Tears of the Ages

The girls Sirius had taken on his bike, which no doubt had been countless, had become either petrified of the ingenious magical object or just plain sick. The first ride was always the hardest to cope with. This was due mainly to his boyish spirit which gave him the impression that his date would enjoy a risky ride where most men would never dare to do a three-sixty in midair while carrying a passenger who had not been forewarned of the act.

But Sirius wasn't most men and Aurelia wasn't one of those girls. The moment she stepped off the enchanted motorcycle, she lifted off her helmet and yelled, "Let's go again!" Sirius, being the energetic bloke that he was, kindly obliged. The second time they got off the bike, they took off each other's' helmets and jackets and went at it. Sirius' bike became a symbol and each time they 'went for a ride', everyone knew that both ways of interpreting the statement were true.

After one particularly artistic motorcycle trip, Sirius was too tired to give Lia anything other than a soft kiss. At this, she was both stricken and deprived, but decided to put her boyfriend's needs before her own.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly from the fireplace as she began to stack the rack inside with wood.

"Huh? Oh--nothing," he said, his mind elsewhere.

When she had finished placing the wood in the fireplace, she pointed her wand at the nearest piece and it ignited. "Please don't hand me rejection, Sirius, I could really use some sharing time." She walked over to the couch he was sitting on and plopped down beside him, resting her head against the back and sighing loudly. "My head hurts."

Sirius ran his fingers through her hair and gently massaged her temples. Aurelia moaned as she relaxed her tensed muscles and fell softly to one side. Then she sat up and grabbed the offending hands.

"Stop it," she said sternly. "I'm supposed to be caring for you and you're not telling me what's wrong."

"Nothing. Honestly." Aurelia shot an unsatisfied look his way. "It's just--this is hard for me to tell you, but I thought I might not have to at all..." Sirius looked at her and their eyes locked. "James and Lily need to go into hiding."

"What?" asked Lia, shocked and confused. "What do you mean?"

"A prophecy was made about how if a certain couple's baby was born in the month of July than You-Know-Who would 'mark him his equal'. It said 'The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have defied him thrice, born as the seventh month dies. He will have power the Dark Lord doesn't know...neither can live while the other survives.' Or something similar. Dumbledore says it could only be talking about two families. Frank and Alice Longbottom or..."

Aurelia closed her eyes in thought. Opening them, she played with a strand of Sirius' hair. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I thought you had enough on your mind," he said, running his fingers across her cheek. "And besides, it's probably already stuffed up here"--he braced his hand on the back of her head softly--"already." He kissed her forehead and they leaned against each other for a moment, thinking distantly.

Aurelia glanced at the clock on the wall above the fireplace mantel. "'As the seventh month dies'," she whispered. She felt Sirius' head turn towards her. "Ten o'clock. It's the 31^st, isn't it?" She received a slow nod in response. "Then we have nothing to worry about. What are the chances of Lily having her baby within the next two hours?"

"Slim," replied Sirius slowly, his expression lightening a little. "Yeah. We shouldn't really be troubling over this, anyway. What are the odds?"

"Ten to one, at best," answered Aurelia in a knowledgeable tone.

"It's barely a threat."

"Nothing worth worrying over."

"We won't think about it."

"Think about what?"

"Wanna shag?"

"Yes," she sighed.

They left a trail of clothes, shedding them off as they made their way towards Sirius' bedroom. Aurelia was shoved onto the mattress after all the sheets had been stripped of their normal hold to the bed and Sirius was on top of her within seconds, kissing her neck and caressing her sides. Lia was weak, feeling the need to hold on to something before she let herself melt into the mattress. Her back arched, moving into him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned her head back. He was her support. He kept her from falling, from sinking.

The moments stretched out endlessly until they finally released their tight hold on each other. Sirius lay back on the bed, his body still rubbing up against hers. One hand braced her head while he nibbled her ear and breathed softly into its shell and the other slid gently across her navel, making the lower portion of her body tingle. They released each other and their looks were enough to answer the unspoken question.

