Hey! I know! Two chapters in the same day. I literally had nothing to do so I wrote this. I've been through a few hurricanes myself, so personal experience in this chapter. Hope you all enjoy this!
Thank you to all of my followers! You guys rock and keep me inspired.
Remus Lupin stood in the house after Lily and Sirius and Harry had left. He was going to occupy the house. It was surreal. The house was empty and quiet and nothing like it had been. The furniture didn't look right. There was absolutely no dog hair anywhere in the house. Lily must have done something. He was on his way upstairs when there was a knock on the door. He turned around and opened it. Nancy was standing on the stoop with a very concerned look on her face.
"You're Remus–right?" She asked and he nodded to her. "Where are they? Where is Lily? Is she safe? And Harry? Please–please tell me." She had tears in her eyes. Remus stepped aside and let her into the house. "I saw the car leave. I just want to know what is going on." She sat herself on the edge of the couch and waited, expectantly. Remus ran a hand through his hair, flattening it down and then rubbed a hand over his face. He sat down on the chair next to her.
"You've seen the news?" At her nod, he went on. "It isn't what you think. Lily's husband, you know he died. Well, he was murdered by a man named Voldemort. He almost killed Lily and Harry. In the wizarding world, well there was a war going on. And the Potter's were targeted. They were in hiding. Sirius was the closest to them. It was assumed that he gave them up, but he didn't. He went after the man that did, and he was framed for that explosion in London in '81. He has been hiding from the Wizarding World since then." He sighed at her blank look.
"And they just left?"
"She trusts him. I trust him. You have trusted him. You know him. You have known him for almost 4 years. He is not the man on the news. The Ministry of Magic is trying to pin the blame on someone. The man that did all of those things, he is nowhere to be found." He waited for her reaction.
"But they aren't coming back? Why didn't Lily tell me all this herself?" She sighed. "And what about Harry? And Sirius? Where are they?"
"I cannot tell you that. The less people that know, the better. I will let you know what I can, when I can. I know you were close with Lily." She stood up, wringing her fingers. She looked down at him.
"But they are all safe?" He nodded.
"If you need anything, or have questions…. About the wizarding world, for Hermione, you can come to me." She nodded and he saw her to the door. He sighed when she left. He settled into the house as the sun went down, wondering how the trip was going on the other side of the Atlantic.
Harry never tired of going to the ocean. He insisted on going from the moment he woke up in the morning. He had a collection of clam shells that he kept in the lanai along the rail. It was best to go as early as possible because the beach filled up with tourists around noon. Sirius had begrudgingly bought swim trunks. What he hadn't prepared for was Lily going to the beach a few days later and removing her shorts and shirt to reveal a simple blue bikini. He had a hard time keeping his eyes off her, much less help put sunscreen on so she wouldn't burn.
September came very quickly and Lily and Sirius enrolled Harry in a something called pre-school. It was half-day, but Lily got a job there as well. Sirius was still looking for what he knew best: accounting. Once he did find a company hiring, there was a lot more paperwork that needed to be done. It was easy to simply charm his way in, Lily disapproved. They meticulously filled the paperwork out. Lily doing most of it as Sirius had no patience for it when there was an easier solution. And she made sure they both got a license. It was easy to forge birth certificates. Lily just copied the one she had for both Sirius and Harry.
They were mostly settled in by mid September, but they walked out one morning and saw neighbors boarding up their windows. Sirius walked up and asked what they were doing when he got back from work, as they were still at it. The man on the ladder looked like he was crazy.
"There's a storm coming, don't you watch the news?" The man went back to boarding up the windows, shaking his head.
"What kind of storm?" It didn't look like anything was coming. He looked up at the clear blue sky, felt the light breeze.
"Hurricane. You just moved in, right? Didn't figure you'd got 'em in Britain, supposed to be a bigun." He chuckled as Sirius walked up the stairs, still looking up at the sky. Lily and Harry were sitting on the couch watching the weather report. He stripped off his tie and sat on the arm of the couch listening, undoing the cuffs of his shirt.
