A/N: Okay, sorry for taking soooo long. But this chapter was fundamentally hard to write and I felt it was really necessary. This one adds alot to character development, it was going to be longer but I thankfully had the good sense to shorten it and write the rest in the next chapter. Phew! This is by far the hardest thing I had to write. Writing comedy is hard! Anyway, a lighter chapter for you. Hope you like it and are not discouraged by the length of it. Believe me, I am trying to update faster here but the living alone as I am, right now makes it harder to discipline myself into working for myself. Although, if it helps, this year's resolution is that I would make a habit of updating this fanfic at least once a week. Been breaking it ever since but trying to get into the flow. Please review my fics with flames, criticism or encouragement, doesn't matter which. It turns out I am really thriving on feedback these days. Eagerly awaiting your responses.
Chapter 11: Silver Linings
Light ascended into the dark room as daylight broke the dawn outside. Most rooms of the Potter Manor were large enough to accommodate tiny families and this one wasn't much different. Costly furniture perfectly arranged throughout the room, every artefact and decoration positioned where it felt like they belonged.
Sunlight crawled through the window towards the king-sized bed where lay a beautiful red-haired woman spooning her boy into a loving embrace as they slept together. The boy squinted unconsciously at the intrusion of the sun upon his slumbering eyes and the mother shifted to cast her protective shadow onto her son. The bed was big enough to accommodate four more people, warm enough for the most blissful of sleeps and cosy enough to drown in its soft mattress yet they both snuggled together in one corner seeking more comfort amongst themselves than the luxury surrounding them. Adam Potter had the content smile of a newborn finally finding his place in the world, the beautiful face of Lily Potter had the bliss and peace of a mother in possession of her most prized treasure.
The door to their room opened silently as James Potter crept into the sight of his wife and child sleeping together. He lent against the bedpost for a moment to take in the sight in front of him, making sure to burn it into his memories to remember in times when he questioned his drive against adversity. His family, like this in peace was a gorgeous view he couldn't find anywhere else. But the sun was high and the harsh world awaited them. It pained James to break their dreams so, if he could then he would have let them sloth their life for eternity. But it was time wake them up gently.
With an audible sigh, James stood up straight and took a deep breath. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN BED WITH MY WIFE!" he bellowed aloud, startling the mother and son awake with a vicious jerk as they glowered at James.
No sooner had he finished his mock rage, the large mahogany table beside flew straight towards him, making the agile auror jump out of the way in the nick of time with an audible whelp, his robes fluttering about as he rolled into safety. "Lily! That almost-", before he could finish, an assortment of furniture started attacking him from all directions. James managed to avoid most of the dangerous ones as they shattered and broke the walls around but the sheer numbers overwhelmed him, punching and beating him down to submission as he lay outside the door under a pile of rubble with painful bruises all over. Lily Potter barely moved from her place as she silently, wandlessly hexed the furniture to do her bidding, rising up on her elbows, glaring at her obnoxious husband for ruining her rest.
"Urgh!" James groaned as he tried to pull the splinters from his arms and get out of the rubbish under the haze of pain he suffered all over his body. "Come on honey, have a little mercy, I was working all night!" James said wincing as he tried to stand up.
"As if that was my fault." Lily seethed glowering at him from the bed, sitting up to tie her hair into a bun. "You have your entire life to be a jerk. Why not take a day off Potter?" She questioned in a seething tone, her sleepy eyes filled with annoyance at her husband for waking them up so rudely.
"Makes me afraid you would love me less Evans," James responded with a grin. The walls of the room were broken along with the furniture. Rubble littered everywhere and dust smoked the vicinity as James limped back into the room.
Adam was sitting at the edge of his bed chuckling at the antics of his father. "Love or not, you would surely be living less like that Dad," Adam commented. He got off the bed, rushing towards his father for a hug.
"Oww! Careful Adam, I am still hurting all over." James coughed, hugging his son back nevertheless.
"I know," Adam replied cheekily, holding onto him tighter.
James sighed as he looked at Lily with a helpless smile. "My family… and people wonder why I think Death Eaters are easy."
Lily fought back a smile as she met her husband's eyes with her own.
"Come on Dad! I am dying to show you what the Hellions made this time. The twins said that they have finally completed what they had been building all these years." Adam broke in, trying to pull his father by the arm, out of the room.
