The Black Line Continues
Disclaimer: I don't own incredibly much.
Thank yous: The all mighty and powerfulM, Sarahamanda, ThouandI, Makalani Astral, CrazedLunatic, CountingSheep123, Will's Girl, Hobey-ho, Jadwiga, MoonyPadfootJr, Celi, frk-werewolf, Sasami Tombo, Shinigami, Goddess of Gorgeousness, kuroneko89, Moonglaze, xbreakawayx, Dortha, we3, pen, Padfoot n' Moony, and Aurora Enkeli Medeis.
ThouandI: James and Lily did die on October 31st, Remus and Sirius started talking about what happened on the 30th.
CrazedLunatic: Yup, I am reposting the Potter/Black Romance, some bits will be changed though.
We3: Sirius was referring to something else, he knew Rem was a werewolf but Remus was disappearing more often than just at the time of the full moons back then.……………………………………………………………………………
Chapter 6: Positive Affect
"Your sixth and seventh years are very important, Harry, you shouldn't be flooing us in the middle of the night."
Sirius glanced over his shoulder to Remus who was sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of ice cream before looking back to Harry who's frowning head was in the fire. "Ignore him, he's always been like that-"
"You're going the right way for a castration, Black."
Harry snorted with laughter at the look on his Godfather's face; "Not scared are you, Sirius?"
Sirius narrowed his eyes at the sixteen-year-old; "Of course I'm not, Harry. Anyway, what have you, Ron and Hermione been up to?"
"Not much," replied Harry, "Hermione's been forcing us to do our homework-"
"And so she should."
Harry raised an eyebrow slightly at the bit of Remus he could see from the fireplace, "And we've been succumbed to the usual torment from bloody Malfoy, you know, mudblood remarks, jibes at me having no parents… Of course, he does shut up when you insult his mother, or when we mention that his dad was in Azkaban."
Sirius smirked, "You know, if you want, I can give you some dirt on Narcissa-"
"Sirius, stop encouraging him."
Harry snickered, "You are such a wimp, Snuffles."
"Shut up, you." Sirius scowled at Harry for a moment. Remus had been like this for the last two days, picking at everything Sirius did and telling him off. He knew his lover was pregnant and he couldn't really help it but it was really starting to get on Sirius' nerves. "Anyway, what are you doing for the Christmas holiday this year?"
"Can we all come to Grimmauld again?" questioned Harry hopefully.
Sirius shrugged, "If you want to," he looked over his shoulder to Remus. "Do you mind Rem?"
"No…" Remus yawned, "Just warn everyone that I might be forced to bite."
Sirius looked back to his Godson, "Yeah tell them that. But otherwise sure, the more the merrier, right?"
Harry smiled, "Thanks Sirius. I should probably go to bed before Hermione comes back down and drags me away."
Sirius nodded, "Yeah, do that. If we don't hear from you beforehand we'll see you at Christmas."
"Yup. See ya!"
"Goodnight Harry."
After Harry's head had disappeared, Sirius forced himself back to his feet and tried to get the feeling back into his legs. He turned to Remus and watched silently as his lover made a task of finishing every bit of his double chocolate ice cream. Despite Remus' sudden perpetual crankiness, the werewolf could not be more gorgeous to Sirius at the moment. He had gained weight, which seemed to be doing him a load of good and his skin had taken on a glow as well.
Remus looked slowly up from his bowl, "What?"
Sirius smiled slightly and sat down in the chair opposite Remus, "You look absolutely gorgeous."
Remus frowned, a tint of red had come to his cheeks, "You're just saying that because you don't want me to make you sleep in your mother's bedroom with Buckbeak."
Sirius shook his head, "That is not why I am saying it… Its just I've never seen you look so well and healthy, or beautiful." He watched in amusement as Remus bowed his head to hide the blushing. Remus had never been good at taking compliments, especially ones from Sirius. "Its true and you know it, Rem." He got up and went around the table to sit in the chair next to Remus who was still trying to hide his blushing face. "I'm glad this baby is having such a positive affect on you."
Remus finally lifted his head and looked to Sirius, "It seems to be having a positive affect on you too, I don't remember you being this caring and considerate before Azkaban."
Sirius smiled slightly and gently rubbed Remus' back, "I was young and stupid before Azkaban." He pressed a kiss to Remus' temple. "But now I'd like to think that I have matured, at least a little bit."
Remus smiled and ran his fingers through Sirius' longish dark hair, "You have, I think it was Harry that brought that on though." He kissed Sirius briefly on the lips. "Who was that that flooed earlier?"
"Dumbledore," replied Sirius, "He said he was going to come here in the morning with someone that we would probably love to see…or something cryptic like that."
