December 1977
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Next year all our troubles will be out of sight
-Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra
December at Hogwarts always seemed to be quite stressful with Midterms, but the Marauder's and a few pranksters in training were finally planning their relatively harmless prank. Since James and Lily had gotten together James had matured quite a bit, and so he wasn't supposed to do anything that would become a massive pain for Filch. Buying an astronomical amount of bubble wrap and saran wrap had been a bigger challenge than the boys had expected but it was finally time. Remus and Peter were in charge of taking care of wrapping all of the dining hall tables in bubble wrap. It shouldn't take them long, it was a fairly simple locomotive spell that James had taught them a few days prior.
Sirius and James were in charge of the main bathrooms, they had the cloak, and though they were both quite tall they still managed to fit decently enough to hide. Peter and Remus had been left with the map. Lily's job was coordinating the first years into teaching the painting popular pop songs which would be done early in the morning. They all hoped breakfast would be a confusing affair, and oh it was.
Everyone was woken up to the paintings harmonizing to Bohemian Rhapsody, the muggle born first years finding the entire affair hilarious.
Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
The paintings were painfully boisterous, their voices echoing off the walls. Everyone quickly came out of their common rooms looking exhausted and still in their pyjamas, even the marauders and pranksters in training though everyone knew it was them," It's not even 5 in the morning," a 5th year Ravenclaw groaned.
"What is this filth?" A 4th year Slytherin moaned.
"It's Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen you imbecile," several 6th year Hufflepuff's gawked.
I see a little silhetto of a man
the paintings sang
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
several students sang loudly, laughter filling the air.
Around that time Minevera had finally made her way down, a sleeping robe wrapped tightly around her. She waved her wand and at once all the paintings quieted. There was a missed response of oohs and awhs in the crowd. "Everyone go back to sleep," Minnie said sternly," I will deal will the culprits in the morning," She flashed a stern glare at the entire group of Gryffindor's who were all bellied over laughing, pride evident on their faces.
Many students seemed apprehensive of the bubble wrap, not having any experience with it. Those who did sat down happily popping away, there was several Hufflepuff girls giggling away as the Great Hall was filled with popping noises. One Gryffindor student had stood on the table and was walking across it, pops erupting with every step. The Slytherin students, though annoyed, seemed much less apprehensive seeing everyone giggling and happily popping, some even joined along. All the pure bloods seemed absolutely amazed by the simple invention, and were going at it like some sort of science experiment, apprehensively poking and then jumping at the noise. Remus, Lily, and Mary couldn't stop laughing, even James and Sirius were happily popping away amazed by the entire affair. Such a small muggle thing brought so much whimsy to their breakfast time.
The fun still wasn't over, though the saran wrap situation was figured out quite quickly, watching students nervously poking and then backing away quickly was beyond hilarious. All in all no harm done, and even Minnie didn't seem all that mad, the laughter in the Great Hall must have helped. She was also having a harder time blaming it on the Marauders, she firmly believed that Remus was a goody goody and Peter, Sirius, and James had been so amazed by the muggle objects, no punishment was given.
It had been a successful day and they spent their evening in the common room giggling and joking about, it was nice to take their mind off of Midterms for a day. Remus ended up going to bed early, the early morning wake up and his hips taking a toll on him. They had been more achey than normal, he guessed it was likely his hips widening for the baby, either way it was annoying and he wanted to get any pressure he could off of them. He was limping quite bad, so Sirius had joined him, James and Lily flashing him a questioning look.
Remus had never been one to be open about his pain, the less attention on him the better was how he had always lived. Being pregnant didn't change that, though hiding him symptoms was nearly impossible, his friends had started treating him like he was more fragile and this had caused Remus's anger to bubble. They were so watchful, he couldn't even rearrange himself on the sofa without a questioning glare to make sure he was alright. It made him extremely snappy, especially when silent glances were given about him. He didn't want the extra attention and he certainly didn't want anyone to look at him differently. "I'm fine guys, just tired is all," he said not mentioning his limp.
Everyone backed off and he continued his walk to his sleeping chambers. "What's really wrong Remus? And don't try to lie or say you're fine, you don't have to pretend with me, I want to take care of you," Sirius said as soon as the door was closed.
"It's just my hip, it's normal, I just can't stand the sympathy glances. I'm pregnant not dying," he murmured grumpily.
