A/N: I do apologize for the super extra-long wait. So, some good news: I got the cast off of my hand and I'm no longer in vocational therapy. And other good news: I've gotten early acceptance to graduate school so I will have more time to write. I do, as always, want to remind you that this story is updated according to quality not quantity. With love, make sure to show me that you guys want more! J

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"Courage is found in unlikely places."

-J.R.R. Tolkien

….

The werewolf reclined on the silken chaise and stared off into the gold reflections of rearing lions on the carpet. Lackadaisical eyes surveyed the refurbished sitting room of his mate's family's townhouse. A smooth rumble of chuckles made its way out of his throat as he remembered Sirius trying to foist off Grimmauld Place onto Regulus. As Remus shifted he felt the partially forgotten sparks of pain behind his joints flare and leave behind their smoldering aches. The dirty blonde grimaced, bearing those sharp canines in the company of the fire that was burning despite the balmy spring weather.

Waiting patiently a sudden slam was heard from the front of the house. A small fumble sounded on the mahogany floors followed by a "Damn it!"

Remus just chuckled and called out,

"Perhaps you should just get rid of the umbrella stand, Sirius!"

A mumble sounded from the front hall that the werewolf chose not to interpret.

Remus turned amber eyes to the doorway to look at his mate, fresh from his job as a Cursebreaker. The Black Lord simply glanced over his submissive mate's tired figure clad in white cotton pajamas with distant dark grey eyes and sighed. He padded his way over and lifted Remus' legs onto his lap. He closed his eyes and gently tried to dig a thumb into the joint of the tired man's knee to relieve some of the pressure. The dirty blonde winced and spoke as the curly-haired man's head thumped on the back of the couch,

"So what was the No. 1 Undesirable today?"

Sirius chuckled sarcastically,

"A jade necklace with a depression curse on it."

Remus frowned at the stress behind the words that led him to once again question why his hyperactive husband chose to 'clean' the assets of liquidated accounts for Gringott's.

"What happened?"

"Oh nothing just some dumbass that mistook the curse for one of dementia."

Remus grimaced,

"Don't they have the same spell base?"

"Yes, but the depression curse evolves after the bespelled object is soaked in its respective potion."

"Ah."

Sirius sighed again,

"Let's forget about work for now, Moony."

The darker skinned man relaxed, lulling his dominant mate into a false sense of security.

Suddenly the werewolf spun up and straddled his human's hips, well-muscled thighs bordering those masculine hips.

A pink tongue licked and nipped with sharp fangs at the pale expanse of neck before it, carefully nuzzling black curls out of the way. Suddenly, the broad shoulders being worshipped shook in unmanly giggles. The smaller man huffed and leaned back from the body he was straddling,

"What now, Sirius?"

The muscular man continued to giggle before finally catching his breath and stuttering out,

"It t-t-tickled."

And then once again fell into hysterics. The dirty blond just sighed and playfully hit his Dominant in the shoulder,

"What, can your submissive not tickle you?"

He said with coy eyes and a coy smile. The grey-eyed man smirked before leaning towards Remus' face,

"I'll show you tickles."

And proceeded to playfully growl and nip at the werewolf's plush lips, causing him to giggle and try to return the passionate attempt at a kiss. Just as Sirius began to lean his smaller mate towards the chaise cushions, again, he heard the Floo give off the ring customized to James Potter.

Sirius grunted at the noise and pressed his face to Remus' shoulder,

"I wonder what Prongs wants."

The dirty blond looked down at his mate with soft amber eyes,

"Maybe it's about Hadrian."

Sirius snorted at that and said bitterly,

"When was the last time Prongs mentioned Hadrian? Oh, I remember! The same time he said that we couldn't visit our godson anymore!"

Remus simply thinned his lips at the remark and pushed the ill-tempered Sirius towards the fireplace. A sudden change overcame the Black Lord as his face transformed with an excited look as he answered the Floo.

"Hey-o, Prongs! How's my favorite best friend?"

An annoyed huff followed,

"I'm your only best friend, Padfoot."

"I think that is rather the point."

Remus groaned form behind Sirius and James shook his head as if to clear it from distracting thoughts.

"Sirius, I need a favor."

The grey-eyed man frowned,

"What do you need, Prongs?"

"I need you to watch one of the boys."

