Chapter Text
“Nappies – got ‘em; baby bottles – got ‘em; spare clothes – got ‘em; pram – got it; baby lotion – got it.” Remus ticked off the voices from his mental list, tapping his index on his mouth thoughtfully, “What am I missing, what am I missing… oh, right.” He summoned a cotton beanie and put it in the bag of baby supplies he’d previously adjusted in the space under the pram.
He turned to look at Teddy, lying in his crib and watching the magic carousel spinning gently over his head. Remus smiled fondly. “We can’t allow you to flaunt your sweet blue hair around, no? Muggles would think I’m the most reckless father alive.” He smirked. “If they only knew…”
“Remus, are you sure you can manage?” Andromeda peeked from the door, looking rather doubtful.
“Of course,” he said, again checking the packed pram. His plan was to apparate with Teddy in Diagon Alley and then evocate the pram.
“I fear you are asking yourself too much,” Andromeda insisted, coming in and folding her arms. She had dark circles under her eyes and obviously had trouble sleeping. “You had a couple of rough days, not to mention the rest. You should better stay home.”
“Andromeda, I’m fine,” Remus repeated with a reassuring smile, “I need to keep moving, you know?”
She sighed and went to Teddy’s crib. She started fussing over him just to have something to do. Remus pursed his lips.
“You… you can come with us if you don’t wanna stay here alone,” he proposed, even though the last thing he wanted was to have Andromeda around when he was with Sirius. Better not to take pointless risks.
She shook her head. “No, I’d rather not be among other people right now. Thank you for asking.”
“Why don’t you go visit my father? He hasn’t seen you since Teddy was born.”
“Right…” Andromeda muttered. Her resemblance with her daughter, while she frowned her face pondering, was uncanny. “Are you sure Lyall won’t mind?”
“He’ll be more than happy to see you. He lives all alone in the Gwydir Forest, no one will bother you there – and you won’t be alone.”
“Alright then, I’ll pay him a visit. I’ll bake some scones to bring along,” she said, “Promise you’ll let me know if you need me.”
“Sure.”
“Bye, little darling. Behave, alright?” Andromeda pecked Teddy’s cheek.
“May you please tell my father I’ll stop by soon?”
“Of course. See you later, Remus.”
Andromeda had partially moved in with him and Dora when Teddy was born to help them and not to stay alone in her empty house, but now Remus wanted to move. Literally. If he was really going to spend his life with Sirius, Remus owed him and Tonks more than bringing his man – future husband, maybe – to the house he had been living with his late wife. Remus couldn’t, wouldn’t welcome Sirius in the bed where he had made love to Dora, in the rooms where everything murmured about another life. Remus had been owning that little house on the outskirts of Reading since 1980 – his father had helped him buy it – and unfortunately had more sad than happy memories linked to the place. He’d rotted there for years when he’d thought Sirius had betrayed James, his family and the Order; he’d tried killing himself in that very room when Sirius had died; he’d left Tonks there when he’d been overwhelmed by panic at the idea of Teddy possibly getting lycanthropy from him; he’d returned there alone after the Battle of Hogwarts.
Remus needed a better place – a happy place for a happy life. Sirius and James would surely want to live close to each other, and the Potters also needed a new place to start over. Remus doubted James and Lily were eager to return to Godric’s Hollow, and surely Sirius would want somewhere big, huge, with plenty of natural light and endless grounds. It would have fallen on the filthy rich Black heir to pay for such a place, Remus thought with a dry smirk. He only had to tell Andromeda, so to speak. He just had to tell his former mother-in-law he was back with her cousin.
Remus shook his head. One thing at a time, he thought while he took Teddy from the crib. He hadn’t even spoken to Sirius about all that stuff yet.
“Ready to go, cariad? Ready to spend some time with the best people in the world?” he cooed, adjusting Teddy’s little romper. His mother, Hope, used to call him ‘cariad’; it came to Remus naturally to use the same expression for his son. And speaking about mothers… “Your mum loves you so, so much,” he murmured, kissing Teddy’s forehead. The baby scrunched his little nose and regaled him with a precious little smile.