But as soon as Sirius shifted on the mattress, a loud hoot sounded from the window and they both turned to see an owl. Sirius rolled out of bed, hauled on the pair of boxers that had been lying on the floor and went to the window to collect his letter. As he sat down on the edge of the bed to unseal the letter, Aurelia crawled across the mattress and began to slip off the only remaining article of clothing Sirius had on. She jumped a little when he stood up and yelled, "Damn it all! She's gone off and ruined everything!"

"What?" Aurelia asked, startled by his tone.

"Lily's having the baby!"

"You're joking, right?"

"No," he said dismally. "We have to go. James is in a right state."

Lia offered a nervous laugh. "James is in a right state? What about Lily?"

They dressed themselves silently, following the clothes trail they had left, and both ended up back in the living room where they collected their jackets and headed out the door again.

- - - - -

"What do you mean Severus is the source?"

Casually glancing over the woman sitting across from her, Bellatrix Lestrange wondered if she would end up like this if anything ever happened to her husband. Silvia's usually vibrant navy hair had faded to take on more of its natural ebony. Her face was sunken, whether from depression or from a lack of daily nutrients. Her grey eyes had lost their spark for life and now just seemed cold. Her whole body was thinning, making it apparent she had skipped a good number of meals. It had been four months since Evan Rosier had been murdered and since then Silvia had been dying in little pieces until she was a resemblance of their leader. She was, in effect, emotionless and inhuman.

"I mean exactly what I said," Bella replied, scowling lightly at her friend. She had to be careful to toy with her emotions, even if she was no longer careful of anyone else's. "Severus is the source."

"Why is that miserable toerag in charge of something this important?" Silvia asked, vehement at the idea that the greasy-haired miscreant was going to be part of her revenge. In all honestly, it wasn't really about her revenge; it was about Voldemort's plans, and they involved the Order being infiltrated, which was where Severus came in.

Bellatrix laughed, shaking out portions of her long black hair from the robes she wore. "Via, that's exactly why it has to be Severus. He's just the miserable toerag we needed to convince them. I mean, think of it: who else would be horrid enough to consider switching sides? They'd have to be a pathetic, spineless git to do it. Severus fits the bill through and through without even trying."

"Not to mention," Silvia supplied, "the fact the Snape heard the prophecy."

"Stupid arse." Bella was still sour over the fact that for a while that move had made Severus a bit of a favorite with Voldemort. It hadn't lasted long of course, but it was enough for jealousy to seep through the cracks of duty that molded the Death Eaters--especially since it was only a coincidence that he had heard anything at all.

"A little bitter are we, love?" A small smile crossed Silvia's face, though it held no real mirth.

She pushed herself off the couch and sashayed towards her friend. Lazily, she ran a hand across Bellatrix's shoulders with her smile corrupted into a smirk. "I can always kill him for you," she whispered.

"Like that would solve anything," she replied, pouting. "Then I would have to explain why you killed Severus over a little grudge."

"Aw, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't take the blame? It's not like anything worse can happen to me." Silvia said it all with a grin, but it seriously lacked any show of cheerfulness.

Instantly, Bellatrix seemed sober. "Silvia. We need to talk."

Her grey eyes rolled. She walked around the couch in order to sit next to her friend, letting her body slump against the green material. "Must we go into this again?"

"Yes, we bloody well must! Silvia, it's only been four months and you spent a total of a week to overcome everything. It isn't healthy. It isn't natural."

Silvia let out a frustrated sigh. "Bella, nothing about my life has been natural. Just drop it. I'm fine. A little peckish, but fine."

"Oh, for the love of Crucio! You aren't peckish, you are positively peaky! I can't believe you don't see what's happening to you. Honestly, will you just admit to yourself that Evan's death is affecting you?" Bellatrix practically shouted at her and at close range that was something to behold indeed.

"You know, I expected lots of this from Cissa, but not from you. I guess I underestimated you a little. Why don't you just take a page out of everyone else's book, and leave me alone," Silvia growled, her eyes glinting.

"Everyone is leaving you alone because they're too afraid you'll break and kill them!" Now she was shouting. Perhaps it was better that no one else was present to hear them.

