Unofficial Portkey Archive

I have been plagiarized.

Miss I-Steal-Work-That-Is-Not-Mine, if you are copying my story and sending it to people pretending you are me, you are really a terrible person and Yahoo and MSN have been notified. You should also notice that your email addresses have been spammed by my fellow authors/readers, and your account on Quizilla will soon be terminated.

You. Suck.

In other news, thank you a billion to Julie for notifying me of this horrible act. To you, I dedicate this chapter, as well as offer my heartfelt thanks. I also dedicate this chapter to those over at thegreatbreak who stepped forward to spam this idiot with threatening emails.

"And know that if I knew
All of the answers I would
Not hold them from you'd
Know all the things that i'd know
We told each other, there is no other way."
-No Other Way, Jack Johnson

Those Who Have Thrice Defied Him
Chapter Ten

"Aw, lookie, Harry," Sirius said, bouncing the baby on his knee. "You wore out your Daddy."

To be fair, James had been doing most of the work for the past four days, while Sirius commented, so it was to be expected that while Sirius had gone for a piss, James had passed out on the floor, with Harry lying on a blanket grabbing at various baby toys. Sirius had taken the baby off the floor and was keeping him at arm's length. Although he was still apprehensive about letting his mouth so close, the little slobber monster was growing on him.

Harry was making sounds and sucking lightly on his thumb.

"Well, as you're my best mate's 'little mate,' I guess that means you're my 'little mate,' too," Sirius nodded. "So that means I get to do all the stuff that I would normally do with James with you, hm?"

James snorted on the floor and turned his head on the carpet. Sirius thought he head the word 'Quaffle' pass through his lips.

"Eh," Sirius reconsidered. "I suppose not everything I would do... your dad would murder me if I drug you into some of the trouble that we've gone through before."

He continued to bounce Harry gently.

"What could we do, mate?" Sirius asked, watching as Harry's head went bobbing up and down. "What could we do....?"

Suddenly an idea hit Sirius. His jaw dropped and he stood up, still holding Harry at arm-length away with a huge grin on his face.

"Oh, we're going to have some fun tonight!" he cackled, putting the baby on the slobber cloth on his shoulder and sneaking towards the door.

"Lily, not again," Emmeline sighed. She had walked into the room from taking a long bath to find Lily quietly crying in a corner.

"I can't help it!" Lily sighed a watery smile. "I miss my baby."

"Now, which baby are we talking about?" Emmeline poked, handing Lily a tissue. "James or Harry?"

"Both of them," Lily said, blowing her nose.

"Well, once your husband finds out how much we've spent this week, I doubt you'll be able to go on another vacation for a while," Emmeline looked a bit guilty. "So why don't you just enjoy it?"

"I am," Lily nodded. "It's just hard to be away from your child."

"Dry your tears, we're going out, because I've been too busy to enjoy a drink, and you've been too pregnant," Emmeline grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her off of the couch with a surprised sound.

"Yeah," Sirius sighed, holding Harry to his stomach with one hand, and holding a beer in the other. "I'm never going to be the same again."

"You poor dear," the blonde sighed.

"Losing my wife was the hardest thing I think I've ever had to go through," Sirius sighed, taking another drink, while keeping an eye on the girl's expression. "And then, of course, losing our number one babysitter in a freak explosion...but I can't come to a bar and soothe away my problems without leaving my only son...So that is why I brought him."

"A good father, too!" she put her hand to her chest.

"I love my little Harry," Sirius nodded, solemnly and then took another drink.

"Well," the woman said, standing and looking towards the door. "I'm afraid, but my boyfriend is here, so-"

Sirius held in a grumble as he watched her walk away. He put the beer up on the bar and then put Harry up there, his little booties hanging off the dirty wood.

"We were close, weren't we mate?" Sirius said, nudging the baby in the stomach with his nose. Harry cooed and reached forward, grabbing Sirius' hair. "Owww!" he cried, closing his eyes. "Hey, mate, leggo!"

Harry continued to grab without letting go.