Sirius reeled back in surprise before responding,

"Yeah, of course, what's the occa-" before stumbling back as a silently sobbing Hadrian was thrown through the Floo. Sirius landed with a quiet 'oomph' before looking back at the fireplace which had flared before the connection dropped. He looked down at the shaking child in his arms before turning a tragically confused look towards the worried amber eyes of his mate.

"Sirius?"

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Hadrian did not understand what he had done wrong. His pale cheek stung where he felt blood welling beneath its thin surface. His ear felt twisted and hot as his father dragged him along. When Hadrian let out a pained whimper, James Potter simply moved his grip from Hadrian's throbbing ear to a strangling one on the back of his neck.

He was then led through the swirling green that he knew was the Floo. He was deposited roughly into the angry arms of Lily Potter as the small band arrived back at Godric's Hollow. Hadrian watched with wide verdant eyes as the lavender-grey mass which represented his father went towards the Floo before Lily snatched him up with her manicured talons digging into the space above his bird-like collar bones; Hadrian's pale countenance flinched, faced with the unusual amount of rage suffusing the room and whipping the colours around him into a rapid froth.

"You stupid child!" Lily spewed at the frightened boy.

"Moth-"

"Shut up! I knew that you were stupid but you couldn't even handle yourself for an hour! An hour!"

The enraged red-head began to flush with fury. She began to punctuate her words with a tightening of the vice-like nails and harsh shakes to the quivering pale form of the child.

"I just knew we should have throttled you after you were born-"

A stronger hand attached to the mass of lavender grey and dull light blue snatched the ruined collar of Hadrian's robes and, stumbling, the boy was thrown into the Floo.

Emerald green eyes saw the mass of green expand and become thousands of different stands of bright luminescent green, a confusing blend of strings. These strings, Hadrian thought, were spider webs as he felt the many tendrils cling to him and try to throw him; his only hope, as tears sprung to his eyes from fear and tragedy, were that there were no spiders at the other end.

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Sirius hadn't even had enough time to rise from his place in front of the fireplace when the distraught seven-year old flew through the fireplace and into his arms. Sirius felt the thick tears coating the shoulder and neck of his thick black work robes. As the child's frail body shook with silent sobs Sirius turned pained grey eyes towards his werewolf. Remus slowly approached with weak steps over to the pair.

"Sirius?"

Said man simply shook his head and began trying to comfort the young boy in his arms. Remus eventually kneeled by his mate and godson. As his warm hand touched the knobby spine the boy dissolved into loud sobs and keens. Unholy noises of pain filled sitting room.

As distraught as the trio was, Hadrian barely noticed when the invisible creaks in his bones were warmed over and he no longer shivered from an invisible winter. Even as 'It's okay's and 'What happened? 's and 'We love you. 's reached his pale ears Hadrian was unaware as his lights darkened and he reached the bliss that are dreams.

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Sirius was silent as he tucked the exhausted Hadrian into the white downy covers of the guest room. His own pale pink lips twitched into a pinched frown as he took in the harsh, blue handprint that had been bruised into the young boy's cheek. He silently walked out and waited for the door to click shut before facing the waiting dirty blonde leaning on the navy-blue walls.

"We need to do something, Padfoot."

Sirius looked at Remus and nodded his head silently.

"Let's go down to the kitchen."

As they walked down the stairs Remus did not know whether to be relieved or concerned over the control Sirius was exhibiting over his temper.

"I have a plan, Remus."

"Don't strain yourself, love." A grey eyed glare was shot half-heartedly at him as Sirius continued,

"Well, as much as dear James would like to protest, he has Black blood from Great Aunt Doria."

"And now we know that Hadrian is Dark."

"Very, but that's not the point. James was adopted by Euphemia and Fleamont. Hadrian has no ambient magic or family magic to grow on. He's deprived of it by stupid decisions." Sirius snorted, "So then I was thinking, what if he did have that family connection. We could just replace Lily's blood and then he'd be a pureblood which would help his status-"

Remus interrupted with wide amber eyes,

"Sirius you can't honestly be saying-"

"—That we should adopt our cute godson, yes I am."

"We can't-"

"We can."

"You haven't even heard what I said!"

"I don't need to. I know all the arguments already. Hadrian can stay with James and Lily until it's a bit safer after we've talked James into it. Neither of them care about him, sad it is to say. Let's just ask Hadrian if he wants to be ours, yeah?"

