Chapter Twelve

- May 1983 -

"You should've said something," Sirius argued again as they made their way through the muggle salvage yard.

Remus rolled his eyes. "It's not a big deal. It's just a job at a shop."

"It's a job!" Sirius exclaimed. He pointed at his best friend. "You're currently the only breadwinner at the flat. You're the breadwinner."

Remus raised an eyebrow at him. "You're rich. I don't think it counts." Sirius shrugged. "Are you going to get a job? Go back to the aurors, maybe?"

Sirius made a face. "You remember when James dropped out after training?" He picked up an old muffler. He was scavenging for motorcycle parts to fix up his bike. Or make a new one, despite how annoyed Hermione would be if he did.

"He said he needed to do something less risky. Fighting in the Order was one thing, but he had to look out for Lily… now that she was pregnant." Remus' eyes widened. He punched Sirius in the arm.

"Ow! What's that for?"

"Did you get Hermione pregnant?"

"What? No!" Remus didn't look convinced. "We're not even sleeping together." Remus looked less convinced at that pronouncement. Sirius glared at him. "Where did you think we'd be shagging? You and I are snuggling on an enlarged couch and Hermione's cuddling with my godson every night. When would we even find the time?" He sighed and Remus was finally pacified. "I meant, Harry and Hermione. I don't want to do something dangerous."

"But you are thinking about getting a job?"

Sirius shrugged again. "I guess. Can't really think of anything, though." He scratched at the scruff along his cheek. He kicked a hunk of metal out of their path. "Maybe Minnie will have a few ideas."

"Speaking of, we should head out soon if we don't want to be late."

Sirius looked up at the sky. The sun was already starting to set. "Yeah, alright." They turned the corner of the salvage yard. Sirius came to a sudden stop. His eyes widened. "Bleeding hell, is that?" He rushed forward. "It is!" It was an old, beat up, classic MG Magnette ZA from 1955. "Oh, she's beautiful."

Remus snorted. "She's a bit roughed up." It was an understatement. It was missing two doors and the trunk.

"She just needs some TLC." He opened up the hood. It was missing an engine. "Alright, a lot of TLC."

Remus crossed his arms. "An understatement." He looked over the slightly boxy car. "I didn't realize this was your style."

Sirius grinned and winked. "It's a sports car for the family man. You think Hermione would approve?" He wasn't even embarrassed to ask. If she didn't approve, she wouldn't let Harry in it. If they were going to live in muggle London, Sirius wanted something to drive Harry around in. He didn't like to rely on public transit, especially not of the wizarding kind.

Remus shrugged. "Maybe if you don't show her what it looks like now."

Sirius nodded once in agreement. "I'll let Frankie know I'm taking it. He'll take it to the shop for me to work on. Come on, we've got to head out." He clapped Remus on the back and the two headed back to the main building of the salvage yard. After Sirius paid for the car and the space to fix it up, the two left.

Remus apparated them to Hogsmeade. The streets were busy with students out for their Hogsmeade trip. They skirted around the masses and made their way into the Three Broomsticks. It was packed with people. Sirius waved to Madame Rosmerta.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," she greeted with a sly smile. She leaned forward over the bar and gave him a generous view of her cleavage.

Sirius shook his head in appreciation. "Merlin, Rose. You look beautiful as ever."

Rosmerta winked. "Keep it in your trousers, Black. You're a married man now."

"You're right. Remus on the other hand, you've met Remus." He gestured over his shoulder to the taller wizard.

The werewolf rolled his eyes. He grabbed Sirius by the neck of his leather jacket and forced him away from the bar. "Alright, come on."

"What? I'm just trying to help."

"You're a menace," Remus growled. His anger didn't lessen the blush from his cheeks.

Sirius laughed and allowed himself to be pushed further into the pub.

Minerva saw them first. She raised an eyebrow at the familiar style of manhandling and turned her scolding stare on Remus. "Do I even want to ask?"

