Chapter 24: The Fire Chat

Remus could not believe his eyes. For a moment, he thought that he was dreaming. However, he knew this was all very real. It was indeed Sirius's dark, curly head in the fire. Sirius looked gaunt and tired. The rough time he had the night before reflected in his face. Remus felt guilty, as part of that trial was his fault. He was amazed and relieved to see his best friend in the fire.

"Sirius!" he gasped in shock. "You escaped?"

Sirius smiled. "Of course we did!"

Remus strained his eyes in the fire, as if he was trying to see behind Sirius. He did not see Cassiopeia. He was worried about her since hearing about her illness the night before.

"Where's Cassie? Is she alright?" Remus asked in concern.

"Yeah, she's fine," Sirius reassured him. "She's eating right now."

"I heard she was ill last night," Remus said.

Sirius nodded. "She was, but she's fine now."

Sirius turned his head. "Cassie, come say hi."

Much to Remus's relief, Cassiopeia's head was now in the fire.

"Hello, Moony," Cassiopeia greeted with a bright smile.

Remus was happy to see Cassiopeia smiling. "How are you, Cassie?"

"I'm still a bit sore, especially in my belly, but I'm fine," Cassiopeia reassured him.

Cassiopeia was not concerned with her health. She was only concerned with her son. She had not seen him since he was taken from her after he was born.

"Where is my baby?" she asked.

Sirius squinted through the fire. A wide smirk spread across his face.

"More importantly, Moony, who's the girl in your bed?" Sirius laughed.

Cassiopeia then scanned the room. Like Sirius, she noticed a girl sleeping in Remus's bed. Also like Sirius, she grinned.

"Who's the girl, Moony?" Cassiopeia laughed.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Calm down. Both of you. It's just Tonks. She fell asleep while talking to me."

"Remus, you little heartbreaker," Sirius laughed.

"Yeah, Remus. Didn't think you'd get a girl in your bed that quickly," Cassiopeia chortled.

"Shut up," Remus groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, alright," Cassiopeia said. "Where's my baby?"

"Sleeping next to Tonks," Remus answered, shaking his head toward the bed.

"Can I see him?" Cassiopeia asked.

Remus knew how desperate Cassiopeia must have been to see her baby boy. He could not imagine how hard it was being separated from a child after its birth.

"I'll try and get him without waking them up," he said.

Cassiopeia smiled. "Let me see him. Thank you, Moony."

Remus left the fireplace to his bedroom. Tonks and Baby Remus were still sleeping soundly. Gingerly, Remus picked up S.J., trying his best not to wake Tonks. Tonks just moaned and rolled over. S.J. did not stir at all. Remus hurried back to the fireplace.

"See?" Remus asked, holding S.J. up so that Cassiopeia and Sirius could see him.

Both Sirius and Cassiopeia were in complete awe of their son. It was so bittersweet for them to see their son knowing they could not be with him.

"Moony, he's beautiful," Sirius breathed.

"Hello, Remus," Cassiopeia said, beaming.

Remus only rolled his eyes. "Tonks was right. That is going to get confusing."

Cassiopeia and Sirius frowned. Remus could not see it, but he knew Cassiopeia was crossing her arms.

"When you have children, Moony, name them what you want and I'll name my own children," Cassiopeia said indignantly.

Remus held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, she said it, not me."

Just then, S.J. awoke with a loud cry. Cassiopeia frowned, as did Sirius. It was difficult for both of them to hear their son cry and not be able to hold him. They desperately wanted to comfort their son, but they could not. Baby Remus's cries instantly woke up Tonks.

"Not crying again?" Tonks asked wearily, rubbing her eyes.

"Afraid so," Remus said.

Cassiopeia wanted to cover her ears. Listening to her son cry and being unable to hold him was unbearable.

"Sirius, I want to hold him!" Cassiopeia cried.

"We can't. Not till we're in a safe place," Sirius said ruefully.

Remus noticed a pained expression on Sirius's face. It was hard on him to be unable to comfort his son. He knew it was heartbreaking to say those words to Cassiopeia.

"Not even for a moment?" Cassiopeia asked.

"Not till we get to our house," Sirius replied.

"But our baby is crying."

"I know. Trust me, Cassie, this is hard on me, too. I want our boy back as much as you do. But we can't see him until we get back to our house."

Cassiopeia sighed and nodded reluctantly. "You're right, Sirius."

Tonks came out to the main room and noticed the fireplace. Tonks's jaw dropped when she saw Sirius and Cassiopeia in the fire. Like Remus, she was surprised and pleased to see that they had escaped.

"Oh my gosh! Sirius, Cassie, you escaped," Tonks gasped in surprise.

"Of course, Nymphie," Cassiopeia said with a smile.

