Raising The Next Marauders

Minerva McGonagall stared at the clock on the mantle of Remus’ small two bed flat, it had been two hours since Remus had firecalled her in a panic asking if she could look after Lyall and Maia while he and Sirius went out to check on the Potters. Unfortunately for her, they didn’t need much more from her than a watchful eye, as the two toddlers were already down for the night. Leaving her nothing to do but watch from a chintzy armchair as the seconds turned into minutes, then into hours. With each echoing tick the pool of dread in her stomach grew, her grip on the chairs armrests turned white knuckled and taught. Her original hope of it being nothing but the boys' unfounded fears after all that they had already lost, had faded after an hour and now she was holding on to her famed stoicism by the skin of her teeth. She was three seconds from throwing the damned clock across the room, when finally at seven minutes past midnight, the front door opened, revealing an emotionally exhausted Remus and Sirius, their backs cowed in defeat. She was out of the armchair and across the room before either could get fully in the door.

“James? Lily?” She asked, softly yet urgently.

Neither man would meet her gaze, that was as good as an answer in and of itself but then her eyes fell to the sleeping bundle in Remus’ arms. Harry. The sight of him without Lily or James hit her like the Knight Bus, all the air seemed to be pushed from her lungs as she blindly reached for the wall with one hand before her legs completely failed her, the other hand at her mouth to stop the sobs that wanted to burst free. She had already lost so many of her children, too many, most of them parents themselves, Marlene, Dorcas and now James and Lily. She was no stranger to war and it's losses but it still cut her to the core. 

Sirius hooked a cautious arm around her waist walking her back to the armchair she had vacated moments ago, moving away only to lean his back against the wall beside the mantle, arms wrapped around himself, staring emptily at a spot on the floor, tears making silent tracks down his face. She watched him as she gathered herself, looking for the mischievous boy with a smirk to match, who ended up in her office more often than not for some hairbrained prank that had her hiding her own smile as he gave excuses and explanations that bordered on the ridiculous. But she couldn’t find him in the broken man before her. First his lover and now his brother in all but blood. The war had not been kind to Sirius black, but then when was it ever kind? She was pulled away from her study of Sirius by Remus shutting the front door and shuffling quietly across the room looking at her only briefly before motioning to the children’s bedroom.

”I’m going to put Harry down, I'll be right back.”

The softness of his tone belied his pain, but his posture spoke volumes, feet heavy, barely lifting from the floor, shoulders hunched. Simply put he looked as though he was recovering from a full moon. Haggard and holding himself together by sheer will. He returned a moment later with a bottle of firewhiskey in one hand and three glasses in the other.  He poured and handed out a generously filled glass to her and Sirius before taking his own to the matching two-seater sofa across from her, falling into it with a pained groan. 

Minerva took a fortifying sip, before she finally voiced her first question. 

“What happened?”

If possible Sirius’ shoulders hunched in even further as he belted down his glass in a single gulp, Remus too knocked back his firewhiskey, before eventually answering. “Peter betrayed them to Voldemort.”

Her eyes swung from Sirius to Remus and back again. 

“Peter? Pettigrew?” she questioned in confusion.

“It's my fault.” Sirius rasped in self hatred. “I convinced them to change Secret Keeper, I thought I was too obvious; that they could use me as a decoy, but I just damned them instead.” His voice cracked, tears no longer fell silently, now heaving sobs forced their way from his mouth. He slid down the wall, no longer able to stand, shoulders shaking as he buried his head in the crook of his elbows, his empty glass held limply in his hand. 

Remus sighed, dragging himself up from the sofa, placing his glass on the coffee table as he passed, he let himself slide down the wall to sit beside the other remaining marauder, slipping an arm around the other man's shoulders. 

“We've been through this, Sirius, this isn't your fault.” Remus said, gentle but firm. “You had no way to know that Peter was the spy. You made choices, yes, but so did Peter.” 

