Geneticus

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: SCULLY

It was a common idea among the older and more inbred families of the wizard world that Muggles were unsophisticated, clumsy, and incapable of dealing with the world because they could not use magic. But the contraption Sirius was now being pestered by, this beeping monstrosity that would not let him pass, proved that Muggles were more than capable of creating magic of their own.

"Sirius, give me your money," said Mulder patiently, holding out his hand. "The metal detector is, uh, detecting your coins, I think."

With a frown, Sirius dug the handful of Sickles out of his pocket. Once again he tried going through the metal detector, and this time it thankfully remained silent. He shot an apologetic look to the security guard, who'd been watching Sirius carefully, then nodded towards Mulder. "May I have my money back now?"

"Sure won't do me any good," he said with a grin. "Take a badge, too." Mulder held out a plastic-covered sheet sporting a large, orange "V" and the word "visitor" in smaller letters beneath. "Wear it visibly at all times while you're in here. No need to call attention to yourself anymore than you already do."

Sirius clipped the badge to his jacket's lapel, nodding to acknowledge Mulder's warning. "Are we all set then?" There was no reply; Sirius raised his head to see Mulder pinching the bridge of his nose and taking deep breaths. "Everything all right, mate?"

Forcing a grin, Mulder nodded. "Just missed them so much...afraid I'm going to wake up back at the Three Broomsticks or Leaky Cauldron and realize this part of the trip has all been a dream..."

"It's real enough, Mulder," Sirius said, clapping his hand hard on Mulder's shoulder. "Now take me to meet your Dana and William, okay? The anticipation's starting to get to me!"

Mulder began to walk further into the building, bypassing several banks of lifts and staircase entrances. Only one lift, Mulder explained, went all the way down into the basement, and it was located at the back, near the regular employee entrance. Sirius still wasn't sure why the office was located in the basement, but he realized now wasn't the time to be a nosy tourist. When they found the proper lift, Mulder hit the buttons and Sirius felt the car begin its descent.

Barely ten seconds later, it reached the bottom and the doors slid open to reveal a cluttered hallway filled with boxes and machines...and a stroller. The air was close, and Sirius felt the push of secrets against his lungs. They stepped out and Mulder froze as voices reached their ears. They were too soft for Sirius to make out the words, but the main voice was throaty and feminine, and guessing from the smile on the former Muggle's face, very familiar. Then a baby's squeal pierced the air, and Mulder was propelled forward, no longer content to wait a moment more.

Keen to keep up, Sirius followed the homesick fellow, catching up with him just in time to witness the moment of reunion.

Sirius was struck by memory, one from years long past involving two people whose situation was quite different from today's couple. James had been out on assignment for the Order, and as she was six months pregnant at the time, Lily was forced to remain home and out of harm's way. The mission had been dangerous, and several members had quietly speculated that James would not live to meet his child. Thankfully, he'd survived without a scratch and returned home that stormy spring night to a shrieking wife who sobbed and carried on for what seemed like hours, refusing to let her husband leave her arms.

This reunion was different, mainly in that it was quieter. There were no shrieks of delight or sobs of joy. Mulder and the small, redheaded woman in the room simply caught each other's eyes and moved into a tight embrace, softly muttering their partner's surname. Sirius saw a single tear slip down the woman's cheek, and at that point he forced himself to turn away, focus on anything else other than the couple.

Further inside the door stood three more people who were also doing their best to avert their eyes. Deciding it would be good if they all practiced avoidance together, Sirius stepped over to them and held out his hand.

"Seeing as my tour guide is rather occupied at the moment, I think I'd best do my own introduction. Sirius Black." He refrained from explaining himself further, as he wasn't sure what these people knew about Mulder's guest.

"John Doggett," said the younger of the two men, shaking Sirius's hand firmly. John Doggett's eyes were sharply blue, touched with a tinge of sadness that was old and would never truly release its grip on the man. His face was sun-weathered and his hands were roughened; here was a man who wasn't afraid of the outdoors.

Next the woman stepped forward and introduced herself as Monica Reyes. She was softer, an easy-going smile curving her lips and brown hair that fell lightly over her shoulders. "Welcome to the United States," she added, giving his hand an extra squeeze.

Sirius thanked her, then turned to the second man, an imposing figure who just radiated authority from his bald head to his wide shoulders to his bear-grip handshake. "Assistant Director Walter Skinner," he said in a deep voice that rolled its way out of his chest.

