Author's Note: I know, it's only been a few days and another chapter. I wrote 2000 words yesterday, so you're getting a chapter. I promise I am writing both stories at the same time, so regular updates will come. Thanks for reading, MNF
Chapter 12:
Everyone found a seat in the formal sitting room although James, Sirius and Remus had taken half of each of the loveseats or two chair sitting groups, leaving Albus the most delicate of heirloom tufted seats. Monty's great grandmother had done the needlepoint for the cushions, which were made of rather old horsehair. When you sat on the poor thing, your bottom sank into the cushion, making it hard to stand again. It also had no arms as it was designed for a woman wearing a bustle in her skirt. Eva and Lily entered, noticing what the gents had done and needed to keep from laughing. Anwen came in last, carrying the tea tray Elba had put together for her. She sat the silver tray on the coffee table and began making everyone's cup for them, including Albus's.
"Shouldn't the lady of the house be doing that, Anwen?" Their former headmaster asked and both Lily and Anwen stared at him. "Well, isn't that the usual formality?"
"I don't know if you've noticed, Albus, but we aren't the most formal of folks," Sirius said, taking the tray of biscuits and passing it to Remus first. Albus chose to ignore the comment.
"I heard there was an appearance of a princess the other day," he said in an equally droll manner. "A reluctant princess at that."
"Just doing what was needed," Anwen said calmly as she sat back into her husband now that everyone had their tea.
"Did you really tell them there would be no consequences?" he probed further.
"We told them the opposite. Why don't you just come out and ask us about it, rather than dancing about the subject," James stated plainly. He'd been preparing for this conversation. He had every intention of protecting his sister, since she'd gone out on a very dangerous limb at the meeting.
"What do you mean to tell everyone not to fight? Of course we must fight. How else will we win against the darkness?" Albus all but exploded at the Lord of the Potter house.
"We said not to fight because we are the ones who are dying. Our friends, our cousins. The older generation is telling us what to do, but you're not paying with your lives. We are. Perhaps if we stop yelling and cursing each other we can find a way to move forward and stay alive," James said passionately. "What happens next, we aren't sure but I'm finding it hard to curse people I've known since I was in nappies."
"But your family has always been a stalwart of the light," Dumbledore said, putting on his best grandfatherly face.
"And the Potters still are. We are joined by the Black family, the Longbottoms, the Nighmans, the Lupins and the Waterwings," James answered, pointing around the room at the family, sans the Longbottoms who were still at work. "We are also joined by the Prewitts, Weasleys, Macmillans, Bones', the Shacklebolts, the Abbotts and a host of other families."
"But why say not to fight?" Dumbledore persisted. "How else are we to win the war?"
"Because we don't want to die a senseless death!" James retorted. "We, Sirius and I, we will still go after Dark Wizards because it's our job. Alice and Frank will do their jobs as well, but people like my cousin Lucy Macmillan, she's delicate and sensitive and trying to recruit her for the Order is ridiculous!"
"She has a NEWT in Defence," Dumbledore countered.
"Because she has an eidetic memory. She perfectly regurgitated the text to the proctor on the exam. Her practical was abysmal," Anwen said. "I studied with her when I took mine." Dumbledore looked around at their faces, and when even Lily's was hardened, he knew this meeting wasn't worth his time.
"He-Who…"
"Tom Riddle," James said. "We know his real name. We put it out there with everyone at the meeting and his parentage. Just use his name."
"Tom is dangerous," Dumbledore said.
"So are his Death Eaters," Sirius countered. "I know my cousin Bellatrix isn't one to pull punches. Someone like Eva or Lily can't counter the dark spells she knows. Me, I can fight darkness with darkness, I learned those spells too. I have no qualms about killing her."
"She should have a chance to improve her life," the headmaster pleaded with them.
"Bella can't be rehabilitated," Sirius roared back, and he stood, pulling his tee-shirt from his jeans to show Albus a dark red stain that ran the length of his abdomen. "See that, she did that to me when she was sixteen. I was eight. It was a cursed cutting hex of her own design. It's still this dark because no matter what my grandmother Melania or Fee did, they couldn't counter it completely. They used a thread and needle to close that up. That is who she is."
