The Intentional Accident

Packing had begun in preparation for Sirius and Michael's move to Hogsmeade. Michael was seeing to the things that were being transported by Floo powder while Sirius was supposed to be sitting down and resting. Coming back from his fifth trip to the cottage, Michael stepped out of the fireplace to find Sirius carefully placing a pile of T-shirts into one of the suitcases. Michael crept up behind him and took his hand in his own, stopping him from packing.

"You're a very naughty boy," he whispered teasingly into Sirius' ear. "I thought we agreed you were going to rest."

"I spend most of my time sitting around doing nothing. I feel like I should be good for something." Turning him around gently, Michael stroked Sirius' face with the back of his fingers and looked into his eyes.

"You're good for many things, but right now packing isn't one of them. We're almost done anyway. I've just got to take these last few boxes and we'll be ready." Sirius gave him a pleading look.

"Can I at least finish this case? I'll use magic, I promise." Michael caved in and allowed Sirius to help. Their conversations often comprised of teasing, friendly, loving or otherwise. Underneath the joking, however, Michael found he was afraid of Sirius overexerting and hurting himself. Since he had learned that the love of his life was pregnant, he had unearthed a protective side of himself that he thought was bordering on smothering. He knew how Sirius hated to be left out of things important to their lives, but there was also the baby to think of. He made sure to be especially quick with this last trip. Leaving Sirius alone unnerved Michael inexplicably and yet he would have to do it a lot more in the not too distant future. Unknown to Michael, Sirius had been very concerned about the move. He knew he would miss their home but it was mostly small things that preyed on his mind. He had gotten precious little sleep the previous night.

Finally all minus themselves and their suitcases were in the cottage in Hogsmeade. As Michael emerged from the fireplace he pulled out his wand and tapped the stone structure. It instantly morphed back into what it had originally been before they first moved in, an ordinary radiator. Fireplaces were not all that common in London flats so they had improvised a little. Michael deposited the two suitcases by the door before noticing that Sirius wasn't in the living room. He soon found him in their bedroom, sitting on the bed and running his hand over the duvet. Michael knelt down on the floor beside him.

"Shame we can't take the bed with us. We've had some good times here."

"In the bed or the flat in general?" asked Michael.

"Both," was Sirius' whispered reply. Lifting Sirius' patterned jumper, he kissed his stomach affectionately.

"Is our most important parcel ready to go?" Sirius ran his hand through Michael's short, bristly hair.

"Put a stamp on us, we're as ready as we'll ever be," he sighed. After being heaved up from the bed they had shared for so long, Sirius was escorted out of their home and to the lifts. Before long their keys had been handed back to the landlord on the bottom floor and they were loading themselves into the car. Sirius removed his jumper, as it was an immensely hot day. He felt wary of anyone looking at his stomach so he was quick to get in and close the car door. It was a long drive from London to Scotland, but using the Floo network was just not an option. As they pulled away from the flat, Sirius wondered if they would ever see it again. He had never actually been to their new cottage, so he had only other people's descriptions to go by.

"I wish we could have taken the bed," he said for the third time since they had started their lengthy journey. Michael simply laughed gently as they joined the busy motorway. "Sorry Mike, I just seem to be moping for the sake of moping," he sighed. The sun coming in from the window felt so soothing on his tired skin.

"It's to be expected. I know you're nervous about the move and our little extra passenger has to take some of the credit. Don't worry, I've seen the bed in the cottage and I think you'll ..." Michael turned his head slightly to see that Sirius had fallen comfortably asleep in his seat, his head facing Michael. Pulling over briefly, Michael conjured a pillow and placed it carefully behind Sirius. Driving back out onto the motorway, a happy grin shone on his face like the hot sunlight.

~|~

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Michael whispered into Sirius' ear. When this didn't work, he woke him the way that was demanded in the fairy tale that was their wonderful life together, with a soft kiss. Sirius' eyes creaked open then shut again as they adjusted to the light.

"Are we there?" asked Sirius drearily.

"Yes. You slept the whole way."

"Did I? What about you? Have you had anything to eat?" asked Sirius in a tone of concern. Michael chuckled.

"I'm fine, now let's get you out of this car." Michael stepped out of his door and crossed to the other side to help Sirius. After being carefully heaved up, Sirius and Michael walked together to the front door of their new home. From the outside, the cottage appeared no different to the other buildings in Hogsmeade. It only had one floor, which was perfect for Sirius but in his still groggy state, Sirius was hardly impressed. This changed once Michael opened the oak door.

It was a good thing that Michael already had his arm around Sirius' waist. If he hadn't, Sirius would have staggered backwards and fallen. He was dumbstruck by the sight of the living room alone. It had a quaint charm to it, though 'quaint' hardly did it justice in Sirius' opinion. It oozed cosiness and comfort. Around the fireplace sat a brown tartan sofa and two armchairs. The carpet complimented the furniture perfectly. Littered across the floor were the various boxes that Michael had transported there earlier that morning. Turning to his right, Sirius saw the glistening kitchen, in which sat a dining table for two.

