Harry Potter and the Mischief Palace

by Mariann's

Harry is sent back - waaay back! Read what he gets to see! Pairings: HP/HG, RL/SB (slash!) and others. This is some silly fun - Completely AU right from the start and will stay AU!

8. 07 - Brief Reprieves from the War

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews!

This chapter contains some lemons – they'll be between markings like this:

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Chapter 7 – Brief Reprieves from War

James and Lily got married on the second Saturday in August. They had chosen the date to be as far away from the full moon as they could find for Remus to really feel well on the date. Sirius was the best man, a duty he fulfilled with great enthusiasm. That's what he called it, Remus rather tended to call it exaggerated exuberance. But Sirius had fun planning a few funny schemes together with Dari, the maid of honour, and he was exhilarated that the wedding was going to be a wizarding wedding.

Security had to be tight. The young people around James Potter had all become a very dangerous sign for all Death Eaters as they were able to thwart many of the Death Eaters' schemes in their earliest stages. In the past four months Remus had done a lot of travelling to apply his new knowledge about very specialised and personalised wards onto endangered people's houses. These people could then pick up their lives again much better than under the simpler hiding charms. He had warded off Andromeda and Ted Tonks' house as well as the houses of some very prominent witches and wizards. So far none of his wards had been breached. Dumbledore was quite pleased seeing his special pupil make some name and a bit of money for himself. Remus was happy to be able to earn some money of his own and help protect people. It had given his self-confidence an enormous boost.

Sirius had been a bit more domestic watching the children for the most part, though both men continued to nurse their children. While he had always been the one who couldn't sit still he was now the one who didn't really mind being glued to the library and the home with the children.

But of course he brought the old Padfoot back out for James and Lily's wedding! To be able to celebrate with no fear Remus had warded off a country inn somewhere in Essex and all the guests were brought in by Portkey. They didn't know where the Portkey took them, only Remus and Sirius knew. They personally made all the Portkeys which were the name tags for all the guests. The items were pre-set on two o'clock, Saturday, seventh of August and took them to all the guests. The number of guests had to be limited to forty, so there were only the closest relatives and friends. James had his parents, Lily had her parents. Her sister had declined an invitation as soon as Lily said the wedding would be magical. Dumbledore officiated, Sirius was best man and Dari was maid of honour, together with their partners that made for the first eleven participants. Then there were Peter and Sabina, Professor McGonagall, all the members of the last Gryffindor Quidditch team apart from those who were there anyway and the closest colleagues from work.

Because they had to fear attacks it was a small wedding party, but the intimacy of it made for a very fun party. All the people who wanted to could stay overnight, the nicest rooms had been reserved for the newlyweds. The Potters and the Evanses had paid a fairly high price to rent the whole inn for the weekend, so that the problems would be controllable. And through that they were able to enjoy a wonderful afternoon and evening. James and Lily radiated and looked very happy. Remus and Sirius enjoyed their time, even though Sirius had a few things to look after. They had left Vega and Polaris back at the Lupins, who were happy to look after them.

After the official part and Dumbledore bonding James and Lily there was time for socialising before the big dinner was served at five thirty in the afternoon. For two hours they enjoyed the excellent food. Sirius and Dari had organised a few little games to entertain them all during the meal and to get some good laughs. Peter and Sabina had prepared a little show in which they played a few scenes about marriage clichés. Everyone enjoyed that a great deal, as it was extremely funny. But Dari got the biggest laugh - she went behind the scenes and came back wearing the most awful robes with lots of little things attached. Her hat put old Mrs Longbottom's to shame! She came back in, Sirius got the room's attention and then she started bawling in front of James. Everyone screamed of laughter when she acted out his old lover, chucked out for his new bride and gave him back all their 'souvenirs' which she plucked from her robes. They ranged from an old pair of boxers over the squashed tube of toothpaste to the last remaining condom and she had fabricated a little story to each of the items.

They had just dried off their tears when the dessert was being served. Dari went back to get out of the dreadful clothes. When she sat down again Lily grabbed and embraced her.

"That was brilliant, Dari! No one could have acted that out as well as you did! Thanks so much for embarrassing James to the bone!"

James actually still looked rather red. Dari sat next to him and gave him a little shove. He grinned a bit sheepishly and said:

"You know, some of that might actually hit a bit close to home. I had two or three girlfriends while I was actually in love with Lily and I'm sure that's about how I treated them..."

"Forget it, James. You're with the one you really love now and that's all that counts."

After dinner the dance started and everyone got up to the floor to enjoy some music and a lot of dancing. Sirius could finally relax, because now his duties were more or less over and he could just enjoy himself with Remus. They were both staying over at the inn as well and were looking forward for a night of undisturbed rest.

"...and hopefully some good sex, love! We're not getting any as often as I'd like..." Sirius whispered into his husband's ear.

"I'm longing for you, Padfoot! Don't know when it's been that we had a whole night free. But it doesn't look that bad, I mean, Polaris is already sleeping through very nicely. Vega is fighting with her teeth, so that makes her a bit crankier, I can understand that..."

Sirius smiled. So much of their lives now turned around their children and every conversation started somewhere else still landed with the little ones at some point.

"Do you feel robbed of something, because we've had them so early?" he asked.

"Well, yes, a bit… if I'm completely honest. We could go out more and enjoy ourselves, but I'd do it with a very bad feeling. So I do feel a bit cheated out of that young adult time, but we have them, so it's just that. I love them so much and I feel their trust and love, so that's more than a reward for the things we do for them... besides having experienced that was amazing."

"I agree with you. They're also going to be great fun and I can only say, woe to Minerva McGonagall when these two come to Hogwarts as students!"

"Obviously they're going to be brought up to become the most insufferable pranksters," Remus said.

"That's fate, Moony! How can they NOT be with two fathers like us?" Sirius was offended.

Remus just laughed. He pulled Sirius into a kiss that lasted so long, that Sirius wanted to get out of the room, into theirs and into the bed.

"Can't, love - you're the best man..." Remus reminded him.

Some time after midnight the party started to wind down and some of the guests, especially the older ones, left the inn to apparate home. While there had been anti-apparition wards set up to apparate in, they could all leave without any problems. Mr. and Mrs Evans had received a two way Portkey, so they could just use their name tags to get back home. Remus activated the Portkey for them.

The younger generation of course held out until way after two in the morning. Sirius and Remus asked to leave a lot before that and were granted the wish, because they would have to go back and pick their children up again. So the two men bid goodbye to all who were there and went up to the room they had chosen. It was small, but still big enough to hold a double bed, a dresser and two armchairs next to a fireplace. They went straight to bed. They were so hot for each other they could hardly wait until they had torn their robes off. But somehow they managed and then they fell into the bed naked and greedy to have some good sex.

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Their still somewhat untypical male bodies made for some funny love-making. Both of them enjoyed it immensely to suck on each others' breasts, as these nipples were much more sensitive than what they had been used to before. They had quite well formed breasts, Sirius' were a bit more prominent than Remus'. The whole being male and female at the same time brought forth some perks – and some dangers as well. Not only could they get pregnant from each other, but there was a certain danger that they could actually catch some sperm of their own! They were aware that only strictest birth control would keep that from happening.

Remus cupped them with his hand as he moved on top of Sirius, rubbing their erections together and enjoying the growing heat. Sirius tilted his head back on the pillow, closed his eyes and just felt. Remus' caresses on his breasts sent little jolts straight down into his cock, which he had found amazing every time they had made love in the past few months. Remus kissed him again, letting his tongue penetrate past those lips he so loved and felt welcomed and greeted by Sirius' tongue. Remus slung his arms around his husband's neck and held on tightly while they kissed. Sirius' arms snaked around him as well and they rolled around on the bed. They returned to Remus pinning Sirius down on the mattress, but moving a bit away, so he could get to Sirius' opening, which he slowly prepared.

