Hermione scribbled another note to herself in the small notebook she kept for her ongoing list of things to do. Sitting cross-legged in the centre of her bed, she raised her eyes to gaze around the Gryffindor dorm and mentally compared it to her childhood bedroom she'd just left a few days before.
The solid dark oak beds, wardrobes and dressers might have made the tower room gloomy but they shined and gleamed with polish; the sunlight pouring in through the wide windows to highlight the wonderful gold grain buried in the wood. The bright red and gold Gryffindor colours blazed in the hangings and the linen; in the woven rugs of a griffin and a unicorn. It was wonderful and homey in a way her bedroom at home had ceased to be.
She grimaced. Crookshanks snored from his place at the bottom of the bed and Hermione looked at him fondly. Maybe, she considered, she should try asking for a redecoration of her bedroom at home for her next birthday or Christmas present. It would be nice to get it looking like the bedroom of the young woman she was rather than the child she'd left behind when she'd started Hogwarts.
She shook her hair and reread her notes. Daphne and Luna had done a great job at compiling the list of useful spells and she needed to ensure that she, Ron and Harry mastered them all. She tapped the quill against her chin and pursed her lips. Harry had already hated the idea of someone getting held hostage because of him and the fact that it was most likely her or Ron wasn't going to help.
Harry.
Hermione frowned.
She'd retreated to the dorm to work after dinner because their split was the talk of the Hogwarts' grapevine. If she had thought it was difficult dealing with the stares and attention when they were together, it was much worse with them being apart. Still, Harry had been a complete gentleman, letting it be known that he was to blame and that he still wanted to be with her once she had forgiven him.
She bit her lip, remembering the holidays.
It had been awful when Harry had been missing. She'd been so worried about him, alone and grieving for Sirius. And yet so angry. He'd physically and magically pushed her away. He'd broken up with her to protect her. He'd been a stupid, arrogant arse!
Hermione sniffed and then sighed heavily.
Despite everything, she understood. She did. Harry hadn't been thinking; he'd been devastated and he'd reacted on instinct in the moment he'd magically sent them back to Hogwarts. She could forgive him for that – had forgiven him for that.
It was the letter he'd sent after that she couldn't quite forgive him for when he'd continued to insist that he was protecting them all by staying away, and protecting her especially by no longer being her boyfriend. It had been a planned and deliberate statement, and one that had hurt her tremendously. All she'd known in the instant of reading it was that he didn't want her anymore. It had only worsened during the days of silence that followed the letter when they'd known Sirius was back and had found Harry. Then she had wondered if it was maybe all an excuse to break up with her.
Harry had denied that when he'd come over to apologise. He'd been properly contrite and remorseful but she couldn't forgive him for hurting her. But she hadn't wanted him to see how wounded she was and had covered her hurt with anger for his assuming he had the right to make decisions about her safety and protection without talking with her; for using that as the basis of their break up. She'd briskly informed him that he'd have to do better than a few flowery words before she'd forgive him and consider going out with him again. She'd told him she'd only consider it if he could prove that he trusted her to make her own decisions.
Hermione sighed.
She'd been so determined not to just give in that she'd rejected his every attempt at apologising. She absently ran a finger down the edge of the folded letter she'd put at the back of the notebook. She wondered now if sticking to her guns had been a mistake as her mother had warned her…
"You have to ask yourself, Hermione, what does Harry need to do before you'll forgive him?" Her mother tapped the half-written reply that Hermione was in the middle of writing. "You say you need him to prove he trusts you but you don't say how he can prove it." She sat down beside Hermione.
"Well, I don't know how exactly." Hermione replied angrily.
"You should be careful you're not asking him to do something that he has no hope of actually achieving." Her mother said. "If he doesn't know how to prove his trust in you, it may take him a long time to do it, and then you'll find that you're broken up for a lot longer than a few days. Is that what you want?"
"I just…he trusted me to go with him and help him rescue Sirius at the end of our third year without question – that's what I want!"
"Seriously?" Her mother countered, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice before she took a deep breath. "Look, darling, he made a mistake in breaking up with you and pushing you away but he's apologised. If you can't set this aside and move forward without testing his sincerity then perhaps you shouldn't be with him."
"I can't believe you're taking his side!" Hermione said, folding her arms and glaring at her mother.
Her mother countered her glare with one of her own. "Believe me when I say I'm on your side. I don't like that he hurt you and he knows it. But he's apologised very sincerely and even if I didn't think he deserves a second chance, right at this moment I'm attempting to advise you as your mother and stop you from making a mistake you'll regret." She got to her feet. "Honestly, I'm not happy you want to put yourself in another dangerous situation in order for him to prove himself to you! You have to consider why you're really doing this, Hermione. Is this a way of punishing him for hurting you? A retaliation? Because right now, I think it is no matter that you're fooling yourself into believing it's justified."
Maybe her mother had been right.
It was just…
Not being trusted to help him with his grief and with being his girlfriend was in some respects the last straw; the final confirmation that Harry had stopped trusting in her and Ron. And she understood that he had Sirius in his life and that Sirius had drawn up rules around what they could and couldn't know about Harry's struggle with Voldemort and the people who wanted to hurt Harry. She even appreciated that perhaps there were reasons why Harry himself kept things from them. But it just all conspired to make her feel that he didn't trust her anymore.
The night of the Yule Ball she'd known something was going on with Snape and that Harry was worried, but he'd said nothing to her and both Neville and Sirius had been kidnapped and hurt. Yes, he'd taken them to London with him to find Sirius but only when they'd insisted – and he'd soon sent them back to Hogwarts. And he'd shut her out until Sirius had returned and brought him home again.
But he had been grief-stricken a small voice inside of her head reminded her briskly.
But Harry hadn't even confided the way he and Sirius intended to double-team Wenlock, she countered immediately. The Wenlock take-down had been nothing short of brilliant. Slytherin, mused Hermione with a hint of amusement.
Ah, said the voice in her head again, maybe if she'd forgiven Harry, he would have told her the strategy.
She poked the notebook with her quill.
Was she punishing Harry?
Hermione sighed.
Maybe.
Just a tad.
If she was honest with herself.
But her anger was mostly gone after seeing him again at the Wizengamot, the few family occasions they'd had, and since they'd been back at school. He was clearly sorry and he'd been really good at her respecting her wishes to remain civil and friendly. But it had also been so awkward between them. It was the last thing she wanted.
What she wanted was to go back to being Harry's girlfriend and for him to confide in her. But she didn't know how she did that after the stand she'd taken with him. She didn't want to cave and roll over on her position because that would make her look like an idiot…but on the other hand, did she really want to wait until Harry did something that she could say proved he trusted her? And her mother had a point; just how was he supposed to prove his trust in her without them being in danger somehow?
