Chapter 6 The Bachelor’s call
Chapter 6 The Bachelor’s call
Ginny’s sat down at the table for her final welcoming feast. The ride to school had been mercifully, or disappointingly uneventful, Ginny was caught between the two. She sighed as McGonagall confidently got up to give her speech.
“Welcome students to what promises to be a great new year. As all except the first years can attest to, last year our esteemed alumni Harry James Potter finally and definitively rid us of the threat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters” she began and there was a loud applause that rang through the room, even some Slytherins joined in. McGonagall raised her arms to quite them down. “Yes, yes, we are all glad for that. I am also glad to see many of you that opted for home schooling have returned to us. This year also promises to be far less chaotic than last thanks to the departure of the infamous Black Marauders” she continued. There was applause from the faculty and all of Slytherin, with a few from the other tables joining in. Ginny growled.
“How dare she. I am a Marauder as well! If Harry heard this he would make her rue the day….Wait did I just say rue the day? “ she groaned inwardly. “Shiite I need my mates here, I need Harry” she groaned
The applause quieted and she continued, “As always I remind you that the Forbidden Forest is just that, FORBIDDEN, ergo the name. Mr. Filch has an ever expanding list of objects that are banned, mostly thanks to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. You will find it on his door if the force of gravity hasn’t already made it drop to the floor. We are thinking of adding it as an extra course if you manage to finish reading it within the school year and still remain sane enough to test on it. With that said, and if there is no other business, then let us all tuck in” she finished and took her seat.
Ginny was banging her head on the table in boredom and desperation when then was an even louder bang, one that made everyone drop to the floor in reaction. When they looked up there was a giant lion and a black dragon in the air. The lion transformed to Harry and stood on the dragon.
“Well hello Hogwarts how are you doing tonight?” Harry said.
“Good Merlin no, not again!” McGonagall yelled.
There was a commotion of outpour for Harry, ranging from boos, to cheers, to open adoration and love declarations.
Harry lifted his hands and the crowd immediately quieted.
“Well then, thank you for that. Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, students, professors, my fellow Marauder, and Minnie” Harry said bowing around the room and finally bowing to McGonagall exaggeratedly. She fumed at the nickname. “As King of Pranks and leader of the Black Marauders I cannot in good conscience allow this school year, the last school year of our beloved fellow Marauder Silentnight to go without notice…or chaos” he continued.
“Good Merlin, no” McGonagall said as she got up as did all the teachers and shot spells at Harry, only to see them pass through.
“Now now Minnie, professors, I am surprised you didn’t notice I am an illusion. What’s more I am appalled that you actually thought you could hit me if I wasn’t one. Just because of that I won’t go easy on any of you” he said with an evil grin.
There was a blinding flash and a loud bang. When Ginny opened her eyes again she was sitting in McGonagall’s chair and as she looked down she notices she was in her Marauder robes. What’s more she noticed the Great hall was no empty. That was until she heard a peculiar sound, well many to be more exact, but one was louder than the others…it was the can can. Ginny looked up and realized that on the ceiling of the great hall. Now completely dressed like Vegas showgirls, stood everybody else, and every one of them was dancing in lines, fireworks appearing every once in a while. Harry was gone, it had obviously been a delayed spell set off to go that particular date. Everyone was complaining on the ceiling and threatening to kill Harry. Some of them looked very disturbing in the outfits. Still she laughed loudly as they began to sing out of tune. “Have a, have a great year, Sighighighighilent niiiiiiiight, we hope that you will prank us, have a great year, siiiiighlentniiiiight. Your palls the Marauders haven’t forgotten how to have fuuuuuuuuun, so now watch the school dance and celebrate your last year siiiiighighighighilent niiiiiight” over and over again till the music ended. There was another bang, then when she opened her eyes she was in the Room of Requirement. There was a note waiting for her.
“Dear Ginny,
Have a great year, make us proud, make your parents laugh and be disappointed, and above all have fun and make the Black Marauder name proud.
You are probably going to be blamed for this; ergo you have been given a head start….now run.
Your fearless, brilliant, incredibly sexy leader,
Snuffles”
Ginny laughed, and laughed, then sighed dried the tear that escaped. Looked at the letter again and then sighed. “Bloody hell I miss you Harry….Damn I wonder if I could get someone to get me some Snuffles Serum without my bloody brothers finding out its for me” she thought evilly remembering the fun little effects of that drink, specifically the obedient, naked, and horny fake Harry it made appear.
Sirius was looking impatiently at Remus.
“You have got to be bloody out of you fucking mind” Sirius said angrily.
“Now isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black” Remus replied.
“Yes, what about the pot calling the kettle, and please call me Sirius” Sirius replied still angry
Remus rolled his eyes, “It is NOT going to happen. Good Merlin this is why I didn’t want you to have the job” he groaned
“You are going to do it, whether you bloody like it or not. I am the best man and I call the shots” Sirius replied haughtily.
“And I am the groom, and it’s my wedding. I refuse to allow myself and others to be put in your hands under such circumstances. I shudder to think of the chaos and mayhem associated. Good Merlin I still remember that night in the Ministers office after the last time you were trusted with one of these” Remus said impatiently as he poked Sirius.
“Oh come one, this will be nothing like that, for starters you’re not Prongs and Tonksie isn’t Lilly” Sirius countered.
“That’s why I shudder to think, last time Lilly threatened not to marry James if it got out of hand, and then threatened to castrate the both of you if it did get out of hand, and it still did! This time my bloody fiancée thinks you’re the most brilliant person for the job and is insisting you go all out and I very well have no chance at stopping you where James had a 50-50 shot on his own” Remus said as he paced.
Sirius laughed his bark like laugh. “Well that is true, Tonksie is rooting for the old dog and you have never been much for dissuading anyone from the fun” Sirius said as he kept laughing.
“You mean idiocy” Remus corrected.
“Tomatoe, Tomato, same thing” he replied and then put his arms on Remus’s shoulders. “Just give it up man, you never stood a shot. Besides if Harry had done it, it would have been just as bad if not worst” he added with and evil grin.
Remus sighed deeply, “Fine, fine, FINE, just don’t get us arrested” he said in surrender.
“Bachelor Party!!!!!!!!” Sirius said jumping up and down excitedly.
“Good Merlin save us all” Remus said sitting down and shaking his head between his hands
Axel was standing at the top of a hill; he was finally feeling more at ease. The troops were learning, of course the one that had shown the most progress was also the one with the biggest attitude. And the constant heckling and torture from her teammates didn’t help. Axel rarely gave them time to do anything, but they were still getting her, and getting her good. Her food would get vanished; she would get shot by random curses through the day and night. She would be insulted and demeaned by her peers constantly, but through it all she kept up the attitude and didn’t budge. She did however improve in her discipline and respect for Axel.
A spell hit her ankle as she was climbing up the hill. Oddly though, no spells should have been flying. She tripped and rolled all the way down. She got up, bloodied.
“You ok Ms. Sabina?” Axel asked with a smirk.
“Perfectly fine sir, I just tripped and are now leaking a bit of blood, nothing to worry about” she replied with a salute.
“Excellent, now get your ass back up the mountain” he replied with an evil grin.
“Sir, yes sir” she replied and got to it.
