The thud of the common room portrait shutting behind Hermione was the first thing that caught Ron and Harry’s attention. They had been playing wizarding chess and chatting about with Neville, Dean and Seamus, while waiting for Hermione to return from the study group she was running, and that they both made excuses not to swing by this evening. (To their credit, it was a Friday, and what kind of mad people would be spontaneously studying on a Friday evening??) The second thing that caught their attention was Hermione’s stunned expression, staring at them, nervous and unmoving, eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
“What in the bloody hell happened to you??” Ron asked loudly to no response.
“’Mione?” Harry asked more gently, but her expression remained unchanged. “Everything alright?” He insisted, approaching her with Ron in tow.
“Yes!” She said hastily, clearly lying. “Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?” She continued, her expression now much more controlled, and much more Hermione: eyebrows up her forehead, chin tilted up, tight lips and a bit of a snotty nose.
“’Cause you looked like you just found out all classes got cancelled.” Harry supplied a bit teasingly, but suspicious of Hermione’s dismissiveness.
“Or that there’s no homework left.” Ron said joining in.
“Or that McGonagall didn’t like your essay.”
“Or that you saw…”
“I didn’t see anything!” Hermione answered promptly, her bugged eyes making a return, further confusing her friends. “I am going to bed now. Goodnight.”
And off she was, books and parchment close to her chest, hurrying up the stairs of the dormitory and ignoring the two confused friends she left behind. They weren’t confused for long, distracted once again by the shenanigans of the common room. And in reality, this was Hermione. Her brilliance usually came with some quirk, so they weren’t too alarmed. Nonetheless, Ron made a mental note to ask her about it again tomorrow, just to make sure she was truly alright.
Turns out, though, he didn’t have to wait much for his chance. By next morning, as Ron lazily made his way out of Gryffindor tower, he felt a hand grabbing him by his shirt sleeve.
“We need to talk.” Hermione, the owner of the aforementioned hand, dragged him into a secluded corner in the hallway, where the chance of running into someone, or being overheard, was minimal.
“Bloody hell Hermione! You scared me!” He complained as she huffed annoyed at his dramatics. “Why are you dragging me into a creepy corner?”
“We need to talk.”
“We do?” Ron asked confused, trying to remember if he had any scheduled plans besides the dreamy set of weekend pancakes awaiting him in the Great Hall. “Harry is at the training pitch, though, he has quidditch.”
“I know that. That’s why we can talk now.”
“I don’t think I want talk to you without Harry… You’re a bit scary.”
“I am not scary.”
“Well, you sure as hell are scaring me right now!” He complained, squirming away from Hermione’s intense grip.
“Oh, will you shut up?” She complained with a roll of her eyes. “I need you to listen.” Ron pouted but allowed her to continue. “I saw something yesterday…”, she told him solemnly, “something, that I really shouldn’t have, and now I do not know what to do.”
“What was it? Are you alright?” Ron asked her suddenly worried.
“I am, it’s not anything like that.” She assured him, before continuing with some trepidation. “I- I saw Sirius and Professor Lupin…” The next part she said quietly, a deep red blush creeping up on her face. “Together.”
The attitude confused Ron, who questioned her about it. “Alright… I don’t see why that’s so weird.”
“Together, Ron. As in, snogging in a classroom!” She blurted out, making Ron’s eyes widen, much like hers had been the day before.
“Oh.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, no.”
“Yes, oh, no.”
“Together…” Ron pondered, whispering the next bit. “I didn’t know either of them was into blokes!”
“And why would you, Ronald??” She complained frustrated. “That’s not the point!”
“Of course not!” He assured promptly, composing himself from the fluster the information had brought him. “‘Course... ‘Tis fine, I don’t care, I’m not a bigot!” He assured her. “But… what is the point, then?”
“Do you not remember?? Professor Lupin is dating Dora!” When Ron didn’t react, Hermione spelled it out, a tad annoyed with his mental tardiness. “I think he’s cheating on her with Sirius!”
“C’mon now Hermione, you don’t know that!”
“I know what I saw! And I even heard Lupin say: ‘we can’t do this anymore, Sirius’. What do you think that means??” She told him in a whisper shout. “Harry is going to freak out when he finds out… Those two are the people he most idolizes! And they are sneaking around, lying to him, and to everyone.”
“I think there might be other things for him to freak out about…” Ron joked, earning him a smack from Hermione.
“Harry is not prejudiced; he won’t care about that! But he will care about the lying and the cheating…”
Ron’s faced scrunched up with worry. Hermione was, as usual, right. Harry put both men on a pedestal, especially his Godfather, and finding out something like this would be upsetting.
“I have got to say, I’m really disappointed in Professor Lupin. He seems so nice.” Hermione thought aloud. “And Sirius is just as bad, going along with this…”
“Maybe he doesn’t know about Tonks?”
“’Course he knows! Him and Lupin are best friends!”
“Bit more than that, it seems.” Ron couldn’t help but quip.
“Please don’t remind me. I saw it with my own eyes.” Hermione lamented. “And I have to admit, even disregarding the awful behaviour, seeing your professor snogging someone is… unsettling.”