It was a mess, she thought morosely.
The door of the dorm flew open and Lavender rushed in, barrelling over to Hermione and squeezing her tightly in a lopsided hug before dancing around the dorm with glee, a letter clutched in one hand. Parvati followed after her more sedately and sat down on Hermione's bed with a sigh as Lavender continued cavorting around.
"What's going on?" asked Hermione curious.
"Ron asked her out." Parvati said. "Sent her a proper invitation by postal owl."
"Oh." Hermione felt her belly flutter unexpectedly at the news. She hadn't known Ron was going to do that but then the boys had all banded together since they'd come back to the school.
Maybe it wasn't just Harry who had stopped confiding in her, Hermione thought unhappily. She pinned a smile on for Lavender who had finally stopped whirling about.
"That's good news!" Hermione said brightly.
"Isn't it?" Lavender clutched the letter close to her bosom. "I mean, after the Ball I thought I'd blown it! But he says he doesn't blame me for choosing to go with Dean and he was an idiot for not asking me sooner."
Hermione hummed.
"We're going to Hogsmeade!" Lavender gushed. "Oh, what am I going to wear! I have to go get that catalogue from Katie!" She ran off again before Hermione could speak to inform her Ron wouldn't care about her outfit.
Parvati gave a sigh. "She's going to be like this until the date."
Hermione gave a small sound of sympathy. "What about you? Is there anybody you're interested in?"
"Neville," responded Parvati immediately, "but he and Hannah seem to be pretty entrenched so…" she sighed and looked over at Hermione with suddenly sharp eyes. "How are things going with you and Harry? You both seemed alright at the session tonight."
Hermione grimaced. "I was thinking I should have listened to my mother and not been so adamant about not forgiving him straight away."
"What did he do anyway?" asked Parvati. "You're all so tight-lipped about things…"
Hermione considered what to tell Parvati. She didn't want to tell her everything but surely she could say something?
"You know Neville was kidnapped and Sirius was injured?"
Parvati nodded.
"Well, Harry got it into his head that he was to blame and that it was better for people not to be his friends and…"
"And he broke up with you to protect you." Parvati concluded.
"Without even talking with me about it!" Hermione complained loudly before subsiding. "He's apologised and everything; told me he wants to get back together but…"
"But you don't know if you trust him anymore?" Parvati completed.
"No!" Hermione stared at her. "No! I trust Harry!"
"Then why…" Parvati began, perplexed.
"He didn't trust me!" Hermione said fiercely. "He should have talked with me! Let me decide for myself!"
"Hermione," Parvati remonstrated, "the one thing you can't say is that Harry doesn't trust you! He lets you lead the research into the task and to tell him what it all means – and he really does check with you when he doesn't understand something. He lets you show others how to do things when we practice! He trusts you!"
"It hasn't felt like it this past year." Hermione grumbled, flushing. "He used to tell me everything and now…"
"And now he's the Head of an Ancient and Noble House, Heir to another, and has a parent and other adult allies he can to turn to; grown-ups who've probably told him what he can and can't say about things." Parvati's expression wasn't unsympathetic but Hermione winced at the direct hits.
"I know, and I know it's not fair to expect him to still tell me everything when things have changed so much it's just…" Hermione sighed and brushed her hair out of her face. "I miss how it used to be."
"You could just tell him you've changed your mind and you forgive him." Parvati pointed out. "He's still crazy about you. Anybody can see that."
Hermione shook her head, her lips thinning. "I know I could do that but it just feels…"
"Like you'd be losing the argument if you did?" asked Parvati shrewdly.
Hermione nodded her head, her curls bouncing. "I've made such a big deal about him trusting me that if I went back on it…"
"So I guess you have to decide which is more important." Parvati said bluntly. "Your pride and winning the argument, or being with Harry."
Before Hermione could formulate an answer to that, Lavender burst back in and grabbed Parvati, hustling her out of the room again with the babbled explanation that Katie would only allow her to look at the catalogue in Katie's dorm, and she just absolutely needed Parvati to help her decide a perfect outfit for the Hogsmeade weekend date with Ron.
Hermione shook her head in bemusement.
She was just contemplating whether to change for bed despite the early hour when a faint tapping noise came from the window. She hurried over thinking it was an owl and almost froze when she saw a black raven instead.
It was Harry!
She almost fell over in her haste to get the window open and usher him inside. He transformed as soon as he cleared the window. She immediately punched his arm hard.
"What are you thinking!" Hermione hissed. "This is the girls' dormitory! You're going to get into so much trouble!"
Harry yelped, clutched at his arm and glared at her. "What was I supposed to do? Ron said you'd gone up to your room and I needed to talk with you!"
"You could have asked Lavender or Parvati to come and get me!" Hermione pointed out furiously.
"I didn't think you'd want to discuss us in front of the entire Gryffindor common room!" Harry retorted, still rubbing his arm.
Hermione folded her arms and conceded the point with a sigh. With her immediate ire draining away, nerves stampeded through her as she realised Harry had come to talk with her and here was her opportunity to make things right with him. Her mouth went dry and the words she wanted to say seemed to get jumbled in her head…
He took her silence as an opening. "Look," he reached inside his robe and drew out a pink rose, "I just wanted to apologise. Again." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "I know I was wrong pushing you away like I did and I realise that I, uh, hurt you, and I'm really, really sorry because the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you and I know I did."
Hermione took the rose and bit her lip. "Harry…"
"So you said you need time and for me to show that I trust you and I…" Harry straightened his shoulders and looked at her earnestly, "I don't know how I can do that exactly but I do trust you and I just want you to know that even if it takes a while, I'll wait and do whatever it takes."
All Hermione could see suddenly was how much Harry was hurting about their break-up underneath his sincere words of apology and regret; how much her insistence on staying apart was hurting him. And it was the very last thing he needed with the pressure of the tournament and the death threats and…
"Oh, Harry." Hermione lurched forward and hugged him.
He froze for a moment before he returned her hug.
"I'm sorry too, Harry." Hermione pushed herself back a touch to look at him. "You don't need to prove anything to me. I – I just…it's been hard knowing there's things you're not confiding in Ron and I – and I know you can't, I know, it's just…it sometimes feels like you don't trust us and you clearly knew something was going to happen with Sirius and Professor Snape at the Yule Ball…"
"I'm sorry." Harry repeated. "I maybe should have told you about that but…it's not like before when it was just us sneaking about on our own. A lot of what I can't tell you is confidential stuff I've been asked not to tell. It doesn't mean that I don't trust you."
"And I don't want you to get into trouble with Sirius, it's just…it's different." Hermione hurried out.
"But maybe I could discuss with Sirius telling you more." Harry offered. "It's worth a try anyway."