Once both of them felt like making love again after the birth of their babies Sirius and Remus had cast a contraceptive spell onto each other. According to Poppy Pomfrey this spell held until it would be removed with a specific counter spell. She assured them that it would not react to any casting of 'Finite Incantatem'. Nothing had happened so far and they were now quite relaxed.

Sirius' hands wandered down along Remus' body, caressed him and finally made a grab for the cock, which was heavy and hot, just waiting to breach that ring of muscles and give him these wonderful feelings again. Sirius loved to be fucked. He loved to be top as well, but feeling Remus inside of him made him really happy. He needed to be 'needed'. And Remus did need him right now; he could hardly wait to plunge in. Though he penetrated carefully until Sirius was warmed up and he would be gliding easily. Slowly Remus began to move, in and out, back in with long, slow strokes, then back out, inside again, breathing deeper and panting after a short while. Sirius pulled him in, moaned loudly and egged him on to go faster.

Remus stroked over Sirius' sweaty shoulder. He bent down to kiss him on the neck, soon leaving a love bite and then he moved up to the jaw and kissed all the way back to that wonderful sensual mouth he loved so much.

"Sirius... Sirius, love... Sirius..." he repeated over and over.

Sirius never got enough of hearing his husband call his name. Sometimes he also needed that, the assurance of his lover needing this, needing him. Sometimes he was still afraid that all would break to shards in front of him and he would be unable to do anything to prevent it from happening.

But not in this moment. Not now, when he felt that wonderful cock thrusting deep inside of him, hitting his prostate and causing him to yowl and scream Remus' name. Remus folded his hand around Sirius' cock and rubbed it hard. They came almost at the same time. First, Sirius let go with a growl and a scream, then Remus followed him over the edge and let go as well. He kept thrusting until the very last drop of semen had been embedded deep inside of his lover.

They flopped back down on the bed, next to each other. Sirius had only the strength left to wrap his arms around Remus and to pull him close, pressing a little kiss on Remus' mouth. Remus smiled at him and brushed the damp locks out of his face.

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"I love you, Padfoot," he said simply.

"I love you, too, Moony," Sirius replied.

It had become their standard phrase after sex. Reminding each other that their sex really meant making love to them. Only then could they fall asleep and really sleep together. It was like a bedtime ritual for the children.

Because they had been in bed relatively early they were up quite early, too. Months of having to get up early because at least one of their babies called them for food had already conditioned them to become early risers. The good thing was that they had the cosy breakfast room for themselves. The sun streamed in and warmed them nicely. They had a great big breakfast in front of them. They talked about the next few days, what they had planned.

"I'll be going over the last few books about Dark Curses. There are about ten or twelve left that I haven't read yet. I actually wish I could get my hand on the library at Grimmauld Place, that would give us some real insight at Dark Curses and potions!" Sirius said.

"I'll be up at Hogwarts, too, for the most part. Then I have an order to ward about six more houses. According to Peter's intelligence Voldemort is beside himself because he can't get to these people. His own fault if he surrounds himself with mostly idiots. They may all be pure-blooded, but they're dumb nevertheless. Or because…"

"Yes, it was quite entertaining hearing his tirades. It was ingenious of you to think of a recording spell! Now we get so much of what he talks about first hand. And he still hasn't found the 'leak'! That's the most precious bit."

"I would expect, that Lucius starts to wonder why he's got himself involved with this, if all he really gains is being punished with Cruciatus every other time he gets summoned," Remus grinned.

"You know what? I have an idea – maybe we ought to pass some of the sermons he holds to the Daily Prophet! Just imagine Just imagine the conniptions he gets when he learns that his tirades are posted verbatim!"

"We have to be absolutely sure that he won't find out who passes the location and dates to us…" Remus said, a bit more cautiously.

"Darn. You're right. Would be a good idea, but is impracticable… grrr…"

One by one the other friends arrived in the breakfast room. The sun had already gone over the house by the time the last ones arrived. They all said their goodbyes and Remus obliviated the proprietors of the inn, so they wouldn't remember the strange things that had been going on over the weekend.

Remus met Sirius at his parents' place where he was just picking up Vega for her afternoon meal. He followed suit with Polaris and both made themselves comfortable on the sofa in the living room to let their children suckle. At nine months they started to chew on bread rinds and their diet was supplemented with some cooked and mashed vegetables as addition to their milk. But for some reason neither Sirius nor Remus were ready to let go of the nursing just yet. It felt much too good for them still. No one tried to talk them out of it, so they just kept on as long as the children liked to take the milk.

Both babies were growing fast. They sat up and crawled a bit already and if one of their fathers helped them they pulled themselves up on their feet. While Sirius was reading he usually had them in a rather big playpen right next to his armchair. A house-elf was never far to entertain them when Sirius needed to concentrate on his texts.

Looking back over the year he had just passed, or most of it anyway, he thought that he couldn't believe how many books he had read. He presumed that not many people had gone through the Hogwarts library as systematically as he had. But he and Lily had worked out a few very good defences and had come up with some amazing spells, of which Remus had used a part for his wards.

Returning to Hogwarts after the babies were fed they could lay them into their cribs for another nap which would last until dinner time. With nothing else to do Remus pulled Sirius into their bed for some more love-making. He fucked Sirius again, and did it three times in a row. Sirius teased him:

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"Feeling alpha today, are we?"

But in truth he couldn't get enough of his wolf. As soon as Remus had shown him his tongue, Sirius asked, doggy eyes in place:

"Again?"

"You're wearing me out!" Remus complained, but complied, grinning.

"What's all that werewolf stamina good for if not to please my arse?" Sirius teased.

Remus crawled over Sirius, tickled his stomach and watched amusedly how Sirius jumped up and winced. Remus laughed, followed his husband and pressed him back down on the bed. He nipped and kissed the flesh just below the navel, which made Sirius squirm some more.

"Remus!" he screeched.

Remus hummed a bit while he went on teasing Sirius' flesh. Sirius' hands dug into Remus' hair, steering him even further down. Within minutes he was just a squirming, squealing mass of flesh in Remus' hand. Who enjoyed it greatly. He loved to dominate Sirius, who was like a lump of soft, warm wax in his hands.

"Stop it and fuck me already, love!" Sirius was able to say.

"Had enough, did you?" Remus asked.

"You know exactly, how much I can take! I'll never have enough of you, Moony," Sirius whined.

Remus looked at him, grinned and finally got ready to plunge inside of him again. Sirius responded with a low moan, that seemingly didn't stop until Remus was already very close to his orgasm, when it rose to a steady scream. That's how Remus loved Sirius most. Defenceless against all that pleasure that washed through his body. Not able to do anything else anymore but scream. Both of them reached their climax after a few minutes more of this and slumped down on the bed in a heap of sweaty limbs, unable to move for a while.

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"Thank you, love! That was incredibly good," Sirius said after a while and lifted his arm to push a few strands of Remus' hair out of his face.

Through the one-way silencing charm Remus heard Polaris cry.

"Can you go and see what he needs? I'm out of it!" he whispered.

"Yes, love, I can - once we manage to get apart here..."

Sirius needed a moment to sort out which limbs belonged to his own body and sat up. He didn't bother with clothes, just got into his slippers and went over to look after the baby. Polaris was quite upset over something. He had woken up and daddy wasn't there as fast as he usually was, that scared him! Sirius gently turned him on the side and stroked soothingly over the back.

"Hey love! No reason to cry here, I'm right next door and so is Papa! You okay again? There, there, everything's okay."

