Life Goes On

Sirius and Rose walked down the busy street in Scotland. It was his and RoseÂ’s first year wedding anniversary and he wanted to celebrate with her. They had Apparated from their flat to the nearest wizarding point and decided to walk the rest of the way.

“Sirius,” Rose began.

“Yes love.”

“Where are we going?” Her dark eyes twinkled with mischief.

“No questions, thank you.”

Rose sighed in defeat. They walked quietly for a few more minutes and Sirius noted an uneasy look darken her features. Something was bothering her.

“What is on your mind love?”

“Do you think your probation will ever be taken off?” She stopped walking and now looked at him.

Sirius frowned a bit before he answered.

“I don’t know. Unless they find Peter Pettigrew, I will be living like this, as an undermine wizard with no benefits in the community, I will never get a wand and they could arrest me when they felt. Honey, I am sorry you have to live like this. I’ll understand if you want to leave me.” He stopped and diverted his gaze to his feet. Sirius, not hearing her voice looked up and saw her eyes darkening with anger and her dark red hair dancing strangely in the light. He felt his bones turn to liquid as he saw how beautiful she was even though she was angry at the moment.

“Damn you Sirius, I love you. I have loved you ever since Hogwarts and Lily introduced me to the Marauders. I would have never abandoned you and I never will.” He thought she had finished, but she began again. “On second thought, maybe I should as you are behaving like an insecure prick. But I am wondering what this surprise is, so maybe I’ll wait until after that.

He looked up at her and grinned. “Alright then, mi lady. Me thinks we should be getting on then.”

Rose laughed at him and once more slipped her hand into his as they started walking again, taking in the sites as they passed them.

They continued to walk in silence. They finally arrived at “Exquisite Scotts” and Sirius smiled his toothy smile.

“After you, Princess Rose.”

Her eyes widened in delight and she stepped inside, grateful to be out of the cold air.

*********************************

“Harry, why didn’t you make reservations when I told you to?” A frustrated Hermione asked.

Harry refused to meet her angry stare, knowing that she was right. He continued to look around the restaurant for sign of an empty table when he felt a draft hit him.

Hermione shivered and Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulder rubbing her arm roughly to get rid of the chill.

“Good Evening, Sir,” began the Head Waiter, “Your name?”

“Black, Mr. Sirius Black.”

Hermione jumped and met HarryÂ’s eyes. His eyes opened as wide as saucers.

“My BLOODY GODFATHER WHO I HAVEN’T SEEN IN YEARS IS HERE!?”

With that Harry bolted towards the entrance of the restaurant.

“Sirius!” He cried.

“Excuse me Sir,” began the Head Waiter, “This is a restaurant, NOT a rally!”

Harry ignored him as he continued towards Sirius.

SiriusÂ’ face paled at the sight of Harry. He knew Harry would give it to him big time.

Harry strides ended as he stopped one foot away from Sirius. Harry stared intently into his eyes, looking for reason. But found none.

“Sirius, give me a good reason why I should not break your nose with my fist right now.” Harry said quietly, but evenly.

Sirius stared defiantly back into his godsonÂ’s eyes.

“Hit me you say? You don’t have the guts to do it!”

With that, HarryÂ’s knuckles collided with the tip of SiriusÂ’ nose and there was a crack. As if on cue, SiriusÂ’ nose started to gush blood on to his black shirt.

“Aww Harry, James would never had hit me like that. If you weren’t his son he would probably beat you to a pulp. But since I am me, I’ll do that! You have the nerve striking me!” Sirius then smashed his fist straight across Harry’s left eye. The left lens in Harry’s glasses shattered on impact. Sirius growled at Harry, who now straightened to his full height and grabbed Sirius by the collar and shoved him roughly towards the door.

“We are taking this outside!”

Meanwhile, Hermione and Rose stood aside and watched in shock. Each shocked for different reasons.

“I can’t believe Harry would strike Sirius like that. The last time he did that, he thought Sirius was a murderer.” Hermione said, her voice quivering.