“Yep, she will do, she will do very nicely” Axel said with a dark grin.
When they got back down, he spoke up. “Ok then, time for spell drills, I hope you have been doing your meditating cause I’m about to extract every last ounce of you magic. Now start with the blasting spells” he commanded and they all got in line, and started shooting in unison into the water. They were used to this type of exercise now. “Put more power into it, that won’t even split a rock” he shouted. They complied and put more power into it, but still they blasts were pathetic by Axel’s standards. They were barely causing a few feet of water to blast up. Ximena was the only one doing a half decent job.
“Ok stop” he shouted angrily. They all turned at attention. “That was fucking pathetic. Do you want me to illustrate this to you? Are you too fucking dumb to actually execute a half decent blasting spell?” he shouted out loud.
“Sir, no sir” they shouted together.
“Seems like it to me. Now fucking watch, I expect that all of you together would at least be able to execute this much power if you do it at the same time” Axel said as he paced in front of the lifted his hand and shot a blast. The resulting explosion shook the ground and caused a massive waved to head towards them. Everyone except Axel and Ximena ran for it. The wave hit and smashed them against the hill. Axel stood unphased, as was Ximena who has shot a sticking charm and a proper shield to defend herself.
“Congratulations you pieces of scum, you are now all fucking wet. Seriously, do all your idiotic brain cells combined not add up to at least one primitive brain? Observe Ms. Sabina, who raised a shield and a sticking charm. That is a proper response. Unfuckingbelievable, what the fuck am I supposed to do with you retards. I am surprised you all rose high enough to be considered scum” he shouted. Then looked at Ximena. “Ms. Sabina front and fucking center” he said angrily.
“Sir yes sir” she said as she unstuck herself and stood at attention in front of Axel.
“Congratufuckinglations you have been raised from trash, through primordial ooze, ameba, and bacteria, to the rank of maggot. Be fucking proud in the fact that you are insect progeny” he said as he slapped her back. “Now stop fucking around and shoot like you mean it” he ordered.
“Sir yes sir” she shouted with a proud grin as she began shooting her blasting spells with everything she had.
“Excellent maggot, now will the scums over there get there asses in gear and do the same…and I do mean now” he yelled. They all got up and ran into position and started blasting with everything they had. “This is going to be a LOOONG few months” he grumbled with a grin.
Tonks had been feeling sick for a while now, that and something else that HANDN’T happened were weighing heavily on her mind. She loved being an Auror, and a member of the Order, but if she was right in her suspicions, the same suspicions she had been ignoring for two months now…well that would be over. She suddenly felt the urge to hurl and puked her guts out behind a bush. She was on patrol; she couldn’t afford to be distracted. It was then she heard the screams. She quickly stood and ran towards the noise. When she arrived she saw a group of hooded individuals with wands drawn robbing a mother and her children.
“Give us the money” one shouted.
“Take it, just don’t hurt them” the mother said as she hid her kids behind her back.
“Don’t tell us what to do” another said.
“Hurt me if you want, but you will not hurt my children. My life before theirs” she shouted defiantly.
“So be it” said the first as he raised his wand.
Tonks blasted that arm off. The scream he issued was deafening. And in a flash spells were flying. She rolled and stunned the one who she blasted the arm off of. Then somersaulted and blasted a second against the wall. The last though was nimble; she danced with him blasting spells back and forth. Finally he made a mistake and tripped. She readied her wand and was about to shoot when she felt nauseous again and dizzy. That hesitation was all he needed to regain his footing, they both shot spells at the same time. Tonks was blasted against a wall as the other was paralyzed in a full body bind. She slid down, the pain was excruciating, but what was more excruciating, was her fear.
She woke up in St. Mungos, he back was killing her, she looked at herself and saw that her cuts were bandaged up.
“Thank Merlin” she heard from her left, Remus crushed her in a hug.
“How are you feeling Tonksie, you gave us quite the scare” Sirius said with a grin.
“I feel like shit, and stop calling me Tonksie” she mumbled as loud as she could.
Sirius laughed his bark like laugh. She smiled, she missed that laugh, it was good to have it back.
“Are you really ok love? I don’t know what I would do without you” Remus said as he kissed her and hugged her firmly.
“It's ok Remus, I am ok. I am sorry I had you worried” she said as she patted his back.
“Well Tonks can you tell me what happened?” Mr. Weasley asked. She hadn’t noticed until that moment that her boss was in the room.
“I am sorry, Arthur, it was a slip up. What happened to the mother and children?” she asked worried.
“They are fine; the muggers have been captured and will be tried in due process. One of them lost and arm, but considering the victims statements, it falls under proper procedure for you to have incapacitated him in such a manor” he replied. Then he patted her shoulder, “You did good Tonks” he added.
“I wonder about that” she thought worriedly.
Just then the Healer walked in. “How are you doing Ms. Tonks, it is good to see you awake” she started. “I am Healer Carson” she added.
“Well my back still hurts, and I feel very weak” Tonks replied.
“That is to be expected, your back suffered a light injury, and the painkillers take a lot out of you” the healer explained.
“I’m sorry, Remus, could you guys give me a minute alone with the healer, I want to speak to her about some…stuff” Tonks said with a weak smile.
“Sure love whatever you want” Remus said kissing her forehead. “We will be right outside” he added.
She smiled and watched them leave, the terror still haunting her. That woman, that mother, she had finally awoken something within her, something she had been suppressing. And now she was terrified.
“Healer Carson” Tonks began, and looked at her with teary eyes.
“Yes, dear?” she asked kindly as she checked on her.
“Could you please check if I am pregnant?” Tonks said with her voice shaking.
The healer froze instantly, she looked at Tonk’s face and her smile vanished. “Good Merlin, tell me you didn’t stay in the field thinking you’re pregnant” she whispered.
Tonks couldn’t even reply, the fear of what could have just happened, the damage she could have caused was overwhelming her.
“Sweet girl” the healer said with a sad smile. “Let us see then” she said with determination as she said a complex spell over Tonks. A ball of light appeared, it was white, seconds later it turned pink. “Sweet Merlin” she gasped and ran out of the room. Seconds later she came back and started frantically running several different spells. Moments after another Healer rushed in.
“Matilda you called?” said the healer. But in seconds she saw what spells were being cast and quickly, without question or hesitation she began to help run them.
“This is Healer Gailey; she is specialized in prenatal care. This is Auror Tonks, she was in a field incident” Healer Carson explained as she kept running the spells.
“I would say I am pleased to meet you Ms. Tonks, but these circumstances do not paint you in a very good light. You are pregnant, now we have to see what your irresponsibility has caused” Healer Gailey said harshly as she evaluated the results from the spells.
Tonks were crying her soul out. She couldn’t believe it, the one duty she had above any other as a woman, as a mother, she had failed at. She was beyond terrified and distraught.
Healer Gailey stood grimly as she evaluated, finally she sighed and stood back. “You are a very lucky witch, foolish, but extremely lucky. Your baby is fine. What I cannot fathom is how a woman three months into her pregnancy was out in the field” she said angrily.
