Chapter 1- A Sirius Failure

Sirius had decided minutes before he entered the room that he wasn't going to say a word during his first ever Hogwarts Board of Governors meeting. He told himself that he would simply listen and watch, that he would be patient, that he would consider his actions carefully before he made a move, and that he would think strategically. This would be good. He could do this.

Five minutes into the meeting, Albus introduced the new trainee for the Care of Magical Creatures position, since this would be Kettleburn's last year. And when Charlie Weasley stepped out and greeted the dozen wizards on the Board with a small, nervous wave, all of Sirius's preconceived notions of how this meeting might've gone were abruptly thrown out the window.

Sirius stopped paying much attention to the meeting after that announcement, his body going numb in his seat and his thoughts occupied elsewhere as he quietly seethed.

Charlie's recruitment was met with some derision by the other board members, but Sirius hardly heard their proclamations. Instead, he was distinctly aware of Lucius Malfoy, who sat four seats over from Sirius. The blonde was growing red in the face as he simply glared at Charlie, but, oddly enough, Lucius didn't join the others by speaking up against Charlie's new position at Hogwarts.

Even though Sirius was certain he and Malfoy weren't seething for the same reasons, the fact that they must have looked very similar at that moment almost made Sirius sputter with laughter.

About ten minutes into their discussion, Dumbledore finally called for order. "Your thoughts have been heard," Albus said once everyone quieted down. "However, I see no reason why Mister Weasley will not succeed in his new position, and as Headmaster my decision is final. He may be young, but he received an O on his Care of Magical Creatures NEWT, came highly recommended by Professor Kettleburn, and has been a Dragonologist for the last two years. I think he makes an excellent candidate for this position, and I suggest we move on to the next order of business."

Albus inclined his head in Charlie's direction who returned it with a thankful nod of his own. The interaction led Sirius to finally look at the redhead for the first time since he entered the room. His heart clenched in his chest at the sight, and when Charlie let his eyes drift away from the headmaster, they sought out Sirius's immediately. Brilliant blue met dull gray and Sirius couldn't look away, frozen in that moment. They'd gone a month without seeing each other before, but suddenly Sirius felt like a month might as well have been forever. He wanted to drown in those eyes, stay in those pools of cobalt for the rest of his days.

Then Charlie blinked and looked away. Sirius felt like he was falling as Charlie took a seat amongst the other Hogwarts staff beside Dumbledore. The drop was endless and did funny things to Sirius's stomach. His gaze caught the deep ebony of Snape's over Charlie's shoulder. The fake glare Severus was sending him immediately grounded Sirius. He took a deep breath through his nose and returned his attention to Albus.

Listen, watch, be patient, he told himself. Consider your actions carefully before making a move. Think strategically.

That's when things all went to shit.

"Now for the matter of the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Albus announced, silencing the room so effectively, one might be able to hear a pin drop. "He couldn't attend today's meeting, but I have hired Mister Gilderoy Lockhart for the position."

"That fraud?! Absolutely not!"

Sirius blinked, unbelievably surprised to find it wasn't he who spoke those words, but Lucius Malfoy, who had leapt to his feet in a cold fury.

"I was lenient when it came to the Weasley boy, Albus. Mostly because I know you previously considered that giant oaf of man for this very position just last year," Malfoy continued, his voice cutting through the other noise like a knife. "But this? This I can not stand. Lockhart is a buffoon who shouldn't be within ten miles of Hogwarts, let alone teaching the Dark Arts."

"I'm afraid my decision is irrevocable on this, Chairman Malfoy," Albus stated sharply. "Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taught by Mister Lockhart this coming school year."

Lucius guffawed, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Dumbledore in shock. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, was that my name I heard," Sirius drawled, standing up slowly and elegantly, garnering the attention of every person seated around the large table like they were moths and he, a flame. "I suppose that means it is my turn to speak," Sirius bit out, glaring daggers at Albus who in turn grimaced back, his previously haughty and professional demeanor crumbling since being reminded of Sirius Black's presence at this meeting.

"Well first," Sirius began, "I must congratulate you, Albus. Never in my life would I have thought one day I might actually agree with Lucius fucking Malfoy. But here I am, doing just that. I am deeply disturbed by this turn of events."

Lucius snorted humorously but when Sirius glanced in his directions, he was met only with a disgusted lip curl and cold eyes. Sirius returned his attention to the headmaster.

"Now," Sirius continued, clicking his tongue. "Gilderoy Lockhart shouldn't even be able to hold a wand after what he did to my cousin Andy during their sixth year. She was vomiting blood for three weeks, if I recall correctly. And if my uncle Cygnus hadn't learned of Andromeda's love for a Muggleborn a week earlier and thusly burned her off the family tapestry, Lockhart would probably still be in St. Mungo's after a horrible 'accident' befell him. I absolutely refuse to have a man who can't incant a proper stunning spell teach my children Defense Against the Dark Arts. The man writes lovely stories, sir, but if there is an ounce of truth in a single sentence of Lockhart's books, I'll eat my own hat. Lockhart becoming the new DADA professor… I repeat Malfoy's earlier statement: Absolutely not. Choose. Someone. Else."

Sirius returned to a seated position and stared straight ahead, unblinking, while the room spun around him. He felt like the blood running through his veins were on fire. His stomach was in knots. His ribs constricted tightly around his lungs, suffocating him. He was hyperaware of every nerve in his body trying to regain a sense of equilibrium. He was quietly torturing himself as he sat there, waiting to see what effect his statement would have on the small crowd of wizards before him, if any.