Remus frowned slightly, "Right…" he stifled a yawn into his hand.
Sirius stood up and pulled Remus up and rested his hands on the pregnant man's waist, "Come on, you need to rest, and I'm tired."
"Ok." Remus allowed Sirius to lead him out of the kitchen and quietly upstairs to their bedroom.
………
It was late the next morning and Sirius and Remus were in the kitchen at Twelve Grimmauld Place, waiting for Dumbledore to turn up with this mysterious person that they were supposed to want to see.
"Who do you reckon it is?" asked Remus curiously, before putting Tabasco sauce on his bacon and eggs.
Sirius wrinkled his nose in disgust at what his lover was doing, "I have no idea…you're actually going to eat that, aren't you?"
Remus gave him an innocent look, "What's wrong with it?"
"Nothing." Lied Sirius, he knew if he said anything else it would probably just upset Remus and then he'd be in trouble and he would have to sleep in his mother's room. "I'm sure Dumbledore will be here soon."
Almost as soon as he had finished his sentence they heard the front door open and close, it wasn't quite loud enough to wake Sirius' mother up but it was loud enough for the two men to hear down in the basement. They could hear the murmur of Dumbledore's voice, possibly talking to whoever the mystery person was.
"Ah Sirius, Remus, you're both looking well." said Dumbledore upon entering the kitchen, the mystery person was standing behind him so the other two couldn't quite see who it was. "Now, first of all, Sirius, in a matter of days, you will be free."
Sirius choked on his coffee, "What? How? What happened? Has the rat been caught?"
Dumbledore shook his head, "No, Wormtail has not been captured." Sirius slumped his shoulders. "However, with Severus and Lucius' help, we have been able to track down one person that knows exactly what took place that night." He smirked slightly at the confused looks on both Sirius and Remus' faces. "Voldemort never killed James that night-"
Sirius dropped his mug of coffee on the floor.
Dumbledore continued, "He was injured badly in the explosion of the house and was taken away by a few Death Eaters before you arrived, Sirius."
"Wha…" The question Remus had been about to ask disappeared from his mind when Dumbledore stepped to the side so that they could see the mystery man.
Standing there, arms around himself, was James Potter. At only a glance, Sirius and Remus could tell James was only a shadow of the man that he used to be. His black hair was still as messy as ever, but he was pale and very thin, his hazel eyes had a haunted look to them and he looked extremely nervous.
"James…" Sirius' voice was barely above a whisper as he surveyed the best friend that he had believed was lost.
Dumbledore looked between the three men, "Now, James has been through a lot these last few years, but I will leave it for him to tell you both what happened when he feels up to it." Remus nodded, his brown eyes were glued to Sirius who was still watching James in shock. "Also, Harry does not know yet. I will tell him before he comes here for the Christmas break. But now, I must go."
"I'll see you out." Said Remus. Dumbledore nodded and he followed the old Headmaster out of the kitchen, leaving Sirius and James to stare each other down. "Um…will he not talk?"
Dumbledore stopped at the door and looked back to Remus, "He is still very weak from his ordeal and extremely frightened that he may have to go through that again. But he will talk as long as he doesn't have to start a conversation, it would just be best to ask him questions and perhaps, reassure him that Harry is doing well." Remus nodded, a frown on his face. "Also, it was Lucius that found out about James still being alive, he was also the one that broke into the dungeon James has been kept in to get him out. So you may be having a few visits from Lucius in the next few days, so far it is only Lucius and myself that James has spoken to."
Remus nodded slowly and then realisation spread across his face, "Lucius and James were…" he trailed off at Dumbledore's nod. "Oh god, Sirius is going to die of shock."
The twinkle came back to Dumbledore's eyes, "Aye, he may. I think perhaps you should go and check on them."
Remus nodded again, "OK. Bye."
"Goodbye, Remus."
Remus stood there at the front door for a few minutes after Dumbledore had gone, he could barely believe this was happening. For fifteen years they had believed both James and Lily were dead, and now the truth that James had never died in the first had come to light… It was almost too good to be true…
Remus sighed and rested a hand on his enlarged belly for a moment before he decided to cast a Concealment Charm on himself, he felt certain James probably hadn't noticed his pregnant belly and he didn't want to shock the poor man. After casting the charm he placed a hand gently on his magically flat stomach before heading back to the kitchen, where he found James leaning against one of the counter tops surveying the passed out Sirius on the floor.
"What happened?"
James looked up at him startled before looking back to Sirius, "I think it was all too much for him…"
To Be Continued…
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A/N: Finally! An update! Not that its much but…yeah… Sorry it took so long!
Next Chapter: Sirius, James and Remus talk. Lucius makes a proper appearance. Harry is informed before leaving the school for the holidays.