After that there was silence, and Sirius used the awkward moment to take in his surroundings. At first glance the office was a mess, files and papers and trinkets strewn about haphazardly. The far wall was dominated by a poster pinned up on the bulletin board, proclaiming "I WANT TO BELIEVE" and featuring some sort of disk hovering over trees. Crazy Muggles, Sirius thought, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

The shelves were filled with books that covered all sorts of subjects, and Sirius was intrigued by several titles that spoke of witchcraft and werewolves. He'd have to check them out later, see how accurate they were.

The baby squealed again, drawing Sirius's eyes. He turned to see Mulder taking William into his arms and smiling tenderly down at the baby. Someone must have taken that as a sign that the intimate part of the reunion was over, because the bald headed one, Skinner, then spoke. "How's the trip been, Mulder?"

"Uh...interesting," he replied, not pulling his eyes from William. Sirius couldn't blame him; if he were in Mulder's position, he'd much rather see his newborn son rather than his old boss.

"Interesting? Care to elaborate on that a little?" Doggett chimed in.

Mulder looked up, and caught Sirius's eyes with a small grin. He knew with confidence that Mulder was thinking of just how interesting the past few weeks had been. However, there was also the question of just how much, or even what made-up story Mulder was going to spin for them in lieu of the truth.

The problem was quickly, though inadvertently, resolved by Scully, who was leaning over Mulder's arm, keeping that new mother watch over William. "Mulder, can whatever you have to say wait until tomorrow?"

"Yeah, it can," Mulder readily agreed, and Sirius hid his grin.

"So how about this then: all of us go home for the night and rest up, and then we'll meet up tomorrow night to talk about what's happened," Scully said, her eyes seeming to dare anyone to argue with her.

And that was how Sirius found himself in another Muggle car in less than an hour, this time heading to Georgetown with a sleeping baby next to him.

* * *

"Can I get you a drink, Mr. Black?"

Sirius shook his head and smiled. "No, thank you, Dana, I'm fine. And please, call me Sirius. I feel as though I know you well already from all that Mulder has told me."

He found it odd to call her Dana, since for the last week he'd heard her called Scully, but he understood that for this couple, their names were terms of endearment, and so unless he was specifically told otherwise, Sirius planned to call her by her given name.

Mulder was spread across the couch, young William tucked against his father's chest while he slept. As Scully came back in from the kitchen, a pair of iced teas in her hands, she paused to take in the sight, a contented smile blooming on her face. "Mulder, how do you plan to drink this in that position?"

Mulder, his eyes closed, just grinned. "I'll take an IV, if ya got one."

"Sit up, just lay the baby across your lap." With amusement, Sirius noted that Mulder was quick to follow the order. One half of the couch now clear, Scully sat down and passed over a glass to Mulder, who took a sip and sighed contentedly.

"This is something that's sorely lacking in the wizard world: iced tea. That pumpkin juice just doesn't cut it."

Sirius frowned, pretending to be offended. "Just because you're back in your own territory, mate, that's no reason for you to start degrading different cultures!"

Scully's eyebrow was halfway up her forehead. "So you're one of the, uh, wizards Mulder was writing about?"

"Oh, so he's been writing about me, eh? Hope it was nothing good...but yes, I am a wizard. I know you're the skeptical sort, and so I'm prepared to do a little showing off, if it would help you accept the truth about your son?"

She nodded, obviously ready to see with her own eyes the magic Mulder had been telling her about for a month now. Sirius stood up and pulled his wand from his back pocket, carefully considering how to go about this showing off.

He began by making the rocking chair in the corner of the room rock all on its own. Next, he turned the baby's bassinette into a water fountain, the telly into a wizard's wireless, and created a shower of owl feathers fall from the sky. Scully's face showed open amazement, her other eyebrow having risen to join its twin. As the last of the feathers fell, Sirius quickly returned the Transfigured objects to their proper shapes, then grinned widely, closed his eyes, and thought to himself the incantation that transformed him into his Animagus form.

It was a common misconception in the wizard world that when one was transformed into their Animagus form, the animal brain took over almost to the point that it was impossible to perform magic and thus return to human form. The idea was passed around to children to steer them away from experimenting with such advanced Transfiguration magic, but as Sirius had discovered the very first time he'd become Padfoot, it was just a scare tactic. As Padfoot the Grim-like dog stood in Scully's very Muggle living room, Sirius was in charge, watching her reaction through the blurred vision of the dog.

"Still skeptical, Scully?" Mulder said, more than a bit of smug victory noticeable in his voice.

"My God, he just...where'd he go? And where'd that dog come from?"

"Scully, he *is* the dog. It's one of the more difficult spells, but Sirius can change into a dog. When he's a dog we call him Snuffles."