Sirius was certain he looked the picture of calm, cool, and collected to everyone excluding three individuals. Snape was probably watching on, wishing he could comfort his friend. Charlie too, even though Sirius doubtlessly didn't deserve his solace. And the third was Albus Dumbledore.

Sirius made eye contact with the man, and knew instinctively that the ancient headmaster could see right through his carefully crafted facade. The two wizards hadn't really spoken since that day in Madame Pomfrey's hospital wing nearly two months ago. But Sirius, who at the time had been beside himself with grief and loss and fear, had made his feelings regarding the headmaster very clear.

Don't play with me, he had pleaded with his eyes as he stared down at the man beneath his paws. Don't you dare fucking play with me.

His eyes portrayed the same demand of Albus today, and Merlin be damned if the ancient wizard wasn't smart enough to interpret his look correctly.

"I think you forget," Albus said, his voice soft and sad as he stared pointedly at Sirius, "that above all else, I am a teacher. I have taught hundreds of students, Gilderoy Lockhart and all of you here today among them. Do you think I don't know the brilliance and shortcomings of each and every witch and wizard who has walked the halls of my school? I understand your hesitancies about this appointment, I really do. But I will not choose another. Unless Gilderoy proves to be an inadequate professor, he is my choice."

Although Sirius was taken aback by the earnestness of Dumbledore's words, he lifted his chin defiantly, desperate to hold on to the last little bit of haughty rebellion he had felt slipping through his fingers this past year. He didn't want to grow weary, brow-beaten and disconsolate. So he asked, through clenched teeth, "Inadequate? So we are settling for mere adequacy then, Professor?"

Twinkly blue eyes held the look of a man who knew Sirius Black better than the man himself did. Sirius refused to blink, although his eyes began to sting for reasons Sirius really didn't want to ponder over. He had to stay strong. "As you know, the last defense professor died, Sirius. So…" Albus gave a small, sad smiled. "Yes, I am settling for adequate."

Sirius heard what Dumbledore didn't say aloud. Albus wouldn't choose another wizard for the position, because there was simply no one to choose from. Since the last wizard in the position of professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts died mysteriously, no one with the availability and drive for teaching wanted to be the next in line. No matter how reluctant Lockhart might have been when he was first approached, Sirius was sure Gilderoy's love for the spotlight and Harry Potter's enrollment at the school had much to do with his eventual acceptance of the position. And Dumbledore knew what to expect with Lockhart. There would be no surprise Dark Lords hidden under Lockhart's turban.

Lockhart wouldn't be caught dead in a turban.

Still, Sirius's heart ached at the thought of sending his boys back to Hogwarts next month. He had half a mind to volunteer himself for the DADA professor position, but he simply didn't have the time for that. He would also be terrible at the job. He realized over the summer holiday that he did not have the patience for teaching. Without Severus and Remus there to help, he probably would have given up teaching Draco and Harry occlumency after the first day.

And with that last though, Sirius swallowed painfully around a lump in his throat. He had never felt as small as he did in that moment when he recognized what a poor, pathetic excuse for a father he made.

The dark-haired wizard rose to his feet on unsteady legs, swallowing around the tightness in his throat, hoping his sudden depression wasn't visible. He flicked out the panels of his long seersucker robes and let them fall back into place around his leather-clad legs. He stepped back from the table and strode out of the meeting room, not looking back as the door clanged shut behind him.

He rounded a single corner of the massive department building located just outside London when he felt the first tear slip down his cheek. He quickly slipped into an empty conference room and sunk to his knees in the darkness, falling apart at the seams as he openly sobbed into his arms.

He had held it together for so long, had opted to turn into Padfoot rather than feel this kind of angst so fully. But now, he just didn't bloody feel like holding back. He wanted to pound his fist on the hardwood floors, curse the unfairness of it all, shout at the universe for everything that had ever gone wrong in his life, up to and including his birth into a family that cared nothing for him. Every death, every injury, every heartbreak and betrayal and wrong-doing— all of it. He cried for all that happened in the past and everything that was sure to come in the future.

Sirius wasn't sure why he decided to join the Hogwarts Board of Governors. He had threatened Dumbledore with it for so long, but he never actually planned on following through. If there was something to be learned at the meetings, Severus would tell him. But he joined anyway, and he severely regretted it now. For some reason that Sirius couldn't quite fathom, the Board of Governors meeting had become the catalyst for his current predicament. Sirius had been holding in these cries for the last two months because he thought if he didn't, he would be failing everyone. Again. He was always failing everyone. But just by being in the same room as Albus Dumbledore, Sirius was falling apart.

How does Dumbledore do this? How can he have lived this long, gone through so much hardship and pain, been witness to so much death and destruction, and not fragment into a thousand pieces? He must doubt himself constantly and yet, he still tries. He tries so bloody hard. I am only the father of two and I feel like such a failure. But Dumbledore… Albus Dumbledore has been the surrogate father for so, so many, and some of them have betrayed him or denied him or resented him. And still, he carries on. How does he do that?

Sirius sobbed harder as he rolled onto his side, the cold, hard floor soaking through his robes and cooling his sweat-soaked body. He was wracked with guilt over the wizarding world's current situation. He should be looking harder for Voldemort's horcruxes. He should be out there hunting down death eaters who escaped after the war so they couldn't return to Voldemort's side now that rumors were circulating that he wasn't as dead as many had presumed. Sirius should be covering his family in cushioning charms and locking them away in a house under the fidelius. He should be covering everyone in cushioning charms, for Merlin's sake!

I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure. I'm a failure.

