Mid-October

The temperature outside the stone walls of the old keep had taken another plunge over the past few days. The brisk air did nothing however to curb the curious natures of the two children that crawled and toddle about the garden area of the inner courtyard. At the moment, Hermione seemed fascinated by the fallen leaves and had seated herself in the midst of them. With a flick of his wand, Remus sent several leaves dancing around her head, eliciting a gleeful squeal from the baby girl.

Hermione’s dark brown eyes sparkled as reached for the leaves and chattered happily to herself. It amazed him to see the depth of color in her eyes as he could still easily picture the lighter, caramel color they had once been. He had expected them to return to that color with the de-aging but they hadn’t, leading the adults to speculate that her healing skills had not been de-activated by the de-aging. That in and of itself was a double-edge sword, but like Bella, he was determined to look to the advantages and leave the worrying to others – as long as he was able to stay distant from the baby just before, during and just after the full moons.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sirius in his dog form stalking playfully toward Hermione. Harry was imitating him as he crawled beside the large, shaggy, black dog. Remus watched, amused as Hermione, oblivious to the happenings behind her, slowly pushed and pulled herself into a standing position. Sirius crept up behind her and gently tapped her in the back with his nose. Hermione tottered forward, startled, her near-black eyes going round as she turned and toppled over onto her diaper-padded bottom. Immediately her face scrunched up and her eyes narrowed as she imitated one of her adoptive father’s best-known expressions – the irritated sneer. Remus couldn’t help it, he laughed. The noise earned him a curious expression from Harry, who had seated himself next to Sirius.

Sirius responded by tugging the dark green hat from Hermione’s head revealing a mass of curly black hair. Before Sirius got too far, however, Hermione’s quick little hands grabbed hold of his ear and tugged at him hard. With a excited giggle, the little girl latched onto the fur on either side of his face and hugged the large dog tightly. Seeing a great opportunity, Remus snuck up to Harry and whispered to the boy, “Get Siri’s tail,” as he gestured toward Sirius’ tail. Remus helped Harry to stand, encouraging him softly as he walked forward and reached out for the wildly wagging appendage. Remus stayed close to Harry, ready to grab him up should Sirius actually be surprised by the small boy joining the game. Instead of the tail, however, Harry grabbed hold of the black dogs hind quarters. Sirius immediately dropped to his side, “surrendering” to the toddlers who tackled him excitedly.

Remus couldn’t help but laugh loudly as the two young children wrestled happily with Sirius in his dog form, remembering the person Sirius had been before Azkaban. He was starting to see the signs that his friend was gradually letting go of the darkness that clouded his mind. Daily, he seemed to look healthier. Nothing quite so drastic as the produced by the weeks they had spent with Bella in the early summer, but if you looked you could see it. Sirius’ eyes weren’t as haunted as before and on rare occasions, you might not see the lingering effects at all.

The brief reprieve from the problems going on outside the keeps walls had been good for Remus, as well. He personally, felt far better physically and mentally now than he did two and a half months ago when they arrived. He knew he looked better, too. Not as haggard or thin as before. Even Severus seemed to look better - younger – than he had in years, although that just might be that he was happier than he had been in years.

The sound of Harry shrieking in laughter echoed through the courtyard and chased away all of Remus’ musings, leaving only delight at the simple joy of the young boy. That particular laugh flooded Remus with the happiness of days past. Looking down on the boy, seeing his true face – not a replica of James – seeing him smile, his green eyes flashing with merriment, like everything in the world was as it should be filled his heart. Not even the phantoms of long lost friends tinged the wonder of hearing that laugh.

A sharp ‘pop’ filled the air followed by a chorus of excited squeals as Sirius’ returned to his human form and grabbed up the twins and began spinning them around. Pulling out is wand, Remus carefully aimed at Hermione as she spun past and whispered, “Windgardium Leviousa.” Quickly, he did the same with Harry and soon both children were floating around in the air, weightless. At first, Hermione’s eyes grew wide and Remus was sure she would scream in fright. Until, that is, Harry laughed. Remus watched, moving under her, as she took in her surroundings and watched her brother flail happily in mid-air.

Out of the corner of his eye, Remus watched as Sirius positioned himself under Harry – just in time. The spell wore off and both Harry and Hermione plunged toward the waiting arms of their “uncles.” Harry laughed excitedly through the whole experience; Hermione, however, sat quietly in Remus’ arms for several seconds, her face frozen in shock. He waited for her to start to cry or even shift closer to him within the safety of his arms. What he didn’t expect was the wide smile that spread across her face or for her to hold her hands up toward the sky. Remus was so intent on Hermione’s reactions, that he nearly missed the words tumbling from Harry’s mouth.

“ MummmmMummmmMummmm.”

Turning toward the house, he saw Arabella standing just inside the solarium windows, smiling out as she watched them. Glancing back to Sirius, he said, “I think it’s time for these two terrors to have their lunch.”

“ I think your right, “ Sirius replied. Turning to Harry, he asked, “Shall we race them to lunch, little man?”

