A/N: Sorry that this is late… I really should have updated almost a week ago. I have up to chapter 8 finished (and chapter 9 is started) but only up to chapter 7 has corrections made. So you've got at least three (or six, if things go like this all the time) weeks of this ready to go. The 'asshole' bit (stolen from Hancock) was written by Conscience. I thought it was so funny that I included it! The bit about the Marauders (sans Peter) on the roof is actually from a one-shot that my sister and I wrote together (though never posted). If you want to read it, send me a message telling me. If enough people do, I'll post it. Con(science) didn't know that the phrase 'couldn't be arsed' is interchangeable for 'couldn't be bothered' (she commented on how she didn't know you could make arse into a verb…) so I thought I'd point it out for those of you who hadn't heard the phrase either.
DISCLAIMER: The characters are Jo's. I just kidnap them from time to time and make them do things that, while not bad per se, are fairly outrageous and would probably make Jo… angry? I dunno. Whatever the emotion she felt, it would not be a good one.
When James and Lily returned from their honeymoon, it was to bad news. Lily found out that Martha had died on a mission while they were away. They had made it home in time for the funeral and attended. Lily had cried that whole week.
Then, a few weeks later, they had attended Petunia's wedding. Lily had danced with Vernon at the reception, explaining what she'd do to him if he ever hurt her big sister. At the same time, James danced with Petunia telling her that she should let bygones be bygones and that he wanted their families to be close. Petunia smiled brightly and nodded, saying that she really did love her little sister, after all.
About a week after Vernon and Petunia returned from their own honeymoon, Petunia had driven over to the Potter household in a rush and announced that she was pregnant. Little more than a month later, Lily announced the same thing.
And so, with the Christmas season but a few weeks away, James found himself standing in the kitchen with his three best friends, watching in horror as Lily and Petunia made plans, yet again, for their children and what best friends they would be.
"That, my dear Prongsie, is why I'm not with a woman," Sirius pointed out with a smirk.
"I could down a fertility potion and you'd be in the same boat," Remus remarked. Sirius visibly paled, which was a difficult thing to do with the complexion of a Black.
"Annabel doesn't want kids," Peter stated. "She says she wants to focus on her career."
"She just doesn't fancy your genes in her child," Sirius teased the shortest Marauder.
"They're better genes than yours." James shot Sirius a challenging look. "At least his kid isn't destined to be an asshole."
"Call him that one more time," threatened Sirius, becoming defensive.
"Ass--"
"Wipe," interjected Remus, smirking.
Sirius scowled like a child deprived of his victory in a wild game of Hide-and-Go-Seek.
"James has a point," Remus pointed out.
"Nah, my kids'll be just like Moony. I'll lock them up in the library together and let them out for meals and bathroom breaks… and Moony for full moons, I suppose."
"You'll do no such thing, Sirius Ian Black!" Remus protested loudly.
"Well if you insist," Sirius replied with a roll of his eyes.
"Is Annabel coming over for dinner?" James asked. "I heard Vernon is." James wasn't too fond of the man but he put up with him for Lily's and Petunia's sakes.
"I can Floo her now and see if she wants to," Peter chirped happily. Though the two had been dating for a few months, Peter hadn't yet been able to get Annabel to meet the Marauders all at once. In fact, now that he thought about it, Annabel hadn't even met Lily or Remus yet.
"Go ahead. The hearth's all yours," James gestured to the fireplace.
"What is he doing?" Petunia asked when Peter grabbed some powder, threw it down, and stuck his head in the fireplace. "And wasn't there a fire going?"
"It's called Floo Powder," Lily explained. "When you throw it down, it will transport you to where you want to go. You must be clear about it though. Peter's just firecalling someone right now though. That's when you just stick your head in.
"How will he get out if his head's in another place?" Petunia looked worried.
"No worries," Sirius said. "He loses his head all the time."
"Not funny, Pads," Remus remarked coldly.
"Yeah, that was terrible," James agreed.
"It could use some work," Lily tried to help.
"All this wizardry nonsense is rather confusing," Petunia said with a scowl.
"That's what I thought at first," Lily admitted.
"We grew up with the stuff," Sirius wore a grin. "In fact, I hear Prongsie's family owns one of the broomstick companies."
"Mum's side owns the Cleansweeps," James muttered humbly. "But I only ride a Cleansweep because they've got the best broom out right now. If some other company put out a better one I'd probably buy that." James shrugged.