A shadow fell over the conference room as someone presumedly peered at him through the slat in the door. Suddenly the door was wrenched open, and though Sirius's vision was blurry with tears, he would know that red-headed blur anywhere. Charlie's presence only made Sirius cry harder.

Charlie watched Sirius exit the Board of Governor's meeting with a heavy heart. He wasn't sure what he had expected to see when he found out Sirius would be present when Charlie's new position was announced to the Board, but the haggard looking man that just left without so much as a word had not been it.

Charlie wanted to be angry, but he couldn't, because he understood why Sirius had cut him out of his life. Besides, Sirius had always been a bit of an arse. Charlie figured it would have been only a matter of time before he saw that side of Sirius Black up close and personal. It hardly stopped Charlie Weasley from loving the fucker.

Charlie tapped his finger on the table, nervously fidgeting and wishing desperately for this meeting to end. Thank Merlin the staff only had to attend these conferences twice a year. This was torture.

A fist slammed down on his hand and Charlie yanked it against his chest, more in shock than because it physically hurt. He glanced over at the culprit, genuinely surprised to see that it was Severus. If looks could kill, Snape's glare would have surely stopped Charlie's heartbeat. As it was, the two men merely stared at each other, Charlie in confusion.

Why was Snape angry with him?

And then he remembered that Severus Snape was sometimes a character Sev had to play. And that character was always angry. With everyone.

And Charlie had been tapping the table like an annoying git. So… fair.

Charlie could hear one of the Governors he didn't know the name of give a speech about the merits of Gilderoy Lockhart, but his attention was once again pulled away from the discussion by Snape when the man flicked him in the ear. It actually stung quite a bit.

Charlie turned toward his companion grumpily, his arms crossed and his glare pointed. Snape grimaced, but there was something in his eyes that had Charlie taking special heed in Severus's expression. Dark eyes flashed to the exit door, so quick, you'd have to be paying close attention to catch it. But now Charlie understood. Severus wanted Charlie to go after Sirius.

Charlie harumphed, pretending to be particularly vexed by his current seat next to Severus Snape. He didn't have to pretend very hard since his ear still stung. It was probably as red as an apple, the prat. But it did give him an excuse to stand and retreat, claiming the need for the toilet on his way out.

Once he exited the room, shutting the door quietly behind him, Charlie began his search. It was unlikely Sirius had stuck around, but it was worth a look. To his surprise, Charlie found the dark-haired wizard within seconds, curled up on the wood floor of an empty conference room just down the hall, positively sobbing.

If Charlie's heart was heavy before, now it was an anvil crushing every organ in his body. He wrenched open the door, crying out Sirius's name as he rushed to the man's side.

At first, Sirius flinched away, his eyes welling up with even more tears at the sight of Charlie. That stung far worse than his ear. But, taking matters into his own hands, Charlie made contact, palming the man's cheeks and swiping away the tears that still spilled from Sirius's silver eyes with the pads of his thumbs. Instantly, Sirius flung himself at Charlie, burying his head into the young man's lap. He grabbed the redhead's robes in his fists, clinging on for dear life as he continued to cry.

"Oh Gods, Sirius," Charlie murmured, running one hand through Sirius's wavy black hair, while the other warded the door so no passerby would be able to see into the room. "It's okay," he murmured comfortingly. "Everything's okay."

It was a few minutes before Sirius calmed down enough to speak. "It's not okay."

Charlie tried to hold onto the man in his lap, but it seemed Sirius had made plans of his own. He pulled away from Charlie and crawled over to the door, twisting around into a sitting position so he could lean against it. Charlie wasn't sure if it was a conscience decision on Sirius's part to block the only exit, but either way it made the redhead feel a little better as he rested against a leg of the large oak table across from Sirius, crossing his legs and leaning his elbows on his knees as he waited patiently for the man he loved to say more.

"Voldemort is back," Sirius began, head lulled back and eyes closed, despondent. "He almost killed my boys. He has proven once again that he can make a follower of even the most unlikely of people. He used legilimency on Draco and I have to teach my kids occlumency. I'm teaching twelve-year-old children occlumency. And I'm bloody awful at it. Severus is worried about his cover at Hogwarts. Remus is having an internal conflict over his role in the Order since most don't know he's a werewolf. Tonks is starting to unravel because our only lead for her parents' killers was Voldemort, and he couldn't have done it because he was attached to Quirrell's soul all year. Frank and Alice are worried for Neville who has absolutely refused to leave Harry and Draco's side all Summer. And… I'm starting to understand Albus bloody Dumbledore, which is just terribly frightening. I'm also extremely worried about sending Draco and Harry to school this year. I love Hogwarts, don't get me wrong, but it used to be… safe, I guess. It was a home, my home. But I don't feel comfortable sending anyone there now. Not Draco or Harry or Neville or— even Severus." Silver eyes flashed open and fell on Charlie. "And definitely. Not. You."

Charlie blinked at the biting words, flinching as if he'd been physically slapped. "Sirius—"

"Why couldn't you have just stayed in Romania?!"

Charlie let the silence last for all of five seconds before he erupted. "Wow," Charlie muttered dryly. "First, I find it absolutely adorable," Charlie intoned patronizingly, "how you think I'll be safe wrangling dragons—"

"Safer—"

"Safer than Hogwarts?!" Charlie stared at the older wizard with wide eyes, huffing in disbelief. "What in Merlin's name is wrong with you, Sirius? Why are you acting like this?"

Sirius looked down at the floor, unable to meet Charlie's eyes. Charlie clenched his fists and forced himself to remain where he was. He was not going to comfort Sirius Black. He wasn't. Not like this.