"That's ridiculous." She pushed her ebony and navy locks away from her neck to allow a small breeze to cool her heated skin. "I'm perfectly fine. I'm getting my payment through the valuable work that Severus is doing. When I start to kill people, you'll know."

"Lashing out at the Order, though admirable, is not the right way to grieve." Bella's hands slowly went to rest on her shoulders. "Have you even cried at all?"

Silvia stood up abruptly, letting her friend's hands fall onto the couch. "How dare you even say that! Of course I've cried! I couldn't get out of bed for a week! I lost the man I loved because of the Order, so I would say that my pursuit of them is justifiable. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm finding present company somewhat upsetting."

She left in a swirl of navy hair and black robes, leaving behind one of her closest friends with a heavy heart. Bella could not tell Silvia that most of the Death Eaters had noticed the change in her, even Voldemort, though he relished it for the cause. Worse, most were not aware of exactly how much the loss of Evan had affected Silvia. To them, he was just another one of her flings, the longest one she had ever withheld.

- - - - -

Sirius and Aurelia finally made it through the red-brick wall of Purge and Dowse, Ltd. a whole fifteen minutes after they received the letter from James. They could only apparate to a certain corner of the city where they were positive no one would notice the loud popping sounds made. They ran the rest of the way, not caring what the Muggles thought as they passed by. Ignoring the welcome witch in the reception area, they rushed to the fifth floor to find James, Remus and Peter waiting anxiously in the tearoom. Lia whacked her boyfriend in the arm for making them later than Peter, at which the offended just squinted.

"So what have we missed?" Sirius asked, giving James a hard thump on the back as they hugged.

"Nothing important. Lily screaming, Healers ushering me out of the room."

"Apparently he was being too disruptive," Remus explained, adding sarcasm to his voice as he said, "Can you imagine?"

Lia spotted Peter trying to signal Sirius about...his head? James must have spotted it as well, but instead of taking a minute to interpret exactly what the signal represented, he nudged Sirius and cleared his throat.

"Your hair, Padfoot..."

Sirius' hand instinctively went to the top of his head. "What about it?"

A glance at Lia and a grin produced, "You two go for another ride?"

Aurelia immediately blushed crimson, but Sirius ignored the comment and continued his attempt to pat down the mess on his scalp.

"Look. It's just the way you like it, Prongs."

"Both of you girls in the sack, just one of you is having a baby--"

"And one of you is going to make one."

She glared at Remus and Peter, but the blush won out and she was mortified all the more. She quickly asked where Lily's room was and even with James' protests, she decided to search it out. She told him she would not be a pest to the Healers like some people couldn't help being and went off down the hallway. Stopping a young witch wearing lime green robes, Aurelia asked where she might find Lily Potter's room.

"Family, miss?" she asked sternly.

"Sister," Lia replied, smiling in an innocent way.

She was led to a door a ways down the hall and thanked the woman. The door was closed, and for good reason. In addition to the occasional scream, Lily was producing a variety of other noises that may have led a passerby to believe she had recently heard the song of a Fwooper. Lia opened the door as little as possible but enough so that she could slip through without knocking anything over.

"It's Petunia, love!" said Aurelia, reaching the side of her friend's bed once she realized there was only one Healer in the room.

Lily's eyes popped open, only to sink as she realized who it really was. "Petunia..." she played along. "So glad you could--ahh!" She closed her eyes hard and her teeth grit. Lia grabbed her hand and let her squeeze it tightly instead of grasping the thick metal bars on the bed. Not being able to bend them properly probably only made her angry. At least a hand was good and breakable.

It was an hour into her intense contractions that the Healers started pouring into the room and Lia was pushed from one side of the room to the other. She really wasn't capable of doing anything but pitying her poor pregnant friend. The screaming started to become consistent and after one last hand squeeze Aurelia was ushered out by the same witch who had showed her to the room. She was insulted, because not once had she gotten in the way of those sodding Healers.

"This part is for husbands only, miss."

She scoffed. "Like James will want--"

"Pardon me, madam," said James smoothly as he walked past her and opened the door in a cocky manner.

"Git," she muttered.