Tonks breathed again, she closed her eyes as she felt the heavens shine down and pull her out of the hell she was living in. She cried, she cried with every ounce of her soul, she felt so happy and relieved; her idiocy had not caused a tragedy. She thanked the heavens with all her heart. With a shaking voice she said, “Healer Gailey, you cannot fathom how sorry I am, or how relieved I feel. I lost myself to the fear of what was, instead of facing the truth of what will be. I love my job, but it took a mother defending her kids with her life to remind me that there are things that one must love more. I didn’t know if I was pregnant until now, and now that I do, I intend to insure I stay that way. Could you please call the men in the hall back in?”
Healer Gailey sighed, “You are a fool, a lucky fool, but at least a fool that knows when to admit her foolishness. I am happy for you dear” said the healer as she smiled down at her.
“Congratulations Ms. Tonks, let me go get them so you can tell them the good news” said Healer Carson
The men entered quickly. Remus looked terrified. “Are you ok? I saw the Healer dashing out and then dashing back in but the nurses refused to let me pass” Remus said worriedly as he rushed to her side.
“I am fine Remus, I am better than fine” she replied speaking to her fiancée. She then turned to her boss, who was also looking at her worriedly. “Arthur, I am going to be taking a leave of absence for the next year” she said with conviction. Healer Gailey smiled widely.
Arthur looked at her confused, “Tonks, you know you can ask me for anything, but do you really feel that you won’t be fit for duty? I mean a complete year, are you really that bothered by this incident?” he asked worriedly.
She looked up at Remus, and her eyes locked on his. “Sirius, please stand behind Remus” she said without looking away.
Sirius looked at her, took a couple of steps to the side and stood behind Remus, “Ok Tonks I am in position. Are you planning on blasting him or something?” he chuckled.
Remus looked down at Tonks, “Love, what it is? What is going on? What is wrong?” he asked nervously.
Tonks smiled up at him, “Nothing is wrong love, in fact everything is just right. You are going to be a dad” she said with tears in her eyes.
Remus breathed, “I know I will be a dad eventually, I have always wanted kids. Especially now that Harry and Axel cured me” he said patting Tonk’s hands and kissing her forehead.
Arthur and Sirius, on the other hand, caught on quick.
“Mate, em, I don’t think that is what she means” Sirius said.
“Of course you can’t take a leave of absence, I insist you do” Arthur said smiling at her.
“What are you on about Sirius?” Remus replied as he turned around.
Tonks chuckled, “Remus” she said calling his attention back to her. “I meant that you are going to be a dad in the near future, approximately…” she said looking up at the Healer.
“In six months and 8 days, give or take one or two days I would say, but then again Mother Nature has her own schedule” chuckled Healer Gailey
Remus froze, his mouth dropped open, “You mean, I mean, we mean, I’m gonna be, she is gonna be, we are going to have” he stuttered.
Sirius laughed loudly, “Yes you old wolf, it appears you bloody well knocked my little cousin up, bun in the oven, shot gun wedding in the works. I should bloody well beat the snot out of you mate, consider yourself lucky that I am in a good mood” he said smashing his hand into Remus’s back.
And then it clicked in his head, “You beating me up sounds like a good plan actually” Remus said and then fainted and hit the floor.
“Sirius!!! I bloody well told you to get behind him and catch him” Tonks shouted.
Sirius looked affronted, “You did no such thing, you just said get behind him and I did. I am not a bloody Legilemens to know that you were going to pull the rug out from under the old wolf. Poor bastard never had a chance” he sighed and then laughed loudly.
“Good lord I hope this baby takes after Remus” she grumbled.
“You mean my mate, and fellow Marauder?” Sirius countered.
“Then I hope he takes after me” she said crossing her arms.
“You mean the troublemaking, shape shifting, fellow Marauder, and dear cousin of mine” Sirius replied as he laughed louder.
“Bloody hell I am screwed” she groaned.
“I would say, care to explain why you were in the field three months into your pregnancy?” Arthur asked quite upset. He had been through the drill several times and knew his math very well, as well as what care was required for an expectant mother.
Tonks looked up at her boss with a repentant look, “I didn’t know I was pregnant?” she replied in the form of a question.
“I am severely disappointed in you Tonks. Thank Merlin the baby is ok” he said and looked up at the healer.
“Yes Mr. Weasley, the baby is fine” she replied.
“Good to see you again Sara. It has been a while” he said smiling up at her.
“Id would say, I still remember when you were here last for little Ginny” she replied.
“You know each other then” Sirius cut in.
“Yea, she was here our healer for the births of the twins down to Ginny” Arthur said with a grin. Then he looked back down to Tonks.
“Wow that is great, sounds like I got myself a Healer then” Tonks said trying to get attention off of what she had done.
Mr. Weasley stared down at her, “Oh now missy, you are definitely not getting off that easy. You will have to pay for this somehow” he said haughtily.
Tonks smirked, “Love to see you try sir, but it will have to wait until I’m no longer pregnant” she said confidently. Being pregnant did have that perk; she was golden till the baby was born.
Mr. Weasley smiled evilly, “Oh really, be right back” he said and then left.
“Any idea what he is going to do?” Tonks mumbled up to Sirius.
“None, but I know that look, it is never good when a Weasley smiles like that. I should know I am working with nearly all his offspring. The twins get that look often enough for my liking, and afterwards there is usually a big mess to clean” Sirius replied.
“Pregnant” Remus said getting up from the floor, “Oww” he said holding his head.
“Really Moony, you shouldn’t sleep on the floor. Even though this is a hospital, and the floors are spotless, it is still in poor taste” Sirius said barking with laughter.
“Well Ms. Tonks, I leave you in good hands. I have to make my rounds” she said as she rushed out. She had a very good idea what was coming and didn’t want to be close to the crossfire.
“Ha ha Padfoot, you are SUCH a comedian” he said angrily at Sirius. Then looked down at Tonks, “I love you so much. This will all be ok. I am thrilled” he said excitedly as he covered Tonks with kisses.
Tonks smiled, “It is awesome, isn’t it? Who would have figured this would happen?” she replied.
“Well you see Tonksie, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they get starkers and then they…” Sirius began but was stopped by Remus.
“I think we know how this happened Padfoot thank you” Remus replied.
“Oh but you don’t know how I would go about it, and boy do I have a nice list. Plus payback is a bitch; you gave me this same speech a while ago” Sirius said smiling back at him.
“Oh we are very familiar with how you go about it. Your lovely godson gave us a copy of one of your books for Christmas a while back” Tonks said chuckling as she cut in.
“Ah wise man, that godson of mine, takes after me” Sirius said proudly. “Bet it was dead useful, Merlin knows Moony here can you all the help he can get”
“Ha ha, enough picking on the father to be. Anyways, I am so happy love. It is good you asked Arthur for a leave, I don’t want you in the field in your condition. Where is Arthur by the way?” said Remus as he looked around.
“NYMPHADORA TONKS!” they heard the yell down the hall, a yell filled with outrage, and the owner of that voice could only be one person. Molly Weasley.
“Good Merlin, I am in deep shit now. How the bloody hell did I not see this coming” Tonks groaned.
“HOW DARE YOU GO INTO THE FIELD IN YOUR CONDITION, OF ALL THE IRRISPONSIBLE THINGS YOU COULD POSSIBLE DO” came another voice, this one filled her with a fear worst than Voldemort.
