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Lily stepped into Diagon Alley, decidedly less confident without the familiar presence of her ex-best friend by her side. She was sure everyone could hear her heart beating like drum. Her nervousness only increased as she walked toward St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Today was the day she would get classified. It was an important day for any wix. Like her, most people would get classified in the summer holidays before Sixth Year. Sixth Year was a buffer year between OWLs and NEWTs so people had time to get used to their classifications. As the entrance came into view she gripped the satchel on her shoulder, took a deep breath and walked in. “Hi. I’m Lily Evans. I’m here to be classified.” She told the receptionist; thankful her voice wasn’t shaking.

“Of course. Fill in this form–” The receptionist thrust a clipboard and quill at her– “Then head to the department of classification. Third hallway on the seventh floor. Room 3 is available.” She filled in the forms and then stepped into the lift at the end of the foyer. Reaching the seventh floor she stepped into a corridor leading to several other corridors. The first corridor had colourful doors and walls with polka dots. That would be for the Care of Littles. The second had pastel blue walls and a soft, dark blue carpet. That was probably for Care of Pets. The third hallway looked more like a typical hospital. Everything was crisp white and smelt like disinfectant. The room numbers were printed on the doors. Room 1… Room 2… Room 3! She knocked on the door. “Come in!” Entering she saw a healer sitting behind a desk. “Hi, I’m Lily Evans.”

The healer smiled at her kindly. “Welcome, Ms Evans. Why don’t you sit down for me and I’ll explain what’s going to happen next?” Lily sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk. “So, there’s three stages in this test. For the first you only need to fill out a survey of sorts. For the second I’ll give you a potion to drink which will tell us your classification. The last thing is a small blood test which will tell us your subclassification. You only need to do this if you’re classified as a little, alpha or omega. Okay?” She nodded, swallowing nervously. He handed her some more papers and a quill. She started answering the questions on the paper. The first few questions were pretty generic. Things like ‘What’s your favourite colour’ - Green, ‘Do you have any siblings’ - Yes, one. Then they started getting more specific. Things like ‘What’s is your ideal romantic partner like’ -Don't have one, and ‘What is one thing you would tell your 11-year-old self’ - Make more friends. Towards the end she was given pictures and she had to circle the ones she liked the most. After finishing the quiz she wiped her palms on her jeans before handing it back to the healer. He hummed, “Well done. Now the potion. I’m warning you it’s going to taste terrible.” Lily grimaced but nodded. He took a small bottle from one of the shelves an opened it before passing it io her. She downed it in one gulp before shuddering, “Yucky.” It was faint at first but slowly a light blue glow surrounded her.

Healer Michaels grinned. A little! There were precious few of those. In his entire 12-year career he’d only personally seen 4 littles classified. Said little was looking at the blue glow surrounding her with wonder. He stood up and moved to crouch next to her chair. “Congratulations Lily. You are the first little to be classified this year.”

What!? Didn’t Severus always make fun of littles. And even her family thought littles were unnatural and disgusting. God, they would hate her! She began to hyperventilate, tears spring to her eyes. The healer picked her up and rocked her back and forth. Embarrassingly the action did help. She felt more solid, less like she was thinking through a fog. “I’m sorry.” She whispered. “What for, darling? It’s perfectly normal.” She nodded, still clutching the healer’s robes. “M-my friend said that littles were stupid babies.” She couldn’t see it, but Healer Michaels frowned. All wizarding raised children knew that littles were precious and demeaning someone for something they couldn’t control was, frankly, disgusting. “Well, your friend was wrong darling.” He stood there, rocking Lily till he was sure she was calm again. “Lily are you ready for the blood test now?” She sniffed and wiped her nose with her sleeve. “Yeah.” He smiled and moved to his side of the desk. With one hand he opened a drawer and took out a sheet of parchment and a small needle. He sat down on his chair, shifting Lily so she was sitting in his lap with her head against his chest. “Lily, I’m going to prick your finger with this needle. You need to let three drops of blood fall onto the parchment.” He grasped her smaller hand and pricked it with the needle. She flinched as she felt the sting but obediently held the finger over the parchment and watched as three drops of blood dripped onto it.

 As soon as the first drop hit the parchment words started to form. By the third drop the words were legible. Little: Infant {12-15 months}. The healer healed her finger with a quick ‘episkey’. “There we go.” He opened another drawer and took out a lollipop. “Would you like it? The potion tasted pretty terrible and this might help.” Lily blushed but nodded. “Thank you.” He smiled softly, “It’s no problem. Now you need to find a caregiver. If you have someone in mind then great, they should know the proper procedure. If you don’t there is a programme for littles who don’t have caregivers.” Lily clutched the healer’s robes tight. “What about my family?” He ran a had through a hair. “I’m sorry Lily but muggles cannot look after a little. Most wixen can’t either. There is a series of tests you have to pass to become a caretaker for a little, even after being classified as a caregiver. If you already have someone in mind as a caregiver, and said person agrees you both are supposed to inform your family. If not, you’re entered into the caregiver programme and the ministry will send a representative to explain everything to your family.” Lily sniffled. There’s no way she would allow herself to be separated from her family. Even if they thought she was weird an Tuney was mean to her and she really wasn’t very close to them, they still loved her. Right?

“I-I have someone in mind. She’s always wanted to adopt a little and is a good friend of mine.” Lily lied through clenched teeth. Healer Michaels smiled, although he wasn’t fully convinced. “Okay. Your caregiver should know how to finalize the adoption. If the caregiver doesn’t agree then you can come back here, okay? You’ll be entered into the caregiver program.” The little looked up at him with big green eyes that would make any caregiver melt at her feet. “She will.” He smiled and ruffled her hair, “You’re all done! Have a nice day!” Lily jumped of his lap and waved as she walked toward the door, “Yeah, you too.” After she left Healer Michaels sighed and stretched. He didn’t want to let  Lily leave alone but there was very little he could do. Walking to one of the cupboards he pulled out a stack of papers. He dug through it till he found the ones he was looking for, filled them in and then walked out of the room, files in hand.

Lily walked out of St. Mungo’s with slow, shaky steps. She was afraid, if she walked any faster her legs would give way under her. Merlin she was terrified. And exhausted. And angry. And just so done with the world in general. Why did stuff like this always happen to her? She was so absorbed in her own thoughts she didn’t notice the group of people in front of her till she walked right into one of them.

Chapter Text

Sirius stumbled through the floo and into the Leaky Cauldron. He brushed the remnants of floo powder off his shirt. His father flooed in behind him, dressed impeccably in formal robes. Fancy schmancy family robes or something. “Go to St. Mungos Sirius and then buy your school supplies. I have some people to meet.” Orion ordered and walked away without so much as a good bye. Sirius rolled his eyes but did as told. He wasn’t bothered, it had always been like this. His father was distant and cold and his mother a screaming, cursing banshee. Some vague memories of a time his father was not so frigid were hidden at the very back of his mind but lingering on them would only hurt. On top of that he had to protect Regulus from their mother’s wand and hands. There was no doubt that their mother was insane, and not in a good way. Thankfully she was usually satisfied by punishing him and rarely used more than her sharp tongue on Regulus. He’d gladly live in that house for a hundred years if it meant his little brother never experienced what he did, at their mother’s hand.

He started as he realised that he’d reached the entrance of the hospital. Walking in he greeted the receptionist. “Hi. I’m Sirius and I’m here to be classified.” The receptionist looked up, told him to fill a few forms and directed him to the department of classification. As he entered the lift, his stomach felt like it was doing flips. He was definitely going to be an Alpha, Gen or Master. He couldn’t possibly be anything else. He stepped out and walked to the third hallway, Room 5. He opened the door without knocking. The woman at the desk looked up. “Oh! Come in. I’m Healer Coldwell. Sit down and I’ll explain what we’re going to do. “I already know. My cousin told me.” Sirius responded quietly. Why was his throat so dry all of a sudden? Healer Coldwell raised her eyebrows, “Okay. Let’s start then.” She pushed the survey test to the side of the desk where Sirius was supposed to sit. He climbed into the chair, took a quill and started writing.

Healer Coldwell observed the boy in front of her. He was writing carefully with a look of intense concentration on his face and his tongue peeking out from his lips. If she had to guess this one would be a Pet or Little. Fifteen minutes later he was finished with the survey and handed it back to her. “Thank you dear.” She got up to take out the classification potion from the cupboard on the wall. When she turned back Sirius was biting his bottom lip. She pushed the potion toward him. “Drink up.” He took it and, after a few attempts, opened the bottle and drank it.

Ugh. That tasted terrible. He looked around as a light blue aura surrounded him. Light blue was… Little! He stiffened. Looking around everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. It felt like he was watching himself in a movie. “Sirius, dear do you know what the light blue glow means?” He nodded numbly. “Is everything okay?” the healer asked. No. Everything was most certainly NOT okay. He was a little and his mother was going to be furious. It’s not like he could leave either. That would mean leaving Reg defenceless. And anyway, it wasn’t like he had anywhere to go after what Snivellus did.

“Yeah. I-I was just surprised.” The healer smiled, “It must have been a shock. Now you just have to take the blood test.” She removed a needle and parchment from a drawer in the desk with one hand, using the other to hold Sirius. Being held like this was a new experience and Sirius couldn’t deny, he found it comforting. He found himself resting his head on the healer’s shoulder. He held out his hand as she kept the parchment on the table. Gently she guided his hand over the parchment before gently pricking it. He watched as three drops of blood fell and words formed on the parchment. Little: Toddler (18-24 months).

The healer smiled and patted his head. “Now do you have anyone in mind as a caregiver?” Sirius shrugged. “My father is one.” And it was true. Orion Black had never tried to hide his classification but he’d never given any indication he wanted to care for a little either. He probably hated littles too and just used his classification as a status tool. It didn’t matter in the end. He had no intention of letting his parents find out about his classification. “Well, we’re all done here then. Goodbye Sirius!” The healer hugged Sirius before he climbed out of her lap and left. He walked out, unconsciously biting his lip. How could he stop his parents from finding out his classification? Even if he didn’t tell them his father was a caregiver and would notice anyway. He entered Flourish and Blotts and started browsing the shelves looking for his books. Suddenly a book, which had a picture of a bottle of pills caught his attention. What if…? He turned to leave and, in his hurry, bumped into someone and fell backward onto the floor.