It was close to seven minutes after Aurelia had rejoined Sirius, Remus and Peter in the tearoom that James re-appeared as well. They all exchanged coin as he slouched down in a chair opposite Remus.

"I don't get it. I just picked up the metal thing; it wasn't like I dropped it!"

They waited and waited...and waited. Every time someone walked by their seats they glanced up, and then straight back down again. They tried to think of ways to entertain themselves. There were silly newspapers with puzzles in them, but every one took them only thirty-seconds to complete. After the ninth puzzle, they realized they were looking through a children's book. They played word games and conjured a few random objects, which both Sirius and James had been scolded for by a stern-looking old bat. Aurelia had to hand over a few coin to Peter after that scene unfolded.

Finally, a calm but had-been flustered-looking Healer came out from the hallway and they all stood up. She rushed towards them and asked for the father, but when James took a step forward, her eyes bugged and she asked for the sister. Aurelia grinned at James' bewildered expression.

"Pardon me, monsieur," Lia said smugly, brushing past him and following the nurse's quick steps. She heard Sirius say, "It's almost like we're related, Jamsie," as she was led away from the waiting room.

Aurelia stepped into a different, cleaner room with a Healer overseeing a few trainees who were hovered over a small, kicking baby. Pulling her gaze to the right she saw Lily, passed out on her bed. She looked awful; her hair was all tangled into knots, there were dark circles under her eyes and beads of sweat were still dripped down her face. She almost looked--

"She's just resting, the poor dear," said the Healer behind her. "That baby put up a real fight coming out. He's a lively one."

"Just like his daddy," Aurelia said, admiring the little baby from afar. It had finally caught up with her, the realization that her best friend had just given birth to a miniature person. Her best friend and her husband were parents. Her best friend had just been pregnant for nine months and she really hadn't thought of it that way. She hadn't taken the time to step back and look at Lily as a pregnant woman. It was just...Lily with a pillow under her shirt, or Lily who had gained a couple pounds. It was astounding to her that there was actually a little person inside her best friend this entire nine months, breathing, kicking, living.

"The Healers will be finished in just a moment. Then you'll be able to see him."

Aurelia drifted to Lily's bedside and placed a hand on her forehead, wiping away some of the tangled mop of red hair. She conjured a towel since she didn't want to disturb any of the Healers. Dipping it in a glass of water on the bedside table, she dabbed it on Lily's forehead and cheeks to cool her off. She continued to comb out her friend's hair with her fingers until the baby was brought over to her.

Without asking permission, the Healer used a Scouring Charm on the visitor before placing Harry James Potter in her arms. Aurelia's eyes filled with tears as she rocked the sleeping baby back and forth. She hummed him an Irish lullaby that her mother had sung to her when she was a little girl. She held her arms into her chest so Harry's face brushed softly against her own. She had several minutes with him all to herself and when everyone else was allowed in, she felt greedy of the infant. James rushed to Lily's side, but by this time both Lia and some kindly Healer trainees had cleaned her up, so she didn't even look a quarter of what she had looked like before. He kissed her cheek and held her limp hand. As Aurelia was showing the three other men their sort-of nephew, James bounded over to her and held out his hands.

"If you drop him," she whispered over Harry's head, "I will hex you to Timbuktu."

James put on an indignant expression, than held his arms out the way he was supposed to. Lia lifted him up and placed the baby into his father's arms. Smiling brightly, he gently rocked him.

"He left Lily exhausted," Lia said quietly, switching her attention to the sleeping woman in the hospital bed.

"Like father, like son, eh, James?" Sirius whispered, nudging his friend softly in the shoulder.

It didn't seem like James had heard the comment. He was too busy studying the little human being he had helped create. It was hard to tell the features he possessed, because he was only a smooth-skinned little baby, but his hair was almost as dark as James'. Being as most newborns have very light hair, if any at all, it was uncanny. He could tell the boy was his. Not that he had questioned it before, but this confirmed it. James was a father and the fact of it was beginning to sink in for all of them.

Aurelia smiled and tears began to form in the sides of her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Sirius' chest and he placed his hands on the small of her back comfortingly.