“Remus for the love of Merlin, hide me, hide me quickly, she is going to kill me, then she is going to kill you. Let’s run for it” she said quickly and desperately.
Sirius backed up into a corner away from the bed.
Remus looked down at his wife, “Honey, what is this about?” he said.
It was then when Molly Weasley, and Andromeda Tonks rounded the door and saw them, and like to vicious lionesses pounced on their prey.
“Of all the irresponsible things you could bloody well do” began Andromeda.
“Three months pregnant, IN THE FIELD, ARE BLOODY MAD?” Molly continued.
“YOU ARE THREE MONTHS PREGNANT?” Remus said outraged.
Sirius felt that was a great time to cut in and joke about Remus’s lack of good math skills but he abstained to speak up as he was scared shitless.
“Oh hi Remus, congratulations” Molly said giving him a hug and a kiss.
“Thank you Molly, I am ecstatic” Remus replied and then both stared down at Tonks who was cringing and slowly moving deeper and deeper under the covers with each yell.
Andromeda ripped the sheets off the bed. “Oh no missy, you are not getting away from this lecture. How could you be so stupid? I have never been so disappointed in my entire life” she said down at her. And then looked up at Remus, “And you, I do hope you don’t think that just because you are marrying my daughter that gets you out of the hot seat for knocking her up” she growled.
“Of course not Mrs. Tonks, I will be over this very afternoon to speak with you and Mr. Tonks. I know this comes as a great shock to you, you put a trust in me and in her and though the news are incredibly good and happy, it does not detract from the fact that that trust has been broken. It would only be proper for me to speak at length with you and hear your grievances in the matter as well as deliver a proper apology. I am deeply sorry for breaking your trust Mrs. Tonks, but I can assure you I couldn’t be happier and if anything look forward to the wedding with even more enthusiasm” Remus replied very seriously and diplomatically. His years of practice getting out trouble with the Marauders shinning through.
Andromeda just stared at him, “Well you better, now come and give me a hug” she said smiling at him and hugging him. She had to admit, the man had manners, and carried himself well, as well as being very responsible and quite eloquent when talking himself out of a hole, her daughter couldn’t have chosen a better man.
“Oh” Molly said as she hugged both as well. Tonks stared up, knowing what was soon to come, trying to figure how to escape. Looking at her cousin who was hiding in the corner for help. He just shrugged at her and ducked further down. And then it happened, three sets of eyes bore down upon her.
“Oh shit” was all she managed to say before the tirade of all three began again.
Catherine Doughery was not a patient woman, not when she was on the verge of starting a war. This was beyond business, it was personal. Sirius Black would suffer and go down; his retarded company would go up in smoke. She was surprised that it had gotten as far as it had, who in their right mind would associate with him. She read through the dossier on WWW and it clicked. “Of course, idiots flock together” she grumbled, then kept reading as she sipped her tea, looked at their reported profits and her eyebrows rose as she spit out her tea. “What the fuck!?!??! Apparently very lucky and profitable idiots” she growled as she kept reading and then saw something that made her heart stop. “They are going global!?!?!?!? Where the fuck did they get the money for that shit?” she said as she read through the buyouts that had been made recently and the insanely aggressive expansion. “Ms. Brooke get your ass in here” she shouted.
A very scared woman moved into the office in a run. “Yes Ms. Doughery” she said.
“Have our marketing department, R &D, and Real Estate departments get together, I want them to present me with a valid proposal for a global chain of novelty and prank stores” she growled
“Immediately Ms. Doughery” she said as she ran out of the room.
Catherine sighed, being the CEO of a multinational conglomerate did cause her headaches at times.
She let her mind wander, seeing that bastard had brought her memories flooding back. Memories that she had suppressed, her friends, Hogwarts, the fun she had had, Lily…her best friend, she hadn’t even shed tears for her. Lily had been with her from day 1 at Hogwarts, she had helped her fit in, defended her, been her best friend, been through her best and worst times at Hogwarts; abandoning her had ripped her heart out, she felt like such a traitor.
She had been so wrapped up in getting ahead in the company with her family’s wealth to back her that she had neglected to go to her funeral. She had outright refused to go to the wedding; she didn’t want to see that mutt and his idiot friends. Of course she had heard of Harry, their son, and of his survival, but otherwise she refused to look at anything that reminded her of her old life, so she had ignored any stories that had the name Potter on them. She hadn’t gone to his christening either for much the same reasons as she didn’t go to her friend’s wedding. Lily had been adamant about both those invitations but she had refused to go.
Her mind also wandered to Remus, he had always been the relatively sensible one, a sort of bridge between her and Lily, and the Marauders. Always cleaning up their messes and apologizing for their childish behavior. Now she was contemplating using the poor man for her own gains.
“It needs to be done, Sirius needs to pay!” she growled. She still remembered when she read about the Potter’s deaths, about Sirius, half of her couldn’t believe it, he had betrayed his best mate, it was beyond reason in her mind, that was not the Sirius she knew, the other half of her was bloody happy he was caught and downright knew that that traitor had done it. How that latter half had been wrong, she had read the later reports that explained Pettigrew’s treachery, and once again part of her was glad, glad that Sirius was innocent, that her instincts hadn’t been so wrong. When he died, part of her mourned, part of her rejoiced in justice being done and freedom, finally freedom from it all.
She shook her head out of her reverie and kept reading her preliminary dossier on the Black Marauders. She had already used her global contacts to spread as much dissension as she could relating to the Potter Preserve among the wizard governments in the world. She had tried to show it as folly, and a danger, expose Sirius as an irresponsible leader that couldn’t be trusted with such a monumental task, expose the dangers and safety issues with such and endeavor. I mean fucking shit; they wanted to put the great majority of all the dragons on the planet in one place, smack in the middle of Scotland close to bloody Hogwarts! It was insane and irresponsible! It just reeked of Sirius Black, and of course he had to make a big show of naming it after his best mate, probably a publicity stunt, his supposed death was probably one too. Her anger rose again as she gulped down what was left of her tea. Yea, the Black Marauders definitely reeked of Sirius in more than name, but at the same time though, something was bothering her, something didn’t add up, there were small parts here and there that as she read the dossier reminded her of something or someone else. Maybe Remus had something to do with that. “No, it’s not him, I just can’t put my finger on it” she sighed in frustration and then shook her herself out of her reverie. Whatever it was, Sirius was going down and she would be there to gloat and kick him when he fell.
Time moved slowly for Harry, too slowly, then again at the same time he was making a lot of progress. It had been nearly two years since he had come to the planet. He had let his beard grow. He was now finally at Level 10 planet. Harry had expected bullies and envious golems to make thing difficult on him, but it was quite the opposite, everyone was just focused on getting as far as they could, thinking nothing of everyone else like solitary rocks scattered on a road.
“Well Harry, how many symbols remain on the ceiling now? Eight? Ten? Twenty?” asked the Master.
“One” replied Harry simply without breaking his concentration or opening his eyes.
“One!?!?!? You mean you have already passed at least 9 out of the 10 supreme moves!” Golme said astounded.
“It would appear so” Harry said in a calm voice as he moved his body as if practicing some ancient meditation technique.