Chapter Text

Marvolo felt someone crash into him and turned, annoyance clear on his face, to see who it was. He found himself staring into bright green eyes. “Oh! I’m so sorry sir.” The smaller redheaded girl  exclaimed looking at him. He felt his annoyance fade and noticed a faint pressure at the back of his mind. the girl. His face softened, “It’s fine.” Cygnus, Abraxas and Druella looked at him weirdly but Orion seemed more interested in the girl. “Are you okay?” He asked. She nodded, looking a bit skittish. Druella smiled kindly, “What’s your name sweetheart?” “I’m Lily Evans ma’am.”. “I-I h-have to go.” She stuttered. “Run along then.” Druella ruffled the girl’s hair. Lily raced away.

“What was that about?” Cygnus asked. “Cygnus, really. For what possible reason would only the two caregivers here react to the girl so strongly. ” Druella scolded. Her husband’s eyes widened. “What is she doing alone?” He asked worriedly. Marvolo frowned, it wasn’t safe for her to be out without a caregiver. “She might not know her classification yet.” Abraxas suggested. Cygnus nodded and Druella relaxed but Marvolo had a bad feeling about it. Glancing up he noted Orion looked thoughtful. He’d leave the matter alone for now, but if he saw the girl without a caregiver again, he’d act.

Lily calmed her racing heart as she hurried to Flourish and Blotts. She’d just had a conversation with someone who was almost definitely Sirius Black’s father, someone who was unmistakably a Malfoy and the people with them were almost definitely purebloods. She could see it in the way they carried themselves. The weirdest thing was that they were quite nice and certainly nothing like Lucius Malfoy and his cronies. They’d talked to her without insulting her and her heritage. Merlin this day was getting weirder by the minute. She entered the bookstore and started browsing the shelves, looking for the books on her school list. She saw a black blur next to her and before she could react, she collided with someone for the second time that day.

Unlike the time before this, she went sprawling backward and landed on the floor. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt the pain in her elbow. Why was she crying? It couldn’t be anything more than a bad bruise. Blinking back her tears she got up to see who had knocked her down. She saw a scared Sirius Black. “Evans! Are you okay?” He scrambled, trying to stand up. “Yeah. I think so.” “I’m so sorry.” She looked around and noticed her classification test on the floor. Snatching it up she saw something wrong. It said 18-24 months instead of 12-15 months. Had it suddenly changed somehow? She looked up to see Black picking up another classification test. He read it looking unsure. Wait! That one was hers! And if that was hers then this was probably his.

Oh.

Crap.

Sirius realised what had happened around the same time Evans did. Why? Why was his life like this? “So… You’re a little too.” He said weakly. She just grimaced. “I- yeah. I am. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t spread that bit of information around.” He nodded. “I won’t tell if you don’t. What are you using to stop yourself from falling into headspace?” Evans looked confused, “What do you mean?” He sighed, “Falling into headspace isn’t voluntary, you can’t control it by yourself. But there are things like pills and probably some spells that stop littles from entering headspace. I was… actually going to get some right now. I could take you too, if you want.” She nodded, relieved. “Thanks. Actually, wait a minute.” Evans turned and sprinted to the shelves that contained information about littles. “Evans what are you doing?” She looked back at him. “We need to get a couple of these books. I want to know as much as I possibly can. And the more we both know, the less the chances are of us hurting ourselves.” He nodded, “Good idea. But where did the we come from?” Evans looked down, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “You know stuff about this whole classification thing that I don’t and it’s probably better to try and work together. That way, if something happens, we can help each other.” Sirius smiled. “Okay. Friends?” “Friends.” She agreed

In the end they picked out four books and paid for two each, along with their school books, parchment, quills and some ink. “Follow me,” Black whispered to Lily. “We’ll have to go into Knockturn alley.” The two of them slipped into the small street, trying not to draw attention to themselves. They walked in silence to one of the small shops that lined the streets. It seemed to melt into the shadows of dilapidated buildings that looked like one strong breeze could destroy them. They hurried inside and bought the suppressants quickly, wanting to spend as little time in Knockturn Alley as possible.

Sirius only relaxed when he stepped onto the sunlit main street of Diagon Alley and saw the tension bleed out of Evans’ frame as well. She turned to him smiling softly, “Thank you Black.” He smiled back, “No problem Evans.” She frowned, “If we’re going to be friends then call me Lily.” He nodded. “Call me Sirius then. Where are you going next?” She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I need to head to the apothecary, then Eyelops Owl Emporium to get Indigo some treats and some other shops to get my school supplies.” He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, “D-Do you mind if I come with you?” She cocked her head to the side, “I’d like that.”

They spent the next hour moving from shop to shop, buying everything they needed and talking about everything under the sun, from quidditch to homework. They bonded over terrible family members and an unspoken agreement not to mention the other’s ex-best friend\s formed. Soon enough they had everything they needed. Sirius looked down before taking a deep breath, “Lily?” “Yeah?” She answered. “I’m sorry.” Taking her silence as disapproval he rambled on, “I’m sorry for pranking you and helping Ja-Potter harass you. It was just–” “Sirius,” Lily interrupted. “It’s fine. You didn’t actually do much to me, just creeped me out but the apology is appreciated.” He sagged with relief, “Thank you. Bye Lily.” Sirius waved. “Bye Sirius.” She answered softly before he turned and headed to the Leaky Cauldron to wait for his father.

Chapter Text

He sat inside for fifteen minutes before his father entered, wrinkling his nose at the state of the bar. “Sirius,” He called out sharply. “It is time to leave.” Sirius stood up and walked over to the floo, not acknowledging his father. He stepped in and said clearly, “Grimmauld Place.” He stumbled out into the house (not home, it would never be his home) and dusted of any remnants of ash and floo powder off his clothes. His father stepped out behind him and swept out of the room. His mother entered and glared at him before saying, “Our family is waiting in the living room to hear news of your classification. Make yourself presentable and join us. Behave.” Sirius sneered, “Why should I tell your family?” His mother practically growled, “You will dress properly and you will join us. We don’t need you disgracing us any more than you already have.” He glared back, “What if I don’t come.” Before he could react, his mother lifted her hand and slapped him, hard.

 He stumbled backwards but thankfully didn’t fall. Honestly, he should have expected that. His cheek stung and hot liquid dripped down his face. Wiping it away stained his shirt sleeve red. “Go heal that and then come down. If you don’t, the things I will do will hurt so much more than that.” He knew that that wasn’t an idle threat so he trudged up the stairs to his room and took out his wand, “Episkey.” The skin healed until all that was left was a faint red mark and slight sting. Sirius sighed and dumped everything he had bought inside his trunk before digging through his closet to find the least fancy pair of formal robes he owned. After a bit of a struggle, he managed to wear them, hissing at the way they scratched his skin. He didn’t know if it was just his imagination but it seemed much worse than usual. He walked back down and entered the living room. Looking around he saw Grandfather and Grandmother on one couch. Grandpere, Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella were sitting on another. Narcissa and Bellatrix were standing behind them, looking at him coldly. His parents were sitting on different chairs and his brother was standing next to their mother. His father gestured for Sirius to stand beside him.

Sirius’ every sense was on alert as he walked over. “Well we haven’t got all day. What’s your classification boy?” Grandfather barked. “Gen.” he replied hoping he seemed indifferent. Grandpere nodded, “Like your mother then.” Oh gross. He wasn’t anything like his mother! He didn’t show any reaction on the outside. They quickly dismissed him, Regulus and Narcissa, wanting to talk about Bellatrix’s engagement to Rodolphus Lestrange. He practically fled up to his room and locked the door before relaxing.

His owl, Emrys hooted softly and flew from her perch to rest on his shoulder. He slowly stroked her feathers getting a pleased hoot in return. Walking over to his desk, he pulled out a long piece of parchment and began to write. Almost half an hour later he put it in envelope before tying it to Emrys’ leg. “I need you to give this to Andromeda, girl. Can you do that?” She sent him an offended look as if she was saying, ‘Of course I can!’ He laughed, “I’m not saying you can’t, girl.” She huffed before spreading her wings and taking flight.

Andromeda Tonks nee Black was reading a book when she heard something tapping on the window. Looking up she saw Sirius’ owl knocking at the window. She opened it and let the owl in. The moment she’d untied the letter, the owl spread her wings and flew away. Andromeda opened the letter and began to read.

To Andromeda

Andi, I need help. I was classified today and my results were… unexpected, to say the least. I’m a little Andi. Toddler; 13 months. What do I do? I can’t hide it forever but I can’t tell anyone either. You know what’ll happen if Mother finds out. I can’t leave either because then she’ll hurt Regulus. 

I’m scared Andi.

Sirius

Her heart leapt into her throat. Oh Merlin. Sirius was in danger if he stayed but she knew he wouldn’t leave. Bloody Gryffindor. Well she’d do what she could to keep him safe. “Ted!” She yelled, worry colouring her voice. Her husband ran out of the kitchen clutching a spatula in one hand, “What’s wrong?” She showed him the letter. His eyes widened, “Oh fuck. Tell Sirius we’ll welcome him with open arms if he decides to leave.” Andi sighed in relief. This was why she loved Ted so much. “I was hoping you’d agree.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, “He’ll be okay ‘Dromeda. He’s strong.” “I hope so Ted. I really hope so.”

 Sirius woke up the next morning to an annoying tapping sound. “Go away.” He muttered. It did not. How inconsiderate. Then he remembered what had happened the day before. He leapt out of bed and opened his trunk. Rummaging through his school supplies he found the suppressant pills and dry swallowed one.

The persistent tapping drew his attention again. There was an owl at the window. He let the owl in and untied the letter. It was from Andi! He opened it and and saw there was a letter and a thins, wrapped packet inside it. He opened the letter first.

To Sirius

Are you okay? I’ve sent a communication mirror with this. Use it to call me the moment you get this letter. Just say “Andromeda Tonks” and it should connect to mine. It’s also a disguised portkey. If you decide to leave that place just hold onto it and say “Leave” three times. You’ll arrive at my house. We’ll talk more on call.

Remember you are always welcome here no matter what.

Love Andromeda

Andi was the best. He snatched up the mirror, “Andromeda Tonks.” The mirror buzzed almost like a phone but was answered before it could buzz again. “Sirius! Thank Merlin!” Andromeda exclaimed. “Hi Andi.” He smiled at her. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. For now, at least.” She visibly relaxed. “I want you to leave that house, Sirius. If you stay you’ll only get hurt.” He sighed, “I know but I can’t leave.” She frowned, “I know. Promise me you’ll be careful Sirius. Don’t antagonize any of them.” He hesitated, “I’ll try.” 

“I suppose that’s the best I’ll get.” She smiled sadly. “I love you. Keep in touch using the mirror.” He nodded, “I will. Love you too.” He heard her say, “End” and she faded away, the mirror becoming reflective once again.

