James watched from the doorway as Harry hurried around the kitchen, throwing things into a pot on the stove, making it seem as though cooking was the simplest thing ever…but James knew different. James knew that everything about cooking was evil. That if given the chance, the knives, stove, pots, and pans would attack an unsuspecting victim. Which was why Harry had agreed to play protector and fight the dragons for James, just for this one time.

Even though it seemed as though Harry had everything under control, James was afraid to step into the "dragon's nest" for fear that he would cause something to go wrong. He hadn't even spoken since the moment Harry had pulled out the first pot. He was sure that with how much the kitchen hated him, it would take things out on Harry, something he refused to let happen.

He was also sure that Harry would laugh at him if he knew what was going through James's mind…hell, he was already chuckling about how James wouldn't leave the doorway, neither going into the kitchen or leave to the living room while the "evil torture instruments" were out.

Only when Harry had the stove turned off and the last napkin on the table did James completely enter the kitchen with hesitant steps.

"Hurry up, Dad. Aren't you supposed to be a wizard? There's nothing in here that you can't handle."

James snorted. "Easy for you to say, they don't attack you."

"They don't attack you, either," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "You're just clumsy when you're in here."

James sat down in front of his plate and began to eat. Deciding to change the subject, he said, "When did you say Draco was coming?" Too bad the only subject he could think of was one he didn't want to talk about.

"This Saturday. He's getting the third degree from his mother, and his father is still raving about it, so we decided that it'd be best if he came earlier than we had planned." He was silent for a moment before saying, "I'm glad you're not taking this as badly as his parents are. I know you don't like him, but you're still trying to accept me being with him. They're not even trying."

James didn't say what he really thought. It wouldn't help anyone if he admitted that he wanted nothing more than to forbid Harry from seeing Draco. That if he had his way, Draco wouldn't take a step into their house. He knew that Harry would do what James said, no matter how much he didn't want to. He also knew that by doing that, he'd be no better than Lily, trying to plan Harry's life for him. He knew that Harry wouldn't forgive him for that.

Instead, he said, "I'll give him a chance Harry. I can't promise that I'll approve of him, but I won't try to change your mind. If I don't like him though, I'm going to tell you. I'm not going to pretend to be happy with him if I think he's not good enough for you."

"I know, Dad. And I wouldn't have expected anything less."

HPHPHPHPHP

James slowly opened Harry's bedroom door. The light from the full moon outside that forced its way through the thin blinds, letting James see just enough to work his way around the mess on the floor and see Harry's still form beneath the blankets.

When he reached the bed, he had to bite back a laugh. Since Harry was a baby, James would come into his room to check on him. It was a habit that Lily had always been against and Harry would say was embarrassing if his friends were to ever learn of it. Still, James couldn't sleep unless he knew his son was safely tucked into bed. Even with age, Harry's sleeping hadn't changed. He still tossed and turned so much, kicking the blankets off of him. Or, like now, he'd get tangled up in them and, refusing to wake up, would only make it worse by trying to get untangled in his sleep.

Careful not to wake Harry, James fixed the blankets and tucked them around him, then kissed him lightly on the forehead. Without thinking, James's hand gently cupped Harry's cheek, his thumb tracing Harry's bottom lip.

Harry moaned softly, his back arching a tiny bit. His breath came out in a sigh, forming the name, "James."

James jerked his hand away and backed up a step, his foot landing on something hard and causing him to yelp in pain. Harry sat up, startled awake, his hand going for the wand on his bedside table. When his eyes landed on James, he sat the wand back down, but didn't relax. If anything, he tensed up a bit and a dark blush heated his face.

"Everything alright, Dad?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Yeah, sure, everything's fine. Just stepped on something," he answered nervously, backing up a few more steps. "Go on back to bed."

Harry nodded and laid back down, his body relaxing a bit. "Night, Dad."

"Good Night, Harry," James said, nearly running out of the room and away from Harry's curious, and slightly apprehensive, gaze.

HPHPHPHP

Sirius opened his eyes, watching as Remus climbed out of the bed quietly and hurried around the room, pulling on his clothes and shoes. It was the second day Remus had woken up early to sneak out without a word, leaving Sirius in bed, worrying about what was going on.

Unlike yesterday, though, Sirius wasn't going to let Remus leave without an explanation. Sitting up, he glared at the werewolf. "Where are you going?"