“Which one are you missing?” he asked.
Ginny’s sat down at the table for her final welcoming feast. The ride to school had been mercifully, or disappointingly uneventful, Ginny was caught between the two. She sighed as McGonagall confidently got up to give her speech.
“Welcome students to what promises to be a great new year. As all except the first years can attest to, last year our esteemed alumni Harry James Potter finally and definitively rid us of the threat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters” she began and there was a loud applause that rang through the room, even some Slytherins joined in. McGonagall raised her arms to quite them down. “Yes, yes, we are all glad for that. I am also glad to see many of you that opted for home schooling have returned to us. This year also promises to be far less chaotic than last thanks to the departure of the infamous Black Marauders” she continued. There was applause from the faculty and all of Slytherin, with a few from the other tables joining in. Ginny growled.
“How dare she. I am a Marauder as well! If Harry heard this he would make her rue the day….Wait did I just say rue the day? “ she groaned inwardly. “Shiite I need my mates here, I need Harry” she groaned
The applause quieted and she continued, “As always I remind you that the Forbidden Forest is just that, FORBIDDEN, ergo the name. Mr. Filch has an ever expanding list of objects that are banned, mostly thanks to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. You will find it on his door if the force of gravity hasn’t already made it drop to the floor. We are thinking of adding it as an extra course if you manage to finish reading it within the school year and still remain sane enough to test on it. With that said, and if there is no other business, then let us all tuck in” she finished and took her seat.
Ginny was banging her head on the table in boredom and desperation when then was an even louder bang, one that made everyone drop to the floor in reaction. When they looked up there was a giant lion and a black dragon in the air. The lion transformed to Harry and stood on the dragon.
“Well hello Hogwarts how are you doing tonight?” Harry said.
“Good Merlin no, not again!” McGonagall yelled.
There was a commotion of outpour for Harry, ranging from boos, to cheers, to open adoration and love declarations.
Harry lifted his hands and the crowd immediately quieted.
“Well then, thank you for that. Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, students, professors, my fellow Marauder, and Minnie” Harry said bowing around the room and finally bowing to McGonagall exaggeratedly. She fumed at the nickname. “As King of Pranks and leader of the Black Marauders I cannot in good conscience allow this school year, the last school year of our beloved fellow Marauder Silentnight to go without notice…or chaos” he continued.
“Good Merlin, no” McGonagall said as she got up as did all the teachers and shot spells at Harry, only to see them pass through.
“Now now Minnie, professors, I am surprised you didn’t notice I am an illusion. What’s more I am appalled that you actually thought you could hit me if I wasn’t one. Just because of that I won’t go easy on any of you” he said with an evil grin.
There was a blinding flash and a loud bang. When Ginny opened her eyes again she was sitting in McGonagall’s chair and as she looked down she notices she was in her Marauder robes. What’s more she noticed the Great hall was no empty. That was until she heard a peculiar sound, well many to be more exact, but one was louder than the others…it was the can can. Ginny looked up and realized that on the ceiling of the great hall. Now completely dressed like Vegas showgirls, stood everybody else, and every one of them was dancing in lines, fireworks appearing every once in a while. Harry was gone, it had obviously been a delayed spell set off to go that particular date. Everyone was complaining on the ceiling and threatening to kill Harry. Some of them looked very disturbing in the outfits. Still she laughed loudly as they began to sing out of tune. “Have a, have a great year, Sighighighighilent niiiiiiiight, we hope that you will prank us, have a great year, siiiiighlentniiiiight. Your palls the Marauders haven’t forgotten how to have fuuuuuuuuun, so now watch the school dance and celebrate your last year siiiiighighighighilent niiiiiight” over and over again till the music ended. There was another bang, then when she opened her eyes she was in the Room of Requirement. There was a note waiting for her.
“Dear Ginny,
Have a great year, make us proud, make your parents laugh and be disappointed, and above all have fun and make the Black Marauder name proud.
You are probably going to be blamed for this; ergo you have been given a head start….now run.
Your fearless, brilliant, incredibly sexy leader,
Snuffles”
Ginny laughed, and laughed, then sighed dried the tear that escaped. Looked at the letter again and then sighed. “Bloody hell I miss you Harry….Damn I wonder if I could get someone to get me some Snuffles Serum without my bloody brothers finding out its for me” she thought evilly remembering the fun little effects of that drink, specifically the obedient, naked, and horny fake Harry it made appear.
Sirius was looking impatiently at Remus.
“You have got to be bloody out of you fucking mind” Sirius said angrily.
“Now isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black” Remus replied.
“Yes, what about the pot calling the kettle, and please call me Sirius” Sirius replied still angry
Remus rolled his eyes, “It is NOT going to happen. Good Merlin this is why I didn’t want you to have the job” he groaned
“You are going to do it, whether you bloody like it or not. I am the best man and I call the shots” Sirius replied haughtily.
“And I am the groom, and it’s my wedding. I refuse to allow myself and others to be put in your hands under such circumstances. I shudder to think of the chaos and mayhem associated. Good Merlin I still remember that night in the Ministers office after the last time you were trusted with one of these” Remus said impatiently as he poked Sirius.
“Oh come one, this will be nothing like that, for starters you’re not Prongs and Tonksie isn’t Lilly” Sirius countered.
“That’s why I shudder to think, last time Lilly threatened not to marry James if it got out of hand, and then threatened to castrate the both of you if it did get out of hand, and it still did! This time my bloody fiancée thinks you’re the most brilliant person for the job and is insisting you go all out and I very well have no chance at stopping you where James had a 50-50 shot on his own” Remus said as he paced.
Sirius laughed his bark like laugh. “Well that is true, Tonksie is rooting for the old dog and you have never been much for dissuading anyone from the fun” Sirius said as he kept laughing.
“You mean idiocy” Remus corrected.
“Tomatoe, Tomato, same thing” he replied and then put his arms on Remus’s shoulders. “Just give it up man, you never stood a shot. Besides if Harry had done it, it would have been just as bad if not worst” he added with and evil grin.
Remus sighed deeply, “Fine, fine, FINE, just don’t get us arrested” he said in surrender.
“Bachelor Party!!!!!!!!” Sirius said jumping up and down excitedly.
“Good Merlin save us all” Remus said sitting down and shaking his head between his hands
Axel was standing at the top of a hill; he was finally feeling more at ease. The troops were learning, of course the one that had shown the most progress was also the one with the biggest attitude. And the constant heckling and torture from her teammates didn’t help. Axel rarely gave them time to do anything, but they were still getting her, and getting her good. Her food would get vanished; she would get shot by random curses through the day and night. She would be insulted and demeaned by her peers constantly, but through it all she kept up the attitude and didn’t budge. She did however improve in her discipline and respect for Axel.
A spell hit her ankle as she was climbing up the hill. Oddly though, no spells should have been flying. She tripped and rolled all the way down. She got up, bloodied.
“You ok Ms. Sabina?” Axel asked with a smirk.
“Perfectly fine sir, I just tripped and are now leaking a bit of blood, nothing to worry about” she replied with a salute.
“Excellent, now get your ass back up the mountain” he replied with an evil grin.
“Sir, yes sir” she replied and got to it.