"Sorry. Is that a little delayed?" Tonks asked apologetically. "I'm a little off. Haven't slept in a while."

"Harry and Hermione rescued us last night," Sirius explained, "We're hiding at the Hog's Head for the moment. Have you seen Harry?"

"No, I haven't," Tonks replied. "Why?"

"I sent a letter to him asking you to beseech Snape for some potions for Cassie," Sirius said.

"And you," Cassiopeia added.

"Yes, and myself. We had a feeling Snape would listen to you," Sirius said.

Tonks nodded. "I'll see what I can do. I'm sure he'll do so. He was kind enough to help me with S.J. last night."

Cassiopeia smiled, but Sirius looked as if he had been hit with a Stunning Spell.

"Snivellus got near my son?" Sirius asked in shock.

"Sirius, sweetheart, his name is Snape," Cassiopeia corrected him.

"It was fine, Uncle Sirius," Tonks reassured him. "Snape knows that S.J. is an innocent, little baby. He helped me feed him and put him to sleep."

"Well, that's good that…Snape knows the difference between me and my son," Sirius said, shuddering as he said that name.

"We're going to Sirius's house. When we get there, bring our son," Cassiopeia told Tonks.

Tonks nodded. "Right. Just let me know when you are there."

"We will," Cassiopeia said.

"I'm going to let some Muggles glimpse me so it will draw the Dementors away from Hogwarts," Sirius said.

"We will take Buckbeak and fly to Sirius's house today. We'll contact you by fire tonight," Cassiopeia said to Tonks.

"I'll see you soon, Remus, sweetheart," Cassiopeia whispered to her sleeping son.

"Bye, Cassie," Tonks and Remus said.

"I'll see you both tonight," Sirius said with a wink.

With a flicker of light, the flames died down. Sirius and Cassiopeia had disappeared from the flames, leaving only the sound of the crackling wood. Remus was taken aback.

"Did he just say he was going to let Muggles see him?" he asked.

"Yeah, he did. He's mad," Tonks said, rolling her eyes.

Remus was stunned by Sirius's daring nature. While it would be good to be rid of the Dementors, he could not let his friend risk his life.

"Sirius is a brother to me, but that idiot!" Remus said, exasperated. "What if he gets caught?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Tonks said.

"I hope he is," Remus said, running his fingers through his hair. "I hope Cassie gave him a good thrashing for that. I'll kill him if he gets caught."

Tonks smirked. "Oh, I don't think you need to worry. Cassie has that covered."

"Well, I'm going to have breakfast. Are you coming?" Remus asked.

"No, I'll stay and watch S.J. I'm not really hungry," Tonks said.

Remus hurried down to the Great Hall. He found all of the professors already enjoying their meal.

"Ah, Remus, come join us," Dumbledore greeted jovially.

As Remus sat down, he noticed that Snape was glaring at him.

"Professor Dumbledore, you must know how concerned I am with the escape of Sirius and Cassiopeia Black," Snape said angrily. "You know that arrogant Potter was behind it."

"Severus, we have discussed this. Mr. Potter and Miss Granger were locked up in the hospital," Dumbledore said firmly. "There was no way they could have helped Sirius or Cassiopeia, even if they wanted to."

"You know what Sirius and Cassiopeia are capable of, sir," Snape said.

"Severus, I already have considered your argument. Let the Aurors handle catching Sirius and Cassiopeia," Dumbledore said dismissively. "Meanwhile, I'd like to enjoy my meal in peace."

Snape was not finished arguing. "You may recall, Headmaster, that there were reports of a werewolf loose last night."

Remus turned red in the face as Snape glared at him. Remus knew what would come next before it happened.

"I saw the beast for myself after delivering Remus Black," Snape explained. "The beast, as it turns out, was none other than our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I saw Remus Lupin transform for myself. As you can imagine, it was dangerous delivering a child with a killer werewolf on the loose. I am sorry, professor, but I cannot let this go."

All of the professors, save for Dumbledore, were whispering in shock. Remus bowed his head. He knew it was all over.

"Remus, I am sorry, but I am afraid Severus is right," Dumbledore said sadly.

"I understand, sir," Remus said. "The last thing I wish to do is endanger the children. If you'll excuse me, I need a moment."

Remus hurried back up to his office when he heard S.J. cry again. Tonks had barely sat down when she heard the baby cry again.

"Uhhhh…I'm never going to get sleep, am I?" she groaned.

"Apparently not," Remus said. "What's wrong with him?"

"Oh, I don't know," Tonks said, picking up Baby Remus. "He just cries is all. I can't get him to stop half the time."

"He needs his mother and father. I hope Sirius and Cassie get there quickly," Remus said compassionately, "If you don't mind, I'd like to go with you when you take S.J."