Polaris quieted down, but as soon as Sirius stood up and pulled his hand away, the baby was crying again. Sirius stayed next to him and waited patiently, gave him the pacifier and was rewarded for his patience as a few minutes later his little son was back to sleep.

"That's my sweet one," Sirius whispered and left the nursery.

When he returned to the bed he found Remus fast asleep. He smiled and climbed in next to his mate. He turned to Remus, pulled up the duvets and covered them both. A wink with his hand closed all the curtains. He slung his arms around the smaller man, pulled him close and whispered:

"Sleep well, my love! You don't even have an idea how much I love you!"

The next few months were spent between research at the Hogwarts library, missions for the Order and smaller skirmishes with Death Eaters. When Sirius and Remus were doing some shopping with Lily in Hogsmeade near the end of September they were accosted by a group of seventeen Death Eaters at once. It was the first time any of them met Sirius and Remus together. They cried out their satisfaction of finally having stopped these two young men! Three of them immediately raised their wands to cast the deadly Avada Kedavra, but a high pitched female voice screamed at them:

"Stop! Stop! You can't kill them just yet! The Dark Lord wants them alive!"

The three Marauders immediately knew to whom that voice belonged. They exchanged a glance, took each other by the hand and formed a small back to back triangle to face their enemies. Then they cast Expelliarmus all at once. Eight of the Death Eaters, including Bellatrix were knocked against walls and unconscious. The remaining nine started throwing curses, but the three in the middle had set up shields quite solidly. Lily was constantly repeating the shield charm to maintain it, while Sirius and Remus sent a couple of solid stunners and other curses back at their attackers. All the while they slowly turned around sideways to cover the area around. The whole 'battle' took five minutes and left sixteen Death Eaters in the custody of the Ministry.

Someone had called the Aurors, who found not much to do left but bind the unconscious people and take them back to the Ministry holding cells. The Hogsmeade people were still standing around and all of them applauded the young people who had defended themselves so successfully.

Sirius bowed to them and grinned.

"Thank you very much! See, they can be sent packing! We're going to catch that snake yet, you'll see!" he promised.

Then he looked around for Remus and Lily, found them unharmed and grinning as well. They grabbed each other by the hand and almost skipped on to Dervish & Banges, where they planned to look for some gadget or other.

"That was brilliant! We've got Bellatrix, too! He'll be beside himself! The best thing was that the one Death Eater got away. He will suffer for the news he brings!" Lily shouted, the glee rather untypical for her, but neither Remus nor Sirius complained.

"You're right! That's the icing on the cake..." Sirius confirmed and laughed.

But he didn't look too good. He was quite pale and looked sick. Remus noticed and asked:

"Did one of their curses hit you, Padfoot?"

"No. It's rather something else, Moony. I'm afraid that I might be pregnant again, love."

"What? But we've cast the spell..." Remus said.

"Yeah, we did and we did it on both of us even, just to make sure it goes both ways. But I'm overdue and I'm feeling the same kind of nausea I felt when I was pregnant with Vega."

"Oh dear! That's soon, love."

"I know! I'm sorry, Remus," Sirius said.

"Nothing to be sorry about, Sirius. It takes two and we both relied on that spell to hold!"

"Which one did you use?" Lily asked.

"Non Gravitum," Remus replied. "Poppy gave it to us, said it was the best she knew…"

"It is, but it also has a failure rate of about three percent, I'm afraid. You should make the potion, it's much more reliable. Though not very pleasant to brew and even worse to drink. But once you've got it down it's dead sure for six months at a time! If that's unwelcome due to family planning you can override it with a spell," Lily explained.

"Oh, that's great. Now you tell us," Sirius teased.

"Do you mind it much?" Remus asked.

"No, not that much, but it is a bit soon after Vega and Polaris, don't you think?"

"Yes, that is true. But I'm happy anyway. It's not like I mind changing nappies, there are spells not to have to smell that..." Remus said cheerfully.

Lily laughed.

"You'll have to show me these, because I want a baby real soon!" she said.

"You'll profit from our growing maternity experience, young lady!" Sirius promised, still pale.

'Yes!' thought Harry. He had long since calculated back from his birthday to get the measure of when he would be conceived. What was now in his godfather's belly was a year mate in the brewing for Harry and Hermione.

They were able to execute their shopping before Sirius got really sick. They were already past the gates when Sirius finally couldn't hold it. He vanished behind a few bushes and emptied his stomach in a most unpleasant way. When he came back, Remus conjured up a glass of fresh water and Sirius used it to rinse his mouth.

"Eww... Thanks, love..."

"You're most welcome!"

"Think I need Poppy's test?" Sirius asked.

Remus passed him a piece of chocolate and said:

"Yes, I most certainly think you do, just to make sure..."

Upon which the three took their purchases to their rooms and went over to the hospital wing. They found Poppy tending to a fourth year Ravenclaw who had been hit with a curse from a Slytherin.

"This looks really nasty, Elizabeth. Do you know who it was?"

"I know I should know his name, but I don't. All I know is that he looked like that man over there!" she said and pointed to Sirius.

"In this case it can only have been my darling little brother. Looks like his handwriting in any case. I apologise for him, young lady! He's supposed to be a noble Black, but he behaves like a bloody peasant!" Sirius replied and conjured a bouquet of flowers for the young girl.

She smiled through her tears and managed to thank him.

"You're most welcome! I'm really sorry for the git. If he were only a prat I wouldn't half mind, but he's fast on the way to join Voldemort, so you should watch out for him. Practice some nasty hexes, too! And remember to never ever confuse me with him, I'd be most hurt! I washed my hands off that family!" Sirius said theatrically, but Lily and Remus knew exactly that he was dead serious with most of what he had just said.

"Is he serious?" Elizabeth asked Poppy.

Poppy looked at Sirius for a moment and then replied:

"Well, I'm quite sure he is. He is Sirius Black, by the way and the person he would not like to be confused with is Regulus Black, his younger brother."

"Oh. Well, thank you, I'll mind your words, Mr. Black."

While Poppy helped Elizabeth into the bed, she looked back at the three young people and asked:

"And what do you want here, dears?"

Sirius pointed at his stomach. Poppy cottoned on immediately and looked at them:

"But you were under the spell!"

"First thing that came to MY mind," Sirius said laconically.

"And are you sure?"

"Since we now have the fun of this thing called menstruation I can tell that I'm overdue. Once I started after the birth I kept a calendar and noted it down. I have another pretty good other indicator. It's called morning sickness," said Sirius.

Poppy laughed. "Well, come over to my office with the sample and we'll find out..."

"Be right back!"

Sirius vanished to the toilet and brought the little tube back to Poppy who added it to the test. A few minutes later the colour gave the pregnancy away. Poppy nodded and checked Sirius up, then she declared:

"Everything's fine, Sirius, you'll give birth in May, beginning of the month I'd say."

"Oh well... we'll keep the baby stuff close at hand then," Sirius sighed.

"It's alright, love, I'm happy about it," Remus told him.

Sirius looked at Remus and smiled. He pulled him into a hug, kissed him and said:

"You always know how to cheer me up, love! Thanks! I'm okay, just don't look forward to that ugly morning sickness again."

"Do I understand that?" Remus asked, sympathy blinking in his eyes.

Lily looked quite content and said:

"Good! I'm getting another godchild! And I hope I'll be able to give one to you soon in return! We're working on it!"

"That would be great, Lily, I do think we need to gift Hogwarts with a new generation of Marauders very soon! Can't wait for Peter and Sabina get down to it, too!" Sirius said, his most mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Merlin help us! I never thought of that. Vega and Polaris are two Marauders concentrated! I'm afraid they must be worse than you were!" said Poppy and was truly shocked.