“That is James’ and Lily’s son?” Rose practically screamed.

Hermione nodded gravely.

“Oh my, Sweet Jesus, they will kill each other. We have to stop them before it gets dirty!”

“That is an understatement.”

Hermione and Rose rushed outside to find Sirius and Harry in a brutal fistfight and brawl on the almost deserted pavement.

“Harry!” Hermione screamed, charging towards him. Harry seemed to not hear her, so she did the first thing that came to her mind.

“Expelliarmus!” She cried, just as Sirius stood up and held Harry by his shoulders. Sirius flew back as the spell hit him and Harry landed on the concrete.

After a momentÂ’s worth of shock, Hermione ran to HarryÂ’s side and bent over him.

“Hey Beautiful,” he said with a glazed look in his eyes and a sheepish grin. “Didn’t I kick but?”

Hermione looked up to see Rose standing over Harry with piece of wood in her hand. She knocked him out.

“What did you do that for?!” Hermione screamed with rage.

“He’s delirious, hon.” She said calmly, “revive him now.”

“Enervate.”

HarryÂ’s eyes fluttered open while a dozen different images of Hermione slid into focus. Eventually, he noticed his right eyeÂ’s vision was perfect while his left eyeÂ’s was dim.

“Hermione,” he whispered. “Could you fix my glasses for me?”

Hermione muttered a quick, “reparo,” and his vision was as good as new.

He slowly got up with the help of Hermione and saw Sirius leaning heavily on a woman.

‘Who is she?” Harry spat at him.

“She is my wife. Her name is Rose Dale, but she is now referred to as Rose Black. She was your mother’s best friend back at Hogwarts.” Sirius answered eyeing his godson with contempt, but yet he seemed to have a loving look in his eyes.

Harry stood stunned for a moment. He nudged Hermione and she helped him take a few steps forward until he was within arm’s reach of Rose Black. He regarded her solemnly for a moment then said, “Welcome to my family.”

Rose seemed taken aback, but her face then relaxed into a smile.

“Thank you Harry Potter.” This reminded her of her first meeting with the Marauders.

>>>>

“Rose, I guarantee, you will never find better company than the Marauders,” a seventeen year old Lily Evans said to her best friend.

“Lily, we are talking about James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. They may be nice to be around, but being seen with them is like asking to be expelled!” Rose exclaimed.

Lily then grabbed RoseÂ’s arm and headed out of the Gryffindor Common Room.

“Lily!” Rose screamed. But Lily ignored her. Rose decided to give up. It was really no use.

Lily took Rose through corridors she had never seen at Hogwarts before until they turned the last corner and came to a dead end.

“See Lily, it’s a stone wall, you’re lost. Let’s go back to the Common room,” Rose pleaded. But Lily laughed.

“Rose, they are on the other side of that wall! Come on.”

Rose sighed and followed Lily down the corridor. They stopped at the wall and Lily stepped three steps to her right and said,

“Reveal.”

A long visible crack was made down the center of the stone wall and the bricks on either side moved.

Lily grinned mischievously and stepped inside followed by Rose.

“Hmm, what do we have here,” She began, “Boys out of their common room after hours. I shall have to report this to the Headmaster.”

All four boys jumped out of the chairs they were sitting in looking nervous. Sirius was the first to speak as a sly grin spread across his face.

“Aww Lily, sweetums, ray of sunshine, beautiful carrot topped girl, how nice of you to join us.”

Everyone except Lily and James sniggered. James frowned at Sirius.

“Stop flirting, Sirius!”

“Ohh ... Jamesey here is getting Je-a-lous!”

Lily stepped in between the smiling Sirius and the glowering James. “I would like to introduce someone to you all!”

The Marauders spun on the spot to face the wall Lily just came through, apparently alone.

“Come Rose.”

“Who is she?” Asked Peter fearfully.