"Interesting," was all Petunia said. "What time is dinner? I should call Vernon and tell him when he should come over."
"Didn't you drive?" Remus asked, the only one of the three men in the conversation to understand much about muggle transportation.
"No, Vernon dropped me off on his way to work," Petunia explained.
"Dinner's at seven," Lily informed her sister. "You can use our phone; it's in the kitchen." Petunia pushed past the men who were standing in the doorway and made her way to the telephone.
"Annabel says she'll come over as soon as work's finished. I'll have to pick her up and side-along her," Peter explained.
"All right boys, let's go out and fly for a bit," James said with a smirk. Sirius heartily agreed if his cry of 'YEAH!' was anything to go by. Remus, who'd never been much for flying, just shrugged, deciding it was for the best. Peter looked nervous at best but decided that it would be easier to just go along with the other three. They hadn't steered him wrong (well, too wrong) just yet.
"Guys, this is Annabel," Peter introduced later, when he brought her into James' and Lily's cottage. "Annabel, I think you know James and Sirius but that's Remus and that's Lily, James' wife. That's Petunia, Lily's sister and Vernon, Petunia's husband." Peter pointed out all the faces.
"Oh my, there's such a lot of you," Annabel looked at them all wide-eyed. She was petite, no more than 5'2" and had a bob of blonde hair. She didn't look like anything spectacular but the boys figured that she made Peter happy so looks didn't really matter.
"Hey Annabel, did Petey tell you that Moony, in all his glorious beauty, is mine all mine?" Sirius asked with a smirk. He did like to make an impression.
"Which one's Moony?" Annabel looked confused.
"He means me," Remus replied with a roll of his eyes. "Sirius tends to forget that not everyone has known us for nine years." Annabel nodded slowly.
"Don't worry about them," Lily said, taking Annabel's arm and leading her away from the boys with a soft glare in the direction of James and Sirius. "They're just silly boys. Come on, Petunia. Let's gossip in the kitchen," Lily called for her older sister who drifted past Vernon and followed the red-head.
"So, Vernon, how've you been?" James asked, trying to drum up a conversation.
"The usual," Vernon said gruffly.
"Lily's only a few months pregnant and driving me up the wall with demands," James told the heavy-set man. "How's Petunia been treating you on that front."
"Oh, you know," Vernon said with a sigh.
"That bad, huh?" Sirius plopped down on the opposite end of the couch as Vernon. James, Peter and Remus took the chairs. "I hear it only gets worse."
"Lucky you don't have to deal with it, Black," Vernon remarked.
"Mmm, Moony says I've been flirting with too many women lately. I don't know what the man sees in me, really." Sirius, as insane as it was, was the king of idle chit-chat.
"Stay away from them, mate. Women are bad news," James warned the dog animagus.
"I heard that, James Potter!" Lily called warningly from the kitchen.
"You know I mean it with all the love in the world!" James called back.
"He's right though," Vernon said in a low voice. "They're maddening."
"But worth it, I assume," Remus jumped into the conversation. "For what you do for them, I assume the positives outweigh the negatives." Both James and Vernon just nodded sadly.
"I heard on the grapevine that Severus should be returning home soon," Peter remarked. James turned to look at Peter so fast that he was afraid he'd gotten whiplash for a second.
"Where'd you hear that?" Sirius asked, almost suspiciously.
"You know how I hear things," Peter scowled at Sirius, looking almost defensive.
"Now boys, let's not fight. It's the first time Annabel's ever seen the Marauders together and we do like to make a good impression," Remus chided. Vernon snickered. They all knew he found it funny how motherly Remus was to all of them… and how easily they listened to him. He didn't know, however, that Remus could crush all three of them without batting an eye, thanks to his werewolf-enhanced strength.
"Boys! Dinner's ready!" Lily called, her voice coming, this time, from the dining room.
They ate in relative silence, James and Sirius being the only two who really did much talking. Of course, they intimidated Annabel well enough on their own, sharing in jokes that no one else got and recalling stories of stunts they'd pulled in Hogwarts.
"You remember that time Wormy got lost for a whole day?" James asked Sirius with mirth in his eyes.
"Oh yeah, when me, you and Moony were on the roof but Peter was nowhere to be found, right?" Sirius asked, recalling the exact event.
"No, it was you three who got lost," Peter butted in. "McGonagall had me help her search the whole castle for you three. Then, when we're having our lunch break, you three waltz in like you hadn't been missing for nearly a day." He scowled at them.
