The Intentional Accident

Sirius was highly excited when he awoke early the next morning. He had a great deal of questions for his sister, questions he didn't feel comfortable asking anyone else. Michael was delighted when Sirius told him about their visit. During their conversation in the shower, Michael confessed that he did have a short briefing to go to at ten o'clock but assured Sirius that he would be gone an hour at the most. Sirius instantly forgave him, seeing as he would soon have to get used to him being away for much more than an hour. While Michael slept on, Sirius quietly got himself dressed and took a stroll down to Honeydukes, just in time for it's opening. He bought a variety of different sweets and chocolates for his nephew then hurried home, hoping that Michael was still asleep. Once he got back to the cottage, he closed the door behind quietly and placed the Honeydukes bag carefully on the kitchen counter.

"So, is this another craving?" said a gentle voice from beside the bedroom door. Looking up, Sirius saw Michael in his denim jeans. His bare muscular chest gleamed in the pale morning light. It made Sirius wonder what his own body now looked like in comparison.

"These aren't for me, they're for Arthur." He caught the enquiring look on Michael's face. "I swear!" he laughed. Neither of them was able to keep a straight face. Michael joined Sirius in the kitchen and embraced him caringly.

"You should have said you wanted some things from Honeydukes. I would have got them for you."

"I need the exercise," breathed Sirius as he ran his fingertips down Michael's immensely desirable abs. "We don't all have the body of an Olympian." As he spoke, Sirius' hand travelled further south until he entered the region covered by Michael's hastily undone jeans. Taking hold of Sirius' shoulders, Michael whispered into his ear.

"Bedroom ..." Sirius saw the sense in this. After all, it was highly unhygienic to do this sort of thing in the kitchen. Since becoming pregnant, Sirius' sex drive had been naturally quadrupled. Since intercourse was not advisable, the two young men had to find other outlets. They retreated into the bedroom with at least two hours to kill before Michael had to leave.

~|~

"Hurry up, Arthur. We were supposed to be at Uncle Sirius' five minutes ago," said Lily to the bathroom door.

"Coming, mum!" came a small voice from within. Lily ran her fingers through her long red hair as she looked around the small flat she shared with her six-year-old son. It was a reasonably sized flat, just big enough for the two of them. She earned quite a lot from her robe designs, but still she wished she could afford something better for her child. The absence of Arthur's father didn't make things any easier. She hadn't seen him since their final day at Hogwarts when he flatly refused to have anything to do with her or Arthur. She had never told her parents of that little encounter, knowing how her father would react. She didn't know what advice Sirius expected from her. Her own experience of pregnancy had been so full of anguish and grief that she was unsure of what to tell him.

The sound of the toilet flushing brought her back to earth. Arthur emerged from the bathroom. He had his mother's red hair and a few freckles, but those deep brown eyes were the property of his father. Arthur didn't know this, as he had never met him. Lily folded her arms and gave Arthur an interrogative look.

"Hands," she stated. Arthur automatically held out his little hands for inspection. After looking over them carefully, Lily decided that they had indeed been washed. "They'll do. Now go and get your coat, we're already late as it is." When they were both ready, Lily threw a handful of Floo Powder into their magically placed fireplace then knelt down to Arthur's level. He was short, even for a six-year-old. "Now, what do we have to remember about Uncle Sirius?"

"He's going to have a baby," stated Arthur.

"So what mustn't we ask him?"

"Why he's got such a big tummy," said Arthur as if he had been made to learn it off by heart.

"Good boy." Lily planted a kiss on her son's cheek, which he wiped off while she was checking she had everything she needed in her handbag. Arthur stepped into the fireplace without any fuss. He had hated travelling by Floo Powder when he was small, but after having to go to his grandparent's house nearly everyday while his mother was at work, he had gotten used to it. After stating his destination as loudly and clearly as his voice would allow, the green flames whirled up and engulfed him, whisking him away. After allowing him a few seconds to get clear of the fireplace on the other end, Lily followed him.

