Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Speed Drabble - 2 hours - "I'm just scared" "Don't bother waiting for me" "I hate them all" "Why won't they stop staring?" and "Who are you, the Minister of Magic or something?"

The Wood Wand Challenge - Fir - Post War.

Disney Character Challenge - Mowgli - Teddy Lupin

Harry Potter Chapter Challenge - The Deathly Hallows - Nineteen Years Later - Write Your Own Epilogue.

Wand Wood Challenge - Fir - Write a post-War story.

To Remus it started the same as any other day. He had returned to Hogwarts and was in the middle of class, talking to the students he remembered from when he had taught them in their third year. There were fewer in the newly made eighth year, as a lot of students opted not to return, but some faces stood out.

"What I would like to introduce you all to today, is the Imperious curse. A lot of you have seen it first hand during the war, how it can affect people, how it can make so much difference. I know you done this before, but it doesn't hurt to keep practicing it. I want you all to learn to resist it until you can resist it on the first attempt. We'll start each lesson with you standing in a line, and I'll test you. You have to fight this, you need to tell yourself that you don't want to..." he trailed off as a Lynx Patronus shot through the room, calling his name and asking him to come to the Ministry immediately.

He looked around the classroom. No doubt it was urgent.

"Mr Finnegan, can you please let the Headmistress know that I've been summoned by the Minister, and if she can arrange for my classes to be covered?"

He nodded and stood up.

"Also, read the pages on Inferi, we'll have a discussion on them during the next class. "Don't bother waiting for me, I won't know how long I'll be. We'll make this up during the next lesson."

He quickly rushed up to his quarters, and within minutes, he was using the floo to head to the Ministry.

...oOo...

"Come in," came a deep voice, and Remus opened the door.

"Ah, Remus my friend. Just the man I needed to see."

"Kingsley, I trust this is urgent, I was in the middle of teaching a class."

"Anything of importance?"

"I was about to reintroduce them to the Imperious curse, and make sure they all knew how to throw it off. We can't be certain how many out there are still hoping that Voldemort can rise a third time, since he rose before. I want the students to be prepared just in case."

"I understand," Kingsley replied, standing up. "But I believe you would want to be the first person to know this information. Would you like to follow me."

He strode from the room, Remus on his heels.

...oOo...

"Two hours ago, the wards in the Department of Mysteries went off, and the Aurors went down, to find a very confused man. We waited an hour with him in a room, making sure that it wasn't a case of Polyjuice, but you know him better than anyone. We can't get in to give this man Veritaserum."

"What are you saying?" Remus asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"I think he might be Sirius Black."

He waited a moment for that to sink in, and Remus' eyes narrowed slightly. "You told me that the veil was death. That it was not possible to come back from?"

"That's what I believed. There is limited information on the veil after all. No one has returned from it."

"So why him, why now?"

"I don't know," Kingsley confessed, opening the door.

"Are you going to let me go home?" Roared a voice as the door opened. "I don't know what your game is, but... Moony?"

Remus kept his wand out. "Who are you?"

"It's me," Sirius said, his eyes going wide. "They've kept me locked in here for hours. Have you come to free me?"

"Prove it," Remus demanded.

"Why should I prove anything?"

"Because Sirius Black died three years ago," Remus shouted. "So unless you prove you are who you say you are, I will make you wish you hadn't come here."

"Remus," came the whisper. "It's me. It's truly me. What do you need me to say? Our first kiss was at Kings Cross Station when we were returning for our seventh year, and I was so happy to see you, I kissed you. The first time we fell asleep together was two full moons later, when you first took the Wolfsbane potion. The first time we made love was the day we left Hogwarts and got out own place, and you couldn't stop laughing because you were so nervous."

"It's him," Remus said, his voice cracking. "It's Sirius, he's back." His arms wrapped around Sirius, holding him tightly as Kingsley stared in shock. "You too used to date?"

Finally Remus let go, and Kingsley repeated the question.

Remus nodded. "We did, and we had discussed... discussed the possibility of us, but, he went through the veil."

"So, I was gone three years? It felt like a few hours before I returned. I couldn't get out of those doors, and someone came and found me. I didn't want to go back to Azkaban so I fought, but I was dragged in here."

"Well, you won't be going back, I'm going to let everyone know you're innocent. As of this moment, you're a free man again."

Sirius stared at him in shock. "Who are you, the Minister of Magic or something?"

Kingsley grinned. "That's exactly who I am."

"Nice to have friends in high places," Sirius replied. "Well done, at least it's someone competent."

"You have no idea, he's made it so I can work again," Remus said. "I'm a Professor."

"That's brilliant," Sirius said. "So... did you meet anyone or anything?"

Remus hesitated, and Sirius took a step back. "Not the time or place for that?" Sirius said, with a sigh.

"It's complicated, just give me a chance to explain... later."

They left the room, and headed to the Ministers office. The pardon was quickly issued, and owls were sent to the Quibbler and the Daily Prophet. A girl was called in, and handed a bunch of flyers with the Ministers Seal, stating that Sirius Black had been declared innocent.

Kingsley walked them through the Ministry, and made a show of shaking Sirius' hand, and leading him to the floo. "Good luck, Sirius," he said, as the two men turned to the floo network.

"Why won't they stop staring?" Sirius hissed, as they walked.

"Because escaped convict Sirius Black just shook hands with the Minister of Magic. They'll hear the truth soon enough," Remus replied.

...oOo...

They touched down in Remus' cottage, and Sirius looked around, his face going pale at the sight of a highchair. "You have a kid too, shit. I mean, congratulations, maybe I shouldn't be here, I should go to Harry's, and -"

"Harry is on his honeymoon and Teddy is with his grandmother. It's true, I was with someone else, but there was a final battle, and she died, Sirius. I'm a single father."