"We're just worried about you Moony is all, this isn't the easiest thing, and we're all bloody excited for Moony Junior," he said giving a charming smile.
"Well neither is being a werewolf and I manage that just fine," Remus said with an aggravated sigh.
"I agree, but they're still your friends, it's natural to worry."
Remus shrugged," I'm taking a shower."
"Would you like me to join you?" Sirius asked linking his fingers into the loops on Remus's khakis and pulling him close, his lips brushing over Remus's cheek.
Remus's face went red, and his breath hitched slightly, it had never taken much for Sirius to get him hard but it had somehow grown worse. "Please," he exhaled as his cock started twitching in his pants.
Sirius took his gifted fingers, and cupped Remus's growing bulge, before expertly unbuttoning his trousers. Remus's breath quiveres as Sirius quickly twisted his wand around his hair, creating a messy bun as he got on his knees. His hands gently gripping Remus's hips as he slowly started sucking on the tip of his throbbing member.
Remus's entire body felt electric at the touch, Sirius's mouth was warm and it felt so good, angelic almost . He arched his hip slightly, wanting Sirius to take more. Sirius obliged, sucking in his cheeks for suction as his tongue expertly swirled around the head of Remus's dick, until Remus's pupils were blown. He moaned Sirius's name like a desperate prayer, ragged and repetitive. "Oh Sirius, Sirius, Sirius fuck, so good," his head was tilted back towards the ceiling the words echoing off the walls in a perfect symphony.
The more desperate his pleas, the more aggressive Sirius worked with his tongue. Remus's pleas turned into whimpers as his body pulsated in hot white pleasure. He grabbed Sirius's hair softly as he tried to control his breathing, Sirius swallowed the tangy liquid before maneuvering himself back into standing. He kissed Remus's neck so tenderly before teasingly whispering," Did I do good?" into Remus's ear before sinking his teeth into the soft of his neck.
Remus shivered at his hot breath sensitive in his ear," Very," he said mashing their lips together.
As luck would have it, the full moon was on Christmas. Remus really didn't want to spend his break locked up in Hogwarts, so him, Minnie, Pomfrey, and Sirius had reached a compromise. They would go to the Potter's via the Hogwarts express one the first day of break, then they would come back Christmas day, and return the next day. Mcgonagall had been apprehensive about Sirius coming along, but he was adamant on not leaving Remus alone for even a second. He was very protective of him, especially now that he was pregnant.
But now they were riding the Hogwarts train, Remus was anxious and couldn't stop bouncing his leg, Sirius had a comforting grip on his thigh. He had agreed he would tell Euphemia and Fleamont today. The fact he was pregnant was not yet blatantly obvious, however his jumpers and trousers had grown just a bit tighter. His bump was still quite small, however if you gave him a second glance it was quite obvious. He had always had a lanky build, so the bump jutted out a bit awkwardly, he looked like he had swallowed a small ball, the ligament pains had been unpleasant, he would regularly get sharp shooting pain around his growing abdomen. He needed to buy more clothes during the break, charms would only get him so far, he'd talk to Sirius about that later.
His nausea was almost completely gone, replaced by an insatiable hunger, not that he wasn't used to that. It was a relief to have his appetite back, it helped him feel somewhat normal. The train ride was almost too quick, he had no clue what any of the conversation topics had been about, too lost in his own anxious mind. The only thing he had taken notice of was the texture of Sirius's knuckles that he had anxiously ran his thumb over more time than he could count.
They were out on the platform, all 4 boys with trunks in hand. Peter apparated alongside James, seeing as he still hadn't properly learned how to. Sirius and Remus apparated separately, Remus still not particularly enjoying the feeling, but he successfully landed on the Potter's front porch just a second after Sirius.
Sirius let himself in, with a flick of his wand moving both his and Remus's bags to their respected bedroom. Euphemia came walking into the kitchen enveloping them both in a tight hug. Remus couldn't meet her gaze, he looked at the floor sheepishly. "James will be here soon," Sirius said enjoying the hug," But first me and Remus have something we need to share."
Sirius had no trouble meeting her gaze, he seemed excited even, to drop the news. He had been certain that Euphemia and Fleamont would be thrilled, but Remus had a hard time believing that they would find a teen pregnancy exciting. "Oh okay," the older woman said softly, a quizzical gleam in her eye.
