Chapter Text
Sirius Black tucked his oldest child into bed and asked her, “Alright, little one, what’ll the story be tonight?”
Lincoln Lupin-Black bit her lip, and Sirius smiled; though she was only seven, she was already starting to exhibit many of both his and Remus’ behaviors. “Papa, Arcta Lestrange called Daddy a monster and you a blood traitor. Why?”
Sirius paled. “She did what, now?”
Lincoln sighed. “Last time we visited Diagon Alley, when we went with Aunt Lily and Uncle James and Harry, Samson and I were playing and we saw Mr. and Mrs. Lestrange with Arcta. Arcta came over and told Samson that his mummy was a ‘Mudblood,’ and she told me that Daddy was a monster who would eat me and Micah up in the night and it would serve you right for being a blood traitor and marrying a half-breed.” She chewed on her lip for a moment before looking up at Sirius. “I’m sorry I said all those mean words, but that’s what Arcta said.”
Sirius shook his head. “It’s okay, darling, as long as you never say those words to somebody that isn’t Daddy or me, ok? And as for what she said… well, Arcta’s mother and father have some very… backwards beliefs. They think that witches and wizards are better than anyone else in the world, but only if their parents and grandparents and everyone in their family are also witches and wizards. They call themselves ‘Purebloods.’ Arcta called Aunt Lily a ‘Mudblood’ because Aunt Lily’s parents and grandparents are Muggles, and Arcta’s parents think that makes her less important and less talented.”
“That’s not true, is it?” Lincoln’s brow furrowed just as Remus’ did when he was concerned.
“No, little one, it’s not. They called Daddy a monster and a half-breed because they don’t understand people like Daddy, and they don’t know him at all. You know your Daddy would never hurt you, right?”
“Right,” she repeated, then recited, “Daddy would never want to hurt me or Micah, so he takes the potion that helps his mind stay human when his body turns into a werewolf, but just to be careful, we always go stay with Aunt Lily while you and Uncle James stay with Daddy because if the potion doesn’t work or he doesn’t have any, you and Uncle James can turn into animals and keep him safe. But we don’t tell anybody because it’s no one else’s business but our family’s.”
“Very good, Lincoln, that’s exactly right. So we know that the first two things Arcta told you were wrong, right?”
“What about the last one? That you’re a blood traitor?”
“That’s not true, either,” said Remus from the door. He was holding Micah, the six-year old draped over his shoulder with his nose tucked into the crook of Remus’ neck.
“Well, it’s kind of true, it just doesn’t matter,” Sirius corrected. “Here, I’ll put him to bed if you want to finish with Lincoln,” he offered. When Remus nodded his agreement, Sirius kissed Lincoln’s forehead. “Daddy will finish up, goodnight little one.”
“Goodnight, Papa.”
Sirius took Micah and kissed Remus’ lips lightly. Remus smiled against Sirius’ lips before shooing him out of the room. He sat down in Sirius’ spot on Lincoln’s bed.
“How much did you hear?” Lincoln asked, looking a little fearful.
Remus smiled and cupped her cheek in his hand. “I heard everything, little one. It’s okay, what Arcta said didn’t hurt my feelings.”
“But it was mean!”
“It was mean. But you know something? There are some words that we get so used to hearing, that we realize they don’t make any difference, and then those words stop hurting. You’re a little too young to have heard any mean words enough for them to stop hurting, but I am much, much, much older than you,” with this, he tickled Lincoln’s ribs till she laughed before continuing, “and I know that those words don’t matter to me anymore. What I want to talk to you about is what Arcta called Papa.”
“She called him a blood traitor,” Lincoln replied, “but I don’t really know what that means.”
“Arcta’s mummy is Papa’s cousin, did you know that?” When Lincoln shook her head, Remus went on. “Well, before Arcta’s mum married Arcta’s dad, Arcta’s mum had the same last name as Papa. Her name was Bellatrix Black. The Blacks were known for being a very old Pureblood family; if anyone in the family married anything other than a Pureblood witch or wizard, they were disowned. Papa was called the heir, because he was the oldest boy of all the cousins in the Black family. Only Papa didn’t agree with his family’s views on Muggles, Muggle-borns, or people like me.”
“Werewolves?”
“Yes, werewolves, and people with only one magical parent. Grandma was a Muggle, remember?”
Lincoln nodded. “Daddy, were my birth mum and dad a witch and wizard?”
Remus sighed. “I don’t know about your dad, baby. Your mum was a witch. But it doesn’t matter, not one bit. All that matters is that you are my daughter and I love you very much.”
“But Papa’s parents didn’t think so.” It wasn’t a challenge, merely a statement. See two families? Spot the differences.
“That’s right. Papa’s parents expected him to get sorted into Slytherin when he went to Hogwarts. When he was sorted into Gryffindor with me and Uncle James and our friend Peter, they knew he wasn’t like them, and they didn’t like that. Papa and his parents never really got along, and he ran away from home when he was sixteen and went and stayed with Uncle James and his parents. Since what he wanted was more important to him than what his parents wanted, his family called him a blood traitor. And then, they really called him that when he married me instead of a Pureblood witch.”
Lincoln looked up sharply. “They wanted Papa to marry a witch? But Papa doesn’t like girls.”