He spent the rest of the day avoiding his parents and brother, finishing homework and playing catch the snitch. After dinner he gave into curiosity and wrote another letter.

Chapter Text

Hi Lily

It’s Sirius. Honestly, I’m not sure why I’m writing this. I think I’m just bored and lonely. How are you?  Did you manage to hide your classification from your family. I did. I told them I am a Gen. Then Grandpere said I was like my mother! Eww! I’m nothing like her. So that was not fun. Today was boring. Boring enough that I finished all the transfiguration homework we had. Remus would have been proud. How is your bitch of a sister?  I still don’t believe she memorised 63 synonyms for freak so she could call you every one of them. But cheers to having dysfunctional families.

From, Sirius

To Sirius.

Hi. I did manage to hide the fact that I am a little. I told them that I was a Gen too. They were quite relieved. I’m honestly scared to wonder what would have happened if I told them my true classification. Nothing good for sure. As you so eloquently called her, ‘my bitch of a sister’ actually said, “Well at least you aren’t as freaky as those other ones.”  Ouch. Also, I’m sorry that anyone thinks you're remotely like your mother. I would be furious if anyone said I was anything like my sister.

You’re not the only one bored out of your mind. I can’t even do magic which is why I hate summer holidays. Other than the fact that I have to spend time with my sister. She did memorise 63 synonyms for freak. I’ll show you the memory at Hogwarts. Dysfunctional families indeed.

Sirius what happened between you, Lupin, Potter and Pettigrew? You used to be inseparable but in less than a week you started hating them.

From Lily

To Lily

Your sister is a piece of work. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with her. But I do have to deal with my mother instead, bloody banshee that she is. She is also unfortunately fond of cutting hexes. On a completely unrelated note, you wouldn’t happen to know a spell to heal major wounds, would you?

I can’t tell you what happened between us, but I can say that we won’t ever be friends again.

From Sirius

Sirius

Are you okay? Vulnera Sanentur is a spell to heal deep gashes. The wand movement is the same as episkey. Sirius why haven’t you run away yet? You’re not the type to just stand there and take it. My sister is a piece of work but at least she only pushes and shoves me. 

Talking about pieces of work, Severus is spying on me again. If he doesn’t stop soon, I’m going to hex him. He calls me a mudblood, stands by while his ‘friends’ try to hex me and then expects me to still be his friend. And he even tried to kiss me! Disgusting.

I already know about Lupin’s lycanthropy if that’s why you can’t tell me what happened. Severus and I figured it out in third year.

Be careful. Stay safe.

Love Lily.

Lily

Don’t worry, I’m fine, for now. Thanks for the spell. I’m probably going to need it.

I can’t leave. My mother is absolutely insane and if I leave, she’ll hurt Regulus. I’m scared that one person might not be enough for her bloodthirst. If there’s no one to stop her from going crazy, she’ll kill him.

Snivellus did WHAT?  What do you mean by again? Hex him for me too would you. I don’t know what’s going on in his head. Is he delusional? It seems like he is. Also, I’m gonna need a list of the people who tried to hex you. And knee Sniv-Sniv in the balls too.

Well, that’s’ the last bit of confirmation I needed to know Snivellus knew what he was doing.

It’s a bit of a long story. You know Rem Lupin is a werewolf. Potter, Pettigrew and I found out in first year itself. We decided to help him. I can’t tell you what we did to help him because it is very, very illegal. Anyway, what we did allowed us to join him during full moons. One fine fucking day Snivellus decided to follow us on the day of the full moon. He saw Lupin go to the place where he goes when he transforms. And guess what? He tried to follow him. Potter got him out before Lupin could maul him or turn him.  It’s a shame really. Of course, he blamed it on me and told them I told him to look there. And of fucking course they believed him and not me. Jerks. So that’s that.

Love, Sirius

Sirius

You telling me not to worry isn’t going to stop me from worrying I hope you know that. Some friends you have though. I don’t have much room to speak there but maybe you’re better of without them.

I’ve been reading through the books we bought. Apparently, there’s something called the regressor potion and if you don’t take that you can’t regress fully especially mentally. However, it doesn’t stop the physical side-effects only keeps them less noticeable. They can include loss of motor skills, slurred speech and… other stuff. I really hope the suppressant will help there.

Enough of the unpleasant stuff though. I’m so glad school is starting in a couple of days. I think I’d go mad if I spent more time here than I had to. I’ll meet you on the train?

Love, Lily

Lily,

You’re avoiding talking about Snape. I don’t blame you though, I probably would  too.

I can’t wait for Hogwarts too. See you then I suppose.

Love, Sirius.

Chapter Text

Sirius pushed his way through the crowd on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters till he got to the entrance of the train. Pushing his trolley in front of him he prayed to Merlin or whatever other deity was out there and listening that he could simply find his way to the end of the platform where he’d agreed to meet Lily. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

Someone grabbed him by the shoulder and a familiar angry voice said, “Black, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from Remus.” He turned around and met James Potter’s furious eyes trying his best not to show his nerves.

“Don’t worry Potter. I’m not planning on even breathing the same air as you lot.” He twisted out of the taller boy’s grip and marched off praying that no one could see him trembling or the hot tears gathering in his eyes.

Unbeknownst to him, someone had watched this entire encounter. Orion Black looked up as a pressure in the back of his head informed him there was a distressed little in the area. However, his eyes were drawn to his rebellious older son instead. He observed as he and the Potter boy glared at each other. That was unusual. Usually, they were inseparable. He made a mental note to try and keep an eye on Sirius this year before once again scanning the platform for the little that was upset. However, the pressure slowly faded and he figured the situation was resolved.

Sirius thankfully reached his destination without any more hiccups, and sped up as he saw the familiar head of fiery red hair.

“Hi Sirius,”she said, turning around. She looked as exhausted and wrung out as he felt but smiled when she saw him. “Hi. Let’s get onto the train , I can’t handle any more of this.” Swiftly they navigated back to the front and clambered onto the train, then walked to the end in hopes of finding a carriage where no one would disturb them.

As soon as the carriage door was shut and locked they let out identical sighs of relief and exhaustion. Smiling wanly at Lily, Sirius flopped onto the seat. With any luck students would see that the door was locked, the compartment silenced and simply assume students were getting frisky.

Lily sat down opposite him and rested her head on the window, eyes already drooping. She yawned before muttering “I’m sorry, I'm just really tired.”

Sirius hummed sympathetically, “Yeah, I get it. I think just sleeping for a while might do us both some good.” 

A good while later they were both startled awake by the announcement that the train would be reaching in half an hour. They took turns changing into their robes and Sirius internally winced at the scratchy feeling of the uniform against his skin. While it was never comparable to high quality tailored robes, usually it wasn’t this uncomfortable.

He did feel decidedly better for the sleep though. They rounded the corner and the train pulled into the station. Clambering out with the other students the both managed to find a carriage and climb in. However they were forced to share with their fellow sixth-years Gryffindor prefect Mary Macdonald and Marlene Mckinnon. Sirius and Marlene were somewhere between casual acquaintances and friends as they’d been on the quidditch team together for about 4 months before Sirius was banned from quidditch because of the incident.

They spent the ride mostly in silence once again. When Mary asked about their classification they both responded “Gen” simultaneously. 

“Fair enough.” Marlene Responded. “What about you then?” Marlene grinned, clearly liking the question. “We're caregivers. Probably the only ones in our year too as I didn’t see anyone else I know at the training sessions.” 

Lily was panicking. “Oh, that’s… nice.” How was she supposed to keep up the ruse if there were two caregivers in the same dorm as her? Marlene gave her an odd look before turning to Mary and complaining about how she wasn’t eligible to care for a little while studying for a mastery. “I’ll have to take my healing mastery first before I can take the test.” Mary just sighed like this was a regular occurrence.

Marlene and Mary got off the carriage and walked away. Marlene looked back at Sirius and Lily. still walking closely together. She sighed as the ache in her head lessened slightly. “Hey, Mary. D’you think Sirius is fighting with Potter cause he’s with Lily now?” Even as she said she knew it wasn’t the truth. “Mary rolled her eyes at her friend. “Doubtful. They weren't like this before the summer.” Marlene nodded but her eyes were drawn back to the duo as they walked, talking softly to each other. Some instinct in her told her to watch out for the two and once they had sat down at the dining table she waved to them, inviting them to come sit with her. She watched them interact over the course of the meal. Something was off and she decided she would keep as close an eye as possible on the two.

Chapter Text

Sirius jolted awake as the alarm he set went off, blaring loudly. Thank Merlin for the automatic silencing charms around the beds when the curtains were closed. Getting his clothes out, he saw everyone was still asleep. Then again, why would anyone wake up early if they didn’t have to? Unfortunately, if he didn’t want to spend his morning being glared at by three people, he didn’t have a choice.

He struggled his way into the school shirt and trousers. It had only been a month since he had come to Hogwarts, and yet he’d already deteriorated so much. Before he tied his tie, however, he took a suppressant, knowing he wouldn’t be able to do it without the stability it provided. True to form, his movements were smoother and easier almost immediately after he swallowed the pill.

Then, grabbing his books for the day, he came down into the common room to finish his homework. An unfortunate side effect of getting up early was that he was more tired in the evening and couldn’t finish his homework. At least the OWLs were over and behind him.

He looked up, surprised, as noises came from the stairs to the girl's dorm. Marlene smiled sleepily at him as she made her way down in her pajyamas. “Hey, Sirius."

Over the last month, he'd found himself spending more and more time with Marlene, Mary, and Lily. She’d sit between him and Lily during class and breaks. She felt safe and solid in a way that Sirius longed for. It was totally nothing to do with the fact that she was a caregiver of course. “Hi Mar. Why are you up so early?” She sat down in an armchair next to him and let out a soft sigh. “Nothing really. I just wanted to see what time you woke up. Pretty damn early, isn’t it?"

He just hummed, looking at the chapter he had to read before he went to breakfast in an hour. “Since when have you been awake?”

“Not that long,” Sirius said. “It’s only been about half an hour.” They looked up simultaneously as footsteps were heard from Marlene’s dorm. Lily came tiptoeing out, looking slightly anxious. She scanned the dorm, relaxing when she saw Marlene and smiling when she saw Sirius.

In the last month, they’d become each other’s closest friends. Sirius told her all about his family, and she did the same for hers. More than once, one of them had cried. If there’s one thing about all of this that he’s glad about, it’s his friendship with her. Marlene had gotten up and came to the foot of the stairs, calling for Lily to come down. Clutching the bannister tightly, she made her way down before following Marlene back to the chair. Sirius scooted over as she sat down on the same sofa.