"Hurricane Diana is going to be the biggest event to hit the east coast in 2 decades. We highly recommend that people along the coast evacuate and move inland for the duration of the storm. The storm will hit late this evening with gale force winds–"
"Well," Sirius said as videos of roofs being blown off and flooded neighborhoods flashing across the screen. "Perhaps this is why you don't live at the beach."
"I was talking to Patty next door. She said it is never as bad as they say. They all stay in their houses. She said the worst that could happen is we will lose power for a while, which isn't an issue for us." She held up her wand. "Still, I think we should board up the windows. I now know what the wood in the car park is for." Sirius leaned down and captured Lily's lips with his own, stopping her words. He pressed his lips to hers until she giggled and pulled back. He then grabbed Harry and threw him over his shoulder.
"Come on, little man. We need to board up the windows so mummy feels safe against the big bad storm." He had humor in his eyes, but he still looked up at the sky like it would betray them. Sirius looked at the outside and moved Harry so he was sitting on his shoulders.
"There are a lot of windows." Harry said.
"You just read my mind. Well, this is going to be a long job. I need to change for this." He walked back into the house, ducking so Harry wouldn't hit his head and then swung him down onto the couch.
"Sirius, why don't we wait until tonight? So we can….use magic without anyone noticing. Plus, we really only need to put them on the west facing windows, I would think." She noted to him.
"That is a brilliant idea, but the neighbors can be busy bodies. And it's supposed to hit tonight." Sirius walked upstairs and put on an old quidditch shirt and a ragged pair of jeans and then walked back outside. It quickly got very warm as the afternoon sun was beating down. Lily was helping him, handing the boards up to him as he hammered them in place. He had finished up at least five windows when the neighbor came over.
"Thought you might need some more nails. I see that the last owners left you the boards behind. That was nice of 'em. They were a young couple as well. But they had gardeners and workers helping out. They were never here." He handed Sirius the box of nails and then held out his hand. "Martin Glaswell. My wife Patty and I have been living here for 15 years."
"Thank you. I'm Sirius and this is Lily." Sirius said as he shook Martin's hand. Lily held out her hand as well.
"I met your wife earlier this afternoon, with my son, Harry."
"Well, good. Welcome to the Island. Let us know if you need anything." He walked back into his house and Sirius climbed down to move the ladder. He wiped his brow with the hem of his shirt before he just took it off, it was already soaked. Lily eyed him for a moment before looking away. He smirked and stepped onto the ladder again and reached for another board.
"I forget that you have that tattoo, sometimes. The four of you got it, when we were in school?" Sirius looked down at his chest. The crest that they had designed was still bright and clear on his breast, just over his heart. The words "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" below a wolf, a stag, a dog and a rat that formed the whomping willow. He smiled when he looked at it, remembering something.
"Yeah, drove my mother insane when I came home with it. My brother ratted me out." His face dropped a little. "It was the night she kicked me out of the house."
"I'm sorry that that happened, Sirius." Lily said, looking sad.
"I'm not. I hated that house with the pureblood mania and the hatred. She hated all of them. The Potter's were blood traitors. Remus and that bastard were half bloods, and you know, Remus's affliction. Though she never knew about it. I was the biggest disappointment. Removed me from the family tree and everything. James took me in though. Fleamont and Euphemia loved me as much as they loved James. The Blacks were just the people I was forced to live with. Not my family." He placed the last nail in the board and looked down at her as she looked up at him. "I never bought into the blood purity shit, even as a kid. And in school, I learned I could be completely my own person. I'm actually surprised the old hag left me anything. But I guess I am the last Black male heir." They moved to the side of the house, where there was shade. The wind was starting to pick up.