"My little Jamsie is all grown up," she said, peeking out of Sirius' t-shirt.

Sirius grinned at James' expression and apparently so did Remus and Peter, for his glare was transferred to each in turn, but surprisingly it never finished its course to Aurelia. Instead, she received a smile.

"Yeah," he said, looking down at his son. "I suppose I am."

- - - - -

"Ah! He's waking up!" Peter said excitedly as he gazed into the cradle.

Lily had been awake for a few hours but baby Harry was not anxious to see the world for the first time. They had been keeping watch over him in case he decided to do just that. Peter was quickly pushed aside by Sirius, who was pushed aside by James. Remus and Lia stood back to catch the amusing spectacle.

"You all are bloody brilliant. He should see his mother first!"

Lily stared at Aurelia and, after the several moments it took her to register the two sentences, smiled.

"Thank you, Lia."

James brought Harry towards the hospital bed and leaned him against his mother's arm. Aurelia could see the brightness in their faces as Harry opened his eyes to find his parents staring down at him. A small smile formed on his face and then his arm came out of his blanket. It swung wildly for a minute, almost knocking James in the head a few times. When the arm settled down, another smile came across his face and a few bubbles began gurgling on the side of his mouth.

Lily eyed James with a smile and then looked back down at her little boy, saying, "You are definitely your father's son."

- - - - -

If she was told weeks before she would be doing this, she would have called the man an absolute wanker. This action was simply not something that she would do. She had actually laughed on numerous occasions when she observed someone else partaking in the exact same activity.

Silvia Colton was stalking someone.

Of course if one were to ask her, it was just keeping tabs or researching their tendencies and behavior. Somewhere she knew she shouldn't even be trying, but she was past caring. Her world only consisted of a few choice people now and it still left her feeling empty inside.

At one point, she had considered tracing all the grease-lined steps that Severus made, only she correctly assumed she would be far less determined in that action than another. So instead she switched to watching her cousin and by association, the Order of the Phoenix.

She could honestly say they had little to no excitement in their life. From what she could tell it was just drab meetings and boring talks with some mindless chit-chat thrown in. She reclined against the wall in tattered and worn robes, at least in appearance, with a wide brimmed hat secured over her hair, successfully hiding her facial features. She couldn't quite remember when, but she had dyed it back to a neutral black color.

Body posture gave the illusion of a sleeping figure, and the occasional snores she produced helped that theory along. The best part was that it allowed her query to be lulled into a sense of security when she was simply listening in just feet away.

"C'mon, we don't want to be late. James is trying to get Harry to talk and it should be hilarious."

Although she could not see him, she easily recognized his masculine voice. It was that stupid prat her cousin always seemed to cling to, despite efforts made to separate the two.

Aurelia's voice was hesitant and falsely cheery. "All right, we'd best be going then. No more of this dawdling."

Apparently Black had sensed the hesitation. "Lia, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing...really."

"You wouldn't sulk over nothing."

"I'm not sulking." She was probably pouting at this point in time. Her cousin seemed to get defensive when she believed herself to be acting perfectly fine. Sometimes though, that girl simply wore her heart on her sleeve.

She imagined he rolled his eyes. "Fine, brooding. Now what is it?" His voice was laced with exasperation, merely wanting to return to their plans than waste time in this manner.

"It's just...well this is going to sound silly, but I haven't heard from Via in weeks." Her voice was soft, like she was ashamed of the fact, or she knew the man's dislike of the subject.

"Maybe she just doesn't want to talk to you."

"I'm serious, love! She's never neglected to return my owls. What if something happened to her?" Was that a quaver? Maybe Aurelia cared more for her than Silvia cared to realize, however unlikely that seemed to be.

Black sighed bleakly as if they had had the present conversation before. "Then there would be one less of them in the world. Maybe she's happily with Rosier now."

"Don't say that, Sirius. Be respectful of the dead."

"Dead is dead. Nothing is going to change that. I don't expect they mourn those they've killed. So why should we?" His voice was stern, something that rarely, if ever, happened when talking to the woman before him.

