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For The Sake Of A Name	By : Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 52498 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. I am not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
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AN: I present to you all, chapter 42.
Massive apologies for how long it has taken me to update this; it took me ages to get it written, and then with my hurry to get Erotes sorted for its anniversary post, completely forgot about posting this chapter.
In the meantime, please do come and chat with me on facebook. If you would like to be friends with me there, then there is a link on my Profile page.
Enjoy.
Thank you, as always, to my brilliant beta, AchillesTheGeek.
Warnings and disclaimers apply as always

Previously:
"I am taking care of Orion this evening while Harry and Draco have potions," Sirius told her quickly. He almost winced at how much of an excuse it sounded like; was he really that worried about having to try and help his friend through his depression? Sirius quickly reached the conclusion that, yes, he definitely didn't feel comfortable about it.
Molly, however, was having none of it. "Well then, I will get to enjoy some delightful one-on-one time with Orion this evening; I might even bring Arthur over to keep us company," she suggested sounding quite enamoured with the whole plan.
Sirius looked up at her, rather shocked. He didn't know how she could be so positive; but here she was trying to do the very best for Remus. What sort of friend was he, if he didn't do the same? He wasn't sure that he was up to the task of really helping the werewolf, but he reminded himself that he was a Gryffindor and that meant he was supposed to be brave. Who knows, maybe it would be fun.
"Yes," he smiled, a new determination coming into his voice. "Yes, I think I'd like that."
-#-
That evening Molly Weasley, with Arthur in tow, turned up at the Potter family rooms in Hogwarts, just as she had told Sirius she would. Poor Arthur was still in his work robes; he had barely gotten home from work before she had placed a casserole in his arms and hurriedly taken him by the arm, informing him that she was going to apparate them to Hogsmeade. From there they had enjoyed the pleasant walk up to the castle while Molly had explained her plan for the evening.
Harry and Draco were delighted to see them both, knowing that their three and a half month old son was completely safe in Molly and Arthur's care; and, once the plan for Sirius was explained, they both thought that Sirius visiting Remus was an excellent idea. Sirius, however, started fretting as soon as he had let the Weasleys through the door.
"I am really not sure I am the person to send," Sirius grumbled, as Molly took the casserole dish from Arthur and placed it in his arms. He was still sure that he was going to say the wrong thing or just end up upsetting Remus; serious heart-to-heart conversations were just not really his style.
"You're his best friend, Sirius," Arthur pointed out kindly. "I believe that Molly is correct in her assumption that you would be the best person to speak with him on this; we all need a friend sometimes."
"At least you can make sure he eats properly this evening," Molly instructed firmly; she was very much of the opinion that a hearty home-cooked meal was a suitable remedy for the majority of life's problems.
Sirius' response was cut off by a cute high-pitched baby giggle as Harry came out of his and Draco's room with Orion cuddled against his chest. "Orion, what are you doing?" Harry asked half laughing as the little boy tried to turn around and look for the source of the voices that he had evidently heard.
"Just being a curious little boy, that's all," Molly said as came over and took her grandson, so that she could have some cuddles with him. Sirius placed the casserole on the table in their rooms and took a seat there; he had no idea why but he had an urge to rush across the room and steal Orion back from her; he repressed it and reminded himself that it wasn't a competition for the little boy's affections and that Molly neither would nor could ever take the Potters from him.
"You will have all evening with him, Molly," Arthur pointed out, with fond exasperation. It was obvious how much his wife doted on Orion and, although he hadn't spent a great deal of time with Harry's son, he could understand why; the boy was adorable and grandson to them in all but blood.
"But our son is irresistible," Draco stated as she followed her husband into the living room of their quarters, looking over to where Molly was showing Orion to Arthur, the little boy reaching up trying to get hold of Molly's red hair. Harry rolled his eyes at his wife's smug expression, though he agreed completely.
"I suppose he does have a certain charm," Sirius teased; he had been besotted with Orion since the day he had been born, and they all knew it, but he did so enjoy the way comments like that one made Draco scowl at him; he had to keep himself amused somehow.
"Is he getting your hair, Harry?" Arthur asked, as he ran his fingers through Orion's dark brown hair.