"Thank you." Hermione smiled at him, pleased at the gesture. "And I want you to know that I understand why you did what you did pushing everyone away but, well, it's just," her gaze dropped, "you did hurt me. A lot." She raised a hand to stop him interrupting her. "I know you didn't mean to and I know you're sorry and…I know you won't do it again?"
Her voice couldn't help rising at the end, making her statement a question that Harry hurried to answer.
"I won't. I promise." Harry said fervently. His green eyes shined with hope. "Does this mean…?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes; you're forgiven and," she felt her cheeks heat with a blush, "and if you still want to go out with me…"
"Of course I do!" Harry broke in, smiling goofily.
She smiled back. "OK, then. I guess we're back together." She didn't protest as he leaned in for a kiss.
It was chaste; just a press of his lips on hers but it was perfect.
They smiled happily at each other as they held hands.
Hermione glanced at the open window and shook her head. "I still can't believe you flew up here!"
Harry shrugged. "Well, when I was wanting ideas on how to get you back, Ron had this idea of me flying up here on my broomstick and trying to get you to come fly with me and I…well, I didn't think you'd go for that."
Hermione chuckled; her fear of flying was well known. "I don't know," she teased, remembering their flight on Buckbeak, "it might have worked." She nodded towards the outside. "It's just as well you didn't try it. It says in 'Hogwarts: A History' that there's an old magical shield around the windows which prevents anyone from entering from the outside by broomstick as part of the defence measures. It also prevents people from just jumping out of a window too unless there's a fire detected."
Harry nodded. "Remus mentioned that." He grimaced. "He overheard Ron. Said my Dad tried to get into my Mum's dorm by broom once and failed miserably."
Hermione hummed. "It's a bit of a flaw that the shield lets in an animagus if you think about it."
"You're right about…"
"HARRY!" Lavender and Parvati shrieked as they stumbled into the dorm.
Hermione flushed as they took in how close she and Harry were standing along with their clasped hands.
Parvati smiled. "You two make-up?"
They nodded.
Lavender bounced happily. "That's so great! You know what this means? Now Ron has asked me out, we can double-date!"
And as much as she had grown to appreciate Lavender more over the past school year, Hermione felt her insides turn over a little with horror and she didn't dare look at Harry.
"MISTER POTTER!"
They all froze and turned to the doorway where an irate Professor McGonagall stood.
"Professor McGonagall, Harry was only visiting…" Hermione began before she was drowned out by twin shrieks.
"It isn't what it looks like!"
"We swear they were only holding hands!"
Lavender and Parvati babbled out.
Hermione was caught between amusement at Harry's predicament and worry about his getting caught.
"I just want to say Hermione knew nothing about this, Professor. It was all my idea." Harry said courageously.
"NEVER IN ALL MY YEARS! NOT EVEN YOUR FATHER…" Professor McGonagall slapped her wand at the wall, switching off the protection where the stairs would turn into slides. "DOWN THE STAIRS NOW!"
Harry grimaced and gave a small sigh. He squeezed Hermione's hand. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow." Hermione answered softly.
He let go of her and hurried over to the fuming Deputy Headmistress who pushed him bodily out of the room.
Hermione hurried to the doorway until they disappeared from view, the Professor continuing to harangue Harry all the way down, her voice echoing back up the stairwell.
The whistles and cheers in the common room as the gathered students realised what Harry had done was loud and audible. Hermione couldn't suppress a grin as Fred and George's yell of approval floated back up the stairwell…
"WAY TO GO, HARRY!"
o-O-o
2 nd February 1995
"…and I'd like to conclude with the announcement of a new schedule of knowledge sharing conferences between what the muggles refer to as scientists and our own Unspeakables who are now serving in the Muggle Counter-spell team." Arthur smiled brightly. "We anticipate this will give us both more understanding across both groups and enable us to maintain the Statute of Secrecy much better."
Sirius resisted the urge to squirm in his seat like an impatient child. The session had been intractably boring with even the transition of the Wenlock alliances to the House of Malfoy and the announcement that the House of Potter now held the Wenlock proxy anticlimactic. The reports from both Arthur's new Department and Dirk's had provided good evidence that the new approaches to muggles and creatures were making inroads into the prejudices that were embedded in the wizarding world but they hadn't exactly been the stuff of excitement.
Dullard cleared his throat. "The announcement is so noted." He turned to the Chief Warlock. "We have nothing more on the session agenda for today."
Albus beamed. "That concludes the February session of the Wizengamot. Unseal the doors!"
Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't surprised when Richard Bones leaned across to him.
"And now you know what a relatively normal session feels like!" Richard joked with a teasing smile.
"Who knew taking over the wizarding world would be so boring?" Sirius complained good-naturedly.
Richard laughed. "You think if we told You-Know-Who he'd have a rethink?"
"It's a plan." Sirius dead-panned.
They got to their feet and started to make their way down the stairs where Amelia was waiting for them.
"What has you two you giggling like errant school-boys?" She asked dryly.
"Taking over the wizarding world." Sirius rejoined immediately.
Amelia shot him an amused look. "At least it's still not about how your son got into the Gryffindor girls' dorm room!"
"I didn't talk about it that much and it was a month ago now!" Sirius proclaimed defensively. "I don't know why people are still going on about it."
"Possibly because he's the only male in the history of Hogwarts to do it?" Richard commented. "And something to do with the fact that apparently you congratulated him for the feat when Minerva took him to you for punishment?"
Sirius battled with the flush that threatened to rise on his cheeks because praising Harry's ingenuity for accomplishing something the Marauders had never managed had been his first response. He glanced at Richard and they both broke down into another set of chuckles.
"You should have seen her face!" Sirius said. "I don't think even the Marauders had her looking so furious!"
Amelia gave a long-suffering sigh.
"Don't worry, Amelia," Sirius said, noting her disapproval, "Minnie clouted me over the ear and then stood over me while I gave Harry an appropriate punishment and a lecture about how he could have damaged Hermione's reputation."
"Susan tells me every guy in the school is trying to get in the girls' dorms now?" Amelia pointed out. "That's hardly a good outcome."
"The Weasley twins started a competition a couple of weeks ago." Sirius said dismissively. "It's all done in good humour. Apparently there's a sizeable book and Moody thinks it's good practice for the defences."
"Harry was sworn to secrecy presumably on how he'd done it?" asked Amelia, digging for information on the how anyway.
"Yes," Sirius said, "he was sworn to secrecy and he also had to promise to never use that method to gain entry into the girls' dorm again. Not that he can now. Alastor's had the security teams warding the castle against Harry's method since he did prove it was a bit of a gap in the defences."