They walked into the kitchen where Fleamont sat at the table ready some type of thick book. Neither of the two young boys bothered to sit down, and they had already agreed Sirius would tell. "Okay well," he fiddled with his hair some nervous energy finally arriving to the surface," You know how me and Remus are sort of a thing?" both nodded, expressions full of confusion," Well we're sort of expecting a baby," Sirius said giving the two a big smile as he wrapped an arm around Remus's waist.
They both sat expressionless for a moment, it reminded Remus of James, the gear whirring as they process the information. "Sirius," Euphemia tutted," I know I taught both you and James proper protection spells."
Sirius's face flushed red as he laughed nervously," I'm learning it takes one time," one hand was rubbing the back of his neck.
Effie's expression softened as she noticed Remus's pale face," Oh but a baby is great news, you know I bet I still have some of James's things stashed away somewhere...," she started rambling on.
Remus was flooded with a relief, but the urge to cry was becoming overwhelming. The more things Mrs. Potter named, the more Remus realized how absolutely clueless he was. He quickly excused himself out of the room, murmuring something incoherent, desperate to get away because he was so unwilling to cry in front of the Potter's. Everyone thought he was fragile enough, he didn't need any extra sympathetic eyes.
He had been sitting on the bed, his legs pulled up as close as he could to his chest sobbing. Sirius hadn't followed him, he was probably talking to Fleamont, or James had showed up, or he really wasn't sure. What was he thinking? He didn't know anything about babies? Was he even fit to be a parent? He was a dangerous monster one night a month, and he knew nothing of child raising. What if he was terrible with children? What if it hated him? His chest tightened and he couldn't get air to enter his lungs.
He hadn't heard the soft knock on the door, or even the woman enter the room, he only felt the tight embrace of her arms as she ran her hands softly through his hair. He fell into her warm touch, she felt safe, and she brought a comfort he hadn't realized he was missing. "It's okay love," she whispered softly as he continued to sob," Sometimes you just need a good cry, I know this is scary."
Remus's breathing eventually steadied, except for the occasional ragged breath, so he sat up, still struggling to maintain eye contact with Mrs. Potter. "I'm sorry," he said as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
"There's no need to be sorry dear," she said her hand resting on his leg," How far along are you?" her voice was so gentle and caring it caused an ache in his chest.
"15 weeks I think? I'm not completely certain though," his voice was ragged, a lump was still stuck in the back of his throat.
"Any morning sickness?" she asked it so casually, her voice wasn't as pitying as the others were, it was so reassuring," I had awful morning sickness with James, I had to take time off of work it was so bad," the edges of her lips curved up slightly," Fleamont and I we had wanted a baby so bad, we were worried it would never happen, I didn't conceive James until I was in my 40s and it was a rough 40 weeks," she said with with a reminiscing grin.
Remus appreciated her sharing her story, it made everything feel more normal and it put him at ease a little," It's finally subsided, but it was pretty rough there for a while, I bunked off a bit if I'm being honest," his voice grew steadier as he continued," I'm due late June or early September, I'm a bit nervous I'll have the baby during my NEWTs finals, but I'm sure Dumbledore will give me some type of accommodation if that happens."
"Do you have any plans after Hogwarts?"
"I think Sirius and I will buy a flat somewhere, but it's kind of hard to sort those things out while still in school, we'll figure it out though. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep a job because of my ya know condition," he whispered it even though Euphemia was more than aware that he was a werewolf.
"You're more than welcome to stay here as long as you need while you get yourself on your feet, Fleamont and I would be overjoyed to have a baby in the house, there's also some remote research jobs, Fleamont could try and pull some strings," her smile was so motherly and kind and she gave a small wink.
"I don't want to overstep or be a bother," Remus murmured.
"It takes a village Remus, don't forget that," she tutted as she cupped his face in her hands.
"I don't know anything about babies, I don't even think I've held one," the confession felt heavy as it rolled off his tongue, what the fuck was he thinking he couldn't do this.
"It'll come natural Remus, and I'll be there to help you, of course only if you want me to. I don't know if this helps either, but I think you and Sirius will be good parents Remus. You've got time to learn some things luv."
Remus gave her a soft smile," Thank you Mrs. Potter," tears were swelling in his eyes but he was determined not to cry in front of her again.