"They are sticking with that obnoxious name huh. Seriously, making a club with children like that is a bit juvenile even for Sirius don't you think?" James wondered out aloud shaking his head.
"Look who is talking." Lily snorted, putting on her robe as she prepared for her morning chores.
"Hey, hey wait there kiddo," James asked his son, trying to break free of his hold as Adam tried to rush James out of the room. "Don't you think your mother deserves some special loving too? Why don't you run along and I would be right behind in a moment."
"Oh, that's okay darling, I got enough of your love for this morning," Lily replied sweetly, the furniture around coming to life, assembling themselves back together as she spoke. The room healed silently, cluttering about with as little noise as possible. It always amazed James how easily magic came to Lily. It wasn't just the sheer quantity of magic in her (though that is no laughing matter either) but the ease with which complex magic adhered to her commands.
"Oh come on Lily, didn't you miss me even a-" James was cut short when he saw the broken leg of a table floating behind Lily, the sharp end of it's splintered body pointed directly at James' head. "Whoa! Wait, Lily, that thing is shar—" before he could even finish his sentence, the broken wood flew straight for the kill, James was only barely able to dodge it as it struck the wall behind, puncturing the concrete behind. "Come on Lily, don't be mad like that!" James tried to cajole Lily but Adam was losing patience.
"Come on Dad, I don't want my father murdered." Adam cried as he succeeded in dragging a reluctant James out of the room.
James looked back at Lily who was busy re-arranging the furniture back to the immaculate setting that she had kept earlier for her room. "I would be back Lily, this isn't over!" James said raising his fist, retreating like a thwarted villain declaring his vengeance.
Lily ignored him entirely, looking deep in thought wondering if she should make a few adjustments to the room to place the furniture better this time.
James turned around with a goofy grin, winking at his son as Adam looked pitifully at his smitten father shaking his head. "You are hopeless dad."
"Whatever are you talking about Adam. It's just a game we two play. You were the spoilsport there." James accused his son as they walked leisurely towards the far end of the manor.
"Yeah right, whatever did I spoil? Your 'special loving'? What the heck is that?" Adam asked sarcastically.
"Damn right you are. We could have had some grownup conversation without your snotty nose coming in between!"
"You don't have to tiptoe around Dad. I know what you two do in the bedroom. Padfoot told me everything about it." Adam told his father in a serious tone.
James' face went pale. "He..did?"
"Yeah, honestly speaking I think it's kinda gross but you do it because you love mom don't you? I understand" Adam said, his voice wise beyond his years.
"Haha..yeah..I guess." James responded gritting his teeth wondering what the hell the mad dog told his son. Sirius never knew the limits to his leash. "I love your uncle Sirius too. Remind me to give him some of that 'special loving' with my wand."
Adam chuckled. "Honestly dad. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I don't mind. You can even do it in front of me." He consoled his father.
"I-I can?" James asked, with widened eyes before common sense kicked in and his eyes narrowed. "Wait..what exactly did Sirius say we do in the bedroom?"
"You two kiss, right? I know it's a bit embarrassing but there is nothing to be ashamed of it. Mom kisses me all the time too, doesn't she?" Adam continued sagely.
James laughed aloud in relief as he tussled Adam's hair affectionately. "That's right! What was I thinking hiding things from you? You are the smart one." Sirius got him real good this time. James got to admit that, there was nothing better to do than stroking his son's ego before he realizes something is wrong and decides to probe further, " Phew…damn that Padfoot..always spilling my beans. Wait till I find him."
"It's not his fault Dad. I was the one asking. Although, he did tell me to never tell you. And I did." Adam confessed sounding worried.
James was just shaking his head with a grin reluctantly forming on his face. "I bet Padfoot told you with exactly that in mind."
X-X-X
The basement was filled with noises of clashing metal and flashes of bright yellow sparks flying everywhere as the twins charmed the tools to do their bidding.
"I am heating the metal," Fred announced as the metal held aloft by George was already melting in the air
.
"Here is the mould." George declared, releasing his hold on the metal and bringing the mould underneath as the molten metal poured into the mould with a splash.
"Whoa! Careful there!" Fred shouted as he summoned a shield to protect the both of them from the splashes.
"Knew you would catch em." George said with a grin as he was already cooling the metal. The steam coming out as a result blown away by the wind Fred summoned.
George meanwhile bought the moulded cast of iron towards a bar of metal, aligning it perfectly in no time. "Hey, you messed up my hairstyle!" George cried.