Sirius stepped over and sat back on his haunches at Scully's feet, and allowing the subtle instincts of Padfoot to take over momentarily, he opened his mouth and let his tongue flop out in the universal gesture of a pleased puppy.

"This is so weird, Mulder..."

Mulder laughed. "And that's new to you? I think you've been on maternity leave too long, if you can't handle a British wizard turning into a dog in your living room!"

Feeling that the demonstration had been successful enough for the time being, Sirius stood and padded back to his chair, transforming back into his human form before sitting down. He still had a dog-like grin on his face.

The three adults were quiet a moment, just looking at each other as Scully took the time to process what she'd just witnessed. Finally, she announced, "Okay, I'll accept it as magic for now, but there *is* a scientific explanation for that, and I'm *going* to find it."

Again, Mulder just laughed and leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek. "You do that, Scully. You do that." Content with her level of acceptance, Mulder turned the conversation to a slightly different track. "You received my letter?"

Scully frowned. "The one from a month ago? Yes, and I sent back a..."

"No, no, I sent one the other day, with a new owl. Guess he really hasn't had a chance to make it this far yet. Well, I explained about Sirius and a couple other wizards we met up with, and the trouble brewing over there." He paused, as though unsure of how to continue. "Sirius, perhaps you'd better start this off, since you know the beginning much better than me."

Not relishing this journey into the past, Sirius nonetheless agreed and began to tell Scully about Voldemort and his reign of terror fifteen years ago. She listened attentively, though her face showed no reactions to anything he told her. Perhaps it was because he'd told this story so often in the last few days, but this time as he explained how he'd let down his best friend, the pain was a little less intense, a little more bearable.

William woke just as Sirius finished explaining what had happened to Harry during the Third Task, and everyone agreed that a break was a welcome idea.

"Scully, I think I can speak for at least two of us here when I say that I'm starved. You mind if I call for some take-out?"

"Yeah, that's fine," she replied, rummaging through a pile of baby things. She popped up with a disposable nappy, and held open her arms. "You do that, and I'll change his diaper."

"Good idea," Mulder said with a grin. "Come on, Sirius, let's pick out dinner." Sirius followed Mulder into the kitchen, and sat across from him at the small table while he spread out a selection of menus. "What are you craving, Sirius?"

Sirius looked over the menus, as he tried to remember the last time he ate Muggle food. "I've no bloody idea, Muggle. I'm used to drinking pumpkin juice and all manner of highly British culinary delights. Please, you're the expert here."

Mulder grabbed one of the menus: Connie's Pizza. "I think I'm craving some pizza," he said, a mischief-filled grin spreading across his face. "What do you say to pepperoni and mushrooms?"

"I say do your worst! If it tastes terrible, I'll just change it into something edible."

"Right." Mulder rose and stepped to the archway between the kitchen and living room. "Scully? I'm ordering from Connie's. Any particular delivery boy I should request?"

Sirius heard her sigh in obvious frustration. "Mulder! Honestly, you can be such a child sometimes!" Mulder just smiled to himself at her teasing tone and picked up the phone to place the order, leaving Sirius to wonder what inside joke he'd just missed out on. He supposed he should be used to feeling so out of it, considering the number of times James and Lily had left their friends to just exchange puzzled glances while they laughed their heads off. Bloody relationships.

"Pizza will be here in about forty-five minutes. How do you want to kill the time," Mulder asked him.

Crossing his arms, Sirius said, his voice low, "Well, I expect you've got a thing or two to tell her that could take a bit of lengthy explanation. Perhaps you could get started on that?"

Mulder bit his lip. "I guess..."

Now Sirius frowned, and he leaned in closer to Mulder. "Now look here! Dumbledore let you find out for a reason, so you could learn and help us in this fight. And you can't learn behind her back! And if she sees you doing it, it will help her prepare for when your son is ready to start."

"I know! But that doesn't make it any easier..."

"What are you two arguing about?" Scully asked, appearing suddenly at Mulder's side.

Sirius let his posture relax and stepped back. He looked at Mulder with what he hoped was an encouraging expression, but the man apparently wasn't open to suggestions.

"Nothing, Scully. So what's been going on down in the basement in the last month?"

With his hand at the small of her back, Mulder led Scully out of the kitchen and back to the couch. Sirius didn't follow, instead Summoning his traveling bag into to the kitchen with him. Sitting down once more at the table, he pulled out a small, paperback book-sized mirror from pack. He looked at it quietly for a few moments, then glanced up at the kitchen clock. Deciding it was too late for the evening, he placed the mirror back in his bag, prepared to use it for the first time in twenty years once morning arrived.

END CHAPTER EIGHTEEN