Work Text
Whenever I start to lose the will to live as I think about the state of the world, especially these days, I think about the arrivals gate at Birmingham Airport. It would be very easy to think that we live in a world of bigotry, greed and hate, but it’s not as depressing as all that. Not really. It seems to me that love is everywhere. A lot of the time, it’s not particularly notable, or culturally significant, but it’s always there – parents and children, husbands, wives, spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, significant others, old friends, new friends, online friends you’ve never met. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky little feeling that love, actually … is all around.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Minerva McGonagall didn’t quite know how she’d ended up here. Well, no, that was a lie, she did. Being famous and successful in the 1980s was very different to the modern-day equivalent. Unless she intended to survive somehow solely on a state pension in a few years, she needed to boost her name. She had no intention of going on Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Masterchef and if another person suggested that she fly to the other side of the planet to eat some insects on camera, she would not be held responsible for her actions, thank you very much. As for Tiktok? Not a bloody chance.Once she’d had a huge team behind her, management, PR, solicitors on standby whenever she needed them… and she had needed them. Now, it was only her manager and long-suffering friend Poppy who booked gigs for her, got small local magazine pieces done on her and she’d somehow let Poppy talk her into this absolute nightmare. But what choice did she have? She couldn’t cook, dance, sew or do any of the things the British public seemed to value in washed-up stars of the past. So, as Poppy had sternly explained to her, a Christmas single was the last ditch attempt at reviving a career that had been circling the drain for almost two decades.She glared at Poppy through the window of the vocal booth as the song started in her headphones.“I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes.” She sang. Ok. So far so good. “Love is all around me…”The music cut out.“Min, you did it again. It’s Christmas, not love, remember?” Poppy’s voice came over the talkback mic.“Yes, Poppy, I’m aware. I’m just so familiar with the original.” She snapped.“Yes, that’s why we’re remaking it,” Poppy grumbled.“Let’s go again.” Minerva scowled into the control room and crossed her arms over her chest.Poppy nodded wearily and the sound engineer hit record again.“I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes.” She tried to clear her mind of the word love, she could do this, “Love is all around me, and so the… oh fuck wank bugger shitting arse head and hole!” She roared, slamming the headphones to the ground.The sound engineer sighed and picked up a newspaper, clearly used to such juvenile behaviour from artists. “So, you think the new Prime Minister’s as queer as they say?”“Oh, probably even more so, lets be realistic. We’ve all seen the pictures.” Poppy sat down on the sofa in the control room and closed her eyes.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
“Good morning music lovers! You’re listening to Peter Pettigrew on Radio Two. It’s seven o’clock on 29th November and it’s finally time to reveal… that eighties rock legend, Minerva is officially releasing a contender for this year’s Christmas number one!” Peter said into his microphone. “Words that I never thought I’d be saying in 2024, let me tell you. And joy of all joys, she’s here in the studio with us this morning and we’ll be catching up with her right after we play her song. Here it is, a reworking of The Troggs 1967 classic ‘Love is All Around’, It’s Minerva with ‘Christmas is All Around’.”Pete heard the opening chords of the song start and pulled down his headphones with a sigh. The song was awful. Beyond awful. And now he had to interview the surly woman about the awful song while praising both it and her. As if he had nothing better to be doing on a Friday Morning.Minerva swept into the room. “Mr Pettigrew?” She said, arching an eyebrow as if his appearance was inherently disappointing to her.“Minerva! Such a pleasure to meet you! Congratulations on the song, it’s—”“Utter bollocks.” She rolled her eyes. “The last attempt of a grasp at fame from a washed-up has been before she’s forced to resort to cooking or dancing on the BBC.”“Oh, I did Celebrity Masterchef last year!” Peter grinned at her. “Got to the semi-final and everything.”“Oh, of course you did, dear.” Her soft Edinbourgeois accent didn’t make this comment any less cutting and Peter just cleared his throat before sitting back down at his desk while someone handed Minerva headphones and got her set up in front of her mic.“Well, you heard it here first! The amazing Minerva’s hope for that elusive Christmas number one! And we have her here in the studio with us this morning. Minerva! It’s wonderful to see you, welcome back to the airwaves! New Christmas single, a cover of Love is All Around!”“Yes, hello, good morning.” She said a little sourly, “It’s true, except we have changed the word ‘love’ to ‘Christmas’.”“And that’s an important message to you, is it, Minerva? That Christmas is all around?”“I’m not a fucking child.” She scoffed, ignoring as multiple people glared at her.“Ah yes, well sorry for the language there, listeners. You can, uh, take the girl out of Scotland…” Minerva just stared at him icily.“Is there nothing better you’d like to talk to me about, Mr Pettigrew?”“Uh, um, well…” Peter floundered for a moment before grinning, “Is it true that you dated David Bowie in the eighties?”“Oh no, don’t be absurd.” She frowned and Pete opened his mouth to apologise, “We just fucked regularly.”“Sorry to our listeners for uh, more colourful language.” Pete scowled at her. “So, Minerva! How do you think this song compares to your old stuff?”“Seriously?” She laughed, “I think it’s quite obvious to anyone who’s heard it that the song is utter shit, Mr Pettigrew. But wouldn’t it be great if this year the Christmas number one wasn’t LadBaby, whoever he is - a famous man child, or some talent show hack or Mariah Bloody Carey? No, wouldn’t it just be wonderful if it went to a recovering alcoholic who hasn’t had a hit in thirty years, who won’t be looking forward to unlimited coke and an orgy this Christmas Day, but will be spending it stuck in some god awful hotel with my manager Poppy, the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met, probably fucking miserable because this gamble didn’t pay off and we’re going to need to get actual jobs next year? So, if you believe in Father Christmas, bairns, like your Auntie Minerva does, buy my fucking single, or stream it, or tweet it or whatever people do with music these days and try and ignore the clunkiness where we try to shove an extra syllable into the fourth line of the chorus.”Peter, whose mouth had dropped open during this monologue, collected himself. “I believe you’re referring to ‘If you really love Christmas’.”“I am indeed, Mr Pettigrew. ‘Come on and Let it Snow’. Ouch.” She laughed bitterly.“Well, it’s been fantastic to have you here Minerva. All the best for the single over the next month! Again, we’d like to apologise for the language during that segment. Nothing like live radio, eh? Up next we have ‘Christmas Magic’ by Perrie. After that, it’s time for the news, and is the new Prime Minister in trouble already?”Minerva took off her headphones and set them on the desk, then left the recording booth without looking at Peter, who sighed loudly in relief then face planted his desk.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Regulus paced back and forth at the front of the church trying not to look utterly wracked with nerves as Evan leant against the stone pillar next to him, flicking through photos on his camera. He’d been waiting for this day for years. Since he’d met Barty, honestly, and now here they were, in a huge fancy church that really didn’t want to marry two men, and that was without Reg outing himself as trans, but ultimately, they couldn’t turn down the amount of money Reg had thrown at them.While on best man duties, Evan offered to take some candid footage throughout the day, which Regulus had been more than happy about. Evan’s candid work at weddings and honestly, every party they’d been to for the last decade, was always phenomenal and from what he’d seen, captured the vibe even better than the professional videographers. It was like Evan always knew what to look for“There’s still time to run, you know,” Evan whispered. "We can start a new life together in Peru or Austria or somewhere..."“Fuck off.” Regulus laughed. “I’m not going anywhere.”Evan shrugged in a way that implied he was joking, or at least mostly joking. “You sure? Pretty sure I’ve still got the number of that guy we met at your stag do.”“You’re the worst best man, you know that?” Reg shook his head. “I’m marrying Barty, and you’re going to be happy for me. Plus that guy was an absolute mess, cried on my shoulder for over twenty minutes, and was wearing a wedding ring.”“Of course, I'm going to be happy for you. I am happy for you. I was just making sure.” Evan held his hands up in mock surrender and grinned, "Ah yeah, I'd forgotten about the wedding ring."He wished that Evan could be persuaded to spend time with Barty without making snide comments or flat-out ignoring him, but if he needed to keep the two of them separate to keep both of them in his life, that’s what he’d do. Evan had been his best friend for as long as he could remember before they’d even started primary school, and had supported him through his transition as a teenager. They had dated for a while in high school, but it fizzled out, as high school relationships tend to do, but they remained the closest of friends. But Barty, who had stumbled (literally) into his life while they were at uni, was undoubtedly the love of his life. Regulus, honestly, would probably have broken up with anyone else for whom his best friend had shown such utter contempt, but Barty was different.Barty genuinely had no idea what he’d done to Evan for him to be disliked so intensely, and when Evan had been asked, he’d assured both Barty and Regulus that there was no problem, and gradually the contempt morphed into a kind of apathy that was liveable for everyone involved.So Regulus looked into the lens that Evan pointed at him and grinned as the music started and Barty, flanked by Marlene, appeared at the back of the church. He turned to look at his imminent husband and, wow, he really hadn’t expected to cry. He’d laughed when Evan had suggested shoving a tissue up his sleeve like he was in primary school as they got ready, but as a tissue appeared in his peripheral vision, he was very grateful. Barty looked ethereal in a light grey suit, his hair, for once, not a tangled mess, beaming at him as he and Marlene got closer. As they reached the front of the church, Marlene kissed Barty on the cheek, then took her spot behind him as his ‘best girl’.Regulus took Barty’s hands in his. “Hi.” He whispered.“Hi yourself.” Barty rolled his eyes fondly. “You look incredible.”The officiant cleared her throat and the ceremony began. Neither of them made it through without shedding a tear, and Evan handed them another two emergency tissues, plus an extra three for Marlene.After they had been pronounced husbands and shared a thoroughly too-sweet kiss, because they both knew Barty could not be trusted to keep himself reined in, in front of a crowd if they didn’t specifically choreograph a chaste peck, the church organ started to play something that sounded like La Marseillaise and then a choir emerged on the balcony singing the start of All You Need Is Love, by The Beatles.Barty looked over at Reg, who notably, was not a Beatles fan and grinned at him. “You did this?”Reg just grinned back at him and said “Of course, I didn’t do this, I have taste, darling.”, but the next time Barty looked away, staring at the choir in almost childlike wonder, Regulus shared a look with Evan, who just shrugged at him, doing his best to look equally baffled, but a small smile teased the corners of his mouth.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
In between the Ceremony and the Reception, Marlene popped home to see how Amelia was doing. She’d been really looking forward to going to a wedding with her girlfriend, but that morning, Amelia had developed a migraine and gone back to bed, utterly devastated that she couldn’t make it.After nipping to Boots and getting some Migraleve and a few other bits and bobs, Marlene picked up some soup from Tesco and headed back to their flat. Well, Amelia’s flat, which she had finally convinced Marlene to move into during the summer.She snuck into the flat, not wanting to wake Amelia if she was sleeping and was in the process of boiling the kettle and about to microwave the soup when her sister Emmeline appeared in the kitchen doorway wearing what looked like pyjamas and looking utterly spooked when she saw Marlene there with the kettle in her hand.“Marls!” She said, loudly.”What are you doing here?”“Shhh, Amy has a migraine.” Marlene hissed, “She’s probably sleeping. Plus, I live here! What are you doing here?”“Oh, yeah I just popped in to see how she’s doing, keep an eye on her, and we were watching a movie. Well, I was watching a movie, she’s asleep. I thought you’d be gone all day.” Emmeline looked a little nervous.“She let you in, did she?” Marlene asked, adding sugar to the mugs in front of her.“Oh, yeah, then she flopped back in bed. She looks rough. I’ll take her tea in if you like?”“No, it’s ok. I want to see how she’s doing. I got her some tablets.” Marlene smiled at her sister. “How did you know she was sick?”“Oh, I texted her earlier asking how the wedding was going and she told me she hadn’t been able to go, so I thought I’d check in on her. Prime Minister asked for the morning off on the first day on the job. Can you believe it?”“To go to a funeral-" Marlene started to say.“Em, are you ok? You get lost?” Amelia’s voice rang out from the bedroom, “You ready for round two, gorgeous? You’re not going to break your record by the time Marlene gets back at this rate.”Marlene, who had just turned with two mugs in her hands for her sister and her girlfriend, froze, and the mugs tumbled to the floor in what felt like slow motion. She didn’t even feel the scalding water splash the bottom of her dress, soaking through to her bare feet beneath. She didn’t even care that the mug that lay broken on the floor was one that Emmeline had made for her when they were kids.She stared at her older sister, who opened her mouth and then closed it again several times, before grabbing her bag and shoes and leaving the flat.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
James stood up at the front of the crematorium and looked at the screen behind him with his favourite picture of Lily on it. It had been taken when Harry was a toddler, and he’d just managed to capture Lily watching their son wiggle precariously to music with a look of pure joy on her face. He pressed his lips together and took a deep breath before turning to face the congregation.“On behalf of Harry and I, I’d just like to thank you all for being here with us today. As you know, Lily and I had a long time to prepare for this moment. She had a long list of demands for what today should be like. A lot of them, for example, bringing Taylor Swift as my date to the funeral, she expected me to ignore. At least I hope she did, because I didn’t send Taylor an invitation… But others, she was pretty insistent on.” He paused and ran a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up wildly on one side. “When she first told me about what’s about to happen, I said ‘over my dead body’, and she said ‘No, Jamie, over mine’. And as usual, my beautiful wife... Harry’s beautiful mum, was right on the money. So she’s not going to say goodbye to you through me, but, naturally, through the immortal genius of Queen.”He nodded resolutely and shot Harry and Sirius a semi-helpless smile before stepping away from the lectern.Suddenly the unmistakable baseline of Another One Bites The Dust blasted through the chapel speakers, and a slideshow of photos of Lily, James, Sirius, Harry, Fleamont, Euphemia, and Pete over the last fifteen years. Sirius, sitting up on the balcony of the chapel, out of sight, with his arm around Harry didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so he did an approximation of both and spluttered uncontrollably.Harry hadn’t cried in days, and it had been worrying both James and Sirius. James had decided to take a short sabbatical to help Harry adjust to life without his mum. As if that was something that one could just adjust to within a few weeks, especially as a ten-year-old. Sirius regretted the timing immensely, as after the funeral, he was starting a new job, and a pretty important job at that, and having pushed back the start until the afternoon, there was no way he could be late, but he just wanted to stay and hold James and Harry, to do anything he could for them. But he couldn’t even attend Lily’s wake that afternoon.James appeared behind them and pulled both of them into a hug, both men breaking down again.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
As Sirius’ car pulled up outside Number Ten Downing Street, he checked his face in his phone camera. Any signs that he’d been sobbing with James over his dead wife less than an hour ago were gone, and he just had to get through the next six hours until he could break down again.He took in the media and public-lined streets and sighed before schooling his expression into something friendly yet humble, and stepped out of the car waving and smiling at the throngs waiting there for him. He turned one last time on the step outside the front door to wave before entering the house. Once the door closed behind him, he lessened the mask a little. A woman who looked to be a similar age to him approached him.“Welcome, Prime Minister.” She said. “I’m Amelia Bones, we spoke on the phone last week.”Sirius felt his demeanour soften, “Wow, Prime Minister… that still sounds so strange. Yes, sorry, hello Amelia, wonderful to put a face to the name.”“How are you feeling? I understand you had a family commitment this morning.” She looked at him sympathetically.“Yes, well, not ideal for the first day on the job, but I can’t very well blame my sister-in-law for her terrible timing when it comes to dying, can I?” He laughed a little bitterly.Her face dropped, she had no idea what she could even say to that. Not to mention, she couldn't exactly comment on anyone's relationship with their sister-in-law given the way her morning had gone.“Sorry, dark humour. Never mind.” He mumbled, “I’m a little dazed to finally be here but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of things quickly. How are you? Hope my delay in starting the day hasn’t caused too much chaos or affected anyone too badly.”“A few staff members will be leaving early due to childcare arrangements, but anyone essential has agreed to stay later to ensure we can cover everything today. Speaking of the staff. Would you like to meet them?”“Oh, yes please.” Sirius smiled. “I should warn you, I’m useless with names.”She smiled tightly at him before leading him towards a line of people. He suddenly felt like the queen, greeting people at a gala, or the couple doing a receiving line at their wedding. Shit, he must remember to call Reg later and congratulate him. How on earth three life-altering events all happened to occur on this day would baffle him, possibly forever.“This is Rubeus.” Amelia introduced a man who towered over everyone and was built like a brick shit house, as James’ mum would have said.“Hello Rubeus, I do hope you work in security!” Sirius chuckled.“I do, sir. It's a pleasure to be here.” His accent was possibly Cornish, maybe Devonian, but it was warm and Sirius found himself smiling.“Glad to have you on board.”“Pomona, Sir. Housekeeper.” A stout lady curtsied in front of him and Sirius didn’t quite know what to do with himself.“Hello, Pomona! Reckon I’ll be a lot easier to handle than the last lot. No kids, no scary wife! No raucous parties, I promise.” He laughed as Pomona looked thoroughly relieved.“This is Remus.” Amelia said a little snottily, “He’s new, like you.”Sirius looked at Remus and oh good grief. He was tall, taller than Sirius, only just, but that put him at 6’4 easily. His hair looked soft, and Sirius couldn’t decide whether it would be considered light brown or dark blonde, but a few strands fell down into his green eyes and it was all Sirius could do to not brush them back off his face.“Uh, hello Remus.” He said after a slight pause that he hoped nobody else noticed.“Hello, Sirius. I mean… sir. Oh shit… I knew I was going to cock this up, and now I’ve said cock, and shit - twice.” Remus babbled as Amelia looked mutinous, and oh god he was Welsh. Really fucking Welsh.“It’s fine. You could have said fuck and then we’d all have been in serious trouble.” Sirius said, trying to ease the stricken look on Remus’ face.“Thank you, sir. You know I had a feeling I was going to fuck this up on my first day and— oh, for fucks sake! Ffycin anghredadwy! Hurtyn!” Remus covered his face, but Sirius could tell that his cheeks had turned bright pink and he found it incredibly endearing, and then he clocked what he assumed was Welsh and he couldn’t take his eyes off Remus as he barked out a laugh.“Right, well, let’s go and fix the country shall we?” Amelia said wearily.“Yes, right. Yes, of course. Can’t see why not.” Sirius snapped out of his Remus-induced trance and nodded, “Lovely to meet you, Remus.”Amelia led him towards his office, but Sirius couldn’t resist taking one last look over his shoulder as he walked away, chuckling softly at Remus’ mortified expression.“This is your office, sir. I’ll go and organise some refreshments. Would you prefer coffee or tea?” She said as they reached the door.