They continued and finished up the rest of the house in silence and once Sirius had placed the ladder back in the car park, Lily came up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his lips, walking him back so that his back was against the slatted walls, her chest against his. He kissed her back fervently, a hand going to tangle in the hair at the nape of her neck, the other went to her waist as he pulled her closer against him. A groan escaped him as he felt her body against him, wishing more than anything that there was nothing between their bodies. He felt himself get hard and he flipped them around so that she was against the wall, he pressed his hips into her, he felt her fingers press into the small of his back and he reeled his head back, gasping for air. He looked at her, she had hectic color on her cheeks and her eyes were slightly unfocused and heavy. His hair falling into his eyes. He brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek. He could feel the sweat on his chest and back mixing with the sweat on the skin of her arms, making it slick. He closed his eyes, trying to push out the thoughts in his head so he could concentrate. He pressed his forehead to hers. Just then, the front door opened and they heard Harry calling out to them.
"We should get back into the house–check on Harry or something." He said heavily, his nose against hers. She nodded in response.
"Yea, we should." She stepped out from under him and he watched her go and heard her walk up the porch stairs and greet Harry. He pressed his head into the wall and groaned again before he pushed himself off with a deep breath and went inside, grabbing his shirt as he went.
Lily was washing her hands at the sink and Harry was chatting to her. He stood on a chair, ready to "help" Lily cook. Sirius popped his head in. She looked up, her cheeks still pink from earlier.
"I'm going to go and shower. I'll be down in a few minutes to help." She smiled and nodded. Sirius rubbed his dick through his jeans, it was still somewhat hard. He climbed into the shower and took himself in hand, leaning against the shower wall. He grunted as he came and then quickly cleaned himself off. A thought had occurred to him after he climbed out of the shower and walked to his room in nothing but a towel that got him hard all over again: did Lily also have to do this? She must, and he tried to shake his head free of the thought. He went back into the kitchen, smiling and joking about the storm while they made dinner and then sat out on the lanai as the storm rolled in. The wind picked up to a strong breeze. Harry waived to the neighbors that were doing the same thing. Lily excused herself to shower as well and it was just Harry and Sirius sitting together.
"Sirius?" He asked.
"Yea, Harry?"
"Do you love mummy?" Sirius gave him a quizzical look.
"Well, yes. I love both you and mummy." Harry looked a little frustrated.
"No. You kiss mummy on the mouth. Does that mean you love her?" He looked up at Sirius, his eyes so innocent and serious. Sirius blinked at him.
"Well, yea. I mean, I like kissing your mum. It makes me happy and it makes her happy too."
"Well, I like 'Mione. Should I kiss her too?" At this, Sirius barked out a laugh.
"Wait a few years for that. She's just the first girl you met. And it doesn't have to be a girl you kiss, Harry. Some boys like other boys or girls like other girls or you can like both. It doesn't have to be a boy and a girl who love each other. Just wait for it. It will make sense when you are older." Harry looked put out by the answer and just continued to stare out at the grass bending in the breeze. Sirius stood up and let Charlie out of the lanai and he ran around the yard, chasing the leaves that were falling in the wind.
He had just sat down again when Lily came back out holding two beers. She handed one to Sirius and then sat down next to him. He put his arm on the back of the lounge and took a sip as she leaned back against his forearm. He could smell the scent of her shampoo and her soap. He inched closer to her. Harry was rearranging his shells. Sirius wondered why he hadn't asked Lily the same question. Maybe he had and she just didn't mention it, like Sirius didn't intend to mention it. This was the thought he had as they made their way back to the living room after putting Harry to bed.
The wind was picking up outside and rain was starting to fall. He could hear it pelting against the boards they had put up. They watched some inane show on the telly. Sirius had fallen asleep, with Lily tucked into his chest. Lily was shaking him awake a little while later. He looked at his watch. It was just after ten o'clock. He stretched and was surprised when he felt Lily's lips on his. He dropped his arms and wrapped them around her, pulling her closer as she moved in, her chest against his, her hands cradled his face.