“She is my best friend and I have explained to her all about you and your story. James knows about her. She is the new student who arrived this year. I have known her ever since I first went shopping in Diagon Alley.”

Rose stepped out of the darkness into the small room with a small torch for light. She eyed the young men with a look that resembled McGonagallÂ’s, then her face softened a little.

Sirius did a cat call.

Rose grinned from ear to ear and decided she might have a little fun with this one. “What a brazen boy you are, no wonder Severus Snape despises you. He has reason to.”

James cleared his throat loudly as he saw the angry look Sirius flashed at Rose who remained cool.

James stepped forward and snapped his fingers. A timid Peter, a smiling Remus and glowering Sirius stepped up beside James on either side.

“Welcome to The Marauder’s Headquarters, Rose. I am James Potter, also known as Prongs. Head of the Marauders, first in command of the Magic Mischief Makers.

“I am Sirius Black, also known as Padfoot. One of the four official Marauders at Hogwarts. First in command of the Pranks Department.” Sirius did a little jig as he said this. Remus sighed with pity.

“I am Remus Lupin, also known as Moony. The third official Marauder at Hogwarts. All experiments are conducted on me and I approve the level of danger on pranks thought of by Sirius.” He gave Sirius the evil eye.

“I am Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail. The Last Marauder at Hogwarts. I am the smallest of the lot and used as a loophole in all pranks. I am in charge of covering up the tacks of my fellow Marauders.

With that the four men gave a deep bow. As they straightened up, Sirius blew Rose a kiss. He then picked up the hem of his robes and started dancing on tiptoes like a ballerina. “Oh Rose,” he said in a high-pitched voice. “I am stunned by your beauty and I want to kiss you! Pucker up!” He cried and pushed out his lips and closed his eyes.

Rose guffawed and said, “I wouldn’t pucker up with you to spare my life, Padfoot!”

Sirius scowled and moved back into position beside James.

Rose looked at the four of them in admiration. All of them were dressed in black robes that made them look tall, imposing, powerful and gorgeous. The lighting made the surroundings appeal to them too. Sirius, although dumb, was achingly handsome. His thick shoulder length black was pinned back into a ponytail, complimenting his high cheekbones. His dark eyes were alert and mysterious. He was tall with pale that skin contrasted with his dark features. James on the other hand was charming. He had shaggy black hair that curled at the ends and brushed the collar of his robes. His big brown eyes shone brightly behind his glasses. He was also as tall as Sirius, medium built. He seemed serious, but yet he had a light side. The most appealing thing about him was his quietness. Remus, tall like the other two, but less complicated. His light brown hair matched his hazel looking eyes. He was smiling intently at her and he made her feel welcome. She noticed the slight dimples in his cheeks. She liked Remus. Peter was not as dashing as the other three. He was the odd one out of the Marauders. Short and chubby with washed out blonde hair and rosy cheeks. Not as powerful. He looked worn out.

Lily smiled and said, “I told you they weren’t bad!”

Rose grinned, “yeah, you’re right.” The boys’ faces lit up at this.

She looked at Sirius and met his eyes. Her smile faded and he smirked right back at her.

>>>

“Rose!” Shouted Harry.

Rose snapped out of her flashback. She smiled, a bit embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry Harry. I wasn’t listening to you. I was just remembering when I was first introduced to the Marauders, officially by your mother, I got a welcome as well. Yours wasn’t as grand as theirs. They had theirs all planned and rehearsed.”

“Show offs.” Harry muttered and smiled at Sirius’ scowl.

“It was my idea to have that introduction!” Sirius said defensively.

Rose laughed out loud, “The dancing like a ballerina too?”

Sirius blushed as the rest of the group burst out laughing.

“Tell me about it,” Harry said.

They sat down on the pavement and Rose told them all about her first experience with the infamous gang.

When she had finished, Harry had Hermione stretched across his lap and Sirius leaning up against the lamppost looking depressed.

“I miss those days. I miss my brother, James. I miss my best friend, Remus. I could murder Wormtail!” Sirius said sadly.