Remus jumped in shock, turning to face him. "Did I wake you?"

"Of course you did. You woke me yesterday, too. Now, where are you going?"

Shifting on his feet nervously, Remus took a step closer to the bed and tried to smile calmly. "I have a few errands to run. I'll only be gone for a few hours."

"Can I come with you?"

Remus immediately tensed, biting his lower lip. "I doubt you'd want to, it's going to be really boring. You should get some more sleep and maybe go visit James later."

Sirius jumped out of the bed, his face angry. Clenching his fists to keep from trembling, he said, "I don't want to go to sleep or visit James. I want to know where the bloody hell you're planning on going this early in the fucking morning!"

Remus looked taken aback for a moment before his face suddenly cleared. When he spoke, his voice was forcefully calm, with only the slightest bit of anger showing through. "Where do you think I'm going?"

Sirius started to fidget with waistband of his boxers, for lack of anything better to do, and didn't answer.

"Sirius Black! I can't believe you!" Remus shouted. "Do you actually think I'm cheating on you?"

Narrowing his eyes at him, Sirius yelled, "You're too smart for your own good. What do you expect me to think?! I overheard you talking to that…person! You said you'd been looking forward to…something. And you're sneaking out, keeping things from me!

"I know I might not be the best husband, that I might take you for granted at times and I never help out unless forced to. I know you could do so much better than me. Ever since we got together, I've been afraid that you'd realize it, that you'd leave me. And here you are, acting all suspicious and hiding things!

"I love you, Remus, more than anything. All I want is for you to be happy. If that means letting you go to another person, fine, but the least you could do is tell me that you want to see other people! Give me a chance to fight back, to try to keep you! Even though I do so many things wrong, I think I deserve that at least."

Remus crossed his arms. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get your clothes and get out!"

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"A hotel! Or Grimmauld Place! Or to James for all I care! Just leave! I want you out of this house by the time I get back!"

"You're not even going to tell me if it's true or not?"

The only answer he got was the door slamming behind Remus's retreating back, leaving Sirius to fall to the floor, tears rolling down his cheeks and loud sobs wracking his body.

HPHPHPHPHP

"One moment!" Harry yelled as he hurried downstairs to answer the front door. When he opened the door and saw a tearful Sirius standing there, the smile that had been on his face all morning disappeared. "What happened? Is Remus okay?"

Sirius nodded and held up a large suitcase. "He's fine…he kicked me out. Where's James?"

"The shower, he should be done in a few minutes. Come on in, you can stay here for as long as you need to."

"Thanks…where should I put my stuff?"

"My room," James said from the top of the stairs. "My bed's big enough for two."

Sirius shook his head. "I can't sleep with you…I need to be by myself."

"Then you can take mine," Harry said. "I'll sleep with Dad."

James's eyes widened at that, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he followed lead Sirius to Harry's room and closed the door behind them, knowing that Harry would let them talk privately.

"What happened?"

"I accused him of cheating on me. He's been acting really weird, hiding things! He didn't even try to say that he wasn't! He just told me to get out and left without saying where." Sirius sat on Harry's bed and hid his face in his hands, the tears coming fast and hard. I don't want to lose him, James. What am I going to do?"

James sat next to him and wrapped his arms around him comfortingly. "You're going to fight to keep him. You're too stubborn to let something like this stand in your way. Didn't you fight off half of Hogwarts to get him in the first place? If anyone is able to get back the man he loves, it's you. Remus knows you love him, that no one else will care for him as much as you do. He'll come back."

"What if it happens again, though?"

James shook his head. "Are you even sure it's happening this time? He might be doing something else."

"You think so?"

"Sure. He loves you just as much as you love him. He might just not be ready to tell you what's really going on."

"If he's not cheating on me, then he's not going to want me back! I've ruined everything! I didn't trust him. Nothing I do is going to help!"

"Everything's going to be okay, Padfoot. You'll see. You just need to think things through for a while and give Remus a chance to cool down. In a few days, everything will be back to normal."

I've been working on this chapter for so long…I'm very happy that it turned out better than I thought it would. I was having major writers block and it took forever to get over it. I hoped ya'll liked it. It's a bit more…dramatic than I had intended, but it worked out for the better! Now, clicky the little go button and tell me what you think!