"Trust me, it looks better this way," Fred replied as he started welding the elements together.
James and Adam just stood there watching as the twins worked in perfect sync accomplishing magic with the level of efficiency that even James with all his talent, skill and experience found amazing. The workshop was filled with an assortment of gadgets with intriguing and weird functionalities. Littered around in a disorganized pile, all around the floor and tables in the large basement room.
"Didn't your mom tell you to not be here without adult supervision? Scratch that, she said you are not to be here at all!" James asked as he admired at the skill Fred and George exhibited.
"Oh hey, Prongs!" Fred called out, without really turning from his work.
"Does that mean Padfoot is back too?" George asked, both of them ignoring what James asked entirely.
"Tell him we completed the project while he was gone," Fred added.
"Thought it would be a nice surprise." George chimed in.
"Yeah, I am here alright! You two completed without me!" Sirius Black exclaimed as he came down the stairs with a prominent limp. His long hair as messy as it always was, tied in a ponytail, accentuating his pale and ruggedly handsome looks. He came wearing his overalls, ready to contribute his part as soon as he was back.
"What happened to your leg Padfoot?" Adam asked as he watched Sirius limp towards where they were standing.
"What this? Perils of the job squirt. You should see the other guy." He boasted, trying to hide the wince that came with his every step.
"Yeah, I totally took care of him," James interjected.
"Why do you keep stealing my spotlight!" Sirius snapped at James, looking in mock annoyance at his partner.
"You keep hogging it!" James snipped back.
"Enough you two. I swear even the twins seem docile compared to you both." Arthur intervened, wiping his hands on a piece of cloth as he appeared from behind a pile of metal scraps. His overalls and his face were filled with grease stains, his eyes bloodshot with having to work all night.
"Et Tu Arthur? I thought we were on this project together!" Sirius exclaimed acting hurt, this project had been a dream for the group ever since it's inception.
"Relax, we didn't finish it properly. Just solved the problem with the carburettor. It would still take a few days before the car is ready to roll."
"Aww really?" Fred whined.
"This is taking far too long!" George complained.
"And we told everybody that we already completed it!" Fred added with a moan.
"Nobody asked your weren't even supposed to be at home right now." Arthur pointed out to the twins sternly.
"But we are The Hellions! We do this together!" They chorused, trying to give Sirius a high five as he deftly avoided them.
"Until you tried doing it without me," Sirius said with narrowed eyes as he came up beside them to admire their handiwork.
The twins gave their most innocent look as they avoided eye contact.
"It was a joke." They stated together.
" Just leave me out of all this. Can't we just be a couple of guys working on our hobby? You had to make a club out of everything." Arthur grumbled as he polished the smear on the car they were working on together for the past few years. It was a large SUV, which looked simple enough from the outside. Like any other expensive car that one can see on the streets. It had a few noticeable modifications in the form of hinges for a retractable roof, snorkel to aid in water expeditions and wider tires for off road trekking.
"There you are, Adam! I have been searching all over for you." Ron threaded down the staircase with a bag of potato chips in his hand, there were bits of chips stuck all around his mouth as he chewed noisily. "Mom said breakfast is ready and to inform you that Moody would be coming along tomorrow."
Adam's eyes widened at that. "Dad! You called Moody?" he groaned in annoyance.
"I know right! I bet the guy is a Death Eater in disguise, sent to torture us!" Ron chimed in, his mouth full of chips as he spoke.
"That's right young man, jokes aside this was the exact reason why we wanted you both back, to teach you the lessons in choosing your battles. That Troll incident shouldn't be repeated again." James told Adam sternly.
"Uff! Dad, enough of it. I got the message alright." Adam sighed as he looked at the car the twins were working on. "So you were lying when you said the car is completed?" Adam asked, trying to change the topic from what was clearly going to be another nag marathon.
James looked at Adam for a moment but then decided to let it go this once as he too looked at the car. "Frankly speaking, I don't know what all the hype is about. It looks exactly the same as the time we bought it year's ago, minus the few muggle modifications that you people clearly paid the muggle companies to do."
"Haha..you cannot be more wrong!" Sirius said as he limped towards the car as fast as he could. "Prongs my dear boy, what you see before you is not just a car." he declared, like a salesman telling his client about the grandiosity of his product.
"It's a Plane!" Fred exclaimed with a flourish.