Amelia led them past her secretary, absently picking up the messages the other witch offered her, and into the inner sanctum of her office. She took her desk chair and waved the men into the seats in front of her.
Sirius automatically put a privacy ward and grinned at Amelia's exasperation. "You know it's necessary…"
"Constant vigilance!" They all chimed, smiling.
"So I got your owl earlier saying you both wanted to talk to me after the session?" prompted Amelia. "Is this about the second task?"
"Actually, no," Sirius said, waving a hand, "the kids seem to have that under control." He grinned. "Between Hermione's lesson plan, Harry's training regime, and Theo's clandestine meetings with the other Champions' friends…I think they have it covered."
"I still can't believe Nott's son is so serious about his service." Richard commented, settling into his chair with a shuffling squirm.
"He's doing a good job." Sirius said. "He's got all of his father's cunning and ambition just for our side except for the whole pureblood thing, and I think having to interact more with Harry and Hermione directly is changing some of his preconceptions about that." He grimaced. "Truthfully, he sometimes reminds me of Regulus."
"Well, I have to admit I'm grateful Harry's giving them all tuition." Richard said. "Susan's DADA grades have shot up."
Amelia nodded. "All of the alliance members involved in Harry's group have matured in their duelling ability. I had difficulty against Hermione last week."
Sirius's lips twitched but he successfully suppressed the smile figuring Amelia would hex him if he didn't.
"So if this isn't about the second task, and I know it isn't about the progress or lack thereof in finding our hidden bunch of Death Eaters…" Amelia prompted again.
"You know I've been dealing with a French antiques dealer on behalf of the House of Black?" Richard began. "Well, yesterday I received a worrying communication from him."
Sirius cut to the chase. "Fevrier is insisting he'll only deal with me at a meeting in Italy to buy the Lumiere parchment, which makes me think there's something else behind his request since he's been content to date to deal with Richard and Augusta."
"You think this is a trap." Amelia quickly surmised.
Sirius nodded. "Fevrier would sell his grandmother out for a quick deal."
Amelia tapped her fingers on her desk. "They must have made contact with one of our missing Death Eaters. How else could they have received the mission to entrap you?"
"There are a few Death Eaters who escaped abroad." Sirius pointed out. "They could be acting independently trying to gain favour after hearing rumours of what's happened in Britain, or they could be tasked to capture me." He grimaced. "I don't mind being bait but given what happened last time…" he sighed, "I don't want to put Harry through a repeat."
"And presumably we still want the document." Richard murmured, frowning as his mind turned over the problem.
"And we have the problem of being on foreign soil." Sirius pointed out.
"How long do we have before we need to set up a sting?" Amelia questioned bluntly.
Sirius shrugged and exchanged a brief look with Richard. "We can probably keep him dangling for another month maybe? Between the protest at me being part of the deal personally and the price he wants and the commission…"
"It should be easy to stall for that length of time." Richard agreed.
Amelia nodded. "I think I have a plan but it'll need that long to pull together. I'll also need to talk to Bertie, Alastor and Cornelius."
"We've also got the second task as a good delaying tactic." Richard commented. "Anyone who knows you knows you're never going to leave Britain in the run-up."
Sirius nodded. He had absolutely no intention of going anywhere until Harry was done with the task.
"Let's work with that." Amelia smiled and Sirius was glad he'd never truly had her as an enemy. "I'll let you know once I've got the big things pinned down."
"That's fine with me." Sirius said firmly, trusting her to take the information and run with it. "I'd better head back."
Both Amelia and Richard said goodbye to him at the office and Sirius was glad of the solitude as he made his way out of the Ministry. Between his Wizengamot duties, the politicking with Cornelius, the estate responsibilities for numerous Houses, the Potter alliance, the War Council, and being a father, he hardly got any time alone.
That was probably a good thing, Sirius thought wryly. He didn't really do the whole alone thing well. And everything he was doing was important and interconnected.
As much as he hated the politicking with Cornelius, he'd grown to have a solid respect for the Minister's political acumen. It was still too self-serving for Sirius's taste but Cornelius had thrown himself into supporting the new regime with vigour. It was Cornelius who had advised which of Wenlock's alliances would provide the Malfoy House and its alliances with enough weight that they'd provide an effective counter-balance to the Potter alliance. And Cornelius had argued successfully about why they needed a counter-balance, Sirius considered grudgingly.
The Potter alliance held a majority; Harry's agenda of equality for all and respect for wizarding traditions was established and could only continue apace. But they needed a strong minority to force compromise when the alliance wanted to go too fast or too far. Sirius grumbled a little at that but politically he could see the need for decent democratic debate and more importantly for it not to appear that the House of Potter was establishing a tyranny. There was also the fact that as much as it would be nice to wave a wand and have their agenda immediately made reality, the wizarding world at large wasn't ready for that. Slow, steady progress was the way to go if it was going to be long-lasting.
Critically though the new political landscape made it difficult for Voldemort to gain a foothold as Sirius had intended all those months before when he'd constructed his 'taking over the wizarding world' plan. Voldemort's old cronies were relegated to the minority; they couldn't force through legislation any longer that married with Voldemort's aims or provided the old snake with an advantage.
Still, the last month had been hard work and the resulting session had been interminably boring. He'd persevere though. Making the world a better place for his son was worth doing and it was good that one element of the original plan was working when the others were struggling.
Tag the Death Eater had stalled with the search for Voldemort, Peter, Crouch and the escaped father and son Travers duo going nowhere. All they knew for certain was that one of them was probably on the Durmstrang ship keeping Karkaroff under control. They still didn't have enough to force an official warrant to search the ship and Bogdan's unofficial efforts were taking time. There'd been no further communication to Snape except a cryptic note from Crouch partially congratulating him for surviving, and partially telling him again to stall on the antidote creation that would awake the sleeping Crouch elf and the pregnant Summers woman. Fenrir was also still in the wind and much of his former pack had sought sanctuary at the Black farm in Bulgaria. Maybe the trap with Fevrier would be helpful.
Finding the Lost and Found room, as Bertie had called it, had helped the Treasure Hunt. They knew for certain the diadem was somewhere buried in the collective junk, they just had to find it. Bill and Caro were still working their way through the mess and Sirius figured he'd stop in and check on their progress.
Sirius frowned as he tossed some powder into the floo and stepped into the flames. He exited into the cosy rooms he and Harry shared at Hogwarts. A brief check with Dobby provided him with Harry's location – down by the lake practicing spells with the rest of the alliance kids.
He almost decided to go to the Lost and Found room straight away but he decided to change and took the stairs up to his room. Within moments, his Wizengamot robes had been discarded for less formal wear – black boots, black jeans, white t-shirt and a black leather blazer. He took a moment to release his hair, running his fingers through it and allowing it loose. He reholstered his wands and deeming himself presentable enough for Hogwarts skipped downstairs only to slow as the sounds of Remus and Tonks arguing reached his ears.