"Who did you marry?"

Remus looked away for a moment.

"Your cousin."

"My cousin?"

"Dora."

"So... Teddy, he's my cousin too?" Sirius asked. "Wait. Dora's dead?"

"I told her to stay home with Teddy, but she insisted on coming. I loved her. Not how I loved you, but I thought you were gone forever."

"But when I was in Azkaban you didn't -"

"That was in Azkaban, that wasn't dead, Sirius. We thought going through the veil meant your death. I tried to move on. I even loved her, but not as much as you. I think she was so like you, and that's what I loved about her."

There was a long silence, and Remus wasn't sure what to say.

"So I understand if it's too much to deal with, if you don't want to be with me anymore. I mean, too much has changed -"

"Wait, I didn't say that," Sirius quickly replied. "Of course I still want to be with you. I'd only walk away if you were in a relationship right now, but you're not. I just need to get my head around it, because it's a massive shock that you were married... to a woman. Didn't realise you went for those... plus you're a dad. A hot dad."

Remus moved into his arms. "That's great. So... I still have your stuff. It's in the attic. Well, some of it. Harry was clearing out Grimmauld Place. Your room is still there, but everything is either in that attic or this. I mean, you could return there if you'd prefer, but I don't want to be apart from you again, you can stay here. It's really upto you."

"Can I meet your son?" Sirius asked. "I always wondered what a little Remus would look like."

Remus nodded. "I'll go get him," he replied, before throwing his arms around Sirius. "I've missed you, so much."

"I missed you too, Moony," Sirius replied. "No more discussions, we've lost each other twice now, lets make the most of the time we have left. Let's be together."

Remus nodded, before heading to the floo, and Sirius started looking around as soon as Remus disappeared. In the old days, he would have been waiting in Remus' bed, naked... but that wasn't appropriate on the day he was going to meet Teddy Lupin. He'd save the nakedness for when Andromeda was babysitting.

...oOo...

"Teddy, I want you to meet someone very important. This is your uncle Sirius," Remus said, holding the hand of a little boy and guiding him over to the sofa.

"Uncle," Teddy repeated, looking up at Sirius.

"That's right, little man. I'm Uncle Sirius, or you can call me Padfoot."

"Padfoot," Teddy repeated.

"Remus, he looks just like you," he said, looking up at the man, before returning his gaze to the little boy and jumping.

"Bloody hell," Sirius said.

"Bloody h-"

"No, we don't copy those words," Remus said, cutting Teddy off. "Sirius, careful what you say."

"Sorry love, it's just... he was blonde a minute ago."

He stared at the boy with black hair in awe, and Teddy let out a little giggle, pointing to Sirius' hair. "Black."

"You got that right," Sirius said, reaching out and touching the long black hair on Teddy's head. "So what's his natural look?"

"What you saw a minute ago," Remus said. "He's a Metamorphmagi like his mother was."

Sirius stared in fascination at Remus' son.

"Give uncle Sirius a hug," Remus prompted, and Sirius froze when the little boy cuddled his arm.

"What are you waiting for?" Remus asked Sirius.

"I don't know, I'm just scared, I guess. It's like what I used to picture in my head, and I'm scared that it's my mind playing tricks on me."

Remus sank down onto the sofa next to him and lifted Teddy in the middle.

"It's like I used to picture too," Remus admitted. "If we're together now, you'll be a big part of his life, you are aware of that."

"Yeah, I want to be," Sirius said. "I really do. Let's take a couple of days so I can get to know him before we contact everyone else. I'm sure Kingsley has already informed them. Did you let Andromeda know?"

"Yeah, he was happy to see me early. Don't get me wrong, he loves his nan -"

"Nanny gave me a banana," Teddy offered, looking at his dad.

"That's good, did you eat it all?"

Teddy nodded. "Ice-cream?" he asked, hopefully.

...oOo...

"Dad, Pops," Teddy called, walking through the cottage.

"In here," came a shout, and Teddy headed towards the kitchen where his fathers were waiting.

"We have to go, it's almost time," he insisted. Sirius looked at the clock. "He's right. If we leave now, we'll only be fifteen minutes early. Good time for us to suss out the future Slytherins."

"We're not going to stand on the platform and play 'Spot the Slytherin' again," Remus said.

"What's that?"

"It's a game Sirius invented when we were at school, we'd watch from the windows and when we saw a first year, we'd guess what house they were in. After the sorting, the winner got a prize."

"But what's wrong with Slytherin?" Teddy asked, shifting from foot to foot.

"I hate them all," Sirius explained. "Slytherin is -"

"Ignore him and don't worry about your house. There are good people in each house, and house unity is important," Remus said, glaring slightly at Sirius, who shrugged. "Now are you ready to go?"

...oOo...

The pair of them stood on the platform with Harry, Bill and Fleur. Harry had wanted to see his godson off, and Bill and Fleur's daughter, Victoire was also attending. The two kids stood staring at the train for a long time.

There was a lot of hugs and goodbye's before the pair boarded the train, and Sirius looked sad.

"It's not like we won't see them again soon, we'll be at the school in a few minutes, ready to teach. Now you remember what Teddy told us?"

"Don't embarrass me," Sirius repeated. "I love that kid. Lets go and threaten the hat and make sure he gets into Gryffindor."

"I just think I should make you aware that in honour of his first day, the twins gave Teddy a giftbox from their shop," Harry said.

"They gave me one too," Sirius said, grinning. "I can't wait to get started."

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