𝙿𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝙿𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚜 - 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦 | ✔︎

Chapter 77

A/N: so my laptop decided to delete most of the story after it updated - I have never been so grateful for my iPad backing this up.

"So, Aurelia's visions this week have depicted war?" Fred confirmed, slightly scared from what Sirius had told him. Aurelia's premonitions had been a daily occurrence all week, depicting a battle at Hogwarts, including the deaths on unfamiliar faces.

"Pretty much, though she insists it is only one night, which seemingly goes on forever until she wakes up. It's almost as if the ending is yet to be determined, like fate has not yet paved the way for the future," Sirius replied, bouncing Reggie on his knee.

Regulus, unaware of any trouble ahead just babbled to himself, as his development of words was starting its journey. His babbling was a quiet calm for Fred and Natasha, whose stress levels had entirely peaked, and as he stared at the room with his naivety, his family around him glanced at him sadly, knowing he very well could grow up with no family should the war turn bad.

"I will not make another orphan of this war; I promise you that. My grandson will have a family when it all ends, even if that means the two of you run away," Sirius said with a grim expression. Natasha, who would have normally had a rebuttal for that statement nodded, surprising everyone.

"He will. You and mum will take him, alongside Adrian and Oliver. Or he will go with Ginny, should she be sent away. My son will not see the horrors of this war, but he shall have parents who will fight for his future should it come around. I don't want him growing up thinking his parents ran away in cowardice," she said, clutching Fred's hands in hers.

"Well, you know we'll be fighting darling, so you can count us out," Aurelia's tired voice said from the doorway, a weak smile upon her lips. Sirius stood up to help her to a seat and she groaned as she sat down, not before snatching Regulus from her husband's grasp.

"And so, will everyone else in the family, Gin will probably sneak in if it is indeed at Hogwarts like you predicted love," Fred said with his usual grin, trying to keep the humour alive around the dark situation.

"Bloody Gryffindors, you'll always fight before running," Regulus sighed from his portrait, which had been moved from Grimmauld Place when Sirius and Aurelia had fled to Fred and Natasha's house. He was vital for any information about Voldemort, having had been close to him, but he was also entertaining for anyone who passed through the home, occasionally flirting with some of the men and women on their way out.

"Don't be sour just because you weren't sorted into Gryffindor Reg, we all know you'd be fighting with us now too if you had the chance," Sirius said. Regulus snorted, but the small family all knew Sirius' words to be true.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, letting the words of Sirius settle in gently, as a small blue wisp entered through the open window, turning into a small rattlesnake as it landed on the centre of the kitchen table.

"Grace has just given birth to a healthy baby girl, Emerson Jade Lee. We would've loved for you to be with us right now, but the midwife at this muggle hospital is strict on no visitors until Grace sleeps, so hopefully, we'll be by in a few days," Barnaby's gravelly voice said, before the patronus disappeared, leaving a faint smile on Natasha's face.

"I told her she'd be having a girl. Regulus, Teddy, Rowan and Emerson. That's a number our family is fond of." Sirius slapped the table and laughed, sounding more like a barking dog, and Aurelia hit his arm, though she was smiling at the news.

"Emerson is a lovely name, I'm glad she was safely delivered," she sighed happily, hugging her grandson to her chest.

"Well, the newest generation of Marauders is upon us now, ain't it Nat?" Fred muttered, glancing over at his son, who still babbled away, though it was slightly muffled against Aurelia's chest.

"Indeed Freddie, there's no doubt our son will inherit a mischievous streak. I'd be more concerned if he didn't, I'd imagine Minnie having a heart attack over a well-behaved child with Black and Weasley blood," she said with a laugh.

The mood in the room had slightly lifted as they thought of the possible future of a new generation of Marauders, though the looming darkness of a battle still lingered in the backs of all of their minds, especially Natasha and Fred.

"My bet is that Teddy will be the quiet one, just like his father," Tonks said from upstairs, walking down the large staircase carefully with Teddy asleep in her arms. Remus followed behind; his arms outstretched in case his wife fell.

"Regulus will be the loud one almost certainly, you just have to take a look at his father and grandfather," Aurelia said with a snort.

"Excuse me, as his mother, I'm pretty sure he'll get my brilliant leadership skills, even possibly a title of Head Boy if he's good," Natasha remarked, pinching Regulus' cheeks affectionately as her mother finally set him down on the table.

"Knowing Charlie and Penny, Rowan will be a potion loving, quidditch frenzied, womanizer." Everyone stared at Nymphadora in disbelief, but she shrugged, taking a seat. "What? You know Charlie was the wonder boy in school you two, he had nearly every girl crushing on him!"

Natasha and Fred tried to think back to their first year at Hogwarts but couldn't quite remember the bit where Charlie was hit on by every girl.

"Moving on, that leaves little Emerson to be the..."

Everyone shouted to stop Sirius in his tracks, and he put his hands up in surrender. "Emmy will be her own person, no doubt a tough girl like her mother and father, with a passion for the natural environment, and the sweetest of hearts," Natasha said, taking Regulus once more into her arms to play with his growing mop of black hair.

"I'm hungry," Fred said, breaking the silence.

"I'm starving, I could literally eat an entire horse and leave room for dessert," Aurelia groaned. Remus, Sirius and Fred all looked at her oddly, as Natasha and Nymphadora cracked a smile at the muggle phrase.

"Why would you eat a horse darling?" Sirius asked seriously.

"Oh, good grief Sirius, it's a bloody EXPRESSION!"