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The next morning at breakfast, James sat squinting at Remus and Sirius, who sat next to one another and were acting very strangely.

Dora had magicked a pan to pour bacon onto each of the plates around the magically extended table - the Tonks family had joined them - Ted, Andromeda, and Nymphadora. Ted, Andromeda, Dora, and Charlus all intended to go to the Ministry together to witness the results of the election together and the three boys would be in charge of watching Nymphadora again. She was splashing about in a bowl of porridge with cut up raspberries, changing her hair color to raspberry red back to her natural brown over and over again, calling for Remus to look, but he didn’t turn, he kept his eyes focused very, very carefully on his bacon and toast.

Remus reached for salt for a serving of eggs Dora’s pan had just put on his plate, and Sirius had done, too, at exactly the same time so that their fingers brushed and they both turned tomato red and pulled their hands back. “You go,” Sirius said to Remus.

“No,” Remus shook his head, “You.”

“You,” Sirius argued.

James raised an eyebrow. “Bloody hell, somebody just do it already.”

Remus’s face went even redder and Sirius hastened to grab the salt and poured far too much over his eggs in his haste. He shook it over Remus’s too. “There, done it,” Sirius said… and a smirk went over his face.

Remus kicked him.

James’s eyes narrowed again and he bit his lip, chewing a piece of bacon with a funny, distracted sort of look as he stared at them… Sirius grinned at him and their eyes met as James chewed his bacon and Sirius used his fork to break apart his salted eggs.

“WEYMISS! LOOOOOOOOOK!” cried Nymphadora, splashing her porridge over the tray of her high chair and turning her hair yellow.

“Oh don’t, Nymphadora,” begged Andromeda, turning to the toddler, “You musn’t make such a mess. Oh darling, look at you…” She took up her wand and started to clean up all the porridge Nymphadora had got all over herself and her stuffed rabbit, which sat next to her in the highchair.

Ted chuckled and looked over at Remus, “She seems to like you.”

Nymphadora turned her hair a brilliant blue like the blueberry jam that was smeared over Remus’s toast, and she giggled.

Remus smiled awkwardly. “Very good Nymphadora,” he said.

Sirius and James, meanwhile, were still in the midst of their little staredown…

Suddenly, James’s eyes went wide. “SIRIUS I NEED TO TALK TO YOU IN THE HALLWAY!” he said, too loud, standing up suddenly so that his chair bumped into Dora, who was walking over with a cloth to help with cleaning up Nymphadora, and everyone at the table looked at James. “Sorry mum,” he apologized, “Didn’t mean to get’cha with the chair. Sirius. A word?”

Remus turned to look at Sirius, his eyes wide, and Sirius patted him on the head and grinned, pushing his own chair back and getting up, following as James rushed out of the room.

“Those two seem like they’re up to something,” muttered Charlus, watching them go, “Always up to something…” He looked at Remus, “You’ll need to keep your eye on those two today, be sure they don’t get up to no good.”

I solemnly swear they’re bloody always up to no good, thought Remus. “Yes, sir. I usually do,” he said. “It’s my full-time job at Hogwarts.”

Charlus chuckled.

Through the window came Bubo then, with the morning Prophet tied about her leg and she landed before Charlus, since James was out of the room. Charlus untied the paper and gave Bubo a bit of bacon, and off she went, back through the window. He lifted the paper up and shook it out, “Let’s see what’s going on todayyy… Can’t imagine what they could be covering today!” Charlus winked at Ted Tonks, raising a teacup to his mouth.

“Couldn’t possibly be election news,” Ted laughed.

But even as Ted said, Charlus choked on the tea, spitting it everywhere, soaking the paper and dropping the cup so it hit the floor with a crash. “Bloody hell!”

Every face at the table was turned to Charlus Potter.

“Tutman’s been arrested!”




In the hallway, James led the way far off from the kitchen door and he grabbed Sirius by the wrist and pushed him into the wall. Sirius was still grinning wildly, his eyes sparkling, “Yes, Prongsie?” he asked.

“Did you and Remus…?” James didn’t know how to ask, so he left the sentence hanging awkwardly, his cheeks flushing.

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

James raised his eyebrows right back.

Sirius leaned forward, daring James to say the words.

James glared at him, “You bloody know what I’m asking.”

“Did we bugger the living daylights out of one another? Did we have a night of hot, sweaty, passionate, toe-curling --”

“Sirius.” James cut him off.

“Yes, we've done it.” Sirius answered.

James stared at Sirius, wide eyed. “Blimey,” he whispered.

Sirius nodded. “Blimey.”

James was torn between wanting to ask questions and not wanting to know anything at all about it because well - it was Remus that Sirius had been with and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the details… but… then again, he did want to know one thing… “Without… without going into details --”

Sirius smirked.

“-- what… what was it like? You know… the… the having of the sex? What was it like?”

Sirius’s eyes twinkled. “James, there’s no words, mate. I highly recommend it.”

James shifted his weight, excited by the rave review. “Yeah? It’s not a let down? I’ve always been afraid that it would be sort of as though it’s been built up so much by everyone that by the time you actually do, it’d be rather disappointing.”