"Let's not forget that Lucius Malfoy sexually assaulted and then nearly beat Narcissa to death," Anwen said. "He's the reason she died. He broke her. That's not something a person with a shred of decency does to someone he is supposed to love."
"When will you know what decisions people came to?" he asked.
"We may not know for certain until we see someone in a fight," James admitted. "We aren't trying to create a third front, but we would like people who are frightened into fighting off the battlefield. If they come to us or to Arcturus, we have places to hide folks. Perhaps if there are fewer foot soldiers, both sides will stop the senseless killings."
"Vol—er, Tom isn't ever going to back down," Dumbledore said gravely.
"No, he isn't and his most ardent followers will need to be captured or killed. If it's just that dozen or so Death Eaters, then the professionals can do their jobs and not kill innocents," James admitted.
"I see. Thank you for speaking with me," Albus said, rising and placing his untouched tea down on the tray. James called the elf, who popped Dumbledore off the property and outside the enchantments.
"Why did that feel like it was too easy?" Sirius asked.
"Because it was," Remus answered. "He's going to try something else."
"Probably malign us," Lily said softly. "That is usually what he does when his disappointed face doesn't work." No one disagreed.
It was well after dinner, and Sirius hadn't seen his wife since they left the table. The visit from Dumbledore two days ago had upset her greatly, and she'd been exceptionally quiet. Their former headmaster's anger at them, especially her, had been unexpected. He finally found her in James' office, the two of them speaking in hushed tones with a third person.
"You and Theo will be safe on the island with Regulus, I promise. No one even knows we own it," James said to the woman. As Sirius entered the office, he saw Katie Nott holding a baby who looked to be about the same age as Alfie. Katherine Avery Nott was only a year older than James, Sirius, and Anwen but she looked at least ten years their senior already. Her father had betrothed her to Cantankerous Nott when Katie was a mere six years old; Nott was already in his late sixties. He'd had two previous wives who had died under mysterious circumstances, as had his young daughters.
"Reg is a good guy," Katie said softly. "He was what two years behind me?" James nodded his answer. "I wonder if he's prepared to have an infant around full time?"
"Reggie likes kids," Sirius said. "I'm sure he will adapt. He will be thrilled to have some company too. It can get dull having an island to yourself."
"Hi, Sirius," Katie said. She'd had a crush on the older Black brother from the age of ten, but he was never even interested. Like every Avery before her, she was sorted into Slytherin. Once he was at Hogwarts, she never approached him, thinking he was something awful if he wasn't sorted into her house.
"We have four house elves," Anwen said. "I will send Peng down to help you with Theo for a few hours each day."
"Oh, you don't need to do that," Katie said.
"No, it will be good for her. She's only a bit past her elfling stage, but she helps here in the nursery quite often. It will be good for her to work somewhere her parents aren't watching over her shoulder all day."
"You let your elves mate?" Katie said, surprised.
"My father explained that they were to live their lives as they wished, as long as the work was completed," James explained. Theo took that moment to let out a long scream, indicating his boredom.
"Well, I think we have all the information we need. We will make sure everything you need is sent to the island, and if you need something special, just tell Wilken when he makes the delivery or Sirius when he's visiting, and we will get it for you. Your son sounds like he wants to get moving. Why don't we Floo over, it's about time for your visit, isn't it Sirius?"
"It is, I was looking for Anwen to tell her I was going," he answered.
"If there is anything you urgently need for the nursery tell James and he can bring it over tonight," Anwen said. "We are well stocked here."
"I don't doubt it," Katie replied. "Thank you for saving us. Between my husband and my father, I don't think I would ever be safe. It's like they're under a spell."
The trio nodded in agreement, and they all headed to the Floo. Anwen went upstairs to check on her children and give them their baths.
Later that night, Anwen and Sirius were in the Nursery with their two, settling them down for the night. Both were slowly drinking their bottles, nodding off in the process. Sirius watched his wife as she moved gently in her rocking chair, her eyes fixed on the waning crescent moon.