"I think I ruined your life."

Six words. The anger dissipated from Charlie because of six little words. "What?"

Sirius stared at the floor as he spoke. "I never should have told you about Voldemort. If you didn't know about him, you wouldn't be here, risking your life. You never should have even met me. I took you away from your dream."

Charlie blanched, suddenly confused. "My dream? What dream?"

This caused Sirius to finally look up, his gaze equally perplexed. "Your dream," Sirius urged. "You've wanted to be a dragonologist since you were a child, Charlie."

Charlie couldn't help it. He burst into uncontrollable laughter, his body collapsing onto the hardwood floor as he clutched at his stomach. Eventually he recovered enough to speak aloud, "Wow, I suppose I've been laying on my 'dream' a little think, haven't I?"

Sirius gaped down at Charlie. "What?"

Charlie righted himself and grinned lopsidedly at his companion. He shook his head as he pondered how best to explain himself. Charlie took a breath, his smile fading away, before he began.

"I come from a large family. A family of nine. And in that family, I am not the oldest, or the youngest, or the smartest or the funniest or the most talented. I'm not the most anything. I'm just… Charlie. I am a brother and a son and a friend. That's me. And for a long time, I hated that. So… before my fourth year, I decided I wanted to be known for more than just being Charlie. I wanted to be known for something cool. And dragons are cool," Charlie admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "I suppose I just stumbled upon the idea of becoming a dragonologist. I don't know… I could just imagine being mentioned in conversation years down the line. 'That Charlie. He's that dragonologist, isn't he? How brave. How awesome.' And they'd ask my Mum, 'Oh hey, where's Charlie?' And my Mum would tell them I'm keeping an eye on a Fireball egg or protecting a village from a Hebridean Black. I wanted that. I just wanted to be known for something. So I dove right into the subject. Turns out, I'm actually pretty good with dragons. Who knew?

"That was going to be my life, Sirius. I was going leave the country and become a dragonologist. Which probably meant a few things. Things like, I'd maybe see my parents once, every other year. I'd probably lose track of Tonks. Bill and I would grow distant. I'd barely even get to know my younger siblings at all. Which… you know… at the time, all that didn't seem so bad. I would have done anything to be unique.

"Then I met you." Charlie laughed mirthfully. The two men, in the tiny conference room, sitting on the floor across from each other, in the dark, made eye contact. Neither looked away as Charlie continued. "And I fell in love with you. And— I fell in love with your family, Sirius. Watching you all. Seeing how you all interacted with each other… You were just a bunch of misfits who cared for each other so fucking much. And suddenly—" Charlie sighed. "Suddenly I couldn't remember why I thought being simply a brother, or a son, or a friend was so bad.

"So yeah. Maybe, once upon a time, my dream was to be a dragonologist. And maybe, once upon a time, I never imagined I'd still want to live in Wizarding Britain. But now… now I don't want to be anywhere else. And I'm going to be a professor. I'm going to go Hogwarts and— I'm going to be able to be the older brother my siblings deserve. I'm going to help Percy be the best prefect he can be, so that he can become head boy next year just like he's always wanted. And I'll watch out for Fred and George, keep them out of trouble so they won't get expelled. And I'll be there for Ron, so he doesn't lose your childrens' friendship by acting like a complete git. And Ginny… I just want her to enjoy her first year.

"And who knows? I might be bloody dreadful at this. I might fail. But at least I'll have tried, you know? I refuse to give up on my new dream, Sirius. And you're really pissing my off by suggesting that I do."

The two men stared at each for a long time. Charlie's attention was dragged away from the pools of molten silver to Sirius's adam's apple. It bobbed as if Sirius was trying to swallow something back. Charlie waited.

"How can you be so nice to me?"

Sirius really needed to stop saying things that led to Charlie's heart shattering. It was hard to be angry with the bloke when he looked so bloody miserable.

Charlie sighed. "For Merlin's sake, Sirius. You don't deserve to hear this and I am still incredibly upset, but… I'm so fucking in love with you. And my new dream includes being with you, you complete and utter imbecile."

"You're right, I don't deserve to hear this," Sirius said, looking away from Charlie and toward the white wall to his left. "I don't deserve you."

"Oh my gods! Well, then maybe you should pull your head out of your arse and be the man that I deserve again. Fucking right git, you are."

Sirius let out a muffled laugh, but Charlie counted it as a win all the same. Sirius's storm cloud gaze returned to Charlie once more, his lips quirked up into a small, hesitant smile. "You're wrong, you know?"

"About what, Sirius," Charlie asked in annoyance. This self-deprecating Sirius Black was starting to get on Charlie's last nerve. Why couldn't he just accept the words coming out of Charlie's mouth as gospel? It was irritating.

"In your family, you are the most something," Sirius explained, piquing Charlie's interest. "You're the nicest, and the friendliest, and the sweetest, and the loveliest. You're the most outgoing and adventurous person I know. And without a doubt, you're the sexiest."

Charlie snorted and threw back his head with a laugh. "Oh is that all?"

"No. Not even close."

Charlie sobered and glanced up at Sirius from under his fringe. "What else then," he asked breathlessly.

"You're charming. And sincere," Sirius continued, without missing a beat. "And stubborn. You're so fucking stubborn, Charlie. And I hate myself for it, but if I thought for one second I could convince you to go back to Romania, I would be trying my hardest to do just that. But alas, all that energy would be wasted on a stubborn fool like you."