~|~

Sirius had very wisely dropped a cushion just in front of the fireplace after Michael left for his briefing. He knew that Arthur would arrive first but he also knew that Arthur still had trouble keeping his balance after travelling via the Floo network. Sure enough, the fireplace turned emerald green and spat out a dizzy young boy, who spun on the spot for a moment then fell squarely on his backside. The cushion had been perfectly placed.

"Hello, young man," said Sirius from beside the sofa. He walked over to his little nephew and helped him up.

"Hello, Uncle Sirius. I know you're having a baby so I'm not supposed to ask why your tummy is so big," said the six-year-old without thinking. Sirius laughed at this, it was the kind of thing Arthur was always coming up with. Nothing beat the time he last saw Great Uncle Ron and told him how glad he was that he didn't have a carrot on his face anymore. Lily suddenly emerged from the still green fire. Removing her long hair from in front of her face, she beamed when she saw her little brother. No one would have known who was the elder from looking at them. Sirius had been at least a head taller than her for some time.

"Hello you," she said through her happy smile.

"Hey," said Sirius simply, though he too was grinning. Dropping her handbag down on the armchair, Lily crossed the dark red rug and gave him a somewhat sideways hug. To try and hug him from the front would have been extremely awkward. She gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek and looked down at his rounded stomach.

"You've got to be expecting some time around late September, at the very least."

"Around then, yeah." Sirius looked down at his nephew, who had perched himself on the sofa, his feet dangling a foot away from the floor. "We were just talking about my big tummy, weren't we Arthur?" Lily threw her son a disappointed look.

"I thought we had agreed not to ask Uncle Sirius that, hadn't we?"

"Yeah ...but ...I didn't ...um ...Uncle Sirius is a tattletale!" grumbled Arthur in a defeated tone.

"You're all right, Arthur," laughed Sirius. He indicated towards the coffee table by the armchair. "Have you seen what's on there?" Arthur climbed down from the sofa and walked over to the coffee table. He turned to face his uncle.

"There's nothing there," he stated, thoroughly confused and just a little annoyed.

"Are you sure?" asked Sirius in that patronising tone only six-year-olds can tolerate. He was holding his wand at his side. Twitching it slightly and muttering, he caused a bowl full of the sweets he had bought earlier to materialise on top of the small table.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm not stupid ..." said Arthur as he turned and spotted the newly appeared sweets. Even though he was tempted to run straight to them, what manners he had prevailed. He sprinted over to his uncle and hugged his legs tightly. "Thank you, Uncle Sirius!" he chimed.

"You can just have a few now, otherwise you'll spoil your dinner," instructed Lily. There were times when even she couldn't believe what a responsible, if a little bossy she had become since Arthur came into her life.

Not wanting to waste the gorgeous weather, Sirius and Lily sat outside on the patio while Arthur chased and occasionally caught a few gnomes. Living in a small flat in London, something as simple as gnoming the garden was a novelty to him. Sirius conjured a jug of iced pumpkin juice and set it down on the picnic table. He had many questions for his sister but unfortunately she did not have all the answers. She told him all she could remember, but their experience differed on many levels. Sirius actually knew more about men giving birth than her, but his near-textbook knowledge didn't stop him feeling nervous about it.

"I won't lie to you, Sirius. It is painful. I can't really describe it but I tell you ...that feeling you get when the Healer hands you the baby ...your baby ...there's nothing like it." Their conversation tailed off to other matters, Madam Malkin's, St. Mungo's, and the Quidditch League Cup. Sirius enjoyed talking to her, even when they weren't talking about pregnancy. It was the knowledge that she knew what he was going through that brought some kind of ineffable meaning to what they were saying. Unable to find any more gnomes, Arthur joined his mother and uncle.

"Uncle Sirius, is the baby going to be a boy or a girl?" he asked out of pure curiosity.

"It's a boy," answered Sirius. He felt the baby kicking inside him. "Here, give me your hand." He took Arthur's little hand in his own and placed it where the baby was making its presence known. "Feel that? That's the baby kicking."