Ron nodded in solidarity, and shuddered when his mind ran away from him supplying thoughts of McGonagall having a snog.
*
Hermione was determined to figure out what was happening before taking it to Harry. Merlin knew he had enough on his plate as it was. Within the last year or so, he had had to deal with finding out his parents had been betrayed by a friend, said friend being caught and arrested, Sirius being finally given a trial to establish his innocence - which was a profoundly public and invasive affair - and then the bureaucracy of his parental custody, and the incessant ‘tell-alls’ the Prophet was insisting on running every step of the way. Harry did not need a new problem, let alone a disappointment. At least not before Hermione understood the full extent of it.
After a few days of observing her professor carefully, and to her frustration, keeping finding him occupied with books, research papers, the occasional tea with Professor McGonagall, and some nothing but friendly interactions with Sirius in the back of Harry’s two-way mirror, her patience was running thin. She decided the best course of action was to do a little research of her own.
“Hermione, this is not a good idea…”
“Well, obviously, Ronald! Sneaking into a professor’s office is far from my list of things I’d like to be doing on a Sunday morning – or any day, for that matter – but we have to take advantage of Harry being out with Sirius and Professor Lupin. Which, by the way, they always take him out together on quidditch days! How have we not noticed before?? Is that not terribly suspicious??”
“Now everything they do you call suspicious!”
“And can you blame me?? They’re always together! Sirius is not even a professor, but he comes here often! We’ve been blind, Ronald, blind!”
“Ok, fine, just get on with it, go bloody in!”
They got into Remus’ office surprisingly easily. Hermione was even a little disappointed with the fact. One would imagine the Hogwarts’ Defence Against the Dark Arts professor would be a little more cautious about his office security, but alas, they were in.
There were far too many places for them to start looking, especially considering the unpleasant, but very real fact they did not know what they were looking for.
Hermione started digging through the pile of papers on Remus' desk that looked mildly like correspondence. She didn’t open any of it - that would be a profound invasion of privacy (yes, she is well aware of the hypocrisy, given where she was standing right now, but there is a toofar) - instead looking through the many names on the envelopes. Unfortunately, while the letters where plenty, none had Sirius name on it.
Ron himself searched through the pictures Remus had hanging in the office. There was one of two older people, the man looking awfully like him, so likely those were his parents. One of himself, Sirius and James Potter, Harry’s dad, from when they were younger. There was one of himself and Lily, Harry’s mum, sporting Gryffindor gear at what must’ve been the party after a quidditch match. And there was one of himself and a rather large black dog looking cosy wrapped together on a sofa.
“Nothing weird on the pictures.” He commented towards Hermione, who huffed in disappointment.
“Nothing on the letters either…” She complained. “Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting to find… I suppose I just wanted something more substantial to confirm this, before talking to Harry…”
“I guess we can try something else another day…”
“I guess so.” She agreed. “We should leave actually, before Harry comes back and wonders where we are, or God forbid, Lupin comes here!”
“Yeah, good idea.”
They made their way out of Remus’ office relatively unharmed, thankfully managing to avoid Filch in the corridor, and set themselves off for the Great Hall where Harry was probably already waiting for them. Just before they reached it, though, Ron commented in a curious whisper.
“Did you know Lupin had a dog?”
“What?”
“There was a picture of him and his dog at the office. I didn’t know he had one.”
Hermione snickered. “He doesn’t have a dog… That’s ridiculous! Harry would have mentioned it. Besides, he lives here, we’d see it!”
“Maybe it’s a dead dog…That’d be kind of sad.”
Hermione’s eyes went wide, a realisation suddenly dawning on her.
“What did the dog look like??” Hermione demanded to Ron’s alarmed confusion.
“Uh?”
“What did the dog look like, Ron???”
“It was black, and big, and… ohhhhhhhh.” Ron finally realised.
“RONALD!”
“Sirius animagus is a dog!!”
“Yes!!! You absolute useless, maddening, idiotic, dimwit!!!”
“Bloody hell, Hermione, don’t scream at me! I completely forgot!”
“He has a picture of himself and Sirius in his office!!” Hermione declared, before concluding. “That has to mean what we think it means!... We need to go back and get it.”
“Do you want to sneak in again? Are you mad??? They’re probably already back!”
“Well, if you weren’t useless the first time, we wouldn’t have to return.” She complained. “Come on, quickly!”
They find their way inside Remus' office once again, opening the door with much more force than the last time, only to be led to a halt by the view in front of them.
Behind the large desk, Professor Lupin, flanked by Sirius and Harry himself, were a sight scarier than McGonagall on her worst days.
“Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley. I believe we need to talk.”
*
“We were just looking for Harry!” Ron tried to justify himself quickly, raised in a house of troublemakers, and used to making excuses on the fly. Hermione herself looked absolutely panicked.
“Don’t need to lie, Ron.” Harry warned him gently. “Remus knows you’ve been in here looking through his stuff.”
“How??”