They'd been at odds for weeks and he was certain something had happened between them in early January just after the newspaper article – not that either had confided in him when he'd asked. Tonks had barely been civil when she'd told him to keep his nose out of it and Remus avoided every attempt to pin him down. He'd held his tongue figuring they were both adults and could sort it out on their own. Maybe, he considered with a wince as they got even louder, that had been a mistake, although hopefully this was them clearing the air. He hovered on the stairs, torn between going back up and letting them have it out finally or continuing down and potentially interrupting.
"…and I told you I don't want to talk!" Remus gestured passionately.
"I know you don't want to but I need to talk to you!" Tonks argued, her hair changing to an angry red.
"I tried talking to you weeks ago and you gave me the cold shoulder!"
"Because we spent one night together and then you changed your mind about asking Sirius for permission to date me for no good reason!"
"Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it isn't a good reason!" Remus retorted furiously. "And I would expect you to respect my choices as I respected your choice not to talk to me for the last few weeks!"
"I want to talk to you now!" Tonks pointed out with a fair amount of exasperation.
Remus folded his arms over his chest and raised his chin belligerently. "And now I'm not interested in talking to you!"
"OH! Could you be more childish!" Tonks yelled.
"I'm not the one being childish!" Remus snapped. "What possible reason would I have for agreeing to talk to you now?"
"BECAUSE I'M PREGNANT, YOU FUZZBALL!"
And with that revelation, Sirius determined that it was time to stage an intervention. He marched down the stairs and into the shocked silence.
Both Remus and Tonks paled and went red before paling again as they realised they'd been overheard.
"Padfoot…" Remus began, a note of pleading in his voice that Sirius hardened himself against reacting to since he needed to deal with the situation as Lord Black, not as Remus's old school friend.
"Don't." Sirius ordered gruffly. "You know what I need to do here after what I just heard. Wait for me in the study, Remus."
Remus stiffened, but a darting glance at Tonks who ignored him had his shoulders slumping in defeat. He nodded and left the room.
Sirius gestured for his cousin to take a seat on the sofa. He stood in front of her with the chagrined thought that he looked like a disapproving father and settled into the nearby chair as a compromise.
"This is what's going to happen, Nymphadora…" he ignored her glare at using her given name, "you are going to explain to me exactly what happened between you and Remus…"
"It's none of your business!" Tonks proclaimed.
Sirius met her glare for glare. "It is my business! I'm your Head of House! I know you weren't raised with the protocols, but you have to know that when a member of the House falls pregnant out of wedlock to the steward, it's not something the Head of House can just bloody ignore!"
Tonks flushed bright red, her hair cycling through a number of colours before it settled into its original brunette. She turned away from him. "I don't know for certain that I am." She mumbled miserably.
Sirius closed his eyes briefly and prayed for patience. He opened them again. "Look: when you started all this I thought you and Remus could be a good couple. He needs some fun and laughter in his life and, well, frankly, you need some maturity and I figured being with Remus would force you to grow up a bit…"
"Thank you so much!" Tonks snapped.
Sirius glared her back down. "But clearly recent events have me reconsidering. Now, I have been patient and kept out of it as you both requested and I've given you both plenty of time to resolve things on your own but that's not happening. So, you're going to calmly tell me what happened between the two of you before I rush to snap decisions which won't benefit anyone."
Tonks glanced back up at him and whatever she saw in his expression must have convinced her to concede. She slumped back against the sofa cushions and fidgeted with the edging on her red robe.
"You remember the day the article came out?" Tonks said quietly.
"I remember." Sirius said. He bit down the retort that he was hardly likely to forget.
"Well, that night we – Remus and me – we were back at the School House and we were alone for the first time since Sian had gone to the sanctuary."
Ah. All became clear.
"So you made your move." Sirius stated.
Poor Remus. He'd been a mess the day of the article; guilty and horrified because of the political impact for Harry and Sirius; and mortified on his own behalf at the attention. Sirius had thought about staying at the School House himself that night and having an evening of drinking and commiserating with his old friend. But Sirius had had Harry to think about and he hadn't wanted to leave his son alone so soon after Harry had believed Sirius had died. Harry would always come first but Sirius realised his choice had left Remus lonely and seeking solace.
"Anyway, he turned me down at first but eventually I got him to agree to give us a go as a couple. We even agreed him talking to you for permission." Tonks continued.
"All sounds pretty positive." Sirius commented as Tonks fell silent.
"Yes, well, uh," she looked up at the ceiling avoiding his gaze, "I offered to sleep with him – not sex! Just sleep for comfort."
"And I'm going to guess that it didn't remain just sleeping." Sirius surmised with a heavy sigh.
Tonks shook her head and he saw the shine of tears before she ruthlessly suppressed them. "It was me, my idea. Once we were in bed and…"
Sirius held up his hands. "I don't need details."
Tonks flushed but nodded unhappily. She sniffed. "In the morning we were late and he said we'd talk about what happened when we got back from the Wizengamot, and we did." She looked heartbroken. "Which is when he told me that after everything that had happened, he couldn't take the risk of politically embarrassing the House further by getting involved with one of its daughters right then."
The last part sounded like a direct quote and Sirius could well believe Remus. Poor honourable Remus…
"So I yelled at him and…" Tonks grimaced, "I stopped talking with him except when we needed to discuss something professionally as part of my guard duty." She squirmed and sat forward, hunching over. "Then yesterday I realised I was late." She blushed furiously. "I've been trying to get him to stop and talk to me since and, well, you heard the last attempt."
Sirius sighed. It was a mess. He'd been wrong about them, Sirius realised. Tonks was too young; too immature. She'd seduced Remus when he'd been vulnerable, and maybe she'd done it with the best of intentions to comfort him but he figured he was being generous to her. Not that Remus was blameless – the wolf could have said no and having said yes only to take it back because of noble loyalty to the House's reputation – Sirius could understand why Tonks had gotten hurt and mad at Remus.
"What are the chances that you are pregnant?" asked Sirius bluntly.
Tonks sighed and pushed her hair out of her face as she turned to look at him fully. "I'm a metamorphmagus, Sirius. I know my body and I can already feel the changes small as they are. I haven't had the official say-so but I'm sure."
Sirius nodded. "You have options. Will you…"
"I'm keeping the baby." Tonks said immediately. She looked away from him again, shame written all over her face. "It's not how I wanted to have a kid but I'm not sorry it's happened."
"You know Remus will offer to marry you." Sirius said almost idly.