“Yep, she will do, she will do very nicely” Axel said with a dark grin.
When they got back down, he spoke up. “Ok then, time for spell drills, I hope you have been doing your meditating cause I’m about to extract every last ounce of you magic. Now start with the blasting spells” he commanded and they all got in line, and started shooting in unison into the water. They were used to this type of exercise now. “Put more power into it, that won’t even split a rock” he shouted. They complied and put more power into it, but still they blasts were pathetic by Axel’s standards. They were barely causing a few feet of water to blast up. Ximena was the only one doing a half decent job.
“Ok stop” he shouted angrily. They all turned at attention. “That was fucking pathetic. Do you want me to illustrate this to you? Are you too fucking dumb to actually execute a half decent blasting spell?” he shouted out loud.
“Sir, no sir” they shouted together.
“Seems like it to me. Now fucking watch, I expect that all of you together would at least be able to execute this much power if you do it at the same time” Axel said as he paced in front of the lifted his hand and shot a blast. The resulting explosion shook the ground and caused a massive waved to head towards them. Everyone except Axel and Ximena ran for it. The wave hit and smashed them against the hill. Axel stood unphased, as was Ximena who has shot a sticking charm and a proper shield to defend herself.
“Congratulations you pieces of scum, you are now all fucking wet. Seriously, do all your idiotic brain cells combined not add up to at least one primitive brain? Observe Ms. Sabina, who raised a shield and a sticking charm. That is a proper response. Unfuckingbelievable, what the fuck am I supposed to do with you retards. I am surprised you all rose high enough to be considered scum” he shouted. Then looked at Ximena. “Ms. Sabina front and fucking center” he said angrily.
“Sir yes sir” she said as she unstuck herself and stood at attention in front of Axel.
“Congratufuckinglations you have been raised from trash, through primordial ooze, ameba, and bacteria, to the rank of maggot. Be fucking proud in the fact that you are insect progeny” he said as he slapped her back. “Now stop fucking around and shoot like you mean it” he ordered.
“Sir yes sir” she shouted with a proud grin as she began shooting her blasting spells with everything she had.
“Excellent maggot, now will the scums over there get there asses in gear and do the same…and I do mean now” he yelled. They all got up and ran into position and started blasting with everything they had. “This is going to be a LOOONG few months” he grumbled with a grin.
Tonks had been feeling sick for a while now, that and something else that HANDN’T happened were weighing heavily on her mind. She loved being an Auror, and a member of the Order, but if she was right in her suspicions, the same suspicions she had been ignoring for two months now…well that would be over. She suddenly felt the urge to hurl and puked her guts out behind a bush. She was on patrol; she couldn’t afford to be distracted. It was then she heard the screams. She quickly stood and ran towards the noise. When she arrived she saw a group of hooded individuals with wands drawn robbing a mother and her children.
“Give us the money” one shouted.
“Take it, just don’t hurt them” the mother said as she hid her kids behind her back.
“Don’t tell us what to do” another said.
“Hurt me if you want, but you will not hurt my children. My life before theirs” she shouted defiantly.
“So be it” said the first as he raised his wand.
Tonks blasted that arm off. The scream he issued was deafening. And in a flash spells were flying. She rolled and stunned the one who she blasted the arm off of. Then somersaulted and blasted a second against the wall. The last though was nimble; she danced with him blasting spells back and forth. Finally he made a mistake and tripped. She readied her wand and was about to shoot when she felt nauseous again and dizzy. That hesitation was all he needed to regain his footing, they both shot spells at the same time. Tonks was blasted against a wall as the other was paralyzed in a full body bind. She slid down, the pain was excruciating, but what was more excruciating, was her fear.
She woke up in St. Mungos, he back was killing her, she looked at herself and saw that her cuts were bandaged up.
“Thank Merlin” she heard from her left, Remus crushed her in a hug.
“How are you feeling Tonksie, you gave us quite the scare” Sirius said with a grin.
“I feel like shit, and stop calling me Tonksie” she mumbled as loud as she could.
Sirius laughed his bark like laugh. She smiled, she missed that laugh, it was good to have it back.
“Are you really ok love? I don’t know what I would do without you” Remus said as he kissed her and hugged her firmly.
“It's ok Remus, I am ok. I am sorry I had you worried” she said as she patted his back.
“Well Tonks can you tell me what happened?” Mr. Weasley asked. She hadn’t noticed until that moment that her boss was in the room.
“I am sorry, Arthur, it was a slip up. What happened to the mother and children?” she asked worried.
“They are fine; the muggers have been captured and will be tried in due process. One of them lost and arm, but considering the victims statements, it falls under proper procedure for you to have incapacitated him in such a manor” he replied. Then he patted her shoulder, “You did good Tonks” he added.
“I wonder about that” she thought worriedly.
Just then the Healer walked in. “How are you doing Ms. Tonks, it is good to see you awake” she started. “I am Healer Carson” she added.
“Well my back still hurts, and I feel very weak” Tonks replied.
“That is to be expected, your back suffered a light injury, and the painkillers take a lot out of you” the healer explained.
“I’m sorry, Remus, could you guys give me a minute alone with the healer, I want to speak to her about some…stuff” Tonks said with a weak smile.
“Sure love whatever you want” Remus said kissing her forehead. “We will be right outside” he added.
She smiled and watched them leave, the terror still haunting her. That woman, that mother, she had finally awoken something within her, something she had been suppressing. And now she was terrified.
“Healer Carson” Tonks began, and looked at her with teary eyes.
“Yes, dear?” she asked kindly as she checked on her.
“Could you please check if I am pregnant?” Tonks said with her voice shaking.
The healer froze instantly, she looked at Tonk’s face and her smile vanished. “Good Merlin, tell me you didn’t stay in the field thinking you’re pregnant” she whispered.
Tonks couldn’t even reply, the fear of what could have just happened, the damage she could have caused was overwhelming her.
“Sweet girl” the healer said with a sad smile. “Let us see then” she said with determination as she said a complex spell over Tonks. A ball of light appeared, it was white, seconds later it turned pink. “Sweet Merlin” she gasped and ran out of the room. Seconds later she came back and started frantically running several different spells. Moments after another Healer rushed in.
“Matilda you called?” said the healer. But in seconds she saw what spells were being cast and quickly, without question or hesitation she began to help run them.
“This is Healer Gailey; she is specialized in prenatal care. This is Auror Tonks, she was in a field incident” Healer Carson explained as she kept running the spells.
“I would say I am pleased to meet you Ms. Tonks, but these circumstances do not paint you in a very good light. You are pregnant, now we have to see what your irresponsibility has caused” Healer Gailey said harshly as she evaluated the results from the spells.
Tonks were crying her soul out. She couldn’t believe it, the one duty she had above any other as a woman, as a mother, she had failed at. She was beyond terrified and distraught.
Healer Gailey stood grimly as she evaluated, finally she sighed and stood back. “You are a very lucky witch, foolish, but extremely lucky. Your baby is fine. What I cannot fathom is how a woman three months into her pregnancy was out in the field” she said angrily.