"I bet James is back if you want to go back down, Gully is making some tea, I thought we could all sit down and catch up."
Remus nodded and they walked back downstairs together," Thank you so much Mrs. Potter," he hugged her again basking in the comfort she gave, she hugged him back tightly.
Fleamont had kept Sirius downstairs, taking this as an opportunity to give one of his fatherly talks. Sirius hung on to every word and every warning as the older man shared everything that Effie had went through. "He needs you now more than ever Sirius, don't forget that," Sirius was beyond grateful for gentle talk and the insight he hadn't realized he needed, he had grown a new found respect for Remus and Effie as Fleamont explained.
Tea time when great, as they had a nice time catching up. Fleamont was very amused by the bubble wrap situation and his hearty laughed filled the kitchen. Remus wasn't really in the mood to talk, so he sat back and listened, enjoying his milky tea and cauldron cakes. Sirius left a protective hand on his thigh the entire time.
It was a rainy Christmas break, so most of their time was spent inside. Remus stayed curled up a specific chair in the Potter's living room reading a variety of books, most were about pregnancy, he was still too anxious to look into childbirth, other books were more leisurely however and he enjoyed researching about ancient runes that had been found in Romania. He had a lollie in his mouth almost constantly, the need for that hand to mouth exchange still strong, he planned on smoking a fag as soon as the baby came out, though he knew he shouldn't he needed to quit for good.
On occasion he would join the other boys outside when it stopped raining to watch them fly on their brooms, and he would play them in a game of chess on request, but he was thoroughly content to just lounge during his break, that first trimester fatigue still not completely gone. It wasn't surprising for him to lay down for a nap every day, he just felt so knackered and his body ached less when he was laying down, not that he complained about that to anyone. Sirius wasn't daft to his limping though, but he let Remus be the stubborn man he usually was.
Christmas Eve was a joyous occasion, and the Potter's had invited many people. Remus wanted to shrink off into a corner, but Sirius wanted to socialize and Remus got clingy around the full moon. He needed an arm on him at all times or he just felt wrong and lonely, the hormones racing through his body definitely weren't helping, truth be told he was a bit of a disaster, but his introverted demeanor helped hide most of that. If you didn't know Remus, you'd just think he was a little clingy and weird.
Sirius led Remus towards Andromeda who had given Sirius a massive hug. Ted stood off to the side smiling, a small girl with vibrant pink hair running circles around him. When she finally noticed Sirius, she started stomping towards him slowly and growling, a smile wide on her face. Sirius of course, copied her, before quickly snatching her up and started fake eating her, she squealed in delight and her giggle errupted throughout the entire sitting room. Remus felt flutters in his stomach as seeing how well he was with children, maybe their kid would be alright, at least with Sirius.
Remus hesitated to interact with Tonks, children tended to make him quiet nervous, so he just stood back watching, but as soon as Sirius put her down she bolted towards him, becoming metaphorically glued to his hip. "Hi," he said his voice a bit nervous," I'm Remus."
"I'm Tonks," she said flashing a big smile as her hair changed to orange.
Sirius went up behind him and grabbed him by his waist pulling him close, Tonks behind him, before he flashed one of his cocky Sirius Black smiles. "We're expecting," he beamed placing a hand on Remus's bump, that was being covered by an oversized jumper.
Remus face quickly started blotching with red and he quickly moved Sirius's hand. Andromeda seemed at a loss for words, her mouth agape in shock. Tonks wasn't, she softly placed a hand on Remus's stomach and loudly asked," Is there a baby in there?"
Remus's face somehow reddened even more," Yea," he said his voice coming out as a squeak.
"Cool," Tonks said her smile wide," I want a baby sister, but my Mommy said, she said no," Tonks said her bottom lip pouting slightly.
Andromeda then busted out laughing, before enveloping both Sirius and Remus in a tight hug," Congratulations boys," she said before whispering something Remus couldn't quite focus on, the hustle and bustle of everything making it hard to tune in like he usually could. Sirius full belly laughed when she was done, and gave Remus a small back rub in reassurance. Tonks refused to detach herself from Remus, her hair turning a fiery red anytime he tried, eventually she had to be bribed with a slice of treacle tart. She gave Remus a very tight hug around his legs and then put her hands and whispered something to his small bump before going with her parents.