“He’s a DADA teacher.” Hermione concluded smartly. “I knew it had seemed too easy to sneak in here…” She pondered aloud before catching herself. “Which I am so so sorry by the way! Please don’t expel us!”
Remus offered her a gentle smile. “I’m sure there is no need for that.” He told her kindly, and some of the tension Hermione held, eased a bit. “I would like to understand why, though?”
“Yeah, what the hell guys??” Harry complained, clearly slighted with being left out of whatever it was they were doing, and Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. Hermione decided to go for it.
“We… we were looking for something.” She began tentatively, before continuing with some more resolve. After all, her and Ron weren’t the only ones with secrets here. “Because… well, because we know something, something bad, about Professor Lupin and your Godfather and we wanted to find proof before telling you!”
Harry looked confused, and awfully disappointed too, hearing her say this. Remus and Sirius exchanged a worried look.
“I’m sure whatever you think you know…” Sirius began.
“I don’t think it! I saw it!” She countered, before mustering the courage to go on. “I saw you too kissing the other day! I know you’re together!”
“Oh.” Remus managed. “Hermione…”
“Is it not true?” She demanded.
Remus looked at Sirius for approval, and the other man gave him a resigned shrug.
“Yes. It is.”
“I knew it! You’ve been lying to everybody!”
“Well, it is not exactly something that people accept easily.” Remus explained sadly. “We’ve been keeping a low profile, yes. But not lying, necessarily.”
“You’ve been lying to Harry!” She accused, much less angry now, given her understanding of the possible discrimination against their relationship.
“No they haven’t!” Harry complained, having been festering in his anger for the exchange. “And honestly, Hermione, I’m so disappointed in you! Calling it a ‘bad thing’… And you too Ron! I never thought you’d be so prejudiced!”
“Wait, what??” Ron contributed finally, confused about the whole thing.
“You knew about this?” Hermione asked, mouth agape.
“Of course I knew! And if you’re not okay with it, then I’m not okay with staying friends with you!”
“Harry, easy…” Sirius warned.
“Harry, we don’t care they’re men!” Hermione explained in a hurry. “It’d be perfectly fine if they weren’t sneaking around lying and cheating!”
“Well, seems to be my turn for a: wait, what now?” Sirius asked confused.
Realisation suddenly dawned on Harry, who looked a lot less angry, and a lot more tense.
“Oh. Right. They’re not Hermione, really… They’ve been dating each other since, well, always. They just don’t tell people.”
“I believe we might have to start telling some people, now.” Remus sighed before going on to explain.
And so, he told them. He told them, how Sirius and himself used to date back at school - in their Hogwarts years before the war, and after, when they joined the Order. How they ended up apart as the war was ending… How they found their way back to each other after the developments of last year, when Sirius was found innocent. And how now, they were taking care of Harry, together.
Hermione and Ron listened to the tale with the utmost attention, especially so when they explained their reasons to keep it all a secret.
“I am a gay werewolf.” Remus said. “There’s only so much Dumbledore can do for me with the school board.” Hermione seemed to understand immediately, although Ron remained a bit confused. “And you know, with Sirius’ trial, the custody of Harry, all the newspaper attention they’ve been getting, it was all very risky… Still is.”
“So you’ve been dating since last year?”
“Yes.” Sirius confirmed.
“I hope that’s not something that makes you feel differently about us…” Remus told them sadly, and Hermione was quick to confirm.
“Of course not, Professor! I’m so sorry about before, this was just a major misunderstanding!”
“Yes, indeed.” He told her with a relieved smile.
“Well, I for one am glad I don’t have to ditch my friends.” Harry quipped amused and relieved.
“So you knew? This whole time??” Hermione questioned Harry accusingly.
“Yes. They snog pretty often in front of me. It’s traumatizing.” Harry said jokingly, earning a playful smack on the back of his head from Sirius, that only made his grin widen.
“So why did you tell us that Professor Lupin was dating Dora, if he never was?? I don’t understand!”
“You told them I was dating Dora?!” Remus asked in bewilderment.
“Not just us, he told a bunch of people.” Ron added, and Harry gave him a look that read ‘Thanks, mate. Helpful.’
“Well, I had to.” Harry tried to explain.
“You had to?” Sirius questioned unamused.
“Harry?” Remus said, prompting him to explain.
“Here’s the thing: remember when Mrs. Weasley came to Hogsmeade a few months ago? And we all had lunch and the Three Broomstricks? Well, when you went to the loo”, he pointed to Remus, “Madam Rosmerta blurted out the very awkward question ‘Is he still dating that Black?’, because I guess she knew you used to date or something.”
Sirius and Remus looked at Harry with stunned expressions, but none of that seemed to deter him from his tale.
“Obviously, Mrs. Weasley was very confused, and I was very panicked. So, I did what I could, and fake choked on my butterbeer, coughing to stop them talking until you came back. Which worked by the way - you’re welcome.” He said a little smugly, and even in the midst of this weird story, Remus and Sirius had to concede a smirk. “But then Mrs. Weasley was interested, to say the least, about what ‘Black’ she was talking about, clearly suspecting Sirius, and every time I saw her, she asked me so many questions about you two! And I didn’t think she’d care, like the bigoted people care, but you told me, you said: under no circumstances can people find out! That it’d be dangerous for me and for Remus! But Mrs. Weasley was so curious, I knew I had to do something!”
