An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
“So,” Dora says when Remus stands to clear the table, “why am I really here, then?”
“What d’you mean?” Sirius asks, but Remus can hear the faint guilt tugging at the edges of the words. “We can’t just invite you for dinner?”
Remus looks up as Dora shifts her gaze between them, before settling it on Teddy, a hint of a smile over her face as she leans back in her seat.
“You’re not angling for another one, are you? 'Cause I’ve got to be honest with you, not sure I’m up for that.”
Remus chokes in surprise at the same time as Sirius throws his head back with a barklike laugh. “No! Godric, no. I think we’re all set for now.”
“Yeah,” Remus agrees, a little faintly, rubbing at the back of his head. “Definitely all set.”
Dora looks between them, a smug sort of grin on her face, eyes glittering. She’s clearly pleased with their reactions as she reaches out to ruffle Teddy’s hair, making the boy swipe at her with his spoon. “Dunno why though,” she says. “He’s a delight.”
“Sure, he is now. We’ll see how he’ll be in a few minutes,” Sirius mutters, but his eyes are soft as he looks at his son. “Seriously though, it’s…” He falls silent, searching for the words for a moment before looking up at Remus for help. “It’s been a bit tough lately.”
Remus nods in agreement, serving them all some tea before he sits back down at the table. He reaches out to squeeze Sirius’ thigh lightly. “It has,” he confirms, watching as Teddy begins to squirm in his chair, angling to get down, Sirius helping him onto the floor. Dora doesn’t speak, clearly waiting for them to work up to whatever it is that they want to say. Teddy totters over to his toys on the floor and Remus lets his gaze follow as he starts to explain some of what’s been going on recently, finishing with last night’s big fight.
“Pete, Reg, and Mary were all here for dinner and had front row seats for that show,” he mutters, heaving a sigh, “and they were quite adamant we need some help sorting this all out and, well…Mary had an idea.” His gaze flickers to Sirius for a moment, whose eyes are on Teddy, playing on the floor.
“She suggested we go on this reality show that she’s doing,” Sirius says before he looks at Dora, as if daring her to laugh. “It’s for parents who need…some support, or whatever, with their children. It’d be a way for us to get some help to sort this all out, but it’s…well, it’s complicated.”
“It’s a Muggle show,” Remus interjects. “We’d have to go Muggle and whereas I think we’ll manage…mostly anyway,” he explains, trailing to a pause as he lets his gaze drift to Sirius for a second before he continues, ignoring the way his husband lets out an affronted huff, “we’re worried about Teddy. He’s too young to control the way he morphs, and he won’t understand even if we tell him he can’t do it. So…is there a way to conceal what he is? Obviously his safety comes first and if we can’t do it in a way that’s absolutely safe for him, we won’t do it at all, as simple as that. But we at least wanted to ask you.”
Dora looks between them for a moment, raising her hands. “Wait, you’re going to be on a Muggle TV show?”
Chapter two of Family on the Mend is out NOW.
Me and @heartofspells cannot thank you enough for the feedback on chapter one, we definitely hope that you will continue to love this as much as we do!