The amber eyed man huffed in response,

"I guess we can do it your way just this once."

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Hadrian was aware but not yet awake. He felt the soft, downy covers against his own white skin, the warmth that suffused his bones, bones which no longer ached with ignored pain. He blew out a soft breath on the pillow as he heard the creak of the worn-out hinges of the door. Hadrian knew that he was no longer with Lily and James. They would not have tried to be polite.

Listening quietly, he giggled as he heard his godfather curse and the wooden bed frame give a weak thump.

"Lookie at what we have here, Moony. Someone awoke before noon!"

"Siri!"

"Hey little man, we have a question for you."

"Sirius has a question for you."

The black-haired man huffed and flopped onto the foot of the bed. The white sheets jumped into the air and the soft facial features of the young boy lit up in glee.

"What's your question?"

"I forgot." His godfather claimed with closed eyes and fingers tangled in the black of his own curls. Hadrian made an annoyed grunt and wandered over. The seven-year-old scowled and responded,

"No you didn't." Sirius kept his eyes closed; Remus, from his position reclined in the club chair, tried not to smirk or laugh. He knew this trick.

"Siri! Siri! Come on! What issss it?" The boy finally crawled out of his nest of sheets with a firm frown. Skeletal hands and knobby knees pushed away sheets as Hadrian crawled over to the prone body. He poked a clean-shaven cheek. Hadrian was grabbed with a rush of energy from Sirius and pinned to the bedspread. Furious tickling fingers attacked sensitive spaces beneath the bumps of rib and underneath too-lean arms. Giggles filled the room from both parties until breathless screeches of "No more!" filled the ears of the men in the room. Sirius relaxed as the ill boy calmed with only a slight giggle here and there.

Suddenly, bright emerald eyes pinned Sirius with a look, or at the very least a firm look at the swirling leaf green depths, with their spindles of red, and comets of amber, that represented the magic of his godfather,

"Siri what did you want to talk about?"

"Well…uh." The pureblood ran a firm palm on the back of his neck and then through his hair,

"How would you like to be our son, Hadrian." Spoke the werewolf.

Hadrian's Avada Kedavra eyes gleamed with unshed tears. Sirius felt his child-like heart drop in fear and pain. Black curls flew as a boy barreled into the firm chest of Sirius.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Okay! I'll even be good I promise!"

Sirius chuckled and wrapped Hadrian in his arms. Tucking him back into the downy cotton sheets the grey eyes lit in joy, little crinkles radiating from them.

"Now that we have that covered, just take a nap and soon we'll get everything down. Excited features turned somber but the wriggling betrayed Hadrian's joy at having a family. Remus huffed and pushed back the messy hair in a version of good night and the two men padded out the door, ready for the chapter in their lives.

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Sirius was sure that he looked positively silly as he stuck his head into the fireplace, a silly grin on his fair skinned face as he waited for his bother to answer his damn Floo. Finally, Sirius saw his brother, clad in only a grey dressing robe, kneel before the fireplace.

"Regulus! My favorite little brother!"

"What do you want Sirius?"

"Now, is that anyway to treat your darling older brother. Whom you would do anything for?" Sirius asked with a slanted grin.

REfulus sighed and put his head in his hands, mussed hair falling on his forehead,

"Fine. Whatever it is, just tell me so I can get back to my life."

"Always the Slytherin, eh, darling brother?"

A smooth baritone broke in,

"I thought that was rather a Gryffindor move, Black."

Sirius' smile became strained but white teeth still stayed bared in the frozen grin. A man with lanky black hair, clothed in nothing but a silken bathrobe, wandered into the fireplace and kneeled next to the younger Black brother. A dead stare from the gray-blue eyes of Regulus and the smug black rounds of Severus Snape indicated to Sirius that he interrupted something he would rather not think of his brother and his brother's now-husband participating in.

Sirius sighed and ploughed on, a true Gryffindor move in the face of great adversity.

"So I adopted a kid."

Severus only ducked his head, most likely to hide the smirk that curled thin, pale lips; Regulus only showed his surprise with a slight widening of his eyes. Both pale men quickly returned to the unquestionable unflappable expressions, common to them both. Regulus was the first to speak,

"So what is my nephew's name?"