Harry found that highly amusing, too. So – one more for Sirius. Harry was pleased because that would be someone he'd definitely go to school with! Hopefully a friend for Hermione or himself in hers or his dorm… he then noticed that he didn't even think, he simply expected any child from any of the Marauders to become a Gryffindor. Then he remembered the Weasley twins - they and the Marauders' kids together should rule this castle!

Sirius, Remus and even Lily laughed. They knew that the Marauders, and especially Remus, had a very special place in the heart of the matron. Even now she still fawned over Remus after his transformations.

Of course they had to set up heavy protection for Peter and Sabina's wedding, too. Sabina's parents offered their home, a stately country house with a wonderful ballroom for the celebration. There were two house-elves who cooked for them and Sabina's and Peter's families had organised and prepared for the party. There were a few more guests as both their immediate families were considerably larger than James' or Lily's. But since the wedding took place indoors only it was the house and the immediate surrounding that needed to be warded and Remus had it done in three days.

The party didn't remain wholly undisturbed though and the Order had to be called in to get rid of a larger group of Death Eaters who tried to breach the wards. They had not expected so many defensive forces to show up and after a short battle, the Death Eaters they couldn't incapacitate started to disapparate.

James, Lily, Sirius and Remus had helped from behind the wards. When they returned back into the house they looked quite content with their day's work. The wards had held up beautifully, but Remus quickly went over them just to make sure. He then alerted Aurors to take away what they had left of the Death Eaters.

"Voldie must be quite annoyed with you by now, love!" Sirius said with a smirk.

"Yes, he meets those wards of yours more and more often and they don't know how to breach them! It's almost endearing to see them trying," James confirmed, thumping Remus on the shoulders.

"Thanks for the compliments, guys. I do think these wards are really quite a good piece of magic. I'm happy that people appreciate them. And even happier that they are safe behind them."

"You deserve all the commendations you get, sweetie. You're doing a thumpin' good job with them," Sirius said, "There hasn't been a successful Death Eater raid in months now! That's for a good part your doing."

He looked at Remus with admiration. Remus threw him the same kind of glances back. The party returned to their dancing and for a night they forgot about the war.

Peter and Sabina looked thoroughly happy. They were both working at Diagon Alley now, Sabina at her family's apothecary, where she went through all the jobs to learn the trade from scratch. They were all happy, because Remus and Sirius had brought their little ones, who were now asleep in a bed two floors up, magically protected from falling out of it. And of course the room had been magically sealed against intruders who weren't supposed to go into the room.

Sirius had told them all about his new pregnancy. He sighed a bit when he told them, but more because it was such a short time after his first pregnancy. One of the guys of course joked about his boobs remaining firmly in place. Remus rolled his eyes. They were now a fixture on the two young men who still nursed the children for breakfast and before going to sleep. It was still the easiest way to get them to sleep at night. That way they could usually pluck their sleeping babies off their breasts and lay them down in their cribs. After that they usually didn't hear a sound from them until the early morning. They planned to hold up until both children were a year old. And neither of them expected to change back to simply male anymore. They knew that this change was permanent and welcomed it for all the perks it gave them.

"We hope they lose interest in being nursed before their first birthday or shortly after. But by the end of the year we'll have them off our breast. Then my body gets time to prepare for the new baby," Sirius explained.

"Sounds so strange to hear you talking about that," one of Peter's brothers said.

"Well, I can't hide it, now can I? So I rather explain. Carrying and giving birth to Vega and then nursing her, and sometimes Polaris, has changed me a lot, I reckon. But they make me so happy! I never thought I'd ever have a child, let alone two or more and of course I would have said that anyone's crazy who would have dared telling me I'd have a child before I was twenty. And look where I am now? I'll be twenty in a week and I'm pregnant with my second child..."

"James, Peter, you'll have your work cut out if you want to catch up with those two!"

"Damn, I wouldn't even try! They're two of them who can breed at the same time! Fully functioning hermaphrodites as they have become!" James exclaimed.

"But you have to do a bit of work, James, we want some Marauders to be sent back to Hogwarts soon! Dear Minerva won't know what hit her when our offspring is thrown in her arms!" Sirius said with a grin.

"Sure... we do hope to have a baby soon," James promised and looked over at his wife.

"Yep! We're not going to wait, I'm off the potion. Took the last one about seven months before we got married! We plan to clutter this world with little Potters!" Lily added.

That made everyone laugh and Hope cried: "Well, you and Sabina will have to make up for Dari and I, since we won't have any children."

"That makes you the ideal babysitters!" Remus declared.

"And godmothers!" Sirius added.

The party broke up late at night and since Remus and Sirius had their children with them, they were invited to sleep in one of the guestrooms. In the morning they had to get up fairly early, because of their little ones. They didn't linger, bid their goodbyes to Sabina's parents and returned to Hogwarts.

'Now!' thought Harry happily. It seemed like he knew exactly which of the millions of little sperms that found their way through his mum's body would carry what would become himself, Harry James Potter. He couldn't stop smiling as that particular teensy sperm found his mum's ready egg cell. He shivered as the two cells merged and it seemed to tickle him as the first few cell divisions took place. From that moment on Harry found himself really inside of his mum's womb, unable to travel anywhere else anymore. That made him a little sad, but in the end it was what he would have had to expect. He now had about forty weeks of time for quiet contemplation and inward communion with his mum.

Lily was exceedingly happy. Apart from the fact that there was a war outside, she felt absolutely safe at Hogwarts and she worked hard for most of the time. She had been able to report much back to her department which had been received with interest. Her time was spent between research, a little training here and there, meetings with several experimental charmers as well as Remus to practically work on their spells. James came home as much as he could and whenever he was at home they had time to make love. In one of the nights in late October she woke up at an unusual time, still all entangled with her lover. She knew in that moment that she had conceived in the night.

And inside of her Harry knew at the same time that his mum knew.

"Mum?" he called.

Lily almost jumped from her bed – she thought she had gone mad and shook James until he woke up. He looked at her, somewhat sleepy, but asked tenderly:

"What's up, love?"

"Would you say I'm crazy if I told you that I just conceived tonight?"

"Did you?"

"I'm sure I did. But that doesn't seem to be a normal thing, what do you think?"

"I only know that Sirius or Remus didn't know right away, sweetheart."

"That's why I feel so strange. And what's more, it was like that tiny pile of cells called out to me! I really hope I haven't just gone mad, James!"

James laughed and consoled:

"I'm sure it's just because you are such a special person, my love. No one would think you're crazy, but if you have a baby in there that is able to talk to you then enjoy! And maybe share?"

"Thanks, Jamie, you just managed to sooth me, I think."

Inside, Harry was highly pleased that his mother had actually heard him. So he decided to become more vocal.

"You're not crazy, Mum! You'll think you are, when you hear my story, but you're not! Just remember that, okay? I love you already…"

Lily almost broke into tears. James watched her, completely flabbergasted. She pulled him close and told him what her baby had said. They wondered what had happened that their child, only just conceived, was able to communicate with them.

Harry answered that part immediately. He asked:

"Do you have a little time, Mum? Do you want to listen to my story?"

"I most definitely want to hear your tale, little one! But first know that we've both waited for you for a good while and we can't wait for you to grow and become our baby!"

"I've already lived a real life, very short, but a real life. I was killed a few too many times by Voldemort when I was barely eighteen. I met with my umpteenth Death Preventer, and yes, there is something like that out there for many people, and because it had happened so often I was finally sent back to about twenty years before I was to be born. He told me that I would actually know when I would be conceived, so I waited for that for a long time. THAT is crazy, don't you think?"

"Rather so, my love. By the way – do you want to tell me if you are a boy or a girl? What name did we give you?"