"How did we get up there?" Remus asked the question they'd never quite been able to answer.
"How did you get down?" Peter asked, like he always asked when they told this story. He'd never gotten an answer either.
"Mmm, Moony, now I've got a craving for ham and swiss on rye," Sirius moaned.
"Is your stomach all you ever think about, Black?" Lily asked with a scowl.
"I think about other parts of my anatomy as well," he replied. The entire table (minus Annabel, who didn't know Sirius very well) groaned. "And I'm obsessive about my hair. Tell them how much time I spend on my hair, Moony."
"Hours. We know." James sounded exasperated.
"And you always have to fix your hair at the least convenient times," Peter moaned.
"What on Earth are you talking about?" Vernon looked confused.
"Those four shared a dorm at our boarding school for seven years," Lily explained. "One bathroom for the four of them is, apparently, not enough."
"Sirius and James always used all the hot water, too," Remus complained.
"I always offered to share my shower with you." Sirius grinned flirtatiously at the werewolf.
"The point of a shower is getting clean, Padfoot," James sighed.
"My brother Lucas is dating a boy," Annabel tried to join the conversation. "Mum and Dad say it must be just a phase but Lucas says he's in love with the boy."
"I'm sure my mum threw a right fit when she found out I was seeing a boy," Sirius said with a devilish grin.
"You don't know?" Annabel looked confused.
"I haven't seen my mother since I was sixteen. I didn't start seeing Moony until after I left that god-awful place." Sirius shrugged. "I recently wrote her a letter, though, telling her about my darling boyfriend. I only wish I could have seen her face as she read it." Sirius looked downright evil as he said this. Annabel just nodded. If Sirius hadn't been wearing a short-sleeved shirt, bearing his blank forearms for the world to see, she would have wondered if he was a Death Eater.
"Didn't my mum give you a hug when you told her about us?" Remus asked Sirius, who nodded.
"And James' mum told us not to shag unless we were in my room and the door was locked and the room well warded so no one could hear us," Sirius grinned impishly. "Then she told me to do the dishes."
"Mrs. Potter is an amazing woman," Remus said with a nod.
"You're all jealous because she's my mum and no one else's!" James cried, being spectacularly selfish.
"HAH! Mrs. P thinks of me as a second son. She's practically my mum too," Sirius replied, sticking out his tongue.
"That's what you get, James, for interfering with Sirius' spotlight," Peter chided.
"I suppose we'll leave the mutt to his childishness," James said with a shrug.
"Peter, your friends are so silly!" Annabel cried. By this time, Remus was sitting back, shaking his head sadly, James and Sirius were glowering at each other playfully, Peter was watching in amusement with a little horror just to be safe, Lily was muttering 'I can't believe I married into this mess' to herself over and over, Petunia was stifling giggles, Vernon was continuing his meal like nothing going on and Annabel was just looking on in amazement.
"Why thank you, Peter's girlfriend!" Sirius cried happily.
"I'm quite sure he remembers your name," Remus assured the girl, "though he's probably trying to look cool by pretending he doesn't."
The dinner went on in this manner until Petunia announced that she was tired and needed to go to bed immediately. She and Vernon said their goodbyes before driving off. Not long after, Annabel announced she had to get up for work the next morning and so she and Peter left. Finally, James was about to tell Sirius to get the hell out of his house when the mutt announced that he had to ravage his darling werewolf that night and left with a mischievous grin.
Lily and James did the dishes and were about to head off to bed when they heard a knock at the door.
"James, could you get that?" Lily asked, looking extremely tired. "I really just want to go to bed." He nodded and kissed his wife goodnight before heading to the door.
"I'm coming!" he called to the impatient person knocking his door. "Oh, hullo Severus," he said and stood aside to let the taller man in.
"Where's Lily?" Snape asked curiously.
"She just headed off to bed," James replied.
"Honey, is that Severus downstairs?" he heard her call. She sounded excited and more awake than she had been a moment ago.
"Yeah, it is," he called back. She rushed back down the stairs, throwing a bathrobe over her nightgown.
Severus saw only a flurry of red before he found himself being hugged by Lily Potter. "It's good to see you too, Lily," he said, patting her on the back awkwardly.
"It's as if you like hugging him more than you like hugging me," James pouted. Lily earnestly pulled away to stand next to her husband. "Anything in particular you wanted, Snape?" he asked.
"I would have come tomorrow, seeing how it's so late," he said. "But I have urgent news."