"You know what? Perhaps you'd best go on ahead without me; I need to think some things over." Her voice held notes that were cold and hard.

"Fine. I'll meet you at James'."

Angry footsteps left the back road quiet in its inactivity. Chancing a glance, Silvia saw her cousin facing the opposing walls with her fists clenched. She smiled grimly as she stood up, throwing the hat to the ground before simply walking off without so much as a sound. Her robes changed back to their fine quality and her raven hair fell down her back.

Aurelia turned around to find a hat where she could have sworn a person had been. She stared at it an entire minute before following in the same direction that Sirius had gone.

- - - - -

Feelings of bitterness melted into her as she opened the door to the barking laughter of Sirius with a newborn wrapped in his arms. Her mouth curved into a delighted smile as she slid onto the arm of the chair in which he sat. Without her knowledge, her hand slid up his back and came to rest upon the opposite side of his neck. Her fingers playfully twisted a lock of his hair while she watched Harry's arms swing wildly to and fro. She did not realize Sirius was looking at her, studying her, until James waltzed into the room.

"Dada!" he said encouragingly in a childish voice as he stepped closer. "Say 'Dada!'"

"All right, but only because you're so damn cute," Aurelia teased, giving James a peck on the cheek while he scowled softly. "How's Lily?"

"Better than expected. She begged me to let her help with dinner, but I wouldn't let her near the knives while she's got all those raging hormones."

"Good idea, Prongs, taking those precautions," Sirius praised, letting Harry snatch one of his fingers to suck on. "You're beginning to sound like a daddy already."

"Please tell me you washed your hands!"

"Should I tell Lily or should you?" Sirius whispered, gazing up at Aurelia and smirking. James flicked a finger at his friend's forehead. "'Course I did!" Sirius yelped.

James picked Harry out of his best friend's arms and went up the stairs, telling them to have a seat in the dinning room over his shoulder. Sirius slid a hand around Lia's waist slowly and then pulled her down into the chair so that she was spread across his lap. She smiled after the initial shock of being controlled as she was. Realizing in less than a moment that the tickling sensation she had been distracted by had been his doing as well, the shock wore off. Smiling, her hands wrapped around his neck and she leaned in. She waited until Sirius closed his eyes before she placed her fingers around her wand.

She felt electricity run through her body as Sirius suddenly released her. Lia looked down at his shaken expression and smirked at the defensive charm's effectiveness.

"Only on my time, dear heart," she said, running a fingernail along his jaw line. It was clear he wanted to try to take her again, but he saw the hand concealed in her jacket and knew what it was holding on to.

"Are we interrupting something?" asked Lily pointedly as she was escorted down the stairs by her husband. To the eye, she looked significantly better than the last time Aurelia had seen her and she was comforted by the fact that James was helping her physically as well as emotionally.

"Thought you would feed the baby first," Sirius said, his hand almost near enough to tickle his girlfriend's underarm. Aurelia quickly stood up, ignoring the second invitation, and stepped to the stairs where she hugged Lily.

"He was more tired than hungry, I guess," said the new mother with a small smile.

They all shifted into the dining room and watched James and the amusing display he put on at serving the food. Handling the liquor was easy for him, but the food part was hysterical. He dropped a spoonful of carrots on the nice linen tablecloth and splattered potatoes everywhere when attempting to serve his wife a sizable amount. She assured him that she was perfectly capable of serving herself, but he would have none of it. Aurelia had to stifle laughter when the new father had spilled both the gravy and the honey simultaneously while Sirius snatched the bottle and gravy bowl from him and commanded him to sit.

"With hands like that, I wonder why Lily ever lets you hold Harry," he muttered. Lia jabbed him in the thigh with her fork, causing him to wince and glare at her.

The rest of dinner went on nicely when James was relieved of the duties of the host. Aurelia brought in the rest of the dishes and Sirius took up the liquor. Lia was proud he was able to share with everyone and when this statement was voiced, she was poked in the soft spot below her left ribcage and inwardly gasped at the pain. It was her turn to glare.

"Are you two all right?" Lily asked, giving them a quizzical look.