"Hadrian Vega Potter."

Severus let out a mean cackle, relaxed in the presence of Black, hatred long removed with the presence of the younger sibling's permanent presence in his life.

"Kidnapping? How quaint."

Sirius scowled at the implication,

"It's not kidnapping if the poor kid was thrown at me."

"Tell me, does Remus know of your plot?"

"Remus was the one who suggested I call."

Severus scowled in response, his retort lost to the wind of reason. A subtle elbow from the lithe man whom shared his bed may have also been a probable cause. Not that Sirius had to know that that was the reason.

"What do you need, Black?"

"A blood adoption potion." Sirius said without infection or humour.

Severus was taken aback by the seriousness (ha-bloody-ha) of the man's face. A gravity not seen since the day Severus had to grudgingly ask Sirius for Regulus' hand.

"May I ask why you need an illegal potion?"

Sirius looked at the picture the lovers made and tilted his head in resignation,

"He's Dark."

"Well isn't that interesting?"

Regulus looked at his spouse with a haughty glare in rebuking glare. Severus sighed at his inability to refuse his lover anything.

"Fine. Let me dress myself. Open your Floo, while I'm at it Black. I swear to Merlin if I am spit back into my own fireplace covered in ash, I will hex you despite your brother's pleas."

Sirius just scowled and nodded as the two plodded away from the fireplace. He opened the Floo to visitors even if he gave Severus and Regulus a minimum of half an hour before they arrived.

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Sirius carried the vial that had been mixed with his blood as if it was a fallen star made of the thinnest glass, a delicate touch meant for the creators of masterpieces and universes. Remus followed behind, nervous bit serene. The next chapter of their lives was upon them. Sirius and Remus creaked upon the door and both wore soft smiles as they saw the small boy that had created a rather comically large nest out of the thick comforters and sheets.

They couple sat on the bed; Sirius reached a hand towards the lump he thought was head, s few silken black strands had been seen poking out of the edge of the sheet.

"Sweetheart, come on, wake up for your dear Padfoot."

A befuddled groan was the answer that the werewolf snickered too. Sirius was not to be dissuaded and so tried again,

"Hadrian if you don't wake up I'll eat all of the Boysenberry Linzer cookies."

"You did that this morning, Sirius." Remus said with a smirk.

"Shhh, Hadrian didn't need to know that, you dastardly werewolf."

A sleepy chuckle arose from the white nest of blankets. Sirius and Remus smiled in fondness as the pale face peeked out of its hiding place, unseeing emerald eyes tracking the air uselessly. Remus spoke up, voice a comforting timbre,

"We have a potion for you, Hadrian. You know that if you drink this, it will make Sirius like another father, right?"

The seven-year-old nodded his head sagely in response, a bobbing of the pale face reflected in the dimming skies on the window panes of the formerly dilapidated Black home. He laid back as Sirus leaned over, a curly curtain the proud face, and gently tipped the pearlescent magenta potion into Hadrian's mouth. The pale brow wrinkled in discomfort before the pale boy drifted off to sleep. Sirius and Remus took seats in the armchairs, lovingly keeping vigilant.

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Remus woke up hazily, amber eyes scanning the room, taking in the snoring face of his love on the opposite side of the room—slumped in an armchair, his godson a still form on the bed. He looked back at the other velvet armchair and watched his lover slowly coming into the world, gray eyes not seeing the brightness of the rays of sunshine shining through the windows or the location, he simply rubbed a hand over his face a smooth rasping sound of stubble reaching Remus' inhuman ears.

Remus approached the bed while Sirius was trying to contemplate wakefulness. Smiling, looking over his son, his son, Remus exchanged his smile for a smirk and announced loudly,

"Sirius I just think you made his hair worse."

Sirius stumbled over to the side of the bed and barked out a laugh in shock and amusement. What was once simply an unruly mess had become short fluffy, black curls. Sirius laughed harder as he realized—

"Oh Merlin! He has Bella's hair! You're going to have to teach his how to straighten it out, it will be a menace otherwise."

Sirius finally quite laughing and relaxed, laying upon the extra space at the end of the mattress and soon lazed back into sleep, Remus watching on. Eventually, the werewolf laid in the space next to Hadrian and drifted off, enjoying the air of love and contentment surrounding him.