Sirius said, “Fireworks, Potter.”

James bit his lip, “So you two are - are mighty serious then, you and Remus.”

Sirius held up his hand so James could see the ring Remus had given him, “He gave me his dad’s ring James. So I could remember he loves me when he’s not around me and that he isn’t gonna give up on me… bloody hell, James, I’ll say we are.” He took a deep breath, “I know it hasn’t even been a year, but I feel like I’ve been with Remus my entire life, as though part of him was always there with me and part of me was missing always there with him, like we’re fragments of each other. Is that stupid?”

James stared at the ring a moment, then looked at Sirius’s face and he smiled and pulled Sirius into a hug and patted his back with great thumps, “Not at all, Padfoot. It’s brilliant. And I’m bloody happy for you both,” he said warmly. “Puzzle pieces belong together.” He stared at the wall over Sirius’s shoulder and James wondered whether Lily Evans had a missing part of him in her.

Suddenly the kitchen door busted open and Charlus and the other adults were rushing down the hallway toward the front door.

“What’s going on?” Sirius asked, surprised.

“No time to explain, Remus will fill you in, we’ve got to go,” Charlus answered, “Be good, the both of you, stay out of trouble, don’t go doing anything idiotic. Don’t leave the house. Watch the baby.”

Sirius and James stared in disbelief as they lot of them rushed out the door, only just remembering to pull it closed behind them. They turned to look at one another in concern… and bolted for the kitchen.

“What in hell happened?” Sirius asked as soon as they’d stepped through the door.

Remus was finishing up cleaning the porridge from Nymphadora’s shirt, brushing her off with the cloth Dora had been using, “The paper came. Professor Tutman’s been arrested, he’s out of the running for Minister for Magic…” he nodded to the paper on the table.

“WHAT?” James shouted, eyes wide and Sirius grabbed at the paper.


FAVORED NOMINEE FOR MINISTRY ELECTION, UNDER ARREST FOR ON GOING INVESTIGATION IN CAIRO
In this historic election for the Minister for Magic this summer, the candidates have been neck-and-neck throughout. The polls showed last night that Adom Tutman was favored to win, and many were rejoicing as the polls closed in preparation for the official election today. However a twist of fate will keep Tutman from becoming Minister. It seems that Barty Crouch, one of the heads of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, arrived a bit after midnight last night at the Tutman residence to arrest the nominee on behalf of the African Magical Council, who have an open case against Tutman dating back two years ago, when Tutman was accused of being a follower of the Dark Lord. A resolution of the case was never documented, and the file remained open. The AMC has taken custody of Adom Tutman and plan to hold a hearing later this month in Cairo to determine the accuracy of the accusations.



The story went on to describe the case - talking of details of Tutman’s time as a teacher at Hogwarts, back in the boys’ first year, and how he’d suddenly abandoned his post after the accusation had been placed… run off to Cairo, where the AMC had failed to follow up on the case to close it… the small detail that had cost Adom Tutman the election…

“MINCHUM!” yelled James suddenly, putting two and two together.

“Misshim!” echoed Nymphadora.

“IF TUTMAN’S OUT OF THE RUNNING THEN MINCHUM’S WON!”

Sirius’s eyes widened and he let out a whooping cry and leaped about the table to grab hold of Remus, knocking him away from Nymphadora’s high chair, jumping up and down and pulling Remus with him. “MOONY THIS IS THE BEST BLOODY TWENTY-FOUR HOURS OF MY LIFE!!!! I GOT LAID AND NOW THE DARK LORD’S GONNA BE DEFEATED!”

Remus’s face was the colour of Gryffindor. “Sirius!”

“YES! MINCHUM WILL KILL THE DARK LORD!” James shouted, too, excited, catching Nymphadora up out of her chair and spinning with her happily. “By the time you’re older, he’ll be a memory! Nothing more than a footnote in Professor Binns’s classes!”

“YES A BLOODY FOOTNOTE!” Sirius yelled, “A FOOTNOTE IN HISTORY!!”

Remus grinned at how excited Sirius was, the excitement rising up in him, too, though much more quiet and refined than Sirius and James were. James handed Nymphadora off to Remus and he and Sirius hooked arms and started spinning about each other, singing loudly, “GONE, GONE, MOLDY VOLDY’S GONNA BE GONE! MINCHUM’S GONNA GET HIM! GONE, GONE, MOLDY VOLDY’S GONNA BE GONE! MINCHUM’S GONNA GET HIM!”

Remus shook his head and looked at Nymphadora. He smiled at the wide eyed look of confusion on her face as she watched the other two boys spinning and dancing about, too young to understand what had made them so happy. Remus kissed the pudgy little cheek and he said, “One day, you’ll learn about this day in History of Magic and you’ll not understand why it was so important because you’ll never have been threatened by a Dark Lord… You’ll have a safe and happy life because of this day, Nymphadora.” He smiled at the thought of it - a world without Voldemort’s threats.

“GONE, GONE, MOLDY VOLDY’S GONNA BE GONE!” they were still singing loudly.

Nymphadora said, “Look.” And she crunched up her nose and her hair went just as chocolate as Remus’s eyes.