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The sight of a vintage Ford Anglia, driving down the normally pedestrianised cobbles of Diagon Alley, was something Remus Lupin wouldn't have missed for the world.

"Good afternoon!" Arthur Weasley called, easing the bright turquoise car up against the kerb outside of Tonks & Tonks. Everyone in the vicinity stopped to stare.

"Arthur, how are you?" Remus called, from behind a chaotic mess of young boys, trunks, book-bags, and pet-boxes. "Making an entrance, eh?"

"And why not?" Arthur asked, sliding out of the car and opening the boot. "Need help loading everything?"

"Ah, you're help enough just taking us to the station tomorrow," Remus replied, hefting Harry's trunk and easing it into the seemingly endless boot.

"My pleasure -- any excuse to show it off," Arthur answered. Neville's trunk followed Harry's, and the boys began piling their bookbags on top of the trunks as Remus lifted Draco's into place. "Back-seat, lads, and do up your seat-braces."

"Seatbelts, I think," Remus said gently. "As cars go it's not bad, is it?"

"Well, certainly not for the price," Arthur chuckled. "I got it for a Galleon out of a Ministry impound warehouse."

"How'd you get it into Diagon Alley?" Remus asked, climbing into the passenger's seat as Arthur circled again to take the driver's seat.

"I've lost Trevor!" Neville cried. "Don't leave yet!"

"It's all right, we're not going anywhere yet," Arthur said, then turned to Remus. "I drove it in through the old Roman gate, down near Gringotts. Of course in Muggle London it looks like an empty, fenced-off car park -- took me forever to find it."

As he spoke, Neville fumbled with the car door and dashed across the pavement to where Trevor's traveling box was sitting near the entrance to the shop, nearly forgotten.

"He's okay," Neville sighed with relief, passing the box through the window to Draco.

"All present and accounted for, now?" Arthur asked.

"Just waiting for -- speak of the devil," Remus interrupted himself as Sirius wheeled his motorbike out of a side-street where he normally kept it parked under an anti-theft charm.

"Right, I'm following you," Sirius announced, pulling his helmet on. He was dressed in his riding clothes -- black leather jacket and boots, white t-shirt and charm-reinforced jeans that wouldn't shred even if he crashed. People who had stopped to stare at the car were now staring at Sirius, who was clearly drinking in the attention.

"He looks cool," Draco said, leaning across Neville to stare out the window as Sirius pulled on a pair of black gloves.

"Yes, he does a bit, doesn't he," Remus agreed, voice slightly hoarse. They were very tight jeans.

Arthur turned the ignition, let out the clutch, and eased the car out into the foot traffic once more, Sirius following sedately behind on the motorbike.

They picked up speed as they passed through Diagon Bar, the old Roman gate that led to Muggle London; by the time they were bound for Ottery St. Catchpole, where the Weasleys lived, Sirius had pulled up alongside the car and was grinning fiercely as the motorbike skimmed along the road.

"How are Molly and the children?" Remus asked, ignoring the laughs and good-natured wrestling in the back seat.

"Oh, doing fine -- Bill's out in Egypt, now -- "

"That was his goal, wasn't it?"

"Yes -- he's quite happy there, or seems to be from his letters. Charlie's gone to Romania, still mad about dragons, you know. Percy did terrifically well on his OWLs, he's in a load of advanced classes -- Arithmancy and Potions and all."

"He's always been a bit ahead," Remus remarked.

"In...some things," Arthur allowed. "We worry about him, but the twins are there to keep him from taking himself too seriously. More or less."

"Are they still playing Quidditch?" Harry asked from the back seat.

"That they are, and they've sworn to break your nose with a Bludger sooner or later," Arthur said, grinning at Harry in the rear-view mirror. "Oh, come on, Remus," he added, when Remus gave him a horrified look, "It's not really Quidditch if you don't break any bones, and they're only joking. I'm pretty sure," he said, a trifle uncertainly.

"Be good to see Ron again," Neville mused. "Reckon he's got high hopes for the Cannons this year."

"He always does," Arthur said indulgently. "Poor boy, doomed to a life of disappointment in that regard."

"Is little Ginny starting Hogwarts this year?" Remus asked, having sufficiently recovered from threats of violence against Harry's nose. "She's a year below Ron, isn't she?"

"Oh yes -- she's terribly excited. It was very lonely for her this past year. We spoiled her a bit, I'm afraid, but she's used to having at least a few brothers around."