Remus then excused himself towards the restroom, grateful that the attention and congratulations would end there for the night. He hated unnecessary attention and he didn't exactly want everyone to know that he was a knocked up teenager, though a toast that happened while he was unaware and in the bathroom, ruined any plans he had of hiding it.
Not soon after Remus had exited the loo, Ferox approached him wearing a big grin," Wotcher Remus," he seemed happily intoxicated his words slightly strung out and his accent not quite as proper sounding, he was dropping several of his vowel sounds.
They had a nice conversation about Ferox's adventures in Hungaria, and how Remus had been doing in school. Before Ferox walked away he turned around giving a big smile," Congratulations Remus."
"What?" Remus asked puzzled.
"For the little tyke," Ferox said raising his glass in the air and nodding his head slightly before stumbling away.
He turned to Sirius," How did he know?" his voice was high and panicky.
"Euphemia and Fleamont might have toasted to our child earlier, while you were in the bathroom," Sirius muttered, his face turning red, he had totally forgotten to tell Remus, getting distracted by James.
"No!" Remus gasped horrified covering his face.
"Remus you can't hide it forever you know, and they're just excited. They're treating it like it's their first grandchild," Sirius said wrapping a hand around his waist and playfully putting a hand on his slight bump which caused Remus to blush and push him off halfheartedly in embarrassment.
The night ended with Lily, James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus sitting near the fire place drinking hot chocolate and playing Monopoly. The pure bloods found moving the pieces to be frustrated so they ended up enchanting them so they moved by themselves, not that Remus or Lily minded it. They played late into the night, until Peter had bought almost all the property and everyone but Lily were in debt to him. Once they realized the time Peter quickly ran home and Lily apparated back, "Mum and Dad want me for Christmas day tomorrow," she said as she kissed James goodbye and gave Remus a tight hug," I'll see you soon loves."
Remus didn't even attempt to go to sleep, he knew it was no use, an energy he really didn't have fluttering through him. Still he went upstairs with Sirius, he could use this pent up energy to at least have some fun. Sirius was rummaging through his drawers trying to find his bed clothes for the night when Remus came up behind him, his boner rubbing gently into Sirius's low back as he moved his hair to give access to kiss on the sensitive skin of the back of the neck. Sirius gasped in surprise, but quickly leaned into Remus's touch.
Remus muttered the lubrication charm and slipped his hands in Sirius's pants, his fingers circling around Sirius's rim," Can I?" he asked his breath rugged.
"Fuck Moons, please," he begged rolling his head back to rest again Remus's chest.
Remus bit into his shoulder before pumping two fingers into Sirius, who groaned in shock from Remus's aggressiveness. "Fuck you feel so good," Remus whispered grinding ever harder on Sirius as he started pumping a third finger into him.
Sirius bit his lip trying not to cry out in pleasure, as he shakily reached for his wand,"Imperturbo," he mumbled.
"Bed now, on your hands and knees," Remus commanded, pulling his fingers away and squeezing Sirius's ass.
Sirius didn't argue, when Remus was like this right before the moon. It was better to just do what he wanted, and he wasn't going to lie, it was hot to see Remus all in control like this. He quickly situated himself, using a pillow to help prop his chest up, he wiggled his ass to tease Moony who was situating himself behind him. Remus gave him a swift smack to the ass causing him to still. He spent no time driving his erect cock into Sirius, lube dripping from the shorter boy's ass. It was sloppy and fast," You're such a good boy, taking my cock so well. You can jack yourself off," he cooed at Sirius, his breath heavy and labored.
"Oh fuck Moony," Sirius moaned as he reached a shaky hand up to start stroking himself.
"I'm close," Remus groaned as he continued driving himself into Sirius.
"Please," Sirius cried pumping his cock at a rapid pace as he arched his hips trying to take more of Remus.
Sirius's ass tightened around Remus's cock as his vision blurred with stars, he pulled out hastily, cum spilling on the red duvet as he gasped from the shock. Sirius started shivering, his own cum dripping from his hands. Remus slowly guided him to were he was laying on his side, and he slowly started sucking the cum off of Sirius's fingers, moaning as he did so," You taste so good," he finally said when he was finished, muttering a cleaning spell to clean up the rest of the mess.