He apparated in the court behind the Leaky Cauldron, holding Teddy to his chest. The baby looked quite bewildered, blinking madly and confused. He wasn’t able to see properly yet – he wasn’t even one month old, but he somewhat recognised he was in a new place – the different lighting, the smells, the noises. To his credit, he didn’t even cry at the shock of apparating, but it wasn’t his first time.
“I love how peaceful you are,” Remus said, kissing Teddy again. He suspected, though, that after spending much more time with Sirius – and James – his son would have started showing quite a different temper. Remus evocated the pram, put Teddy down, and walked inside the pub.
The place was crammed full. Remus would have had a hard time getting closer to the bar if he’d wanted to. It seemed more than half the wizarding community had gathered there to celebrate. Sensing that it would have probably been too noisy for Teddy at some point Remus performed another clever noise reduction charm around the crib. He spotted Hagrid somewhere in the middle, towering over the chattering crowd, but he was still too far away to greet him. Remus wasn’t that eager to draw attention either.
He’d just started wondering how on earth he would know if his friends had arrived when he saw the main door of the Leaky Cauldron open from the other side of the pub. A second later, a deafening uproar arose from the crowd.
“HARRY! HARRY POTTER!” echoed all over the room as everybody applauded again.
Remus smiled watching the top of the heads of the group of four – Harry, Lily, James, and Sirius, even though Lily wasn’t exactly visible, her high ponytail was – being absorbed by the crowd and waited for them to be greeted and celebrated before trying to approach them. He underestimated the man he loved, though. Sirius spotted him with the corner of his eye and turned into him sharply, still like a dog on the hunt.
“HERE HE IS! THE MAN OF THE HOUR! THE HERO OF THE BATTLE OF HOGWARTS! THE REVIVED! THE HOTTEST FATHER OF GREAT BRITAIN! MESDAMES ET MESSIEURS, I GIVE YOU… REMUS f*ckING LUPIN!” he roared, grinning like a lunatic.
“I HATE YOU, BLACK!” Remus shouted in response while half the pub started surrounding him to greet him as well.
When it was over and the Marauders (Lily officially filling in as the fourth member, at that point) plus Harry finally reunited, they all looked quite ruffled in the dusty light of the pub.
“‘The hottest father of Great Britain’…” snorted Harry, “You know, Sirius, you might as well have snogged Remus back there. It would’ve been less obvious.”
“No, I can’t, not yet – but I shall look up at Ginny and you for a valuable example of public display of affection.”
“What’s going on?” Remus asked, bemused.
“Oh, they’ve been teasing each other like that since breakfast,” Lily explained, grinning.
“You know, Pads, I’m a little offended you didn’t call me the hottest father of Great Britain,” said James, running a hand through his hair to adjust its mess.
“Pads is clearly biased, dad. He only has eyes for Moony.”
“Oi, godfather, you should set an example for your godson here,” Remus playfully shoved Harry.
“I am!”
“I can call you the hottest stag if you feel left out, Prongs, it would be just half a lie,” Sirius teasingly fawned over him as they exited the pub and Harry tapped on the wall. Sirius turned into Remus. “So you hate me, huh?” he added, kicking his shoe lightly.
“Right now? So, so much.” Then, in the broad daylight, Remus properly saw Sirius and forced himself to suppress a groan. “Really much.”
He was so painstakingly beautiful it was just – excruciating. He barely noticed his friends fussing over Teddy and greeting him with lots of cute noises and tender beams. Sirius had wetted his hair and pulled half of it up in an untidy bun. The remaining raven strands fell past his shoulders with blueish highlights. He had used a scented oil to style his trimmed beard and his goatee, which looked sleek and neat and smelled like smoked incense. A thin line of deep, black kohl framed his icy eyes. Sirius had a long, white-gold earring that Remus hadn’t seen in ages, that one with a miniature Gryffindor’s sword, embellished with rubies and everything, matching a set of five necklaces – a full moon, a star, a stag head, a lion head, and a phoenix. He was wearing another loose, buttonless, white shirt, silk and slightly see-through, with a rather deep neckline that exposed part of his tattooed neck and chest; a satin, burgundy sash hung on his left side and reached almost his knees; tight, black leather trousers and boots; a sleeveless, embroidered, dark teal robe that he was sporting open; and a beautiful, stunning, alluring smile adorning his full lips. Remus felt his heart speeding up like crazy and caught a glimpse of Teddy tilting his head, undoubtedly sensing his father’s pulse shifting. Remus couldn’t help it, and couldn’t even blame that group of people passing by – three witches and a wizard – for openly staring at Sirius with their mouths agape.