"Well, it'll be a full enough house tonight," Remus grinned.

"You don't know the half of it -- the twins have invited Lee Jordan over, and Percy has his friend Oliver -- didn't he and Harry used to know each other?"

"Oliver?" Harry asked, eagerly. "He's captain of Gryffindor team, he's brilliant."

"Glad to see such good sportsmanship," Arthur said, pleased. He signaled to Sirius that they were turning off, and Sirius followed behind them, the motorbike kicking up dust as they bumped down the path to the Burrow.

A crowd of redheaded Weasleys poured out of the side door to greet the newcomers, along with the dark, dredlocked head of Lee Jordan and Oliver Wood's sandy-brown. The twins gravitated immediately to the motorbike, while Percy pompously welcomed the younger boys and Oliver grinned and thumped Harry on the back. Molly, standing on the step, gave her husband a kiss hello and invited them all around to the backyard, where an enormous picnic table was arranged, along with two shabby, faded tents.

"Dinner's almost ready -- oh, thank you Sirius, that's lovely," she said, accepting a basket of food from him: crackers and cheese, wine, and a box of cookies Ted had sent along for dessert. "If you want to put your things up in the rooms -- Sirius, we gave you the twins' room, don't mind the strange smell, it's just...something that exploded..." she sighed. "Remus, Percy said you could have his room, or you're welcome to Ron's room under the attic if you like."

"Oh, well..." Remus gave Sirius an uncertain look. "Percy's is fine, that's across the hall from the twins', isn't it? That'll do nicely."

"Arthur, will you help me with the food?" Molly called, over the shouts of the boys as they called back and forth to one another, exploring the interiors of the tents.

"They've got whole rooms inside!" Draco said, poking his head out. "With bunk beds and everything!"

"And the lingering smell of cabbage. Haven't you ever been camping before?" Fred -- possibly George -- asked.

"Mum doesn't like the outdoors," Draco answered. "Harry hasn't either, have you Harry?"

"Not in wizarding tents," Harry said, impressed. "We just had the regular kind."

"The regular kind?" Oliver asked.

"Muggle tents," Sirius grunted. "Same inside as out."

"Ooh," Lee Jordan said, impressed. "That's like...survivalist, innit?"

"Well, we had a camp stove and instant breakfast and such," Remus said, amused. "It's not as though we were living on berries and leaves."

"Here we are," Arthur announced, reappearing at the back door with an enormous bowl of pasta in his hands and a veritable parade of plates and cutlery following him, along with Molly, who had a likewise gigantic bowl of salad and a platter of garlic bread. Sirius took the garlic bread, while Remus marshalled the boys and Ginny -- who was looking shy and somewhat overwhelmed -- into places around the table. This was not easy, since the younger boys were all jockeying to sit next to an older boy they admired, or a best friend, and kept changing seats. Ginny wanted to sit with Harry, but Harry and Neville and Ron all wanted to sit with Oliver, who naturally wanted to sit with Percy, who'd invited him. Draco and the twins (accompanied by Lee Jordan) were vying for seats near Sirius, who really just wanted to sit with Remus, who was trying desperately to sit somewhere -- anywhere -- that he'd have another adult within hearing range.

Finally settled, there was a collective pause while Molly, beaming as only a pleased hostess can, gestured at the food.

"Go on, eat up then," she said, and that was all the benediction they needed. The adults, who had managed to cluster around the head of the table, helped the younger ones dish out food, and soon everyone was contentedly eating (or flinging breadcrusts, or helping clean up Ginny's knocked-over water glass, or "sharing" their food with an enormous beetle that was trundling peacefully along the table).

"Draco, take some more tomatoes," Sirius said, as Draco, at his elbow, very carefully selected bits of salad. "This is wonderful, Molly."

"Thank you," she said, beaming. "It's my pleasure. We thought since Ginny -- " she gestured at Ginny, who was gleefully sitting between the Boy Who Lived and the incredibly cool Lee Jordan, " -- was leaving and it would be just the two of us after today, we ought to have as many people over as we could the night before."

"And of course it's good to see you lot again -- hardly got a glimpse of you at all after you came back to the Wizarding World last year," Arthur said. "But then Molly had taken on a few extra students in her little home-school, and I was working day and night it seemed like, getting this bloody bill ready to go to the Wizengamot..."