"It's a Ship!" George joined, with a flourish of his own as they alternated.
"Yeah!" Sirius cheered from behind in excitement.
"It's a Mole!"
"It's a Fish!"
"Yeah!" Sirius exclaimed, before thinking about it and looking weirdly at the twins. "Huh..wait. What?" he asked in confusion.
"Well we didn't know any, which moved underwater," Fred explained.
"Or Underground," George added.
"You should see what else this bad boy can do," Arthur interjected. Infected by the excitement. "This thing is built like a Tank!" he exclaimed.
"The Tank! That's a nice name for the car." Fred remarked.
"Urm. I don't know. I kind of like its original name more. What was it again? Bummer?" Ron commented trying to remember as he fiddled with a gadget on one of the numerous tables.
"I think it was Gunner," George told them, swatting his brother's oily hands from their beloved creations.
"Or Drummer," Adam replied with a smile.
"Now, now, I think these Muggle names keep getting Dumber." Sirius chimed in with a grin.
"Okay! That's enough with the rhymes." James interjected. "I know its fun but we should hurry along. Lily made special care with the breakfast today especially for you Adam. Now rush upstairs and get ready for breakfast. Ron you too. Seriously, did you even brush before you started eating?"
"Hey! I am a growing child! This is just a warm-up for my stomach and besides, you didn't tell me Aunt Lily was going to make breakfast!" Ron hollered as he turned around to follow Adam upstairs, putting aside the bag of chips on the table as he left.
"Don't let Molly hear you saying that! She will kill you!" Arthur called to Ron from behind.
"Okay, Fred. George. You two should go get something to eat too.." Arthur started as he turned around, but the twins he was referring to were nowhere to be found. "Where did they..*sigh*." Arthur couldn't help but rub his forehead as he realized what they did. " Barely teenagers and they already started disapparating. I hope they don't get splinched someday." Arthur worried.
"You know they are too talented for that." James consoled Arthur, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He smiled at James as the sudden silence in the absence of children weighed upon the room.
Arthur turned to Sirius. Realizing there were more pressing concerns that needed to be talked about now that all the children were gone. "I have hardly ever seen you hurt like this before. What happened out there?" he asked in concern.
James sighed as he ran fingers through his hair. "It was bad Arthur. Real bad." He admitted. Sirius took the nearby chair to get seated, trying to relieve himself from the pain some, tired from the exertion of walking as he pulled his pants up to show them his injury.
It was a pitch-black gash of the wound above his ankles that was pulsing and bubbling with fuming dark fluids. "The fumes are mostly Molly's medicine," Sirius informed them, not that the wound seemed any less dangerous without those. "Those bastards get more creative each passing moment."
"They took the Giant King hostage. We tried everything. Their spells are getting stronger by the day, they themselves are getting more reckless. It's like they are eager to finish their plans or something." James divulged. His voice hardly kept in control. "Their army is getting stronger and there is nothing we could do about it. They are definitely preparing for something."
Arthur leant against the table behind him as he fished out a cigarette. He had slowed down his smoking habits for quite a while since the last war, but now as things get direr, the sweet comfort of burning smoke in his lungs was becoming his only recluse. "How safe do you think the stone is?" he asked after a moment as each of them pondered about the implications of the Death Eater's actions. Nobody wanted to talk about it but that was all there was in their minds. Arthur shared the cigarette with James who took the burning stick of paper happily to get his puff.
"Don't tell Lily," James warned Arthur with the cigarette between his lips as he joined Arthur beside the table, taking the time answering the question Arthur put up, his clothes were still torn in some places from his encounter with Lily this morning. His chiselled face was more pronounced against the round glasses he wore. The glasses hid the dark eyes conveniently enough, sheathing the worry in them, the tiredness and pressure of it all weighing down on the dark circles under those hazel eyes.
"We cannot be sure. Even with Dumbledore around. He…that monster finds his ways to get things done." James told them. The shudder in his voice was palpable. The fear laid bare to be seen by his closest friends and family. "I don't know how much longer he would stay down. Now with Adam joining the school too. His activities seem to be intensified. He is chipping us away from all possible sides and the plans of old man Albus might not be enough anymore."
The room was silent once more, save for the occasional sizzling of burning metal in one corner. Each man battling with their own thoughts. Arthur didn't want to, but he had to know more. He had to ask the questions and know the state of war despite the false sense of security he felt within these walls of Potter Manor, not for him, he does his ample share for the Order against the Death Eaters without the care for his own life, but for his family. He needs to know for the sake of his family and friends.