"You named me Harry James. Currently I don't feel any gender, but that's what I'll become…"

James was wide awake now. He heard his wife whispering with their unborn baby and she seemed to get answers! Lily looked at him wide-eyed and said:

"Let me just tell your daddy, love! – It is a boy, James. And we have named him Harry James."

"How does he know that?" James asked, baffled.

Lily told her husband. James put his hand gently on her belly and talked to his future son for the very first time.

"It's so special to have that opportunity to speak to you already now, Harry. I'm very moved and very worried at the same time. I don't think we should ever mention this to anyone, should we?"

Inside, Harry was exceedingly happy – he could even hear his father! Much more than he had ever expected to experience this early. He told Lily that he could hear his dad. And then he said:

"Mum, I'm going to tell you my story, but know that it won't happen this way again. While I watched you and Dad, your friends and everyone else I could grow up I felt that there were shifts in what must have been my time-line before, so nothing is going to happen the same. And you may tell Siri and Remus, but better no one else."

"You said you were eighteen when Voldemort killed you? That bastard is not going to be able to lay his hands on you if I have anything to say to it! I'd rather give my own life than to see you die!"

"You did exactly that for me, Mum. I was still a baby when you and Daddy died! I never really knew you. And now I know you inside and out having followed your life since you were born!"

Lily kept telling James what Harry told her. She was absolutely amazed at what had happened to her and couldn't sleep anymore for the rest of the night. She kept conversing with her baby, but only until Harry mentioned:

"I don't know what time of day it is anymore, Mum! From now on I won't know if you should be asleep or awake. Please take good care of yourself!"

"I will, my love. Just want to tell you that you're making me exceedingly happy! I hope I can turn you off during the night when I'm supposed to sleep! That's going to be hard…"

"I'll leave you now, Mum… love you!"

"I love you, baby! Good night for now, though it's almost morning."

James and Lily looked at each other. She sat up, summoned some parchment and a quill and wrote:

"Do you think he'll be aware of everything I'm thinking and saying and you're saying?"

"Haven't a clue, Lily – I don't think there's a precedence."

"Question for tomorrow, I suppose…"

He laughed, kissed her and they did go back to sleep.

The next full moon was at the beginning of November. Remus and Sirius left their children to Lily and James and went to the Shrieking Shack as they did every month. Remus undressed and sat on the bed to await the inevitable, but it didn't happen. He looked down at the black dog residing next to him on the bed and they both guessed what that meant. No transformation - Remus must be pregnant again, too. He hid his face in his hands and shook his head.

"Oh dear."

Sirius transformed back immediately and caressed his mate's still totally flat belly. He beamed.

"I love you, Remus. And you'll enjoy another period of no transformations..."

"I can't keep that up for my whole life, Sirius! Imagine the family we'd create!"

Sirius grinned.

"Well, we don't need to exaggerate. I'm just happy for you that for a few months Moony will be banished into the back of your head. Not that I don't like him."

"Well, I don't! Like Moony, I mean."

"You don't need to like him. How does he respond to the children?"

"Loves them, I think. I don't think I'd attack any of them, but I'm not about to find out."

"No, neither am I."

"Though the Wolfsbane potion is supposed to go into final testing next year. I'd have offered to help with the testing, but when I'll be nursing another baby I obviously can't. And I sincerely hope that the contraceptive potion Lily talked about works better than the spell!"

"Maybe we just did it wrong, Remus. Maybe it has to be recast monthly or so..." Sirius suggested.

"That might be, but again, I'm not about to try and find out, I'll take the safer potion."

Sirius grinned.

"I do want to keep fucking you without fear of having you pregnant again within only a couple of months. And even though you are nursing! That was supposed to keep a new pregnancy at bay, too, you know!" Remus said, looking at Sirius.

Sirius grinned even wider.

"Actually only if you have them at your breast at intervals not longer than five to six hours. Longer than that and the hormonal protection is rather gone."

"Ah. That would explain it."

Remus got up and dressed again. It was rather cold and since he had not sprouted a thick wolf's pelt he started to freeze. Sirius got up, too, and said:

"Well, let's get back to our somewhat more comfortable abode."

"Agreed!"

"And I wouldn't mind a large family. We'll just need a really big house for all of the children! Not like we won't be able to afford them."

Remus chuckled, while they apparated out of the house and walked back to the castle on the surface. It was a very crisp, clear November night and they could see the full moon shining over Hogwarts, almost pushing the stars out of sight. Remus looked up at it and whispered:

"You don't know how this feels, to look at this icy perfection up there with my human eyes! It still amazes me."

"That's good. I know you hated it..."

"I don't hate it anymore. Haven't for a while. Just kind of regretted not to be able to see it just like everybody else does. And of course being governed by it the way I am. It rules my life!"

"More than I ever could. Though the kids rule our lives quite a bit, too. There are so many things ruling our lives that it makes me cringe, Moony! The moon is just one of them. But there are the laws, the Ministry, our parents, our friends, our children, the war, Voldie and his idiots... no reason to moon over just one part of them all... let me take you back home and love you instead!"

"Ruling..." Remus muttered, but he grinned.

When the two of them showed up in their flat, Lily looked up, highly astonished. James was with her as the two of them had promised to baby-sit. Sirius smiled, because they caught their friends short of getting undressed.

"You'd better head over to Lily's!" Sirius bellowed.

"What are you two doing here? Don't tell me, that Moony's got his lunar calendar wrong?" James stuttered, blushing.

"No, I haven't. Me not transforming can only mean one thing..."

"You've done it AGAIN!" James broke out.

"Looks like it. First full moon I haven't transformed, so I can't be pregnant for longer than a month. You two hop over to Lily's and start working on the next Potter generation real quick!"

"No dangerous days right now. But we might have done the deed a week ago..." Lily mentioned with a smile.

"Good luck!" Remus said.

"Same to you, Remus. And I was going to add that in fact, we did!"

"Wow! Congratulations! How are you so sure about it after only a week?" Sirius asked immediately.

"He caught that fast…" James said, while he finished putting his clothes back on.

"Because we were surprised with a little one that knew exactly it had been conceived and told me! I thought I was going crazy, but he's been talking with me almost non-stop since – at least through the day. The story he told me is absolutely unbelievable, but he knew so much of our lives – yours, Remus', Peter's, James' and mine, and even Petunia's and other peoples' that it must be true – and the fact, of course, that he's able to speak with me even though he's no more than a few cells so far. His name, apparently, is going to be Harry James."

Sirius and Remus stared at her, open-mouthed.

"Yep, just about like me," said James and snickered.

"Wow!" said Remus. "How's that for some utter craziness?"

"Can you keep it to yourselves? We'll keep it quiet and we won't tell anyone around us for another few weeks, we don't think we should talk about it to anyone outside of our foursome," Lily asked.

"Our mouths will be sealed, Lily. That's a bit much to swallow!"

"I tell you he knows how each of us grew up! Since we've been at Hogwarts he's even kept up with Peter, Dari and Hope! And even Sabina!"

"Wow. Meticulous and crafty little one you're getting there," said Sirius.

Lily laughed.

"Way to go for a first child! I'll probably even have to shut him up when he's coming out!"

"MUM!"

Lily laughed out again, loud this time.

"Yes, love?"

"Let me grow first!"

"Sure!"

"Was that Harry?" Remus asked, curious and already using the name as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"That was Harry. Reminding me to let him grow first, before thinking of popping him out."

Since Sirius and Remus were back from the Shack Lily and James told them everything Harry had said about his own life and how he had been sent back to long before he himself was born.