“Earth to Moony, earth to Moony, are you there?” Lily called him, waving a hand in front of his face.
“Sorry, what?” he blinked, fighting to recover. “I got distracted.”
“By what?” Sirius urged him with a mischievous grin.
“By the massive idiot you are,” Remus retorted, his heart still racing. He felt like he was fifteen again. Sirius barked a laugh, head tilted back, hands deep in his pockets.
“Let’s go, shall we,” said James, passing a knowing look between the two of them.
They strolled up Diagon Alley, heading to Ollivanders. Teddy looked perfectly content in his pram, lulled by the gentle shaking caused by the cobbled pavement. The sky was completely clear, and the sun pleasantly beamed on the street. Several businesses were reopening at that very moment.
“So what, you don’t appreciate my today’s look?” Sirius’s deep, clear voice murmured at Remus’s ear from behind. “If I think I put an extra effort just to please you…” he sighed, faking disappointment.
“You look stunning and you know it,” Remus replied, watching ahead – if he turned to Sirius now, with him so close and looking like that, he really risked jumping on him in front of everybody.
“Mmh,” Sirius hummed. “You know what else I know? I’d look even better with just you on and nothing else.”
“Sirius.” Remus inhaled heavily. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“’Cos you’ve made me hard this morning, and then you left,” Sirius purred in his ear, giving Remus the goosebumps, “And I’m a vindictive man.”
“You’re a petty man,” Remus countered, trying his best not to think of being on top of a naked Sirius, straddling him, fingernails sinking in his skin, marking him, his thick, venous co*ck filling fast in Remus’s grasp–
“Your dad just called me petty,” Sirius gasped theatrically to Teddy as he leaned over the pram and started pushing it himself, shoving Remus away with a hip cut, “I will never recover.” Sirius began to push faster, putting distance between him and the rest of the group. He turned back and winked at Remus.
“Sirius, what the hell?!” he laughed as Sirius passed the Potters.
“I’m saving this innocent child from a vicious dark creature! Back me up, Prongs!”
“Coming! Don’t worry, Teddy, your uncles will protect you!” James boomed, sprinting forward and joining Sirius with a grin.
“f*ck off, you twats!” Remus laughed harder and stopped between Harry and Lily. He heard Teddy laugh too, clearly delighted.
The two men plus Teddy in the pram came to a halt when they almost collided with a family passing by. James crashed against Sirius, who nearly fell to the ground. They got back up tugging each other, breathless from too much laughter.
“One day,” Harry said slowly while he watched them and intentionally avoided blinking, “One day I’ll get used to it.”
Lily hugged him around the shoulders and beamed. Remus touched Harry’s arm and beamed in turn, once again too moved to speak. Then his eye caught a movement at the edge of his visual field.
“Oh, sh*t,” Remus snapped.
They had reached Ollivanders – or better, the end of the queue for entering Ollivanders. At least eighty people were lined up outside, waiting their turn to get a new wand. Most of them were sitting on folding chairs offered by the Ollivander family or evocated by those provided with a wand already. They were all chatting merrily and warmly greeted the Potters and friends when they approached.
“Why… why are all these people – adult people – needing a wand?” Lily wondered, perplexed, as Sirius and James rejoined them with Teddy.
“It’s for the Muggle-Born Registration. These must all be muggle-borns whose wands had been confiscated by the Commission. Some of them must have just been released from Azkaban,” Remus explained, evocating five more chairs. He and Harry filled the others in while they sat down. Lily, James and Sirius looked positively disgusted.
“I don’t even know what to say,” hissed Sirius, “Except that, unfortunately, I’m not surprised at all.”
“Yeah,” Lily seconded him darkly. “I guess they had more time to sort that out this round. I’m sure that if the war had continued eighteen years ago, they would have done the same eventually. I mean, muggle-borns also went into hiding then.”