“Coffee, please Amelia. Black, no sugar. Thank you.”Amelia nodded and left. Sirius entered his office and closed the door behind him, leaning against the cold wood and letting his head fall back against it. “Of fucking course.” He grumbled to himself.Ten minutes later, as Sirius was getting settled at his desk, having finally located the password to his computer, there came a knock at the door.“Come in!” Sirius said loudly, opening every drawer in the desk and being a little disappointed to find them all empty. Whenever he had to vacate number ten, he planned to leave little notes and knick-knacks everywhere just for the hell of it. Pomona would surely hate him.Remus entered the room, expertly balancing a tray with one arm, and holding an envelope in the other.“Amelia said to pass these on to you while I’m here, they’ve just come through from the treasury.” He handed Sirius the thick manila envelope which he set aside carefully. “And this is also for you.” He set down the tray on Sirius’ desk and handed him a large mug of black coffee and a small plate with three chocolate digestive biscuits on it. “Also, sorry again about earlier, I’m not really used to all this… formality.”“Thank you, Remus.” Sirius accepted the mug and plate gratefully, “And please, don’t worry about it. It made everything a lot less tense. I’ve just come from my sister-in-law’s funeral and honestly, it was a breath of fresh air, so, yeah, no need to apologise.”“Oh fuck, I’m so sorry,” Remus said quietly, “Oh, fuck I did it ag— Fucking— Fuck!. I’m sorry for your loss, Sir. Sounds like the worst first day of a new job ever.”“Doesn’t it just?” Sirius leant back in his chair. “We all knew it was coming, but nothing prepares you for a loss like that, you know?”Remus nods, “There’s a Welsh word, hiraeth. It means almost a homesickness or longing for something or someone cherished but now out of reach. The bittersweet feeling of loss when you also have so many happy memories. I know it’s just a word, but it brought my mam a lot of comfort when we lost my dad a few years ago. To be able to put a name to how she was feeling.”“Hur-eye-th?” Sirius attempted to repeat.“Here-ayeth.” Remus chuckled, “Here, let me write it down, you can google it when I’m gone.” He pulled a pen from his shirt pocket and noted down the word on the piece of paper Sirius had very unsecurely written his computer password on. “You know, I’m glad you won. I’d have been polite to the other bloke too, but I doubt he’d have been as understanding about my, uh, first-day nerves? Shall we call them?” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t have given him the biscuits with the chocolate on though. Only boring biscuits for Tories. Might not have brought him biscuits at all, actually.”With that, Remus grinned at him, before picking up the tray and leaving the room, closing the door behind him with a click.Sirius waited a moment before letting his head hit the desk in front of him. “Sirius, you’re the fucking Prime Minister! Get your shit together!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“He said he’d be here,” Benjy said, swirling around the last of the vodka and coke in his glass like a sommelier with a fancy wine. “I have news and I don’t want to wait anymore!”The pub was busier than they’d anticipated and the only table he and Mary had been able to get was in the far corner, so they kept an eye out for Remus as he’d never spot them. Soon enough, they spotted him, cheeks pink from the wind with a purple bobble hat pulled down over his ears. He had somehow evaded their sight long enough to wait in the queue for the bar and was carrying three glasses in his hands, looking around anxiously.“Remus!” Mary shouted, and they both waved wildly.He laughed as he headed their way, setting the drinks down on the table and pulling off his hat, coat and scarf, “Sorry I’m late. Mam wanted me to fix her printer when I dropped Teddy off.” He pushed his hair off his face, “It’s actually boiling in here!”“Nah, it’s just fucking freezing outside,” Mary said.“You spent the first twenty-five years of your life in Florida, everywhere is fucking freezing to you!” Benjy laughed. “Speaking of Florida… I have news.”“Oh, please don’t tell me you tried to pull another poor unsuspecting soul by asking them if they’ve ‘ever been to Kissimmee’. You don’t even pronounce it right!”“I know! I tried to use it on a girl from Orlando last week, and she was very keen to point that out. But! My accent enthralled her, and that made me realise—”“That to Floridians, even the Brummie accent is melodic and exotic?” Remus said with a grin. “Then how has Mary been able to resist you all these years.”“I don’t have enough tits to tempt Mary. Do keep up, Remus.” Benjy rolled his eyes, “Now shut up! You get here late and you interrupt! Do you do this to the prime minister? We will be circling back to that, by the way, but this is more important! Ok, I am spending the next two months in… Snoqualmie, Washington!”Remus and Mary stared at him, blankly.“You’re doing what, mate?” Remus said, after taking a long sip of his drink.“Snoqualmie, Washington?” Mary looked thoroughly unimpressed.“I’m fed up of people not appreciating my charm.” He nudged Mary gently, “So I’m going somewhere that people will!”“And you picked Snoqualmie?” She repeated. “Snoqualmie, Washington?”“It looks nice…” Benjy said, “I fancied Seattle but Snoqualmie was a little more in my price range.”“If you wanted a cheap trip to the States, you could have stayed with my family in Kissimmee, asshole!”“Too queer for Florida, I fear.” Benjy shrugged. “Too queer to be there alone at least.”“That’s a fair point…” Mary conceded, “Not like my brothers would take you out to Stiffy’s I suppose.”Remus choked on his drink. “There’s a gay bar called Stiffy’s?”“See! Another example of Americans finding Britishness endearing!” Benjy grinned at them. “My flight’s tomorrow afternoon. Mary… would you water my plants for me?”“Can I watch movies on your big TV?” She bartered.“You can do whatever the fuck you want, I’ll be building an army of snowmen with all the people swooning at my feet. Just don’t buy porn using my card again. The internet is free!”“I told you, that wasn’t me, it was Evan!” Mary laughed.“Mary, you know as well as I do that Evan has no interest in watching women go at it.” Benjy sighed, “Just… keep my babies safe.”“Have you ever considered that your lack of romantic life may not have to do with people not appreciating your charm, but more to do with the fact that you sing to your plants every morning?” Said Remus.“Maybe singing to my plants is part of my charm, Remus!” Benjy groaned, “Well anyway, enough about me for now. How was your first day? What’s Black like?”“It was fine. Didn’t make a complete tit of myself. Did manage to swear in front of him multiple times, in English and Welsh, though.” Remus chuckled. “He seems alright actually. The reason he asked for a later start was a family funeral, so poor bloke wasn’t exactly having the best day.”“Is he as hot in real life as he is on telly?” Benjy finished his drink and put the glass down clumsily.“Well… yes. I would have to say that he is.” Remus nodded. “Probably more so.”“Oh my god, Remus! Are you going to fuck the prime minister?” Mary gasped. “Is there, like, an Oval Office here? Can you do it in there?!”“Mary!” He growled, “Shut the fuck up. No, I am not! He’s my boss. Well, he’s like my boss’ boss’ boss’ boss’ boss’ boss. He’s the boss of the whole country. Jesus, no!” Mary and Benjy exchanged a look. “I am not going to fuck— Let’s go back to Benjy spending Christmas in small-town America just to get laid. That’s way more interesting!”“Maybe I’m looking for love!” Benjy said indignantly.“I said what I said.” Remus shrugged.“Alright, alright.” Mary laughed. “Benjy’s too horny for Britain, and Remus is going to become the next First Lady, we get it!”“There are so many things wrong with—“ Remus started.Benjy cut him off, clearly wanting to get off the topic of their love lives. He’d have enough time to work on that in the coming months. “You spending Christmas with your mom, Remus?”“Yeah, she’s booked a turkey and everything.”“She’s booked a turkey?” Mary stared at him.“Yeah, like, reserved one from a farm or something.” He shrugged.“Is this like the sadistic version of adopting a donkey?” Said Benjy. “Did she get a little welcome pack with fun facts about the turkey? Its hobbies, its favourite food? Does it have a name? Ooh! You should let Teddy name it!”“I’m not letting my son name the bird he’s going to eat for Christmas lunch, you animal!”“Not heard from Tonks then?” Mary asked gently.“Not since June.” Remus pressed his lips together. “Last I heard she was in Liverpool. Teddy keeps asking if she’ll be here on Christmas Day, and I’m trying to let him down gently. How do you tell a five-year-old that his mum’s just done a runner?”“All the more reason to—”“Don’t even say it.” Remus glared at them. “Not happening.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Your family has not been here since six years, Marlene.” The wisened housekeeper Bathilda said as she opened the front door to the McKinnon’s holiday home. Or former holiday home. It had passed to her after her mother had died, almost six years ago, and she hadn’t had the heart to come back.Unnervingly, it smelt the same. Pine and cinnamon. And everything was as they left it. Bathilda had clearly given the place a good clean once she’d heard of Marlene’s plans as everything was spotless.“Yes, after my mother died, it felt too soon to come back, then the pandemic happened…”“And what brings you back to Pöcking now?”“You remember my older sister? Emmeline? Or, half-sister…” Marlene hated even speaking her name.“I do. Very tall, if I remember. Tall and skinny! Far too skinny. Needs some cake.”“Well, yes, I suppose... well, she and my partner have been having an affair so… London feels like the wrong place to be right now.” Marlene watched the pity rise in the old lady’s face. “I’ll be ok, I just need some space. I always wanted to come here and write a book, so… that’s my plan.”“Well, I hope it works out for you.” She nodded. “I have hired a housekeeper for your stay in this month. She will come by every day to keep on top of things. I remember how you are.”“Hired?”“Marlene I am eighty-five, I cannot move as I used to. Her name is Dorcas. She does not speak English and I have pre-warned her about your…” She gestured vaguely at Marlene “Your personality.”“My personality?!”“Yes, you are… spirited.” Bathilda pulled a sour face “You have never been particularly personable.”“Well… even so… that’s… You warned her about my personality? Jesus, Tilda.”“Yes. She is a nice girl. Close to your age. You are to be nothing but polite to her. I will not be hiring a replacement!”Marlene opened and closed her mouth several times. “Of course, I’ll be polite to her! I’m not a complete twat!”“Hmmm,” Bathilda said Noncommittally. “She will be here in the morning at ten. Be awake.”“Yes, of course.” Marlene nodded, a little put out that Bathilda had felt the need to warn this Dorcas about her. “Thank you, Tilda. For all of this. I know it was short notice, I just needed to get away.”Bathilda nodded, “I hope that your stay here will be so pleasant.”
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
The following morning, at 9:56, Marlene dragged herself out of bed and hastily got dressed, brushed her teeth, and was in the process of making coffee when the front door opened. She froze, like a deer in the headlights. In the doorway of her home was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen—and she’d seen a lot of beautiful women. She was tall, her long braids swished over her shoulder as she entered, and she looked surprised to see Marlene.“Ah, hallo!” Dorcas said, smiling. “Haushälterin?”“Uh… yes?” Marlene said. She really should have brushed up on her German. She told herself that if she’d had more preparation and planning then she would have, but deep down she knew that she would have put it off until it was too late and struggled anyway. “Ich… heiße… Marlene.”“Ja. Das weiß ich schon.” Dorcas chuckled. “Um… I clean?” She said, pointing at the kitchen.Marlene nodded, although as just one person, she really didn’t need a housekeeper, she didn’t want to turn someone away from a job, especially not this someone.“Coffee?” Marlene asked, pointing at the machine. Dorcas shook her head with a smile. “Alright. I’ll be in the study. Uh, in there.” She gestured to the large room that overlooked Lake Starnberg before disappearing through the door, closing it behind her and sitting in the desk chair with a sigh. She realised too late that she had left her coffee in the kitchen.After a few minutes she begrudgingly opened the door to the kitchen and saw Dorcas standing there, holding out the coffee with a smile on her face.“Oh, thank you.” Marlene accepted the coffee as a blush rose up her cheeks. “I need it clearly.”“Sie brauchen eindeutig den Kaffee.” Dorcas laughed softly. “Und wie schafft es jemand, an einem Tag so viele Tassen zu trinken?”Marlene just shrugged awkwardly. “I… I should get to work.”🌙✨🎄✨🌙“Daddyyyy.”“Teddyyyy.” Remus teased in the same tone as Teddy clambered into the car.“I got a part in the school play for the big concert thing.” Teddy clipped himself in and Remus double-checked it was secure before slipping into the front seat.“You did? What are you going to be, cyw?”“A lobster!” Teddy laughed excitedly.“A… lobster?” Remus’ eyes widened as he looked at Teddy in the rearview mirror. "Like... a lobster? A crustacean? A lobster?"“Yep. First Lobster.” Teddy said, smugly.“There was more than one lobster present at the first of Jesus Christ?” Remus asked.“Duh!”“Oh, right, yes of course. It’s been a while since I’ve read…uh, the bible.” Remus mumbled. “Were there any zebras present in Bethlehem that night?”“Don’t be silly, daddy.” Teddy laughed, “Lobsters, sheep, donkeys, octopuses and a camel, called Callum.”“Ah, yes Callum the camel is a big part of the story. Many nativity plays miss him out entirely and it's a crying shame!” Remus huffed out a laugh, “Also, fun fact Teddy, the plural of octopus isn’t octopuses, it’s octopi.”“No, it isn't!”“Yes, it is.” Remus laughed, “Like the plural of sheep is just sheep, some words are weird like that.”“An octopus pie?” Teddy asked incredulously. “Sounds icky.”“It does, doesn’t it? When I was little, your Mam-gu let me eat calamari, a squid ring. I thought it was an onion ring and I was very surprised when I bit into it and it was chewy like rubber. Not my favourite!”Teddy laughed and then was silent for a while.“You ok there, Teddy bach?”“Will mummy come to the show?” He asked in a small voice. “I want her to see me be a lobster.”“Oh, love, I can’t give you an answer to that right now. She’s so busy at the moment. She’s… helping Santa out with all the presents. So I don’t know if she’ll make it or not. But I will let her know, and maybe Santa will let her have the day off.” Remus immediately kicked himself for the lie.“But she’s not an elf.” Teddy frowned. "Why does Santa need her?"“No, but sometimes Santa needs humans to oversee things. And he saw how special your mummy is and knew he needed her to help out.” Remus was screaming at himself inside his head as the lie got deeper. “Maybe, Teddy, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Remember, just because she’s not here, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love you very much.”“I miss her…” Teddy sniffled.Remus looked at him in the rearview mirror and sighed softly before pulling over into a lay-by, getting out of the car and opening the back door. He unclipped Teddy from his booster seat and wrapped him up in his arms as he sniffled again.“I know you do. I miss her too.” Well that was a lie. “She’s still your mummy, and she still loves you.” Although not enough to call or write to her son, Remus thought. Let alone show up to his show.“Do you think if I write another letter to Santa, he’ll give her the day off?” Teddy asked, eyes watery. “Maybe if I tell him I don’t need anything else…”Remus had no idea how to navigate this situation he’d gotten himself into, so he just hummed noncommittally. “Maybe, let’s see when we get home. But first. What about… McDonalds?”Teddy nodded enthusiastically, sat back in his seat and let Remus fasten him back in.“Whether or not mummy is there. I’ll be there, and Mam-gu is coming too, and you’re going to be the best bloody lobster there ever was, ok?”Teddy nodded with a small sigh that broke Remus’ heart.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Alright, James?” Sirius answered the phone, balancing it on one shoulder while carrying his laptop and several folders, heading upstairs carefully. “What’s going on, mate?”“Pads… I’m worried about Harry.” James’s shaky voice came from the other end of the phone.Sirius immediately set the laptop and folders down on the stairs and sat down. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”“Look, I know that losing his mum was going to be hard. The hardest thing ever. And he was gloomy in her last few months, naturally. But he’s just holed up in his room all the time now. I was prepared for this level of withdrawal when he’s a teenager, but he’s ten. What the fuck is he even doing in there? What if he’s injecting heroin into his eyeballs?”“At the age of ten?”“Well, maybe not his eyeballs then, maybe just his veins. But he’s just blasting music and binge-watching Mike Schur shows and he always pauses it when I poke my head in his room like he doesn’t want me to share in anything that reminds him of his mum. I love The Office too! I just don't know-”“Ok, you need to take a breath.” Sirius said, “What does he say when you talk to him about it?”“Well, I don’t want to push him… It was always Lily who did the feelings stuff, and I don’t know, I don’t know how to talk to him now. I don't know what to say. Every time I think about talking to him, I just cry.”“Prongs! You’ve still got to be his dad, mate. He needs stability right now. He needs to know you’re there no matter what. Is he sleeping? Eating? Staying hydrated?”“Not eating much at all. He just wants crisps, and we ran out of crisps yesterday.” James sighed. “I really thought I was a better dad than this.” Sirius could hear the tears in his voice. The shaky timbre was not unfamiliar as of late. “I just… thought I’d be better.”“Listen to me. You are a fucking incredible dad, and Harry loves you so much. You’re going through the worst right now, nobody is expecting you to be super dad, or expecting him to be his usual self. It’ll come in time, but it won’t be the same. It will be better than it is now, though. The first thing you need to do is talk to him. Go into his room, open the windows and talk to him. Tell him you’ve got him, no matter what. It doesn't matter if you cry. It's good for him to see you feel your feelings, you know. Look, I’ll do an UberEats of some snacks for you both, and pizza or something. You both need to eat, and I can’t be there to cook for you—”“Because you’re literally running the bloody country.” James laughed shakily. “I’m so sorry for adding to your burden.”“No, take that back right now. You and Harry could never be a burden to me. You’re my family. Please don’t think that you can’t lean on me anymore, James. I’m still here for you.” Sirius looked up as he heard footsteps and saw Remus approach the bottom of the stairs. He moved his laptop out of the way.“Yeah, I know. I know. I’m just… I don’t know if I’m coming or going right now, and I’m trying so hard to keep it all together for Harry. He’s going back to school tomorrow though. Something about the Christmas show, he wants to go, which is great but I’m feeling reluctant to let him out of my sight.”“That’s understandable. But you have to let him try. Just… let him go and maybe he’ll get to play the baby Jesus or something.” Sirius grinned, “No, just… let him know that if he needs you to come and get him, you will. That you’ll be there. You'll drop everything and come and get him right away, if that's what he needs. Be his safety net, not his straight jacket. And... maybe check his room for needles.”Remus raised an eyebrow as he approached Sirius on the stairs, and smiled. “I’m not even going to ask.” He said quietly as he passed him.Sirius smiled and turned his head to watch Remus climb the remaining stairs, definitely not admiring how nice his bum looked in those trousers.“…Sirius? Are you still there?” James asked.“Shit, yes. What? Yes of course I’m still here.” Sirius spluttered, not missing a chuckle from Remus as he walked away.”What did you say?”“So your boy toy just walked past then?” James said, amused.“First of all, not that term, never that term. Jesus, Jamie. And secondly, it’s not like that! You can’t… fucking hell.” Sirius groaned. “It’s not… No.”“So, yes, he did.” James laughed, “Can’t wait to inevitably meet him.”“Not a chance. Not ever. You know that can’t— Just— Go talk to your kid!”James hung up the phone and sighed. He knew Sirius was right. He couldn’t just let Harry fester in his room. He headed to the kitchen. When he was a child and sick,oor having a hard time, his mum would make Shahi Paneer, so that’s what he would do. Actually, focusing on what his parents would do generally wouldn’t be a bad idea, and Euphemia Potter would definitely be in the kitchen under these circumstances.A while later, he knocked on Harry’s door. “Harry…” No response. “Beta, it’s dinner time. I made—”“I’m not hungry.” Harry’s voice came from behind the door.“You need to eat. Just come down and—”“Read the sign!”James pulled away from the door and looked at the whiteboard attached to Harry’s door. On it, in Harry’s spidery handwriting was written, ‘I said I’m not hungry’. James sighed.“Harry…”
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
“Good afternoon, Instagram… people,” Minerva said, squinting into the camera of her phone. “I am so pleased to announce that my single ‘Christmas is All Around’ is out now, on all streaming services, as well as a video on YouTube that you may find interesting!”She paused to look at the comments popping up on the bottom of her livestream.