"Yes, someone mentioned you were behind it," Sirius said with a grin. "Bit of a departure from your usual chasing-after-enchanted-objects, isn't it?"

"I think it's splendid," Remus said, almost defiantly.

"Good! I'm glad you think so. It's nothing terribly revolutionary, but it will help keep people from tormenting the poor Muggles. Vanishing keys, teakettles that never boil -- and I do mean never -- suicidal desk lamps...it's really like kicking puppies when you think about it. They can't help being what they are. At any rate, it's sort of like the...oh...lads, what's that law you've been working all summer trying to get round?"

"The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery," the twins chorused.

"Boys after my own heart," Sirius laughed.

"It'll detect when someone's put a permanent enchantment on a Muggle artefact, and as soon as that artefact leaves the possession of the enchanter, it'll sound the alarm," Arthur said. "Help with people 'accidentally' picking up enchanted objects, too."

"There's a very careful loophole there," Molly said, a little disapprovingly. Arthur looked guilty. "So long as it's in your possession, of course, you could...say...enchant a car to fly, couldn't you, Arthur?"

"Does that old Anglia fly?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"You got a whole car in the air?" Remus said, the pair of them beginning to resemble schoolboys confronted with the accomplishments of an older and wiser senior student.

"Very wrong of me to do," Arthur said dutifully, "But I thought if ever there was an emergency it's a bit easier to handle than a broomstick -- "

"Imagine my shock and surprise -- " Molly said, " -- George, mind your elbow, you'll put it right in Percy's salad if you're not careful -- imagine my shock and surprise when I -- "

"Neville!" Remus shouted down towards the foot of the table. "No throwing the pasta!"

"He started it," came the faint and impenitent reply.

" -- when I came out to the yard to call Arthur in for lunch last Saturday and found both him and the car completely vanished. A few minutes later I was still wondering what had kidnapped my husband and his latest foolish Muggle toy -- "

" -- they're quite useful, really -- " Arthur put in, plucking Trevor out of the salad.

" -- only to see a blue Ford Anglia come roaring across the open field twenty feet above the ground and land light as you please on my flower bed."

"I didn't mean to," Arthur said. "I did replant them all..."

"How'd you do it?" Sirius asked. "I didn't think cars worked that well in the area of low-level aeronautics."

"Sirius barely got the motorbike up there and it's still not good for more than about six hours at a time," Remus added.

"Most people would be thrilled to last six hours," Sirius said, and Remus choked on a piece of bread.

"Well, it's a very good car, isn't it. I mean, if you wanted to make a car fly, it's a very efficient car to do it with," Arthur pronounced.

"Reckon if you worked in the fuel system..." Sirius said thoughtfully. "When I modified the motorbike, I was just a kid -- I didn't know the first thing about Muggle mechanics..."

"I didn't either, when I started work," Arthur said. "I had the manual though, and that was very useful. I did end up using the fuel system to help power the lifting charm, but of course Muggle petrol's a filthy thing to run a nice car like this with, so I put a perpetual combustion charm on the engine. It activates when you put it in gear."

"An internal charmbustion engine," Remus said, amusedly. Arthur roared with laughter.

"That's it exactly!"

"We should have a race," Sirius said, and Remus noticed the younger boys becoming immensely interested in the conversation. "My motorbike against your car. First one to ten thousand feet wins."

"Absolutely not!" Molly exclaimed. Arthur gave Sirius an apologetic look, and Remus tactfully changed the subject.

When they were finished with the dinner and the washing-up -- and the cleaning the kitchen that was necessary after ten children "helped" with the washing-up -- Sirius lit a campfire outside and they spent the evening sitting in the balmy late-summer air, watching insects buzz against the no-fly charm Molly had cast and talking about school.

When Ginny dropped off to sleep, leaning against one of the picnic benches, Sirius gathered her up and carried her into one of the tents, while Molly beamed approvingly at him.

"He's made a very good father," she said to Remus. "Mind you, I had my doubts."

"So very many doubts," Remus agreed with a grin. "He does all right by Harry."

"You love him, don't you."

Remus' heart jumped into his throat, and he glanced at her nervously.

"That's why you stayed, isn't it?" she continued, blithely. "He is a charming young boy."

"Yes, yes of course," he said, relieved. "Who wouldn't?"