"Having troubles?" a voice said next to him.

"A bit," Sirius said, eyeing the first thing at his eye-level, a pair of large breasts. He sighed melodramatically. "Ever since my wife died, he's been grabbing at everything he can get his hands on."

"Your wife died?!"

"Score," Sirius winked at Harry as the baby let go of his hair.

James groggily opened his eyes and turned over onto his back, his mouth falling open slightly as he slept on.

"I do believe that I will try another," Lily giggled, a bit tipsy. "And yourself, Emmy?"

"Yes, yes," she nodded, mock-seriously, reaching for the jug of sangria they were sharing. They were finishing a grand dinner with pastries, with their second jug of sangria still mostly full. Emmeline poured them another full glass each and they toasted each other.

"Your husband is going to kill us," Emmeline laughed.

"You've said that," Lily nodded. "I don't think so. I'm the spendthrift. He's loaded."

"So we should order another jug when we've finished with that?" Emmeline said, trying to force her smile into a serious expression.

"Oh indub-dab-dibitabaly," Lily said, losing her composure and giggling again. She couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun, especially with Emmeline. Life had been too stressful to really enjoy anything, let alone friends and good alcohol. She had just came out of school to enter the tough world of Auror training, and then got married and had a baby. When was the last time she had girl time?

"I have made a decision!" Lily said, holding up her glass of sangria.

"What is that?" Emmeline said, drinking more of hers and licking her lips.

"I have decided that my life is entirely too stressful!"

"Here, here," Emmeline nodded.

"And that it has been far too long since I've had any fun!" she continued.

"Here, here!" Emmeline raised her glass to toast again.

"So for the remaining three days!" Lily said, sitting up. "I am going to-!"

"Malfoy!" Emmeline's eyes bulged. She grabbed Lily by the shirt and yanked her under the table.

"What the hell was that for?" Lily said, rubbing at her neck. Her heart stopped when she heard a slippery voice.

"Yes," Lucius Malfoy drawled, a blonde hanging off his arm. "I do believe we'll have our same table on the veranda."

"Lucius, do you trust that house elf with the baby?" she asked, her voice high.

"Yes, dear," Lucius drawled.

Lily hiccuped, her heart pounding. She was drunk, but she knew that Lucius wouldn't outright kill her in the middle of this public restaurant on one of the most posh magical resorts in Europe, and that her baby was far, far away in Manchester, under the care of her husband and husband's best friend, but it didn't stop her from being scared out of her wits.

The veranda doors shut behind the Malfoys and Lily and Emmeline popped their heads up on the table.

"I didn't know Lucius had a baby," Emmeline said, sitting up.

"Doesn't make him any less blood-thirsty," Lily whispered, hand still over her heart.

"Are you all right?" Emmeline asked. "I didn't mean to scare you like that, but I thought it would be best if they didn't know that we were here."

"Do you think any other Death Eaters are here?" Lily whispered, looking about.

"Doubtful," Emmeline shook her head. "This looks like a family vacation."

"Lucky them," Lily sighed, not really in the mood to drink any more sangria. Emmeline patted her hand gently.

"This is all going to blow over soon. It can't go on forever, right?"

"I wanted us to be a happy family, Em," Lily ran her hand around the rim of her glass. "I wanted to take trips with Harry and James to the beach, and to watch them play Quidditch in the backyard, and to see him off to school in the fall...I don't even know if we can let him go to Hogwarts."

"Lily," Emmeline laughed. "You can send your son to Hogwarts. He'd probably be safest there."

"I wonder how James is doing all by himself?" Lily bit her lip.

"He's fine, I spoke to him yesterday," Emmeline said. "He and Sirius and Harry have bonded thoroughly and are taking good care of each other."

"Mmm....my hair..." James opened his eyes. He had been sleeping on the carpet, not very comfortably, as he had been half-on one of Harry's rattles. He sat up, rubbing his face, and looked around.

And his heart stopped.

"...Sirius?" James said, on his feet instantly. "Harry?"

