In case you got an alert,

I had to edit the last several chapters.

I accidently transposed Harry's lion Godric,

For James' (NEXT GEN &ATTSR) dragon Gryf…

Whooops sorry about that if you caught it :)

I was doing a reread of both and it hit me.

I also added a few lines to chapter 5 to show that Sirius is joking about going broke.

Sorry this took so long, I have been really sick and couldn't update.

I am not JKR.

Chapter Eighteen

New Developments

After much begging and convincing on Sirius' part, Remus, Jess, and Sammi all joined them in Diagon Alley. Jessalyn looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown at the thought of returning to London with her daughter. But, Remus had reminded her that Sammi was in no more danger than Harry, in fact she was likely in much less. They were all sitting having ice cream at Florean's, both kids were prattling on to each other about who had done the coolest underage magic and the adults were talking amongst themselves when Harry's voice carried over and changed the topic of the conversation.

"And I asked and now she is going to marry him and be my mummy."

Sirius spat out his pumpkin juice, he was coughing and spluttering. Remus, looking rather stunned was pounding him on the back.

"You're going to what?" Jessalyn said, smiling at Melanie.

"No, that isn't at all what we said." Melanie defended.

"Yuh huh! You said!" Harry argued.

Melanie shook her head and wiped the strawberry chocolate icecream from his chin. "No, we said, we would talk about me staying a few extra days a week, we never said anything about getting married."

"But daddy said that you couldn't live with us till you were married, to live with us you have to marry him, and you said a mummy has to be married to a daddy." He protested.

Remus couldn't hold back his laughter. Harry had definitely inherited his mother's tenacity and all of his father's tact, as well as Sirius' bluntness.

"Harry this is more of an at home conversation." Sirius practically begged.

Harry shrugged and fell silent, he returned to looking around the alley at the different sights before him.

"Can we go look at brooms?" he asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"You already have three brooms." Sirius replied, shaking his head.

"What if a new grown up broom commed out? You don't want to see?" Harry weedled.

"Good point." Sirius conceded as he stood and held out his hand. Remus chuckled, Harry could manipulate his Godfather better than anyone else.

After a day of looking around, and much sidestepping of people who recognized Sirius and Remus, and much to Jessalyn's distress, several people that remembered her from school. And even someone that mentioned Michael to her while Sirius was trying to pick Harry up and out of the way, while a group of reporters outside of The Profit were trying to fuss over him. At that point, Remus called a halt to their afternoon and they all went back to Mel's for the afternoon and Dinner together where Harry fell asleep in his seat and Sammi's head was dropping forward into her plate.

"I think it might be time to call it a night." Jessalyn giggled when Harry's cup of juice fell over and poured across his spot, he slept through it.

Everyone laughed as Sirius stood and lifted him into his arms and carried him to his room to change his clothes and get him in bed.

"Come on little girl, let's get home and get settled for the night." Remus said, holding his hands out to the almost eight year old.

"I wanna stay with Harry." She whined, stomping her foot.

"You will see him on Monday, he is coming over after classes. He is staying here with Mel tonight." Jessalyn argued, eyeing her daughter sternly. She was exceedingly uncomfortable the longer they stayed in London.

"But Muuuummmm, Uncle Sirius can bring me home in the mornin like he does at home if I stay with him."

"No." Jessalyn said finally.

Knowing that an argument was brewing within the stubborn child, Remus picked her up from her seat and walked her towards the door. They were going to apparate from the alleyway. "Come on little miss, I think we have pushed your mum enough for one night."

"Plleeeaaasssseee." In her sleepy state Sammi got rather whiney on her best days, after a day of traveling, seeing new things, being bustled about by strangers, her mum and Sirius both being wound so tightly and so nervous that they were near a breakdown, she could give Harry a run for his money.

"Nnnnooooooo." Remus replied in the same tone as he placed his hand on the door handle, waiting for his girlfriend to join him.