“There's something I want to show you.” She whispered to Sirius. Intrigued, he sat up, homework forgotten. “I came across a really cool room on the seventh floor. After dinner when we’re free?" Sirius nodded and turned his attention back to the book.

Marlene raised an eye at their whispering but didn’t try to overhear. She watched as Sirius continued flipping through the Charms book while Lily curled into his side. They looked genuinely adorable like this. Watching them, a vague suspicion formed in her mind. It was an outlandish theory, though, and she wanted more confirmation before she did anything drastic. Because why would anyone lie about their classification? She decided to discuss this with Mary before drawing any conclusions.

Breakfast was an uneventful affair. Mary had eventually come down as well, and they made their way to the great hall. Marlene made sure both Lily and Sirius had eaten enough before they walked to class together. They went from class to class as usual, and the whole day had been going pretty well. She’d gotten an O on the transfiguration essay and 5 points during charms for impressive accuracy.

Then dinner happened. Halfway through dinner, she watched Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew enter. Potter narrowed his eyes as he saw Sirius and Lily sitting together, but they didn’t come near. The problem began when Snape, Mulciber, and Avery entered. Lily looked up and glared at him before looking back down. Snape glared back, and they detoured towards the Gryffindor table.

Marlene’s every sense was on high alert as Lily and Sirius stiffened. Her three friends stood up behind her. Mary linked arms with Sirius and Lily as a silent show of support. They tried to walk towards the exit, but Slytherin’s intercepted them.

Snape sneered “Look, it’s the mudbloods and the blood traitors.” Muciber laughed while Avery looked gleeful. Lily flinched, and her lip wobbled. “Black! I’m surprised anyone’s even talking to you now. You’ve already ruined one friendship; when’ll you ruin this one too?”

Sirius was tired, overwhelmed, and overstimulated, so he did something characteristically un-Sirius Black. He turned tail and ran out of the Great Hall, one hand in Lily's, the other one wiping the tears flowing down his face.

They could hear Mary and Marlene running after them, but they didn’t slow down. Lily quickly took the lead, directing them to a troll tapestry in the left corridor of the seventh floor. Sirius sank down next to it, sobbing. Lily walked back and forth three times, thinking, ‘I need a place where we can be safe.'

The door appeared, and Sirius looked up, and Marlene and Mary caught up to them. Mary hugged Lily, while Marlene kneeled in front of Sirius, taking his hands in her own.

She coaxed him to his feet and led him inside the room, where they sat down on a bed. The moment Lily and Mary entered, the door closing behind them, he broke. Sirius bawled. It set off Lily as well, who sobbed into Mary’s shoulder. Both continued to whisper comforting words. Marlene rocked Sirius back and forth on the bed till he’d tired himself out and was sniffling, her eyes puffy and red.

Lily had fallen asleep a little earlier and now lay on the bed curled up in the foetal position.

“Love, I think it’s time for bed now.” Mary whispered to Sirius, who just nodded. He rolled under the quilt next to Lily, still sniffling. Within minutes, however, he was asleep. Marlene sighed, resting her head against the headboard. Mary came over and kissed her lightly. "Y'know, when I got my classification, this isn’t exactly what I imagined."

Mary laughed and said, “We’ll make do. Besides, just look at them.” Somehow Lily had managed to sprawl herself half on top of Sirius, who had one arm thrown around her shoulders. Marlene smiled, but her attention was drawn to something on the nightstand. There were two pacifiers, one red and the other blue.

One last test, she decided, before she’d fully make up her mind. She took the blue pacifier and pushed it into Lily’s mouth. She latched on almost immediately. She took the red one and repeated the experiment with Sirius. The result was the same.

“What do we do?” Mary asked desperately. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow. For now, just sleep; it’ll do you good.”

They woke up to a scream.

Mary sprang up out of bed as Marlene sat up and cast a lumos. They both looked towards the two people between them. Sirius somehow was still asleep, pacifier in his mouth. Lily, however, was awake, and it registered that she was the source of the scream. A minute later, it was evident why. There was a dark patch on the bed and on her school trousers, glistening where the light shone.

Chapter Text

Lily began to hyperventilate as she saw them both looking at her. Looking into her wide, unfocused eyes, Mary recognised the signs of a panic attack. She sat down, ignoring the wet spot, and hugged Lily, rubbing circles on her back. Slowly, she calmed down.

Marlene picked the pacifier up from the floor and cast a cleaning charm on it before offering it to Lily. She inspected the paci before putting it back in her mouth. The effect was almost instantaneous as she relaxed and her eyes started drooping. "Ah, now, not so fast. You need to get cleaned up first. Lily nodded mutely and took the hand Mary offered her.

Mary noticed that now on the nightstand there was a pair of PJs that would fit Lily and a white packet that, once she picked up, she realised was a pull-up. She hesitated but guided Lily off the bed so she could dry it using a drying charm, then turned to her and asked. “Can you take off your shirt and pants for me?”

Lily just stared at her, blinking every now and then. Marlene and Mary shared a slightly embarrassed look before they began to take off the wet clothes. Lily just stood there and let them manhandle her. Then they dressed her in the pull-up and grey pyjamas.

“Alright, sweet thing. Let’s go back to sleep now.” Somehow Sirius was still asleep after all of this, and Lily climbed back in next to him, asleep instantly.

Sirius woke up between two warm bodies. He rolled over and tried to stuff his face into the pillow, but a voice came. “Good morning, Sirius. How are you feeling?”

“Mphhmh” He tried to respond, but there was something in his mouth. He put his hand in his mouth and took it out. A pacifier! Why did he have a pacifier in his mouth?

He looked up at Mary, alarmed. Slowly, the events of last night came back to him, and his cheeks flared with heat. “I’m okay," he said quietly.

“That’s good. Once Lily’s awake, I think we need to talk.” Marlene smiled to lessen the impact of the words. Sirius’ attention was drawn to the smaller body curled into his side. He noted that instead of wearing the school uniform, Lily was wearing soft grey PJs. He, Mary, and Marlene just talked for the next half an hour, as Mary noted that the pacifier was still in Sirius’ hand.

Then they decided to wake Lily up so they could all get ready on time. Lily groaned but then shot up red-faced, sucking furiously on the pacifier. “Woah, hey!” Marlene leaned back so Lily's head didn’t smash into hers. She mumbled something around the pacifier before turning away and refusing to look at anyone. “If this is about last night, don't worry. No one here will judge.”

Lily turned an even deeper shade of red. Mary has realised the problem now. “Are you wet again?” Lily nodded, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. "Well, that’s no problem. It’s what the pull-up was for.” Lily whimpered again before sneaking a glance at Sirius.

Sirius, for his part, was quite confused. What had happened last night? As he continued listening, things became clearer. The new clothes, pull-up, wet. “Yeah, Lily. It’s all good. I mean, we knew it was gonna happen, but it’s not, like bad or anything. He cut himself off as he was rambling. Lily took the pacifier out of her mouth and shakily asked, “You’re sure?”

"Yeah, I’m sure.” Sirius nodded. Marlene clapped her hands. “Okay everyone, back to the dorms now to get ready?” Sirius quickly shook his head. “I’m good here, thanks.” Mary smiled understandingly. “Potter and Lupin?” Sirius nodded.

"Well, you’re already in uniform, if you can just straighten it out. Lily definitely needs new clothes, though.” Just then, a cupboard appeared at the other end of the room. Lily grinned. “It'll have clothes in it! This is the room of requirement; it'll appear with anything you need."

Mary whistled lowly while her girlfriend made her way over to the cupboard. “How’d you find it?”

“The elves told me,” Lily responded. Marlene opened the cupboard, and there were indeed Hogwarts uniforms there for all four of them. There were also a few sets of pyjamas, and when she opened the drawers, she blushed madly, seeing underwear in her exact size. Another drawer opened on its own. Inside, she saw a stack of pull-ups and thicker diapers. She got out one set for each of them and one pull-up.

Distributing the clothes, she held out the pull-up to Lily as well. “You can wear this or choose not to. Do you want to, or do you think you’ll manage?” Lily promptly turned red again and stammered, “I’m-I…Maybe.” 

Sirius saw her dilemma and spoke up, “If you want, I can wear one too. To show you it isn’t bad.” Immediately, he cursed himself. But if it would help Lily, he’d do it.

“You’d do that?” Lily looked at him with wonder. Wordlessly, Sirius got up, took the pull-up from her, gathered his clothes, and looked around. Spotting another door, he went through it and entered the bathroom. Two minutes later, he exited, struggling with the buttons on his shirt. Mary quickly did them up for him while Marlene took out another pull-up and ushered Lily into the bathroom.

Once everyone was dressed, they sat on the bed. Marlene began, “Well the kneazle is plainly out of the bag. Don’t bother trying to pretend it isn’t. I only have one question. Why are you doing this?”

Haltingly, Sirius and Lily told the entire story, only leaving out Lupin’s lycanthropy. By the end of the tale, Marlene was stunned and Mary was seething.

Mary said, “This is dangerous, though. You two shouldn’t be without a qualified caregiver!” Sirius’ eyes widened. “Please don’t tell anyone. We’ll be in so much trouble. Give us one month to prove we can make this work. Just one.” The couple exchanged looks. “Alright, one month. If it’s not working, we go to St. Mungos.”

Chapter Text

However, from that day on, it was clear that this wasn’t going to work. At breakfast, Lily spilled her pumpkin juice all over herself. Although she was embarrassed, she used a cleaning and drying charm and was good to go. Then Sirius tripped on the stairs. Thankfully, he was unhurt, but after that, it was decided they would both hold someone’s hand while taking the stairs.

Then, during lunch, Marlene noticed Lily squirming before she whined and slumped slightly. She thanked Merlin for having the foresight to pack a few extra pull-ups in her bag. They quickly went to the washroom and changed.

During potions, the last disaster struck. As the class was just beginning, Sirius felt a twinge in his bladder. It was small, so he decided to wait until after class. Halfway through class, though, the urge came back stronger, and he tugged on Mary’s sleeve. He whispered, “I have to go.” Mary looked up, but before anyone could do anything, he felt his own pull-up grow warm and wet.

Sirius held it together till the end of class, but it was hard, and as soon as they were back in the Room of Requirement, he crawled into the bed, pulled the blanket over his head, and refused to come out. Was this how Lily felt? He wasn’t supposed to have accidents. She was a baby, so it was fine, but he was a big boy, wasn’t he?

Then why’d he feel so little?

Eventually, they coaxed him out from under the blanket. Mary looked at him sympathetically as Marlene dried his tears. His pull-up was cold and uncomfortable, and he just wanted to get dry and sleep.