"It must be awfully lonely for the two of you. I've given up on poor Sirius ever settling down, he simply isn't the sort, but you ought to find yourself a nice girl, Remus, and stop hiding in Sirius' shadow all the time."

"Oh, I -- we get along," he said. "I'm not hiding in anyone's shadow, Molly."

She patted his hand, and he was immensely grateful that Sirius returned then, dusting off the seat next to him before sitting down. He was still wearing those impressively tight riding jeans, and Remus felt his face flush again when their thighs brushed.

Hiding in Sirius' shadow was all right, if it meant having Sirius.

***

The next morning, the boys and Ginny were awake at dawn and had thoroughly destroyed any chance of natural hot water by the time the adults wanted a wash. Sirius yelped under the cold water and cast a quick heating charm on the showerhead, while various crashes and shouts could be heard coming from the general direction of the kitchen. He was so distracted by charming the water the perfect temperature that he didn't notice the click of the door opening and closing until the door to the shower opened and a warm body pressed up against his.

"Morning," Remus murmured, hair sticking out at odd angles, arms wrapping around Sirius' waist from behind.

"Moony -- "

"Don't worry -- I charmed the door shut this time," Remus said against his ear, then nipped the earlobe lightly. Sirius leaned back a little, any annoyance at being interrupted vanishing like the steam from the hot water.

"This is Molly and Arthur's shower," he protested, mainly for the form of the thing.

"I know," answered Remus, nuzzling around the side of his neck.

"We'll never be able to look them in the eye -- "

"Worth it, don't you think?" Remus asked, one hand splayed over Sirius' stomach, the other sliding down his thigh. Sirius leaned his head back a little, trying to get the proper angle for a kiss outside of the stream of water. He was going to lose this argument, not that he particularly wanted to win it; he was already hard, and he could feel Remus' erection pressing insistently against him, feel Remus' breath hitch as it moved against his skin.

"Mm, Moony," he managed, as Remus' hand slid up again to curl around him, stroking gently.

"Mine," Remus said in his ear, softly, but with a sort of frightening urgency that Sirius didn't fully understand. He bit again, too, the sensitive flesh at the base of his neck -- Moony didn't like to bite, because it was dangerous --

"Yes, yours," he gasped, as he felt himself turned and pushed against the cool, damp wall. Remus pressed up against him again, kissing him so hard it was difficult to breathe, hips thrusting roughly. Another light bite on his shoulder, a kiss, hands holding his wrists up against the wall.

Sirius made a sound very close to a whimper as their bodies touched, feeling helpless in the onslaught of feeling and scent and Remus, the murmured word Mine still in his ears. He tried not to moan, but it seemed he had no control over the situation in the slightest, not even --

"Fuck, Remus," he cried, as teeth bruised the side of his neck and Remus came against him, silently and more fiercely than he was used to, even from Remus. A hand slid down before he had even processed what was going on, and he came without even being allowed to inhale first. He went dizzy for a moment, and let Remus catch him before he fell.

"Good thing I cast a silencing charm too," were the first coherent words he heard, and he glanced up to see Remus grinning at him, feral light in his eyes.

"What the bloody hell are you on about?" he asked, as Remus smoothed wet hair out of his face and stroked one cheekbone with his thumb, affectionately.

"Didn't you like it?" Remus asked, faltering slightly.

"Well, yes..." Sirius turned to let the water cool him off a bit -- his heating charm was dying. It stung the marks on his right shoulder and neck, where bruises were already forming. "It was just a bit...I mean to say. There was that one time, but normally you don't hold me down -- "

He turned back, and found Remus staring at the bite-marks, horrified.

"What?" he asked.

"I bit you."

"Yeah -- you don't normally do that, either."

"I'm sorry -- "

"It's all right, nothing a few concealment charms won't fix and if I'd really have objected I could have knocked you cold," Sirius said with a reassuring grin.

"I just...turn the water off, all right?"

Sirius turned the knobs and the water died, as Remus opened the door and stepped out, looking rather stunned.

"I didn't mean to," he said.

"Didn't mean to?" Sirius asked. "You don't accidentally bite someone on the neck while you're shagging them against a wall, Moony."

Remus gave him a quick smile, the sort that said he might be funny but he wasn't out of the woods yet.

"It's just -- I missed you last night, and Molly said these awful things about 'settling down', and I wanted to make sure of things," Remus said. "And I think I made it worse, didn't I?"