“When my mother gets a whiff of gossip…” Ron supplied, the only one following Harry’s train of thought with little question. The rest of the audience were a little more, let’s say, flabbergasted.
An encouraged Harry continued.
“Cut to Christmas at the Burrow a month later. Mrs. Weasley immediately asks me about you two, and I know she hasn’t forgotten. And then, a solution just falls onto my lap!” He says giddy. “There we were, having dinner, and Tonks was all over Remus, being all lovey-dovey…”
“She was not being lovey-dovey.” Remus protested dismissively, but Sirius unimpressed brow told him otherwise.
“Well, she smiled at you a lot and kept asking you questions, and I thought, ‘ew’, first of all, but then I saw an opportunity!” Harry continued with a glint in his eye. “Sirius isn’t the only estranged Black in the world! Tonks is a Black, too! Madame Rosmerta could’ve meant Tonks!” He supplied, clearly proud of his quick thinking. “So, I might have dropped some hints to Mrs. Weasley – I didn’t lie, I promise! - just smiled a little, when she told everyone Tonks was single, and she and Remus were cute, and she didn’t ask me a thing again!”
“Merlin, Harry…”
“What? It worked! Except Mrs. Weasley caught on and ran with it, and then a few weeks later I had to confirm you were dating Tonks to Ron and Hermione, and Mr. Weasley, and all the Weasleys, and even Professor McGonagall at one point. She was very surprised, and honestly, I think she thought it was fishy.”
“I do not know where to even begin.” Sirius responded, still unamused, but surely more from this Dora business, than his godson’s mischievous plan. When looking at the expectant Harry, though, he conceded a smile. “You are so much your father’s child.” He commented, because going overboard to protect them was such a James thing to do, and Harry beamed.
“Truly.” Remus concurred, quickly putting his best admonishing face. “But none of this was right, Harry! I don’t want you lying to your friends, making up stories!! You should’ve talked to us. We would have told Molly the truth… We’ll have to tell everyone, now.”
“No, you don’t!” Hermione interrupted worried. “They might fire you! Or take Harry away! Which is so unfair and ridiculous, but I don’t think we should chance it.”
“Yeah, Hermione’s right, we can keep the secret.” Ron added with determination.
“That’s very kind of both of you, but we will not burden you with this.”
“Oh Professor, it’s no burden at all! It’s absolutely fine. I don’t want to risk you leaving the school. You’re the best Defence teacher we’ve had in… ever!”
“Moony, the kids can handle it.”
“They’ve been handling enough as it is.”
“Wait… Moony???” Ron, who had seemed shocked yet again by what he was hearing, intervened. “As in Moony of the map??”
Sirius and Remus stared at Harry once again.
“It might be possible that I have recovered the map.”
Ron was delighted at the news, staring at Remus in a whole new light. “Did you make the Marauder’s map??”
“Well, he had some help.” Sirius added with a proud wink. “Padfoot. It’s a pleasure.” Sirius extended a hand, introducing himself, which Ron shook enthusiastically.
“That’s wicked! Wait till Fred and George hear about this, they’re going to go mad!!! I mean, you’re the Marauders!” Ron accused with glee and Sirius beamed proudly.
Hermione, who had been silently stunned, scandalized surely with this bit of information, looked at Remus with accusing eyes. “You’re a teacher!... Does Professor McGonagall know about this?”
“I’m afraid so.” Remus responded, slightly ashamed, but mostly amused. “Regrettably, she was the one tasked with handling most of our youthful… transgressions.”
Hermione looked like someone whose idea of the world was being shattered.
“Minnie doesn’t exactly know about the map, though. Never would’ve let us get away with it.”
“Minnie?” Ron asked weirded out.
“Yes, transfiguration extraordinaire and love of my life. Besides Moony here, of course.”
“Sirius…” Remus huffed, a little exasperated. “They are children, and my students.”
“I can never unhear this.” Ron commented, feeling rather conflicted with all the new personal info on his teacher and his family.
“That is also what I tell myself every time I’m around them.” Harry quipped amused. “I’ve been doing you a favour, honestly, keeping all this a secret.”
*
“How did it go with Molly?” Sirius asked from the sofa, as Remus made his way into the leaving room, shaking off the remainder of the powder from his coat, from coming in through the floo.
“It went okay.” Remus responded, greeting Sirius with a brush of a kiss, that always comforted him. “She was a little disappointed we didn’t trust her enough to tell her, but I explained it wasn’t like that, and I do think she understood… And mostly, she was just embarrassed and apologetic about gossiping.” He explained, moving to drop his coat and his shoes.
“She ought to be.” Sirius complained from behind his tea mug.
“C’mon, she means well.”
“Sure. Very keen on your Dora, she was…”
Remus settled himself next to Sirius, grabbing his hand in assurance, with a fond smile on his lips, before continuing.