PizzaChess92
no offence but who asked for this?
“None taken. Nobody did. Maybe my accountant. Blame him.”
MinervaStan
This is the best day of my liiiiiiiiiiiife
“That’s very sweet, but is your keyboard broken?” She chuckled.
SSnape
Why should we stream your stupid fucking song? Just paying for you to get drunk and make a twat of yourself.
Again
“Oh, well aren’t you the charmer?” Her face was suddenly serious as many more comments like that popped up, “Well what can I do as an incentive for you to stream it? I'm going on Graham Norton next week?”
Albus123
get naked
“Get…” She looked up at Poppy on the other side of the phone who was shaking her head furiously. “Well, if that’s what the people want…”“Minerva.” Poppy hissed. “Stop. You absolutely cannot do that. No.”
MinervaStan
Yessssss girl do ittttt!
“I am quite concerned for your keyboard, dear.” She paused as more comments in support of full-frontal nudity came flooding in. “How about this? If my song is number one for Christmas, on Christmas Eve, I will perform my song live on Instagram in the scuddie?”The comment section exploded. While there were many messages expressing disgust at seeing an older woman naked, how she should be ashamed of herself, body shaming her… there were a hell of a lot more that were in full support.“Alright then. It’s settled. You know what to do.” She winked at her phone before ending the livestream and looking up to see Poppy’s look of despair. “Come on, Poptart. It’ll never actually happen, it’s just to boost sales, or streams or whatever.”“You better hope you’re right,” Poppy mumbled. “Fucking hell. You are absolutely going to get banned on Instagram..."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
December 2023
Tonks sat in her office, spinning on her desk chair, round and round, then back the other way. She took a sip of her can of Monster and sighed. She was just about to shove her laptop into her bag and leave to meet Remus when Charlie poked his head through the door and grinned at her.“Sorry, Dora. I got caught up talking to Emmeline.” He said, leaning on the doorway. “Thought I might have missed you.”“I told him I’m running late. I have a few minutes.” She smiled at him. “Please give me strength for this afternoon. Christmas shopping with Captain Thoughtful is always an ordeal.”“Is there going to be anything under your tree for me?” He asked. “I think Santa would agree that I’ve been very good this year.”Tonks laughed, “Santa would say no such thing. What kind of thing does the illustrious Charlie Weasley hope to find under the tree, then?”Charlie grinned lasciviously, “If not something... fun to unwrap. Something sparkly.”“Oh, you’re definitely on the naughty list!” She groaned as her phone started to ring. “Hi, love… yes I’m just leaving now. Sorry, something came up at the last minute. I’m on my way though, I promise… Ok, I’ll meet you outside The Entertainer in ten minutes. Fancy grabbing me a coffee? Alright, thanks love. Bye… yeah, love you too. Bye.” She rolled her eyes at Charlie as she hung up. “Christmas shopping waits for no one. I’ll see you at the Christmas Party tomorrow night?”“You will. I’ll be hanging out under the mistletoe, hoping for a Christmas miracle.” Their eyes met, sparks flying between them. “Enjoy your shopping.”
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
After a gruelling trip to The Entertainer which ended with Teddy’s Christmas looking like it would be incredible, they split off to buy presents for each other.Remus headed to Selfridges. He’d already got her main present, a special edition Jimi Hendrix 1967 Gibson SG. She’d been talking about wanting a new guitar, and he’d stumbled across this particular custom one which was perfect for her. It was quite a bit more than he’d usually spend, but he’d had a decent bonus at work in November and he wanted Tonks and Teddy to have the best Christmas. So he planned to get her a variety of self-care bits and bobs and he’d put them together in a hamper, and it would be so much more personal than any of those pre-made self-care kits.He was particularly proud of himself this year. He’d been planning since September to make this special. The three of them, and his mam, had plans to go to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park that weekend. Teddy was just starting to get into Christmas this year and it warmed Remus’ heart to see him so excited by Santa and snow and all the sparkle of the season.As he was paying at the Yves St Laurent counter, he spotted the familiar flash of pink hair heading towards the jewellery section, pausing at the Hatton Labs counter. He smiled to himself as he headed towards the cafe. He’d never been given jewellery as a gift before unless you counted his wedding ring, and the thought of it made his heart glow. He couldn’t wait to wear whatever it was proudly.Tonks, looking over her shoulder nervously, didn’t spot Remus before he slipped away. She turned back to the counter where an old man with a long beard and half-moon spectacles smiled at her.“Good afternoon, are you looking for anything in particular this afternoon?” His eyes twinkled as he spoke to her.Tonks looked over the jewellery in the case. “I’m looking for something… sparkly.” She thought of the collection of bracelets Charlie wore on his left wrist. Knowing that one of them would be a representation of whatever it was that was blossoming between them made her feel giddy. “A bracelet.”“Of course. You’re in the right place, dear.” He nodded, “So, we have tennis bracelets, simple chains, and we just got in these lovely beaded beauties.” He gestured at a small selection of beaded bracelets.One caught her eye immediately, the beads the shades of blue and green of the ocean. “This one. This is the one.”“Ah, very good choice.” He pulled the bracelet from the case. “Can I interest you in some festive gift wrapping?”She looked over her shoulder as he rang her up, “Uh, yes, I suppose that would be nice.”He set the bracelet down on the counter and pulled out a small red box, putting the bracelet inside, and rearranging it slightly before putting the lid on the box.“Right, thanks.” She said, reaching for it.“Oh, no. Not done yet.” He smiled at her and reached for a small selection of ribbons. “Gold, white or silver?”She looked over her shoulder again. “Does it matter?” When she looked back at him, his face told her that it actually did very much matter. “Fine. Gold, please.”“An excellent choice.” He nodded sagely as he cut a length of the gold ribbon, wrapping it around the box and tying it with a flourish. Just as Tonks was about to reach for the box again, he pulled out some scissors and started curling the ends of the ribbon expertly.“Ok, that’s perfect, thank you.” She said, gritting her teeth slightly, and looking over her shoulder again.The man turned and pulled a clear cellophane bag out of a drawer.“I don’t need a bag, I’ll just put it in this bag,” Tonks said, holding up one of the bags of Teddy's presents.“This isn’t just a bag, my dear.” The old man’s eyes twinkled again.“It isn’t?”“Oh, no. This is so much more than a bag.” He opened the bag, then opened another drawer, took some dried roses and dropped them into the bag, then did the same with some lavender.Tonks checked the time and grimaced. “That’s lovely, really lovely, I just- I really must be going. Can you make this quick?”“Of course, madam. Prontissimo!”He reached over and opened yet another drawer as he twisted the top of the bag. He wrapped more gold ribbon around a—“What is that?” Tonks asked, exasperated.“It’s a cinnamon stick. Very seasonal.”“I don’t need a bloody cinnamon stick, I just need to leave.” She looked over her shoulder again, expecting Remus to pop up at any second.He finished tying the cinnamon stick onto the bag. “Very well, we shall just pop it in a Christmas box and then we’re done.”“I don’t need a Christmas box!” She snapped. “I just need the bloody bracelet!”“But you said you wanted it gift-wrapped.” The man looked a little affronted at her tone. He placed the bag in a red box, then proceeded to wrap another length of gold ribbon around it, curl the ends of the ribbon and just when Tonks thought she was good to leave, he reached for another drawer.“What now? What else could you possibly do to it? Are you planning to cover it in chocolate and deep fry it too?”“Just a sprig of holly.” He said with a wry smile.“No. That’s enough. No Holly.” She grabbed the box from him and turned around and found Remus watching from the railing near the escalators. Shit.She made her way over to him, “Alright, Rem?” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “They take gift wrapping bloody seriously here, don’t they?”He ruffled her hair affectionately, pressed a kiss to the top of her head and laughed, “They certainly do, babe. Are you ready to go?”
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Remus wasn’t a fan of work Christmas parties at the best of times, but at every Christmas party hosted by Tonks’ workplace,e he felt like an outsider, lurking on the sidelines while Tonks appeared to be a completely different person. He’d brought it up the first year, but she told him that was just how she was at work. To cope in a male-dominated corporate environment she’d had to build a strong persona, and that had to carry on for the party.He understood, but he still didn’t like it.So when he saw Tonks spending an awful lot of time talking to a very attractive man with long red hair and a lot of tattoos he tried not to think too much of it. He sipped his mulled wine and winced at the acidity.“How about a dance with the boss?” Charlie whispered into Tonks’ ear.She looked over at Remus, who, predictably, was scrolling on his phone. “Yeah, ok. Yes. Yes, of course. As long as your girlfriend won’t mind.” She looked at him, challenging him. She’d seen him show up with a pretty girl with long blonde hair.“Not my girlfriend. Sister-in-Law. Bill will be here later, but she wanted to come and look at the art.” Charlie shrugged, leading her by the hand to the dance floor.“You look lovely tonight. You scrub up well, you know?” Tonks said as Charlie pulled her closer and started to sway gently.“Well, don’t tell anyone, but I’m trying to impress someone.” He said quietly. “And… I think it’s working.”She laughed against his chest. “Quite possibly.”Remus, texting Benjy and Mary, looked over at them fairly frequently. He supposed that as the boss, she felt duty-bound to dance if a coworker asked her, but they were closer than he’d have thought she’d be comfortable with. He told himself it was just Work Tonks and went back to sending cat gifs to annoy Benjy.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Before they went to Winter Wonderland, they decided to let Teddy open one present early and then decided that they wanted to do the same.As Teddy was racing around the room with a lightsaber, Remus picked up a red box with his name on it.
“I think I want to open this one.” He said with a smile.“Oh, I think you’re going to like that.” Tonks smiled. “This is my gift to you! You’ll see that I listen sometimes.”Remus raised an eyebrow. “Well, now I have to know.”He opened the box slowly and then unwrapped the item within, grinning in anticipation and pulled out… two Joni Mitchell Blu-rays.“Oh… wow! Oh, this is a surprise!” He schooled his face into a warm smile. “Joni Mitchell!”“You mentioned that you wish you could have seen her live a few weeks ago, so I thought this would be the next best thing.” She smiled at him. “Happy Christmas, baby.”“Thank you.” He smiled but could feel his eye twitch. “I just need to nip upstairs before we go. I don’t think I’ll be warm enough in this. Make sure Teddy’s ready to go?”She nodded, and Remus headed upstairs to their bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. The aching dread that he’d been feeling in his chest for months crashed down all at once and he found himself reaching for his phone and putting on the song that had got him through so many hard times.
Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way that you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way
He looked over at the photo of the three of them on his bedside table and reached over to place it face down. Not wanting to see her smiling face looking at him.
But now it's just another show
And you leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away
He already knew exactly who it was. The man from the party. The man she had conveniently failed to introduce him to.
I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It's love's illusions that I recall
I really don't know love
I really don't know love at all
He pulled a navy jumper out of the wardrobe and pulled it over his head, wiping the single tear that had escaped from his eyes away and rubbing his eyes furiously. He turned off the song, took a deep breath and headed back downstairs.“Alright then! Who’s ready for some Winter Wonderland?” He laughed as Teddy launched himself into his arms.“Meeeee!” He shouted.“Alrighty then. Let’s go and meet Mam-Gu. I think she really wants a hot chocolate, so we should get one too, right?” Remus smiled a little sadly as Teddy nodded vigorously.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
As Hope and Teddy disappeared into the funhouse, the smile dropped from Remus’ face as he turned to his wife.“Tell me, what would you do in my position?” He asked quietly.“What position is that, baby?” She smiled up at him.“Imagine your wife bought a lovely £200 bracelet, made a fuss about it, and then gave it to someone else.” He said, watching her face fall.“Remus…”“Would you stick around to find out if it was just a bracelet?” He looked up as Teddy and Hope appeared on a balcony and waved at them, “Hi Teddy! Careful, love!” Once they disappeared, he turned back to her, “Would you wait and see if it was just a bracelet, or sex and a bracelet? Or if even worse, it was a bracelet and love?”“Rem, please…”“Would you stay? Knowing life would always be a little bit worse? Carrying the resentment that the nicest thing your wife has done in years was for somebody else? Or would you cut and run?” He asked, holding her gaze. "I'm genuinely asking you. What would you do?"“Oh… No, Remus. I’ve really fucked up, haven’t I. God I’m such a fool.” She covered her face and groaned.“Yes. You have. But you’ve also made a fool out of me.” He paused and took a shaky breath, “And you’ve made the life I live foolish too.”Before Tonks could respond, Teddy came bursting out of the Fun House exit, a slightly flustered-looking Hope in tow.“Teddy bach!” He crouched down as his son flung his arms around him. “Was that fun?”“Yeah! The floor kept moving and then there were mirrors but they were weird, they made my head big, and then really tall and it made Mam-Gu look like an alien!” He laughed. “Can we have hot chocolate now?”“Yes, of course.” He stood up and took Teddy’s tiny hand in his before muttering.”I think we all need it.”
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Tonks tried to talk to Remus several times during the following week, but he couldn’t bear to hear her excuses. He put on a brave face for Christmas Day, although Hope could definitely tell that her son was struggling and made sure to give him extra roast potatoes, trusting that he’d talk to her about it when he felt able to.The day after Boxing Day, she was gone. She left a long letter explaining that she had quit her job and was moving to Liverpool with Charlie. Attached was a D8 form that needed his signature, an application for a divorce.Hope took Teddy that night and Remus drank more than he could ever remember drinking and fell asleep curled over the toilet bowl with Mary and Benjy stroking his back.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Barty
Hey Evan
Hope you're alright!
I was wondering if there’s any chance you could send me or Reg anything you recorded from the wedding please? Having a bit of a mare with the videographer!
Hi, just wondering if you saw my last message, mate?
You don’t need to talk to me or anything
Just
Please, if you have anything usable, please send it to Reg.
I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t desperate, Evan!