"I'm not going to abandon you over a few ruddy bitemarks," Sirius proclaimed, reaching for his wand and drying them both with a quick spell. Remus' pyjamas lay in a corner, and the brown-haired man began gathering them up, pulling them on again.

"I don't like that," Remus said. "It's something wolves do, not people."

"I dunno, I knew this one girl -- "

"You know what I mean."

Sirius ruffled his still-damp hair. "It's all right, Moony. Are you still afraid one of these days I'm going to see a short skirt on someone and chuck three years of putting up with you snoring?"

Remus rubbed his forehead with one hand. "The whole world thinks I'm some servant of yours, and sometimes I just need to...make sure I'm more than that."

Sirius grinned. "If you are, clearly I'm not paying you enough. And very few servants shower with their employers, so if you'll excuse me, I'd better run along before Molly catches us. I really won't be able to look her in the eye," he said, as he opened the bathroom door. Remus gave him another smile, more sincere this time, and he laughed as he closed the door.

***

They were late arriving at the train station, in a magically-expanded car that held four Weasley children, five young houseguests, one very patient Remus, and Arthur, Sirius following behind on his motorbike. Padma was nearly jumping up and down with impatience as she waited for them near the entrance to the platform. Arthur took his brood ahead, with Oliver and Lee, while Sirius loaded up their trunks onto a couple of trolleys.

"Ready then? I'll go through first," Remus said, ducking into the magic false wall between platforms nine and ten.

"Harry, you're up, looks like we're last," Sirius said, giving Harry a grin and a gentle push. Harry, nervous, almost broke into a run, and by the time he'd reached the barrier --

-- he hit it with enough force for Snake's box -- fortunately without Snake inside it -- to go flying.

"Watch yourself now, young man!" said a station attendant, as he passed, replacing the box atop the trunk. Harry turned to look at Sirius, wide-eyed.

"It's not working!" he said, shoving the trolley against the barrier again.

"Right, I'm sure it's just some kind of a...." Sirius had no idea what it was. "Harry, move aside and let Draco give it a go."

Draco pushed his trolley forward more hesitantly, and when the edge of it met the barrier, it clanked.

"I'm stuck too," he said. Sirius swore under his breath and moved forward to knock on the wall. Solid brick.

"Listen, are you lot coming or not?" Remus demanded, re-emerging from the barrier. "The train's about to leave."

"We can't get through," Harry wailed.

"Can't get through?" Remus reached out to put his hand through the barrier and taught all four children a new swearword when his knuckles cracked unpleasantly against it.

"Something's gone wrong," Sirius said.

"What if we miss the train?" Padma asked Neville, who shook his head in wide-eyed horror.

"You won't miss the train," Sirius reassured her, glancing around and slowly withdrawing his wand from his trouser-pocket. He tapped the bricks with it and muttered a few charms, but the wall wouldn't budge.

"Dobby," Draco said suddenly.

"What?" Remus asked.

"That little -- Mum's house-elf," Draco said. "He was going on and on about me not going back to school. He said he'd stop me if I tried, and I told him I'd like to see him, a little house-elf, stop a Malfoy doing whatever he wanted -- "

"House-elves have powerful magic," Remus said ruminatively, "but they're not allowed to use it without permission -- "

"I don't think Dobby's much of a one for permission," Draco said.

"Either way, this isn't any use," Remus said disgustedly. "It's five past -- the train must have gone."

"We'll miss the feast, too," Padma sulked. "Wish I hadn't waited for you after all."

"It's all right, we'll think of something," Remus reassured her.

"I think I just did," Sirius announced. Remus noticed that he had a distinctly disturbing look in his eye -- the sort he used to get at school right before some unsuspecting Slytherin suffered. "Come on everyone, this way."

"Are we going to floo my parents?" Padma asked.

"We can," Sirius said, as they made for the exit, "But I have a better idea, if you're up for it."

"Is it dangerous?"

Sirius grinned. "It might be."

Padma looked disapproving, but she didn't say anything. Remus was considering possible counterspells in his head; some of them were useful for charmbreaking, but none of them appropriate in the middle of a crowded rail station. Either that or he was going to get them to Hogwarts some other way.

Some other way...

"Arthur's gone and left the keys right in the car," Sirius said. "Shame that. Anyone could nick the thing."

Remus leaned against the car, and glanced at him. After a few seconds, both men smiled widely.

"You drive," Sirius said. "I'm taking the motorbike."

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