"Well, it would be a good idea, seeing as I'm wanted in the werewolf community," Tonks said reasonably. "Greyback wants me dead, and Sirius's house is very close to Greyback's hideout."

Remus sighed. He needed to tell Tonks of his dreadful news.

"I wanted to tell you…I'm leaving Hogwarts," Remus said sadly.

Tonks's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "What? But…why? The students, they think you're the best teacher they had. You can't leave!"

"Well, Snape wasn't very happy that Sirius and Cassie didn't get the Kiss. He was also embarrassed to admit he helped Cassie, even if he feels differently about S.J. So he let it slip that I'm a werewolf. Parents won't want someone like me teaching their children," Remus explained.

"That's not true!" Tonks protested, "Any parent would be glad to have a man like you teaching their children…parents don't want a…monster like me teaching their kids."

"Last night made me see it's dangerous," Remus said grimly. "I nearly killed my best friend, his wife, and their baby. I can't let that happen again."

"No, you didn't," Tonks said, shaking her head. "In fact, you stopped coming after them when I stepped forward. You listened to me like you were my pet or something."

"The fact is I could have killed them. It's the right thing to do," Remus said.

"No, I mean, I don't think you would of," Tonks said. "For some reason, I feel as long as I was there, you wouldn't do anything. It's like…it's like this stupid mark gave me some power to control werewolves or something. I guess that just proves how much of a monster I am."

Remus shook his head. "You are not the monster. I am doing this to protect the children."

Tonks sighed. "I wish you didn't have to go. You are a really good teacher."

Remus smiled. "Thank you, Tonks. Why don't I take S.J.? I think he's hungry."

"Oh, alright," Tonks said, handing Remus the bottle and placing S.J. in his arms. "Thank you, Remus."

S.J. greedily sucked down his bottle. Tonks watched Remus smile as he fed S.J.

"You're going to be with your mum and dad, soon, S.J.," Remus whispered to S.J. "You're going home."

S.J. pushed away his bottle and burped.

"You're quite welcome," Remus laughed.

S.J. could not smile yet, but he was quiet in Remus's arms. Although he could not smile or laugh, Tonks knew that S.J. enjoyed Remus's company.

"Remus, I think he likes you," Tonks said with a smile. "It's one of the few times he's been quiet."

Remus looked down to see S.J. staring up at him. "I suppose babies do like me."

Tonks stroked S.J.'s chubby face. "You're going home soon, S.J. You'll be with your mummy and daddy soon."

Meanwhile, Cassiopeia and Sirius were making preparations to leave for his house in London. Cassiopeia was still sore from her childbirth. Sirius was uncomfortable from the many cuts covering his chest, head, and arms, but he was still strong. The thought of reuniting with their son excited them beyond comprehension. Sirius let Cassiopeia sleep while he stole a small amount of food from Hogsmeade. He could not steal much, otherwise it would be suspicious. Once he gathered the food, Sirius hurried back to the Hog's Head. Gently, he woke Cassiopeia.

"Cassie," he whispered, kissing her head. "Wake up, sweetheart."

"Morning, sweetheart," Cassiopeia said groggily, planting a kiss on Sirius's lips.

"Cassie, it's time to go home," Sirius whispered.

"Home?" Cassiopeia asked.

"Home," Sirius replied, smiling.

Cassiopeia threw her arms around Sirius's neck and kissed him deeply. "I love you."

"I know, sweetheart," Sirius said, smiling. "I'm glad you're as excited as I am. Come on. Let's hurry."

Sirius and Cassiopeia managed to creep outside the town of Hogsmeade and into the forest. Sirius let Cassiopeia rest against a tree as he whistled for Buckbeak.

"We're going to get our baby!" Cassiopeia said excitedly.

"We are going to get our baby, Cassie," Sirius said with a smile.

Buckbeak appeared from the trees, happily munching on birds that flew by. Sirius bowed low, as was custom with hippogriffs. Buckbeak then bowed back, letting Sirius know it was safe to approach. Sirius then carried Cassiopeia and helped her onto Buckbeak's back. Sirius then leapt up himself. Cassiopeia clung tight to him, squeezing his hand.

"I can't wait to have my family together," she said wistfully.

"That is going to come sooner than you know," Sirius said happily. "In a few hours, we'll be in our own home, rocking S.J. in our arms."

"I miss our baby," Cassiopeia said wistfully. "Let's hurry up and go home. I want our baby in my arms."

Sirius smiled brightly. "Yes, sweetheart. The feeling's mutual."

Sirius yanked Buckbeak's chain, and the animal took off. Sirius and Cassiopeia were finally flying home. In a few hours, they would finally hold their son again.

A/N: Aww, Sirius and Cassie are going home! S.J.'s going to see his parents again. I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you to all my loyal readers, you know who you are. Thank you to my good buddy Roza Anne. You all make this story fun!