"We're fine," they replied in unison, looking at each other. Then they smiled.

"I, uh, we have something we'd like to ask you both," said James, his brows raised into the mess of hair on his head. Sirius poured Aurelia another glass of wine instinctively or otherwise, but she had the feeling he was trying to get her drunk since she had already downed three.

"All right," he said, not taking his eyes off of the couple across from him. Aurelia almost began to squirm under their gazes until James and Lily clasped hands.

"Sirius, Aurelia..." Lily said, smiling. "We would be honored if you would be Harry's godparents."

The grip Lia had on the wine glass was slack and Sirius reached out to grasp the glass by the handle in the second instant of it falling. Not noticing the scene her own actions had produced, both of Aurelia's hands came up to cover her mouth. She moved out of her chair and rushed around to the other side of the table to envelope Lily in a fierce and friendly hug. Both women began to cry on each other's shoulders.

Sirius had placed the wine glass down and moved around the table to embrace James.

"Nice save, Padfoot," James said, thumping his friend on the back.

"Not like I haven't done it before, Prongsie." As they pulled away, he winked.

Only after Lily and Lia's crying ceased did they move into the living room to talk further. Remus and Peter had both been invited to the little get together but James had been told Remus was on a mission for the Order and Peter had given a late reply that he had family matters to attend to. Aurelia thought it might have been awkward for the announcement to be made in front of the others anyway and was somewhat glad the two were occupied.

When they were told several days later, there was sincerity in their voices as they congratulated the couple, but there was also buried jealousy. Aurelia wasn't surprised that Peter was the one to ask the question they were both thinking.

"Isn't that a bit risky, with you two being...you two?"

Sirius frowned at the generality, but eyed his friends like he didn't know what he was referring to. "How do you mean?"

"Well, it's just that you both sometimes get...you're often...you have a history of splitting up!" he finally spit out.

Peter was looking at them and breathing heavily as if saying the sentence had been exhausting and Remus was trying to look everywhere but at Aurelia.

"Peter and Remus, you silly, silly men," she said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Just wait, all right? I know it's difficult for you because you're so impatient"--they looked offended--"but you'll be godfathers soon enough."

All three men stared at her, eyes wide. Sirius' mouth was agape.

"Not by me, you twits!" she explained quickly and put a hand under her boyfriend's chin to close his mouth for him. "Get yourselves girlfriends and maybe you'll have a chance then."

"Hey!" said Remus defensively. "I have one, thank you very much."

"Moony, your diluted belief that the author of A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry has a thing for you doesn't count in this situation."

Aurelia knew he was back to normal because otherwise Sirius wouldn't have tried to make fun so soon. She figured it was safe to wrap her arm around his waist.

"That's not--" Remus looked flustered and embarrassed. "She does! Lia, does a woman squeeze your arse just to say good-bye the first time you meet?"

She fingered the nonexistent beard on her chin. "Can't be sure. Was it like this?"

Remus almost yelped at the unexpected hand that gripped the back of his trousers and stepped away to make sure Aurelia had no more access to his backside. Sirius smacked her upside the head as she tried to suppress the giant smirk playing on her face.

"Yes, that was how it felt," Remus said, his cheeks a pale red.

"Truly? In that case, she certainly likes you," she said knowledgably. "She was probably fairly desperate and, had you let her, she would have taken you to the back of that book signing, if you know what I mean."

Before his normal pale skin color returned to his face, Peter asked, "You have a real girlfriend now?"

"Shannon Hurst," he announced with a proud smile.

"How old is she?" Peter asked. "What's she look like?"

"How is she in bed?"

Aurelia turned to smack Sirius.

"Darling, this is man talk," he explained casually, running his hands through his jousted hair. "Why don't you go withdraw some money from your Gringotts account? I know how much you like to ride the vault carts."

Their visit to Diagon Alley had been less than productive since they had met up with Peter and Remus outside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. She would let no one peek inside that bag, which sparked a rather interesting conversation.

Peter turned away from the group and Sirius said, "Not you, Peter, yah nutter!"

"I have to go; family business," he said, waving. "I'll talk to you all later. Especially you, Remus!"