"It's looking like it," Harry told him, laughing a little at the mildly annoyed expression on Draco's face. "Doesn't he look just like Draco though," he went on, going over and peering down at his son in Molly's arms. Orion let out huffy little giggles as he reached up at his father's face above him. "He likes being adored like his mother too," Harry added earning himself a swat to the arm as Draco gathered up the books they needed to take to potions class.
Draco didn't even try to deny that one; she had, of course, not enjoyed the negative attention she had had on occasion, but she really did like having those around her being at least slightly envious of her. She remembered the way that many of the Slytherins had looked up to her, when she had still been a him; she did miss the adoration, the automatic respect she had been given back then simply by being a Malfoy.
Everything was different now, of course; but the respect of her friends meant so much more now she had actually earned it. But she had no time for getting lost in such thoughts; they still had ten minutes before they had to be in the potions classroom, but Professor Snape would not tolerate them arriving late for any reason.
"We should probably get going, Harry," Draco pointed out.
"Yes, go," Molly agreed, pretending to nibble on Orion's fingers as the little boy reached up to her mouth.
Harry nodded his agreement, accepting his book bag from his wife; things had been going relatively smoothly between him and the potions master and, much to everyone's surprise and delight, he was starting to show some improvement. Though Professor Snape had promptly insisted that he could hardly have gotten any worse.
"Be good for Grandma and Grandpa," Harry told Orion, pressing a kiss to his son's cheek.
"There are bottles on milk on the side that will just need warming up," Draco told her, gesturing to where they kept the bottles of milk she had expressed. "I have put out spare nappies and a change of clothes on the bed in case you need them; he had a nap this afternoon so he will probably stay awake but..."
"Draco," Molly interrupted gently. She understood the motherly need to know that her child was okay, but it was hardly as though this was the first time she had taken care of Orion; though, admittedly, it was the first time she would be caring for the boy for several hours without his parents present. "We will be just fine, I have raised seven children after all," she pointed out.
The blonde was half tempted to make some comment about how Molly's youngest had turned out, but she felt that would be fairly churlish given how Molly had defended them against Ginny's antics on more than one occasion. Not to mention the woman had come all the way to Hogwarts to allow Sirius to spend time with Remus and would be spending the evening caring for their young son.
"Besides we know exactly where you are if we need you for anything, and we also know where Sirius is," Arthur pointed out.
Draco wasn't really worried but she still never liked being away from Orion and it had even taken a while to get used to leaving him with Sirius, and she didn't know Molly nearly as well; Harry didn't like being away from Orion either, but he had known Molly for many years, and knew that their little boy couldn't be left in safer hands.
"Come on," Harry prompted, wrapping his arm around Draco's waist. "We really don't want to be late."
"I love you, little man," Draco said, kissing Orion's cheek, just like Harry did. She caught her son's hand and kissed that too, when he reached out for her.
"Have fun, Sirius," Harry said turning to Sirius as the young couple headed for the door to their rooms. "And send Remus our love."
"Will do," Sirius agreed. Once Harry and Draco had closed the door behind them, he got to his feet and turned to Molly and Arthur. "I should probably head out too," he said, before pausing for a moment. "I have no idea how late I will be there," he pointed out, looking a little worried.
"It is quite alright, Sirius," Molly assured. "If need be, I have no issue with staying here with them all evening."
"Oh, I can't expect you to..." Sirius started to object.
"They are my family too, Sirius," Molly pointed out stubbornly; sometimes she wondered if Sirius actually remembered that he didn't have an exclusive claim on the Potters. There were a lot of people around who loved and cared for the young family. "I am as much Orion's grandparent and guardian as you are, I love Harry like a son and Draco is like a daughter-in-law, and I love her as such too."
"I know," Sirius said. "I will try to be back this evening, but..."
"You just focus on Remus this evening," Arthur told him, "we have things covered here." Taking care of one three month old baby was nothing that would faze either him or his wife, after the many years of their own brood. At the moment, it was important that they help Remus get back on a more positive path, which was likely going to prove to be a far greater challenge than Orion's care.
"Thank you," Sirius said earnestly, picking up the casserole he had placed down on the table. "It might not always seem like it, but I really do appreciate your help," he told them as he headed for the door, glancing over his shoulder once more to the sight of the Weasleys cooing over their first born grandchild.