Barty grumbled to himself as he left the bakery. He couldn’t believe he was about to do this. He pulled his jacket tighter around him as he began the ten-minute walk to Evan’s flat. He’d brought it up with Reg a couple of times, Evan’s lack of response, but Reg had told him that December was a busy month for Evan and to ask again in the new year. But Barty didn’t want to wait until the new year. He’d been making a video for Reg over the last year, and the final piece of that was something from their wedding, surely. After all, showing all of the chaos leading up to their big day and ending it on a sneaky shot Barty did of Reg arriving at the church, like a creeper, just seemed anticlimactic. So. He was about to beg. With cake.He rang the doorbell, knowing that Evan always worked from home on Fridays and did his best to be as calm as he possibly could be. Which in that moment, wasn’t all that calm.Evan opened the door, clearly expecting a parcel and blinked at Barty. He seriously considered closing the door in his face for a moment before swallowing audibly and leaning on the door frame.“Surprise!” Barty said, holding out the bag from the bakery. “It’s Christmas cake. Well. No that’s a lie. It’s chocolate cake because fruit cake is all that’s wrong with the world. I don't give a fuck if it's Christmassy or not, I'd rather you enjoy it, you know? Uh, don’t suppose I could come in for a sec?”Evan looked between Barty on the doorstep and the sanctuary of his home behind him. “I’m a bit busy, actually.”“Just five minutes. I swear that’s all. Then I’ll go, I promise.” Barty held up his pinky finger, which Evan just stared at witheringly, before turning on his heel and walking back into the warmth of his house, leaving Barty to follow and close the door behind him. “Nice and warm in here,” Barty said, to nobody in particular.“What do you want?” Evan set the bag on the table and folded his arms across his chest.“I texted you a few times, I don’t know if you got them…”“Oh, yes. Those. I meant to… Yes.” Evan had the decency to look a little embarrassed at his lack of response. “December is always busy.”“Yeah, Reg mentioned that.” Barty frowned.“Does he know that you’re here?” Evan asked.“No,” Barty admitted. “He told me to leave it until the new year, but I can’t. So, our videographer has absolutely shit the bed, right? His hard drive is fucked and he reckons he can get it sorted, but probably not until January, and I’m hoping you can help. I just need a couple of shots of me and Reg from the wedding. They don’t have to be amazing… not that I don’t think they will be, I just…” He dragged a hand through his hair, “Fucks sake. I’ve been making Reg a video since last Christmas. Clips of all sorts of stuff, it’s probably rubbish. I’m sure you’d think it’s rubbish, but the point is that I have spent hours and hours on this thing and ending it with a grainy shot of Reg in his suit walking into a church doesn’t feel adequate. I know it’s stupid, but I’m a bit obsessed with the idea of ridiculous grand gestures and… I just need something, Evan, please.”“Oh… well, I think I might have deleted it. I’d need to check the memory card.” He shifted awkwardly. “You want me to check now, don’t you?” He sighed as Barty grinned hopefully at him, and opened his laptop.“Yes, but look… I know Reg and you are besties, and I know you’ve never warmed to me and maybe I hoped us getting married might change that—” Evan tried to interject “Don’t argue, we both know you don’t like me. But I really hope it can change eventually. I’m nice. Nice enough, anyway. I’m really fucking chaotic, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not a bad person, and I love Reg so much that it would be remiss of me not to bring it up. If you were anyone else, I wouldn’t give a toss if you liked me or not, but I know it’s hard for him to feel like he has to be in the middle all the time. I’d really like us to be friends.”Evan frowned slightly but nodded and mumbled, “Absolutely. Yes, of course.”Barty wasn’t convinced, he still sounded cold somehow, but it was a start, he reasoned. “Great…” He sat down on the sofa next to Evan and looked at the screen.“Doesn’t mean I’ll be able to find the footage if it’s gone, though.” Evan shrugged. “I had a look when Reg mentioned it a few days ago.”“What about that folder called ‘Barty Reg Wedding December 2024 FINAL’?” He laughed. “Could be worth a look?”Evan’s cheeks darkened, “Well, I suppose that might be worth a look…”He double-clicked the video file, setting the laptop on the coffee table and covering his face with his hands.The video had clearly already been edited by Evan, which struck Barty as strange, but when he saw Reg’s face grinning at Evan, then turning into a look of awe as Barty appeared at the end of the aisle, he forgot about that.“This is perfect! Could you send me…” Barty kept watching as the clip changed to the two of them doing the boring churchy stuff, mostly focused on how he was gazing into Reg’s eyes, then changed through various stages of the ceremony, including the chaste kiss, all focused on Barty. “You’ve stayed rather fucking close, haven’t you?” He laughed, and looked over at Evan, taking in the way he was peeking over his fingertips at the video. “Evan?”Barty turned his attention back to the laptop and watched shot after shot of himself smiling, laughing, dancing, making speeches, drinking and glowing.“It’s all me,” Barty said quietly.“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I suppose it is.” Evan mumbled. I’m sure I still have the raw files somewhere, I’ll pop them up on Dropbox for you and send you the link later.”“But… you don’t even like me.” Barty was utterly bewildered as Evan stood up and closed his laptop.“I hope the footage is useful until you get the proper stuff back. I’ve got to… got stuff to do. Show yourself out, yeah?” He paused in the living room doorway. “It’s a self-preservation thing, Barty.” He said softly, before vanishing upstairs.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“God, whose dick do I have to suck around here to get a chocolate fucking biscuit?” Sirius grumbled as he scrolled through the seventy emails he’d received in the past hour.A knock came at the door and he looked up guiltily as he asked them to come in. Remus’ smiling face appeared around the door. “Hello, sir. Mid-morning sustenance?”“You’re an absolute dream, Remus!” Sirius noted the blush rising in Remus’ cheeks as he set the coffee mug and plate of chocolate biscuits on his desk. “Do you have a moment?” He gestured at the chair “I’ve been feeling a little uncomfortable with us working in such close proximity and feeling like I know nothing about you.” He paused, “It seems… elitist, and wrong.”Remus raised an eyebrow. “I see. What is it that you want to know? My life isn’t particularly exciting I’m afraid.”“Where do you live?” Sirius leaned back in his chair, telling himself that this wasn’t inappropriate to ask at all."Surely you could have looked that up in my personnel file." He shot Sirius a lopsided grin."I could have I suppose, yes. That would be terribly boring though, wouldn't it? Plus, this way, you have the pleasure of my company for a few more minutes before you scoot off to make the chancellor his skinny latte, and I get to procrastinate thinking about the impending visit from President Greyback at the same time."“Wandsworth. The dodgy end.” Remus said, not seeming particularly bothered by this.“Oh, my brother and nephew live in Wandsworth!” His face lit up, “Which end is the dodgy end?”“Right at the end of the high street, Harris Street. Near the Queen’s Head.” Remus shrugged, frowning slightly.“Oh shit, that is dodgy.” Sirius grimaced. “And you live there with your... wife? Husband? Three loving partners and seven children?”Remus laughed, “No wife anymore. No husband… as of yet. It’s just me and my son.”“You have a son?” Sirius did his best to keep his face neutral. No husband yet. A son? An ex-wife, oh shit, perhaps a late wife?“Yeah, Teddy. Edward. He’s five.” The look that appeared on Remus’ face was so serene when he spoke about his son that Sirius had to focus incredibly hard on what Remus was saying lest he get lost in his sparkling green eyes. “He’s such a good kid.”“I don’t doubt that, I’m sure you bribe him with chocolate biscuits,” Sirius said with a grin, which only widened as Remus laughed again.“Oh no, you’ve discovered my secret.”It was Sirius’ turn to laugh, “So, you and Teddy’s mum…? Sorry, that's personal. Forget I asked.”“No, it's ok. Divorced. Fairly recently, actually.” Remus’ face fell slightly. “She ran off last Christmas with a coworker and I haven’t seen her since apart from when video called Teddy until May. Haven’t heard from her since.”Sirius’ mouth had dropped open and he closed it quickly. “She just left you and your kid?” Remus nodded sadly. “I see. Well, Remus, as prime minister, I could arrange to have her… taken care of.”Remus snorted, “Tempting as that is, Prime Minister, I don’t think Teddy would ever forgive me if I orchestrated a hit on his mum.”“Please, call me Sirius when we’re alone. Prime Minister and Sir sound so…” He shook his head and said, “And yes I suppose that’s fair enough. What about framing her for a crime? I’m sure I could get that done very easily. Nice bit of fraud? Embezzling funds?”“Not necessary, Sirius.” Fuck. His name sounded wonderful in Remus’ accent. “I’m managing fine these days, it’s just Teddy who I’m angry for. Poor kid asked if she’s going to come to his Christmas Show, he’s a fucking lobster, sorry, no he’s the first fucking lobster.”“Oh god forbid the press get wind of that. ‘Local primary school replaces nativity play with woke crustacean scene’!” He grinned, taking in Remus’ melodic laugh again. “What did you tell him, when he asked?”“Oh, shit. Don’t laugh. I told him she’s working for Santa and probably can’t get time off.” He dragged a hand down his face. “So fucking stupid.”Sirius found himself taken aback slightly. “That’s rather sweet, actually.”“Perhaps. I’ve no idea how and when I’m meant to tell him she’s probably never coming back…” He frowned, then his cheeks flushed again and he got to his feet. “Sorry, Sirius, I shouldn’t unload all my family issues on you. You have much more pressing shit to deal with.”“I asked.” Sirius shrugged. As Remus nodded and turned to go he added, “Remember, Remus. Highly trained military assassins are only a phone call away!”Remus laughed as he opened the door, stifling it suddenly as he saw Amelia about to knock. She simply looked from Sirius to Remus then closed the door with a frown at Sirius, and followed Remus down the hallway.“Did you ever have this problem?” Sirius asked the massive and utterly terrifying portrait of Margaret Thatcher on the wall. “No, I imagine not…” He shuddered and picked up a chocolate biscuit, noting that there were four on the plate today.He turned back to the document with the itinerary for US President Fenrir Greyback's visit which started the following day and groaned. This was not sensible at all.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Marlene hunched over her laptop looking out at the lake. She desperately wanted to go and walk along the shore, but she had to finish this chapter first. She couldn’t help but feel like she’d written herself into a corner and she figured that maybe if she got a big piece of paper and drew out her plan by hand she could—The sound of the vacuum cleaner came from the other side of the door and she groaned quietly. Of course. She stood up from her chair and opened the door to the study, to be met with Dorcas’ back as she vacuumed the kitchen with headphones on. Marlene found herself unable to draw her eyes away from the sway of her hips as she moved. She slipped back into the study and closed the door behind her, leaning her head against it with a sigh.Right as she was about to open the door again, loudly, make her presence known, and not stare this time, her phone rang. It was Amelia. Of course, it was Amelia.Surely she wouldn’t be calling unless something major had happened? She groaned as she hit answer.“Hello?”“Hiya, Marls!” Amelia sounded cheerful and immediately, Marlene’s mood plummeted. “How are you doing?”“How am I… doing?” She repeated. “I’m…” She inhaled deeply, shook her head and tossed her hair over her shoulder, lowering her shoulders and standing tall. “I’m well. How are you and Emmeline?”“Marls…”“What do you want, Amy?” Marlene slumped again and sat on the edge of her desk.“I was wondering when you’re coming home. I know you only took a few days' worth of clothes.” Amelia said quietly.“I have a washing machine. I don’t know when I’m coming back, honestly. I said I’d come back for Barty’s costume party on Christmas Eve but, I don’t know if I will or not yet. It’ll depend on—”“Wait… come back from where?” Amelia asked.“Um, Germany?”“You’re in Germany?!” Amelia shouted and Emmeline’s voice was audibly in the background as she repeated it. “What the fuck are you doing in Germany?”“Getting some space. Starting my book. Enjoying the peace. Grieving two relationships.” Marlene heard the shift in sound as she was put on speakerphone. “I’m in Pöcking, Emm. At the lake house.”“Ugh, that old place? Did you really have nowhere else to go? Is that awful old woman still alive?”“Tilda? Yeah, she’s still around. But, yes. Don’t expect me back for Christmas. I’ll arrange a date in January to come by and pack my stuff up once I know where it’ll be going.”“But what am I supposed to tell my family? They’re expecting you on Christmas Day! My mum got you a personalised onesie and everything for the family photo.”“Sounds like something you probably should have considered before fucking my sister, doesn’t it? There’s still a couple of weeks, maybe she can get a refund.” Marlene looked up and noticed the door open and Dorcas seemingly waiting to ask her something.“They’re custom, Marlene! She can’t just get a refund!”“Take a sharpie and write Emmeline’s name over the top then? I really don’t care. Now if you don’t mind, I have to go.”“Marlene! Wait I—”But Marlene had already hung up.She looked at Dorcas and was about to ask her what she needed before she remembered the language barrier. She just needed to remember a few basic things from her AS Level German. She could do this.“Was…” She paused. “Was brauchst du?”Dorcas nodded approvingly, her eyes widening slightly. “Sehr gut, Marlene. Äh, dein Ofen ist im Arsch.”Marlene looked at her helplessly, before Dorcas shook her head and retreated back into the kitchen. Marlene followed her and watched as she opened the oven, flicked all the switches and nothing happened. Dorcas mimed shivering and a smile broke across Marlene’s face.“Kaputt?”“Ja! Kaputt!” Dorcas laughed and Marlene’s heart pinged around her ribcage. “Ich habe es Bathilda erzählt. Sie wird dich anrufen. Du benutzt sowieso einfach die Mikrowelle.”“It’s fine, I only really use the microwave anyway,” Marlene said with an embarrassed little shrug. “I’ll give Bathilda a call later. Thank you. Danke.”“Kein Problem.” Dorcas smiled. “Ich gehe jetzt. Genießen Du Deine Pot Noodle.”“Hey, I understood those last two words! My German must be getting better.” Marlene laughed, then handed Dorcas her coat from the back of the kitchen chair. “Bis Morgen, Dorcas.”“Bis Morgen, Marlene.” Dorcas took the coat from her and as their fingers brushed, a spark shot up both of their arms. She shrugged her coat on, and smiled over her shoulder as she headed for the front door.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As President Greyback’s plane touched down, Sirius was already dreading the few days that would follow. Fenrir Greyback had a reputation for being domineering, demanding and lecherous, and Sirius was still getting used to his new job. He didn’t need this asshole making things even harder.It had been impressed upon him, the need for this meeting to go as smoothly as possible. The previous Prime Minister had made some unfortunate (but very accurate) comments about the President and Sirius had been told on no uncertain terms to ‘kiss his arse, and use tongue’.“Prime Minister Black!” Greyback greeted him with a firm handshake once he deplaned. “Really thought I’d be meeting the other guy, but then again, I have no idea of the difference between the two of you so it doesn’t really matter, does it?”Sirius chuckled awkwardly. “President Greyback, it’s wonderful to have you here! I’m sorry that your wife couldn’t make it.”“I’m not.” Greyback smirked, “Gives me more opportunity to explore this… wonderful country of yours.”“Hmmm.” Sirius nodded, “Yes, well. We have the presser booked for tomorrow morning. This afternoon you can get settled and then I thought this evening we could meet for a drink and to discuss the finer details of our alliance for tomorrow.”“Sounds fantastic.” Greyback clapped him on the back, almost sending him flying as they posed for a few press photographers allowed onto the tarmac to document the historic occasion.That evening, Greyback and Sirius were in Sirius’ office, looking through paperwork on the terms of this new alliance that they would announce tomorrow.“Almost done I think, just need to touch on something very close to my heart, then we can call it a night.” Sirius pulls out a file.“Jesus, Black, who is it I have to screw around here to get another drink?” Greyback laughed a little too loudly.A knock came at the door before Sirius could pick up his phone, and Remus poked his head around. “Hi, oh… sorry, sir, didn’t realise you had company. Can I get either of you a drink before I head home?” He asked, eyeing Greyback cautiously.“More scotch please…” Greyback paused, waiting for his name.“Remus.”“More scotch please, Remus,” he smiled lasciviously at the younger man and Sirius felt his heart pounding. Surely he should say something, but Remus was a grown man. He didn’t want to patronise him by butting in. Perhaps Remus had a sneaky thing for the President. Sirius really hoped that he didn’t.“I’ll fetch a fresh bottle, Mr President,” Remus said with a small smile.After the door closed behind him, Greyback let out a low whistle. “Damn, English boys are so cute.”“Well, he’s a man, legally, uh, thankfully, and he’s also Welsh, not English, so…”Greyback waved his comments off, “‘I’ll fetch a fresh bottle, Mr President.’” He didn’t even attempt a Welsh accent, and landed somewhere between cockney and West Country, which was utterly bizarre. “Adorable! Are all of your aides that cute?”“Cute?” Sirius choked on his own saliva.“I know you’re not blind, Black. He’s very cute. He into guys?” Greyback asked.“Oh, I doubt it. I don’t think he…” Sirius’ mind had gone completely blank. “I just need to go and make a phone call, won’t be long.”Sirius stood up from the sofa and left his office, leaving a chuckling Greyback in the armchair by the fire.He paced back and forth in the bathroom down the hall from his office.“Alright Pads?” James sounded exhausted and he immediately felt bad for bothering him after nine pm.“Did I wake you up?”“Nah, I was just watching the new Lindsay Lohan Christmas film. Harry decided he wanted to watch it but then he ended up going to bed a little while ago. Not that he’ll be sleeping for another five hours probably… Sorry mate. Is everything ok?”“Yes, I’m just drinking whiskey with the fucking president and he fancies Remus.” Sirius hissed.“Greyback? Doesn’t he have a wife and kids?”“Yep! He does. But then Remus came in to offer us a drink before he went home and Greyback asked if all of my aides were as cute as Remus! Professed how cute all ‘English boys’ are.” Sirius groaned.“And you said ‘no because if I had more than one of them to fantasise about, I’d get no work done!’, right?”“Fuck off, Jamie.” He pushed his hair back off his face. “God he’s such a twat. I have no idea what the American voters are thinking.”“I don’t think even they know, to be fair.” James mused.“Fair. Ugh. I should get back before Remus comes back and I have to pick Greyback’s jaw up off the floor.” He shuddered. “Can’t believe I have to kiss his arse in the name of diplomatic relations.”“That’s the job, mate. Sorry.” James said. “You’ll do great tomorrow though. I believe in you.”“Cheers. You and Harry want to come round for dinner tomorrow night? I feel like I haven’t seen you both in ages.”“If I can prise Harry from his room, we’ll be there. The promise of seeing you might actually do it, though. Yeah, that’d be great.” James smiled.“Alright, see you tomorrow then.”“See you tomorrow.”Sirius hung up and straightened the collar of his shirt before heading back to his office.“Sorry, my brother lost his wife recently and I just needed to—“ He froze with his hand still on the door handle as he took in the scene in front of him.Next to the roaring fireplace stood Remus and Greyback. Remus’ hands were on Greyback’s shoulders, and the president’s lips were on his neck, as he held on to Remus' hips. Upon Sirius’ appearance, Remus extricated himself from Greyback’s clutch and stepped back quickly, unable to look Sirius in the eye.Greyback turned and looked at Sirius with a glint in his eye, straightened his tie then picked up his glass. “Great scotch, Black.”“I’ll just… be going.” Remus avoided looking at either of them as he headed to the door. Sirius stepped aside to let him through, hoping that he’d look up so he could see what Remus was thinking.“It was a privilege to meet you, Remus. I truly hope that I’ll get to see more of you, as our two great countries worth together.” Greyback smirked as he sat back in the armchair.Sirius bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from saying something he’d regret.“Thank you, sir,” Remus said, not looking back as he left the room and closed the door behind him.“So, what was it you wanted to discuss? Something close to your heart, was it?” Greyback leaned back in the chair and sipped the whiskey, a knowing smile on his face.“Yes, right. Yes.” He picked up the file he’d set down before leaving to call James, hoping the president wouldn’t notice how much his hands were shaking.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Xenophilius Lovegood stood up from his seat and took the microphone offered to him. “Xenophilius Lovegood from The Quibbler. “Mr President, have you enjoyed your visit?”Greyback smiled blindingly, “Oh, yeah, very much so. Your Prime Minister and his entire team have made me feel very welcome. We got what we came for, and the special relationship is still very special. I hope that we will only get closer with time.”Sirius clenched his jaw and gripped the edge of his lectern so hard that his knuckles were beyond white, almost into lilac territory.“Prime Minister?” Lovegood turned to look at him.“Well, the word relationship is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, honestly. It’s a funny word really. Relationship. It can mean all manner of things. I was told in no uncertain terms that this meeting with President Greyback should involve a lot of smiling and nodding and that I should be prepared to sacrifice in the name of the relationship between our countries. Atone for the previous government’s mistakes, an all too familiar theme. But I have to be honest with you all this morning. Some sacrifices simply are not worth it, and I fear that this special relationship has taken a toxic turn, as they often do when one party holds considerably more power. Unfortunately, President Greyback has only seemed interested in taking whatever he wants, and casually ignoring the things that matter.” He paused, “The things that matter to Britain. We may be a small country, but we are a great country, and a friend that bullies us is no longer a friend. So from now on, I am prepared to be less friendly, and more assertive when it comes to the respect that people show to you…” His eyes met Remus’ at the back of the room and he almost choked, “That is, you, the British people, of course. So the President should be prepared for that going forward.”With that, he unclipped his microphone pack and set it on the lectern before leaving the room. As he walked through the door he heard the press erupt behind him and he quickly left for his apartment in Number Eleven. What the fuck had he just done?