"He's had quite a bit of family time, hasn't he?" pondered Sirius aloud.

Aurelia turned on the two remaining men with glaring eyes. "I am going to Gringotts and I will enjoy riding the carts." She shifted her feet and walked in the opposite direction. Before she was ten steps away, she turned around and held up the bag, calling back, "And I will not wear this for you tonight!" It gave her a twinge of satisfaction to watch that lustful grin turn to a pout.

- - - - -

Kidnap, Silvia decided, was such a harsh word. There was the certain element of unlawful seizure and detainment to the action as a whole, but otherwise it was perfectly civilized. A sort of self-righteousness surrounded the concept that made it so it couldn't possibly be as horrendous as people made it out to be.

And yet, in regards to the person to which she was to pressgang, she could not find an ounce of civility in the act.

The whole ordeal made her feel decidedly unclean and in need of a long bath. She was under orders though, and failure to complete this task, deemed vital for reasons unknown to her, would result in an unsatisfactory punishment. She would likely lose a hand or some other such appendage that she would rather keep attached. When she really thought about it, Peter Pettigrew wasn't reason enough to lose anything on her body.

That miserable man was the real source to the Order of the Phoenix. Sure, Severus was a member, but they didn't trust him as far as his greasy hair could leave a smear. Peter, however, was a trusted friend of the those who were the heart and soul of the little organization. Worst of all, that included her cousin, for which she heartily blamed Black. And Dumbledore.

He had weaseled his way into their circle and found that the bonds of friendship were not enough to hold him there. Rather, the threat of Voldemort and his growing recognition of the 'winning' side prompted his need to get in the good graces of the Dark Lord. And what better way than to sell out his friends like a unnerved canary?

But really, could he have been more obvious if he had tried?

He was supposed to be somewhere around Diagon Alley according to the members that had been previously assigned the task of tracking his movements. The little rat wasn't in Diagon Alley. No, he was scrounging around Knockturn Alley. Currently staring intently at a Hand of Glory within Borgin & Burkes, Silvia could see him through the dingy windows of the establishment.

Borgin was a particular comrade of the cause, having known the leader in the years before his transformation. That being the case, he knew the usual Death Eater crowd that would visit his shop every so often for that coveted item. The weakling in his domain currently was the farthest thing from those people. He did however recognize a figure outside, lurking in the shadows, but made no comment on it.

Pettigrew was twitchy, going from one item in the shop to another. It appeared that he was nervous. What about, exactly, was uncertain. His palms were sweat-streaked and an anxious humming emitted from his tightly closed lips. He looked paranoid, his eyes darting left and right.

He made his way out of the shop and into the poorly lit street. Silvia broke off her conversation to an old wizened woman, coin passing hands in exchange for a few human fingernails from the platter. She kept her distance, feeling he suspected someone to be following him, but never lost sight of the odd little rat. When he made an unfortunate turn down an alleyway, she knew this was her chance.

Usually she had a flare for the dramatic, but this case needed subtlety. She glanced once again over her shoulder before proceeding into the alley. Her head snapped forwards to gaze upon her quarry. He seemed to have figured out his error with mild irritation, but the fact that he came face to face with his predator caused his features to pale considerably.

"Surprised to see me, Peter?"

He did look surprised, and she was satisfied with her stealth.

"Do...do I know you?" His voice quavered and it only augmented once he heard her mirthless laughter.

Lifting the sleeve off her arm slightly, she brought it into his line of sight. "Look more familiar now?"

"A bit," he choked. That tattoo had this effect on many people and she enjoyed watching the fear increase in his eyes as she showed it to him. He knew this visit wasn't just a pleasurable "how do you do?"

"He wants to see you. It's time to prove your worth and make yourself worthy to be marked," Silvia stated as she walked closer towards him. She noted his recoil but ignored it. Grasping his arm tightly, she grinned down at him. "And then it's straight to curse resistance."

He gulped. Her smile wasn't in the least bit reassuring, but he had no time to comment as she apparated both of them out of the alleyway and off to meet the Dark Lord to learn of his fate.