"Let's hear it," James said, preparing himself for the worst. Severus quickly set wards up around the three before he told them anything.
"I've found out who the spy within the Order is," Severus started slowly.
"Well who is it?" James asked impatiently.
"You're not going to like this," he warned but the couple urged him to continue. "It's Pettigrew."
"You can't be serious!" Lily cried. "Not little Peter!"
"Yes, little Peter," Severus said angrily. "I was shocked myself but I know it to be true. I saw him at a meeting. I told Dumbledore as soon as I found out, provided him with the memory, actually, but he told me to wait to tell the both of you until I got back." Severus seemed angry.
"But he was here tonight for dinner!" Lily cried, unable to believe the boy they'd all spent so much time with had gone astray.
"And he had that cute little girlfriend, Annabel, too," James muttered. "She seemed like a nice girl."
"She got on with Sirius fairly well," Lily admitted.
"Which is more than anyone can hope for," Snape joined the conversation.
"He told her about his family and this only the second time he's met her," James added. Severus looked astonished.
"Be that as it may, Pettigrew is still the spy. His girlfriend could be a saint and he'd still be the spy." Severus looked sad that he had to bring this news to them.
"Does this mean I can tell Pads that you're on our side?" James asked excitedly.
"Pettigrew might not be the only spy the Dark Lord has within the Order's ranks," Severus replied. James scowled. "But Dumbledore has told me that the mangy mutts are allowed to know about my standing." The taller man sighed but both James and Lily looked extraordinarily happy.
"I have two things to tell you," Lily stated matter-of-factly. "One, I'm pregnant. Two, you're coming to dinner tomorrow night." She fixed him with her most intimidating glower.
"One, congratulations," Severus said, matching her tone. "And two, I'd be honored."
The next day was Sirius' day off and he couldn't be arsed to get out of bed. He had been working some random job in muggle London (James had called him crazy for doing a muggle job but Sirius didn't mind) and had been working a weird shift. He had Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays off but worked the rest of the week.
Sirius lying in bed meant that Remus was the one sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the Prophet when there was a fateful knock on the door. "Moony, could you get that!" Sirius called from their room. Remus rolled his eyes, already halfway toward the door.
Remus heard Sirius' feet hit the floor as he opened the door and saw a rather familiar shade of grey eyes and a rather familiar color of dark hair on the young man standing in front of him.
"Hello Remus," Regulus Black greeted the werewolf. "Is Sirius there?" What was disconcerting-- well, more disconcerting than his boyfriend's estranged brother standing at their door-- was that Regulus had called him Remus. It had always been Lupin when they were at school. Remus made a note that the boy was trying to be civil.
"Moony, who is it at the…" Sirius trailed off when, as he stood behind Remus, he saw his little brother.
"Severus said that talking to you would be proof that I wanted out," Regulus looked at the floor in shame.
"Look, Reggie-- hey, look at me--" Sirius growled, "I want to hear it from your mouth, in your words, why you think that shit's wrong." His grey eyes were hard and set but he was willing to listen to the kid. That was enough for Remus.
"Perhaps you should invite him in, Sirius," Remus said quietly. "This could be a long story." Sirius growled but did as he was told.
As Sirius was sitting down to talk to his younger brother, an owl-- James' owl-- flew in the window and dropped a letter in front of him before flying off again. "Hold on," Sirius muttered as he carefully opened the letter to James' messy scrawl.
Padfoot and Moony,
Severus came back last night. Big news to discuss. Come for dinner. Peter's busy so don't even think about asking.
Prongs.
Sirius threw the letter to Remus who took it, the Prophet and his coffee and headed to the bedroom, deciding to give the boys some semblance of privacy.
"Mum was absolutely livid when she got your letter," Regulus started out with. His face pulled into a grin, "It was wicked."
"Prongs thought I was mad. She thought Mum would send her pack of harpies-- we're convinced she's got a pack of harpies-- after me for that." Sirius grinned, knowing his letter had gotten the exact response he'd wanted.
"She was going to try and take you out of the will and grew even more furious when she found out she couldn't." Regulus' grin grew wider. "When she kicks it, you get everything."
"What about Dad?" Sirius asked, looking a little confused.
"Died maybe a month or two after I graduated," Regulus explained. Sirius nodded.
"As fun as it is to talk about our hellish parents, I want to know why you're here." Sirius leveled a serious gaze toward his brother.