Lily held his hand and refused to let go, even when Mary suggested he go change. She concentrated for a minute and then smiled, satisfied. “Bo’f change!” Sirius smiled at her shyly. “ M’kay. Let’s go inside." Lily nodded and followed Sirius inside the washroom. Less than a minute later, Lily peeked her head out again. “Help please. Clothes,” although it sounded more like “Hewp, pwease. Cowffs”

Mary and Marlene exchanged amused looks as they got clothes out of the cupboard and headed inside.

They helped both littles into pyjamas and into bed. Mary watched both of them sleeping soundly, sucking on the pacis in their mouths. Her girlfriend came up and hugged her from behind. “Aren’t they adorable?”

Marlene grinned, “Yeah. But how are we going to do this for an entire month? We’re absolutely not qualified for this.”

As it turned out, they didn’t need to.

Chapter Text

Marvolo sighed as he entered Hogwarts. This castle had been his first and only home for a very long time, and coming back always felt nostalgic. However, Peverell Cottage was his home now, and he couldn’t imagine life anywhere else. Sitting in the gardens with Nagini, his office with the ocean view, and Orion, his star. It was an open secret among pureblood circles that they were lovers. He’d invited Orion to stay at the cottage to get away from his harpy wife, but he wanted to be home during the summer when his children were there. Now they were back at Hogwarts, and the couple could resume their lives together. That, on top of his flourishing career in academia, meant there was only one thing missing in his life.

Up until now, he hadn’t adopted a little. He thought that would change this year when he saw Lily Evans, but when he’d gone to inquire about her, he’d received news that she had someone else in mind. Ah well. There was time.

Today, he’d come to Hogwarts for a different reason. By virtue of being the heir of one of the founders, he had a seat on the school board, and they’d requested that he perform the quarterly inspection.

As always, he started off with the first-year students who had Charms. He worked his way up the list until he reached the fifth years. They looked exhausted even though it was only the second week of October, and he gave them a sympathetic smile before heading off to the sixth years who had transfiguration.

Once he was there, he shook Minerva’s hand before glancing around the classroom. Immediately, a familiar shock of red hair caught his eye. What in Merlin’s name? He made his way to the back so he could confirm it, but that was definitely Lily Evans.

Making up his mind, he made his way to her bench and sat down. She and her companions glanced at him, a little confused. Two girls that he didn’t know and Orion’s older son, Sirius. To his surprise, he sensed that the boy was also a little. How was he here, and why wasn’t Orion doing anything about it? There was something going on here, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Lily looked up, surprised, as the same man she’d crashed into that day at Diagon Alley sat down beside her. Before she could ask anything, Professor McGonagall began to speak. “Good morning, students. Today we will be joined by a guest, a member of the Hogwarts board, Marvolo Slytherin.” He nodded at the students, and the class commenced as usual.

Over the hour, he kept an eye on the two errant littles, and so he noticed the signs of a little who needed to go but couldn’t tell. He had his wand at the ready to prevent the inevitable embarrassment that would come when the boy sat up straight and tugged on the sleeve of one of the other girls. He whispered something, and she nodded. He raised his hand and asked to be excused.

Marvolo watched as the two other girls exchanged worried glances before turning around as he came back suspiciously early and a little red-faced. At least the child had the sense to use a drying charm. Sirius sat at the other end of the bench and whispered something to the girls again before putting his head down on the desk. One of the girls turned to Lily and whispered again, but not quietly enough, “Are you wet?” She seemed to think for a minute before nodding and turning back to the teacher.

Wet? Ah protection. That was clever. He wondered how they’d acquired it in the castle, but then something more serious dawned on him. This was confirmation that they were actively hiding their classifications and that they were being helped.

The moment this was over, he would go to Orion and discuss this before going to the ministry and ensuring this was dealt with. His attention returned to the present, and he noticed something peculiar. Lily’s eyes were exactly the same green as his. Could it be...?

Chapter Text

Marvolo practically flew into the sitting room in Peverell Cottage, where his lover was sitting, reading the Daily Prophet. Orion looked up with a smile, but it turned into a frown as he saw Marvolo’s face. “Did you know your son is a little?" Orion’s eyes widened. “What? Regulus?”

Marvolo shook his head, almost frantic with worry. "No, Sirius.” Orion’s frown deepened. “That can’t be. He said he was a general. Was he misclassified? But then I would have noticed. Why haven’t I noticed anything?"

Then he noticed something odd. He wasn’t worried.

There was a weird dissonance in his emotions. He was worried as a caregiver would be, for a little in danger, but not as a father for a son. “I’m not worried. Why am I not worried? Why. Am. I. Not. Worried?" That’s when it sank in that something was very, very wrong.

Marvolo sprang into action. “Priority one is getting both out of Hogwarts and safe, either here or at St. Mungo’s. I’ll go talk to Liana about this while you head to Mungo’s and get checked for any harmful curses or spells.”

Steadied by having a plan of action, both men flooed to their respective destinations. Marvolo entered the Ministry atrium and made his way up to the Ministry of Classifications. He strode down the hallway of the sixth floor before he got to the one for the Department Head. He entered without knocking, and a pale, blond woman looked up, annoyed.

Liana Malfoy was the most single-minded, goal-oriented witch he’d ever met, and if anyone could sort this mess out as efficiently as possible, it would be her. She raised an eyebrow, but before she could get a word out, he said, “There’s two littles at Hogwarts. They’re hiding their classification and have been for the last two months. At. Least.” He emphasised the last two words.

She said, “What! Why? What are their names?”

He began pacing up and down the room. “One is Sirius Black, Orion’s older son. The other is Lily Evans. She is supposedly muggleborn, but I suspect that she has traces of Slytherin ancestry. She’s certainly got the Slytherin eyes. I have no idea why. However, and I’m telling you this in complete confidence, I suspect Orion has been cursed. I have no idea by whom or for what end, but he’s gone to St. Mungo's to try and figure it out. That may play a part in this.”

Liana nodded before fire-calling her secretary and saying, "James, please search the archives for any record on one Lily Evans and one Sirius Black.” “Right away, ma'am." Not two minutes later, he entered through the door, nodding respectfully at Marvolo, and placed two files on the desk.

Marvolo snatched Lily’s file from the desk. Standing out from the rest of the text, in bold, were two phrases.

The first Little: Infant (12–15 months). The second and more important: Possible Code Purple. Someone knew this might happen.

He sucked in a breath. “She’s a code purple. Why wasn’t she monitored more closely?” Liana put down Sirius’ file and took Lily’s. She confirmed what Marvolo had said before taking deep breaths. “James, please go to the Care for Littles department at St. Mungo’s and fetch Healers Michaels and Coldwell."

She looked up at Marvolo, fire in her eyes. “Heads. Will. Roll.”

Chapter Text

A little while later, as they were discussing possible courses of action, there was a knock on the door. “They’re here, ma'am." “Thank you, James. Please ask Healer Michaels to come in first.”

Healer Michaels was 43 years old, and he’d been working at Care for Little for fifteen years now. This was the first time this had ever happened. A healer was summoned by a ministry Department Head. As he walked in, he stood straighter and nodded respectfully. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t good. “Ma’am. Sir."

“Sit down, please, Healer Michaels. I’ll have to dispense with pleasantries as this is an urgent matter.” Ms. Malfoy said, crisply. “Were you the healer that identified one Lily Evans as a possible Code Purple?” And suddenly, everything made sense. “Yes Ma’am.” His world spiraled sickeningly. ‘Did she…? Is she…?” He trailed off, his mouth dry. The woman across from him nodded severely. “I’m afraid so. I simply need your confirmation that you filed this using the proper systems and channels.” Healer Michaels nodded. “I did.”

“Thank you for your time, Healer. James will show you out. Please ask Healer Coldwell to join us.” The moment the healer left, Liana swore. “Fuck!”

Marvolo didn’t even flinch. He was staring at the fire absorbed in his own mind. He paid no attention to the conversation between Liana and the healer. “We have to do something, Marvolo."

“I know, but we don’t know much about why they thought they needed to do this or what consequences it’s already had on their mental state. I think we should take them to St. Mungo's and leave them in the care of the specialists, but gather more information before we do anything else.” It hurt Marvolo because all he wanted was to hold them, comfort them, and make them believe they didn’t have to be scared, but that’s not what they needed right now.

They needed calm and stability, not to be overwhelmed by everything. He thought for a moment before speaking, “I would suggest getting Healer Michaels to oversee them, with whatever help he may need. Clearly, he has expertise in this field."

Liana nodded. “That’s probably the best thing to do. She got up and made her way to the door. “Shall we?” Marvolo nodded, and they left together, pausing at the desk to relay instructions.

At Hogwarts, Marvolo and Liana made their way up to the office of the headmaster. Filius Flitwick looked up from the desk and greeted them. He’d taken over after Dumbledore had relocated to Germany. Marvolo vastly preferred working with Filius.

“Good evening, Filius. I apologise for barging, but we have a problem.” Liana began. She clinically explained the situation.

Filius listened, his brows furrowing in concern. After hearing their explanation, he nodded solemnly and offered his assistance. "I understand the urgency of the matter. You have my full support and resources at your disposal," he assured them. With a renewed sense of determination, Marvolo and Liana thanked Filius and left his office, ready to tackle the problem head-on and make sure the little ones were safe. They made their way to the Great Hall, where dinner was being served.

They had agreed that Marvolo would fetch both the little ones, as her demeanour as a Master might intimidate them. Not two minutes later, Marvolo returned with not two but four teenagers in tow. She recognised both of the Littles from the description but had no idea who the others were. The littles were obviously tired and nervous, so she resolved to get this over as fast as possible.

“Good evening. My name is Liana Malfoy. I’m the Department Head of the Ministry of Classification. I think you both know just why I’m here, don’t you?”

Lily pressed closer to Sirius as Ms. Malfoy looked at them expectantly. She could hear his erratic breathing and was close to panic herself. Clearly, Ms. Malfoy saw this, and she said softly, “Don’t worry. Neither of you two are in trouble. We just want to help. We’d like to take you to a place where you’ll be cared for like you need. I promise, you’ll be safe. Would you like me to swear it?”

She looked at Sirius, who nodded.

“Very well. I swear on my magic that, if you let me, I will take you to a place where you will be safe. No one will try to hurt you in any way."

Sirius looked up, still worried. He held his pinky finger outstretched. Ms. Malfoy wrapped her own pinky around it. “Pinky promise. You can’t break a pinky promise, can you?” “No. That’s bad.” Sirius agreed.