Sirius didn’t reply but the whispered litany of “My fault” subsided.

Minerva used the moment to reconcile the young man she had taught with the apparent Voldemort supporter he was now and much to her chagrin it didn’t take much, Peter wasn’t a particularly gifted child, he scraped by academically in Hogwarts, he was almost painfully average and meek, quick to ally with the strongest players. No, what hurt the most was that he betrayed the only friends he had, for Voldemort. Betrayed them all. How long had he been giving information about the Order to Voldemort? How many of their deaths could be laid at his feet? How else had Voldemort known where Marlene’s family was hidden? How else had he known Dorcas’ team was coming? It was a bitter kind of hurt that had her draining her own glass of firewhiskey, welcoming the distraction that the burn brought with it. She wasn't one to imbibe regularly but tonight was an exception. 

Her eyes swept over her former students, then to the children’s bedroom door.

“I assume you’ll be raising Harry now?” 

She noticed Sirius’ grip on his glass go from limp to tight as he lifted his head to glare at the space in front of him. “Well! Dumbledore, for reasons that escape us mere mortals, wants to send him to live with magic hating muggles!” He spat

Well that just gave her more questions, she looked to Remus for an explanation.

He grimaced. “Lily’s sister and her husband, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, James went with Lily to their wedding; it didn’t go well. They haven’t even spoken since. Not to mention they both told us that if anything happened to them that we were to look after Harry. I’m not sure what Dumbledore is playing at.”

Minerva couldn't help but agree, what on earth was Albus thinking? How in Merlin’s name would muggles be able to keep him safe from Voldemort and his Death Eaters?

Their conversation was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. 

“That's probably him now.” Remus muttered, not sounding particularly enthused by the idea of having to deal with the headmaster.

Rather than get up he waved his wand, wordlessly in a lazy arc at the door which sure enough, swung open to reveal Albus Dumbledore looking much like he had this morning at Hogwarts, though his customary twinkle was strikingly absent. His gaze swept over the room and it's occupants, before landing heavily on Sirius where his features filled with distrust. The protective lioness in Minerva rose up at the possible threat to her cub; she quickly pierced Albus with a quelling look. 

“It wasn’t him. It was Pettigrew.” She told him succinctly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Surprise flitted over his face as he looked to her, she met his gaze, bringing her memories of the boy's explanation to the forefront of her mind. He nodded in understanding before turning back to the boys in question. 

“And where is Peter now?” He asked calmly.

“The rat’s probably hiding under Voldemort’s robes, wherever that is.” Sirius growled.

He didn’t look up at Albus, too preoccupied with making the air in front of him spontaneously combust with the heat of his furious scowl.

“Rat?” Albus enquired lightly.

This finally had Sirius looking at him, albeit with a derisive roll of his eyes. “Oh don’t pretend you don’t know.” He spared her a glance too. “Both of you. We’ve all been animagus since fifth year.”

She and Albus shared a look. It was true she had known what her lions were up to from the moment all but Remus went oddly silent for a full month. 

“Very well…” The Headmaster conceded. “...it may interest you to know then, that Voldemort is in fact, dead.” 

The man spoke as though commenting on something as banal as the weather, they all looked up at him in disbelief. 

“What?”

“How?”

“Or at least he has lost his corporeal form.” He continued.

Now even she was rolling her eyes, she pinned Albus with a withering look. “For once in your life man just get to the bloody point! Tonight is not the night for your waffling on! Is the war truly over?”

She didn’t need to look to know the boys were staring at her as though they’d never seen her before. She kept her eyes on Albus who looked rather put out but she wasn’t about to take it back. She wanted answers. 

He sighed but nodded. “Very well, now I don’t know everything about what happened; but what I do know is that when Voldemort cast the killing curse at Harry it rebounded and struck him instead, now word has already gotten out that Harry somehow killed him. But while I do think he’s been reduced to a weakened state, I don’t believe he’s actually dead. Which is why I tasked Hagrid with bringing Harry to his relatives home in Surrey, where he will be safe from the Death Eaters out for revenge for the loss of their master. So yes technically the war is over but it will likely be months before his followers are rounded up.”