Sirius just stared at him, grey eyes wide and flabbergasted, a dopey smile displayed on his face. Remus kissed his neck softly, before sucking forcefully, Sirius let up a heavy gasp as he reached up to start running his fingers through Remus's hair. "You alright love?" he whispered as Remus kept ravaging his neck, avoiding the question.
Eventually Sirius had to push him off lightly and give him a firm glare, getting Remus to admit when he wasn't doing great could be like pulling teeth, and the boy was excellent at sexy deflection. "I likely won't sleep tonight," he grumbled as he grabbed Sirius's hand and started rubbing his knuckles," I'm going to go back downstairs soon and have a cuppa and read my book, but you should stay here and rest. I just, Merlin you're so hot Sirius," he said gripping his hair and pulling him in for a sloppy, heated kiss.
Sirius was the one to come up for air ,"I'll come with you, I can sleep on the sofa," Sirius said softly, looking deeply into his brown eyes.
After they took a shower, which may or may not have involved a blow job, they spent the night curled up on the Potter's sofa, Sirius used Remus's thighs as a pillow as Remus levitated his book, stroking Sirius's black locks for most of the night. He was unsure if he managed to get any sleep at all, but it was a nice night all in all, hearing the steady beat of Sirius's heart throughout the night. However, that did not make up for the lack of sleep the hormonal and sensitive boy was facing.
Remus was rather grump by morning, and his temper was painfully short, luckily Sirius tended to be quite good at defusing bombs. Being sleep deprived, hormonal, and brimming with energy was not a good mix, but Remus desperately didn't want to ruin anyone's Christmas. That didn't stop the tears when he opened his presents from the Potter's, on such short notice they had gotten him a pack of red baby onesies. "They're so tiny," Remus had sobbed into Sirius's shoulders.
Sirius ended up excusing the both of them were Remus sobbed for every minute of a half hour in his arms," We're going to have an actual baby next Christmas Sirius," he had repeated as if he was in shock.
Sirius held him the entire time, rubbing small circles in his back, every time Remus apologized for being a cry baby Sirius had assured him that he wasn't. All in all Sirius Black was being a rather amazing and supportive boyfriend, and he was better than anyone Remus could have asked for. Remus had been too embarrassed to go back downstairs, so James had joined them in their shared bedroom and they played Scrabble on the bedroom floor, Remus only sniffling occasionally. Sirius ended up being surprisingly good and had whooped both of their asses in the board game," Being a heir to the snobbiest family in Britain pays off," he had joked as he basked in his victory.
Remus had may have been tired and grumpy, but he was not a sore loser. They decided to go back downstairs. Remus read a book over magical artifacts, while Sirius and James fangirled over a Quidditch magazine James had gotten in his stocking.
Time for Remus and Sirius to go to Hogwarts came too soon. The night was rather uneventful, since it was just the two of them and no Peter, they stayed in the shack. The wolf was bored, but was grateful for the small black dog that kept him entertained. When he retransformed, aching and exhausted, Sirius hid under the cloak, following closely behind Pomfrey who was having to support a lot of his weight due to the severity of his limping. Despite everything in him, Sirius waited a good 20 minutes before attempting to enter the Hospital Ward. Remus was still awake, but he looked terribly pale. "I'll take the sleeping drought when I get back to the Potter's, just check on the baby please" he whined his voice sounding weak and full of frustration as he refused the drought.
Madam Pomfrey seemed frustrated with Remus, he was usually quite docile with her, this arguing very out of character for him. "It's the hormones," she muttered quietly to herself.
She decided it was a losing battle and quickly ran a diagnostic on the baby," Let's check out baby's growth," her voice was gentle," Still a little on the small side, but for 16 weeks it's still in a healthy weight range. I can tell you're kicking the habit, and I'm proud of you Remus."
Remus blushed a bit at that, surprised how babyish the ultrasound looked this time, it wasn't just a weird blob anymore. Sirius was enamored, his eyes were completely focused on the tiny baby on the screen. He gripped Remus's hand tightly," That's ours Remus," he said softly.
"Yea I know," Remus said unamused, the exhaustion and pain he was in catching up to him.
His hips were aching and felt like they were locking up, the ligaments in his shoulders were cramping up, and his eyes felt so painfully heavy. Sirius went to say something, caught of guard by the attitude, but when he took a look at Remus he could tell how awful he truly felt. "Let's go home love, eh?"