She held her hands out, and Sirius took one, so Lily took the other. Together, they flood to St. Mungos, leaving Hogwarts for the final time

Chapter Text

Immediately, Marvolo turned to the two teenagers, who called themselves caregivers. “Do either of you have any idea how much trouble you could be in right now? What you’ve been helping them do for the last two months is illegal. They won’t be held accountable, but you will.”

The two girls exchanged terrified looks. Marvolo marched them out of the corridor and into an empty classroom, which he locked and silenced. “Please enlighten me on exactly what you two were thinking!”

Shaking, Marlene explained the situation as best she could. Marvolo turned to face the window, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do you know what could happen if a little suppresses their classification for long enough? Best-case scenario: they develop a split personality with the Little existing as a separate persona. Worst case? They can go insane from the stress of it.”

Marlene went white as a sheet, and the other girl, Mary, turned and retched into the fireplace. “We didn’t know, I swear.” 

Marvolo turned back around, vanishing the sick in the fireplace. He softened somewhat. “I know. We’d be having a very different conversation if we thought you did. Now, given the situation and what you’ve just told me about their home lives, this probably wasn’t the worst possible scenario. However, there was a better way to handle it, and that was by reporting it to the proper authorities.” He sighed and then made a shooing motion with his hand. “Go back to the dining room. We may need to call you to give statements, but for now, eat dinner and reflect on just how badly this could have ended.”

Marvolo rubbed his temples as he processed the new information. He was perhaps a bit harsh on the girls. They had done an admirable job of ensuring the children didn’t suppress their little side entirely. However, it was important they knew what the consequences could have been. Situations like this were best left to trained specialists.

He made his way to the floo and exited it at St. Mungo's. He made his way up to the seventh floor, first corridor, and sank down on the chairs outside the doors. A few minutes later, he saw Liana exit one of the doors.

She sat down next to him. “They’re doing okay. A little scared, overwhelmed, and very tired, but all in all, not nearly as bad as it could have been.” 

Marvolo nodded. “I have good news and bad news. The good news is that they didn’t entirely suppress their headspace, so damage is probably minimal in that case. Bad news is that Sirius, at least, possibly Lily to a lesser extent, were abused, and both were severely neglected.”

“Fuck,” Liana whispered. ”Orion?”

Marvolo shrugged. “No news yet. Whatever happened, they’ve definitely found something.” 

Just then, Healer Michaels exited the same room, frowning. They stood up and faced him. “What’s the verdict, Healer?”

“I’m glad to report that mental fracturing isn’t visible as of now. We’ll need to monitor them closely over the next few weeks, but that area looks fine. I’m more worried about the lasting trauma from the neglect and abuse they appeared to have been through.”

He shook his head. "Normally, I wouldn’t recommend this, but as soon as we know they are stable and settled, I’d like to start them on the regressor potion. I’m sure both of you know how it works. It will permanently shrink them down to a height of about three years old and, more importantly, dampen their memories of what they have been through. I believe that will help them more than anything else can at this moment. However, it is essential to closely monitor their progress and ensure that they are emotionally and physically stable before administering the potion.”

Marvolo nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Tomorrow I’m bringing in a team of specialists who will be on call for the next few weeks as we monitor them. We’ll collaborate to create a treatment plan as soon as possible.” 

“Would it be possible to conduct an ancestry test on Lily?” Marvolo asked. Healer Michaels nodded. “Most likely yes, but I’d like some second opinions before I do anything more. We’re treading dangerous waters here.” 

He looked at Marvolo and Liana, who both looked exhausted. “I think you should get some sleep as well. The next few days aren’t going to be easy on anyone. Least of all those poor children.” He looked back at the door once more before leaving the hallway. Liana and Marvolo parted ways; she headed home while he went in search of Orion.

He was dreading the conversation that was going to take place, but he knew it had to happen.

Chapter Text

Orion was sitting in the dark magic ward, head in his hands. The diagnostic ritual one of the healers had cast revealed a laundry list of potions and blocks, as well as signs of obliviation. How the hell had this happened? In public, he always wore his protection rings. The only times he took them off were at Peverell Cottage and Grimmauld Place. Neither of his sons could cast dark magic this advanced. That left Marvolo and Walburga. He knew which one of them he would pin it on. He was now waiting to undergo a cleansing ritual before they could see if any of the memories that were obliviated were retrievable.

Three hours later, he was sitting, pale-faced, with a painful mix of emotions swirling in his mind. Guilt overwhelmed him as he realised the extent of his son's abuse. Anger simmered beneath the surface as he faced the reality that his wife was responsible for the dark magic.

How could he have let this happen? Sirius, his poor little star. He buried his head in his hands and began to cry. How could he let him get hurt so badly? How could he let his wife do this?

Marvolo found him in exactly this position and didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around him, whispering words of comfort. Marvolo continued whispering soothing words, assuring him that they would find a way to make things right again. As he leaned into the embrace, he vowed to make things right. He would protect Sirius with every ounce of his being, shielding him from any pain or hurt.

Orion knew he had made mistakes in the past, but he was determined to make amends, creating a safe and loving environment for his son. With a renewed sense of purpose, he wiped away his tears and stood up, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. Together, they would build a future filled with happiness and security for Sirius and Lily.

First things first: Walburga. No punishment would be enough, but he knew Azkaban was exactly what she deserved. There was no doubt about what the verdict of any trial would be. He found himself hoping she wouldn’t be Kissed just so she could suffer more. Maybe he could convince Abraxas and Cygnus to throw their weight around in the Wizengamot.

“Liana is taking care of everything at the Ministry. We need to focus on Lily and Sirius.” Marvolo updated him on everything the Healer had told them. Orion agreed with the plan of action the healer had presented. They made their way back up to the seventh floor and slowly opened the blue door. It led to a dark room with two large cribs near the walls. Both children appeared to be sound asleep.

Sirius heard the door creak open. Fear gripped his heart as he squeezed his eyes shut tight, scared that his mother had found them and had come to punish them. Then, a familiar voice, softer than normal, reached his ears. "My sweet, sweet star." Curiosity and surprise overcame his fear, and he cautiously opened his eyes, his gaze falling upon his dishevelled father.

Orion noticed Sirius was awake and smiled, bending down to the height of the crib mattress. "Sleep, little star. All will be well. I swear it.”

As Sirius drifted back to sleep under Orion's watchful gaze, a mixture of determination and sadness settled within Orion's soul. He had made mistakes along the way, but in this moment, he vowed to do whatever it took to ensure his children's safety and happiness. The weight of responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders, but he knew deep down that all he needed to be happy was knowing all his children were safe and happy. Sirius was safe and would soon be home. Regulus was at Hogwarts. He knew that if Marvolo had his way, he would soon count Lily among them as well.

Chapter Text

Sirius woke up looking at the colorful walls of the room. There were clouds on the ceiling, and they were moving. They were moving! He gasped in wonder and heard a chuckle from the side. He turned and saw an older man sitting on an armchair, looking at him fondly. “Good morning, Sirius. I’m Healer Michaels, but you can call me Ben. Me and my friends will be looking after you for a little while while we make sure neither your mind nor body are hurt. Is that okay?” Sirius nodded, but he brought a thumb to his mouth as he thought of how much trouble he’d be in when he went back home. He hoped his mother wouldn't find out he was here or she'd really hurt him.

Mr. Ben tsked before summoning a pacifier and gently removing Sirius’ finger from his mouth. Sirius looked nervously at him as he held the paci in his mouth. The man smiled kindly and said, “Go on.” Sirius put the pacifier in his mouth and instantly felt better. His smile remained, but Mr. Ben somehow looked more serious. “I need you to know that everyone here just wants to help you. There is no one here who will hurt you. You will never have to go back to a place where you’ve been hurt.”

Sirius nodded. Ms. Malfoy had said that as well, but just as insurance, he stood up and stuck out his pinky finger. Mr. Ben solemnly completed the pinky promise.

Then he lowered the bars of the crib he was in so he could get out. “Want a tour of the room?” Sirius nodded enthusiastically. He got down, and Mr. Ben showed him all the stuff, and it was all for him to use. There was a bookshelf filled with picture books, a brightly painted rocking horse in the corner, and stuffed animals waiting to be played with. Sirius couldn't contain his excitement as he imagined all the fun he would have with each and every one of them.

A little while later, one of Mr. Ben’s friends came in and introduced herself as Ms. Ada. Sirius thought she was very pretty and told her so. "My, what a gentleman you are.”

She came just in time too, as just then an earsplitting wail came from Lily’s crib. Sirius grimaced at the piercing noise and put his hands to his ears. Ms. Ada gave him a sympathetic look and asked if he’d like to go outside. Sirius nodded. He loved Lily, but she could cry really loudly.

Ms. Ada took him to another room, and Sirius sighed in relief. Looking around, he saw it had some cupboards and a table. She gave Sirius colourful markers and papers. Sirius thoroughly enjoyed himself colouring. He made a drawing for Ms. Ada, one for Mr. Ben, and one for Lily. By that time, Ms. Ada said they should go back. Sirius beamed with pride as he handed his drawings to Ms. Ada and Mr. Ben.

When they went back, there were a lot of people in the room. Ms. Ada told him they were here to do check-ups on him and Lily. “Can you be brave for me and lie down so they can check you? Lily might do it if she sees you do it too.” Sirius nodded. He’d do anything for Lily.

Healer Adeline smiled as Sirius nodded resolutely. He behaved very well for the specialist checkups and watching him. Lily let them check her too, although with considerably more fuss. Once both children were down for a nap, they’d go over the results and look through all the recommendations made.

By the evening, they had a solid plan in place. They requested the respective guardians of the littles to meet them and go over the plan of action.

That night, after the children were asleep, Marvolo, Orion, Healer Michaels, and his apprentice, Healer Adeline began to go over what the next few weeks would look like. Healer Michaels began. “There’s a lot of very good news. We’ve eliminated the possibility of any mental fracturing thankfully. Neither have any permanent physical damage that isn’t purely cosmetic in nature. No curse residue or other foreign magic.  The only issue is that they haven’t fully relaxed into their new environment and circumstances.”

Healer Adeline continued, “We think it would be best if you both visited and confirmed to them that they are not in any danger. We can only register the regressor potion after they feel safe around you both, because otherwise, while they may not fully remember you, they could retain feelings of unease that could hamper their transition. However, no one else will be allowed until after they've fully regressed.”

Both Marvolo and Orion had no issues with the above.