They left for their own home in France a few minutes after Sirius returned from tucking Harry in, all four adults were nearly as worn out as the kids were. After getting out of the shower Sirius made his way to the living room, his towel flung over his shoulder, wearing an old pair of pajama pants. He settled onto the sofa beside his girlfriend of three years.

"So." He said lamely.

She grinned. "So."

"You're going to move in and become a mummy?"

"Well, according to Harry I am. I guess that all depends on what you want me to do though." She replied.

He looked at her, she was resolutely refusing to make eye contact. "Mel, for once, I want to know what you want. Not what Harry wants, not what I want. What do you want?"

"I don't know how great of a mum I would be Sirius, I never planned on being a mum." She said nervously. "I never planned on getting married. What if I am rubbish at it?"

He smiled his easy smile when she finally met his gaze. He remembered some of the same thoughts when he faced getting Harry all those years ago. "Well first off, I don't remember proposing marriage, I asked you to move in with us. So, you don't need to worry about all that, being rubbish at marriage nonsense. Though, I think that is a highly unlikely possibility either way. Secondly, I don't think Harry expects you to do anything different than what you already do Mel. You don't have to suddenly become a mummy. You forget, he doesn't know what a mummy does or doesn't do, he doesn't remember. You could paint his arms purple every Tuesday and for all he knows that's what a mummy does, and he would be happy about it. There aren't any expectations of you at all on either front. It would simply be spending more time with us than you already do. But Mel, you don't have to. It won't change anything if you don't. We will love you just the same, either way."

"You will what?" she said dumbly.

It took him a moment to realize what he had said. He kissed her temple and spoke against her skin. "We will, and we do. Both of us do. We love you very much. Harry loves you. I love you…Very, very much."

She turned so that their foreheads were leaning against each other. "Do you want me to come?"

"I do." He whispered.

"Then I guess the question is what days do you want me there?"

"Well, I was thinking, and if you want to do half the week that is fine, but, you know, you are welcome to come live with us all the time, not just four days a week."

"What would I do with this place?" she asked, looking around.

He shrugged. "Keep it, that way if you need to stay for business you can. Or if you need to get away from the little minion, or rather if we need to get away together." He said with a grin. "Not to mention, I am sure when he goes off to Hogwarts we would rather be in London than France."

She stared at him for a minute in awe. The Sirius that she started dating three years ago wouldn't have dreamed a year into the future with a girl, now he was talking about five and six years from now. He had told her he loved her. Her head was swimming. She said the only thing she could think of.

"I love you too, both of you."

0o0o0o0o0o

Two weeks later Harry was bouncing around the living room while Remus and Sirius flooed back and forth with the things that Melanie was bringing with her. She was currently in the kitchen cooking lunch and laughing with Jessalyn while Sammie colored and Harry ran amok.

"You're moving here, you're moving HERE!" he continued to squeal excitedly.

Melanie and Jessalyn laughed as they heard Sirius mutter to Remus as they passed the entryway of the kitchen together "You're sure we aren't allowed to silence him for an hour or so, we could always just pen him in his room and put up a muflliato around our selves…"

"I am pretty sure they frown on that sort of activity Padfoot, but far be it for me to be able to try and stop one of your schemes."

Both men stopped in their tracks briefly. It had been a very long time since either of them had used one of their old nicknames. Years, in fact. They had faded away with the carefree kids that they were back when James had died.

"Right, let's get this done so he might calm down." Sirius said, both of their good moods dampened a bit by the sudden reminder of what they were still missing.

It happened like that, they would be fine for weeks, months even, and something would pop up and for a few minutes all the old hurt rushed back in. It no longer took hours or days to be chased away but it still had a way of finding its way in, and it always came out of nowhere. Sirius listened to Harry's gleeful yelling as they flooed away one more time.

0o0o0oo0o

"Harry James, if you don't sit that bum down and eat this breakfast I'm letting you go to school hungry!" Sirius heard Mel call up the stairs.

Harry could be heard bouncing around in his room, Sirius sighed and grabbed the tie off of the bureau before walking into the room next door and scooping the squealing boy up around the waist and carrying him down the stairs sideways under his arm, Harry squirming and giggling the entire way.