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sirius had felt sick for the rest of the day. He hadn’t seen Remus at all, a lady whose name he embarrassingly didn’t know had brought him his coffee sans biscuits and had come to the conclusion that he had gone home after the press conference. Sirius had a meeting with various high-ranking members of his party, several peers and a representative for the Royal Family and received a thorough bollocking for the way he had behaved at the press conference. He didn’t particularly care though. Given the chance, he’d do it again.He looked down at the file on his desk and frowned. Regardless of the way Greyback had treated him and his staff, well, Remus, his disdain for Sirius’ plans to ensure equality for all LGBTQ+ people across the UK and USA, with an initial focus on trans healthcare had been palpable. He doubled down on the numerous anti-trans laws that plagued America and refused to listen when Sirius told him the outcomes for many trans people who are denied the healthcare they need and support to transition. How was he supposed to be civil to a man who would kiss Remus’ neck but would take away Sirius’ right to marry another man, and Regulus’ right to exist given the chance?Of course, his colleagues didn’t care about this. They only cared about how this made the UK look on the global stage. Sirius refused to apologise, and President Greyback returned to his hotel. According to Amelia, he was planning to fly back to Washington that evening. Sirius found that he didn't particularly care.Sirius looked up from his screen at her. “Amelia, light of my life. I need a favour.”“As long as it’s not sabotaging Air Force One.” She smiled tightly at him.“No, of course not. Although… no, of course not.” He paused, his hands twisting on the desk in front of him. “Don’t ask me why, and please don’t read anything into this, it’s just one of those… personality things. It’s about Remus.”She arched an eyebrow. “What about him?”“Well, I was hoping it would be possible to… redistribute him? Maybe send him over to the treasury or something. I’m sure he’s a nice chap but—”“Consider it done.” She smirked slightly, “I can’t blame you. He’s… weird.”“Weird?” Sirius echoed.“Yes. He has a kid. No mum in the picture, and I saw him at The Book Club a few weeks ago and he was kissing some guy. For someone approaching thirty, you’d think that he’d have grown out of the weird confused phase. He's a dad for god's sake. Feel a little bad for the kid, honestly.”Sirius just stared at her, his jaw set. “I see.”Amelia suddenly seemed to remember who she was talking to and straightened her shoulders. “I’ll see to his transfer personally, sir.”“Thank you, Amelia.” He said tightly. “That will be all. I’m leaving the office at six o'clock sharp to cook dinner for my brother and nephew, so please hold all calls after half past five.”“Absolutely, sir.” She nodded and left the room.Sirius felt empty. It really wasn’t fair on Remus to change his job simply because of one misstep with Greyback, but when Sirius had caught his eye during the press conference it was like his mind went blank, and he couldn’t risk having such a distraction around. For both of their sakes.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Harry looked around, fascinated as Rubeus led them through to Sirius’ apartment. James had been right about the promise of seeing Sirius being enough to drag Harry from his room to his and Sirius' relief.Sirius pulled both of them into a hug, “Jesus, I’m so glad to see you both. Today has been a day.”“Why did you piss the president off, Pads?” Harry asked. “Hermione has been talking about it all day.”“Oh, Harry, it’s… a long story, mate. Politics is complicated, but he and I don’t agree on a lot of things, and I just lost my cool in the moment and spoke from the heart. I’ve had a lot of people telling me off all afternoon, believe me.”“Oh. So it wasn’t because he’s a complete wanker?”“Harry!” James sighed as Sirius snorted.“It’s what Hermione said! And Mrs Sinastra agreed!” Harry said with a shrug.“Yeah. That too, to be honest.” Sirius told him. “But you can’t tell anyone I told you that.”Harry mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key. There was something about him that was off. It was to be expected of course. It had barely been two weeks since Lily had died, but it was more than that, Sirius could tell.As they sat down on the sofas with pizza and Sirius passed Harry the remote, he asked gently “So, what’s going on with you, Harry? Is it… is it just your mum? Or is it something else? Something at school? Are you being bullied? Or… something else?” Harry looked over at him, wide-eyed. “Can you give us a clue, buddy?”“You really want to know?” Harry looked between his dad and Sirius.James nodded, “Of course, we do, beta.”“Even though you won’t be able to do anything to help?” Harry settled on Home Alone and paused it, sensing this wouldn’t be a quick chat.“Yeah, even if that’s the case.” Sirius nodded.“Oh, alright.” Harry smiled awkwardly, “Well, the truth is… actually… I’m in love.”James and Sirius shared a look. “What?” Sirius asked, “Did you say—”“Look, I know I should be thinking about Mum all the time, and I am, I swear, but the truth is… I’m in love, and there’s nothing I can do about it?”“Aren’t you a bit young to be in love?” James asked.Sirius snorted as Harry shook his head, “Like you didn’t fall head over heels in love with Lily when you were eleven.”“Oh, yeah, I suppose that’s a fair point. Well, it’s honestly a bit of a relief.” James visibly relaxed and picked up a slice of pizza.“Relieved?” Sirius asked. “Why?”“Well, I just thought it would be something worse.” James shrugged.“Worse than the total agony of being in love?” Harry looked up at his dad, his face a picture of resolute sincerity.“Oh, well when you put it like that…” James made eye contact with Sirius over Harry’s head, looking more than a little panicked. “So, it’s someone at school?”“Yes,” Harry said around a mouthful of pizza.“And how does this person… how do they feel about you?” Sirius noted James’ use of gender-neutral pronouns and smiled to himself.“She doesn’t even know my name.” Harry sighed and leaned against the back of the sofa. “Everyone worships the ground she walks on because she’s heaven.”“Right…” Sirius floundered slightly. “Well, I guess you’re kinda fucked then, bud.”Harry stared at him for a moment before bursting into raucous laughter. Something neither James nor Sirius had heard in weeks. “You don’t even know the worst part.” He chuckled eventually.“It gets worse?” Sirius asked in mock horror, drawing another laugh from Harry.“She’s going back to Liverpool once we break up for Christmas.” He frowned.“Your girl’s a scouser?” James asked.“She’s not my girl, dad. But yes. She’s from Liverpool. Her family moved here a few years ago, but her brother moved back there last year with his weird girlfriend and her mum and dad have decided to move back.” He sighed. “Which is the end of my life as I know it.”“Alright, we don’t need Home Alone. We need The Holiday, stat.” Sirius grabbed the remote back from Harry, ruffling his hair in the process. “Let’s get our romcom on, young Casanova.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Benjy was exhausted. His flight had been delayed seven hours, and upon landing, his baggage was the very last case on the luggage carousel. The airport Wi-Fi was bloody awful, and the transport to the cabin he was staying in had long left and still charged him for the trouble.A bus stopped nearby, but it stopped running at 9 p.m. and started again at 6:21 a.m., so he had seven hours to kill. Wonderful!By the time he got to the cabin, a little after 9 am the following day, he was cold, tired and hangry. He decided that jet lag would win that day and fell asleep in the same grubby clothes that he’d travelled in, barely having the energy to kick his shoes off before he crashed onto the bed.When he woke up that evening, he was disoriented and it took him a moment to remember where he was.Once he was fully awake, he showered, put on fresh clothes, ate a whole tube of Salt and Vinegar Pringles and googled the closest bar. It was time to work his charm!When he arrived at Smokey Joe’s, he was excitedly buzzing. It wasn’t much to look at from the outside, but he reasoned that was probably what he wanted rather than some bougie-ass bar where he’d feel thoroughly out of place.He opened the door and felt dozens of pairs of eyes flicker to look at him. He schooled his expression into a bright smile and headed for the bar. He looked along the taps on the bar.“What can I get ya, darlin’?” A deep voice asked from behind the bar.“Alright, mate? Can I have a pint of Snoqualmie Wildcat IPA, please?” He said, sitting on a bar stool and leaning on the slightly sticky bar.He looked up at the bartender and a grin broke across his weary face. He had never seen such a stereotypical ‘all-American’ man in his entire life. A crown of golden waves and possibly the most beautiful face he’d ever seen, smiling as he tossed a teatowel over his shoulder. Benjy let his eyes follow the motion and his eyes dragged across his broad shoulders, down his biceps which were straining against the tight white t-shirt he wore. He blinked a few times before realising the man had spoken to him.“Sorry, what?” He could feel his cheeks heating up.The man smirked knowingly, “You’re English, right?” Benjy nodded, “What brings you to Snoqualmie?”“Boredom, honestly. Fancied a change, so I booked a cabin out here for a couple of months. My mates think I’m mental.”“‘My mates think I’m mental’!” The other man tried to copy his accent and failed miserably. “What is that accent, man?”“Brummie, er, from Birmingham. The UK one, not… Alabama.”“Well, I got that much.” The man handed him the pint and shook his head as Benjy offered his card. “First one’s on me. You got a name?”“Benjy.” Benjy said, suddenly wondering if he should have said ‘Ben’ or ‘Benjamin’. Would those have sounded cooler to this adonis’ ears?“Benjy.” The man said, nodding, “I’m Caradoc.”“That’s not a very American name.” Benjy realised when Caradoc laughed that he’d said this aloud. “Shit, sorry…”“It’s ok. Were you expecting me to be called Chad?”“Or Brad.” Benjy chuckled. “Caradoc, though. It’s a lovely name. Suits you.”“Thanks, it’s Welsh actually. My Gram is Welsh, and my Mom named me after her Gramps. I like it now, but as a kid, it was a lot.”“No way, my best mate’s Welsh!” Benjy grinned at him. “From Cardiff. Does all your family have Welsh names?”“My sisters are literally called Chelsea and Ashlee.” Caradoc shook his head with a laugh. “My mum is called Carys though, which is cute I suppose.’“And your gram?”“Bethan.” Caradoc smiled, almost shyly and Benjy’s whole body tensed involuntarily.“Oh, that’s well cute!” He sipped his pint, “Oh, this is really good!”“It’s made locally, the brewery is really cool if you get the chance to go.”“Hmmm, perhaps I need a local tour guide. Know anyone who could show me around?” Benjy asked in a low voice, taking note of how Caradoc’s eyes darkened slightly. He didn’t know if Caradoc was single. Hell, he didn’t even know if Caradoc was into men, but for some reason, he felt brave, and he was going to act on it while he still could.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
“Dad, did you ever do something stupid for love?” Harry asked from the corner of the sofa.“Oh, jaan, I did so many stupid things for love. I annoyed the shit out of your mum for years before I grew up and she realised I wasn't so bad after all. I’m sure Sirius would regale you with the worst of them if you ask him. Why do you ask?”“Well, you know the Christmas concert?” James nodded, “Ginny is singing in it. She’s amazing. You should hear her, Dad! And well… the thing is, they asked if anyone could play instruments, and they were looking for a drummer and I… may have lied and volunteered and rehearsals start on Monday and I haven’t magically learned to play the drums like I hoped I might…”James snorted, “Oh, you’re my kid alright. Alright, let me call Sirius.”“What’s Sirius going to do about it?” Harry frowned, “Plus, surely he’s busy doing Prime Minister things. He’s got more world leaders to piss off, surely.”“Sirius used to be a drummer back when we were teenagers. He thought it was a great way to pick up girls until he realised he didn’t want to pick up girls. I’m pretty sure he still has his old kit somewhere though.” James said, dialling Sirius’ number.As James explained the predicament, Harry heard Sirius bark out a laugh down the phone.“Fancy some drum lessons tomorrow?” James said as he hung up the phone. “Drum lessons from the Prime Minister. You’re going to write a hell of a memoir one day, beta.”“He’s got time to teach me?” Harry’s eyes were wide as James pulled him into a hug.“He has all the time in the world for you. Prime Minister or not, ok? Now, you picked the last film, so it’s my turn, and I think it’s time to watch… Miracle on 34th Street.”
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Remus frowned as Mary set down a pint in front of him. It had been three days since Amelia had told him that Sirius had requested he be moved over to the treasury and while the job itself was actually a lot less pressure, he was bloody annoyed. He thought that he and Sirius had a rapport, he’d seemed interested in Remus, as a person, not as anything more, Remus wasn’t delusional. He’d asked about him, where he lived, not so subtly asking about his relationship status, after all. Perhaps he’d read into it too much. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done that.“Oi.” Mary snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Get out of your grumpy head and talk to me. What happened?”“Well, I told you about the thing with… the… guy?” Remus said, looking at her pointedly.“Ah yes’the guy’ . So walk me through it.”“I brought in a bottle of whiskey, the other guy had left the room to make a phone call, and as I poured him a glass, he pulled me towards him, and held me by my hips. I literally have finger-shaped bruises! He held me by my hips and started kissing my fucking neck. I was trying to push him away when the other guy came back and… I don’t even know. He just looked at me blankly. I couldn’t look him in the eye. I know exactly what it looked like, and I just wanted to get the hell out of there. Anyway, I showed up for work Monday morning and that bitchy cow, Amelia, told me that on the other guy’s request I’ve been moved across the road to work... in another department.” He paused, “And I think the thing that bothers me the most, is that I’m technically the victim here. I was manhandled by the Pr— by the guy, god these code names are so bad, I was the one who was groped in the workplace, you know?”“You should get a lawyer, honestly,” Mary said. “That’s such bullshit! You’d think that the other guy would have talked to you about it, or even HR or someone, before just moving your job without telling you. You said that the two of you were getting on well.”“I thought we were.” Remus had a few gulps of his pint. “But I guess that’s just how he is. They’re all the same. I should have known, to be honest. I feel pretty stupid now.”“I still say you should sue.”“This isn’t the US, Mary. I know I probably could, but would it even be worth it? You know the press would get hold of it and I’d be ‘the bloke that the guy groped’, and I don’t want Teddy or my mum to have to deal with that.” He lowered his voice, "Two words. Monica. Lewinsky."Mary’s face fell, “I’m so sorry, honey. You deserve so much better than everything the last year has thrown at you.”“Well, things can only get better now, right?” He forced a smile. “Apart from having to tell Teddy that his mum almost certainly isn’t coming to his Christmas show and that she probably isn’t coming back at all, ever. Which I should probably do this weekend…”"She still hasn't replied?" Mary drained her glass and set it down harder than she meant to."Nope. The last message I sent said that if I didn't hear from her by tomorrow I'd assume she's coming and tell Teddy. I just don't understand her at all. Like, sure, leave me, but Teddy?" He dragged his hand down his face.“You’ll be there. Your mom will be there. Heck, I’ll come. I’ll be there for him. Auntie Mary cheers the loudest!” Remus laughed softly. “Look, this all sucks. I won’t sugarcoat it. It fucking sucks, but you’ve got this. Fuck the stupid prime minister and—”Remus glared at her. “Mary!”“Fuck the guy and the other guy and your stupid ex-wife, and stupid Benjy fuckin’ off for two months. Fuck ‘em all! You, me, Hope and Teddy! We’re going to have a fuckin’ great Christmas, I don’t even care—”“Ok, you’re drunk.” Remus laughed. “Let’s get you home, lightweight."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sirius was done with work until the New Year, not that being Prime Minister really had much downtime. He was so ready to just get back to his apartment, blast some music, and let the stress of the last month go—or at least some of it.He scrolled through Spotify before deciding on Chappel Roan’s album. He cooked himself some dinner. Well, he reheated some frozen pasta sauce and boiled some pasta. He poured himself a glass of whiskey, sniffed it, and then poured it down the sink. He had a lovely bottle of Talisker single malt that he’d been enjoying occasionally, but since the incident with Greyback and Remus, the smell of whiskey made him feel nauseous.He braced his arms against the sink. Before he could think about it too much, he was moving his hips in time with the intro to Hot to Go. When the vocals came in, he spun around and suddenly he was in his own music video. He picked up a bottle of balsamic vinegar, now his microphone, and sang to his reflection in the fridge.He danced across the living room as the chorus kicked in, spinning and making the letters with his arms. He jumped on the sofa, pretending to be performing to a sea of adoring fans on the floor.He pointed at various imaginary fans as he sang along. At James and Harry, at Lily, at Reg, at Remus, and then as he turned to jump off the sofa, he saw Rubeus standing in the doorway, looking anywhere but at Sirius.“Alexa, pause.” Sirius choked out, his face turning a darker red than his tie as he stepped down from the sofa gingerly. “Ah, Rubeus, I didn’t hear you come in… can I help you with something?”“I did knock, Sir. Several times. Amelia asked me to give these to you, sir.” He handed Sirius a bundle of Christmas cards with a post-it note on the top that simply said ‘Give these a read, a random sample. Merry Christmas - A’.“Right, yes… well, thank you, I suppose. I shall…” He waved the cards, “I’ll get to that, then.”Rubeus looked like he was desperately trying to fight back a smile. “Alright then. Good night, sir.”“Goodnight, Rubeus.” Sirius nodded as Rubeus left the room, then let himself fall onto the sofa and groaned into a cushion.After half an hour of self-loathing, he sat up and picked up the cards, pasta and whiskey completely forgotten. He opened the top one. It was from the MP for Tamworth, full of the usual platitudes. He rolled his eyes and set it to one side. The next one was from Pomona, which was actually very sweet. He set it open on the coffee table.He recognised the writing on the third one. The same writing that had written ‘hiraeth’ on his password piece of paper that he looked at frequently, and not just because he kept forgetting his password. He hesitated before opening it. He could just pretend he never got it. His hands acted of their own accord and it was open before he could think about it anymore, and he pulled out the card gently. On the front was a vintage photo of biscuits with the caption ‘The only thing better than a biscuit is two biscuits’. Sirius laughed and felt a lump rise in his throat. He took a deep breath before opening the card.