"You're the only one that's happy," Regulus explained. "Everyone else is miserable and thinks their twisted values will make the world as miserable as they are but you, you're happy. You smile, you laugh, you do things for the hell of it. You've got friends, people you can trust. All they have is their misery and their selfish sense of superiority." Regulus sneered as he said this last bit.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Sirius asked angrily. "How do I know you're not trying to play my weakness and spy on us?"
"Veritaserum. I'll take it," Regulus offered. "Here." He handed his brother a bottle of clear liquid. "It's from Severus. Said you'd know how to make sure it's authentic."
Sirius took it, pulled out his wand, pointed at the bottle and muttered 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'. A blank piece of parchment formed on the bottle before falling off. 'Mischief managed,' Sirius muttered and words formed along the page.
It's real, Black. I get the feeling that he's telling the truth but I know you won't rest until you have solid proof. Next time you see me, tell me how this meeting went.
The writing was cramped and he knew, from reading it over James' shoulder enough, that it was, in fact, Severus'.
"All right," Sirius sighed. "Take the damn stuff." He tossed the bottle back to the younger Black, who deftly caught it. It was a small bottle and Regulus downed the whole thing.
"So, are you serious about not wanting any part of the Death Eater's life anymore?" Sirius asked his first question.
"Completely," Regulus answered unwaveringly.
"Do you think Mum's completely batty and that she is and always has been a terrible mother?" It was off-topic, Sirius knew, but he wanted to know what his brother thought.
"Now I do. I never really noticed it before but now I see why you hated her." Sirius tried not to look at his brother as he questioned. Regulus' eyes were too wide and innocent. It reminded him when they'd been proper brothers, not just two men with the same parents.
"Do you think that craphead you call a Dark Lord is wrong in his ideals?"
"Yes. Completely and totally," Regulus said vehemently.
"You want to be my little brother again?" Sirius asked, a smile on his face.
"I never stopped being your little brother," Regulus countered. "You just stop wanting to be my big brother."
"You do know what kind of mess you're getting into, right? I mean, James Potter, you remember him, he's my brother in all but blood. You really want two big brothers?" Sirius asked. He figured he'd keep asking nonsense questions until the Veritaserum wore off.
"As long as we have fun. You two are always having fun," Regulus replied.
"You sure you're okay with your big brother sleeping with a werewolf?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah."
"Hey, what was Mum's face like when she got the letter?" Sirius asked, eager to know.
"When she saw it was from you, she scoffed. She opened it, thinking you were asking after money which she didn't plan on giving you. Then, as she red it, her face grew redder and redder until finally she burst out, 'NO SON OF MINE SLEEPS WITH WEREWOLVES!' I figured, with the time it took her, she'd gotten through maybe half the letter so I told her to calm down and finish the letter.
"She sat back down and again, she just got angrier the farther she read. When she finished, she announced 'He's not my son. I'm not related to queers with fleas.' She then Incendio'd it. As soon as she went upstairs in a huff, I burst out laughing. I'd never seen her so mad over something so ridiculous."
"I wish I could have been there," Sirius said sadly. "You need a place to stay, kid?" he asked.
"Anything's better than living with that wench any longer," Regulus replied.
"You can stay here with me and Moony. We've got a bedroom we don't need. Moony said he'd keep his books in there but I figure we may as well have them in our room. He loves those books almost as much as he loves me," Sirius remarked with a grin. "You okay with that, Moony?" he asked, not even raising his voice.
"Yes, Sirius," Remus said, coming out of the bedroom.
"You could hear us in there?" Regulus looked baffled.
"He's a werewolf, kid. He's got Super Werewolf Powers." Sirius wore his trademark impish grin.
"You should tell him about your super powers," Remus pointed out.
"All right, but you can't tell anyone, promise?" Sirius asked his brother.
"Promise." Regulus and Sirius both knew that he was still under the Veritaserum so the answer was an honest one.
"I'm an animagus. I turn into a dog." Sirius then demonstrated. When he was a man again, Regulus was wide-eyed with astonishment.
"Does anyone else know about that?" Regulus asked.
"Just James, Lily, Peter and Snivellus," Sirius replied off-handedly. "Although Lily might have told her sister but then, that doesn't really matter since Petunia's a muggle."
"Are we talking Peter Pettigrew?" Regulus asked concernedly.
"Yeah, why?" Sirius watched his brother carefully.