Healer Michaels then picked up, “We hope to administer the potion this week as long as everything goes to plan. As of now, we’re checking their motor skills and cognitive skills. Lily is definitely too young to be toilet trained, but we’re not really encouraging it with Sirius either. It's more than likely he’ll pick up on the fact that we’re trying to get him to stop having accidents, and it may hamper his recovery. It's better he stays in pull-ups for now so he doesn’t learn to associate accidents with shame.”

“Healers, whatever it takes to ensure our children’s safety and happiness is fine with us.” Orion stated it in no uncertain terms. “It is no problem for me or for Marvolo.”

“Lastly,” he continued, “Are you planning on separating them once they leave? We will have to start the process before they leave, if so.”

Before Orion could even consider the question, Marvolo firmly stated, "No, Orion, his older child Regulus, and Sirius will all be moving into my house.” There was no outward reaction, but he got the sense that both healers appreciated this course of action. The discussion ended with a few more minor points.

Orion and Marvolo came home to an empty house, both imagining the day the house would be filled with laughter. "They'll be home soon." Marvolo whispered, not fully believing it. Orion nodded knowing exactly how his partner felt. "Well let's put the empty rooms to good use now and get them ready." Whatever would come in the future, this was not something they would give up for the world. Their children would know they were loved in every possible way.

Chapter Text

It had been three days since she had come to St. Mungo's, but Lily could confidently say that these were the best three days of her life. No one was mean to her. No one pushed or shoved her. She didn't have to wake up so early that she wanted to cry. Best of all, she was always with Sirius. He was always helping her. Lily knew he was the best person in the whole world.

Ben woke her up with a smile today as well. As usual, Sirius was playing with his toys in the middle of the room. “Rus!” She squealed. Sirius looked up and smiled brightly. Unlike the past days, though, instead of bringing her over to Sirius, Ben pulled her into his lap on an armchair. “I have something important to tell you both. Some people will be visiting today to see you. Your Papa, Sirius, and your new Daddy Lily!”

Sirius’ eyes widened. He remembered his first night here, when his Papa had come to see him. He thought it was a dream, but maybe it wasn’t? Sirius wasn't sure how to feel, though. Would he be mad? He didn't think he could handle it if both his parents hated him. But Mr. Ben had pinky promised that no one would hurt him. He would just have to trust that he meant it.

Healer Michaels noted that Sirius was unusually quiet that day. Normally he would keep up a constant stream of chatter, not really talking to anyone, as he played. Today, though, he played silently, and it didn't seem as if he was engaged in it at all. He hoped today would help the little overcome his fear and anxiety.

At noon, almost on the dot, there were three sharp knocks on the door, and two very familiar faces came in. 

Sirius wanted to run away. He wanted to hug his Papa. He wanted to freeze and hope that he somehow became invisible. He didn’t know what he wanted to do. The only thing he knew was that when Papa looked at him there was more love in those eyes than he’d seen in a very long time. 

He suddenly felt very little, and tears welled up in his eyes. “Papa?” He whispered softly. His father smiled softly and sat down in front of Sirius. “Yes, Sirius.” Sirius reached out to make sure that this was real and not just a dream. Papa came closer, and Sirius touched his chest. It was firm and warm, and it was real.

With a sob, Sirius launched himself at his Papa, who stumbled back slightly before wrapping his arms around his baby boy. Sirius cried, clutching his Papa’s shirt. 

Mumbles, "Sorry... 'm sorry, please ...Papa upset? Please, no upset Papa…. Sirius sorry.” made their way to the caregiver’s ears. He gently lifted his son’s chin, and the fear in his eyes sent a physical spike of pain through his chest. "Baby, I’m not upset, I promise. In fact, I think being little is a very lovely thing to be. I love you just the same, no matter what. I promise.” Orion held his pinky out, just the way he used to do when Sirius was young. 

Sirius just continued crying as Papa continued whispering sweet nothings and endearments. His breath hitched, and he hiccuped as Papa rubbed his back until he fell asleep.

Orion cast a feather-light charm on Sirius and lifted him into the large crib. He then looked over at Marvolo, who had Lily in his lap and was reading her a story. Soon, Lily’s eyes were drooping as well and the visit came to an end.

The healers assured them that it was a massive success and that the two would be given the regressor potion the very next day.

The next morning, Lily woke up to quite a lot of people walking around her room. She screeched, not liking the fact that she’d been woken up. A familiar chuckle sounded from above her, and she twisted her head to see: “Daddy! Daddy!”

Marvolo felt a rush of affection and knew he’d never get tired of hearing that. The hearts rushed around, setting up equipment as well as monitoring charms to ensure that every vital was tracked. Not that there was much anyone could do if something went wrong. In his hands, he held a bottle of what looked like milk but was actually a customised cocktail consisting of a precise amount of regressor potion, a light sedative and a pain reliever.

“Hi darling. Happy to see me?” Lily nodded, her green eyes glowing with joy. “Happy Daddy!” Daddy smiled up at her before casting a charm that made her feel funny. Then he lifted her up so she could sit in his lap. He picked up a bottle and put it in her mouth. Familiar with this by now, she obediently latched on but stopped when she tasted the white liquid. It wasn’t milk! It wasn’t yucky, though, and Daddy had given it to her so she would finish it. Slowly, her eyelids began to get heavier, and she was all but asleep by the time she drank the last few drops. The healers began attaching various monitoring devices, and Marvolo stepped back and observed what was going on.

Not too far away, Sirius slumped over in his Papa’s arms as he finished drinking from the sippy cup. Orion cradled his head and tilted the bottle to ensure Sirius drank all of it. The swarm of healers took over from there, and Orion drew back as well.

The littles would wake up the next day as… well, little and then hopefully in a few days they could go home.

Chapter Text

Sirius woke up, and the world seemed too bright and too loud. He whined and began to cry. His body ached, and his head hurt. Then strong arms lifted him into the air, and a familiar voice began talking. He couldn’t make out what was said, but he buried his head into the warm neck he was level with and closed his eyes. The person carrying him laughed softly, then sighed as they sat down. Sirius peeked out and heard, "Well, there’s those pretty eyes. Papa missed them very much.”

Papa? Papa! How could Sirius forget Papa? Silly Sirius. Sirius squirmed and sat up in Papa’s lap. He was in a big room with lots of very big toys. Sirius frowned. Those were too big for him. Maybe they were for someone else? Then someone else came and sat down next to them. “Someone looks upset. What’s the problem, little one?” Sirius looked over to Papa, unsure of how to interact with this new stranger. Papa did something very funny then; he put his lips on the stranger’s lips. Then it clicked. This stranger was his new mama! For some reason, that put Sirius on edge. He drew away from the stranger, cuddling with his Papa. Papa would keep him safe.

Orion noticed Sirius draw away from Marvolo and winced internally. There was still work to be done, evidently. “Little star, can you look at me?” Sirius peeked out of his chest and looked at him, slightly apprehensive. “This is Marvolo. He’s going to be your new Daddy. Can you say hi to him for me?”

Sirius waved shyly before burying himself back into his new favourite spot. Orion shifted to try to get Sirius out, but Marvolo put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head before getting up and moving to the room where Lily was still asleep. It stung a little that Sirius wasn’t willing to interact with him, but it was understandable. He would just have to show Sirius that there was no reason to be scared.

He made his way to Lily’s room, where she was still sound asleep. Healer Michaels was standing inside, looking at the monitoring devices. “When will she wake up?” The healer frowned. “Hopefully within the hour. If not, we may have to wake her up ourselves.” There was no need to worry, though, as she woke up not fifteen minutes late, hungry, and irritable. Once those problems had been sorted out, her personality as a curious, fiercely independent, and clever child re-asserted itself as she insisted on crawling all around the playmat that was setup in the room till the new rooms were set up in St. Mungo’s.

Almost two weeks later, Marvolo made his way through the hallways, which were now as familiar as the back of his hand, with Orion by his side. Today was the day they would get to take their children home. They’d managed to make some progress with Sirius and him. Sirius now consented to being held by Marvolo without much fuss. Lily had never had a problem with Orion and was soon trailing after him, which admittedly made Marvolo a little jealous. Still, it was progress.

As they opened the door, they were met with two enthusiastic littles chanting “Home! Home!” and an exasperated healer just trying to get them to sit still. "Yes, darlings, home.” Orion smiled, glad to see the change in their demeanour over the last two weeks. They’d become more energetic and more open, and they were overall happier.

He swung Sirius off his feet and savoured the childish giggles coming from his son. Lily hed her hands out in the universal sign for up as Marvolo came closer. They carried the children out of the rooms and down to the desk, where they finished up the paperwork before finally going home. After three long months, the little ones were finally home, safe and sound.

After some discussion, it was decided that the two would have separate rooms as their schedules were quite different and neither parent wanted one child to wake up because the other was crying. The family first went to Lily’s room. As they opened the door, both littles gasped.

It was huge! There was a crib at one end near the window and a couch that could turn into a bed in case an adult needed to spend the night in the room. Two cupboards and a changing table were opposite the couch, and there was a huge playmat on the floor. There was a bookshelf, filled with colorful children's books for bedtime stories and a mountain of stuffed toys in the crib.

There was a rug on the floor, and it was Lily’s favourite blue colour, just like she told Daddy, but best of all, the room was decorated with stars on the walls and on the ceiling. Daddy laughed and pressed a kiss on her head. “Do we like it, sweetheart?” Lily nodded enthusiastically and said, “Like, Daddy!”

Papa spoke, "Well, should we head to Sirius’ room now? I can tell that someone is impatient.” Lily looked over and saw that Sirius was wiggling impatiently. Off they were again!

Sirius felt like his eyes were going to fall out as he took in the entire room. The walls were a soft pastel blue, and there was both a crib and a bed his size. There were two cupboards here too, but the more important thing, in Sirius’ opinion, was the play corner. There was a rocking chair and a rug and shelves lined the walls filled with books and toys. There was even a swing! A swing!

“I can see you like it,” Papa said. “Yeah! It’s so cool. There’s a swing!” Sirius agreed. "Well, let me tell you a secret. The swing was Daddy's idea.” As Sirius turned to smile at his Daddy he knew there was nowhere else he’d rather be right now.

Chapter Text

Orion and Marvolo carried the babies back to the living room where they all sat down on the sofa. “Alright darlings, before we can let you both go play we just want to set some rules okay?” 

Lily nodded, thumb in her mouth. Marvolo smiled fondly and removed it, replacing it with a pacifier. “Rule number 1: No thumb-sucking. Your thumbs could have germs on them and we don’t want you falling sick. Use your paci’s; they're there for that.” 

“Rule number 2,” Orion continued, “Is no hitting, kicking, punching or pinching. If you have a problem you can always tell us but no hurting anyone.”