Dear sir, Dear Sirius,
I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
I’m so sorry about the thing that happened. It was a truly bizarre moment that I didn’t welcome and I’ve felt like an absolute idiot ever since. Mostly because - and if you can’t say it at Christmas, when can you? - I’m actually yours.
Love
Remus
PS: The chancellor doesn’t get biscuits
On the other side was a scribbly drawing of someone that Sirius assumed was supposed to be him based on the black scribbles surrounding what he assumed was the head. ‘From Teddy, he insisted.’ was written in Remus’ handwriting under it.Sirius wiped away a tear that he hadn’t realised had fallen. Oh, shit. Had he misread the situation that he’d walked into? He really should have spoken to Remus about it. Not as the Prime Minister, but as someone who— No. He shouldn’t think like that.He set the card down next to Pomona’s, then picked it up again and re-read it. I’m actually yours. He shook his head and stood up, still clutching it. He strode to the front door of his apartment where Rubeus was scrolling Facebook.“I’m going to need a car, Rubeus.” He said breathlessly.“You are?” He looked surprised. “Where are you going, sir?”“Wandsworth. The dodgy bit. Harris Street.”“Oh, that is dodgy. You sure, sir?” Rubeus asked, before picking up his phone. “I’ll have Frank come around, sir. He should be about five minutes.“Thank you. Merry Christmas, Rubeus!” Sirius called back as he took the stairs two at a time.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
As they approached Harris Street, Sirius realised when Frank asked that he didn’t know which number Remus lived at. He frowned.“No idea, actually. Bad planning on my part, Frank. Well, no planning, really, I suppose.” He debated for a moment. “Just… park up. We’re going knocking on doors.”“We?” Frank said but didn’t argue further.Another thing Sirius hadn’t accounted for was the possibility that Remus might not be at home.The first three doors he knocked at, he had no response.The fourth was an old lady who scowled at him. “You’re that bloke…” She narrowed her eyes at him as if trying to place him. “Are you that friend of my Tom? The one who stole his missus?”“Uh, no, definitely not the lady stealing friend of Tom I’m afraid. I’m sure he’s a lovely guy, though.” Sirius smiled, “I’m looking for Remus Lupin?”“He don’t live here.” She shrugged.“Right. Well, thank you for your time. Merry Christmas.” Sirius said, turning away.The next few doors also held no joy. The eighth door was opened by a stunning woman with purple hair that framed her face in tight curls like a halo.“Fucking hell.” She muttered as she saw Sirius standing there.“Uh, hello. I’m looking for—““He lives next door.” She said, leaning on the doorframe and looking thoroughly unimpressed. Sirius noted the American accent and plastered a winning smile on his face, about to thank her. “Dunno if he’ll want to see you, though. He’s not a huge fan of yours lately.”“Ah, so you’re a friend of his.” Sirius felt his face heat up. “Well, yes, that’s totally fair. I haven’t treated him well.”“You’ll wanna be quick if you want to catch him, it’s Teddy’s Christmas show tonight and he’ll be leaving any minute.” She said, looking at him pointedly. “Go on then.”“Oh, right. Thank you. Merry Christmas.”“Hmmm.” She grumbled before closing the door.Sirius stepped over the shrubs separating the two front doors and rang the doorbell, smiling as he heard the tinny rendition of Jingle Bells from inside. The door was opened by an older woman who studied Sirius’ face.“Oh, bloody hell.” She said softly. Her accent was stronger than Remus’. “Remus, love. You have a visitor.”“Who? We’re running late, and… where the fuck is my fucking coat?” Remus appeared at the top of the stairs, then froze as he noticed standing in the doorway.“Uh, hi,” Sirius said as Remus stared at him.“What are you doing here?” Remus descended the stairs slowly, “No, you know what, I don’t have time for this, Sirius. We’re already running late. Teddy!”A very cute little boy dressed in the most ridiculous lobster costume Sirius could have imagined emerged from a doorway. “Time to go?”“Time to go. Can you put your shoes on or do you need Mam-gu to help?” Remus said, looking through the pile of coats hanging on the end of the bannister.Teddy tried to bend down to see if he could put his shoes on and almost overbalanced. The woman caught him and directed him to sit on the stairs and put his shoes on for him.Sirius watched this domestic scene in silence until Remus looked at him. “Well?”“I was hoping that I could... talk to you?” Sirius said.“We have to be at the school in fifteen minutes. I don’t have time right now, Sirius.” He said, shrugging on a denim jacket that was certainly not adequate for the freezing temperatures that night, but Sirius wasn’t about to critique his choice in outerwear.“You can get a lift with me. I just… I got your card.”Remus chewed on his lower lip. “My mum, and Mary and…”“You go with Sirius, love. I’ll drive Mary and we’ll meet you there.” Remus’ mum said with a small smile.“Can I come with you? Do you have a fancy car?” Teddy asked Sirius.Sirius looked at Remus, then shrugged. “Of course you can, Teddy. Thank you for your drawing, by the way. It was so good! I’m thinking about hanging it in my office with the official portraits of past prime ministers if it’s ok with you?”Teddy glowed with pride and nodded as Remus snorted almost inaudibly. “Yeah, ok,” Teddy said. “You could frame it if you want.”“That’s a fantastic idea.” Sirius smiled at him and Remus tried not to melt at the way Sirius was interacting with his son. It didn’t make up for everything. It didn’t begin to touch it, frankly.“Alright. Ted, you ready cyw?” Remus asked. “You sure you’re ok driving mam?”His mum nodded then turned to Sirius. “I’m Hope, by the way, since my son apparently has no manners.”“Mam! I’m a bit distracted, sorry for not…”“Sirius Black, Prime Minister,” Sirius said, holding out his hand.“Yes, I know who you are,” Hope said with a laugh.“The lady at number four asked if I was her son’s girlfriend-stealing friend. I’ve learned not to assume that people know who I am, this evening.” Hope laughed as Remus kissed her cheek and ushered Teddy towards the door. “Alright, lovely to meet you, Hope. Merry Christmas!”“Merry Christmas to you, Prime Minister!” Hope said quietly as she watched the three of them walk down the street towards Sirius’ car.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Marlene had finished her first draft and she was elated. She opened a bottle of wine to celebrate, even though it was only ten in the morning. She greeted Dorcas warmly as she arrived and made her a coffee, setting her open laptop down on the kitchen counter next to her wine glass. Dorcas eyed the glass of wine warily and raised an eyebrow at Marlene.“Uh, erste buche… the fuck is the word for done? Uh, erste buche alles…” She gestured wildly with her hands trying to mime ‘done’, and proceeded to knock the glass of wine all over her laptop, and Dorcas. "Fuck!"She stood frozen to the spot as Dorcas fluidly pulled her t-shirt over her head and began dabbing at the laptop with it. She took in the black lace bra, the belly button piercing, the tattoos dotted across her torso and was rendered utterly useless. Dorcas looked over at her, panicked.“Dein Buch!” She said, “Marlene!”Marlene snapped out of her stupor quickly, grabbed a tea towel and began dabbing at the laptop gingerly. After it was evident that the laptop wouldn’t turn on she turned it upside down and propped it open like a little tent in the hopes that would somehow help. She looked over at Dorcas, who seemed to have suddenly realised that she was in Marlene’s kitchen shirtless and looked quite uncomfortable.Marlene held up one finger and ran to her room. She pulled a t-shirt out of her wardrobe with a picture of a small duck holding the lesbian flag on it, ran back to the kitchen and handed it to her.Suddenly her eyes widened. They were both such idiots. She began to laugh uncontrollably until Dorcas was staring at her and chuckling along. Marlene pulled out her phone and said “We are so stupid.”Her phone’s little robot voice, for some reason in an Australian accent, said, “Wir sind so dumm.”Dorcas' eyes widened, and then she choked on a laugh as she pulled the t-shirt over her head, but then she was cackling, almost doubled over as she took out her own phone. “Wie konnten wir nicht daran denken?”“How could we not think of that?” Dorcas’ phone said, disappointingly not in an Australian accent.“Marlene, dein Buch! Hast du gerade Ihr Buch verloren?” Became "Marlene, your book! Did you just lose your book?”“It's all backed up to the cloud. Multiple places. I've learned that the hard way. It's fine. My laptop was insanely slow anyway.” Marlene laughed. “Alles wird in der Cloud gesichert. Mehrere Standorte. Ich habe das auf die harte Tour gelernt. Es ist okay. Mein Laptop war sowieso unglaublich langsam.“Jetzt bekommst du also ein neues. Vielleicht war das kein Unfall?” Dorcas leaned back against the counter as her phone said “So now you get a new one. Maybe that wasn't an accident?”Marlene raised a finger to her lips and grinned, “Sorry about your t-shirt. Can I wash it for you?” She asked, “Das mit deinem T-Shirt tut mir leid. Kann ich es für dich waschen?”“Ja, das wäre schön. Danke.” Dorcas said and Marlene was thrilled that she actually understood that without the robotic voice saying “Yes that would be nice. Thank you.”She nodded and chucked the t-shirt and tea towel in the washing machine. Once she’d put it on to wash, she stood up and smiled at Dorcas, not really knowing what to say now, but not wanting the conversation to end.“Worum geht es in Ihrem Buch?” Dorcas asked her phone, “What is your book about?”Marlene considered how to answer this. “It's a romance book... about two women who fall in love when they are at University, and then they reconnect later in life.” Her robot wingwoman repeated, “Es ist ein Liebesbuch über zwei Frauen, die sich während des Studiums verlieben und später im Leben wieder zueinander finden.”“Ach, Lesben?” Dorcas said, and Marlene nodded, not needing the translation. "Schreibst du aus Erfahrung?” Marlene’s cheeks went pink as the voice said, "Are you writing from experience?”“A bit, I guess. However, I haven't had my magical, all-consuming love affair yet.” She grimaced as the words left her lips, and watched Dorcas’ face very closely. “Ein bisschen, schätze ich. Allerdings hatte ich noch nicht meine magische, alles verzehrende Liebesbeziehung.Dorcas studied her for a moment, “Das ist eine große Schande.” She said in a low voice, but before the little voice could translate, her phone rang. “Sorry.” She said, before ducking out of the room.Marlene stood in the empty kitchen for a moment trying to process the conversation they’d just had. She was sure she hadn’t imagined the spark between them. The way Dorcas’ eyes lingered on hers, dropping down to her lips almost involuntarily. She went to her room and closed the door behind her, looking at the suitcase on the bed. This wasn’t smart. Not the day before she was due to fly back for Christmas, at Barty’s incessant request. Perhaps she could get Dorcas’ number and they could text. But to what end? Marlene didn’t know what her plans were after spending Christmas and New Year in Barty and Regulus’ spare room. She should probably focus on finding somewhere to live in London, but the thought of staying here in this ridiculous cabin…She was shaken out of her thoughts by a knock at her bedroom door. Dorcas’ face was a picture of anxiety when she opened it.“Meine Schwester hat Wehen und ich muss ins Krankenhaus. Könnten Sie mich zum Bahnhof fahren?” She held her phone up urgently as it said “My sister is in labour and I have to go to the hospital. Could you drive me to the train station?”“Yes, of course.” Marlene nodded and grabbed a hoodie out of her suitcase “Would you like me to drive you to the hospital instead?” She said into her phone. “Möchten Sie stattdessen, dass ich Sie ins Krankenhaus fahre?”Dorcas’ face did something complicated as she nodded, “Thank you.”“De nada, wait no, that’s… Oh bloody hell.” Marlene muttered as she pulled on her boots and grabbed her keys. “Allons-y!”Dorcas let out a laugh that seemed to surprise even her and followed her to the car. Marlene put the radio on and they sat in silence as Cher, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter played, a little too joyfully for the situation.As Marlene was pulling into a parking space, Dorcas said, “Vielen Dank, Marlene. Ich werde dich auf seltsame Weise vermissen, auch wenn du so seltsam und so chaotisch bist. Ich hoffe, Ihr Buch ist genau das, was Sie sich wünschen. Ich wünschte, du würdest bleiben.”She didn’t have her phone in her hand, so Marlene only got the odd word, but she felt the sentiment crawling beneath her ribs. “Maybe I’ll come back in the new year, and we can…” She felt herself leaning towards Dorcas, and her heart sped up as she realised that Dorcas was leaning in too. Her hand came up to touch Marlene’s face reverently and they stayed there, noses brushing and breath mingling for a moment too long because before either of them could take that dangerous step into something new, they were interrupted by Dorcas’ phone once again.Marlene pulled back, a sad smile on her face as Dorcas answered the phone, answering in a blaze of quick German that Marlene had no chance of understanding. As she hung up, she turned to Marlene and said, “Deine Ex-Freundin ist ein Idiot und du verdienst die Welt. Sei glücklich, Marlene.”, pressed a kiss to Marlene’s cheek, and left the car.Marlene sat there for almost twenty minutes trying to fathom what had just happened.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Two grilled cheese, a golden latte and a tea, please, Eddie,” Caradoc said to the man behind the counter in The Black Dog.“Comin’ right up, Doc,” Eddie replied with a grin, looking between him and Benjy. “Gonna introduce me to your cute friend?”Caradoc huffed out a sigh, “Eddie, this is Benjy, Benjy, this is Eddie, my friend since second grade, and pain in my ass ever since.”“Nice to meet you, mate.” Benjy held out his hand, which Eddie shook with an intrigued glint in his eye.“Yeah, you too. You’re English?” He asked, and Benjy nodded. “Of course you are.” Eddie burst into raucous laughter, surprising Benjy and drawing the attention of several other patrons.“Shut uuup!” Caradoc dragged a hand down his face. “Don’t you have work to do?”Ed winked at his friend as he walked off to put their order in and Caradoc turned to Benjy, a blush rising up his neck. Benjy tilted his head slightly, waiting for Caradoc to explain what Ed had meant by ’Of course you are’.Caradoc sighed, “I should probably explain that… It’s just— You know how as teenagers a lot of people had a horrifically obsessive Twilight phase, or I suppose in England, a Doctor Who phase, maybe?” Benjy nodded, unsure where this was going, “Well, I had a phase where I was obsessed with the UK, where I was convinced I was going to marry David Tennant and live in a castle with pet swans and—““Pet swans? Nah, they’ll break your arm, mate.” Benjy laughed, “You know, I know a guy who knows a guy who kinda looks like David Tennant…” He mused, “He just got married though, so you might have to settle for someone else.”“Is that so?” Caradoc’s cheeks were beautifully flushed and Benjy couldn’t get enough. “You don’t think it’s weird?”“I mean, it’s a bit weird, yeah, but in an endearing way.” Benjy reached across the table, palm facing upwards and his heart did a flip as Caradoc laced their fingers together. “I went through a musical theatre phase, so I can’t judge really.”“Oh my god, you’re a theater kid?!” Caradoc laughed.“I wish I could say ‘reformed theatre kid, but I’d be lying. I hear those opening chords to Seasons of Love and I’m already tearing up, y’know.” He laughed, “Is that really embarrassing?”“No, I went to SAAS,” Upon seeing the blank look on Benjy’s face, he added, “Oh, right. Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences. I was surrounded by theater kids every day. I was in the visual arts program, but I made sets for the theater department regularly.”“No way, that’s so cool.”“Well, that’s the first time anyone has ever called it cool, so thank you.” Caradoc laughed softly.”So, I know you said you needed a change, which led you here. Can I ask what you needed a change from?”Benjy couldn’t exactly say ‘I thought American men would find me hotter than British men’ so he settled for a half-truth, “A string of bad dates, a long string, family drama. Just needed to clear my head.”“And you decided Snoqualmie was the place to do that?” Caradoc asked, seemingly genuinely.“Yeah, I mean, it’s nice here. The falls, the snow… the people.” Benjy added quietly, meeting Caradoc’s blue eyes. “I like it here.”Before Caradoc could reply, Eddie was back with their drinks. “Golden Latte for Doc, and a tea for Benjy?” Benjy nodded.“Thanks,” Benjy said with a smile.Eddie lingered for a moment, a knowing smile teasing his face when he looked at their joined hands. “So this is a date?”Caradoc nodded, “Yep.”“Does your mom know?” Eddie said with a wicked grin.“She does not, Edgar, and you won't tell her.”“Can I be there when you tell her?” Eddie asked. “Please?”Caradoc turned to Benjy, “My mom has been setting me up with people all year. She seems to think being thirty and single is a cry for help. If I tell her about you, she’ll want to meet you, and she can be a lot, and this is… new.”Benjy nodded, “Well for what it’s worth, moms tend to love me, but you do you, love.”He watched as Caradoc’s eyes darkened at the word love and grinned. “Right. Noted.”“Do you have any plans this afternoon?” Caradoc asked in a low voice, ignoring as Eddie watched the two of them like a tennis match.“None at all.” Benjy sipped his tea and did his best not to grimace. “I’m free as a bird.”“Well, you do now.” Caradoc nodded, “Give me five minutes?”“Yeah, sure.” Benjy watched as Caradoc took his phone and headed outside the cafe.“You like him?” Eddie asked, bluntly.“Yeah, he’s great. I mean, we only just met the other day really, but… yeah, I do.”Ed could tell by the way Benjy smiled wistfully that he meant it. “Good. He’s a good guy. Usually has shit taste in men, but you might be different. I hope you are.”“I hope I am too.” Said Benjy with a shrug, “It would change my entire life, but… call me a hopeless romantic.”“Well, that makes two of you then. And for the record, I think his mom will really like you. You have that whole polite, adorable thing going on.” Eddie nodded, “Well, enjoy your date. Hope I see you again.”“Yeah, same. It was really nice meeting you.” Benjy smiled as Eddie went back to the counter and pulled out his phone.
Benj
On a first date with the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, and he’s currently scheduling extra date stuff for this afternoon!
Remus
The fuck is extra date stuff?
Also yes! Get it Benj!
Benj
No idea!
Mary
Please don’t end up on Dateline, sweet.
Remus
I’m in a car with Sirius and Teddy. Talk later.
Benj
What?!
WHAT!?>??!
