The Hidden House

Sirius forced himself off the bed, immediately regretting the decision as his headache threatened to take him back down. He summoned a hangover potion with a flick of his wrist and downed it before attempting to move further. It was the first wandless magic he had taken the time to learn, and it came in handy. He set a second potion on the bedside table for Victoria, he knew she would be needing it just as much as he had. 

He didn’t bother to change his clothes before making his way toward the sound of his cousin and godson’s laughter. Harry and Draco had taken to each other instantly, so he wasn’t surprised when he opened his door to the sight of the pair racing across his living room on toy brooms. He was slightly more surprised to see a very smug-looking Remus Lupin sitting on his couch. 

“Morning, Padfoot,” Remus said with a smirk. “Sleep well?” Sirius didn’t have to ask to know that Remus had barged into his room upon arrival. He had seen Victoria in his bed, and from the look on his face, he recognized her too. 

“Morning, Moony. It’s not what it looks like.” He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to defend himself, it’s not like Remus cared about who Sirius brought home anymore. Still, he couldn’t stop himself. “She came by the shop yesterday and we drank too much Firewhiskey.” 

“It’s true, I would’ve hurt myself if I had attempted to floo home last night. I wouldn’t be caught dead sleeping with Sirius anyway.” Victoria laughed from the bedroom door. She must’ve decided to give up on sleep. Her presence didn’t do much to support his case, however, as she was still wearing his clothes. “Good morning, Remus, It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too,” Remus said as he quirked his eyebrow at her. “I’ll believe you for now.” Sirius dropped his face into his palm, knowing that Remus would be demanding the full story later. 

“Right then, breakfast?” Sirius said after composing himself. 

“Only if you’re not cooking!” Victoria said cheerfully as she made her way toward the kitchen. 

“Not for me today, that’s why you’re watching the kids,” Remus said, standing up from the couch. 

“Where are Narcissa and Lily? Not that I mind having the boys.” Sirius said curious. 

“Narcissa has a meeting with Gringotts to deal with transferring her funds to an account of her own and James is taking Lily on a date, so it’s your turn,” Remus said with a small smile that told Sirius he wasn’t getting the whole story. 

“Sounds good I’ll take them to the park later. What are you doing this fine morning?” He wasn’t going to let him off the hook after the way Remus had reacted to finding him earlier. 

“I have plans,” Remus said simply, making his way toward the floo. 

“Plans, eh? Care to share with the class?” Victoria called from the kitchen, clearly as intrigued as Sirius was, likely for the same reason. He could tell she was embarrassed to have been found in that situation. 

“If you must know, I have a date.” Remus relented with a sigh. “That is all I am going to say about it, Have fun with the boys.” He made good on his words and stepped into the floo before Sirius or Victoria could say anything else. 

Sirius filled the space by ordering breakfast for them all to be delivered and playing with the boys. He knew that he would have to talk to Victoria about what had happened sooner or later, but he was hoping for later. She was terrifyingly perceptive and he didn’t want to get into his interaction with Remus. She seemed to pick up on his discomfort and was kind enough to let it go. Instead of attempting to continue the conversation, she decided to turn on his record player and let the Beatles fill the apartment. 

Harry and Draco were happy to have a new member of their audience and alternated between hiding from her and demanding her attention. Harry was quicker to accept her presence, proudly handing her his stuffed quaffle for her approval. She responded correctly by tossing it back to him, based on his beaming face. Draco was a little more shy and hid behind Sirius’s leg for the first ten minutes after Remus left, but when she offered to dance with him to the music Sirius knew that she had won him over. 

The next hour while they waited for their food to arrive the unlikely group alternated between broom races, dancing, and playing with the toy dinosaurs Harry had found at the bottom of the toy chest Sirius kept for him. Sirius knew that he shouldn’t be surprised by how quickly Victoria took to the boys, she was a Weasley after all, but it startled him all the same. He silently resolved to keep her away from them for a while, sensing a threat to his position as the favorite.

By the time the food arrived, the boys had worn themselves out. A quick glance at the clock showed Sirius that while it might be breakfast for him and Victoria, it was lunch for the rest of the world and the boys would need to sleep soon. Victoria transfigured the couch into a travel cot for the boys to nap in while Sirius fed them. He was foolish to think that was all it would take, as the boys demanded to be read to and he was far too devoted to say no. Thankfully it only took three books for them to start to nod off. Victoria had already finished her food by the time Sirius made his way to the kitchen, casting a silencing charm and a monitoring charm on the door as he passed. 

“Do you want to talk about whatever awkwardness that was this morning?” Victoria teased gently. Sirius just sighed, he had known it would come up sooner or later. 

“Not really, but I imagine I owe you some type of explanation right?” He said glumly as he started in on his now cold breakfast. He wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t placed a stasis charm on it after the exhausting morning they had had. 

“You don’t owe me anything, we don’t have to talk about it,” Victoria said with a finality he hadn’t expected. She was right, he realized. She was just an old friend he hadn’t seen in years. There was no need to tell her his life history if he didn’t want to. The thought was refreshing. 

“Right. Thanks. So, when do we start the hunt for your temporary flat?” He offered instead. 

“Who said it had to be temporary? Sure, the floo is a bit longer but not too much. I can base myself here and annoy you for a while.” Victoria had a look on her face that frightened him a little. 

“I fear I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew offering to help you like this.” He said with a laugh. 

“I am positive that is true, but it’s too late for you to back down now! So how did you find this place, anyway?” 

“Ah, I spent two months befriending the owner by buying books from her shop and then working for her. I am positive we can find the same type of deal for you.” Victoria laughed as she recalled the woman she had met yesterday. She reminded her of Molly in a way.