Remus shook his head. "It's not even worth it."

"Padfoot!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. Sirius grinned brightly and slid into the booth with Harry and Hermione. His godson gave him a hug. "Let's play!"

Sirius laughed and ruffled Harry's messy hair. "In a bit, we're having dinner with Minnie first." Harry pouted. "Be nice, she's going to be your Head of House one day."

Minnie pursed her lips to hide a smile. "You don't know that." She shifted in her seat so that Remus could join her.

Sirius and Remus both looked to Hermione who smiled awkwardly. "Things could change," she responded weakly. She glanced at her old Head of House, still awkward despite Sirius' assurance that she was in on the secret.

"They won't," Sirius and Remus chorused. "He's a Gryffindor," Sirius continued in a self assured voice. "Isn't that right, Har? You want to go join the Gryffindors, don't you?"

Harry looked up at him with his big green eyes. "With 'Mione?"

Remus and Hermione laughed. "Yes, sweetie." She pressed a kiss to his head. "I'll be there too." A weird feeling crept over her. Will she be there? Would another version of herself still go to Hogwarts? Things hadn't changed enough to stop that, had they?

Before Hermione could descend into a frenzy of paranoia and fear, Remus asked,"Have you three been waiting long?"

"Not at all," Minerva answered. "We just grabbed a table before you two showed up." She slid a butterbeer across the table for each of them. "How are things with you, Remus? It's been too long."

"Not bad… I - uh… I got a job."

Hermione's eyes widened. "What? I didn't know that!"

"Congratulations," Minerva put in and Hermione echoed the professor's statement.

"Where is it?" Hermione questioned. She pushed the toy Prongs away that Harry tried to shove in her face. "Harry," she scolded lightly. They were working on getting him to understand that it was rude to interrupt Hermione in conversations. She was the only person he did it with. Harry pouted and cuddled his toy.

"Just a small shop in Diagon Alley," Remus was explaining as he shrugged. "They sell potions ingredients."

She raised her eyebrows. "And you'll be okay with that?" On a regular day, Remus' increased sense of smell usually put him off of going to the readymade foods section of the grocer. The closer he got to the full moon, the stronger his senses became. He'd once confessed to her - in her original timeline - that he'd nearly failed potions because of his affliction.

Remus shrugged. "I'll handle it fine."

"Do they know?" Sirius asked.

The werewolf shook his head. "I took the day of and the day after off this week. I'll do the same next month."

Sirius and Hermione exchanged a look, but said nothing. Sirius took a sip of his butterbeer to stop himself from making a comment. He knew from experience that it wouldn't last. Remus would quickly become overworked and stressed out. It was the same thing that always happened. What Remus needed was a job that knew about his lycanthropy and cared to give him leeway. Unfortunately, a job like that would be nearly impossible to find in the wizarding world.

"That sounds lovely, dear," Minerva stated when the couple across from her clearly had nothing positive to say. "I'm very happy for you." Remus smiled at her praise. Their professor turned her gaze on Sirius. "And you seem to be doing better… considering."

Sirius winced and nodded. "Yeah, things have been weird."

"Have you talked to your mother?" Sirius' snort said it all. Minerva's lips pressed into a tight line.

Hermione shot Minerva an understanding look. She was also of the opinion that Sirius should talk to his mother. Walburga had been in custody for over a month now. The lawyers still needed to know if Sirius would even be speaking at her trial. Remus was on the fence about it, deciding to stay silent on the matter. Hermione wished she could say she was surprised, but it was pretty standard for him.

"Anyways," Sirius drawled as he changed the topic, "we bought a house."

"Really?" Minerva went along with the change in topic smoothly.

Rosmerta stopped by their table, a mug filled with crayons in her hand. "Here you go, darling." She set it on the table with a couple of parchments of paper.

"Thank you, Rosmerta," Hermione said with a smile.

Rose smiled at Harry and winked. "Anything for our handsomest patron."