Tonks' eyes widened, emotions flitting through them and telling Sirius everything he needed to know even as she started to protest it wasn't necessary. She really was crazy about the wolf.
Sirius held up a hand. "For the sake of the House's reputation, you should consider accepting." He saw the glint of rebellion and glared at her forestalling her reply. "I know you haven't given the House any thought in your actions because that's pretty evident in everything you've said. And I can give you a pass on not understanding some of the implications because you haven't been raised under the protection of a House, and while Andy's taught you some of the protocols, she hasn't taught you the politics."
Sirius got to his feet and paced to the mantel-piece and back as he considered what he was going to say.
"You know everyone got caught up with what happened with Wenlock in January but the important and key thing was that we got the new creature and race classifications through. A classification that means Remus is no longer considered a Dark Creature with no rights, someone an auror shouldn't even consort with, never mind date, marry or have a child with. It means that werewolves are no longer restricted as they were but only restricted in ensuring they harm no-one during their transformations." Sirius began. "Even then the law passed by the slimmest of margins and only with the enforcement of the Potter alliance, where there were even a few members who still didn't agree but complied with their oath to support Harry's agenda. So: the law changed in January." He paused and made sure he had Tonks' full attention. "But our society's culture and perceptions did not."
"Sod them! Isn't that all the more reason…" Tonks cut in heatedly.
"Shut up and listen!" Sirius barked. He gestured an apology for his curtness but he didn't back down. "What Remus noted in January at the session was that we had barely held it together in the court of public opinion. The tide turned in our favour thanks to Wenlock making such a huge mistake that there was no other way for it to turn. And with that, we got the law through, everyone accepted Remus had made a mistake the night he didn't take his Wolfsbane, and grudgingly allowed that maybe we are providing sanctuary and not building a werewolf army as Wenlock wanted them to believe. But it was close!"
Tonks frowned, puzzlement written across her young face.
"And Remus realised that should it be made public that the same werewolf who'd made such a mistake had started to openly date a daughter of the House, that attention wouldn't shift from him; the Prophet would continue to focus their attention on him. More publicity and attention and focus, and maybe the wizarding public would consider that we were rubbing their noses in the change we'd forced through. The potential for us to lose political ground and public opinion was huge." Sirius pointed a finger at her. "That's why he told you 'not now'."
"It shouldn't matter what people think!" Tonks said stubbornly.
"And there speaks the voice of youth." Sirius replied smoothly. "I can't even begin to tell you how many times I said the same thing to Remus at school, or even after school before it all went tits up." He gestured. "I'd tell him, 'Bollocks to the lot of them!' and rage against the laws even as I didn't do a thing truly to change them and I knew even then if our side won the war it wouldn't be much better for him. I resented the hell out of Remus for spending time with the packs and I wanted him to pretend to be normal." He held her gaze. "I was an idiot."
The implication she was acting just as idiotically led to a dull flush spreading over her face and down her neck.
"Of course, I was rebelling against my family and against my training in politics. So I forgot that my Grandfather who spent years grooming me as his Heir taught me that you have to remember society is more often a tortoise rather than a hare."
"What?" Tonks muttered, confused.
Sirius sat back down. "Ever heard of The Hare and the Tortoise? No? The hare was an arrogant cocky son of a bitch – actually a bit like me as a youth," he smiled ruefully, "he's the fastest and the best, can run rings round the rest of the animals. And he bullies the tortoise who is slow and steady. So the tortoise challenges the hare to a race. The hare agrees and they set off and the hare speeds into the lead. Only he gets a little complacent being so far out in front and decides to have a nap. While he's sleeping, the tortoise wins the race."
It was, Sirius mused, exactly what had happened with him and Peter back in 'eighty-one; Sirius had been too damned cocky and Peter had won.
Tonks frowned. "I don't know what this has to do with the price of eggs."
Sirius sighed. "Right now you're a hare just like I was and you want everything to happen now, for people to treat Remus the right way now, for you to be able to date without repercussions now. Now, now, now." He gestured at her. "Only society is the tortoise – it's nowhere near that finish line. It'll get there eventually but not today and not tomorrow, and maybe not soon enough for you to date and have a child with Remus without any backlash. And if we're too hare-ish, if we are perceived as being arrogant, as taunting and bullying the tortoise, we take the risk of pissing off the tortoise and may find ourselves challenged in return." He paused as he didn't think keeping up the analogy was useful. "Do you understand?"
Tonks nodded slowly. "So I've stuffed it up is what you're saying." There was a look of creeping comprehension across her natural face; its sharp angles and grey eyes so reminiscent of the face he saw in the mirror every morning.
"You've made mistakes but so have I." Sirius said firmly. "I shouldn't have indulged your pursuit of Remus. I found it funny, thought you'd make a good couple in the abstract and figured there'd be no trouble within the House if there was flirtation and a bit of a dalliance," which he'd been wrong about given the frosty atmosphere of the past month, "but I gave it no more serious thought than that, when really I should have thought about the bigger picture and stepped in."
"Remus thought about the bigger picture." Tonks said miserably. She hunched forward again. "I am an idiot. I pushed him into this and…now there's a baby and he doesn't even want to talk to me…" her voice went thick with tears.
Sirius pulled her into a hug and roughly rubbed her back. "Hey. It's going to be OK." He gave her a squeeze as she sniffed audibly. "Remus is one of the good guys you know."
"I know." Tonks said. "That's why I like him."
Sirius conjured up a handkerchief and offered to her. She took it and blew her nose loudly.
"What happens now?" Tonks asked, sounding utterly depressed.
"Right," said Sirius, "I'm going to go and talk with Remus. You can stay here and have a mug of hot chocolate. It'll make you feel better. And after Remus and I are done talking, the three of us are going to work out what to do next." He patted her on the back and disentangled himself from her.
He walked over to his study and taking a moment to breathe in deeply and centre himself, opened the door and entered. Remus sat in the chair by the fire, head in his hands.
Sirius sighed and made his way over, sitting on the edge of the sofa.
Remus dropped his hands and raised his eyes to examine Sirius's face searchingly. "Is she really…"
"Yes." Sirius said simply.
"I'll resign immediately, of course and…"
"Oh will you stop doing that every time something goes wrong!" Sirius said snappishly. "You're not resigning."
Remus gave a shaky laugh that bordered on the hysterical. "I just knocked up an unmarried daughter of the House I serve, Sirius, if that's not a reason to demand I resign…"
"She admits it was mostly her idea." Sirius said exasperated. "And I can well believe it since she caught you at a vulnerable time."
"I didn't exactly say no." Remus said, his face turning a violent red.
"And didn't remember a contraception charm either!" Sirius said dryly. "Bloody Merlin's balls, Moony! After the whole talk we did with Harry, how could you just forget!?"
