Switching Sides

Switching Sides

*

No Regrets

*

The life in the Marauders' dorm room was not very easy the next months. In fact, it was anything but easy. With a boy having morning sickness and, being indeed male and thus affected by the hormones much more than Remia, severe mood swings, the other occupants were in a rather problematic situation. Sean actually requested -- and received -- a transfer to another dormitory. James, however, figured that Peter would kill him for "abandoning" his friend, and for obvious reasons Sirius felt obligated to stay, too. After all, he couldn't be there to support Remia all the time, so at least he could act as a stand-in for Severus and try to take care of Peter. So, they both had to bear a lot of angry words, bitching, and general abuse of physic, psychic, and emotional kind alike.

"I'm getting even fatter than before," Peter whined one day, looking at his reflection. "Severus probably hates me already, I'm so ugly now. He just feels obligated to stay with me."

"You're anything but fat, Peter," James said in an attempt to reassure his friend. If he said anything bad, either Peter would get mad at him, or he would start crying and go to tell Severus. Neither possibility promised anything good for the continued state of health of one James Potter, so he decided to try to avoid them both. "You're just showing a bit."

"And there's no way Snape could hate you," Sirius added. "The guy absolutely worships you; you can see it in his eyes whenever he looks at you. I'm not even trying to understand just how you two ended up together, but I do know that he's really in love with you. You needn't worry."

"Of course I need to worry!" protested his indeed slightly chubby friend. "We're getting married next weekend, remember? I don't want to be married to somebody who doesn't really love me! I'm not going to marry just for some outdated sense of honour!"

Both Sirius and James blinked. Although with the mood swings they had begun to get used to a more moody Peter who both had strong opinions and wasn't afraid of showing them, it still sometimes caught them by surprise. They were simply so used to their fair-haired friend giving in easily that to have him standing up for his own beliefs was something really surprising. Of course they thought it was an improvement, but that didn't mean they couldn't be surprised at it.

"Look, I really don't think Snape's going to marry you just for the honour, either," James said, desperately trying to make Peter calm down. "I mean, just look at his father. I heard his parents were never married, she just had him and gave him to his father, who raised him alone. So, Snape most certainly wouldn't marry you just because of the kid. He has to want to be married to you to actually go through with something like that!"

"Oh, Merlin, you're right!" Suddenly Peter's expression turned into a panicky one. "What if he doesn't want to go through with it? What if he backs out of it at the last minute?! I don't want him to leave me! I'd never be able to get over it if he left me! Merlin, help me!"

Sighing, James and Sirius exchanged desperate glances. 'Get Snape,' James mouthed to Sirius. The Grim Animagus simply nodded, then hurried to leave the dormitory while James did his best to make Peter calm down even a tiny bit. Unfortunately, he wasn't making much success.

*

"So how are they going to get married?" asked Lily, puzzled. "I mean, they're both still sixteen, right?" She looked from one of her friends to another with a look of confusion.

"Wizarding laws are different from the Muggle ones," Remia told her. "We still write with quills, like you well know. Just as well nobody has ever thought about updating the laws concerning the proper age for marriage, which results at the possibility of even two fifteen-year-old people marrying each other. Of course, it is very rare -- extremely so -- but in situations such as this it is indeed used. Sirius and I probably are going to get married soon, too," she added then. "Not that we care about that much, ourselves, but my mother threw a fit at the thought of me having a child outside marriage. As for Sirius's parents, well, they are currently considering not killing me immediately if I ever step into their house, as I'm at least female and a witch. We'd rather not take any risks by making the first Black heir of the future generation illegitimate."

"Ooh!" gasped Juliet. "May we attend your wedding? Please?" Her blue eyes were shining.

"Well, I guess so," Remia chuckled. "It's going to be a rather small ceremony, though -- just us and our closest friends. Basically, that means you girls, the Marauders, and Severus -- maybe some of my relatives, too, but not many. I'll be showing well by the time we marry, so I'd rather not make it a public event." At this, she patted her still perfectly flat stomach.

"Aww," Chloe said with a smile. "What are you all going to do next year, anyway? Are you going to have the babies around at school?" she then asked curiously.

"Well... probably, if we are allowed to," Remia replied. "My mother offered to look after our baby, and Peter's mother promised the same for their child, but that's only the last resort. If it is in any way possible, we are going to look after our own kids. They're our responsibility."

"I think it's sweet how Sirius and Severus were both immediately ready to take the responsibility," Lily then said, smiling a bit. "It shows just how much they care for you."

"I think it's sweet, too," Remia chuckled. "Although I don't think they could have done it any other way. They're both from old Pureblood families which follow the age-old traditions. It's a matter of honour to them and their families; doing anything else would be unheard of."