Harry laughed and Sirius, in a playful and exaggerated way, “ran” toward the keep. Hermione giggled at the sight and Remus smiled, shaking his head slightly, as he walked toward the welcoming warmth of the old stone building.

= = = = = = = = = = =

(18 – 24 months)

Late November

For just a moment, Remus leaned back in his chair listened to the crackling of the fire. Closing his eyes, he rolled his head to the side and forward, stretching out muscles that were tense enough to draw his shoulders to his ears. He, like Sirius, Bella and Severus, had spent the past several hours like he had spent many previous nights in the past few months - hunched over old books, texts and scrolls looking for clues that might have been missed. The studied ancient texts from the Snape family library, well as, several scrolls from past Merlins and Ladies of Avalon that Dumbledore had retrieved from the Avalon vault when he had gone for the Veil of Time. They studied anything they could find that might reference that specific time period. They had learned quite a bit about the time period but not much about the mysterious weapon that had disappeared into obscurity.

The only bit of evidence they had found that directly related to the weapon had been in the trunk Dumbledore had brought from the vault. The scroll, once deciphered and translated had explained the actual purpose of the weapon - to strip the subject of all magical power and at the same time, visit upon that person a measure of the cruelty they had bestowed on others. The last part was something new and they still hadn't quite learned what "a measure" meant; there was no quantitative information regarding it. While the scroll did explain why they chose to create the weapon, about it being stolen and used against one of their own in revenge and conseqently hidden away. The scroll didn't give any indication on where it was hidden or even how to find the first clue.

Remus opened his eyes at a soft bump against his leg and looked down to see Harry, smiling up at him around the straw of his spelled-to-be-spillproof cup. Reaching out, he ruffled the boy's black hair, his fingers brushing lightly over the place he knew Harry's scar was, even if it was not visible. "Hello, Darrius. Did you sneak away from your mother, again?"

Harry smiled and reached out to tug on Remus' robe, "Remi open." Remus looked down at the boy curiously. Harry simply pulled at his robe again before toddling over toward the old chest that sat a few feet away. Pointing at the trunk, Harry said, more adamantly, "Open!"

Rising from his chair, Remus walked over and tried to steer the Harry away but the toddler resisted. Not wanting to upset the boy, Remus allowed him to explore the box. Leaning against a nearby table, he watched as a content Harry dropped down on the floor, put his cup down and chattered excitedly as he examined the trim around the base of the trunk. There was something odd in the scrutiny Harry was paying to the chest, but his weary mind felt like it was grasping at the empty air. He just couldn't understand what his instincts told him he should be right in front of him.

A sudden squeal of fright startled him and before he even processed what had happened, he had swopped Harry into his arms protectively.

" What happened?" Bella called as she raced into the room, check first to make sure Harry was fine before anything else. Sirius followed her, Hermione clinging to him.

With wonder, Remus looked down at the trunk at his feet. From the side, a slim drawer had slid out from the base of the trunk, no thicker than the width of the trim. He kneeled down, careful to balance Harry against his side. He almost wanted to laugh. Inside the drawer were several parchments encoded like the scrolls they had found early. Unlike the scrolls, the parchments were protected by a charm that cast a slight blue glow over the drawer; a charm obviously powered by the Holly wand that rested atop the parchments. Though he couldn't read the text, Remus knew immediately that these were the papers for which they had been searching.

It wasn't that the papers were hidden. It was the wand. The wand of Druids. Hesitantly, Remus reached out and lifted the wand, awed at the legendary sight of the snake and stag engraving that circled the handle. There were a few stories about the wand, though it was hard to tell if any where true; it vanished nearly a thousand years ago.

" Is that the wand of the Druids?"

Severus' smooth, surprised voice caught him off guard. Rising slowly, he turned to face Severus, as well as Sirius and Bella. Harry immediately reached out towards his father, who automatically took the boy into his arms.

" I open, Papa," Harry said happily.

" Yes, Darrius, I see that," Severus replied, brushing his hand over his son's head and briefly kissing his brow.

Crouching down again, Remus grabbed Harry's cup and passed it up to Severus before carefully lifting the parchments from the drawer. Walking over to the large table in the middle of the room, he spread out the sheets of parchment. Bella moved to stand beside him as he studied the ancient texts. Minutes later Sirius joined them. Glancing up, Remus couldn't help but smile. Severus was seated on a sofa, Harry and Hermione cuddled up on either side of him sucking on their straws. Both children watched, captivated, as the magical storybook came to life before their eyes and dragons swooped around their heads.

Glancing over at Bella, he saw that she too was captivated by the sight. She turned to look at him and he saw the happiness that shined in her eyes. He smiled back at her before turning his attention back to the documents on the table, thankful that they might just be getting somewhere.