“I know, baby, but some people think that only women and men should be allowed to get married to each other.”
“Why?”
Remus sighed and looked at the clock. “I’m not sure, Lincoln. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll try and figure out why by Christmas. It’s very late, and you need to get to sleep. You and Papa and Micah are going to come with me to King’s Cross tomorrow and see me off to Hogwarts, right?”
Lincoln’s eyes welled up. “Are we really not going to see you again till Christmas?”
“Oh no!” Remus assured her, “No, no, no. Remember? Some weekends you can come see me in Hogsmeade, and some weekends, I’ll come home to see you, but I will make sure I see you as often as I can, okay? I promise.”
“Pinkie promise?” Lincoln asked, holding out her little finger.
Remus hooked his own little finger around Lincoln’s. “Pinkie promise,” he agreed.
Lincoln nodded, apparently satisfied. “Goodnight, Daddy.”
“Goodnight, Lincoln.” And Remus kissed her forehead twice for good measure and returned to his and Sirius’s shared bedroom.
Once inside, he leaned against the door and muttered, “Your daughter asks more questions than any seven-year old I’ve ever met.”
Sirius smiled from where he was reading in bed. “She’s curious, just like someone else I know.”
“I know, she spends far too much time with Lily,” Remus replied with a grin.
Sirius barked a laugh. “Sure, Moons, she’s picked that up from Lily. We’ll go with that.” Sirius opened his arms to Remus. “Come here.”
Remus went and laid his head on Sirius’ shoulder. “’M gonna miss you and the kids,” he mumbled.
Sirius voice rumbled in his chest when he spoke. “We’re gonna miss you, too. But this… this is everything you’ve hoped for, Remus. Teaching Defense, I mean. Plus, Harry is so looking forward to having you for a teacher. He says the last two have been useless, serious prats. You’ll do great.”
Remus nodded. “I just wish…”
“What? That we could come with you? I’ve told you, if you want to move to Hogsmeade, I’ll have us there by next weekend.”
Remus glanced up at Sirius. “You’re serious?”
“Last I checked,” Sirius joked lightly. “You could come home at the end of the day, rather than staying in the castle. Lincoln and Micah wouldn’t have to ride the train.”
Remus sighed. “We should stay here. The kids need to learn to be discreet around Muggles and learn to interact with them. That won’t happen if we move to Hogsmeade. Plus, Lincoln loves her grammar school.”
Sirius groaned. “Fine. I just wanted to be able to see you every day. And, more importantly, every night,” he added suggestively.
Remus rolled his eyes. “You’re a father of two, Sirius Black.”
“Last I checked, you don’t get more children by staying in separate beds,” Sirius pouted.
Remus snorted. “Sirius, please. We certainly could get more kids and stay in separate beds.”
Sirius looked up sharply. “You wouldn’t dare.” And without giving Remus a chance to protest, he captured Remus in a bone-searing kiss.
The train station was, as always, packed with Muggles. “Daddy?” Lincoln asked from where she was riding on his trunk in its trolley.
“Yes, Lincoln?”
“Where’s the train?”
“You’ll see, love.” He found the correct barrier. “Do you trust me?” he asked with a grin. Lincoln nodded seriously, so he leaned in and whispered, “You gotta promise not to scream, okay?”
“I promise, Daddy.”
“Pinkie promise?” he echoed his daughter’s demand from the night before and held out his little finger. Lincoln nodded and hooked her little finger around Remus’.
Remus grinned again, throwing a wink at Sirius, and walked purposefully toward the barrier. Lincoln tensed, but did not flinch, even as they were just about to collide with the barrier—and then she laughed aloud, staring about at the crowded platform. “Daddy! Look, we’re here!”
“I know, love,” he smiled. “Your old man knows what he’s doing from time to time.”
Sirius and Micah joined them a moment later, Micah with a panicked look on his tiny face. “Daddy!” he cried when he saw Remus, and ran over to him.
Sirius shot a disgruntled look to Remus. “You could’ve warned me you were going,” he grumbled. “About scared poor Micah to death.”
“It’s okay, Micah,” Remus assured the six-year old as he swept him up in a hug. “It’s okay, Daddy’s right here.”
“Don’t go, Daddy,” Micah insisted. “Stay with us!”
Remus felt his heart break. He pressed a kiss to his son’s cheek and whispered, “Daddy’s gonna go, but he’ll talk to you in the fireplace every night and come visit as soon as he can, okay, Micah?”
“Stay!” Micah insisted.
“Micah, Daddy’s gonna go teach lots of big kids how to be proper wizards, so they can be Aurors like Uncle James!” Lincoln told her little brother brightly. “He’s got the coolest job in the whole wide world!”
Remus and Sirius beamed. “Speaking of Uncle James,” Sirius said, “There he is! With Harry and Samson! Go see Harry before he goes!”
When the kids had run off, Sirius turned to Remus. “Merlin, Moons, I’m going to miss you,” he said, running his thumb along a scar on Remus’ cheek.
Remus leaned into Sirius’ hand. “I’m going to miss you, too. Keep them safe, Pads, promise?”
Sirius held out his little finger with a grin. “Pinkie promise.”