"Didn't I tell you you'd love it here?"

"I don't think you did," gasped Sirius, still in awe of the cottage.

"Well, I tried to but you fell asleep. Now, promise you won't faint while I go and get the suitcases?" Sirius merely nodded as he wandered in further and ran his hand over the sofa. He began exploring the rest of the cottage. As chance would have it, the first room he went into was the bedroom. The room was decently sized, the wallpaper was attractive, the double bed seemed familiar ...in fact it seemed very familiar. A pair of hands encircled Sirius from behind, followed closely by a pair of lips on his neck.

"Recognise anything?" teased Michael. It was then that Sirius clicked. The headboard, there was no mistaking it. It was the bed he thought had been left back in London. Sirius turned and threw his arms around Michael.

"This is such a surprise! How did ...how did you get it here?"

"I have my ways," said Michael simply. "I couldn't stand to see you so miserable. Now that we're here I'm going to make you sure you're as happy as you can be and more."

"Business as usual then," breathed Sirius as he kissed Michael tenderly. Sirius knew he was being spoiled, but in Michael's mind and heart he was worth it all. They eventually broke their kiss.

"Come on, let me show you where we'll be having our meaningful conversations," said Michael as he led Sirius out of the bedroom. He was, of course, referring to the shower. They were standing at the bathroom door when they saw two figures walking up the path outside. Sirius recognised them instantly.

"Auntie Hermione! Uncle Ron!" Hearing his voice, Hermione came rushing in through the open door, arms held out. She had to slow her approach so as not to collide with him. Instead she met him in a gentle hug.

"Just look at you, you're positively glowing!" she exclaimed. "I could hardly believe it when you wrote and said you were moving up here."

"I could hardly believe how hard it was to persuade the landlady to keep this available for you," said Ron as he trundled in. After years of gentle persuasion from various people and plenty of nagging from Hermione, Ron had finally shaved off his moustache. He smiled hugely as he hugged his godson.

"How was your trip?" he asked.

"I couldn't tell you, I slept the whole way apparently," confessed Sirius.

"Well you're bound to be tired now and then," said Hermione. "It comes with the little bundle of joy I'm afraid." While Michael saw to tea and coffee, Sirius showed his aunt and uncle the scan of the baby that Agatha had copied for them. Hermione found herself involuntarily cooing over it. Their visit was brief as Hermione was needed up at Hogwarts and Ron couldn't leave his son Jonathan in charge of the shop too long. Ron was, of course, not intrigued by the idea of total bankruptcy. Promising to visit again soon, they made their goodbyes and continued on their way further into Hogsmeade.

While Michael started unpacking the boxes, Sirius carried on exploring. He soon found the door that led to the back garden. He stepped out onto a stone patio with a small wooden picnic table and two chairs. The garden was nothing short of breathtaking. A variety of differently coloured flowers lined the flowerbeds and along the side of the lush, green lawn. Looking up, he saw the wondrous hills of Scotland that seemed to have no end. Gazing out, he felt compelled to look slightly left. He soon realised the reason for this compulsion. From the back garden they had the perfect view of Hogwarts castle. It didn't dominate the landscape but seemed to enhance it. Sirius couldn't wait to see how it looked at night.

~|~

"Quite a view, isn't it?"

"Oh yes, it's beautiful," said Sirius as he and Michael sat at the picnic table in the cool evening breeze. Dozens of lights were on up at Hogwarts. The castle seemed to blend into the rest of the starry night sky. The day had been a long one for both young men so Sirius didn't object when Michael suggested an early turn in. It took some effort but eventually Sirius successfully reached the bedroom. As the night was quite humid, neither of them bothered with pyjamas, not that Sirius' fitted him anymore. Although the bed was the same, Sirius couldn't shake the fact that the room was different. His pangs of homesickness were settled when he felt Michael caress his belly lovingly. Rather unexpectedly, Michael began to sing softly to their unborn child,

"You're the catching of the Snitch,

You're the thrill of the chase,

You're the scoring of a goal,

And the wind on my face.

You're the joy I feel,

When the game is won,

It's you I fly for,

My love, my little one."

Sirius had never heard Michael sing before. It was something he was always insisting that he was terrible at.

"That was lovely, where did you learn that?"

"It's just something my mum used to sing to me when I was a baby, before she died. I don't remember very much of her ...but that song has always stuck with me. She was a bit of Quidditch fanatic but then again so is dad." There was a slight pause, and then Sirius swore that he heard Michael whisper so quietly it could have easily just been the wind outside. "I miss her." Michael fell asleep soon after; his head nestled on Sirius' shoulder. As Sirius joined him, he could hear Michael's tranquil song in his head. However, he also felt Michael's tears trickle down onto his skin.