"Apparently he's been sort of 'swimming about' in the form of a spirit. Of course he can process anything in his – not even yet existing – brain and will probably be able to from the first day of his life, but he doesn't know if he will be able to talk right away. I'm sure he'll have to learn that at least, but I would expect him to be very early with everything – talking, walking and everything else. He's aware that being a baby again will greatly limit his abilities for a while, but he will be able to train his intellect in any case."

"Amazing!"

"I think we don't even know the half of it yet! Just that Harry has been around of us since each of us was born! He says he knows us inside out! I'm almost scared of that child, but I know one thing – I'll love him so much, I already do now, because he has his personality already formed. I don't think it will be easier, for one part because his personality was shaped by his life before and that seems to have been a very unhappy one for a good part of it and over all it wasn't very long either, just barely eighteen years."

"Did he tell you why he…?" Remus started.

"Oh yes! He didn't want me to know all that had happened before, just which was relevant to our lives he was being sent back to – to unwind and to learn. He says that what would change his destiny has come to pass and has put other events into place that would definitely spare him a repetition of his horrible life before. He had to grow up without us, because James and I were killed by Voldemort when he was just fifteen months old. There was a traitor and because of several bad decisions on several people's part you were sent to Azkaban without a trial and Harry had to grow up with my sister as his guardian! Yuck! That alone turned my stomach. He also said that he knew neither of his grandparents and that at least a third of the current magical population of today had perished, mostly Muggle-borns, but also halfbloods and undesired purebloods."

"And there was something that changed the prospects?" Remus asked, frowning.

"Tell him that yes, something happened, a few things actually, and all point to an entirely different outcome, mainly because Madam Fate has placed herself into Dumbledore's head. But he doesn't need to worry about it, Mum!" Harry interrupted.

"He says that yes, something did happen, but that you're not to worry about it. And then he said that Madam Fate has placed herself into Dumbledore's head? What's that about, sweetheart?"

Harry revelled in the term of endearment. The only one who ever used such terms was Molly Weasley and it sounded like she had ulterior motives when she used them, so for Harry this new experience was giving him goose bumps!

"I have to say that in my life Dumbledore has pushed me around like a chess piece. He has manipulated my life from the moment on when Voldemort killed you and tried to kill me but was killed himself because his AK bounced off of me and hit him instead. You must have done something to give me extra protection, Mum, but no one knows what. Dumbledore concluded it was your sacrifice for my survival and claimed that I was only safe where my mother's blood dwelled, hence my placement at the Dursleys. He never thought that I might not be safe from the Dursleys themselves. I was used and tested and used again, but never let in on anything I really needed to know to fulfil the destiny he had thought I had to fulfil, so it was always more guessing than knowing and relying on my luck. Well, luck ran out completely in front of the old geezer Tom Riddle. Voldemort killed me and that was that. My so-called Death Preventers at the time just sent me back to where I came from and I was killed again. I don't know how many times. My current DP tells me I don't want to know either, because my head would start to spin. To spare me – and the rest of the the world – an eternal loop of being killed and going back they administered a new DP to me and sent me back to long before I was born."

Lily listened for a while and then explained the gist of what Harry had just told her to the others. Remus nodded and said:

"Just in case you also hear us, Harry, that's what I felt when he told us first about the bonding. Now I feel pretty much compelled to do the job he obviously thought you had to do when none of us was around to do it anymore. On the other hand this bonding gave us the means, so we're currently researching not only means of protection, but also means of destruction for the old geezer as you call him."

Lily almost felt Harry shaking with laughter. He then told them the story of the original beginning of his life and added, which Lily transferred to the others:

"The most significant difference this time around is that the magical world actively fights the Death Eaters. When Mum and Dad were killed in my original life, they all just went on once the main threat, Voldemort, was gone like before. Most of the Death Eaters in his inner circle never even saw more than a question or two and a slap on their wrist. They went on to prepare the political parquet for an eventual return of their Master and that was that. But somehow this time the Ministry is much more proactive and thus also much more successful in stashing them away at Azkaban, where most of them really belong. I've seen Crouch and Mad-Eye use legal tricks I'd never have thought they could do and your dad in the position of head of the DMLE is doing a great job, Moony."

"Who is Mad-Eye?" Lily asked.

"Moody, Mum. He was called Mad-Eye because he lost an eye in a fight with Rosier, whom he had to kill in the end. He then used a magical glass-eye that gave him a really crazed look, when he spun it around in its socket. He could see through everything with it, even our old Invisibility Cloak, Dad. And I thought that no one could see through that!"

"Oh, you found that! Great, that's good to know. This is a really old family heirloom that would not do to lose, Harry."

"That was another means of Dumbledore's to manipulate me. He gave it to me on Christmas in my first year, when I didn't know his handwriting yet. Just said that it belonged to my father and to use it wisely. I never knew how he really came by it – he himself said that you had given it to him shortly before your death for closer examination…"

"I can't imagine that I would have done that, Harry! I know exactly where it's coming from and what its powers are. There are invisibility cloaks around, but none as special as this one! It has been given to an ancestor of ours, and once you come to us you'll certainly stumble over the story of the three brothers – it's not entirely correct, but the gist of it is that our ancestor got the Cloak from Death."

"I know the story, Dad. That's another story to tell you later on. I just used it as an example for the many things Dumbledore did that personally hurt me. I had a hard time being unbiased this time around, watching him doing things. But because I know that Fate sits in his head I know that she won't allow him to do things that deliberately use one person for a specially designed fate."

"That is good to know, son! I feel a little outside, but let me tell you that just like your Mum I'm completely awed at you, already love you to bits and I simply can't wait until you join us!"

"Apart from everything else you might want to know about my former life there is one more thing that we'll need to talk about and it's something else that should stay amongst us for the time being. But for the time being I only say the name of the thing this shall be about: Horcruxes."

Sirius' ears perked up. He had seen them mentioned somewhere. He asked:

"Horcruxes - as in more than one?"

"Yep."

"Do you mean to tell us that Voldemort has made a Horcrux and not just one, but several?"

"Yep. Five to be precise. He wanted six - in my time he seemed to have planned to make the sixth with my murder. But he never got it done. So he wanted his soul fractioned to seven parts, seven being that almighty magical number…"

"I take it you know what and where they are?" Sirius asked on.

"I do. Nothing changed about their locations so far. If you do manage to take the Malfoys down, be very aware that there's a Horcrux in their library."

"Shall do. We'll talk about them some other time, okay?"

"Yes, but it should be soon!"

"Definitely!"

It was a long conversation, after which each of the four young adults had to mull over what they learned. Remus knew that he had done well by being very careful around Dumbledore's proposals, and he'd probably meet the man with different eyes the next time around, but he also took consolation from the fact that not only had the Ministry acted much better than in Harry's original lifetime, but also the Order. It seemed that they were on the right path to finish off the Death Eaters completely, not only a quarter of the way through! He took courage from that, too, not only consolation.

Poppy of course confirmed the other new pregnancy and was delighted. Secretly she thought that Remus should have a whole mass of children, if being pregnant spared him a few transformations. When Remus' parents were informed of the new grandchildren in the making her thoughts were mirrored by Richard and Venetia.

"You know, I really don't mind Remus pregnant at all if it means, that he doesn't have to transform," Venetia remarked.

"I think so, too, but that will become a very large family, love. Even if he allows himself a transformation free year only every two or three years."

"But it will give him respite from the pain. Whenever I hear one of my female friends complaining about their monthly pains I'm tempted to tell them how that feels compared to what my son goes through every month. Twice if you count the transformation in and back! And now the menstruation cycle as well. Rather let them have a monstrous family. It's not like the Blacks are poor and no matter what Sirius' parents want, he's their legal heir. Unless he dies he inherits. Would make for a nice new branch of Blacks, don't you think?"