Sirius was on his feet in a flash, shoulders squared and confrontational, Remus only a step behind. Minerva surreptitiously cast a Quietening Charm at the children’s bedroom in preparation for the shout that was inevitably about to come from Sirius’ mouth.

“Why in Merlin’s name would he be safe from Death Eaters with muggles!?”

Albus appeared unfazed, merely raising an eyebrow at the man's ire.

“Well for one, I was under the impression that you betrayed them to Voldemort as their secret keeper-”

He was cut off as Sirius hurled his glass at his head, forcing him to duck and the glass to shatter against the opposite wall. 

“I would die!” Sirius roared. “I would die before I betrayed them!”

Remus put a steadying hand on Sirius arm in an attempt to calm him, though she could tell by the tense set of his shoulders he was just as insulted by Albus’ easy belief in Sirius’ apparent betrayal.

“And secondly.” The Headmaster carried on blithely. “He would be kept perfectly safe under the protection of the Blood wards with his remaining family.”

“And will these blood wards keep him safe from them?” Sirius demanded.

“Lily and James wanted him with us, with Lyall and Maia, Lily didn’t want her sister anywhere near Harry.” Remus added, softer but no less defensive.

Albus just brushed them off. “I’m sure I have no idea what you mean, they are the only family he has left and Harry belongs with them.”

In that moment, looking between the three men Minerva made the choice to stand by her boys no matter what. Even if that was against the venerated Albus Dumbledore’s wishes. They needed her and by Merlin she would help them. Help them fulfil James and Lily’s last wish for Harry. She stood without a word and put herself between Albus and the boys before they could truly come to blows. 

“It seems to me that the answer is obvious, The Dursleys are strangers to Harry and Blood wards or not, I can’t see them treating him with anything more than disdain, and I for one have seen too many mistreated children walk through Hogwarts’ halls. So he will stay with Sirius and Remus as per Lily and James’ wishes, though you can’t stay here…” 

She paused before an idea came to mind that had her hiding a smirk. 

“Why don't the five of you move into Potter Manor, it's been empty since Dorea and Charlus died and the house elves will be happy to see you two again.” 

She looked from the boys to Albus. 

“You can perform the Fidelius Charm, with me as their secret keeper. A protection spell woven by you should be more than enough to keep rogue Death Eaters from finding them or Voldemort as we know the only reason he found them was Pettigrew. And as I spend most of my time at Hogwarts, they won’t be able to get to me either.”

Albus’ face had darkened considerably when he realised he wasn’t going to get his way. 

Check and mate. She thought smugly.

She had a feeling he knew more than he’d said but that was par for the course with Albus, and she wasn’t about to let him toy with Harry’s life just to spare his feelings.

He heaved a great, put upon sigh. “Well, I can see I’m not going to be able to change your mind about this. I’ll meet you all at Potter Manor in the morning.”

He abruptly apperated from the flat without a goodbye. 

She barely refrained from rolling her eyes once more as she turned back to the boys who were looking at her rather oddly.

She raised an imperious eyebrow at them. “What?”

“That was bloody brilliant Professor.” Sirius breathed with a grin.

Remus nodded in agreement, a small smile on his lips.

“Well, thank you for that assessment Mr Black.” She replied curtly.

They shared a look that she couldn’t decipher before the two of them wrapped their arms around her. 

Remus spoke softly but she heard it all the same. “Seriously, Professor. Thank you.” 

She patted their backs somewhat awkwardly until they released her. She cleared her throat self-consciously “Yes, well, off to bed with you I’ll stay and keep watch tonight, and set about sending an owl to Amelia Bones about Pettigrew.” She shooed them off to the master bedroom before they could get another word in, hiding her smile until the door had closed behind them. 

Her cubs were safe for now.