"Well, whatever it is," Sarah said, "be grateful you're not left alone to be a single teen mother. Just imagine how hard your life would be then!"

Remia shuddered a bit as she thought about it. Oh, she was so very lucky to have Sirius.

*

"Calm down, Peter," James sighed. "Everything will be all right. Just in a minute Sirius will return and then you can ask Severus himself just how he feels about you."

To his shock, the fair-haired boy indeed stopped his wailing in an instant. Instead, he watched James with an almost frightening gleaming look in his blue eyes. "You called him Severus," Peter said in total awe. "You actually called him Severus!"

James began to feel a bit uneasy. "Um... yeah, I did," he finally admitted. "What about it?"

"It means that you two are getting along!" the pregnant boy announced. "My friends and my fiancé are actually getting along! Oh, I'm so happy!" He was beaming by now. "This is all I've ever wished for, you know. I've got the perfect boyfriend -- my soon-to-be husband -- who I love more than anything, and wonderful friends who I love as well!"

"W-what?" sputtered James. "Did you just say that you -- love us?"

"Why, yes," Peter said, his beaming smile turning into a confused look. "So what?" Then he seemed to understand, and laughed. "Oh, don't worry, James," he said cheerfully. "I meant that I love you guys as friends. As for the other kind of love, you should know I only have eyes for Severus. I really really love him, you know -- I love him more than anything else."

"Yes, I do believe you said that already." Now, the bespectacled boy smiled warmly. "Well, in any case, I am happy for you. And I promise I'll try to get along better with Sn -- Severus if that makes you feel better," he then added cheerfully.

"Oh, thank you, James!" Peter exclaimed. "Thank you so very much!" In an instant he was hugging James, almost squeezing the living daylights out of him.

"Should I be jealous?" asked then a dry voice from the doorway. Severus and Sirius both stood there, watching the scene with looks of definite amusement on their faces.

Peter immediately released James from his embrace and rushed towards his fiancé. "Severus!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe you actually came here! I missed you so much!"

"Err... we saw each other on dinner," Severus said a bit awkwardly as he, too, was crushed in a gigantic hug. "Isn't this a bit too soon to actually miss me? It's not even time for supper yet!"

"But I did miss you!" Peter insisted. "And our baby missed you as well!"

"Oh, really?" Severus raised an eyebrow. "We can't have that, now can we. Guess I will have to request a transfer to the Gryffindor classes so that I can be with you and the baby."

"You'd do that?" asked Peter, his eyes wide with amazement. "Really? No kidding?"

"Of course, if that is what you want," the darkhaired boy replied calmly. "I'd do anything for you... even bear the Gryffindors' presence on every and each lesson I attend."

"Yay! I'm so happy!" squealed the pregnant boy. "I love you so much, Severus!"

"I love you, too," replied Severus, wrapping his arms around his fiancé's waist. James and Sirius glanced at each other, then in silent agreement slipped out of the dormitory.

*

"Something wrong, Remia?" asked a quiet voice. The brunet girl turned to look at the person approaching her and smiled. She shook her head in a 'no' as Lily made her way nearer.

"No, nothing is wrong," she told as her friend reached her side. They were now in one of the more secluded corners of the Common Room, practically alone as even the other areas were not very populated. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"Thinking about what?" asked Lily curiously, sitting down as well. "Let me guess. The baby?"

"Well, that too." Remia smiled as she put a hand on her still perfectly flat stomach. "Basically I was thinking about just how much my life has changed after I became a girl. I mean, it does have its drawbacks, and it's certainly been difficult to adjust to live as a girl, but..."

"But anything's better than Lycanthropy," Lily finished for her very quietly. As Remia nodded, she continued, "Well, what are the good sides of your female life?"

Now, Remia visibly brightened up. "Well, as the most important thing, nobody can disapprove of my relationship with Sirius now," she said. "Not that we'd cared much even before, but... Even his parents are now starting to accept me into the family, no matter how reluctantly. If Sirius had tried to marry a male werewolf, they'd most probably had us both assassinated." A brief, sad smile crossed her lips at that thought. "Of course, I also can now be pregnant without experiencing the problems Peter has to go through. Poor boy is simply not adjusted to female hormones, you see. If you think I'm having it bad, you've never seen his morning sickness."

"I figure it might be bad, yes." Lily chuckled briefly, then smiled warmly at her now dearest friend. "So you don't regret it?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice along with the curiosity that definitely took place there. "Switching sides, I mean?"

For a moment, Remia was quiet. Then a wide smile spread on her face. "I never could."

*