“Rule number three: similar to the last one, no-name calling. If you have a problem, tell us without being mean.”

“Rule number four: when we go outside the house you will either be carried or in a stroller. It’s dangerous and you could get hurt or lost otherwise. This is important.” Marvolo looked at them, face serious. “Do you understand?”

“Yup!” “Ye’ff”

“Rule number six: don’t try to climb out of the crib on your own. It’s tall and you could get hurt. There are charms on both cribs that will let us know if you’re awake and we will come to you. Again this is very important.” Orion watched as both his littles nodded, eyes wide. “No huwt.” Lily mumbled around the paci.

Marvolo nodded, “No hurt. It would make me and Papa very sad if either of you got hurt.” 

“Last rule and then playtime! If either of you notice that your nappy is wet or dirty, come and tell us. We will check anyway but the sooner you get out of a dirty nappy the better. If you don’t notice that is alright but don’t choose to hide accidents. It could lead to a painful rash.” Orion directed this more at Sirius than at Lily.

Sirius blushed, he’d done exactly that at St. Mungo’s and the healers had been very cross. Lily spoke up from behind the pacifier,”P’ay?” 

Marvolo laughed, “Yes, darling, let’s go play.” He’d waited decades to hear those words and his chest burst with warmth. He swung Lily up and into his arms while Sirius pushed himself off the couch and toddled behind them. Lily let out a confused noise as they moved past her room and Sirius’ room. 

“Where we goin’?” Sirius asked. “To the playroom of course!” Daddy answered smiling. “Where else would we play?” Sirius gasped! A playroom? A whole room just to play in? He nearly ran ahead of Daddy in his excitement. Papa picked him up and settled him on his hip. “Calm, Sirius. We don’t want to get hurt now do we?”

Still, Sirius wriggled impatiently the whole thirty seconds it took to get to the room. Finally they reached and Daddy opened the door with one arm and stepped in. Lily’s pacifier fell to the floor next to him as her jaw dropped. Papa chuckled before putting Sirius down and grabbing the paci.

In the meanwhile Daddy had moved over to a set of drawers and picked out another paci giving it to Lily. Sirius was still stunned looking around the room. The entire room was carpeted in a plush grey carpet that was soft under his feet. There was a corner full of toys for him and Lily as well as lots of cushions. There was a small table for them and a big table for Papa and Daddy. There was a chair which had toys hanging on a bar above it. Best of all, in Sirius’ opinion was the ball pit on the right side of the room.

The children played for two hours. Marvolo noticed Lily preferred her stuffed toys and drawing while Sirius preferred the ball pit. He watched as his love played with his son in the ball pit, passing a red ball back and forth. Sirius grinned cheekily and threw the red ball full force at Orion's head. Thankfully his full-force was not very threatening and Orion merely gave him a mock-hurt look before gently pelting him with more balls. He saw Lily’s eyes drooping and figured it was time for her morning nap. 

He went over to her, “Hi love. I think it’s time to eat and then go to sleep for a bit now don’t you?”

Lily looked up at him, eyes lethargic, suckling lazily on the pacifier. He picked her up before handing her the deer stuffed toy she’d had in her hand. “Sirius, love, are you hungry?” He sighed as Sirius’ smile dimmed as he looked up. He hoped desperately that one day Sirius would trust him the way he did his Papa. 

Sirius carefully considered the question. He was hungry but then he’d have to leave the playroom and stop playing. In the end his hunger and desire to stay with Lily won out and he nodded before getting up. Papa helped him out of the ball pit and once again the family made their way to the dining room. 

Marvolo strapped Lily into a highchair and saw Sirius direct Orion to set him down on the table so he could talk to her while Orion set up the child’s high chair. When he came back, two bottles of warm formula and a plate of thin apple slices in his hand the children were animatedly babbling to each other. 

He unstrapped Lily from the highchair and positioned her in his lap so she could drink comfortably. He watched as her eyes drooped lower and lower until she was all but asleep. He shifted her upright and patted her back to burp her. He winced as he felt the wet sick -up land on his shoulder Next time he had to remember the cloth. As he watched Orion coax Sirius into eating some appli slices he got up and went to Lily’s room, quickly changed her, swaddled her and placed her in the crib before changing his own shirt.

Sirius quickly ate the apple slices before requesting to be taken to the playroom. This time He played in the playpen with a sorting box. About forty-five minutes later, he toddled up to Orion and tugged on his sleeve. “Potty.” He whispered, still uncertain. 

Papa looked at him kindly, “You went potty?” Sirius shook his head shifting from side-to-side as his stomach squeezed uncomfortably. Papa’s eyes widened before he gently picked Sirius up and carried him to the corner of the room. He then took out a small red plastic potty with a duck on it. Sirius was momentarily distracted by the duck. At St. Mungo’s he didn’t have his own potty. There was a big potty in the bathroom next door which he was scared of so he hardly went.

Then a squeeze from his stomach brought him back to reality and he pulled his pants down as Papa put the potty down. He sat on it and smiled as he heard the funny tinkling noises of his wee in the potty. Finally when he was done, Papa helped him clean his hands before picking him up again and carrying him to his room for night-nights.

Chapter Text

A long, exhausting yet fun afternoon later, they dragged themselves back to the house. Bags containing everything the little ones could ever possibly want, and then some more, were unceremoniously dumped in the family parlour for the house elves to put away before Marvolo began to make dinner and Orion changed the children into pajamas that they had bought.

Lily began chewing on the hood of her bright orange pajamas. Orion frowned and removed the hood from her mouth. She began to fuss quietly, looking at Orion with big tear-filled eyes that had him rush to replace it with a pacifier. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sirius flop onto the carpet and rub his face into the soft, plush material in a manner oddly reminiscent of a kitten. Stifling his laughter, he carried Lily over to Sirius and gently picked him up as well.

Sirius groaned. He was so tired! Why did Papa not understand that? They had done so much stuff today. First, they went to a really big shop full of clothes, and him and Lily got lots and lots of new clothes. Papa even let them both pick what they wanted. Then they went to another store which had a bunch of stuff. The best part was, obviously, the toys. They got to get so many toys even though there were already toys in the playroom. Sirius was excited to play with his new toys, but his eyelids were getting heavy. Such a long day had worn him out and now all he wanted was to sleep.

He went limp in Papa’s arms who just laughed. “Wake up, Siri. Dinner first, then you can sleep.” Why was Papa laughing? This was serious! He was really, really tired. To show how upset he was, he stuck out his tongue. Papa frowned, setting him down. “That’s not nice.”

Sirius’ eyes widened. Was Papa upset? “M’sorry,” he said quickly. Papa nodded, “Let’s not do that, okay?” Sirius nodded quickly and grabbed his Papa’s hand to make sure he wasn’t mad before the three of them made their way to dinner.

Dinner was a quicker affair than usual as both children were exhausted and neither Orion nor Marvolo wanted a meltdown at this stage. Forgoing solid food for now, they both latched on to the warm bottles of milk held out for them. Lily was asleep before she even finished drinking it while Sirius held out long enough for the walk back to his room and to hear Papa's gentle whisper of "Goodnight Siri. Papa loves you."

Orion walked back to the dining room where Marvolo had set out their food as well. He brought out two glasses and some wine. As they ate dinner, conversation drifted from what they would have to do in the next few weeks to get their little ones properly settled to whether they should have Regulus come home as well. Orion's brow furrowed with concern, "I have no idea how he will adjust to the new dynamics on top of everything else that he's been through."

Marvolo reached across the table, gently squeezing Orion's hand in reassurance. "We'll figure it out, love. We always do," he said with a soft smile.

Their glasses clinked together in a silent pledge, the crystal chiming softly in the quiet of the dining room.

"To the future," Marvolo said, his gaze steady as he met Orion's eyes.

"And whatever it may hold," Orion completed, hoping that he could express all the love he felt in that moment with only his eyes, because the lump in his throat prevented him from saying anything more.

Chapter Text

Over the course of a week, the household settled into a comfortably domestic rhythm. Mornings began with breakfast and mischief from the children, to which Marvolo and Orion only gave token protest, desiring only to see them smile. Then they made their way to the playroom. Even a week wasn’t enough to have played with every single toy they had, but a few reliable favorites were emerging. Stuffed toys were popular with both children, as were building blocks. Sirius spent more time in the ball pit than out, and Lily’s first request was always to be put in the swing. The caregivers had amassed a slew of drawings from their littles, proudly displayed all across the house. Lunch usually consisted of solid food and a bottle. Lately, Marvolo had been experimenting with flavoring the milk using honey, which quickly became a hit. Then they put both children down for a nap. They began work for the day, inevitably accompanied by Orion’s grumbling about paperwork. They woke Sirius first, then Lily half an hour later. Both children were placed in the large playpen in the office so they could play together while being supervised.

Wrapping up work sometime in the evening, the family moved to the garden. They let the children tire themselves out again, chasing each other around. Then came bath time, the only real struggle. Neither Lily nor Sirius was fond of it, and often it took almost an hour to get it done. As a reward, they got a story from Marvolo (who did the voices better and was far too smug about it). Then they gently coaxed the littles to sleep.

One night, they were woken by the monitoring charm placed in Sirius’ room going off. They could hear loud cries and stumbled out of bed. “Go back to sleep, star. I’ll handle it,” Marvolo assured him. He left their room and made his way to Sirius’s. He pushed the door and was greeted with ear-piercing wails. Sirius had climbed out of the toddler bed he was in and huddled in the corner of the room, with tears streaming down his face. Marvolo crouched down in front of Sirius, who curled in on himself. Gently, he picked up the sniffling toddler and ran a hand up and down Sirius’ back. After hanging limply for a few seconds, Sirius curled into Marvolo’s chest and cried with renewed vigor, clutching his shirt in an iron grip.

Marvolo continued to pace up and down the room, humming in an attempt to soothe Sirius. Slowly the cries died down to hiccups and sniffles. “Do you want to use your words, little star?”

Sirius mumbled something indistinguishable into Marvolo’s neck. “Can you try again, baby?”

Finally, he looked up at him with teary eyes and quietly said, “Nightmare. I b-broke something an-an-and there was lotsa blood, and everyone was upset, and you-you didn’t like me anymore.”

“Oh, love. Little star, listen to me. We will always love you, I promise.” Sirius burrowed back into Marvolo’s neck and clutched on for dear life. Knowing that getting him to sleep in the bed away from him would likely have a counterproductive effect, he made his way to the sofa and laid down on top of that. When Orion came looking for him half an hour later, he found him fast asleep on the couch with Sirius sprawled on top of him.