"Any news about Moony?" he asked again, his voice barely a whisper, the heaviness of the situation weighing down on his chest. Making him feel the strain of every syllable leaving his mouth as he watched Sirius take the cigarette from James.
Sirius too took a much-needed puff before answering. Blowing a ring of smoke into the stuffy air of the basement, watching it dissolve slowly as he garnered strength to recount.
"He-he is trying." Sirius disclosed. "But you have to understand. Remus is not the same as those..those savages. He is not the right man for the job." The desperation was leaking out of him. The fragile leash on panic, painfully evident to both Arthur and James. "He shouldn't be there alone like that. It is not going right. This is simply not right."
Sirius gave back the cigarette to James, the burn in his heart smouldering far more intensely than the heat of smoke inside his lungs. Sometimes the heady feeling of pain surpasses what any other drug could inflict upon a person.
James breathed out the smoke from his lungs as he looked up at the ceiling, unable to handle the torment of his friends. "Trust in Remus, Padfoot. If nothing else, he is a survivor. He would come out of it." What else could he say? It would hardly matter. There was nothing to be said that would make any of them feel better. But it was in his nature to at least try. To keep any semblance of hope even when there aren't any. The situations they face now though are far better than what they had faced in the previous war, yet what rattles each of them is the surety that far worse is to come.
Sirius was breathing in panic, trying to control himself as he felt the helplessness of the friends around him.
"BUT AT WHAT COST?" Sirius bellowed as he threw the toolbox sitting on the table at the far side of the room with incredible strength, the tools scattered about with their wretched noises on the floor. The shrill of shaking metal echoing throughout the large basement, ringing in their ears.
None could speak more on that. The lives of everyone around was hanging by a thread. No matter how much one intended to protect, it was proven by that monster eleven years ago. No matter what you tried, no matter how much you struggled, you grovelled, you pleaded, you begged, you fought, you endured, you sacrificed, absolutely none of it mattered in front of The Dark Lord. The Potter family learnt it the hard way that fateful night.
The scars on James' back throbbed with the memories of that horrible night.
X-X-X
James, Sirius and Arthur trudged upstairs towards the dining hall after talking for some time. Hearts lighter with the relief of unloading their worries onto each other, the troubles forcefully discarded into the dark basement where they had confided into each other the feeling of rising terror each of them harboured within themselves, the kind which the patriarchs of the family cannot permit to be seen by their children. Theirs is the bubble which each of them had worked hard to protect from the outside forces. It is destined to burst inevitably, but it was vastly more preferable to them if they could prolong it as much as they could.
"So, Adam was telling me about some things you have been telling the boy about Lily and me." James started, grinning a little as he looked at Sirius.
"Oh, no! He wasn't supposed to tell you that!" Sirius said with mock surprise as he put his palm on his mouth wearing an exaggerated scandalous expression.
"You bitch!" James said, jumping on Sirius, giving him a noogie as he held his best friend's head in his arms.
"Hahaha..got you, didn't I? Owww..seriously Prongs, it hurts!" Sirius choked from under James' arms as they both entered the dining hall.
"I am still waiting for the day you too would be growing up," Arthur said coming up behind them, as he moved towards his room to clean up before joining the breakfast table.
"Arthur, this time it is justified! I don't think you would be as nice to him if you were in my place!" James explained to the retreating figure of Arthur.
"I don't care," Arthur said in a bored tone, without turning back.
"Leave him Prongs, it is better if he finds out the fun way," Sirius said, extricating himself from the tight grasps of his friend, rubbing his sore neck.
James' eyes widened at that. "No, you didn't!" he exclaimed. "Padfoot! Arthur is not like me. You know how shy the Weasleys are!"
"Oh come on! Live a little Prongs!" Sirius said as they entered the dining hall where the rest of their family were already seated.
"Things always go from bad to worse when you say that," James mumbled after him.
The dining room was a large room with a dark wooden table sitting in the centre that managed to fill the spacious room quite comfortably. The room felt large for even the families of Potter and Weasleys combined. It worked as a cosy host though, when all the family members of the Weasley family, as well as the friends from the order, gathered together as it often happens around the Potter Manor, making it the main headquarters of the Order.