Remus nodded, grateful for Sirius taking most of his weight. Pomfrey handed Sirius the sleeping drought and put her hands up in surrender as they walked to the floo network in Minnie's office. Sirius threw the floo powder in for Remus, clearing enunciating "Potter Manor" worried Remus would have slurred his words too much. Remus nodded a wordless thank you before stepping in, Sirius went right after him. They silently walked to their shared bedroom, Sirius helped Remus slip off his clothes before handing him the potion, he drained it quickly before crawling into bed, Sirius following right after. "I'll help rub some of the knots out of your shoulder when you wake up okay?" he said pressing a kiss to the back of Remus's head before wrapping his arms tightly around him.
He was given a quiet "Mmm hmm," in return before Remus's light snores (fun little pregnancy side affect) filled the room, and Sirius was grateful for every noise that signaled Remus was finally getting some sleep.
It was well after 4 in the afternoon before Remus had woken up, Sirius was gone, his side of the bed cold. Remus's head was aching, he was starving, and his throat was painfully dry. He got up and used the bathroom before putting some new pajamas on, wincing as he pulled his pants up, his hips aching more than normal. His limp was painfully prominent as he went down the stairs, using the railing for support the entire time. Sirius and James were sitting at the kitchen table with hushed voices sipping tea and eating digestives. Sirius looked liked he had been crying, his porcelain skin flushed red and his eyes were slightly swollen.
Remus limped into the kitchen and sat down to join them, pouring himself a cup of tea with a splash of milk and 2 sugar cubes. "Mom saved you a plate from lunch," James said quickly, getting it out of the fridge and preforming a warming spell.
Remus nodded in appreciation ,"Thank you James," and quickly tucked in, immediately feeling loads better with food in his system.
Remus thought about asking why Remus had been crying, but he was certain he would get the answer later, as they decided to change the topic and once again fangirl over the quidditch magazine, or was it a different one? Remus couldn't tell. They stayed downstairs for the rest of the night, Sirius brought his record downstairs and they listened to his new vinyl "Love You Live" by the Rolling Stones as they played Exploding Snap for a while. Remus eventually grew tired so James and Sirius played wizarding chess while Sirius also rubbed through some of the knots in Remus's tense shoulders.
Remus didn't wake up till well after 11 the next day, Sirius clinging to him tightly, one hand placed gently on the bottom of Remus's swell. Remus smiled a little at that, it was rather cute, it was so reassuring to know how protective Sirius was. Sirius quickly woke up in a panick, screaming something about "don't touch him", he did that sometimes, convinced he was still living in the Black Manor. Remus was quick to calm him down, using a soothing voice and running his fingers through his hair, Sirius's eyes were wide with fear but as soon as he saw Remus and remembered where he was he instantly calmed down. "Nightmare again?" Remus asked softly.
Sirius's face fell as he nodded, then he braced himself," Moony I'm scared," Sirius whispered," I'm so excited but I'm also so scared. What if I end up like my mother?"
"Sirius you're nothing like her, you know that."
"I know, there's just always that fear," his eyes were glazed over as he stared off," she used to take our mouths you know, she would use oscausi on me and Reggie both when we were being annoying."
Remus did his best not to react, Sirius rarely opened up and any gasps would surely shut him down. Remus pulled Sirius closer, rubbing his back softly. Sirius gripped on to him tightly, bunching up some of his shirt fabric with one hand. "You would never do that," Remus said firmly.
"I know, but-"
"But what Sirius?"
"I don't know. Yesterday when I saw them on the screen, everything just felt so much more real, like it's a living person, we're having a bloody kid Remus."
"Yea," Remus said softly, because he truly did understand that, despite all of his bodily changes, the picture is what made everything feel so much more real," I think next time we'll get to learn the gender," Remus said trying to cheer Sirius up slightly.
It worked, Sirius said up quickly, as if he sadness had instantly evaporated," Really?"
Remus nodded smiling," Yea, now care for a spot of breakfast?"
"It's about lunch now you tosser," Sirius said smiling before leaning in to give Remus a slight kiss on the lips.
'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done
I need to be youthfully felt 'cause, God, I never felt young
She's gonna save me, call me "baby"
Run her hands through my hair
She'll know me crazy, soothe me daily
Better yet, she wouldn't care
-Jackie and Wilson by Hozier