“I like her! Let's ask her if she has any other flats!”

“I doubt she has any other flats, but she probably knows more about how to find one than the two of us put together,” Sirius laughed. “Today’s Thursday right? She is supposed to be up for tea later. She’s met the boys before she won’t be surprised to see them here but we should put up the broomsticks. That might be a bit harder to explain.” 

“What, you think a muggle would be surprised to discover magic?” Victoria laughed. “That’s good timing though! When’s she coming?”

“Three usually. It’s a standing appointment I forgot to reschedule.” Sirius looked a little awkward at that. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about sharing Grace with the rest of the people in his life, although he didn’t know why. If he was willing to talk to the mind healer James had suggested they might tell him that it was because he finally felt like he had something that was his alone and he wanted to keep it, but that was an uncomfortable thought so he pushed it away for now. Grace already knew his family, and it was only a matter of time before she met Victoria if she was truly going to be moving nearby. 

“Perfect,” Victoria said, “That gives me time to clean up and clear out before she gets here.” True to her words, she cast a few cleaning charms and moved to gather her clothes from where they had been hanging to dry in Sirius’s room. Sirius was dumbfounded at this development and found himself staring while he finished his food. 

“I thought you wanted to meet her?” He asked curiously. He was not going to admit that he was happy she was leaving, it felt far too rude, yet he knew that it was true all the same. 

“I want her to like me, Sirius. I don’t want her to think I am a burnout or a tramp because I crashed here last night.” It was a silly excuse and they both knew it yet Sirius did not protest. Instead, he helped her gather the last of her things and floo home after agreeing to lunch the next day. 

Grace arrived several hours later to find Sirius with Draco on his shoulders and Harry on his back as he danced along to the boy’s favorite Beatles album. By now, this was not an unfamiliar sight for her so she just smiled and made her way to the kitchen to start on tea. By the time she had the little cakes set out, the kids were very politely seated at the table waiting to be served. 

Sirius was grateful when she waited for the kids to get picked up before bringing up the topic of Victoria, yet he was not able to hide his slight cringe when she did.

“So, that was quite the young woman who came by the shop yesterday.” 

“Vic, Victoria, it was nice to see her it had been a long time.” He hoped that his nonchalance would allow him to change the subject, yet he knew it wouldn’t. He was behaving ridiculously and he knew it. He should have been the one to bring her up, he had promised to ask her about finding a flat for Vic, but after seeing Remus he found himself not very interested in talking at all. 

“How did you two meet?” Grace was not even trying to hide her prying and her boldness caused Sirius to let out a laugh despite himself. 

“We went to school together back in the day. She was the year below me but we had a few classes together.” He shook his head to clear out the mess he had allowed to creep back in. “She is actually moving here soon, I was wondering if you knew of any flats nearby she could lease?” 

“I would be happy to help dear,” she smiled, “will she be coming back soon?”

“She is stopping by for lunch tomorrow if you would care to join us.”

“I would love to. Now when are you going to tell me what has you all bothered? You look paler than usual, I hadn’t realized that was even possible.” Sirius let out a small laugh at her words, he had known they were coming. If anyone else had asked he would’ve brushed it off, but he found himself relieved anyway. Grace barely knew Remus, she didn’t know their history, he could talk about it. 

“My ex came by this morning, to drop off the boys for me to babysit.” He paused and took a breath before continuing. He knew that some muggles had strange ideas about same-sex relationships, but he didn’t think Grace would be one of them. “He was on his way to a date with another man.”

“Remus, right?” 

“I should’ve known you figured it out already.” Sirius snorted. 

“Yes, well you’re not exactly subtle, love. You stare at each other constantly and Lily acts like she is ready for a row whenever you’re in the same room.” Her smile softened her words, and Sirius knew that she was right. Things had never quite been the same since they separated. He blamed the war for that.

“We didn’t use to be like that. We were best friends for years before we were ever anything else. We are just,” Sirius shook his head, “trying to figure out how to be friends who used to date.” He wasn’t sure when Grace had started walking toward him, but he suddenly found himself leaning into her embrace as she brushed his hair out of his face. 

“It will get better, Sirius. It might take some time, but it will get better.” And for the first time, Sirius believed it. So he let himself soak up the feeling of having a mom who cared and a friend he could have again one day. 

***

Remus apparated to the designated apparition point in a back alley in downtown London, hoping his unease was not obvious in his step. He had been worried about seeing Sirius before his date, but finding him in that position was not something he had prepared for. He knew that nothing had happened. Vic and Sirius had been friends back in Hogwarts and even then Remus had never been jealous about their relationship, but this morning was different. This was the first first date he would be going on since Hogwarts. Since Sirius. 

Unlike many of his former classmates, he had not used the war as an opportunity to jump into a relationship in case tomorrow never came. He had celebrated James and Lily’s wedding with Sirius at his side and had never considered the possibility that it would not always be that way. Looking back now it felt so obvious. 

Of course, being a werewolf didn’t help his chances either. Witches and wizards alike would back away in fear once they knew, and despite Lily’s advice, he couldn’t bring himself to wait to tell them. He made sure they knew before the first date so he couldn’t be accused of tricking them down the road. So really, it should be no surprise that this was the first actual date he would be going on in two years. He wasn’t entirely convinced that he would be waiting at the coffee shop as it was. 

Still, Remus shook off the stress of the morning and straightened his back as he turned the corner out of the alleyway and made his way to the cafe. He was quite proud of the fact that he only stumbled a little bit when the short red-haired man with a phenomenal jawline who had asked him out the week prior stood to greet him at the entrance. It was with a little more confidence this time that Remus smiled, and stepped forward.