Charlie frowned, opening his mouth to interject with— something. He didn't know what. But it didn't matter, since Sirius started speaking again.

"All I wanted was one person— one person— that I loved to not be involved in all this Voldemort shite. It couldn't be Severus or Remus. And after the events with Quirrell, my children are too far entrenched in all this to ever find a way out. So, my last hope was you, Charlie. And I'm sorry about that. I don't know why I thought I could keep you away, especially since I missed you so Gods damn much. I just really hope you can forgive me."

"Did you not hear me earlier," Charlie asked, his heart swelling with happiness at Sirius's words. He shook his head fondly at the man still sitting across from him, too far away as far as the redhead was concerned. "I am so fucking in love with you, Sirius Orion Black. Forgiving you will be far too easy for me."

"I'll spend every day making it up to you, if that helps."

"It does…a little," Charlie admitted.

"Can I start now," Sirius asked.

"What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know… I just want to do whatever you want to do and go wherever you want to go." Sirius caulked his head to the side, looking a bit uncertain, as if he still expected Charlie to reject him. It was kind of adorable. "So what do you want to do, Charlie? Where do you want to go?"

Charlie's answer was instantaneous. "I want to go home."

Sirius blinked owlishly, seeming to struggle with how to take Charlie's response. He looked hopeful but still tentative as he asked, "And where is home for you?"

Charlie grinned. He scrabbled up to his knees and crawled the short distance that used to separate him and Sirius, until the two were close enough to touch. "Home is wherever you are, Sirius."

Sirius closed the rest of the distance between them and pulled Charlie into a sweet, simple kiss. Charlie's lips parted willingly at the insistence of Sirius's tongue, and it was as if they hadn't gone nearly two months without this. It felt right. It felt natural. It felt perfect.

Charlie smiled into the kiss, so unbelievably happy. "You know…" Charlie said, pulling back a bit, much to Sirius's apparent chagrin as the man pouted up at him.

"Hmm?" Sirius's hummed question was distracted at best, since the wizard's eyes were far too focused on Charlie's lips. He dove back in for another round of snogging, but Charlie held him back. "What?! What don't I know," Sirius asked, annoyed.

Charlie smiled. "I've always wanted to shag on a giant conference table."

Sirius raised a single eyebrow, looking more himself than Charlie had seen in a long time. "Oh yeah? You've always wanted to? Is that so, Charlie?"

Charlie's smile turned soft as he answered with a sincere, "Yeah. Always."

Sirius charged to his feet, dragging Charlie up by his tie. "I really don't deserve you," Sirius muttered. Then he started undressing.

Remus put the finishing touches on the cupcake he had put himself in charge of decorating just as he heard the floo sound in the other room. Severus found his way to the kitchen in record time and glanced down at the tiny cupcake in Remus's hand with an eyebrow raised.

"Umm…" Remus sighed and grimaced. "It's Harry's birthday in three days, that's all."

"So we aren't decorating to cope with terrible news?"

Remus huffed out a laugh, taking up his knife again. "You caught me— Wait. We?"

Severus grinned, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. He nodded. "We."

His friend sidled around the counter and picked up a bare chocolate cupcake and a bowl of Corey's homemade icing. Remus managed to reign in his shock enough to grab another cupcake to decorate. The two men frosted in silence for about a minute before Remus decided to speak.

"So… I take it the meeting was a rousing success, then."

"I am currently putting droplets of red and gold icing on a cupcake, Remus. What do you think," Severus grumbled. "Where are the boys?"

"Tonks and Bill took them flying," Remus explained.

"Tonks and Bill are on thin ice with me at the moment," Severus spat.

"Why is that," Remus asked nonchalantly.

"I bet they knew Charlie was accepting the Care of Magical Creatures position at Hogwarts and didn't think to warn anyone."

Remus set down his cupcake with a heavy sigh. "Oh gods. By 'anyone' I assume you mean Sirius. Where is he?"

"No idea," Severus stated, and then proceeded to stab his cupcake.

"Aw. That was actually looking pretty good," Remus admitted.

"Apologize to Corey for me," Severus said before popping the destroyed cupcake into his mouth and exiting the kitchens.

Remus sighed and hastened after his friend.

It had been a pretty awful few months since the end of the school year. It seemed everyone was walking on eggshells around each other as it was always hard to tell what would and wouldn't set off another round of tense and uncomfortable silences. Sirius had been worse off, by far. Remus hadn't seen the man act so uncharacteristically quiet and maudlin since… He had never seen Sirius act this way before, actually. It was disturbing.

"So what else happened," Remus asked as he joined Severus in the sitting room.

"The new Defense teacher is Gilderoy Lockhart."

Remus sat down heavily on the sofa next to Severus. "No."

"Yes."

"Merlin."

"Precisely."

"So the boys are going to learn nothing this year then," Remus said.

"Nothing in Defense at least, yes."

Remus hummed his agreement, pulled out an envelope that he had been hiding in the inside pocket of his robes, and held it out to Severus. Bad news deserved some reciprocation.

Sev gingerly took the envelope and took a moment to peruse the contents inside. "Is this the reason you were frosting cupcakes?"

"Yes. Although my normal form of coping with bad news proved not to help very much… or at all."

Severus ran a hand through his hair while he reread the whole letter again. "I can't believe this imbecile is actually declining the headmaster position at Grimstag because of that hit piece the Daily Prophet published on Sirius. It was clearly bollocks. I don't believe I would have thought that article factual even if I still despised you all."

"I have Rita working on changing perceptions over there, but she's not having the best of luck. It's obvious whoever has hold over that newspaper's editor is desperately trying to discredit Sirius's good name. I just wish I knew who that was."