Richard smirked.

"Walburga Black must be seething even more than her husband. He's quite under her regiment I hear. Wouldn't budge if she ordered him to sit still..."

Venetia laughed.

"Serves him right for choosing a woman four years older than him, just because her parents thought there was no other spouse pure-blooded enough for their oh so pure-blooded daughter and they wanted to get the headship into their branch. And a second cousin to boot."

"As long as she brought the desired heir forth she could be as ugly as the desert Gobi and still be perfect for their ways of thinking. Now she has a son with her own rather strong-minded character who won't practice dark arts and one that's following her wishes, but is more of the small-minded sort like her husband. Strange, how genes work, isn't it? I can't but wonder how our grand-children will turn out."

"Genetics are strong, my love, but the socialising part is just as strong. Remus and Sirius both love their children enough to be strict with them and dote on them at the same time. Just watch them they're already like mother-hens, both of them! It's so sweet to see. I'm sure that their children will turn out well. If parents are there for their children without overpowering them or become overly protective of them they usually become normal people. Remus and Sirius want them down-to-earth, but fun loving, curious and interested in things to discover yet still to be aware of the rules. Sirius emphasized the term 'discover' the other day and said he'd do that to cover up the term 'to learn', which would sound too goody-good to those of their children who would get more of his temperament. I thought that was pretty clever. 'Find out' and 'discover' arouse much more curiosity than 'learn'. Tell them to learn something and they will think it's work. Allow them to discover something and it will be an adventure. Clever son-in-law I have! I hope he succeeds with this tactic. Could almost be a Ravenclaw!"

Richard laughed at that. He thought about it for a moment and then said:

"You know, I think Sirius is extremely afraid of becoming a bad parent. And he doesn't want to become that. I'm sure he'll do well and Remus is there with him all the way. Their children will have a good part of our son in them, because that wolf inside of Remus makes him damn strong. Very interesting that it doesn't seem to become hereditary, there's not the slightest bit of it in Vega and Polaris."

"No, there isn't. They actually remind me a lot of ours. Vega has something of Julia, don't you think? She'll be a mischievous girl."

The growing family Black-Lupin knew nothing about their grandparents' musings, but the two elder Lupins were very right in all of their assessments. Remus watched over Sirius, because Sirius needed him to until he felt certain that he wouldn't become a parent like his own parents. He knew of the inadequacies of his father's. He knew that his sharp intellect came from his mother, even though she looked awful and totally degenerated. Somehow in her case it did not affect the intellect, only the sanity and the body. Sirius was disgusted whenever he had to get into contact with her. On the other hand he considered himself extremely lucky to have the handsome appearance of his father's and his mother's brain. He often thought it could have turned out the other way. He also got his kindness from his father's side of the family, the heritage of Melania McMillan saw to that.

In between further skirmishes with Death Eaters and researching Lily informed her friends and family that she had caught the 'bug', too and that she would have a baby by the end of July. James was completely thrilled and couldn't wait. Remus and Sirius congratulated them the first, as if they didn't know it already and of course promised to let them get more training with their own newly born babies to get some routine in the care of tiny humans.

"You two will be godfathers, won't you?" Lily and James asked their closest friends.

"Of course we will! You don't even have to ask!" Sirius exclaimed.

He looked good, but now he started to show his pregnancy through his robes and was growing rounder. He had passed the stage of the morning sickness and by Christmas he felt perfectly fine. They decided to celebrate it together at the Lupins' fairly large home. Dorea and Charlus Potter were invited as well and since all of the other Lupin children were there with their families it was quite an event. Richard and Venetia had acquired a house-elf for the occasion as their Christmas present to each other. A young elf named Billy had taken over the regiment in the Lupin house and they were thrilled how the little creature took off. They were treating her very kindly and within two days around the Lupin grandchildren Billy looked at them as her primary masters and tended to them better than any nanny could. She did all the cooking, but Venetia insisted on doing the few household spells that needed to be done to clean the house, make the beds and so on.

"As soon as Christmas is over and all our guests leave you can take over the house as well, Billy. That will give me more time for other things, since Rupert and Rowland are both still at Hogwarts. We don't think you should be a slave you're a worthy person of your own. Okay?"

"Mistress commands, I is following her wishes. I is doing the cooking, Madam!"

"Very good. Would you accept some teaching in how I would like the cooking done?"

"Yes, Madam."

Venetia instructed her new house-elf how she liked things done in the kitchen and Billy complied in everything she was told. Within days she was loved by everyone in the house and was happy to serve such a nice family. Not even Rupert or Rowland teased her or had unreasonable demands.

It was Vega's and Polaris' second Christmas, but the last time they had been so tiny they hadn't noticed anything of it. Now though they noticed that a lot of preparations were going on and had to be kept away from the big Christmas tree, which their fathers were decorating magically with their sisters and brothers-in-law. Roxanne's twins Stina and Stella were getting in the way, too, which made them all laugh, but it was a bit aggravating, so Sirius drew a magical line on the floor that the children were unable to cross. It amused the adults greatly how the little ones tried to come closer and hit on a cushioned barrier that wouldn't let them pass. Vega was so frustrated that she stopped crawling, sat on her behind and started bawling so loud that everyone else in the house came running to see what was wrong.

"Why is that child screaming at the top of her voice?" Venetia asked sternly.

Sirius calmly crouched down and lifted his little daughter up. He sat down with her, held her tightly and kissed her, soothed her, and once she stopped crying he said:

"I'm really sorry, my little darling, but see that tree is a bit dangerous to you, Polaris and your cousins. You don't want it to fall on top of you, love. That's why you must stay out. Tomorrow morning you can get closer again."

There were still a few sobs from Vega, but the little one slowly calmed down. Finally she stopped trying to get to the people inside of the ring around the tree. Venetia retreated to the kitchen with a smile. 'Sirius has his children well in his hands,' she thought contentedly.

Remus was happy, too. Sirius was still up on the barricades in a matter of seconds if something irked him, but so far he had kept the nerves when the something that irked him were his children. He gave Sirius a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled. They soon finished the decorations in the living room and went on to decorate the hall and staircase up to the other floors. And finally they added special little wreaths, wrapped in red and green ribbons and filled with a thick red candle on the bedside tables in all the rooms.

Every single room would be occupied. All young parents took their children into their own rooms to free enough space for the guests to sleep over on Christmas Eve and onto Boxing Day. Sirius had done some amazing transfigurations to have enough beds ready. The guests, Lily and James, Dorea and Charlus and all the remaining older Lupin children arrived in the course of the afternoon of Christmas Eve. They were welcomed with an aperitif for the adults, sweets and hot chocolate for the children.

With the wards securely in place they were able to enjoy a few days of absolute peace and since there were no Death Eater attacks in the outside world either, the dark times were left outside. Owls with gifts to family and friends not with them had been sent a few days ago and lots of them had shown up at the kitchen window where the Lupins usually received their mail. There was a huge pile of colourfully wrapped gifts under the tree, which glimmered in silver and white baubles, tinsel, fairy lights and even the candles were silver and white. Remus' part consisted of little silvery stars all over the tree and Rupert had been allowed to add the top. It was a silver fairy with wonderful fragile wings and silver hair.

With five children between one and four years it was a lively Christmas celebration. Luckily the children didn't get out of their beds earlier than usual, so their parents got up normally and assembled the family in the living room again, where the candles were burning on the tree and other lights had been turned off. They opened their gifts. Sirius sat on the floor, his two toddlers next to him and handed them each a gift. To unwrap them the children needed help, which he provided, but they discovered then and there that opening gifts brought forward exciting surprises. There were gifts from their fathers, their grandparents, their godparents, aunts and uncles. What surprised Sirius most was that there was something for the children from his mother. Even though he wasn't entirely happy with her choice of sending them something typically Black: small pure silver spoons with the Black family crest. He sighed. It wasn't like his mother didn't know that his mate was a werewolf and couldn't touch those spoons, because he was allergic to silver. He wondered about his mother's motivation to do that.