He reminded himself that he didn't have to worry about anything here at Hogwarts, and turned his mind to his friend, who was apparently in great need of… something. He didn't know what; perhaps that was what really worried him.
-#-
Remus was sitting at the large table in the kitchen of Grimmauld place, feeling decidedly nervous. He had received letters from both Sirius and Molly earlier that day, informing him of their plans and that Sirius was going to bring dinner over for them to eat together. It was strange because he knew he shouldn't feel nervous, but he couldn't help it.
The knowledge that Sirius would be showing up later had kept him from drinking that day. The last thing he needed, on top of everything else, was his best friend making accusations about him being an alcoholic or even just that he was drinking too much; though he was sure that Molly had already formed the latter opinion and had told Sirius as much.
He had made himself a ham sandwich for lunch in an attempt to take care of himself, but he just couldn't find his appetite and after two small bites he hadn't been able to stomach eating any more. He hated the wastefulness of it, but there was nothing to be done about that; Kreacher had disposed of the sandwich a little while later.
Knock, Knock.
Remus looked up at the sound of someone banging on the front door; it wasn't as though he didn't know exactly who it was but he still found himself hesitating. Maybe he could just pretend he wasn't home, that he hadn't received their owls earlier, he thought to himself, but he wasn't quite that cowardly and it was only Sirius after all.
He pushed himself to his feet and headed towards the front door. Maybe they could even have a nice time this evening, he thought hopefully; that might actually be what he needed to get out of the terrible moods and thoughts that plagued him lately. Molly had also promised that she would be sending along one of her excellent casseroles, something that would be a significant improvement on his own attempts at cooking and Kreacher's slapdash meals.
"Evening, Remus," Sirius said happily as the werewolf pulled open the front door.
"It's good to see you," Remus responded, glad to realise that there was truth in the words.
"I come bearing gifts of Molly's cooking," Sirius said, holding up the casserole dish as though making an offering. "Is this enough to earn entry to this humble abode?" he asked with a smirk on his lips.
Remus gave a snort of amusement. "This is your house, and it isn't particularly humble either," he pointed out, accepting the dish nonetheless. "Get in and stop being an idiot," he chastised affectionately, as he stepped aside to allow his best friend through the door, closing it behind him. Remus couldn't help the smile on his face; maybe this had been what he needed after all.
Sirius was thinking along the same lines; he had gotten so used to being a parent or grandparent lately, and more recently a teacher as well, that he had not had much chance to really just let go and be silly with his friend. Even the last full moon had been heavy with the knowledge that Remus would be going back to Grimmauld Place alone.
"Let's eat," Sirius said decisively, stepping around his friend and leading the way to the kitchen. Remus smiled happily, nodded his agreement, and followed.
-#-
Molly and Arthur were sat on the sofa in the Potters' rooms, watching Orion; the little boy was lying on his belly pushing up on his arms and reaching for the various rattles and toys that they kept placing in front of him. Of course, most of these ended up getting chewed on, but that was to be expected, and he seemed to be having a great time, if his little giggles and excited noises were anything to go by.
"This is rather lovely, I miss having a baby around sometimes," Arthur admitted; they had spent so many years always having a child under two that even now that their youngest was fifteen and rapidly approaching adulthood, it was still strange not having a young child to care for.
"Me too," Molly agreed. "Though I think that I might enjoy doing this as a grandparent instead. I am not sure I have the patience for all those sleepless nights anymore."
Arthur chuckled; his wife made an excellent point. It was looking likely that their eldest, Bill, might end up giving them another grandchild before long anyway, seeing the way that Fleur had been looking at Orion over the summer. Though they all thought the two of them would likely choose to marry first.
Molly leaned into his side and he wrapped his arm around her, placing a kiss to her temple. Yes, he definitely could get on board with the being grandparents thing he thought, if it meant time with the children and time with his lovely wife.
-#-
"This is really great," Remus said as he dug into his serving of Molly's casserole. "You have no idea how great this is compared to the rubbish Kreacher makes; it isn't as though I am much of a cook myself."
Sirius gave a laugh at that; he remembered one time when Remus had attempted to cook dinner for their friends and it had been completely inedible, though that might have been in part thanks to James' help. Lily had been very amused; she had told them that it had been sweet of them to try but also refused to eat any of it, and made them promise not ever mistreat her kitchen in such a way again.