Tonks breathed again, she closed her eyes as she felt the heavens shine down and pull her out of the hell she was living in. She cried, she cried with every ounce of her soul, she felt so happy and relieved; her idiocy had not caused a tragedy. She thanked the heavens with all her heart. With a shaking voice she said, “Healer Gailey, you cannot fathom how sorry I am, or how relieved I feel. I lost myself to the fear of what was, instead of facing the truth of what will be. I love my job, but it took a mother defending her kids with her life to remind me that there are things that one must love more. I didn’t know if I was pregnant until now, and now that I do, I intend to insure I stay that way. Could you please call the men in the hall back in?”
Healer Gailey sighed, “You are a fool, a lucky fool, but at least a fool that knows when to admit her foolishness. I am happy for you dear” said the healer as she smiled down at her.
“Congratulations Ms. Tonks, let me go get them so you can tell them the good news” said Healer Carson
The men entered quickly. Remus looked terrified. “Are you ok? I saw the Healer dashing out and then dashing back in but the nurses refused to let me pass” Remus said worriedly as he rushed to her side.
“I am fine Remus, I am better than fine” she replied speaking to her fiancée. She then turned to her boss, who was also looking at her worriedly. “Arthur, I am going to be taking a leave of absence for the next year” she said with conviction. Healer Gailey smiled widely.
Arthur looked at her confused, “Tonks, you know you can ask me for anything, but do you really feel that you won’t be fit for duty? I mean a complete year, are you really that bothered by this incident?” he asked worriedly.
She looked up at Remus, and her eyes locked on his. “Sirius, please stand behind Remus” she said without looking away.
Sirius looked at her, took a couple of steps to the side and stood behind Remus, “Ok Tonks I am in position. Are you planning on blasting him or something?” he chuckled.
Remus looked down at Tonks, “Love, what it is? What is going on? What is wrong?” he asked nervously.
Tonks smiled up at him, “Nothing is wrong love, in fact everything is just right. You are going to be a dad” she said with tears in her eyes.
Remus breathed, “I know I will be a dad eventually, I have always wanted kids. Especially now that Harry and Axel cured me” he said patting Tonk’s hands and kissing her forehead.
Arthur and Sirius, on the other hand, caught on quick.
“Mate, em, I don’t think that is what she means” Sirius said.
“Of course you can’t take a leave of absence, I insist you do” Arthur said smiling at her.
“What are you on about Sirius?” Remus replied as he turned around.
Tonks chuckled, “Remus” she said calling his attention back to her. “I meant that you are going to be a dad in the near future, approximately…” she said looking up at the Healer.
“In six months and 8 days, give or take one or two days I would say, but then again Mother Nature has her own schedule” chuckled Healer Gailey
Remus froze, his mouth dropped open, “You mean, I mean, we mean, I’m gonna be, she is gonna be, we are going to have” he stuttered.
Sirius laughed loudly, “Yes you old wolf, it appears you bloody well knocked my little cousin up, bun in the oven, shot gun wedding in the works. I should bloody well beat the snot out of you mate, consider yourself lucky that I am in a good mood” he said smashing his hand into Remus’s back.
And then it clicked in his head, “You beating me up sounds like a good plan actually” Remus said and then fainted and hit the floor.
“Sirius!!! I bloody well told you to get behind him and catch him” Tonks shouted.
Sirius looked affronted, “You did no such thing, you just said get behind him and I did. I am not a bloody Legilemens to know that you were going to pull the rug out from under the old wolf. Poor bastard never had a chance” he sighed and then laughed loudly.
“Good lord I hope this baby takes after Remus” she grumbled.
“You mean my mate, and fellow Marauder?” Sirius countered.
“Then I hope he takes after me” she said crossing her arms.
“You mean the troublemaking, shape shifting, fellow Marauder, and dear cousin of mine” Sirius replied as he laughed louder.
“Bloody hell I am screwed” she groaned.
“I would say, care to explain why you were in the field three months into your pregnancy?” Arthur asked quite upset. He had been through the drill several times and knew his math very well, as well as what care was required for an expectant mother.
Tonks looked up at her boss with a repentant look, “I didn’t know I was pregnant?” she replied in the form of a question.
“I am severely disappointed in you Tonks. Thank Merlin the baby is ok” he said and looked up at the healer.
“Yes Mr. Weasley, the baby is fine” she replied.
“Good to see you again Sara. It has been a while” he said smiling up at her.
“Id would say, I still remember when you were here last for little Ginny” she replied.
“You know each other then” Sirius cut in.
“Yea, she was here our healer for the births of the twins down to Ginny” Arthur said with a grin. Then he looked back down to Tonks.
“Wow that is great, sounds like I got myself a Healer then” Tonks said trying to get attention off of what she had done.
Mr. Weasley stared down at her, “Oh now missy, you are definitely not getting off that easy. You will have to pay for this somehow” he said haughtily.
Tonks smirked, “Love to see you try sir, but it will have to wait until I’m no longer pregnant” she said confidently. Being pregnant did have that perk; she was golden till the baby was born.
Mr. Weasley smiled evilly, “Oh really, be right back” he said and then left.
“Any idea what he is going to do?” Tonks mumbled up to Sirius.
“None, but I know that look, it is never good when a Weasley smiles like that. I should know I am working with nearly all his offspring. The twins get that look often enough for my liking, and afterwards there is usually a big mess to clean” Sirius replied.
“Pregnant” Remus said getting up from the floor, “Oww” he said holding his head.
“Really Moony, you shouldn’t sleep on the floor. Even though this is a hospital, and the floors are spotless, it is still in poor taste” Sirius said barking with laughter.
“Well Ms. Tonks, I leave you in good hands. I have to make my rounds” she said as she rushed out. She had a very good idea what was coming and didn’t want to be close to the crossfire.
“Ha ha Padfoot, you are SUCH a comedian” he said angrily at Sirius. Then looked down at Tonks, “I love you so much. This will all be ok. I am thrilled” he said excitedly as he covered Tonks with kisses.
Tonks smiled, “It is awesome, isn’t it? Who would have figured this would happen?” she replied.
“Well you see Tonksie, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they get starkers and then they…” Sirius began but was stopped by Remus.
“I think we know how this happened Padfoot thank you” Remus replied.
“Oh but you don’t know how I would go about it, and boy do I have a nice list. Plus payback is a bitch; you gave me this same speech a while ago” Sirius said smiling back at him.
“Oh we are very familiar with how you go about it. Your lovely godson gave us a copy of one of your books for Christmas a while back” Tonks said chuckling as she cut in.
“Ah wise man, that godson of mine, takes after me” Sirius said proudly. “Bet it was dead useful, Merlin knows Moony here can you all the help he can get”
“Ha ha, enough picking on the father to be. Anyways, I am so happy love. It is good you asked Arthur for a leave, I don’t want you in the field in your condition. Where is Arthur by the way?” said Remus as he looked around.
“NYMPHADORA TONKS!” they heard the yell down the hall, a yell filled with outrage, and the owner of that voice could only be one person. Molly Weasley.
“Good Merlin, I am in deep shit now. How the bloody hell did I not see this coming” Tonks groaned.
“HOW DARE YOU GO INTO THE FIELD IN YOUR CONDITION, OF ALL THE IRRISPONSIBLE THINGS YOU COULD POSSIBLE DO” came another voice, this one filled her with a fear worst than Voldemort.