"I bet she's had Kreacher pack up the gift and send it," he muttered.

"At least she sent something - it's the thought that counts, love," Remus remarked.

"But why must she think of them and at the same time do something nasty? I don't think you have an answer for that any more than I have, do you?"

"I don't. But then I also don't know her at all."

Remus sat close to him, legs crossed, Polaris on his lap. The boy still had the spoon in his hands and Remus said to him:

"I'll have to put this away for a while until you can use it on your own, Polaris, because I can't touch it."

As soon as the boy lost interest and dropped the spoon, Sirius picked it up and banished the two spoons to the kitchen. He wasn't really angry, it was more than a surprise his mother had even thought of her grandchildren. After all she didn't have to, he hadn't even told her about them; she had been informed about their existence by Regulus. Sirius had received a Howler for that but hadn't really cared. He had considered of returning with another Howler to complain about hers waking and terrifying his children, but had not done so. Remus had been glad about that, because he didn't want his Sirius dropping down to the same level as his mother. That was the motivation for Sirius to just let it go.

After the larger part of the guests had left the Lupin home they returned all the rooms to what they had been before Christmas. Sirius and Remus stayed for another few days until after the start of the new year. On New Year's Day they both thought about the events of the past year and remembered what had been important for them.

"Hope and James becoming Aurors," Remus said.

"Dari becoming a journalist for the Daily Prophet," Sirius contributed.

"That's a good one, I hope she will be able to report things that are actually true," Remus said.

"So do I. But she's a tough girl; she's doing the right things."

"All of our friends joining the Order. The weddings. Peter doing well in his job."

"Lots of good things actually..." Sirius summarised.

"Yes, amazing, isn't it? We're in the middle of a war and still life goes on as it always has..." Remus mused.

"That's a bit how it was through World War Two and the Grindelwald Dark Days," Richard threw in.

"I can imagine. Luckily there's not another huge Muggle war going on interfering with ours!" Sirius said.

"There are enough of them going on. I mean, look what happened in Iran. Those Muggle hostages held in Tehran..." Venetia said.

"And there's the conflict between China and Vietnam, too," Sirius demonstrated his knowledge about the Muggle news. He had already been following some Muggle newspapers for a while now.

"On the other hand there's the treaty signed between Israel and Egypt," Remus remarked.

"But still plenty going on, just far enough that it doesn't really concern us here," Richard said.

"All in all it wasn't such a bad year, now was it?" Sirius asked.

"No, for us it wasn't. We didn't earn very much money, but there was no real need..."

"But still. You finally have your own Gringotts vault and it isn't empty. That's something. And I don't mind to live at Hogwarts for a while."

Remus quieted and looked at his children napping near them on a thick blanket. Then he said passionately:

"I still hate it that so many decisions concerning our lives we ought to make now have to wait until we get rid of Voldemort! That war is ruling our lives even worse than the bloody full moon!"

It didn't happen often that Remus showed such despair. Sirius pulled him close. Remus turned and sat in his mate's lap, embraced him and rested his face on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius stroked over his head and soothed him:

"One day soon, my love! We have annoyed him a pretty bit by now, he'll have to come forth soon or he'll lose more of his Death Eaters. I believe that the Death Eaters without their master will be rather easy to handle. He's the largest problem, he's hiding out and that's what is making this so difficult. We've been able to beat them so often the past year. And you know how much the two of us have contributed to that. Even the Aurors are glad to profit from our research."

Remus nodded, but still remained where he was. Richard and Venetia watched their two beloved sons and Richard added:

"It's very true what you say, Sirius. Barty comes up with ideas to allow the Aurors to use Unforgivables, but I prefer your clever schemes in using altered and new or very ancient spells much better. I know he heads the Auror Division, but I do have some influence there, too, being the head of the complete department. It's hard to show Barty that he's lowering us down to the ways of the Death Eaters. Moody has a much better attitude towards your ideas. On the other hand we have much that should keep our hopes up. There are the reports of the many people with your wards on their houses, Remus. They can at least sleep at night with much less fear. The Portkeys, which have been handed out have done so much good bringing whole families to safety in connection with the tunnels to take them outside of eventual Portkey wards. Hogwarts' support in providing work space and facilities; we have transferred entire archives to the castle for safe-keeping. All of that is worth a lot, because by daylight people who feel safe are ready to pick up their lives and the fight again. Voldemort tries to invoke fear wherever he can and he succeeds with many people. But that's for a good part because of the surprise attacks on unsuspecting people at night. That's why he's so mad at you two. You have often warded off houses he has planned to attack. Thanks to Peter for a good part, too. He's done invaluable work. Peter's information has saved countless people their lives!"

And they continued to do good work. Dumbledore had several spies, one of them he never mentioned by name even to Sirius and Remus, but that spy only told Dumbledore of the secret meetings of Voldemort's inner circle and that was when Peter came to play. He could get into any warded off area simply by transforming into the rat. None of the Death Eaters ever thought of warding against animals! And by now Peter was far beyond the state of being afraid of discovery. He was cunning enough in his rat form and the only thing slightly unusual about him was that he always carried along a tiny piece of wood of some sort, which was enchanted with the recording spell. If he didn't find a good enough spot to hide himself he dropped the wood somewhere around the Death Eaters and later on simply picked it up again. Additionally he placed his memories of the event in Dumbledore's Pensieve.

Almost every scheme Voldemort brought up in such meetings was thus known to Dumbledore. Voldemort repeatedly questioned his Death Eaters whether they had revealed anything to the Ministry or the Order of the Phoenix, but he couldn't find out anything, because none of them had given any secrets away. His methods of questioning became more and more violent. He was getting angrier every day. Magical artefacts or books he was after vanished right under his nose or people he planned to eliminate, were protected so well that it was impossible to get to them. His paranoia reached peaks when in February he finally booked a bit of a 'success' again and that was killing a group of very seasoned Aurors, the Bones and Prewetts. The Bones family mourned the loss of three siblings, two brothers and a sister, who had all been Aurors and had been very successful in bringing down many Death Eaters in the past three years. All three of them were already grandparents. The Prewetts were two brothers, who had been working as a team with the Bones siblings for six years. They were a bit younger, but both had been Aurors since shortly after Grindelwald's downfall. Both left a wife, children and grandchildren.

The magical community mourned them and sadly this event allowed Barty Crouch to finally get the Wizengamot's vote to allow certain Aurors the use of Imperius and Avada Kedavra curses if nothing else worked against the Death Eaters.

But several more Death Eaters were caught and tried in the next months. Moody had to finally break down and use Avada Kedavra when he tried to bring down Evan Rosier, one of Snape's old class mates. He kept a very ugly reminder in his face of that fight. And he hated himself for having to kill the man. Alastor Moody always tried to bring in suspects to be tried and sent to Azkaban instead of killing them. He was glad that Cruciatus had been completely banned and was not allowed under any circumstances.

As soon as Moody turned up with his brand new eye someone came up with his nickname, which stuck: Mad-Eye! Moody himself never understood why James Potter laughed his head off when he was told the story. He couldn't know that James wasn't hearing it for the first time.

In the past months Harry had revealed his complete story to his parents. They had been distraught and only Harry's repeated assurance that none of the events in his former life would happen this time around kept them from becoming very sad. Every day they could count down from the calculated birth date made them happier and happier.