloody well explains how you got me knocked up back in Hogwarts."
"Me?" he asked in disbelief. "Not that it really matters but you were the one who started it, remember?"
Feeling she wouldn't want to be there to hear the rest of her parent's discussion, Mia actually was the one to urge Sirius to leave the room so they could get out and go on their little vacation, leaving the others behind.
"I think I'm ready to go now," she said under her breath, making her way out of the room.
"Finally." He chuckled at his wife's reaction to her parent's fight and reached for his pocket, removing a silver muggle pen from it. "When you're ready, just touch the portkey and I'll charm it to leave."
She only took time to shrink her suitcase to the size of a wallet and shove it into her pocket before she reached to touch the tiny portkey. Sirius tapped it when his wand, and then, almost immediately, the familiar rather confusing feeling of being pulled at a high speed took over.
When they landed, she was thankful to be on her feet, her eyes still closed, though, as a sudden wave of nausea hit her. Merlin, did she hate Portkeys… She practically hadn't experienced any morning sickness with that pregnancy but a portkey travel had proved to be too much… She felt Sirius's arm circling her body as she took deep breaths, fighting back the nausea. It took several seconds, but it got better.
"You okay?" he asked her.
"Hum, hum," she replied, nodding, still not opening her eyelids.
"Well, open your eyes, then," he encouraged her softly.
She took another breath and did so. Not a second passed before she recognized her surroundings. "Oh, Sirius," she whispered.
"Welcome home… or where it used to be," he said, giving her a small smile and kissing her brow.
They were back in their little lower-ground floor flat, the one they'd shared after leaving Hogwarts. Their first home. She was standing in their living room, where they used to sit with Lily and James for endless hours, talking and laughing. And, despite the years, the room looked exactly the same as it had when she'd last been in it, to her surprise. Not a single layer of dust. She didn't need to wait more than a moment before Sirius explained how that had happened.
"I've been coming here for the past week in order to get it ready for us to spend a few nights," he stated. "Kreacher stocked the place with food when I mentioned we might need a few meals ready – he said his mistress needed to eat well so her baby would be healthy like 'young master Alex'. Honestly, I think the little bastard has a crush on you, Mia."
She had to laugh, still touched by his actions. "I'm sure he's just trying to be nice, Sirius. But, Merlin, I can't believe you did all this for me."
I'd move mountains for you, he thought. "Like I said, I thought you'd want to be near home – it's just a twenty-minute walk from here, actually, though the floo takes a second. I promise that, when we go back, we won't take a portkey – I just wanted to surprise you. We needed to do this, come back together."
Mia smiled at him warmly. "Thank you," she said, meaning the whole action itself, before she stood on her toes and reached to kiss his lips. His response was, as always, fierce and immediate. How long had it been since they'd last kissed in that room? she wondered. That last night we were together before I had to leave, she replied to herself. He was going to propose that night, she would have certainly said 'yes'. They pulled away a few seconds later but their foreheads kept touching. "I never really had the courage to come here ever since I came back to Britain. I had Kreacher come here for me and get your things…"
He nodded. "I understand the feeling. Last week when I first stepped foot in here since we moved, the memories were overwhelming. I practically couldn't move for around five minutes."
"We could have had a life here," she whispered sadly. "We could have raised Izzy here – I was pregnant too the last time I was in this flat. With her."
"Life takes ridiculously unbelievable turns, doesn't it?" he asked. "But if things had gone in any other way, they wouldn't be the same." His hand reached to brush against her cheek. We're happy, Mia, despite everything. We have great kids, a little boy that who knows if might exist in another reality and another baby on the way. If I ever had a chance to go back with all the things I know now, I'd probably do some things differently but if I ended up in the exact same place we're now, I wouldn't have been disappointed, Mia."
"Neither would I," she whispered. "I'll always wonder, though…"
He nodded. "So will I. We can wonder together. But for now… now I want us to have a break from the world in this place. Just you, me… and, well, the baby." He added with a chuckle. "I came up with a couple of middle names, by the way. I think I'll leave the first one to decide when we meet him or her, like we did with Alex."
"Well, and what did you came up with?"
"Elizabeth for a girl, Harper for a boy," he said and, before she could express her surprise, continued. "Elizabeth probably saved your life and the baby's – I suppose that makes her worthy of the title of namesake, as we may have another plans for the one of godmother. What do you think? Are you gonna use your 'mother power' to rule out the names?"
"Of course not," Mia assured him, giving him a little smile. "I love the names. Elizabeth's going to be thrilled. But let's make it a surprise, okay? Until the baby is born. I suppose it will have a better effect if we make it that way." She reached up to kiss him, softly this time. "I knew you'd pick a good name."
"The middle name is just half the assignment," he pointed out.
"Halfway great, then," Mia offered. "You know, sometimes it's like you just know exactly what's the perfect thing to do for me. Like bringing me here. I'm really glad you did." She turned around, pressing her back against his body as he circled her with his arms and rested his hands on top of her baby bump. Everything really did look exactly like she'd let it back when that place was their home. It felt strange, though not in a bad way, to look back and think of the past they'd had there. "So, we'll stay here for the next couple of nights?"
"That's the plan."
"And is there a bed still in our old room?"
"There was yesterday," he pointed out, his lips curling playfully as he swirled her to face him again. "I'm not sure about the mattress, though. We should give it a try… see if it's as firm as it used to be. One can never now."
"Hum, I recall you being smoother when trying to seduce me back in the day, Mr. Black," she pointed out, faking disappointment as his lips reached to touch a spot right between her neck and shoulder, teasing flesh and giving her goosebumps.
"I'm saving the smoothness for the act, if you don't mind," Sirius stated.
She smiled. "No, not at all."
A/N: Explanation for the very romantic (maybe mushy) content of the chapter: I'm in Paris guys. It's the air... Not really a plot developer chapter but time was short due to the tourist-y activities :D I hope you liked the filler, anyway . Soon, this volume will return to its paralel with the books (btw, Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows are my favourites, so I have lots of plans for them). Feedback is always welcome! Have a great Easter if you celebrate it! Review!