"So what are you going to tell Sirius," Sev asked, tossing the letter onto the coffee table.

"Nothing," Remus said as he scooped up the discarded letter and returned it to its original hiding place before Sirius could find it.

There was a tense silence in the sitting room and Remus was terrified how common this feeling was that he could recognize it so effectively. Severus glanced at Remus out of the corner of his eye.

"What," Remus asked, but gave up his nonchalance quickly. He was too tired to act like he didn't understand the look Severus was giving him. "He already feels like he's failing everyone," Remus said quietly, picking invisible lint off the sleeve of his robes.

Snape gave a soft gasp in comprehension.

"Look," Remus continued, finally facing Snape fully. "Do you really think it's best I tell Sirius the school he's been working toward for four years is deteriorating before his very eyes? That is a rhetorical question, by the way, one that I will answer for you. No. No no no. I will figure this out on my own, Severus, and only when I have good news will I give my extremely depressed friend an update on his precious primary school for wizarding children. Understand?"

Before Sev could answer, a smiling Sirius strode into the room tugging a willing and equally smiling redhead behind him.

Remus and Severus both sat up in their seats in startled happiness, staring up at the two men with twin expressions of awe.

"May I present, Charles Septimus Weasley!" Sirius did an elaborate flourish with his arm and stepped aside as if to introduce his new circus act to the world.

Charlie blushed a deep scarlet and hung his head in embarrassment. "I regret telling you my middle name so much right now," he muttered fondly.

Sirius snuck close and pecked Charlie quickly on the cheek before turning back to his two beaming friends with a matching grin of his own. "Where are the boys?"

"Bill and Tonks took them flying," Remus recited, only dimly aware of the words coming out of his mouth. He was still marveling at the sight before him.

Sirius was smiling, genuinely smiling, without a hint of that former pain that used to line his face, the kind that made him look twenty years older than his 33 years of age. It was a sight for sore eyes. And Remus's eyes had been positively aching recently.

He almost burst into tears he was so happy. He managed to just reign it in. But only just.

"Oh," Sirius said, his smile dimming, but his eyes still bright with joy. "Well, someone go bring them back. We have much to discuss regarding the Board of Governors Meeting. And then we must eat because I'm dying of starvation over here."

Severus surged from his seat, volunteering instantly to fetch the boys. Remus really couldn't blame him for his rather uncharacteristic rush of enthusiasm at getting the whole family in the same room together right this very second.

Sirius was in the mood to eat. Remus might end up weeping with joy after all.

"I'll go with you," Charlie volunteered, jogging across the room to catch up with a quickly retreating Snape. "Can't have you yelling at Bill and Tonks without someone there to defend them, can I, Sev? Severus? Snape, please don't yell at them! I told them not to tell anyone about my return to Hogwarts! They were just being loyal! Professor! Wait…"

The voice faded away once the front door closed behind Charlie, leaving a quiet in the house once more. This silence wasn't quite so tense though. No this was a silence full of possibilities.

"He's going to be a professor," Sirius explained, sounding both proud and terrified.

"I heard."

Sirius nodded before stalking over to the sofa and collapsing down into the spot Severus had just left moments before. He still hadn't stopped smiling.

"You look happy," Remus commented.

"And you look—" Sirius's instantaneous retort (which was bound to be very witty and mature, Remus was sure) was cut off suddenly as Sirius wrinkled his nose in confusion. The smile disappeared from his face and Remus lamented its loss. "You smell like confectionary sweets."

Remus forced his grin to remain where it was. "Harry's birthday is in a few days. I was just helping Corey out with the baking."

"You have never been a very good liar," Sirius stated matter-of-factly, although the pinched look that had been on his face mere moments ago had relaxed as if satisfied with Remus's explanation. Suddenly, Sirius's grin was back, blinding and playful. "Let me guess. You finally realized you were in love with me and had to go frost a cake to keep yourself from freaking out."

Remus rolled his eyes at the decades old joke, smiling again at how simple and amazing it was to fall back into routine. "Cupcakes, actually. And yes, after two decades, I've finally realized I'm hopelessly gay and in love with my best friend. But alas, it seems I am too late, for your heart belongs to another."

"Ah Moony," Sirius sighed, leaning his head onto Remus's shoulder. "My heart will always belong to you, first and foremost."

"I'll make sure not to tell Charlie that your heart is so fickle," Remus murmured, brushing his cheek along the slight curls of Sirius's hair before resting his head against Sirius's. They sat in companionable silence for a long while.

"You are my favorite person," Sirius whispered as if confessing something huge.

"I am?" Remus blinked, a little surprised by the hushed words just uttered from Sirius's lips.

"Yes."

Remus chuckled, though it wasn't really funny.

"I just realized that…" Sirius swallowed. "I realized that, as of this moment, I have known you for longer than anyone else alive. And I— I feel really lucky to have you as my longest and truest friend in this world."

Remus forced down the lump in his throat, because this moment did not need any more sentimentality than it already had. "What exactly happened at this Board of Governors Meeting that has you getting all emotional and weepy on me, Padfoot?"

Sirius huffed a laugh and lifted his head off Remus's shoulder to club him on the ear in annoyance. "For Merlin's sake Remus. You're supposed say it back. Now tell me how lucky you are to have me as your longest and truest friend, you plonker."

"Well I thought that was obvious by now," Remus said in fond exasperation, rubbing his reddening ear. "I mean, even before everyone we knew died, Sirius, you had always been my… favorite person." Remus rolled his eyes to keep the mood light-hearted.