"Feels weird," was all Arthur could find to say. The sound of the fireplace being used came out from the open door. Sirius checked his watch.

"That'll be Michael. He said he'd only be an hour," he said happily as he tried to force himself up a little too quickly. Lily took his arm and helped him up.

"Not so fast, little brother. You're really going to have to take it steady." All three walked back into the house. Michael was standing stock still in front of the fireplace, clutching the Daily Prophet tightly in his hand. His breathing was heavy, his eyes focused ahead. He didn't seem to notice their entrance.

"Mike?" ventured Sirius timidly. Michael pulled himself from his grim solitude, though his temper remained.

"Finnigan ..." he snarled. "That bastard Scott Finnigan! He's only gone and sold some bull ..." Michael turned to face them and realised that Arthur was there. Even though he restrained himself to the point of not swearing again, the presence of Sirius' sister and six-year-old nephew did nothing to quell his rage. "He's sold a story to the Daily Prophet, all about us when we were at school. That Skeeter woman swallowed the whole thing." He threw the paper down onto the coffee table and ran his hands through his short hair, trying to calm himself. Lily picked up the paper and turned to the first inside page. There on page three, was a picture of Sirius and Michael at their graduation ceremony three years ago. They were standing together, Michael's arm around Sirius, both proudly brandishing their diplomas. Above the picture sat the headline: MICHAEL WOOD'S TURBULENT NATURE REVEALED, SCOTT FINNIGAN TELLS ALL. Sirius read the article over his sister's shoulder, though he later wished he hadn't.

Michael Wood's partner has entered his fifth month of pregnancy, but is the little bundle of what some assume is joy going to be too much for Puddlemere United's Keeper to handle? Scott Finnigan, Beater for the Ballycastle Bats, gave his opinion on how his old school friend will cope.

"Considering how easily upset he used to get in school, I seriously doubt he will be able to manage. When I first learned that he was going out with Sirius, he threatened me violently and told me not to tell anyone. I didn't approve of what they were doing but then again, who would? Nevertheless, I kept my word and said nothing. He once suspected that I had told someone and attacked me during a lesson. I hadn't said a word to anyone, but as soon as he got it into his head that I'd blabbed, he went straight for me. He's easily provoked and I wouldn't be surprised if he takes it out on their kid."

However, it seems that it's not only Michael Wood who has a fiery and violent temperament. Scott Finnigan also told us how Sirius had once cornered him in the Gryffindor common room and punched him in the jaw. Mr. Finnigan assures us that it was an unprovoked attack, which he had no warning of. Reflecting on these facts, perhaps the manager of Puddlemere United should think twice about Wood's position on the team.

When he had finished reading, Sirius looked away from the paper. He wouldn't look at anyone. Unable to stop the tears welling up in his eyes, he walked determinedly past a confused Arthur and straight into the bedroom. After closing the door behind him, he sank miserably onto the bed. He could hear raised voices in the next room.

"What did you do that for?" That was clearly Lily speaking.

"Do what? It's not my fault that Scott sold a pack of lies to the press!" Michael was still very angry.

"No, but you didn't have to come in here ranting about it and shoving it under his nose! Don't you think Sirius has got enough on his plate without this?"

"Oh and I suppose I don't?" retorted Michael. Sirius may have known to whom each voice belonged, but he had never heard them like this before.

"In case you haven't noticed, Sirius is having a baby!" shouted Lily, her voice getting louder.

"It's my baby as well!" hollered Michael.

"Yes but he's carrying it! You have no idea what that does to your emotions, I mean, how could you?" Taking out his wand, Sirius placed a charm on the door to stop the barrage that was their argument. He began to cry softly into the pillow. He knew the article was all lies, yet it was having the effect Scott and that Skeeter woman wanted. It had upset him, angered Michael and had already caused one fight. He placed his hand over the innocent cause of all the strife.

"Why can't they just leave us be?" he choked.