No
wait
WAHAT?
Mary
Oh yeah, he literally went knocking doors on our road trying to find Re. It would be kind of cute if he wasn’t such a prick.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Remus snorted at his phone before putting it back into his pocket. “Sorry, my friend has gone on an impromptu trip to America to try and pull American blokes and he’s on a first date and we don’t want him to end up on Dateline, or one of those True Crime YouTube channels.”“Ah, I see.” Sirius said, “Well, the thing is, Remus… Thank you, for your card. It really meant a lot to me.”“Oh,” Remus looked over at Teddy who was engrossed in a game on Remus’ old phone. “Well, you’re welcome. I just thought— I’m so sorry about that day— I mean— I just came into the room with the whiskey and he strode up to me as I was pouring it, and then the fire and I just stood there, and he’s the President of the United States, Sirius. Nothing happened. You walked in just as I was pushing him away, but I know what it looked like. I didn’t want it, I didn’t ask for it or welcome it. And I just feel like such a twat, because, the thing is, I really—““We’re here!” Teddy shouted, causing Remus to close his eyes and press his lips together with a sigh.“Alright, cyw, let’s get you in there.” He said, schooling his face into a big smile, before looking over at Sirius.“I should go. Last thing anyone needs is the bloody prime minister stealing a bunch of kids’ thunder. No, I should— I should go.”“Do you have to?” Remus asked as he opened the door and helped Teddy out. Teddy ran off towards Hope and Mary, but Remus lingered.“Yes, I think so… But know that I’ll be gutted to drive away from you, Remus,” Sirius said softly, holding Remus’ gaze.“Wait here. Just give me one second. Don’t leave, promise?”Sirius nodded and Remus walked quickly away from the car. Frank looked at him from the front of the car with a sly grin, which made Sirius’ cheeks heat up. “Oh shut up.”Remus returned a few minutes later. “We can watch from backstage.”“But, Teddy. Won’t he want you out there in the audience?” Sirius asked, already halfway out of the car.“I helped out with the little shows he did at nursery, so he’s used to me being in the wings, Mam and Mary will be out there, it’ll be fine, I promise.” He held out his hand. “Come on.”Sirius linked their fingers slowly and deliberately, “How are we going to get backstage? This needs to be a private thing.”“I went to school here, I know my way around.” Remus rolled his eyes. “You ready?”“Uh, Frank. I’ll be back in an hour or so, ok?”“Right, you are, sir. Enjoy the show!” Frank said with a wink.“Lead on, Remus.” Sirius squeezed his hand gently as they exchanged a warm smile before Remus dragged him towards the back of the school.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Marlene closed the Duolingo app with a sigh. She was so early that the check-in counter hadn’t opened yet. She’d bought herself a coffee for an extortionate amount of Euros, and as she sat sipping it, trying to get her money’s worth, she opened Instagram.Right there, the first profile on the ‘people you might know’ section; DoriDowes.She clicked on the picture and thanked the social media gods for making her profile public. She scrolled down her pictures: the lake, Dorcas laughing with friends, dressed up for a night out, in matching pyjamas with a pretty woman who was never featured in photos again.It was that photo, the spike of ugly jealousy she felt, that made her realise what she should have known already. She downed the rest of her coffee and strode towards the S-Bahn.Once she was on the train that would take her back to Pöcking, she realised the gravity and potential idiocy of what she was about to do. She began googling phrases she might need, Duolingo not having prepared her for a confession of… love, probably.She was mouthing along with ‘Ich bleibe, wenn du willst.’ when her phone rang.“Alright, Barty?” She said cheerfully.“Alright, Marls. You at the airport yet?” He asked. “I need to talk to you about something.”“Uh, there’s been a bit of a change of plans. I’m heading back to Pöcking. You know I mentioned Dorcas.”“The hot girl who looked after you because you’re incapable of looking after yourself who you’ve been texting me about for weeks? Yeah, I know Dorcas.” Barty laughed, “What about her?”“I think I’m in love with her, so I’m going to tell her.” The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening, “Barty?”“Yeah, I’m still here… I— What?!”“I know. Trust me, I know!” She said, “I just feel like I have to do this. Like I’ll regret it if I don’t.”“Well… In that case, congratulations? That’s huge!”“Thanks. Let’s hope this isn’t all in my head and I end up brokenhearted twice in one month. Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”“Ah, right. Yes, that.” Barty said, uncharacteristically softly, “Well, you know Evan…”
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
Minerva, Poppy and the few friends they still had, gathered around the TV as Poppy changed the channel to BBC Radio 2.“Alright, this is it, Min,” Poppy said with a grin that Minerva hadn’t seen in a good while. It lit up her face and the way her eyes crinkled in the corners was just beautiful. “Now whatever happens I just want to say…”“Shh! It’s starting!”The slightly hoarse voice of Peter Pettigrew came booming through the TV, “Good evening, everyone! This is BBC Radio 2, and it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for! The Christmas Number One for 2024 has been decided. After weeks of anticipation, thousands of downloads, and millions of streams, the results are finally in. Now, this year’s competition has been as fierce as ever, with some incredible contenders vying for the top spot. From classic Christmas tunes to brand-new hits, to a comeback nobody saw coming, it’s been a truly festive battle. But only one song can claim the title. So, without further ado, the Christmas Number One for 2024 is… drumroll please… ‘Christmas is All Around’ by Minerva! Yes, Minerva has done it!”Amid the crush of her friends surrounding her, Minerva’s phone rang.“Hello?”“Minerva, you’re live on Radio Two!” Peter said, adding quickly, “So please don’t swear… again...”“Mr Pettigrew!” Minerva laughed, “Didn’t think I’d be hearing from you this evening, what a lovely surprise!”“Isn’t it just?” Pete said, “Congratulations, Minerva! Do you have anything you want to say to anyone listening? Keeping in mind that we are live. Please.”“Well, I suppose I’d just like to thank anyone and everyone who believed in this old crone’s Christmas spirit,” Minerva said, surprisingly soberly. “Even if it was just to stick it to Sabrina Carpenter or to see me in the skud on Instagram tomorrow, eh?”“Any big plans for this evening? Got a big party to go to?”“As of yet, I’m just spending my evening with a few friends, Mr Pettigrew, but I’m sure the invites will come flooding in any moment.” She laughed.“Congratulations to Minerva! Let’s celebrate now by playing the official Christmas Number One of 2024, ‘Christmas is All Around.’!” Pete said, pressing play as he heard Minerva shout. “Och, not this shit again!” before she hung up.As her friends enveloped her in a hug, Minerva glanced over at Poppy by the window, wondering why she hadn’t joined in the mass embrace. Her phone rang and Poppy answered it quickly, nodding a few times before holding the phone to her chest and calling out to Minerva.“It’s for you!”Minerva picked up the phone and almost choked. “Elton! Yes, yes, of course. I’ll be there.” She hung up the phone, avoiding Poppy’s gaze. “Well, I just got invited to Elton John’s Christmas Party, so I have to love and leave you, I’m afraid. You all have bairns to get back to anyway! Thank you for being here, though. It means a great deal to me. New Year's drinks are on me!”She hugged her friends goodbye, then raced to her bedroom to change into something sparkly. When she got the notification that her Uber was outside she rushed to leave, catching sight of Poppy reading on the sofa.“You want me to post something on Instagram thanking people, or can you be trusted to do it in the back of an Uber?” She asked, Minerva could sense the tension in Poppy’s voice. The tiny tremble at the end of words.She should just invite Poppy along. It would be very easy to say Come with me, but Minerva didn’t. She checked her phone quickly and said, “I can do it, Pops. I— Thank you. For all of this. I just— Thank you.”And then she was gone, leaving Poppy openmouthed as her book fell to the floor.
🌙✨🎄✨🌙
As Remus led them through the door of the sports centre attached to the school, he turned and smiled at him. “Ready?”Sirius nodded as they snuck in, but then Remus froze causing Sirius to bump into the back of him clumsily. “Remus?” He asked, a little concerned that Remus had changed his mind suddenly. He followed Remus’ gaze to where a woman with bright pink hair, and a man who could very easily pass for a ginger lumberjack were wandering around, looking lost. “Remus, what’s wrong?”“I can’t believe she came.” It was barely a whisper, but Sirius heard every painful syllable. He turned to Sirius, his face suddenly pinched, “Teddy’s mum. Pink hair.”“Ah.” Sirius frowned slightly. “Well. Now that we know her whereabouts, I can call those friendly assassins that we discussed?”Remus laughed, seemingly surprising himself. “Let’s not put a damper on Teddy’s big day by killing his mum, yeah? I’m beginning to think that you shouldn’t be allowed all this power. You seem far too keen to have someone murdered.”“Not just any old someone, just the someone who hurt my—” He stopped himself and felt, rather than heard Remus’ breath catch. “I hate the thought of you hurting, Remus.” He said hoarsely. “I wish there was something I could do to fix it… To help… I’d do—”Remus just stared at him, and for a moment, Sirius thought he might be leaning in slightly before someone else threw themselves at him.“You’re here!” James choked out. “I didn’t think you’d make it! I didn’t want to bother you, but god the thought of being here alone…” He pulled back, realising that they were not alone, took one look at Remus and his eyes lit up. “Oh fuck! You’re Remus, right?”Remus nodded, a blush spreading across his cheeks in a way that made Sirius’ blood sing but didn’t let go of Sirius’ hand. “Guilty as charged. Which I imagine makes you James.”“And you would be correct.” James nodded, pulling Remus into a one-armed hug. “So glad to meet you finally. I’ve heard so much about you!”“Oh, really?” Remus looked at Sirius out of the corner of his eye and grinned, “I’d say ‘all good I hope’, but I’m not that optimistic. Good to meet you, James.”“Honestly, for Sirius, as close to ‘all good’ as it gets,” James said, ignoring Sirius’ attempt to get him to shut up by glaring at him. “It’s funny—”“Remus!” Remus groaned internally. “I told you it was him, Remus!” Tonks and Charlie joined the three of them in the foyer of the sports centre. “Hi!”Remus just stared at her for a moment, not believing she could be so casual after the last year. “Tonks.” He managed after a few seconds.“Are you looking for the way into the theatre too? It’s so easy to get lost here!” She smiled. Remus bristled, it would be less easy to get lost if this wasn’t the first time she’d ever been to Teddy’s school.“No, I’m going to watch from the wings with…” Remus bit the inside of his cheek, “Sorry, where are my manners? Sirius, James, this is my ex-wife, Tonks and her boyfriend, Charlie. Tonks, this is James and…”“Sirius Black, Prime Minister.” Sirius held out a hand, the free hand that was not still clutching Remus’, which she shook tentatively.“Yes, I know who you are.” She said, before looking back to Remus, “You hang out with the prime minister now?”“Times change.” Remus shrugged. “Theatre entrance is through the main school entrance. Out these doors and round the front. My mam and Mary are out there somewhere, just so you’re warned.”Tonks, to her credit, looked a little nervous at that information. “Right. Thank you. We’ll just…” As they started to walk away, she turned to look at him. “It was good seeing you, Remus. I’m glad you’re happy.” She pointedly looked down at his and Sirius’ linked hands. “Maybe I’ll see you after. With Teddy?”Remus sighed. He wished that he’d never have to see Tonks again, or her stupid boyfriend, but Teddy missed his mum fiercely and he could never keep them apart, even if he wanted to. “Yes, I know he’ll be so happy that you’re here. Thank you, for coming. Oh, and if he asks, you’ve been really busy working for Santa.”Tonks nodded, a little confused, before catching up with Charlie.“It’s a long story,” Remus said to James as he turned back to the two of them. “I’m sure Sirius will fill you in at some point. It involves heartbreak and a bracelet and two innocent Joni Mitchell Blu-Rays which I am still yet to watch.”“Hmm, perhaps I should hear it from the horse’s mouth. Say, Remus, what are your plans for New Year's Eve?” James studied his face, “I’m having a small get-together at my house. Nothing big, because apparently when your bestie is prime minister you need security for shit like that.”“Well, my mam is watching Teddy for me, but I was supposed to get drunk and watch movies with my friend, Mary…” Remus said.“Bring Mary along!” James grinned at him. “She’s more than welcome.”“She doesn’t like me very much,” Sirius grumbled.“Then definitely bring Mary along!” James’ grin looked like it might crack his face if it got any wider.The announcement that the show was about to start rang throughout the speaker system and James nodded to both of them before jogging towards the auditorium.“See you later!” Sirius called after him, “Well so much for not being spotted…”“An ex-wife and a brother is hardly what I'd consider spotted.” Remus shrugged, then squeezed his hand, “Come on, I know the perfect spot.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Marlene checked and double checked the address Bathilda had reluctantly given her.It was a big old house that didn’t look like the kind of place someone like Dorcas would live. Still, she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.The door was opened by a tall man with long auburn hair and a dangly earring. Marlene froze. What on earth was she doing? Was this man Dorcas’ boyfriend? Husband?He looked at her expectantly, “Ja?” He said with a wonky smile.“Don’t suppose you speak English?” She said apologetically. “Um, ist Dorcas… hier?”The man laughed, “Well, you must be Marlene, then.” He looked her up and down appraisingly, as she was thoroughly taken aback by his Scouse accent. “I’m Bill. One of Dori’s housemates. And no, she’s working right now. You’re welcome to wait for her though. I’m sure she’d be thrilled to see you. We’ve all heard so much about you. Congratulations on the book.”Marlene floundered, not having planned this far ahead. “I— uh, thank you, well— Hi, Bill. Nice to meet you. I’m a little scared that I’m going to lose my nerve, honestly. Is her job near here?”Bill grinned, “Ten-minute walk.”A tall woman with waist-length platinum blonde hair appeared behind him. “You are letting the heat out, mon cœur!” She chided him in a sultry French accent. Marlene blinked at her as she tiptoed and pressed a kiss to Bill’s cheek. She turned to look at Marlene. “I know you from somewhere…”“This is Marlene.” Bill said pointedly. “Marlene, this is my fiancee, Fleur.”“Quite the multilingual house you have.” Marlene laughed, “Nice to meet you, Fleur. I was just going to go and find Dorcas…”Fleur turned to look at her fiance, a wicked smile crossing her face, “Is she…” She looked back at Marlene, “What for? Why do you want to see her?”“Well, I suppose you’ll hear it from Dorcas one way or another anyway, but I seem to have fallen in love with her over the last few weeks. Which, I’m aware, is mental, but I just didn’t want to leave without telling her.”Fleur and Bill exchanged a smug look. “We’ll walk over there with you, give us a few minutes.”Marlene nodded and stepped into the house, closing the door behind her. The interior of the house matched much more with the home she pictured Dorcas in. Eclectic. Bar mats covered the entirety of one wall, a stunning mural opposite it, plants everywhere and bright colours. It was cosy, much cosier than the cabin.She pulled out her phone.
Barty
Wish me luck, I’m going to talk to him now. Hope you get your girl, babe!
Marls
It’s all going to be fine, bby. One giant leap for love.
I just met her housemates and they seem weirdly invested which I hope to fuck is a good sign.
Going to see her now!
We got this.
Let me know how it goes!
Fleur and Bill reappeared and the three of them set off, with Marlene trying to make small talk with the obnoxiously attractive couple. It turned out that Marlene worked in a bar in the evenings and had taken more hours over Christmas. ‘In case she had to make any last minute travel plans…’ Bill had said somewhat ominously.When they reached the bar, Marlene entered first and the three of them looked around but couldn’t see Dorcas so they went to the bar to order a drink and wait.“Macht Dorcas ihre Pause?” Bill asked. [Is Dorcas taking her break?]“Nein, sie ist oben.” The man behind the bar said, before turning and calling out, “Dorcas, hier sind Leute, die dich sehen wollen.” [No, she is upstairs. Dorcas, there are people here looking for you.]The few patrons in the bar at that time all turned to look as Dorcas peered over the railings of the upstairs balcony.“Marlene?” She asked breathlessly. “Was machte du hier? Ihren Flug…” [What are you doing here? Your flight...]Marlene smiled up at her, then tried desperately to engage her brain. Before realising that was’t going to be enough, holding up a finger for a moment and pulling up the words she had translated earlier on the train. “Dorcas… Ich weiß, das wird verrückt klingen, und das ist in Ordnung. Aber ich konnte nicht gehen, ohne dir zu sagen, dass du der schönste Mensch bist, den ich je getroffen habe, und dass du nett, lustig und klug bist. Ich glaube, ich verliebe mich in dich, und ich wollte nur, dass du es weißt. Ich bleibe, wenn du willst. Oh, außerdem hoffe ich, dass es Ihrer Schwester und ihrem Baby gut geht.” [Dorcas... I know this is going to sound crazy, and that's fine. But I couldn't leave without telling you that you are the most beautiful person I've ever met, and that you are kind, funny, and smart. I think I'm falling in love with you, and I just wanted you to know it. I'll stay if you want. Oh, also, I hope your sister and her baby are OK."]
Dorcas almost dropped the mug she was holding and grinned sheepishly. “My sister and her, um… son are good. Thank you. I… I am loving you, also. I thought I was being… very stupid.” She inhaled sharply, then nodded, “I would love for you to stay. Maybe I can take you out for a date? For some wine? More nice than the wine you drink. It is awful.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Marlene breathed, forgetting she was supposed to be speaking German, but Dorcas understood anyway. She gazed up at Dorcas for a second before taking the stairs two at a time and almost tripping twice. When she reached the top, Dorcas was waiting for her and cupped Marlene’s face in her hands for a second, before pulling her into a searing kiss.
They didn’t hear Bill, Fleur, the barman and the few patrons cheering. They were in their own little bubble, one they never wanted to leave. When they broke apart, panting, Dorcas pressed a soft kiss to the tip of Marlene’s nose, and they both laughed. Marlene pulled Dorcas into a hug and as she inhaled the scent of Dorcas' fruity perfume, she let herself feel happy, actually happy, for the first time in weeks.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The doorbell rang just as Barty and Regulus were settling down to watch Love Hard, a favourite in the Black-Crouch household. Barty groaned as he looked over at Regulus.“Your turn. I made the hot chocolate.” Regulus said with a grin as Barty extricated himself from the blankets piled on the bed in a little festive nest.“Because you always say it’s powdery and clumpy when I make it!” Barty sighed. “You’re lucky you’re cute, you know. Keep the bed warm, will you love?” He looked over his shoulder fondly as he headed down to the front door.When he opened the door, Barty was a little bewildered to see Evan standing there with a strange look on his face, an iPad clutched to his chest, and a Bluetooth speaker in his hand, as snow collected in his hair and on his coat. He looked almost angelic, Barty thought. Evan raised one long finger to his lips and gestured for Barty to be quiet. He hit play on his iPad, and some carol that Barty didn’t know started playing.“Evan, what are you…” Barty whispered, frowning slightly, but stopped as Evan shook his head and turned the iPad to face Barty.“Who is it?” Regulus called from upstairs.