“Speaking of, how did it go with your cousin?” While Remus talked to Molly, Sirius had been tasked with explaining the whole deal to Tonks, even though he hated the idea. But someone had to, just in case the gossip network ever got to her, and Remus had won that particular duel.
“It went fine, actually. She thought it was hilarious. Offered to help if we need it… Even joked we have the same taste in men. Which, well, we do.” Sirius conceded with a reluctant smile, to Remus relief. “Seems very well over her crush on you, though, I’m sorry to say, in case you were interested.” Sirius teased with a raised eyebrow and an unmistakably jealous pout.
“I’m quite content as I am, thank you.” Remus told him snuggling closer, leaning his head on Sirius’ shoulder.
“Harry in trouble for lying?” Sirius questioned.
“With Molly?” Remus said, chuckling at the absurd idea. “Never.”
“And with us?”
“I don’t know… We shouldn’t encourage this behaviour, but I understand it… we might have scared him a bit much when explaining why we don’t tell people.”
“Yeah…”
“We weren’t lying, though… it is dangerous, for so many people to know.”
“Right.”
Sirius curt answer, and the sudden tension on his body, weren’t missed by Remus, and he moved away from him, to look him in the eye once again, his hand never letting go.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uhm?”
“What’s wrong, Sirius?”
“Nothing.”
Remus stared, an unsaid ‘I don’t believe that’ between them, and Sirius sighed before positioning himself on the sofa to better look at him.
After a bracing deep breath, he confessed in a whisper.
“I don’t want to hide anymore.”
Remus eyes filled with a mix of fondness and worry. “Oh, love…”
“I don’t like what we had to do today.” Sirius explained further. “I don’t like having to go around cleaning up our tracks, like we’re doing something wrong, like we have something to be embarrassed about.”
“I don’t like it either, Sirius, but… you know what the world is like. For us. For me. For Harry!” The anger that filled Sirius thinking about the prejudice they were imprisoned by, made him get up from the sofa, pacing around to calm himself down. Remus remained seated, never taking his eyes off him, continuing with a gentle voice. “If this is what it takes for some semblance of peace… What alternative do we have?”
Sirius stopped in his tracks, thinking it over.
“We could just tell everyone to fuck off.”
Remus chuckled in spite of himself.
“That’s not how it works… You know that.”
“Why not, though? I do know the bullshit that we could have to deal with, but… don’t you think we could face it?”
“Sirius…”, Remus began warningly, “it would be… newspapers again. And questions about Harry’s guardianship. And his safety around us, around me… And my job…”
“I know I’m asking too much.”
“You’re not, not really…” Remus muttered sadly, looking down at his hands, that he kept quietly fidgeting with, like every other time he’s been worried.
“And I know that this would be so much more complicated for you than for me, and the possible consequences much harsher, I know that Moons, but…” and he struggled to continue, to convey what it is that he means, without the fear of a misstep. But this is Remus, thankfully, and he knows him through and through, now more than ever before.
“It’s not in your nature to hide who you are.”
Sirius nodded with a timid smile, relieved and always grateful, to be so fully understood, before continuing, sitting down next to Remus once again to look at him deeply.
“And it’s really not in my nature to hide who I love.”
Remus gave him a smile, as big as someone deep in worry can, and took one of his hands between his own again.
“And Harry? What would we do about Harry?” He asked.
“You know he doesn’t care.” Sirius said dismissively, knowing very well that was not what Remus meant. Remus gave him a stern look, that told him exactly that.
“People will care. The Ministry might care, and we cannot let him go back to that…”
“Merlin Moony, when I say I don’t want to hide it, I don’t mean I’m off for an interview with the Prophet. Don’t get me wrong, I could talk about you for hours, and Merlin knows we’d look gorgeous together on a front page, but that wasn’t quite what I had in mind.” Remus laughs again, with a fondness only Sirius can get out of him in these moments.
“We’ll tell our friends, and then just… live our lives. And I’ll get to move close to Hogwarts, so you can come home to me everynight with no issue. And be in public, while I hold your hand, and cuddle, and kiss you… whenever I want.”
Sirius eyes twinkled with promise, that Remus worried brain quickly defeated.
“Love, as wonderful as that sounds, that will be in the Prophet in about two days, and the front page will certainly not be flattering.”
“I’m just so tired of living in hiding, Rem!… But I understand if you don’t want to, I do…”
“Hey.” Remus tugged at his hands, to stop him continuing. “Do you think I’m not tired as well? I may not be as much of an overgrown puppy as you, but I too am quite fond of cuddles and kisses.” Remus joked, the grin on Sirius lips worth every worry. “I’m not embarrassed of any bit of our relationship and I’m so proud of what we’ve been managing to build, after everything. I don’t want to hide that. Do you think I don’t want that freedom for us?”
Sirius looked at him expectedly, with a hope so consuming, Remus knew his decision could never not be this one.
“We’ll need to be prepared.” He determined with a sigh.
“Does that mean you are agreeing??” Sirius asked wide eyed, but Remus continued warningly and soberly.