He opened his mouth and she swept her tongue in, pressing even closer. But it was a lot slower than the kiss from earlier. A slow burn built in the pit of Lily's stomach as she kissed him, her heartbeat skipping each time he stroked her spine, causing her to shiver. Each shiver caused her breath to rush out and Sirius was starting to get hard again just as a crack of thunder ripped through the night. They heard Harry's shout and he came flying out of his room. They separated and Sirius had just stood up when Harry launched himself into his arms. He lifted the kid away from his groin, knowing he was a little stiff. This kid didn't know what he was doing to him.
"Hey, little man. It's ok. It's just a storm. Come on, let's get you back to bed." Harry's face was buried in his neck and was clinging to him for dear life. He walked him back to his room. He tried to set him down, but Harry continued to cling to him like a koala. He carefully pried his hands and legs off of him.
"The storm can't hurt you, you're inside. I can muffle it for you. Would that help?" Harry nodded. Lily stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Sirius cast a muffling spell on the room, everything instantly quieted down. The thunder, barely a rumble. Want me to leave the light on?" Harry nodded again. Sirius turned on the lamp beside his bed and then tucked him in tight, kissing his forehead. "You'll be ok, I promise. Charlie is right here for you." On que, Charlie jumped up on the bed and laid against the little boy. "He won't let anything happen to you either." Sirius stood up and walked to the door and closed it to a crack.
"He always runs to you. Never to me. Have you noticed that?" She asked and Sirius looked over at her. "You make him feel safe." Her arms were crossed over her chest casually. She leaned in and gave him a searing kiss. "Goodnight, Sirius." She smiled as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom. She was going to be the reason he imploded. He went to his own room and closed the door, stiff as a board again. He didn't want to take care of it himself.
A traitorous thought entered his mind as he stripped down to his boxer briefs and crawled into bed. What if he just walked up stairs? What would Lily do? He laid there, immobile for a moment while he entertained the thought and then the lights flickered out. He groaned again as he heard the patter of footsteps along with the scrabble of nails on the hardwood. His door flew open and Harry launched himself into Sirius, who grunted as his knee just barely missed his groin, at least it made his boner go away immediately. Charlie jumped up next to him and snuggled closer.
"Charlie, no! Off!" Sirius had lit the tip of his wand and the dog just stared at him and then stretched out at the end of the bed. Sirius cursed the dog in his head. Harry was on his bare chest, trembling slightly. He hugged him closer and then sat up. He rubbed his back. He wondered when storms wouldn't be scary for him anymore. He didn't remember ever being scared of storms. He scooted back so his back was against the headboard, with one leg bent.
"You wanna see a trick?" He asked the little boy in his arms and Harry lifted his head, nodding. Sirius pointed his wand up at the ceiling and glowing bubbles floated out of it. Harry reached out for them, watching them pop as he touched them. The ones he didn't pop collected on the ceiling and stayed there. It was at this point that Lily appeared in the doorway, smiling a little shyly, wearing a t-shirt of James's and sleep shorts. She went around to the other side of the bed and climbed in too.
"You okay, sweetheart?" She asked her son.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?" He looked at both Lily and Sirius. He slipped off of Sirius's lap and settled in between the sheets. Sirius sighed.
"Sure you can." He set his wand aside and got under the sheets, too. Lily followed suit. "But just this time, okay? Because this is a big storm." Just as he said this, there was a crash outside and Harry burrowed deeper under the covers and grabbed Lily's hand. "I guess we're all sleeping in here then? Even the dog?" Harry just nodded under the blankets.
"They aren't all that scary, love." Lily cooed at him and to his credit, Harry tried not to look at her like she was nuts. She settled her head onto one of Sirius's pillows, her hair spread out behind her, holding her son's hand. And Sirius prayed that he wouldn't get a boner right then. He turned on his side and faced her, just in case. He really didn't want to tent the sheet.
"Go to sleep, now Harry. We are all here." Harry obediently closed his eyes as Lily smiled over at him. She had a point. Harry had been running to him more and more. But he was tired and he fell asleep to the sound of the storm outside.