“Yeah, remember Johnny Russo?” said James, frowning, “That Hufflepuff lad. He graduated from Hogwarts and moved immediately back to Italy with his family. Who knows whether he’s still alive? He was hilarious.”
“Right,” Sirius snickered, “Remember when he coloured the Slytherin banners sh*t-brown because he was mad their team had cheated in the chess tournament? Reg was livid. Brilliant.”
“Speaking of – where’s Regulus?” Remus asked. Sirius had taken the seat next to him and had shoved it closer, so now their thighs brushed lightly against each other. Sirius flirty bumped his leather-wrapped leg against Remus’s and smirked, looking at him through his long eyelashes. Remus swallowed hard.
“He woke up when we were about to get out,” Sirius said. “We proposed to wait for him, but he said he wanted to go for a walk.”
“Can’t blame him,” Harry commented, “After all those years spent at the bottom of that lake…”
“Yeah. Plus, I think he wanted to find a suitable neighbourhood to move the house to.”
“And I bet he’d rather not be surrounded by potentially hostile wizards,” James added with a meaningful look.
“He’ll become a hostile wizard when I come back home with new garments for him, and none of those will meet the little prince’s fine tastes.” Sirius rolled his eyes.
“Don’t get him anything, then.’
“Are you mad, Evans? That would be waaay worse!”
The queue diminished at an irregular pace. Sometimes, it took only five minutes or so for the customers to get their wand; others, it went on and on. They passed the time cuddling and playing with Teddy and never stopped talking; the group took the chance to tell Remus about the letters they’d got before. Harry cast a quick Muffliato all around for good measure. James and Sirius didn’t resist gossiping about the big revelation Harry had made about Snape, but – much to their delight – Remus was not that wowed.
“That is… not really unexpected,” he began slowly, weighing his words, “I was impressed yesterday when Harry recounted Severus’s actions – he ran such a huge risk playing the spy for Dumbledore, but… I mean, Lily, he was obsessed with you, there’s no news exactly. I remember that. It was… very noble of him to endure all that for your sake, but…” Remus sighed heavily and added, matter-of-factly, “Well, he was still a sour dickhe*d, wasn’t he?”
“I love you so, so much,” Sirius grinned. “I want to snog you in front of everybody so right now.”
“Wait for when we’re alone again,” Remus smirked.
“But he sacrificed… well, anything for us,” Harry said, a little desperate.
“For Lily,” countered Remus. “For Lily’s memory, and for vengeance. And if it’s true what Dumbledore told you, and he was the one telling Voldemort about the prophecy, then he’s also partially guilty for what happened next – and I’m sure that drove him as well. He never treated you right, Harry, he took the chance to continue hating James through you. He just worked to keep you alive, as you said yourself yesterday. ” Remus sighed, “He was horrible to students, he was horrible to everybody – and what about when he found out Peter was alive? The one actually betraying you and your parents? He– ”
“He cared only to turn me in to the Dementors, even though he knew I was innocent,” Sirius finished bitterly.
“Exactly. That’s not a good man. A hero, that we can’t deny, nor we can’t overlook it,” Remus shrugged, “But not all heroes are good people, and not all people who choose the honourable thing are driven by honourable reasons.”
“Ah, Moony the wise,” James sighed affectionately.
“So, Harry,” Remus went on, ignoring Prongs, “If you feel like feeling guilty because you’ve spent the last seven years loathing him – don’t. Severus was clearly at peace with his doing. All of it. that includes making your life miserable whenever he got the chance.”
“So wise,” James trailed on, now grinning, “Isn’t he, Padfoot?”
“A walking savant,” Sirius nodded. “Must be the superior knowledge peculiar to the moonchildren.”
“Idiots,” Remus rolled his eyes, stifling a smile.
“I can’t help but feel overwhelmed, though,” Lily chimed in quietly. “We hadn’t spoken in years, since he took the Dark Mark and everything. I had no idea he still– ”
“You were Sniv– Severus’s first and only friend,” James offered, hugging her. “You constantly tried to make him think, to reconsider. You defended him. You were ever so nice, and gentle, and he obviously loved you. Bet he didn’t get the slightest chance to find such qualities among the Death Eaters’ ranks. He couldn’t possibly stop loving you and caring about you.”