Sirius grinned a wide, toothy grin, leaned over, and kissed Remus on the forehead. "Thank you," he said, before leaning back once more.

"You're welcome."

Sirius fell backward and perched upon the coffee table so the two men were face-to-face. "So… I have a crazy idea… in regards to the boys actually learning defense next year."

Remus raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I'm listening."

"Interesting," Tonks mused aloud. "That's actually… a pretty great idea, Sirius."

"You say that as if I've never come up with a good plan before," Draco's dad said around a mouthful of fried chicken, clutching at his chest in mock hurt. "You wound me, dear cousin."

"So, wait," spoke Harry, "let me see if I've got this straight. You want to start teaching a dueling club at Hogwarts?"

Draco turned to his father waiting to see if Harry's clarification was correctly assumed.

Sirius swallowed another bite of chicken and chewed on his lip for moment. "Well, actually, I don't think I should… I mean, maybe I could help or… well it's just I'm not… really… umm—"

"You have so many wonderful talents, Pads," Uncle Remus interrupted sweetly, putting Draco's dad out of his misery. "Teaching just happens not to be one of them."

Sirius frowned and went back to devouring his fried drumstick. Remus turned to the other members of the household to finish explaining, while Sirius sulked.

"Our plan eventually is to have guest teachers every couple months. All the students at Hogwarts would get to learn many different styles of dueling with the added advantage of unpredictability."

"That would be cool," Harry said, nodding his head encouragingly.

"Yeah, I bet we could get some really awesome teachers that way," Draco added.

"Exactly," Remus said, pointing his drumstick at the two children. "I'm sure once the program gets started and proves to work, a lot people will want a chance to teach the dueling club. Right Snape?"

Severus smirked. "Can you pair me up with Lockhart? I'd love to fling spells at him."

Sirius chuckled. "I will absolutely make that happen. Save the memory for me, will ya? I want to watch it over and over again."

Remus, his focus still on Draco and Harry, continued. "And I'm sure McGonagall will want to be involved. And Flitwick. He was a world class dueler back in his day before he started teaching at Hogwarts, you know."

"So when are you bringing your plan to the Board," Bill asked.

Remus and Sirius shared a look. "Well…"

"I can't bring this to the board," Sirius admitted, grimacing as he faced his family.

"Why not," Draco asked.

Father and son made eye contact, silver to silver. Sirius licked his lips thoughtfully before leaning back in his chair, his meal now forgotten. "I didn't make a very good impression with them this morning. And… honestly, if I brought up this plan right now it would look… well, it would look bad on Hogwarts. It would come off as a father who is too afraid to send his sons to school without his protection."

A quiet settled over the table.

Sirius's statement rang true in more ways than one, for Sirius was too afraid to send his sons back to school without his protection. Draco knew that what occurred at the end of last year had terrified his dad beyond the relatively normal amount of fear fathers have for their children.

And to be honest, those events terrified Harry and Draco as well, though they had only ever admitted it to each other during early morning hangouts in the tree house. The only reason the two of them were even a tiny bit okay with returning to school in September was the fact that Uncle Steven would be there to watch out for them. And the relief they shared when they found out this afternoon that Charlie would be at Hogwarts as well was immense. If afforded the opportunity, Draco was certain he and Harry would gladly accept their whole family, everyone at this table with their faces stuffed with fried chicken, to join them at Hogwarts this next school year. Even though everyone tiptoed around each other this Summer and learning occlumency was annoyingly difficult, Draco had never felt safer, and he craved that safety right now.

Harry and Draco shared a look very similar to the one Sirius and Remus shared moments ago. Harry seemed as if he wanted to yell, Who bloody cares how it looks for Hogwarts! The dueling club is a good idea and I want you close, Sirius!

But they both knew that if Sirius Black brought this proposal to the Board it would be shot down immediately. And if the new defense teacher was half as incompetent as everyone claimed, the school— all the children at Hogwarts— needed a proficient dueling club. They needed to learn how to protect themselves… and each other.

So the question now was, who should bring the proposal to the School Board of Governors?

Remus would be a logical second choice, but Draco knew that he was needed behind the scenes. To advocate for a whole knew program at Hogwarts would open Remus to a lot of scrutiny and he just couldn't afford to be outed as a werewolf right now while the family's good reputation was hanging by a thread. Draco and Harry read the Daily Prophets which they nicked every so often when the adults weren't looking. Werewolves were still considered dangerous creatures and now wasn't really the time to change wizard society's mind on that.

So that meant Snape next. Which… no. Draco had been listening that last day of school when his Godfather explained his need for discretion as a double agent. Besides, he already had a full-time teaching position at Hogwarts.

"You want Tonks to do it," Draco voiced aloud.

Tonks choked on a piece of chicken. Bill patted her on the back as she coughed. "Say what now," Tonks asked once she regained the ability to speak, looking at Draco incredulously. When Draco simply stared back at his cousin, Tonks twisted her head toward Dad and Uncle Remus expecting to see an ally in her doubt, but was only met with gazes similar to Draco's. "No," she barked out when no one made to counter Draco's declaration. "I'm not— no."

"You would make a great teacher," Harry declared simply before tucking back into his chicken as if his statement had settled matters.

Tonks' lime-colored eyes landed on Harry for a brief moment with startled pride. She was clearly humbled by Harry's statement, but the look quickly vanished to be replaced with one of confusion. "Why me? I'm not exactly qualified."