Sirius' brows drew together as the bar owner left. "I'm almost offended." Remus snorted in amusement.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she pulled the sheets of parchment towards her. She dumped out the crayons and set Harry up with his activity while Sirius explained to Minerva about the house they'd bought.

"It's big. Beautiful. Modern. Muggle, but real close to the Leaky." He took a sip of his butterbeer. "And we'll have a car to go with it."

"Harry is not getting on the motorcycle."

Sirius leaned closer to her over Harry's head. "I bought a car."

Hermione's head shot up. "Since when?"

"'bout ten minutes ago." She raised an eyebrow. "It's a classic 1955, two door with four wheels. There's nothing to worry about. I just need to fix her up a bit."

Hermione narrowed her eyes on him. "I'll believe it when I see it."

He leaned closer, a devious little twinkle in his eye that she knew all too well. "You'll love it, buttercup." Hermione wrinkled her nose and made a sound of disgust that was echoed by Professor McGonagall.

"What is that?" the professor demanded, aghast.

Sirius smiled broadly. "I'm trying to find a good pet name."

Minerva snorted and took a sip of her firewhiskey. "Keep looking," she commented in an undertone, her Scottish brogue coming through. Hermione laughed.

"He hasn't stopped since we went house hunting," she confided in the older witch, looking for sympathy. "At least you missed 'sugar plum' and 'dollface.'"

Sirius raised his finger. "I stand by 'dollface.'" He winked at her and Hermione rolled her eyes, even though she was smiling. "And it's your own fault that this has continued. I was fine with 'baby.'"

Hermione sighed. She tipped her head towards the older witch. "I may have made a comment about how Sirius… before… had a nickname for me."

McGonagall shook her head as she sipped her firewhiskey. "You threw yourself into that hole, lass."

"Just tell me what it was," Sirius pleaded.

"No."

"A hint."

Hermione pursed her lips and helped Harry as he crawled closer to her. She plopped him in her lap and let him continue colouring. Hermione turned to Sirius and narrowed her eyes as she thought. "You'll have to wait until October."

"October?" His eyes widened. "October? So, it's something you can dress up as. A witch? Did I call you 'little witch?'"

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "When I was thirteen."

Sirius nodded and looked away. "Never calling you that again," he decided. The others laughed. The night progressed well. Dinner was served and the banter around the table flowed easily.

Remus took Harry to the loo while Sirius went up to the bar to pay their tab. Hermione turned to her old professor with an eager smile in place. "I have a favour to ask of you."

Minerva raised her eyebrows in interest. "Oh?"

She licked her lips nervously. "I was wondering if you had any pictures of James and Lily? I wanted to collect as many as I could to create an album." She'd gotten the idea from Hagrid and the album he'd given Harry his first year of school. "I could show it to Harry like a storybook every night."

Minerva smiled. "That's a wonderful idea. I know I have a few. I'll ask around for you for some others."

"Thank you so much." Her eyes teared up and she blinked quickly to keep them at bay. "This has been wonderful. I'm really glad we finally got to do it."

Minerva reached across the table and took her hands. "I'd like to make it more frequent. We should set a regular Hogsmeade date."

Hermione nodded eagerly. "I'd really like that. Thank you, professor." She quickly wiped away the happy tear that fell.

"'Mione! 'Mione!" Harry cried out happily, breaking up their moment. He crawled up onto the booth and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Ice cream now?"

Hermione laughed. "Sure, sweetheart. Let's grab some in the Leaky on our way home." Harry cheered.

\/

Harry raced across the grass with Prongs in his hand. He jumped around and made noises as he flew the deer through the air. He ran quickly and for a moment he was so fast he felt his feet float off the ground. He stumbled and fell.

He landed on his hands and knees. Harry shook his head and jumped back to his feet. He brushed off his hands and picked Prongs back up. He turned when he heard 'Mione's voice and waved his hand high in the air. She was probably telling him to be careful. She was always doing that. He liked it.