Barty’s mouth dropped open. How well did Evan know his husband for him to be able to predict that?“It’s just carol singers, love.” He called back up the stairs.“Give them a tenner and tell them to fuck off,” Reg shouted. “Tell them we have Spotify premium and we can listen to carols whenever we fucking want."Barty snorted, then turned back to Evan. “Well, I’m glad it’s not actually carol singers. They’d be offended as fuck. What’re you doing here, Evan? I didn’t expect to see…”Evan just shook his head, pointed at the screen and flicked to the next picture.
Barty snorted, “Ah, so you have a thing for married men, then? And here, I thought I was special.”Evan’s eyes widened slightly, clearly not expecting that response, but he continued flicking through the pictures slowly, giving Barty time to both read and process his words.
“But it’s fine to lie the rest of the year? Noted.” Barty said under his breath. “Not sure it would stand up in court, but… noted."
Barty couldn’t suppress the sharp intake of breath. His eyes flickered from the screen to Evan’s face, set in an unreadable mask. Perfect? Barty knew he was anything but, but the word coming from Evan stirred something in him. Perhaps to Evan he was perfect, a thought that was equally devastating and exhilarating.
“Evan, I—” His voice was barely audible, but Evan kept scrolling.
Barty laughed a little wetly, "Did you draw my hair onto a photo of a mummy? You are... something else, you know that?"Evan just smiled weakly.
“Merry Christmas, Evan,” Barty whispered as Evan paused the music, put the iPad and speaker in his bag, and nodded resolutely.“Alright, enough. Enough now.” Evan said under his breath as he turned to leave.As Evan started to walk away, Barty rushed into the snow, caught him by the arm and pulled him into a searing kiss. Evan thought his heart might burst as Barty pulled him even closer, flush against him as his feelings poured out of him in a way he could never manage with words alone.As they clung to each other as the snow fell around them, neither of them heard Regulus descend the stairs and it wasn’t until he cleared his throat loudly from the doorway that either of them realised they were no longer alone, and leapt apart.The bottom fell out of Evan’s stomach. Oh, fuck! How could he have been so selfish? But when he looked up at Regulus, instead of finding a look of hurt, anger or sheer betrayal on his face, he looked fondly exasperated. A look he often gave Barty. A look a lot of people gave Barty, to be fair.“Well, I suppose you should come in, Ev.” He said with a glance at Barty, who at least had the decency to look a little sheepish, an adorable blush staining his cheeks.“Reg, I didn’t— Fuck, I’m so sorry.” Evan choked out. “I should never have come here and—”Regulus just shook his head, then held out his hand. “Shut up, Ev. Come on, I’ll make you hot chocolate and we can watch Love Hard and then I think there’s a conversation the three of us need to have.”Evan hesitated, looking at Barty who nodded, a smile teasing the corners of his mouth, then took Regulus’ proffered hand and let him lead him into their home, basking in the warmth both of the central heating after being outside in the snow and the burgeoning glow inside him as the anxiety lessened by the second. There was a non-zero chance this could all be ok, and he was going to hold onto it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The audience grew quiet as the lights in the auditorium dimmed. A muffled chorus of children shushing each other came from backstage, and a chuckle went around the auditorium.Remus pulled Sirius towards the left of the stage, knowing all the students would be entering from the right wings to avoid disturbing the back curtain, which had always been a temperamental piece of kit and apparently had not been fixed almost twenty years on.They watched as Teddy’s class performed the nativity, complete with sea creatures and Callum the camel being the star of the show. Teddy spotted his dad in the wings and waved wildly. Sirius and Remus waved back, then exchanged a fond look as Remus’ heart skipped several beats and he had to pull himself together.“Thank you, for staying, Sirius,” Remus said quietly as thirty-four seven-year-olds assembled on stage to play I Have a Dream on recorders.“Thank you for pushing for me to stay,” Sirius replied, not taking his eyes off Remus. “I’m really glad you did.”“Well, if nothing else, it’ll be nice for you to see your nephew.” Remus could feel his cheeks growing pink and was grateful for the almost non-existent lighting of the wings. “I’m sure he’ll be so glad you stayed.”“I’ve been teaching him drums. He’s trying to woo some girl.” Sirius grinned proudly.“You can play drums?” Remus hissed, fighting back a groan. Of course, Sirius had been a drummer on top of everything else that drew Remus to him.“I’m a bit rusty… but yeah, I was in a few bands as a teenager. It’s a nice stress relief too. Leader of the opposition is a twat in the chamber? Beat the shit out of my kit when I get home. Instantly feel better.” Sirius grinned. “Works almost every time.”The tiny recorder players left the stage and as the front curtains closed, a drum kit was quickly dragged from the wing where they were situated, leading to a very wide-eyed teacher almost choking on her own saliva as Sirius said hello and smiled politely at her, and Harry rushing over and throwing his arms around Sirius.“You came!” He said, “Dad said you probably couldn’t, so I didn’t get my hopes up but shit! You’re here!” He eyed Remus, appraisingly, “Is this the guy you and Dad are always whispering about when you think I can’t hear?”It was Sirius’ turn to blush. “Harry this is Remus, Remus this is Harry, who definitely needs to get on stage now! And don’t say ‘shit', you little shit!”Harry grinned at both of them with a knowing nod, before taking his place behind the drums and testing the kick drum a few times.“You talk about me?” Remus asked with a smirk. "To your brother and nephew?"“Shut up, Remus.” Sirius covered his face with the hand that wasn’t still interlaced with Remus’. “Yes, of course I do.”“Good,” Remus whispered, his lips brushing the shell of Sirius’ ear, relishing in the palpable shiver that ran down Sirius’ spine.The Headteacher of the school, Mr Flitwick took to the stage. He looked contagiously cheerful as ever. “For the penultimate song of the evening, I would like to introduce Ginny Weasley from year 6, who will unfortunately be leaving us after Christmas to move to Liverpool. A few of my fellow teachers have gotten rather involved with this number and I have allowed myself to be dragged into it. Apologies in advance for our part in this magical moment.” He draped tinsel with fairy lights around his neck and tossed one end over his shoulder with a flourish. “Ginny Weasley, everyone!”A storm of applause rang out as he ducked behind the curtain, which opened to reveal a single spotlight on Ginny. A single piano note sounded and she began singing the opening bars of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas.She was good. Almost so good that Sirius and Remus were completely distracted. Almost. As the band came in, Remus pulled Sirius into the corner of the wing and pushed him back against the wall, gently but firmly. He held Sirius’ burning gaze as he leaned in slowly.As the song reached the bridge, Harry was having a ball, he spotted his dad in the audience and smiled broadly. He’d managed to play without making a single mistake so far and honestly, even if Ginny was going to Liverpool and he lost his first love to the city of The Beatles and Sporty Spice, maybe his second love could be drums.“Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas…is you,” Harry’s breath caught in his throat and it was all he could do to keep playing as Ginny turned around and pointed at him, with a sparkle in her dark eyes. But before he could think about it too much, she had turned to point at the bass player, then the guitarist and finally the audience. He frowned and perhaps played the last part of the song a little more in the style of Sirius after a bad PMQs than was entirely necessary.Sirius and Remus saw none of this, however. After several seconds of feeling Remus’ breath ghosting across his lips, Sirius grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a fierce kiss. As their lips touched, Remus felt every cliche at once, fireworks, the earth moving, the sensation of doing a loop the loop on a rollercoaster, or driving over a bridge really fast. Something like that. He dragged his fingers through Sirius’ hair, pulling him even closer by the soft strands.Sirius pushed Remus backwards and walked him towards the pile of stage blocks behind the curtain, not breaking the kiss. Neither of them was even aware that the final song of the night had started, all 200 students somehow crammed onto the stage to sing 'We wish you a Merry Christmas’.Remus hooked his fingers into Sirius’ belt loops to pull him even closer as Sirius’ hands roamed enthusiastically. He dragged Sirius’ lower lip between his teeth, eliciting a soft groan from Sirius’ throat. But before he could do anything about it, which was probably for the best given their location, Sirius knocked the back curtain. It was only a slight brush, but of course, the whole thing came tumbling down, exposing them to not only 200 scandalised primary school pupils but also their families. The music and singing stopped and the room was silent.Sirius looked at Remus with wide eyes for half a second before going into rescue mode. “Trust me?” Remus nodded as Sirius reached for his hand and interlaced their fingers. “Smile and wave.”“What?!” Remus hissed, looking out at all of the curious faces, but Sirius already had a cheeky grin on his face and was waving. To Remus’ utter bafflement, the audience started to applaud. He specifically heard Mary cheer 'Get it Remus!, which made his cheeks flush even pinker, which he wasn’t aware was possible. He awkwardly waved with his free hand, finding Teddy’s eyes in the sea of children and smiling at him.“So sorry, didn’t want to interrupt.” Sirius said, “But seeing as I seem to have already done that, I just want to say that every child on this stage is utterly fantastic. I never get to go to events like this anymore, but I am so glad that I was persuaded to attend this evening. In March I will be fighting hard for funding for arts subjects in schools, so to see this first hand… well, I’ll certainly be fighting harder for it now I’ve seen what’s possible from such talented young people.” He looks around at the proud looks on the children’s faces and grins. “Finally, I hope everyone has an easy and peaceful festive season. We’ll just be…” He gestured towards the wings and dragged Remus off with him, to rapturous applause.When they left the wings and stood in the corridor behind the theatre, they stared at each other for a few moments before Remus started chuckling. Before long they were both struggling for breath as they laughed.“What on earth… just happened?” Remus managed finally.“I have no idea.” Sirius snorted, “Shit, I’m so sorry if that’s going to make things awkward with you with Tonks, or Teddy, or any of the parents you know… or Mary?”“Are you really asking me if there’s anything between Mary and me right after we got busted kissing on stage at my kid’s Christmas show?” Remus wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye. “No, she’s been my friend since uni. Nothing like that going on. I tell you what though. She rarely dates men, but your brother is her exact type. Maybe when he’s ready we could introduce them.”“Wow, I’m still reeling from what happened in there, and you’re ready to play matchmaker?” Sirius teased him, “Sure, why not? I also apologise for whatever The Sun and their ilk write about you. I know you didn’t ask for any of this, and I should have been more careful, but you’re just…”“It’s ok. I mean, not that the tabloids will probably go through my old Twitter account and find all the cringe stuff I’ve ever said, but I don’t regret it. Maybe the timing and location could have been better, but still. I don’t regret it, Sirius.” Remus said, holding his gaze.“Yeah, neither do I.” Sirius smiled at him. “I suppose we should have a proper conversation about this soon, but you should go and congratulate Teddy on being the best lobster I've ever seen in a nativity play.”“Alright. Then please pass on my compliments to Harry. He’s a natural! I hope he gets his girl.” Remus squeezed his hand. “Why don’t you come round for brunch tomorrow? We can talk about it and I can feed you something other than biscuits.”Sirius mentally checked his schedule. “I can do brunch. 11ish?”“Sounds good to me,” Remus said.There was a pause. “Why am I nervous to kiss you goodbye?” Sirius whispered."Because it’s real now.” Remus took a step towards him and tilted Sirius’ chin up gently before kissing him softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sirius.”“Yeah, tomorrow.” Sirius said breathlessly, as Remus walked away from him grinning.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
As James was gathering Harry’s belongings backstage while Harry looked for Ginny to say goodbye, he picked up Harry’s coat and a piece of paper fell out of the pocket. He looked around to check Harry was nowhere in sight and unfolded it. A very undignified mixture of a snort and a sob escaped his throat as he read:
'My precious Harry,
Remember you can do anything you set your mind to. Except dance… you take after your dad on that front I’m afraid. Go get ‘em, kid!
Love you always, Mum.’
He jumped when a voice shook him out of his thoughts.“Hey, are you alright?” James spun around and took in the woman standing before him. Her purple curls were artfully ruffled in a way he had never been able to achieve with his hair, and her dark eyes bored into him, looking genuinely concerned. It took him a moment to process that she was American, or possibly Canadian. Probably American. He blinked a few times, realising he was still holding the piece of paper silently, eyes glassy.“Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just found a note from my late wife in my son’s pocket.” He kicked himself for oversharing instantly, but she just nodded. “Sorry, am I in your way, or…?”“No, you just looked kinda lost, so I thought I’d check you were ok.” She paused for a moment. “Wait, you’re not the prime minister’s brother are you?” James frowned slightly. Nobody had asked him this yet. “Oh, that came out weirdly, huh? I’m not a stalker I swear. I’m Remus’ friend. I’m Mary.”She held out her hand awkwardly, and he shook it, an amused expression crossing his features momentarily. “Guilty as charged. I’m James. You’re the one who shouted ‘Get it, Remus’?”“Guilty as charged.” She grinned. “Who could have seen that coming?”“Oh as soon as they told me they were planning to watch from the wings, I knew they’d end up kissing. Can’t say I foresaw everyone seeing…” He chuckled.“No, Remus’ little face was a picture. I assume someone will leak it to the press and it’s going to be a nightmare?” She asked, then looked down and realised they were still essentially holding hands. She let go slowly and smiled bashfully.“Yeah, probably. Sorry.” James shrugged. “When Sirius first became an MP, someone saw me hug him goodbye after we went to the cinema and the press thought I was his secret boyfriend, my wife... late wife thought it was hilarious. It’s all so ridiculous, though. Fucking vultures…”“Well, Remus better be sure this is what he wants, then.” Mary sighed. “I have to say, I loved Sirius’ speech telling off Greyback. That prick deserved as much, and worse!”“He certainly does.” James“Dad, I can’t find her!” Harry rushed into the room looking distraught. “I think she left already, they’re getting the train tonight!”James looked from Harry to Mary and back again. “Come on then. Looks like we’re having a spontaneous trip to the station.”“Really?” Harry’s face lit up. “Ok, let's go!”“Lovely to meet you, Mary. I’m sure our paths will cross again soon if those two can sort their shit out.” He smiled, then rushed after Harry who was already halfway down the corridor. “Have a nice Christmas!”“You too!” She called after him, with a laugh. “Go get ‘em!”
🌙✨🌙✨🌙
“So how come they’re getting the train to Liverpool and not driving?” James asked as he pulled out of the school car park after shooting Sirius a text explaining why they'd rushed off. “It may be better for the planet but a train for how many of them is there? Six? Seven? Well, that seems like it would be very expensive. Probably cheaper to fly, which is insane, eh, beta?”“Well, it’s a long story, but basically Ginny’s dad had this old car that he loved and she has twin brothers who are 13ish, and they decided to try and drive it. It did not go well. Ginny said it actually left the ground at one point.” Harry said seriously, earning him a chuckle from his dad. “Ginny’s mum’s car won’t fit all of them, so she is driving up with the four older brothers who still live with them, and Ginny and her Dad are getting the train.”“Ah so, train for two then.” James nodded. “Wait, her brothers wrecked their dad’s car?”“Yeah, they’re always doing stuff like that, though. She always comes back to school on a Monday morning with a new story of what they’ve been up to. Oh…” Harry frowned, “I’m going to miss that.”“Oh, jaanu…” James glanced over at Harry. “This has been a hell of a month. But also, it’s 2024, I’m sure there’s a way you can keep in touch. Look, Har… I know your phone is just for emergencies and annoying Sirius when he’s busy, but I think we could make an exception if Ginny and her parents are alright with it.”Harry nodded, still looking pensive. “Yeah…”“So tell me more about what her brothers get up to then. Sounds like something me and Sirius might have done back in the day.”
🌙✨🌙✨🌙
After parking and racing to Euston, they looked at the departures board and headed towards platform two, expecting that any barriers would be open at this time of night.When they were met with closed barriers, James turned around to find a ticket machine but Harry rushed towards the barriers and for one moment, James thought Harry might jump the barriers and thoughts of the guy who was shot by police not long after the 7/7 attacks rushed into his head, even though that guy never actually jumped over the barrier. He managed to grab Harry by his sleeve as he reached the barriers. But Harry, thankfully, was evidently just going to talk to one of the station workers and not risk injury or death for his girl.“Excuse me,” Harry said, ignoring James’ hand on his sleeve. “I was wondering if I could get to platform two to say goodbye to someone?”The man looked down at him and frowned. “You’ll need a ticket for that, mate.”“The train leaves so soon, please just—” but then Harry saw a flash of red hair. “Ginny!” He shouted and grinned as she turned around.She looked up at her dad, who nodded, but looked anxiously at the board as she ran over to the barriers.“Harry!” She returned his grin, “What are you doing here?”Harry suddenly didn’t know what to say. “I— uh— I just wanted to say goodbye, I guess.” He looked down at the floor, pointedly ignoring the used plaster somehow wrapped around a cigarette butt next to the gate. “I’ll miss you. It won’t be the same without you.”Ginny looked back at her dad, who awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. “I’ll miss you too. Perhaps we could—““Ginny, we really need to go,” Arthur called out to her.“Sorry, I don’t want you to miss your train,” Harry said, before pulling out the piece of paper James had written Harry’s phone number on in the car. “Can we still be mates, d’you think?”“Yeah!” She bounced on the balls of her feet a few times before leaning over the barrier and barely pressing her lips to Harry’s cheek. “Thanks for saying bye, Harry.”“Ginny!”“Alright! I’m coming!” She smiled at Harry before walking back to her dad, turning and waving just before they vanished out of sight.Harry turned back to James who was pretending to scroll on his phone to not seem like he was eavesdropping. “Well, I think that went well.”James laughed, “Yeah, I think it probably did. Now come on, let’s get you home, I bet Sirius has the kettle on as we speak.”