"You can almost taste the love that Molly puts into her cooking," Sirius agreed. "The house elves at Hogwarts make great food too, of course, but I am glad to share a meal with you my old friend," he said, holding his glass of juice up in a toast.
Remus raised his glass too. "It is nice to have company," he told him. He focused on eating; he still didn't have much of an appetite despite the quality of the food but Sirius had an expression on his face that meant he was building up to asking difficult and probably unwelcome questions.
Sirius seemed happy to allow their conversation to be put off for a little longer too, and followed his friend's lead, choosing to finish off his helping, before taking seconds. He stabbed his fork into a piece of meat with a sigh and looked up at his friend. "Remus..." he said hesitantly.
"I'm fine, Sirius," the werewolf responded all too quickly.
"Molly and Arthur seem to think otherwise," Sirius bit back. "And I know you well enough that if you felt the need to tell me you're fine, then you probably aren't, so stop worrying about causing me problems and tell me what's going on."
"I'm..." Remus had been about to say he was fine, but he couldn't bring himself to lie that blatantly to his friend, not after Sirius had gone to such efforts to come and be supportive. He knew that his best friend wouldn't have been really comfortable with talking about feelings and the like. "I am not really sure what is wrong. Honestly," he added when Sirius looked sceptical.
"I know it must be frustrating being here alone, but maybe you need to find something to do with yourself?" Sirius suggested. "I never thought the whole teaching thing would work for me, even if I was prepared to do it for Harry, but it is great to have a purpose, to do something for me."
"And who do you suppose is going to hire a werewolf?" Remus snapped back angrily, getting to his feet. "The years I spend with the clans might have changed me, and helped me, but nothing has changed here." He hadn't meant to take his frustrations out on his friend, but it wasn't like he didn't want to do something with his life; he was just tired of being shunned.
"Not everyone is prejudiced against you, Remus," Sirius argued, getting to his own feet, leaning across the table to glare at his friend. "I know it isn't easy, but your furry problem is always a good excuse for you to grumble and complain about how unfair it all is."
"Sirius..." Remus said softly, genuinely hurt by his friends harsh words, even if he couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to them. He didn't like to think that he had just been making excuses and he wanted to fight back and tell Sirius that he was wrong, but he couldn't summon the energy.
"I'm sorry, old friend," Sirius said, going to move around the table, but Remus was already turning and heading for the door out into the hall. "I just want to help you, Remus," he called as he followed the werewolf from the room, the sound of footfall on the stairs a moment later told him where his friend was going. "Remus!" he shouted, but he got no response,
Sirius headed up the stairs after the werewolf, banging his fist against the door of the werewolf's room, which had been warded to prevent him entering. "Remus, I'm sorry," he tried, but there was no response. He sunk to the floor, his back against the door, and rested his head in his hands; he couldn't help but wonder how he always managed to say the wrong thing.
-#-
Harry and Molly were sat on the floor playing with Orion, when Sirius returned; Arthur was sat on one of the sofas watching on but Draco had decided to take an early night. It was getting late and they had been hopeful that the two old friends had gotten caught up talking, but Sirius looking tired, angry and more miserable than any of them had seen him in sometime.
"Sirius?" Harry questioned, his voice laced with concern at the sight of his godfather.
"I'm going to bed," Sirius told him bluntly, barely looking at any of them.
"Sirius," Molly said sternly, not liking his attitude one bit. Not to mention that she was worried about Remus; if this was the state of Sirius, she dreaded to think how the werewolf must be. True to his word, however, Sirius continued past them and disappeared through the door to his room, pulling it harshly closed behind him.
"I have a rather sinking feeling that all has not quite gone as planned," Arthur said, letting out a sigh of disappointment. Molly, however, was looking rather annoyed and was half way to her feet when Arthur spoke again. "Let him go," he told his wife.
"Shouldn't one of us go check on Remus?" Harry asked, his eyes fixed on Sirius' closed bedroom door and a worried expression on his face. He couldn't imagine what might have caused his godfather to have such a reaction, but he was certain that it was nothing good.
"I'll go," Molly said, but Arthur was already on his feet and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her getting up.
"Stay here with Harry and Orion," he said, not wanting to leave them alone with Sirius. It wasn't that he thought that the man would do them any harm, but if something happened, it seemed unlikely that Sirius would be in any state to help. "I will be back shortly, or else I will contact you and let you know what is going on."