Harry turned back around and his attention was caught by a young blonde woman wiping ice cream from a boy's face. He looked about Harry's age and had bright blonde curly hair. He watched as the boy thanked the woman and called her "mummy."

Harry hugged his toy Prongs to his chest. He wanted a mummy. She was gone, he knew. Uncle Vernon used to say his mummy and daddy hadn't wanted him and neither did they. Harry pouted just thinking about it. It'd been a long time since he'd thought about his aunt and uncle.

The boy held out a bouquet of hand picked flowers and said, "For you mummy."

"Thank you, sweetie."

'Mione called him "sweetie" too. She also wiped his face and kissed his ouchies. She gave the best hugs and she always had time to cuddle with him. Most importantly, Hermione wanted him. She took him away from his aunt and uncle. She'd promised to always be with him. Harry decided then that 'Mione would be the perfect mummy. He wanted her to be his mummy.

Hermione had assured him that his mummy and daddy loved him very much. They would be with him if they could. But they weren't there. Hermione was there. Hermione was going to be his mummy, he decided firmly.

He turned around and searched for some wild flowers. He saw a patch of bright yellow buttercups and raced over to them. He picked a handful of them before heading back towards the others.

Harry went up to 'Mione on the picnic blanket between Moony and Padfoot. He held out the flowers. "For mummy."

Hermione's eyes widened. Everyone tensed, though Harry didn't notice. He smiled sweetly at his new mummy. "... th - thank you, sweetie." Harry's smile widened. He wrapped his arms around her neck and snuggled into her chest. Hermione turned wide, frantic eyes on her husband. Sirius shot a look to Remus who quickly separated Harry and Hermione.

"Let's go for a walk near the water, alright, Harry?" He took the boy by the hand and led him away.

Hermione was up like a shot. She raced away from their picnic blanket and down a path lined with trees. Sirius jumped up and raced after her. "Hermione!" She kept running. They turned the bend, well out of Harry and Remus' line of sight before she finally stopped.

Hermione pressed her hands against the rough bark of a tree trunk as she gasped for breath. Her eyes flooded with tears as the sobs escaped her. Sirius stopped a few feet away. His shoulders dropped as he sighed. He let her cry it out for a moment before he felt it was time to intervene.

Sirius gently touched her back. Hermione gasped in a breath and stilled. She didn't turn away from the tree. Sirius took hold of her arm and gently turned her around. Hermione buried her face into his chest.

"Sh… it's okay," Sirius soothed. "Lily wouldn't be upset." He was actually fairly certain that Lily would have thrown a tantrum of epic proportions if her son called anyone else 'mummy,' but didn't think Hermione needed to hear that.

She shook her head. "I - I don't care," she sobbed. "I - It's not fair." Hermione looked up at him, her eyes almost golden from the effect of her tears. He tightened his arms around her on reflex. She sobbed against him. "I'm seventeen," she cried. "I - I didn't even get to finish Hogwarts." Sirius fought not to stiffen at that revelation. He hadn't known that. "I'm too young to be a mum. I never wanted to be a… I can't…" She shook her head as her words grew lost amongst her cries.

Sirius pressed a comforting kiss to the top of her head. His hand ran up and down her back, soothing her much the same way Hermione often did for Harry. "It's okay. It's going to be okay," he whispered.

Hermione pulled back and looked up at him. Her face was splotchy and her eyes puffy. "What do we say to him?"

Sirius shrugged, lost for an easy way out. "What can we say? Could you tell him no about something like this?"

She didn't respond. Her silence said more than any words could.

Well, this is a short chapter. It's been a while since I updated and honestly, it's been a while since I worked on this story. Hopefully, that changes soon. I still have some chapters done, lots planned to happen in the future, and there are some things I'm super stoked about getting to so... I haven't given up on it, is what I'm trying to say.

Thanks for reading!

xx