December 25

(nearly three years old)

It was just after six am when Remus gave up trying to sleep. He hadn’t looked forward so eagerly to a day in longer than he wanted to remember. He spent most of the previous evening helping wrap or put together the mass of presents that littered the floor of the keep’s library or where currently hidden in the solarium, just waiting for two sets of small but enthusiastic hands to rip into them. Throwing off his covers, he climbed out of bed, lazily stretching his aching muscles and headed into his bathroom. He smiled softly when he saw the red flannel leisurewear, a matching bathrobe and slippers and ideally wondered when Bella had found the time to have them washed and left them for him. Lifting the shirt from the pile, he held it against his cheek to feel the softness and breathe in the clean, warm scent. Setting it back on the counter, he quickly showered and dried himself. Once dressed in his outfit, he wrapped a warmed cloak over his robe, placed a weather-shielding charm on his slippers and dashed toward the still dark keep. Quietly, he crept through the house toward the kitchen. As he pushed the door open he found the place a bustle of activity.

“ Sirius, what are you doing?’

Sirius spun around and three house-elves froze mid-action. “Merlin, Mooney! Don’t sneak up on a person!”

“ Sorry, Padfoot, but just what is it you are doing? You know Bella is going to be upset if you mess up all her well-laid holiday plans.” Remus said, noting

immediately what Sirius was wearing – black and red flannel leisurewear-pajama like outfit and bathrobe much like his own.

“ Actually, I am trying to make sure Bell gets her perfect Christmas. When we were kids, Gran Grainne used to help us make Christmas muffins and tea and we would surprise Mum and Dad in bed. I just wanted to keep the tradition alive."

Remus couldn’t help but smile, “So, basically, you are down here making a mess and getting in the house-elves way?”

Sirius smirked at his friend, “Basically.”

Before he could say more, a soft chiming sound filled the kitchen.

“ Oh! Oh!” Winky cried excitedly as she scurried about the work area, “The young master and mistress must be awake. Those chimes warn Winky when they leave their rooms. Have to go, too much to do!”

“ It’s alright, Winky,” Sirius said as he grabbed Remus’ arm, “we’ll take care of Darrius and Livia.” Sirius pulled Remus from the kitchen and half-way up the stairs before they caught sight of a cautious Harry peaking around the corner, as if he were checking to see if the coast was clear. His face fell into a slight pouting expression when he caught sight of them coming up the stairs.

“ Come here munchkins," Sirius exclaimed, reaching out to lift each child from the floor, “We have serious Christmas business to take care of!”

“ Mama and Papa say we can't open pwesents,” Hermione said far to seriously for a child her age.

Remus laughed, “No, Livi, not presents. At least, not yet. Your Uncle Paddy just thought you might like to make your Mama and Papa a special present.”

“ Like wast time? Cause Papa wou’nt let you eat wif us. Mama was really upset.”

Remus laughed as he followed behind Sirius and the twins as they made their way to the kitchen. He remembered the incident quite well. Sirius had used Darrius to deliver a prank that left Severus literally glowing in the dark. Needless to say, Severus wasn’t amused.

As soon as they arrived in the kitchens, Sirius explained to the twins what he wanted to do and they immediately warmed to the idea. The next hour was spent helping the two three year-olds gather, mix and bake the necessary ingredients into warm ginger Christmas muffins with special Christmas frosting. The muffins were ready by half past eight; while Sirius assisted the twins in getting up the stairs, he stayed safely in the kitchen where an aggitated Severus was less likely to target him.

A few minutes later, a smiling Sirius returned.

It wasn't much longer before a bleary-eyed Bella shuffled into the kitchen. Smiling, she kissed them both on the head and thanked them for the making the morning special for her before dragging them into the study. Two hours later, Remus was sitting amid a vast amounts of crumbled, festivly colored paper and a pile of unwrapped gifts listening to the sound of giggling children. Leaning back into his chair, he watched, amused, as Harry and Hermione raced around the room chasing after their new stuffed dragons that Sirius has spelled to fly about the room. He could hear Hermione call "Dray, Dray" as she jumped up to catch the fluff white plush toy – it was her name for the Dragon in her favorite story, Marina and the Dragon.

Peripherally, Remus could see Severus and Arabella sitting together, their arms wrapped round each other. They were watching the children play, completely capitvated. He could see the soft smiles on both their faces and smiled to himself. With an exageratted huff, Sirius dropped down into a chair opposite of him, appearing exhausted, but simple happiness radiated off of him. Smiling, he closed his eyes nd leanged back in the comfortable chair, letting the warmth of the fire and the company lull him. He could hear Severus begin to read Marina and the Dragon; a book he had memorized about the 50,000th time he had read it to Harry and Hermione. When his eyes flickered open again, he realized the story was nearing the end. With a fleeting glance, he saw Harry curled up on one side of Severus, fast asleep. Bella was curled on Severus' other side, Hermione in her lap – both were sound a sleep. Somewhere off to the side, he could hear Sirius' even breathing.

With a sigh, Remus allowed the heaviness to pull his eyelids closed again. Memories of the morning began to replay in his mind. For the first time in a very long time, his memories were better than his dreams.