There was silence.

Harry broke the silence. “Why did you leave Sirius? Why did you abandon me?”

Sirius took a deep breath and began.

“If I had a choice Harry, I never would have left you. When you were in your seventh year, I got word from Dumbledore that the Ministry had found my hiding place and were waiting on my return to take me back to Azkaban. I was staying with Remus at the time. I remained with Remus until I got further news from Dumbledore, that Voldemort had recruited more spies. The Ministry found out who were the spies eventually, but couldn’t get to them. They were hiring bounty killers all over The United Kingdom, trying to round up these spies. Dumbledore had a plan. He spoke to Fudge about me becoming a Bounty Hunter instead of a Bounty Killer and my job would be to bring them in alive. Dumbledore didn’t want to risk me being tried for any more murders. Fudge agreed as the Ministry was getting really desperate. Dumbledore made out some terms of agreement. Two of them were for me to not have any contact with the Muggle World and for me to not have a wand after I round up my share of the spies. Fudge agreed to this but he had two more terms of his own, one, that I have no contact with you Harry whatsoever and two, for me to be on a 10 year probation with the risk that I might be caught and put back into Azkaban. Dumbledore and I agreed.”

“But you could have written to Dumbledore about me or Hermione or Ron.” Said Harry.

“No Harry. If I had done that, it would be breech of contract. That is indirect contact with you.”

Harry fell silent.

“The terms still apply. Even now,” said Sirius.

“So, ministry officials, if they got wind of our meeting, could come swoop down on you right now and send you back to Azkaban?” Asked Hermione.

“Yes,” Sirius replied heavily. “And that is just for breech of contract. I would still have my original sentence from before and latest punishment, the Dementor’s Kiss.”

Harry flinched at the thought. Hermione paled. RoseÂ’s face fell.

Harry gently lifted Hermione off his lap and went over to Sirius.

“Sirius,” he began, “I should’ve known better than to doubt you. I am sorry dear old Padfoot, please forgive me.” Harry stared pleadingly into Sirius’ eyes.

“Of course I forgive you Harry, you are my godson and I love you like my own blood and son!” Sirius smiled.

Harry breathed, finally relieved and he and Sirius hugged each other tightly.

“You are always of my blood in my heart, Sirius.”

*********************************

They had Apparated to SiriusÂ’ flat to have dinner there and make merry. Harry and Hermione told Sirius and Rose about their engagement and Sirius started to bawl.

“I am so happy for you!” He wailed, sounding oddly like Hagrid. He made his way to Hermione and hugged her. “Now you are my daughter too!” He then laughed.

“Old Jamesy would be proud Harry!” Sirius winked at Harry.

Rose prepared grilled chicken in mushroom sauce with pasta and salad. They had red wine and for desert, Apple Crumble with coffee.

As it was getting late, Sirius and Rose insisted that Harry and Hermione spend the night there with them. Being too tired to refuse, followed a sprightly Rose down the hall to a guest bedroom.

“Goodnight,” she said and winked while closing the door.

After a while, Harry took out his wand and transfigured HermioneÂ’s dress into a nightgown. Harry then walked over to her and placed his hands on her hips while he held her close.

“Goodnight, my beautiful princess. I love you.” He smiled as he said this then kissed her. Hermione eagerly opened her mouth to allow him inside her mouth. She let out a low moan in delight and he smiled against her lips.

“Hmmmm, Honey,” she said as they broke the kiss. “You make me happy.” She smiled.

Harry stared into her eyes while she gazed lovingly back at him. He was trapped by her beauty and loved her even more then. He loved everything about her. He loved the way she liked to be in charge. He loved her smile and how she made him laugh. He loved how she gave him pleasure. He loved how she was brilliant. Her personality made him happy and he loved to be around her and her positive aura. Harry Potter loved Hermione Granger.

Harry then slid his arms round her waist and hugged her tightly. He held her close for what seemed like forever and then he said...

“I try my darling, I try.”