"You were an auror," Bill pointed out, smiling as he spooned some fruit salad into his mouth.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "And that turned out great, yeah? All sunshines and rainbows. Besides, I was in disguise—"

"It was still you though, wasn't it," Charlie asked rhetorically. "You were the youngest auror to pass the exams if I'm not mistaken."

Tonks almost seemed to pounce on that declaration with a renewed fervor. "Yes, exactly! Aren't I a little young to be a professor?"

"I'm twenty-three," Charlie pointed out.

"I was twenty-two," Snape added.

Sirius's face held an almost begrudging admiration when he spoke up. "I hear Albus Dumbledore was only nineteen when he was hired to teach at Hogwarts."

Seeing that Tonks was less-than assuaged by these examples, Draco was glad to hear Uncle Remus, the clear voice of reason, ask, "May I ask, why are you so against this, Dora?"

"I—" Tonks faltered. "I don't know, okay? I don't know…"

Draco let the uncomfortable moment that followed this admission stretch. He had something to say, something that needed to be said since this topic started, but he wanted to wait for when bringing it up would be the most impactful. That moment wasn't quite just yet.

Tonks tapped her fingers on the oak wood table and the rhythm made Draco inexplicably happy. The atmosphere in the room had changed tonight. No longer tense, but easy, comfortable. It felt familiar, as if this group of people had had this conversation a thousand times before. It felt like family.

"Who would you suggest, Tonks," Dad asked. "We've already established you think by idea for a dueling club at Hogwarts is nothing less than brilliant—" Remus snorted. "Gesundheit," Sirius replied easily as if Moony had sneezed. "Anyway, who would you suggest bring this to the board, if not you?"

Tonks narrowed her eyes, obviously giving this question some genuine thought. She glanced subtly to each person seated at the table before gesturing to her boyfriend seated next to her.

Sirius nodded. "Yes, I agree that Bill would make an excellent candidate for the job—" This time Bill was the one to choke on his chicken with Tonks walloping him hard on the back. "And when Moony and I discussed our options," Sirius continued, "Bill was high on our list. But he was still lower than you."

"Why," Tonks asked as she rubbed Bill's back soothingly.

"Frankly, Bill doesn't have the same clout as you do," Remus said, inclining his head toward Bill as if to say he meant no offense. Bill nodded his understanding and sipped some water from his glass to soothe his throat.

"Clout?" Tonks raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"You are a member of a very wealthy and influential wizarding family," Sirius stated as if he weren't speaking of his own bloodline. "But you are also considered a half-blood which endears you to muggle supporters. And I have been witness to your rise as a member of the Wizengamot. You have a talent for politics, Tonks. In six months you have proven to be a vital voice on the council and a hard-won but loyal ally to any proposition you find favorable, no matter who brings it to the delegation. Point-blank, you are liked by nearly every single person you meet, and if you can't convince the board to instate a dueling club at Hogwarts, no one can."

Draco almost applauded his father and just barely kept himself from doing so as that would have been very strange. But his dad had said all the right things and his last statement had practically issued a challenge that Tonks was hard-pressed to turn down. It certainly appealed to Tonks's competitive side and every person at the table could see this as she leaned back in her chair to contemplate her options with a determined gleam in her light green eyes.

"The students at Hogwarts need you to be the one to do this, Tonks." Five pairs of eyes turned toward Draco, the only person at the table not doing so being Harry who continued to eat dinner unbothered by Draco's statement.

"Why?" The one-word question uttered in Snape's baritone was asked as if the man already knew the answer. He probably did.

"Because," Draco said, focusing on each person in turn before settling on Tonks, who returned his gaze steadily, "Slytherins will not join this club if the instructor is a Gryffindor. And everybody at this table is a Gryffindor except for you and Snape. And it can't be Snape, because then none of the Gryffindors will join."

Harry hummed his agreement and Draco raised an eyebrow at Tonks as if to say, You see what I mean?

"I need the Slytherins to join," Draco stated matter-of-factly. "There needs to be a club at this school that allows everyone to join, no matter age, blood status, or house. This school— these children need to feel like they're all part of the same team, because I will not have anybody joining Voldemort's ranks. Not this time." Gray eyes flashed to Snape to see the smallest curl of his lips and a warm commendation behind his gaze. Draco grinned and returned his focus to Tonks. "So we need you, Tonks. I need you… and no one else."

Tonks licked her lips to stave off a grin, but it didn't work. A bright smile lit up her whole face and she snorted, shaking her head fondly. "Well, how can I refuse my little cousin when he's being so bloody clever?"

Draco's smile turned bright too and it was the first time in a long while he truly felt his heart soar with some kind of hope. The feeling washed over the table like an ocean wave and the room seemed to come aglow with warmth. "You've never been able to refuse me and my intellect," Draco pointed out.

Tonks clubbed Draco over the back of the head with fond exasperation, but then they were laughing, and then everyone was laughing, and all was perfect.

"So, I suppose this means you'll do it, Flash," said Sirius.

"Somebody get me some parchment and a quill," Tonks announced in a voice that filled the whole house with her boisterous exuberance. "I have some letters to write!"

A/N- For those who hoped for a Charlie/Sirius reunion, you are welcome. I was going to draw it out, but screw it. Having them not together was making me sad and I didn't want to write sad characters anymore. I am trying to make this story as realistic as possible, because what these characters are going through is pretty fucked up and they should be fucked up too, but I also want to write adorable dialogue and long-winded speeches about how much they all love each other. I hope I've achieved a balance between those two extremes that doesn't feel forced, improbable, or silly.

As always, I would appreciate reviews. I thoroughly enjoy hearing what you guys have to say.