Remus dropped his eyes, shame-faced. "I'll marry her, of course."
"Do you want to marry her?" asked Sirius bluntly. "Because I've never had the impression that you were that keen on pursuing something with her despite her interest."
Remus stiffened and nodded jerkily. "I can see why you have that impression but…" he motioned towards the study door and the woman on the other side, "that night, I mean before, uh, we'd discussed my concerns and she had an answer for every one of them. And I do like her. She's smart and funny and she accepts me. I still don't think I'm good enough for her but I do care about her, Padfoot."
Sirius believed him. Remus had never been the type to sleep with someone without genuine feelings being involved.
"And the baby?" questioned Sirius soberly. "Are you prepared for fatherhood? Is it something you've even thought about?"
Remus shook his head as Sirius knew he would. "You know I've never considered it with my lycanthropy." He frowned heavily. "What do I know about being a Dad?"
"You don't do badly with Harry." Sirius pointed out. In fact, most of the time he thought Remus did better with Harry than he did.
"It's not the same," Remus said hysteria edging into his voice, "you're responsible for Harry not me and…I don't know how to be a Dad."
"And I'll tell you what I told James when he fell through the floo half-pissed on firewhiskey and saying the same thing: you do know. You had a great Dad," unlike Sirius, "and you're not alone. You have us – me and Harry to help – and you have, well, Tonks will be around as Mum even if you two don't make it as a couple."
"I…I'm not even sure the pregnancy is medically sound, Sirius. I could have transmitted my lycanthropy to the foetus and…"
It was a valid concern.
Sirius sighed. "Come on." He got to his feet. "I don't want to leave Tonks alone for too long; she was pretty upset especially once I shoved the wider political implications of you two being in a relationship right now down her throat."
Remus paled again but obediently followed Sirius back into the main living area.
Tonks got to her feet as they approached, her natural silver gaze on Remus, Sirius's conjured handkerchief still clutched in one hand. "I'm really sorry, Remus. This is all my fault and…"
Remus took a couple of quick steps to her side and reached for her free hand. He picked it up and held it gently. "It takes two to duel as they say, Dora, and you were right before; I was being childish and I'm sorry I wouldn't listen to you."
"Good." Sirius said, feeling a rush of relief as the two of them smiled shyly at each other. Maybe the two of them together wouldn't be a complete disaster. "Now you've apologised and you're talking to each other again, I suggest a visit to Madame Pomfrey to get it confirmed officially and to allay any concerns regarding the effect of the lycanthropy on the newest member of the Black family. Then, you can both sit down and work out what you want to do and how you suggest we handle this publically."
Tonks stared at him. "You – you want us to decide?"
Sirius smiled at her. "I might be your Head of House but I do remember making your mother a promise that you would decide who you'd marry." He gestured at their clasped hands. "Your lives, your baby: you get to make some decisions. Two things: one, I won't be disowning you or firing Remus; two, I need you to consider in making your decisions the potential impact on the House's reputation. I think it goes without saying that I'm not going to be happy if your decision publically embarrasses us and trashes Harry's political agenda."
Remus squeezed Tonks' hand and nodded. "We understand, Sirius. Do you have any suggestions?"
"I'm not keen on rushing either of you down the aisle at wand-point just because of a baby." Sirius commented. "On the other hand, I'd like to mitigate the scandal as much as possible." He sighed. "You might want to consider leaving Britain and moving to the sanctuary for a while the two of you. It'd keep you out of the public eye and provide a measure of safety since Greyback's still after Remus and if he gets wind of a child..."
Remus blanched and Tonks looked more serious than he'd ever seen her.
"Now, shoo!" Sirius made wafting gestures towards the door. "Go get checked out, go home and discuss everything. Come back after dinner and let me know what you've decided."
He waited until they'd left before he made his own way out, easily navigating Hogwarts to the seventh floor corridor housing the Lost and Found room.
Sirius stepped inside and almost barrelled straight into Caro. "Sorry!"
Caro grinned and winked. "Not a problem, Sirius."
"The pleasure would have been all mine." Sirius flirted, enjoying Caro's light-heartedness after the situation with Remus and Tonks.
"Oh, I'm sure that's not true." Caro blatantly looked him over.
Sirius gave a bark of laughter. "You," he wagged his finger at her, "are going to get me into trouble!"
"She gets me in enough of it." Bill's amused voice had them both turning to see him levitating another dozen broomsticks to the front of the room.
He placed them on a wooden platform and they disappeared.
"Amazing contraption." Sirius commented. "It transports it all straight into a Gringotts' vault?"
Bill smiled. "It makes getting the treasure out of inaccessible places a lot quicker."
"All I can say is thank Merlin we have some way of clearing this place." Caro commented. "Croaker's down that aisle there. He found some old books and got distracted." She pointed to the furthermost row.
Sirius gave her a mock salute and went to find the Head of the DOM.
Bertie had found an old leather chair and had made himself comfortable reading a huge book with beautifully painted letters on parchment etched in gold. He didn't look up as Sirius approached, his attention completely subsumed by his find.
"Interesting book?" asked Sirius dryly.
Bertie hummed. It took another moment before he jerked his head upwards, blinking wildly as he suddenly mentally made the connection between the question and Sirius's presence. "Sirius!"
"I see you've found…something." Sirius said, staring at the book dubiously.
"One of the first potion books written by Slytherin!" Bertie shook his head. "It's remarkable!"
"What was it doing in here?" asked Sirius, glancing around the still never-ending piles of stuff around them.
"This item I rather suspect was hidden away by Riddle." Bertie murmured. "I suspect its original home was the Chamber of Secrets."
"That would make sense." Sirius commented. He motioned down the aisle. "Any luck with the diadem then?"
"It's not in this vicinity." Bertie said with a sigh, closing the book. "We have an accurate picture of the diadem, it is just a matter of locating it."
"He can't have come too far into the Lost and Found room." Sirius said. "Whether he stowed it on the way in or the way out, he was pressed for time."
"Indeed, although I suspect he cast something stronger than a notice-me-not charm so people wouldn't take note of it." Bertie said. "And, by the way, the elves have told me off; apparently this room is designated as the Come and Go room or the Room of Hidden Things depending on which elf you speak to."
Sirius waved away the discussion on the room name. "Perhaps Voldemort cast something that means the searchers get distracted by other interesting finds." He suggested good-humouredly, pointing back at the book Bertie still held.
Bertie grinned back at him. "Perhaps. Even so, I have hopes it'll be found this side of Easter with the system Caro has devised." He smiled. "Albus might want to argue for Caro and Bill staying on and clearing the room completely. There are some valuable finds here – both historical, sentimental and monetary. Some of the latter might very well help the Hogwarts budget."