Hoping that he'd find them asleep somewhere, he combed the house as he had done a few weeks previous when his wife was gone.

"Oh not again," James grumbled. "Why do people keep leaving with my son?!"

He paced around the living room, nervously. He knew Sirius was to be trusted, that was fact he would never dispute, but was Sirius to be trusted? Did he know how to take care of Harry? He seemed pretty clueless, from what James' saw. Not to mention, Lily might decide to come back early, and then she would see that James let Sirius take the baby out and then James would lose his head.

Not to mention her trust. She had gone on this vacation to relax and not worry so much, but if she came back and the baby was gone, she would never trust James again. And she already didn't trust him enough as it was!

Not to mention what would happen if Sirius was attacked? Did he know what to do? Did he know to flee to Dumbledore's office? No, probably not. Sirius would probably stand and fight, with Harry on his shoulder or something. Did he know how dangerous that was?!

He looked up when he heard a beeping. Someone with a wand was walking through the barrier. He heard a soft click and waited on tenderhooks, until he heard the familiar snickering, as well as gurgling.

Sirius was pink in the face from laughing so hard. Harry was pressed to his chest and had some sort of a necklace strung around his neck, which he seemed to enjoy chewing on.

"James!" Sirius chortled. "James, you'll never guess what your son did! I half don't believe it myself-"

"Harry!" James said, rushing to the door and snatching his baby away from his best friend. "Oh damn it, I was so worried."

"Mate, I had it handled-" Sirius said, eyebrows coming together. "It's just a baby?"

James sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the pulse on the top of his son's head. Holding him close made the weight lift from his chest, and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to let him go.

Sirius watched James hold his baby as if he were about to disappear any moment. Under normal circumstances, James probably would have laughed with Sirius and begged him to tell him what wonder his son had just performed. But whatever was going on (and Sirius had only heard garbled from others), it had James scared for his son. Even in the hands of his best mate.

"I think its time that you told me what the hell is going on here," Sirius said, in a deadly serious face. "I'm his godfather, I have a right to know."

James opened his eyes to find that Harry had fallen asleep on his shoulder. "I'll tell you...as long as you don't tell Lily or Dumbledore I told you."

"What, you think I'm stupid or something?"

"So...what's the big deal?" Sirius said. "Harry was born August first, and unless the prophecy meant 'cerca the end of the month,' I think we're safe."

James didn't look at Sirius, and kept his eyes on the baby in his arms.

"James?" Sirius said, sensing something was still being kept from him. This was a conversation where nicknames needed to be left aside.

"Harry wasn't born on the first," James whispered. "He was born July 31st at 11:56."

Sirius stared blankly. "So...this prophecy really...does have everything to do with him?"

"It doesn't as long as Voldemort doesn't think it doesn't," James said, looking at him stubbornly.

"How long do you think it'll take for him to find out?" Sirius said, stonily. "He has ways."

"Unless he gets Lily or I or you or Dumbledore, he won't know anything," James adjusted Harry in his arms. "And I intend to keep it that way."

"Hey, you guys are all I got," Sirius shrugged. "I'm not about to gamble that for anything."

"You cannot tell-"

"Mate," Sirius laughed. "I know when to keep my mouth shut. I've still not told Lily about-"

"And you had better not," James glared, but it soon broke into a wide smile.

"Ah!" Lily exclaimed, running over to Harry, who was being fed by Sirius. His godfather gladly handed the baby to his mother. "There's my baby boy!"

"Good job, Emmeline," James grinned, watching Lily shower their baby with kisses. "You've found my wife again."

"Ah-ha, don't thank her yet," Lily said, handing him a large scroll of parchment without taking her eyes away from the baby.

"HOLY SHIT!!!"

"Not around the baby, dear," Lily said, rocking him. "Did you miss mummy? Mummy missed you, sooo much!"

"It can't be that...HOLY SHIT!"

"Sirius, honestly," Lily said, grinning. "Not around the baby please."

"You...spent...."

"Come along Harry," Lily said, walking into the living room. "I think your daddy might have gone into shock."