The twins, Ron and Adam were having a heated conversation about Quidditch on the far side of the table while Ginny was helping Molly lay the dishes. Lily was in the kitchen beside the dining room laying finishing touches to her cooking.
"I am telling you, with this year's team roster the Chuds have a real chance!" Ron ranted to the other three excitedly.
"Yeah, a real chance of their points going negative this time. Dude, seriously, could the Cannons play any worse?" Adam argued exasperatedly.
"Now don't burst his bubble, Adam!" Fred scolded.
"We truly want Ron to support The Chudley Cannons wholeheartedly." George continued.
"Wow! That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me." Ron responded thankfully.
"No problems. After all, we always love to see the expression of absolute despair on our lovely little brother's face…" Fred explained.
"When he watches the Cannons get crushed into the last place every year." George completed.
"We should take a picture this year," Adam said after them.
"Actually, George and I were thinking of paying for an elaborate portrait to be made of him," Fred said to them.
"You guys are monsters." Ron sulked with a pout as the boys laughed at his misery.
"I too think The Chudley Cannons have a chance this year," Ginny commented as she put down the plates beside them.
Ron's face lit up at that. "See? Even Ginny thinks that!" Ron said, relieved at the support offered to him.
"You must have reached new lows of desperation Ron, to even allow girls into Quidditch conversations for this." Ginny chuckled shaking her head mockingly at her older brother.
Ron's ears turned bright red as he tried sinking into the chair in embarrassment.
"That was savage Gin!" Adam high fived Ginny, laughing all along as Ginny moved back into the kitchen.
X-X-X
"That is enough of that Lily. You and I both know; the boys would swallow down anything you cook!" Molly tried stopping Lily who was adding finishing touches. "You would get late for work like this!"
"Just a little more Molly, it should be perfect after this," Lily said, scrunching her face in concentration as she decorated the food with condiments. "I really miss cooking for the boys.." she commented as she finished and enchanted the dishes to float towards the dining table.
As she approached the table to see the boys laughing while Fred was shaking Ron comically. "Wh-wha.. It's not my fault Angela likes the cannons too…haha" Ron tried to speak aloud as Fred shook his brother in vengeance. "Why are you hollering me for?"
"Boys?" Lily called to them as she stood with her hands on hips, glaring at them.
Even among the commotion, her voice was unmistakable. All of them stopped to look at her for a moment before scuttling away to help set up the table like elves on the eve of Christmas.
"Seriously, coming from school or not, how could you have left poor Ginny working all alone while you had your fun? Don't you have enough of each other all through school?" Lily scolded them sternly as the boys set up the spoons and laid out the napkins. They weren't technically allowed to do magic outside of training in the house, more so ever when Lily was around. Or else the twins would have been enough to complete all the chores within seconds. They had a knack for doing these kinds of stuff.
"They only listen to you Lily. They are a nightmare without you around." Molly said from behind as she laid out the food on the plates the boys and Ginny prepared. Having such a large family meant a lot of preparation for every meal.
"Make way for the men!" Sirius exclaimed as he entered the room with James tagging close behind as everyone looked momentarily at him before resuming their work.
"It might have been more believable if you weren't limping pathetically." Lily said as she whipped her left hand towards Sirius, the chair beside her flew towards him.
"Ow! Be gentle Lily!" Sirius winced mockingly, as the chair gently swept him off the feet and flew him towards the table of food with a graceful landing.
"Does it hurt too much Padfoot? Show it to me afterwards, would you? It might need to be amputated to keep the infection from spreading." Lily said smiling sweetly.
"Haha…she is joking right?" Sirius asked James nervously. "I can never tell when she is joking."
"Trust me bud. You would know when she is not joking.." James told Sirius as he took a seat beside him.
"It might not be a bad idea though to let Lily experiment with it though. Maybe we could find some faster cures for future use." Arthur called out, freshened up for breakfast as he approached the table.
"Yeah, make a Guinea pig out of me you all would ya," Sirius grumbled. "I think Molly would suffice for me. She is way better at medicine either way. I think I will trust her with this scary looking wound."
"Are you sure? I thought you always wanted a mechanical leg like Moody." Lily asked with a wink.
"James! Lily is being mean! I am already paranoid about this!" Sirius complained to James with a pout as James put his hands up in the air.
"Hey, I can't even stop you, what makes you think I can stop her?"