"I believe you were looking for someone?" He said, pecking her on the lips and plopping the frumpled five year old on the chair. "You, EAT." He said sternly.

"But, I don't wanna go to ssscccchhhhhooooolllll, look it is so pretty, and warm. I wanna stay home and play with my broom." He huffed.

"And I want to go play in the woods, but you don't see me running off and doing it do you? Eat your breakfast."

Harry scowled and pushed the eggs around his plate sullenly.

"Harry you only have two weeks left of classes this year and then it is summer holiday and you will be off every day playing with Sammi and Aunt Jess." Mel said soothingly, trying to brush his hair out with her fingers.

"Are you gonna say home with us too?" he asked, turning to look up at her, batting his long, dark eyelashes.

"Sorry love, I have work, but I will be home by three every day to get you, and I am off on Fridays for the whole summer." She said, kissing his forehead.

"But I looked and my birthday is on a Tuesday."

"And I already told them I needed off for it, your daddy took off too, just like every year, do you think we would miss your birthday?"

Harry smiled and shook his head, his hair flew every which way. "Daddy, are you takin me to school today?"

Sirius smiled and took a drink of his orange juice, "Just like every other day little bit. You haven't eaten, you better get a move on it or we're going to be late."

Harry shrugged and pushed his plate away. " M' not hungry."

Sirius raised his eyebrows, lately, Harry was always hungry. He watched as Mel walked over and placed her hand on Harry's forehead, he hid his grin behind his cup. No matter how much she had protested that she wouldn't be a good mum she had sure wrapped herself up in the role well.

"Do you feel alright love?" she asked, concern on her face.

Harry shrugged. "M' just sleepy, an I don't wanna go to school." He mumbled.

"You sure you're just sleepy champ?" Sirius asked, set aside the lack of appetite, Harry rarely admitted to being tired.

"Yeah."

"Alright, well, let's get going so we don't get in trouble with your teacher, we can't skip school for being tired." Sirius kissed Mel and waited for her last attempt to flatten Harry's hair and kiss his head.

"If you start not feeling well, you ask to come home. They will call your dad and if he can't get out of work he can get ahold of me and I'll come get you, alright?"

"Kay." Harry nodded and grabbed his backpack from the floor before taking Sirius' hand.

They had walked to the end of the anti apparition fields and Sirius spun away, with Harry in hand.

0o0o0o0o

The familiar buzz pulled Sirius from his trance as he listened to the arguing that was going on between the dozen or so other accountants in the conference. He sighed and held his hand up, they all fell silent as he hit the talk button.

"Yes Amelia." He groaned.

"I'm sorry Mr. Evans, but it's your son's school. They say he's sick."

Sirius groaned and closed his eyes. Today wasn't a good day for this, he couldn't leave today. He looked towards the others apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's a side effect of being a single father, just a minute please?" They all nodded in understanding, it was well known that Sirius had a young son. "This is Sirius Evans, how can I help you?"

"Mr Evans? Hi, I am so sorry to call in the midst of the day like this." The school secretary said.

"Really, you know it isn't a problem. What is going on?"

"It's Harry, he is really sick. He seemed a bit quiet at first today but now he is a rather odd shade of green, and he is asleep in the chair here in the office. He isn't well at all."

"Green as in upset stomach?" he asked, eyebrows knitted together.

"No, green as in, green, all of him. I'll be buggered if I've ever seen anything like it."

"Damn." He muttered. There was no way he was going to be able to leave this meeting. "Let me call Jessalyn to come and get him. I really can't leave today." He apologized.

"I will have him ready for her. He seems to be running a bit of a fever, you may want to see if she can't get him into a doctor."

"I will, thank you so much Vivianne." He said fervently. "She will be there soon." He hung up the phone and glanced up at the others in the room. "I am so sorry. Would you all mind taking a fifteen minute break for me to call my sister in law to pick up my very sick little boy from school?"

Once everyone had filed out, he dialed up Jess's house, ever thankful that she was close by.