Lily blinked, bewildered. “Wow, James, this is the longest and nicest speech you’ve ever given about Severus.”
“And to think you used to torment him in front of the entire school just to entertain Mr yours truly here,” Sirius winked at Harry. “How tables have turned.”
“No, please, no,” James groaned, flushing, “I’m ready to be your next house-elf, but I beg you, Sirius, don’t tell Harry that– ”
“Too late,” Harry said, “I already know. I saw you during an Occlumency lesson with Snape.”
“Noo, Harry, why did you tell him? I was already anticipating getting rid of Kreacher!”
“Merlin’s balls,” James groaned again, hands covering his face while the rest of the group chuckled. “Don’t laugh! I was an obnoxious git, I’m so ashamed…” He peered through his fingers and looked at Harry, “What you must have thought of me?”
“That you were an obnoxious git,” Harry grinned, “And that you would’ve got along with my cousin Dudley and Draco Malfoy just fine. Snape must have been on cloud nine at the thought.”
“Ugh,” James whined. “I’m so sorry, Harry.”
“’S ok,” Harry waved it off. “I’ve been an idiot git myself sometimes, to be honest.”
It finally was their turn to get in the wand shoppe. Mr Ollivander’s son was a middle-aged man who was clearly exhausted from serving customer after customer for the previous twelve hours or so. The shoppe itself was in quite a state, with empty boxes scattered on the counter, half-empty shelves and several wood samples piled up in a corner. Mr Ollivander himself was sitting in a fine wheelchair, but when he saw Harry and the others entering, he struggled to stand up and insisted to assist them personally.
“Ah, yes. Yes, yes, yes. Young Mr Potter and his family. What an honour, what an honour indeed,” he nodded, coming closer. “Go to rest, Geralt, I will take care of our guests. I am capable, I have been sitting on that thing all day.”
Ollivander’s son, Geralt sighed in relief and disappeared in the back of the shoppe. Mr Ollivander took a walking stick and slowly came closer.
“Mr Potter senior and wife,” he beamed, content, “And Mr Black. I am very, very pleased to see you all again. I have heard about your return, and I knew you would need new wands. I assume your old ones were buried with you?”
“Uhm,” Lily and James exchanged a look.
“Yes,” Remus said sharply.
“Blimey, you attended our funeral, didn’t you?”
Remus shuddered. “Don’t remind me that, please.”
“Ah, Mr Lupin,” Mr Ollivander beamed. “Congratulations on your Order of Merlin. Pear, twelve and a half inches, core of unicorn hair, flexible. Yes. Do you find you and your wand are still suitably matched? I heard…”
“It was not for my wand,” Remus reassured him, “I was slow. I hadn’t been in a duel for a while.”
“Well, in this case… Mr and Mrs Potter, your old wands had surely deceased long ago,” Mr Ollivander said. “Right. Very well, very well, we will find you new perfect matches. We might as well try with your old combinations, even though I doubt – Ladies first, Mrs Potter if you please.”
Lily turned to the group, casting them a brief smile, and came closer to the counter, her copper ponytail glittering in the shop's dusty light.
“Willow, ten and a quarter inches, unicorn core, swishy,” she rattled confidently. “An exceptional partner. It never failed me, not even once.”
Mr Ollivander beamed. “And I will not fail you now. Let’s start with this: cherry, unicorn hair core, ten and three-quarter inches…”
Neither Lily nor Ollivander were satisfied. He gave her another two or three to try, and then –
“Elm, phoenix feather core, eleven and a quarter inches, extremely flexible. Here.”
The wand tip produced a series of golden sparkles as if it were celebrating having found its pairing, and Lily laughed. She cast a nonverbal spell and a dove appeared above their heads. Mr Ollivander applauded, satisfied.
“Excellent! Very excellent indeed! And with a phoenix feather core just like your son, even though this very feather doesn’t come from the same animal… Very well. Mr Potter?”
James stepped ahead with a wide grin on his face, probably looking a lot alike his eleven-year-old self, ready to get his first wand.