“We’ll have to make sure every document of your custody of Harry is indisputable. And we’ll need to talk to him, check if he’s okay with the possible nonsense that will arise from this. If he’s not, then we’re not doing it.”
“Of course.” Sirius agreed promptly. Harry was and always would be their priority.
“And I’ll have to talk to Dumbledore and offer my resignation beforehand. I owe the man that.”
“What?? No!” Sirius complained indignant. “Why would you do that?”
“Even if we’re not going to the news, they’ll catch up eventually. I’ll be a gay werewolf professor. And Merlin knows whatever else they’ll dig up about my past… There are enough people at the Hogwarts board who already dislike me. They think I’m too liberal, too radical in my teaching… this will be the last straw. I don’t want to do Dumbledore the disservice, when he put his position at risk already, for me to even be there in the first place.”
“Dumbledore wouldn’t fire you over any of it.”
“But the parents and the governors will put pressure on him. And we don’t need the trouble.” Remus explained reasonably. “It’s fine, Sirius. I’m willing to do that; I want our life too.”
“No. You’re the best fucking teacher that school ever saw, I’m not letting you quit, and I’m not letting you get fired.” Sirius said determinedly, and when Remus looked at him with a puzzled expression, he continued. “I am a wrongly convicted war hero, isn’t that what the news says?? And the Black Family heir. I have no interest in any of it, but I’ll use it if it comes to it! I’ll take my seat on the school board! Hell, I’ll take my seat on the Wizengamot, if I have to! Merlin knows I have enough complaints to put them to shame, and know enough dirt to lock half of them in Azkaban! They won’t dare touch you.”
“I’m not asking you to do any of that Sirius…”
“I mean it Moony.” Sirius said with intent. “For you and for Harry, I’d do anything.”
Sirius eyes were fiery and honest and brave, and Remus loves him in that moment, and in every moment, and he knows, whatever comes, they’ll be alright.
“I love you.” Sirius says, always so close to reading his mind.
“I love you too.”
Sirius determined, brave smile, showed up again. “We’re doing this”, he told him. Remus nodded, agreeing, putting a tender hand on Sirius’ cheek – feeling, holding, the precious joy radiating off him, before going for a kiss.
When they broke apart, a mischievous smirk appeared on Remus’ face. “You really think I’m the best teacher at Hogwarts, uh?” Sirius nodded, lips still hovering above his. “What about McGonagall?” Remus teased, and Sirius’ eyes panicked.
“Don’t do that to me.” He pleaded, only half-jokingly, and Remus laughed, putting him out of his misery with another breathless kiss.
*
“I don’t care.”
“Harry…”
“Did we not have this conversation already, like a year ago? And again, last week, with my friends?”
Sitting down Harry to tell him about their decision was proving to be heartwarmingly frustrating. The boy had all of James’ unashamed affection and all of Lily’s understanding kindness, which at the moment was making him fail to see the possible issues that could come to his life from this. And they needed to make sure he understood and agreed, as Harry was their only true concern.
“It’s not about whether you’re ok with us being together. We know you are.” Remus told him with a kind smile. “But you also know why we’ve been hiding things.” He continued a bit more warningly. “We want you to understand that we won’t be able to fully control how you’re affected by people knowing. And we would like you to tell us, honestly, how you feel about that.”
Harry hesitated for a beat.
“Can they…” he started timidly, “can they take me away from Padfoot?”
“No.” Sirius spoke for the first time in the conversation, having so far been sitting on the armchair that usually belongs to Remus, observing, his eyes set firmly on Harry. “We would never let that happen.”
Harry relaxed, reassured, but looked to Remus expectingly, as if hoping to hear the same confidence from him, who he knows to be much more level minded than his Godfather.
“We’ll make sure of it, before anything else.” Remus supplied, and Harry nodded, believing them.
“And from you?” He asked him then, and Remus heart swelled with love. So much of it, it overwhelmed him.
“Never, Harry.” Sirius was the first to assure. “If you’d like we’ll put Moony into your custody papers too, just in case.”
Harry nodded promptly, and then Remus heart really did burst, and Sirius must have noticed, smirking at him with a twinkle in his eye.
“Then it’s really fine, you can tell people, I don’t care.” Harry added with a little shrug, catching their attention once again.
“You can think about it some more. We would understand either way.” Remus said kindly, wanting to make sure. “It’s possible this’ll put you under a spotlight again, people talking about us, and about you… on the news, and perhaps at Hogwarts.”
“I don’t care about that.” Sirius gave Remus a smug look that screamed ‘Told you’. “And what would they talk about anyway?”
“They’ll care that we’re two men in a relationship, and that you’re living with us… and they’ll definitely care that you’re living with a werewolf…”
“Bigots, then?” Harry said determined, brave like the Gryffindor he was. “Are we supposed to care about what they say?”
Sirius grinned, and Remus couldn’t help his own smile.
“No, we are not.” Sirius confirmed looking at his godson with an insurmountable amount of pride, that Harry noticed and basked in.
“Moony, would not hide anymore make you happy?”
“Yes. Yes, it would.”