It was at that moment when Molly entered the hall carrying the pies and noticed Arthur. "Oh, look who decided to grace us with his presence!" Molly crowed as she put the pies down with a thump on the table in anger, almost toppling them.
"I am sorry Molly, the night kind of got away from me. I am starving!" Arthur answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, I thought His Majesty didn't even need food like us commoners."
"Oh, come on Molly. I told you I am sorry!" Arthur tried apologizing again as he seated himself beside Sirius on the other side of James.
"Yeah, you better be. One whole night without you in bed with her? Do you even get how cranky Molly is right now?" Lily added to the scolding with mischief in her eyes.
"Lily!" Molly exclaimed scandalized as she swatted Lily's arm to shut her up. "There are kids here!"
"Oh relax mom, I know all about what goes in the bedroom," Ron replied airily as Lily, Molly, Arthur and the twins all twisted their heads towards him with a jerk.
Sirius was digging his elbow into James' ribs as he indicated that the show has begun. Barely hiding his grin behind the glass of pumpkin juice he was drinking. James just shook his head in defeat.
"What?" Molly asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, Sirius told me all about it," Ron told her with a shrug.
"Yeah, me too. I told Dad that it was okay with me, even though it is kind of gross." Adam added to it as he drank the pumpkin juice his mother made with obvious relish.
"What?" Lily looked aghast as she glared at James.
"What can I say, Lily, the boys are all grown up," James told her calmly as he ate his food.
"Yeah Mom, I am eleven already!" Adam said exasperatedly. "Stop treating me like a child. What did you think? I can fight Death Eaters, magical beasts and most Aurors in the Ministry but cannot handle this?"
"Yup, listen to your little guy." Sirius chipped in, hardly able to contain his chuckle as he hid his face behind a glass of wine under the pretext of drinking it.
"Oh, wait till this is over, you would never be listening from your 'little guy' again." Lily seethed menacingly at Sirius.
Arthur was looking flabbergasted as his head shuttled among the faces of Sirius, Molly, Lily, Ron and Adam. Disbelief cleawas writtentten on his face as Ginny sitting beside him looked confused as she had no idea what was going on.
"Okay, either this is the deepest grave they are digging for themselves…" Fred muttered to George.
"Or the most elaborate prank by Padfoot ever!" George whispered back.
They both looked at the faces of Sirius and James, trying desperately to focus on what they are eating and drinking.
"Damn! That is a good one…" Fred whistled as he passed a Knut to George in defeat.
"I still find it gross no matter what you, say Adam." Ron told Adam with all his seriousness.
"Really? Well you shouldn't. It is something that our parents do because they love each other. As I was telling Dad. They can even do it in front of me, no problem." Adam told Ron, in his faux grown up voice that he tends to use when he lectures people.
Molly's face was a dark shade of red from rage and embarrassment as she looked at the kids first and then menacingly at Sirius.
"Why so serious?" Sirius smirked as he sat there grinning like a cat that ate the canary, meeting the smouldering gaze of Molly evenly.
"Wait." Lily said as she looked at Sirius with narrow eyes before turning to Ron. "What exactly did Sirius tell you about us doing in the bedroom?" Lily asked Ron as every eye in the room turned to Ron while he looked back at Lily.
"You shag, right?" the eleven-year-old boy told her with an even voice.
James choked on his food, coughing loudly as the sounds echoed throughout the silent room.
Arthur's face was paled as he stared at Sirius.
Fred and George had their mouths hung open, disbelief written plainly on their faces.
Ginny and Adam were looking around, confusion etched on their faces.
Molly and Lily had heat oozing out of their murderous gazes as they glowered at Sirius, their expressions promising a lifetime of the most painful tortures imaginable to mankind, like beasts of rage, starving for years, cornering their helpless prey, like enraged gods, fed up with mortals, with Armageddon in mind.
Sirius looked like a deer caught in headlights, slack jawed as he alternated between Molly and Lily, his face forlorn, words forgotten, swallowed by the shock of the situation clobbering his senses, as he finally settled his eyes on Ron.
Ron sat there with a devious grin on his face as he calmly stared back at Sirius.
Sirius' eyes widened, as he tried pointing at Ron, but all eyes were on him. None noticed the 'innocent' boy sitting there.
"Do you think Professor Dumbledore would lend me his Pensieve this Christmas?" Ron asked Adam with a content grin on his face. No one else heard him as all focused on Sirius Black.
Another normal day at the Potter Household.
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