"I have a feeling we're going to find out tonight at dinner with Severus and the Potters," Remus remarked. "Shall I call Lily and see if your brother can come tonight? He'll, most likely, know most of what's going on."
"Go ahead," Sirius gestured to the kitchen, where the phone was. "Those two love having people over for dinner."
"Wanna give me a tour?" Regulus suggested. Sirius shrugged and showed him around the small apartment. He ended on the room Regulus would be using. It had a small, unmade bed in the center and a nightstand with a lamp but otherwise the room was empty.
"It came with the place," Sirius explained. "We haven't needed it yet. Why don't you pop home, get your shit together and pop here," Sirius offered. "And if you want, you could stop in my room and get a few things. I left some of my favorite things in there." He gave his brother a hopeful smile.
"Just make a list. I'll get my own things while I'm waiting," Regulus explained.
"What'll you tell that old harpy?" Sirius asked.
"If she's home, and I suspect she won't be, I'll just tell her that I'm under the Dark Lord's orders to make good with my brother and spy from here." He shrugged. "I've gotten good at lying to the bastard himself. Mum shouldn't be too hard to convince."
"Are you sure you can convincingly lie to him? Snape said at Prongsie's wedding that he was a Legillimens. He said you had to be an Occlumens to avoid that sort of shit." Sirius looked concerned.
"No worries," Regulus assured his brother. "I've got it under control."
"I cannot believe you like that kid more than me," James whined jokingly that night at the dinner table.
"You've got Lily now, Prongsie. I had to find someone to create mischief with," Sirius explained as if the two were breaking up. "It's not that I like him more, it's that I had no other choice."
"Would you two stop being such drama queens?" Remus asked with a roll of his eyes.
"You seem startlingly used to this, Severus," Regulus noted.
"Didn't I tell you I dated James for a few years?" Severus looked surprised at himself.
"You what?!" Regulus was completely shocked. "And none of you are surprised?" he looked around the table.
"I was there, man," James said with a shrug.
"Prongsie never keeps secrets from me," Sirius said with a grin.
"Sirius can't keep secrets from me," Remus shrugged, "even if they're not his own."
"They told me a few months ago," Lily gestured towards James and Snape who both shrugged.
"You didn't tell me shit!" Regulus accused. "How am I supposed to know you didn't keep more secrets from me?"
"You sound like you're married to him or something," Sirius stated.
"No, he was like my older brother while my real older brother wouldn't talk to me," Regulus replied.
"Ouch. Below the belt," James muttered, using a muggle phrase he'd learned from Lily's father. That earned him stares from everyone but Lily and Remus (for the werewolf had read his fair share of muggle books). "You know you're jealous," he said with a mouth full of roast.
"Sounds perfectly plausible to me. I suppose that makes you my surrogate younger brother, Prongsie." Sirius smirked at his best friend.
"You wish!" James replied, and flung a potato at Sirius. Sirius reached for his spoon to fling a pea at James when he felt a strong hand clamp down on his wrist.
"Ow. Moony, you're gonna break it," he whined.
"I will not have you two starting another food fight. You had one Saturday at Peter's and made him clean up the mess when you left." Remus glared at the two.
"Yeah, but it's Prongsie's house and his wife would make him clean it all up," Sirius whined.
"I'd make you help, Black," Lily glowered from her chair.
"Shit! Sirius, don't mess with her!" James cried. "My unborn child is making her all moody."
"Probably already taking its godfather's bad example," Remus said with a roll of his eyes. Sirius had insisted on being the godfather of the child as soon as he'd heard Lily was pregnant (which had been two minutes after James had found out).
"It's not a bad example, per se," Sirius tried to reason with them. "It's just not the conventional route one takes when one wants a well-behaved kid."
"I still can't believe Peter would do something like that," Lily muttered, changing the topic. She didn't want to hear Sirius explain how he was going to warp her poor child's mind.
"It makes me want to cut the little twerp out of our lives, but we can't really. Then they'd know and things would be all over," Sirius muttered.
"Well, at least we'll have two spies, right?" Regulus countered. All eyes moved to him. "Well, I figure it's the only way I can help out. Severus said he'd help me prove my loyalties to Dumbledore." He looked a little nervous with all the attention focused on him.
"Snuffles, your kid brother is way different than you," James said, turning to Sirius. "He doesn't like all eyes on him."
"It's a shame, really," Sirius replied. "But then, if he did, he would steal my spotlight."
"And we just couldn't have that," Remus muttered sarcastically.