“And would living with us all the time make you happy?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good. ‘Cause I like having a professor around, it’s quite handy.” Harry joked. “I'll be top of the class at DADA!”
“You're already top of the class at DADA.”
“See? Already working!”
Remus couldn't help the fond smile. “You are so much like your parents, sometimes, it is overwhelming.” Harry stopped joking for a while, enraptured like he always was when anyone talked about his parents.
“In a good way?”
“In the best way.”
“They’d be so proud of you, kiddo.” Sirius told him, wrapping him in a forceful hug, and Remus nodded agreeing, eyes welling up too much for him to say it too.
Harry looked at him with a timid smile.
“I reckon they’d be proud of both of you too.”
And they would. Somewhere, theyare.
*
“You cannot be here!”
Remus complained a bit exasperatedly from the seat at his Hogwarts office desk, when his door opened and closed on its own. He knew exactly what was going on.
“Yet here I am!”
Sirius revealed himself, dropping Harry’s invisibility cloak onto his shoulders, a stupidly smug smirk on his face, no doubt proud of having once again snuck into Hogwarts undetected.
“Sirius, I mean it! You’ve been caught enough times, and I do like my job. We went to quite the trouble for me to keep it, so…”
Things had been tricky in the aftermath of their relationship becoming known. It didn’t take much for the media to catch on, with Sirius decision to move to Hogsmeade creating enough interest for them to be followed around, and eventually caught in rather public, and unmistakable, displays of affection. There were unflattering headlines, digs at their past, known werewolf written more times than they could count, and questions about who are these people caring for the boy who lived.
Harry himself couldn’t be miffed. Even when the headlines read his name, and his schoolmates murmured and whispered, the only thing he wanted was to continue to live with Sirius and Remus, and that, they had taken all provisions to assure.
There weren’t just gossiping students at Hogwarts, though. There were plenty of indignant parents, calling for the head of the liberal werewolf professor who loved a man, but Sirius, with his new roles in the Hogwarts Board of Governors and in the Wizengamot, put them in their place with all his might, and all his wrath. For once, his most ‘noble and ancient’ name would work for some good. And not just for himself, either. Sirius took to the role, determined to use his reluctantly inherited fortune and influence to challenge the bigoted ways of the wizarding world.
“And I’d go through the trouble again and again.” Sirius assured Remus with a smile. “I’m quite the big deal now,” he boasted with a wiggling brow, “you’ll never get fired!”
Remus smirked. “Well, constantly sneaking my boyfriend into the castle might be a bit more solid grounds to fire me than the gay werewolf thing. At least in my book.”
“You do not sneak me in! Life would be much easier if you cooperated. I had to get in all by my own expertise.”
“And Harry’s, clearly.” Remus commented, pointing at the invisibility cloak now only half draped over Sirius.
“He knowns I like being around.” Sirius told him unashamed. “My favourite people are in this castle, and my favourite memories are in this castle… And besides”, he began, sitting on Remus’ desk, paying no mind to the pile of scrolls laying on it. “Here you are, looking so smart and so professory, in your cute cardigan, in your cute office, with your cute books… you know it’s my most favourite look…” He teased, with a sultry grin. “How can one expect me to keep away, Moony?”
“Sirius, no sweet talk, I have to work.” Remus warned, but Sirius could feel him flailing.
“I can keep you company.”
“That’s a terrible idea.”
“You don’t want my company?”
“That’s not what I said.” Remus admitted. “But I told you, I have so many papers to mark, and you are a very distracting man.”
Sirius grinned at that, switching from his seat at the table, right to Remus’ lap.
“Yes. I am.”
Remus smiled. “Just give me a couple of hours, and I’ll meet you at home.” He told him sweetly before kissing the pout that formed on Sirius’ face. Sirius took the opportunity to kiss him deeply, confident that soon enough, he’d get his way and take his boyfriend home.
Their kiss was interrupted, though, by a knock on the door. One that startled Sirius away, automatically pulling the invisibility cloak over himself once again.
“May I?” They heard, as Minerva McGonagall peaked behind Remus’ office door, before carefully entering with such presence, that never failed in making him stand more upright in his chair. And today much more so, when a full-sized Sirius Black was here, poorly hiding next to him, when he very much shouldn’t be.
“Professor!” Remus greeted, trying to settle his voice and appearance. “Of course, do come in.”
“Remus, I thought we’d broken that habit already, Minerva suffices.”
Remus offered a shaky laugh. He has been working at Hogwarts for two years, and, although it took him a while, he has managed to force himself to treat Minerva as colleague, rather than his former head of house, like she had requested. He usually managed it, but the compromising situation brought him back to his more delinquent days, and his muscle memory took over.
“Of course. Minerva. Did you need something?”
“Well, a few of the staff are coming for some tea in the Great Hall. I was wondering if you’d like to join.” She told him kindly. “I just received a generous supply of biscuits from a colleague in Switzerland.” She explained with a smile, showing him one of the tins she was carrying, and he smiled at the clearly chocolaty smell that they pleasantly radiated. “I did think you might particularly appreciate them.”