“Remus for the love of Merlin, hide me, hide me quickly, she is going to kill me, then she is going to kill you. Let’s run for it” she said quickly and desperately.
Sirius backed up into a corner away from the bed.
Remus looked down at his wife, “Honey, what is this about?” he said.
It was then when Molly Weasley, and Andromeda Tonks rounded the door and saw them, and like to vicious lionesses pounced on their prey.
“Of all the irresponsible things you could bloody well do” began Andromeda.
“Three months pregnant, IN THE FIELD, ARE BLOODY MAD?” Molly continued.
“YOU ARE THREE MONTHS PREGNANT?” Remus said outraged.
Sirius felt that was a great time to cut in and joke about Remus’s lack of good math skills but he abstained to speak up as he was scared shitless.
“Oh hi Remus, congratulations” Molly said giving him a hug and a kiss.
“Thank you Molly, I am ecstatic” Remus replied and then both stared down at Tonks who was cringing and slowly moving deeper and deeper under the covers with each yell.
Andromeda ripped the sheets off the bed. “Oh no missy, you are not getting away from this lecture. How could you be so stupid? I have never been so disappointed in my entire life” she said down at her. And then looked up at Remus, “And you, I do hope you don’t think that just because you are marrying my daughter that gets you out of the hot seat for knocking her up” she growled.
“Of course not Mrs. Tonks, I will be over this very afternoon to speak with you and Mr. Tonks. I know this comes as a great shock to you, you put a trust in me and in her and though the news are incredibly good and happy, it does not detract from the fact that that trust has been broken. It would only be proper for me to speak at length with you and hear your grievances in the matter as well as deliver a proper apology. I am deeply sorry for breaking your trust Mrs. Tonks, but I can assure you I couldn’t be happier and if anything look forward to the wedding with even more enthusiasm” Remus replied very seriously and diplomatically. His years of practice getting out trouble with the Marauders shinning through.
Andromeda just stared at him, “Well you better, now come and give me a hug” she said smiling at him and hugging him. She had to admit, the man had manners, and carried himself well, as well as being very responsible and quite eloquent when talking himself out of a hole, her daughter couldn’t have chosen a better man.
“Oh” Molly said as she hugged both as well. Tonks stared up, knowing what was soon to come, trying to figure how to escape. Looking at her cousin who was hiding in the corner for help. He just shrugged at her and ducked further down. And then it happened, three sets of eyes bore down upon her.
“Oh shit” was all she managed to say before the tirade of all three began again.
Catherine Doughery was not a patient woman, not when she was on the verge of starting a war. This was beyond business, it was personal. Sirius Black would suffer and go down; his retarded company would go up in smoke. She was surprised that it had gotten as far as it had, who in their right mind would associate with him. She read through the dossier on WWW and it clicked. “Of course, idiots flock together” she grumbled, then kept reading as she sipped her tea, looked at their reported profits and her eyebrows rose as she spit out her tea. “What the fuck!?!??! Apparently very lucky and profitable idiots” she growled as she kept reading and then saw something that made her heart stop. “They are going global!?!?!?!? Where the fuck did they get the money for that shit?” she said as she read through the buyouts that had been made recently and the insanely aggressive expansion. “Ms. Brooke get your ass in here” she shouted.
A very scared woman moved into the office in a run. “Yes Ms. Doughery” she said.
“Have our marketing department, R &D, and Real Estate departments get together, I want them to present me with a valid proposal for a global chain of novelty and prank stores” she growled
“Immediately Ms. Doughery” she said as she ran out of the room.
Catherine sighed, being the CEO of a multinational conglomerate did cause her headaches at times.
She let her mind wander, seeing that bastard had brought her memories flooding back. Memories that she had suppressed, her friends, Hogwarts, the fun she had had, Lily…her best friend, she hadn’t even shed tears for her. Lily had been with her from day 1 at Hogwarts, she had helped her fit in, defended her, been her best friend, been through her best and worst times at Hogwarts; abandoning her had ripped her heart out, she felt like such a traitor.
She had been so wrapped up in getting ahead in the company with her family’s wealth to back her that she had neglected to go to her funeral. She had outright refused to go to the wedding; she didn’t want to see that mutt and his idiot friends. Of course she had heard of Harry, their son, and of his survival, but otherwise she refused to look at anything that reminded her of her old life, so she had ignored any stories that had the name Potter on them. She hadn’t gone to his christening either for much the same reasons as she didn’t go to her friend’s wedding. Lily had been adamant about both those invitations but she had refused to go.
Her mind also wandered to Remus, he had always been the relatively sensible one, a sort of bridge between her and Lily, and the Marauders. Always cleaning up their messes and apologizing for their childish behavior. Now she was contemplating using the poor man for her own gains.
“It needs to be done, Sirius needs to pay!” she growled. She still remembered when she read about the Potter’s deaths, about Sirius, half of her couldn’t believe it, he had betrayed his best mate, it was beyond reason in her mind, that was not the Sirius she knew, the other half of her was bloody happy he was caught and downright knew that that traitor had done it. How that latter half had been wrong, she had read the later reports that explained Pettigrew’s treachery, and once again part of her was glad, glad that Sirius was innocent, that her instincts hadn’t been so wrong. When he died, part of her mourned, part of her rejoiced in justice being done and freedom, finally freedom from it all.
She shook her head out of her reverie and kept reading her preliminary dossier on the Black Marauders. She had already used her global contacts to spread as much dissension as she could relating to the Potter Preserve among the wizard governments in the world. She had tried to show it as folly, and a danger, expose Sirius as an irresponsible leader that couldn’t be trusted with such a monumental task, expose the dangers and safety issues with such and endeavor. I mean fucking shit; they wanted to put the great majority of all the dragons on the planet in one place, smack in the middle of Scotland close to bloody Hogwarts! It was insane and irresponsible! It just reeked of Sirius Black, and of course he had to make a big show of naming it after his best mate, probably a publicity stunt, his supposed death was probably one too. Her anger rose again as she gulped down what was left of her tea. Yea, the Black Marauders definitely reeked of Sirius in more than name, but at the same time though, something was bothering her, something didn’t add up, there were small parts here and there that as she read the dossier reminded her of something or someone else. Maybe Remus had something to do with that. “No, it’s not him, I just can’t put my finger on it” she sighed in frustration and then shook her herself out of her reverie. Whatever it was, Sirius was going down and she would be there to gloat and kick him when he fell.
Time moved slowly for Harry, too slowly, then again at the same time he was making a lot of progress. It had been nearly two years since he had come to the planet. He had let his beard grow. He was now finally at Level 10 planet. Harry had expected bullies and envious golems to make thing difficult on him, but it was quite the opposite, everyone was just focused on getting as far as they could, thinking nothing of everyone else like solitary rocks scattered on a road.
“Well Harry, how many symbols remain on the ceiling now? Eight? Ten? Twenty?” asked the Master.
“One” replied Harry simply without breaking his concentration or opening his eyes.
“One!?!?!? You mean you have already passed at least 9 out of the 10 supreme moves!” Golme said astounded.
“It would appear so” Harry said in a calm voice as he moved his body as if practicing some ancient meditation technique.
“Which one are you missing?” he asked.