Sirius nodded his agreement. "Once we have the diadem, there's only the snake."
"And Voldemort himself." Bertie said grimly. "We are going to have to start thinking of strategies to trap him and turn the tables once and for all."
"We haven't made too much progress on the whole 'power he knows not' thing." Sirius sighed. "I would really like to make the acquaintance of a Veela who can introduce me to Lumiere's descendent so I can try for the original story of the Hallows."
"You know it may not even be that." Bertie pointed out crisply. "There's time yet."
"Well, I'll leave you to it. I just came to see how it was going." Sirius said. "I should get back. I'm expecting Harry home for dinner."
"How's he getting on?" Bertie asked with genuine interest.
"Good," Sirius said with a fair amount of pride, "he's mastering magic above his year on a daily basis. His theory knowledge is still an issue but he's keeping pace with his year mates. Once we get this whole Voldemort thing out of the way, he might be able to sit OWLs in the core wand subjects by Christmas." He was suddenly eager to get back to his suite of rooms and his son.
Bertie waved him away with a knowing look.
Sirius changed back into Padfoot on the way back, happily scampering through the corridors and up the stairs in his Grim form and ignoring the occasional shriek of a student.
Dobby greeted him as he walked back in the doors. "Master Harry Potter being upstairs."
Sirius thanked the elf and bounded up to greet Harry, a little surprised that he was alone since there was still some time before dinner.
He found Harry sat on the window seat staring out into the darkening sky. He shifted his legs so Sirius could join him on the same seat.
It was clear from the frown lines creasing Harry's brow and the pensive expression pinching his face into tense angles that there was something bothering Harry. Sirius hoped it wasn't girl trouble again. He'd been more than thankful when Harry and Hermione had made up and he'd had enough drama after the shenanigans with Remus and Tonks.
"You want to talk about it?" prodded Sirius gently, nudging Harry's knee with his own.
Harry nudged back and turned his gaze to meet Sirius's. "Ron can't sustain the Bubblehead charm."
"It's a tricky one." Sirius agreed. "I'm pants at it myself."
"If it is Ron who gets chosen for the second task…" Harry trailed off, worry shining from his green eyes as he bit down on his bottom lip. "Out at the lake there was this moment where I thought it would be better if it was Hermione or Neville because then at least I know they can do the charm and be fine which is mental. I shouldn't even be thinking that."
Sirius hummed. "There was a time in our fifth year when the Marauders got caught out in the grounds by a pack of seventh year Slytherins. One of them went to use Crucio on your Dad and Remus pushed him out the way and took the curse. After, I was pleased it was Remus and not your Dad because Remus knows pain and can take it whereas your Dad was innocent that way right then. No one had ever tortured him with pain before. Of course I felt rightly bad about thinking it was better that it was Remus so I know how you feel."
Harry's tension had eased with the story and he sighed. "It's a bit ironic, isn't it? I mean, a month ago I was dreading Hermione being part of the task and now I'm thinking better her than Ron."
"You know she's a better witch than he is a wizard. You know she's going to be more prepared and have more in her arsenal to help her deal with the unexpected." Sirius shrugged. "Ron's a good mate, surprisingly excellent at strategy and always willing to throw himself into a challenge, but he's lacking in her smarts and her power. I think you should want the person best qualified to survive be the one picked and not the one who is more likely to struggle." He pushed Harry's knee again. "The trick is not to feel guilty for the thought when it's not your fault that either of them might be picked."
Harry sighed but he nodded, his messy black hair bobbing up and down. "I just wish I knew more about what they were building on the lake."
Sirius nodded. The attempts to find out what was being done by the lake hadn't been that successful. Despite animals being able to see through the illusion, an animagus could not. A casual approach to the merfolk had also been turned down.
Harry gestured at Sirius. "How was your day? Did it go OK at the Wizengamot?"
Sirius made a show of pulling a face. "I complained to Richard that taking over the world was boring."
Harry chuckled. "Well, it's good it's settling down now though."
"You're right," Sirius conceded cheerfully, "and I have to admit a session without the family totems showing up unexpectedly and criminal confessions was slightly more relaxing. The most excitement we had was Griselda threatening to strangle Albus with his beard."
"What did he do?" Harry asked, amused.
"Complained again about the House of Potter holding the Wenlock proxy." Sirius said unconcerned; Albus's disapproval didn't matter to him. "I think Griselda and Tiberius are planning on calling him out one of these days." He shifted, poking Harry in the knee with a finger. "The more exciting drama happened after I came home." He proceeded to fill Harry in on what had happened with Remus and Tonks.
"She's pregnant?!" Harry was wide-eyed, his mouth falling slightly open before he snapped it shut again. "But you and Remus lectured Nev and me for hours."
"It wasn't hours," Sirius said defensively, before sighing, "and you have a point. He wasn't responsible and now you're going to get a real life lesson about living with the consequences. I've already told Remus that I don't approve of his teaching technique."
"Are they going to get married?" asked Harry, contemplating the issue.
"Probably." Sirius expected that they would. He understood from conversations he'd had with Hermione's parents, among others, that single parenthood and unwed pregnancy was losing the stigma it had once had in the muggle world. The wizarding world was still fairly old-fashioned in its mores though, and while Sirius wasn't going to force his oldest friend and his cousin down the aisle, he expected a backlash if they didn't wed.
"Stacey Polkiss – Dudley's friend's sister – she had to when she got knocked up." Harry mused out loud. "Aunt Petunia called it a shotgun wedding."
"We usually call them wand marriages," Sirius said, "because they take place with the groom held at wand-point by the father of the bride."
"It was a huge scandal on Privet Drive – kept the neighbours talking for months." Harry said. "Is it…?"
"It will be." Sirius confirmed. "But we'll just have to weather it." He hoped the pair would take his advice and go abroad. It was an old-fashioned solution to the problem – he remembered talk of the Head Girl Justine Markby leaving Hogwarts suddenly to go to France back when he was a third year; he'd ran into her a few years later in Diagon Alley and she'd had an adorable child attached to her hip. It had been fairly easy to put two and two together.
"Well, we can let Moony and Tonks know they've got us, can't we?" Harry said firmly. "You said they're coming back after dinner?"
Sirius nodded and smiled proudly at Harry. "You're a good man, Harry; a good friend. Both Moony and Tonks are lucky to have you."
Harry coloured a touch at the praise but he poked Sirius back. "Dinner?"
Before Sirius could reply, his stomach growled loudly and both Harry and Sirius laughed as they clambered off the window seat.
"Come on then, Padfoot," Harry said brightly, "let's get you fed!"
Sirius slung an arm around Harry's shoulder in happy camaraderie. "Hey! I'll have you know I deserve a feast; I've had a very hard day!"