“That’s a wonderful invitation, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, I’m sorry… I have quite a bit of marking to do.” He told her truthfully, eyeing his desk, filled with piles of unchecked scrolls. “With the full and all, fell a bit behind, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, of course. It’s understandable.” Minerva said with no bother.
“But I’d love to catch up another day, when you have the time.” He told her genuinely.
“Absolutely.” McGonagall agreed with a smile. “In the meantime, would you like a biscuit anyway, to keep you company?”
“I’d love one.” Remus smiled, and McGonagall approached the desk, setting the tin down for him to choose.
“Take a couple.” She encouraged him with a wink. Remus chuckled and did so, thanking her.
“You are very welcome, Remus. Don’t work yourself too hard, and I hope you have a nice evening.” She told him, as she made her way to the door, just before adding, “You too, Mr. Black.”
Remus’ choked on the bit of biscuit he was already taking a bite of, and Sirius poked his head out of the cloak in fascinated shock.
“How do you do that?? How do you always know??” He asked incredulous.
Minerva turned back to them. “It varies. This time, your feet.” She said with a cocked eyebrow and, Sirius could swear, the faintest traces of a smirk.
“Oh.” He said looking down, to find his feet very much not covered by the cloak and very much in view. “Can I have a biscuit?” He asked her with an inappropriately bright grin, as he dropped the rest of the cloak unashamed.
“No. You can have my sympathy, by pretending I did not see you in this castle afterhours, again, when you are not a student nor staff, and that is quite more than you deserve.”
“Padfoot, when can I have my cloak back??”
“Mr. Potter.” McGonagall said slowly, with her most classic, and most terrifying, head tilt, saying nothing and everything at the same time.
Harry, who had entered Remus’ office in a stride, was jolted into position at the sight.
“Professor.” He greeted her nervously, gulping under her gaze.
“Did I mishear, or did you have a question for Mr. Black, Mr. Potter?” She asked, and it sounded very much like a trap with no possible right answer.
Harry threaded carefully. “I wanted my cloak back…” He said truthfully and tentatively, but his Godfather’s bugged warning eyes, just behind McGonagall’s head, told him that was absolutely not the way to go.
McGonagall squinted, terrifying as usual, and Harry decided to switch strategy. “But you know what? Sirius can keep it! I never want it back.” He concluded with overenthusiastic determination. “I mean, what use could I even have for it?! It’s useless to me!”
“Yes, absolutely useless rag, that is.” Sirius encouraged, shooting a wink at Harry.
An unimpressed McGonagall turned to Remus disapprovingly.
“I have no semblance of control over them.” He excused her unspoken accusations, with an apologetic tone. “I swear I do try.”
“Well, that’s certainly a half-truth that brings back memories.” She quipped, making them remember past days where Prefect Remus would try his hardest to justify James and Sirius’ antics, when they all knew perfectly well, he was likely a bit guilty of them too.
“I’m sorry, Professor.” Remus says genuinely, a bittersweet smile on his face from the memories.
Minerva gave him a sleek smile. Even after all these years, or rather once again after all these years, Remus was spared for being her favourite.
“Well, I should be leaving… And I will not be leaving alone, will I Mr. Potter?” She asked turning to Harry, who was startled by her attention back on him. “Given that is certainly well past the time for you to be wondering through the halls…”
“Yes, Harry,” Sirius began in fake outrage, “this is not the education I have been giving you! Sneaking into the halls after hours? Unacceptable behaviour, which may I say, I as a student, was utterly incapable of! This is not the example we’ve been setting for you, young man!”
Harry rolled his eyes in a very Remus like move, and Minerva did so too, with an added sigh for good measure, before turning to Harry, in some mischievousness of her own.
“Have a biscuit, Potter.”
“What?? That is unfair!! Why does everybody get a biscuit but me??” Sirius complained with little bite, but McGonagall didn’t bat an eye. “At least let me call you Minerva, you let Remus do it!”
“I did not see you; I do not hear you, Mr. Black. Good evening.” She said, parting with an amused Harry in tow, and leaving a grinning, happy, Sirius behind.
“Merlin, I love her.” He commented, gaze still following her steps.
“And yet she loves me.” Remus said smugly, taking a bite out of his heavenly chocolate biscuit, with a teasing smirk on his lips.
“How dare you?! She loves me too!!”
“I don’t see a biscuit in your hands.” He responded. “I, however, have two.”
“Bastard.”
“Jealous?”
“Yes!!” Sirius admits, falling into Remus’ lap once again. “I’ll win her over someday.”
“I have no doubt you’ll keep trying.” Remus teased some more, holding Sirius arms, which now fell around his neck.
“And succeed! My charms are irresistible.” Sirius gloated sweetly.
“Unfortunately, yes. Yes, they are.” Remus admitted, reverence in his eyes at the man in front of him.
“Home?” Sirius asked smiling, knowing he had won him over, likely the moment he stepped into the door. That’s how much love he knew he was given.
“Yes.” Remus smiled back, the insurmountable love returned in Sirius’ eyes. “Let’s go home.”