"Luv, what's on your mind?" he softly asked.
"What if there are more that need shelter? What if the house on the island can't house them all? I don't think moving anyone onto this property is a good idea, we have four infants and two infirmed elderly adults here," she said, not looking at him. "I don't know that we thought this through very well."
Sirius stood and laid Alfie down in his cot, then went to take Violet from his wife and laid her down as well. "Hindsa," he said in a whisper and the elf popped in without a sound. "The nursery is yours for the night, unless Lily has other plans for Harry. We'd like to sleep this evening; emergencies only."
"Yes, Master Sirius," the nanny elf said, and she settled herself onto her little chair to watch the human younglings. Sirius then took his wife's hand, kissed it, and then lifted her bridal style to carry her to their room. He kicked the door shut, but rather than put her on the bed, he carried her to the window seat she had always loved and nestled together with her among the dark purple and navy-blue cushions.
"It's just us," he told her tenderly. "Tell me what is really worrying you."
"When Katie came to us today, I realized we really didn't have a plan. We wanted people to stay out of the fight, but we never considered what that could look like. One person and her child are fine down on the island. It might make Reggie nuts, but he's enjoying his reading and honestly, he will be able to take his NEWTs when all this is over, possibly do his Transfigurations Mastery as well. But, what if dozens of people need homes. We could put them up in the other houses on the property but given that the eight of us are huge targets already, I just worry that isn't wise."
"Anwen, my grandfather has secured several homes close to home, in Scotland and Ireland, and a few overseas as well. We have places to put people that isn't here. You're right, we've been lucky that Tom hasn't come back since that night he killed Lyall," Sirius reminded her.
"We've all defied him twice now," Anwen whispered. "Well, not Eva or Remus, but they're barely in the magical world at all. I can't imagine losing them, but honestly, I feel like telling them to run. Dumbledore has again suggested that Remus go 'visit' the packs of werewolves. He's nearly finished with his uni degree, and then he wants to get the certifications he needs to teach. He's a marvellous teacher, and any class would be lucky to have him."
"Don't forget about his furry little problem. Won't that be an issue?"
"Sirius, I know women who need to take a day or two off every month due to their monthly cycles. Remus taking a day won't be a problem. Lily can successfully brew the new Wolfsbane Potion, so he will have it every month now."
"Sure, Lily can brew that, but she screwed up your birth control potion," Sirius teased.
"It's nothing to joke about," Anwen said. "We still can't figure out what went wrong. The ingredients were right, she brewed it correctly. The only thing we can think is that while it was cooling something fell in and contaminated it, thus rendering it useless. She's going to make sure caps are secure on all pots and phials and lock the potions lab door while it's setting. Although for the life of me I cannot figure out why someone would want Lily, Alice, and me pregnant at the same time."
"You know, we haven't really discussed how many kids you want to have," Sirius said.
"We want to have," she corrected him.
"No, you're the one who has to be pregnant and go through all that, you are going to have the final say," he said while stroking her face.
"Well, I've always liked having a big family," she said. "Having you and Reggie around so much was like having three brothers, although I never thought of you as my brother. Then again, we have four at the same age already in the family so – I think I'd like to have at least three. I want you to have a son to carry on the Black family line. Violet will be a Parker-Black, like her mama. Alfie is the heir to the Malfoy line. So at least one more little Black, and heir and a spare?"
"Cheeky minx, three or four sounds good to me," Sirius said before he kissed her passionately. "If we were to go over to that ridiculously large bed and I were to worship every inch of your body, is there any chance you could become pregnant again. I know you don't want to have another so close to the two we have already."
"It's very sweet of you to be concerned, and no, I can't. Since Violet is weaning herself off my breast milk, I decided to go back on the potion and Lily tested the efficacy twice. I can't get pregnant. You could always do the spells too."
"I'm not sure I remember them," he confessed before capturing her lips once again and lifting her to carry his wife to their bed.
Later that night, while they slept tangled together, something shook the foundations of Potter Manor. Anwen and Sirius, as well as everyone else who lived in the large house or on the property, was awakened by the sound of the first layer of protections breaking.