“Your previous wand was made of mahogany, eleven inches, dragon heartstring core, rather pliable. I am certain I have an identical wand hidden somewhere. Let’s see, let’s see – ah, here it is.” Ollivander summoned a thin box from one of the highest shelves.
James took the wand but, as expected, Ollivander shook his head. “No, no, no, this one is no good. You’ve changed – probably, the very experience you have been through yesterday had had its impact. Let’s move on.”
It took longer than with Lily. The wandmaker made James try out at least a dozen other wands, but he didn’t look concerned at all. Eventually, the old wizard said:
“Here. Fir, twelve inches, dragon heartstring core, mildly flexible.”
James took it, and the second his fingers closed around the elegant stick, he smiled. “Ah, here we are. Engorgio!”
A china vase on the far left of the counter gained three sizes before James cut the spell. Mr Ollivander clapped again, satisfied. James jogged towards Lily with a wide grin on his face, and the two of them started examining each other’s wands.
“And now… Mr Black? I remember your wand, of course. Ebony, thirteen and a quarter inches, dragon heartstring core, moderately rigid. Is it…?”
“The Ministry officials broke it,” Sirius muttered darkly, “When they arrested me. I then used a… borrowed wand, but I hadn’t it with me when I came back yesterday.”
“Mmh.” Mr Ollivander studied him intently, probably knowing that ‘borrowed’ actually meant ‘stolen’. “Yours was a strong wand, well-suited for duelling. Let’s try with this: walnut– ”
“No,” Sirius stopped him stonily, “Bellatrix Lestrange’s wand was made of walnut. I won’t have it.”
There was a brief moment of silence, in which the wandmaker studied Sirius again. “Very well. Very well. How about this one: red oak, dragon heartstrings…”
I went on for a while, not as much as with James, but Sirius tried a few. Then, Ollivander clapped his hands together once, eyes twinkling.
“I know! I know! Here,” he summoned another box. “Cypress wood, dragon core, thirteen and a half inches, slightly rigid. I’m sure about this one. Try it out.”
“Now we’re talking!” Sirius smiled, elated. He pointed the wand towards the air. “Finally a wand that feels good. Vitrium.”
The fine dust hovering mid-air clustered together in front of him and assembled in a sparkling little object that fell directly into Sirius’s open hand. Then, still smiling, he walked toward Remus.
“For my little cub,” he whispered, leaning over the pram (where Teddy was now napping) and leaving the object near the baby’s head. Sirius stroked Teddy’s hair and gently kissed his nose. Remus cast him a puzzled smile and then peered inside the pram.
Sirius had created a small, crystal teddy bear out of dust, with a pair of blue eyes matching Teddy’s favourite hair colour. Remus felt his lips lifting up in a bright smile as he looked at Sirius again.
“Thank you. That’s really beautiful.” I love you so much my chest aches. Sirius squeezed Remus’s upper arm and said nothing, eyes doing all the talking on his behalf.
Mr Ollivander asked Harry about his wand and he showed the wandmaker how he’d fixed it. The old man insisted on gifting Lily, James and Sirius with their new wands and categorically refused any form of payment.
“We all owe your son and you very much,” Mr Ollivander said. “You and your families will always be honourable guests in our humble shoppe. Good day.”
“Ah, it feels so good,” Sirius sighed, stroking his new wand once they got out. “I’ve almost forgotten the feeling. I’ll start doing everything with magic.”
“Don’t start casting random spells just because you can, now,” Remus said, smiling.
“Oi, Moony, thanks for the tip!” Sirius smirked, winking devilishly. And, needless to say, he pointed his wand at James: “Anteoculatia!”
A pair of antlers spurt on top of Prong’s head, who looked at Sirius in absolute shock.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Oi, don’t flatter my mother like that!”
“COME HERE, BLACK! COLOVARIA!”
Sirius’s hair turned a bright yellow and he sprang into a run towards the Gringotts. James followed suit, and he and Sirius began chasing one another all along the Alley, firing jinxes at each other and improvising a harmless duel.
“You couldn’t help but give him the hint, could you,” Lily said to Remus, watching him with a knowing smirk.
“Of course I could. But I didn’t want to miss the fun,” he replied, smirking back.