Placing a kiss on his wife's temple he headed for the door. He was sure that the two men had probably just had some kind of disagreement, but, at the moment, even that might be enough to send Remus over the edge.
-#-
"Remus?" Arthur called out as he entered Grimmauld Place. The house felt still and empty, which he supposed was not all that surprising given the fairly large residence was only housing one person at the moment.
He checked the front room and the kitchen first, finding both empty, and was so far simply thankful not to have found the man drowning his sorrows once more. Molly's casserole dish was on the kitchen table and it seemed that Remus and Sirius had actually eaten more than half of it before whatever had happened between them had occurred.
"Kreacher," he called, and there was a pop that signified the arrival of the house elf behind him. He turned to see the elf standing, bloodshot eyes glaring at him impatiently.
"What is the blood traitor be wanting with Kreacher?" the aged house elf asked with what Arthur presumed was a sneer. He wasn't exactly bothered by this house elf's terrible manners and had been called much more insulting things, by far worse people, in his time.
"I would like you to tell me where Remus is," Arthur stated simply.
"The werewolf be sleeping in his room," Kreacher informed him. "Master Sirius be making the werewolf very angry," the elf told him with unconcealed delight.
Arthur frowned; presumably Kreacher had enjoyed witnessing the conflict, or else just enjoyed watching Remus suffer. The old house elf disliked Sirius immensely but loathed Remus even more; though apparently Kreacher's attitude had improved somewhat since Draco's arrival in the house, but that had done nothing to temper the elf's disgust at having to serve a werewolf, particularly one living in his precious mistress' house.
"Thank you, Kreacher," Arthur said, heading back out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He would check on Remus and then head back to Hogwarts; hopefully Molly and he could actually get home and sleep at something like a sensible hour.
He hesitantly tried to open the door to Remus' room, not wanting to wake the man up, but it wouldn't budge. It seemed that the werewolf really had wanted to be left alone because there was some kind of spell keeping him out; it surely would have kept Sirius out too. He sighed; obviously the two old friends had more issues to work through than any of them had anticipated.
-#-
Cornelius Fudge liked being Minister for Magic very much. He liked the pomp and ceremony, and how everyone wanted to know him. He liked the power and influence the position gave him and he liked living the high life; he had every intention of ensuring the position remained his for as long as possible, or at least until he decided to retire.
This was at least part of the reason he had taken on board the rather strongly worded suggestion to implement a few new procedures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The institution was one that almost every person of Magical ability in Britain attended and, as such, was held in high esteem; the potential for political influence and power, when dealing with educational matters, was not lost on Fudge.
In his most humble opinion, the appointment of a High Inquisitor had been a most welcome and valuable idea, and the choice of Madam Umbridge was nothing short of inspired. She would not pull her punches when laying down her thoughts and findings about the current faculty.
Her first report had been evidence enough of that. It was clearly a preliminary assessment as it had only been a few weeks since the start of term, but already she had been able to inform him about the atrocious Divination teacher, the brute of a Care of Magical Creatures teacher and the incredibly lacking Muggle Studies course.
None of it was unexpected, though it was pleasing to see how quickly she was able to find fault with the high-and-mighty Dumbledore. However, he had been rather surprised to see the reference to the school's potions master; there was nothing condemning but there were queries regarding some additional lessons she believed him to be teaching.
And then there were her concerns regarding the Potter family; he was not sure what about the situation had her quite so worked up but she clearly felt strongly that the boy... Orion James Potter, aged three and a half months, he read from the file... should not be left in the care of his parents nor raised at Hogwarts.
Fudge was of course aware of the Potters' situation but he had not been following the case closely; now, however, he made a point to send for the file. His gut reaction was that Umbridge's concerns were valid; he would speak with the head of Child Services, but only once he was better versed in the relevant facts.
At least the Headmaster hadn't been foolish enough to try and stop Umbridge; though it would have been most interesting to see how the School Governors would have handled that. He was feeling decidedly pleased. It was a most interesting first report, Fudge thought to himself as he leaned back in his well-upholstered chair, sipping on a fine vintage port; it gave him a lot to be thinking about and it really did feel good to be ahead of Dumbledore on something for once.

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For The Sake Of A Name