Abby knocked softly on the bedroom door. “Lily, can I come in?” she asked softly. There was no answer, so Abby opened the door slowly. There sitting on the bed crying was Lily. Abby rushed over to her side and dropped to her knees in front of her.
“Lily? Sweetheart, what is wrong? The baby?” Abby reached out and grabbed one of Lily’s hands in hers.
Lily shook her head. “No, it’s just...I just realised having a baby now-”
“Lily, having a baby now is the best thing. It shows faith and hope for the future,” Abby argued quickly.
“But-”
“No buts. Is it dangerous? Yes, but we all have something to look forward to. Your baby gives us even more reason to fight. Not that we needed more reason, but still...”
“What if something happens to one of us? Who will take care of the baby?” Lily asked, her voice laced with fear.
“First of all, nothing is going to happen to you or James.” Seeing Lily’s look of disbelief, Abby continued, “Okay, so realistically, it is possible. But, even if the worst happens, do you honestly think anyone of us would turn the baby away?”
“No, I know you wouldn’t. I’m being silly, aren’t I?” asked Lily with a small smile.
“No, you are not silly. I would imagine every mother has worries such as yours, and right now...” She let her voice trail off. Neither women needed to have the words spoken; neither knew if any of them would survive the increasing threats to their everyday life.
Lily smiled and wiped the remaining tears from her face. “I guess I should go back down and clean up from lunch. You need to get going,” Lily said as she stood, “and Abby, please be careful. It may not be a meeting of the Death Eaters, but there will probably be plenty in attendance.”
Abby nodded before answering, “I will. I told Sirius and Peter to clean up down there.” At Lily’s grimace, Abby stood and walked over to open the door. “Guess we should go and fix the mess they made cleaning up lunch?” she asked.
Lily laughed and then nodded. The two women left the bedroom, arm in arm and headed downstairs to see how big of a mess the two men made doing a simple chore.
*****
Sirius closed the door behind himself and Peter. He hated waiting in the shadows of the small park across the street for a full half hour after Abby entered the house alone. He glanced around and wasn’t surprised the house hadn’t seemed to change much in the years since he last stood in this foyer.
“Master Sirius!” came a gravely voice. “Yous shouldn’t be here. Yous don’t belong here. Mistress is upset enough, you must go. You must go now.” The house elf began pushing at Sirius’ legs, trying to get him back to the front door.
“This is a memorial for my father, I belong here as much as the next person. Now, go and do something but you are not to tell my mother I am here.” Sirius pulled away from the house elf and began walking up the stairs past the mounted heads of past house elves. Peter trailing behind.
He didn’t hesitate but went directly into the Drawing room where he knew his mother would be. His eyes quickly scanned the room and spotted Abby standing off to the side talking to Lucius Malfoy. He didn’t let his gaze linger on her lest he draw attention to the fact he worried about her being so close to a probable Death Eater.
He walked towards the sofa where his mother was sitting. As he looked at her, he realised how old she had gotten in the years since he had seen her.
“Mother,” he said simply. He was prepared for her to start screeching at the sight of him, however, he wasn’t prepared for her first word.
“Regulus?” she said before she looked up hopefully. Upon seeing it wasn’t her youngest son, her face burned red with fury. “YOU!” she screeched. “How dare you come into this house? Get out, GET OUT NOW!”
Every head turned in unison to stare at Sirius and Walburga. Sirius merely smiled and nodded politely to those around the room.
“I have come to pay my respects to my father,” answered Sirius softly. “Whether you approve or not, I have every right to be here as anyone, more than some...” He let his voice trail off meaningfully as he looked around the room.
“Mother, I would like you to meet Peter Pettigrew. Pete, this is my mother, Walburga Black.”
“It is nice to meet you ma’am,” said Peter politely. “I am sorry it is at such a sad time for you and my condolences on your loss.”
Sirius could tell his mother was shocked by the polite tone and respectful manner in which Peter spoke. He hid a smile at her temporary loss for words.
“Pettigrew, Pettigrew...Is your mother Constance Deverill?” asked Walburga.
“Yes, ma’am,” replied Peter, his voice still sounding very respectful. “I take it you knew my mother?”
“Yes, boy, I did. I was in school with her, good family, pureblood, all Slytherins,” she said as she looked at Sirius with disgust. “Your father, I don’t remember him from school.”
Sirius knew what was coming. This was where his mother found out that Peter’s mother married a Muggle. He knew her politeness was about to end. He stole a quick glance at the spot he had last seen Abby standing and his heart rate increased in panic when he saw the spot empty.
“Mother, where are my lovely cousins?” he asked quickly, hoping to forestall the tirade that would come with the revelation of Peter’s parentage.
“Your cousins are around, possibly down in the kitchen. Not that you really want to see them, or they you,” she answered snidely.
“Ah, but it has been so long,” Sirius said. “I thought maybe we could talk about what they have been doing lately.”
Walburga looked at her son. Her heart broke just looking at him, her baby, her first born. His resemblance to Regulus was disconcerting. Sirius had grown in to a fine looking young man. For a moment, she wished things could be different. She wished she could merely ask him to find his brother. Sirius always had a way of finding Regulus when he was hiding.
“You need to leave,” she said quietly. “It isn’t safe for you here...just go, please.”
Her words were spoken so softly, Sirius wasn’t sure he had heard them correctly. He looked into his mother’s eyes and saw the sheen of tears. He nodded and bent down close to his mother so his words would not be overheard.
“I will find him, Mother. I promise, and I’m...I’m sorry,” he whispered. He stood and nodding to Peter to follow him, walked out of the room without looking back. As he strode down the stairs, he worried about where Abby was and what she was doing.
In the Entrance Hall, he glanced at the closed Dining room doors, wondering if anyone was in there. He began to walk towards them, when a movement from the shadows stopped him cold. Abby was standing hidden in the deep darkness next to the doors. She shook her head slightly and gave him a smile.
He gestured to her to follow him and saw her shake her head. He gave a resigned sigh and turned towards the door. He only hoped to make it out of the house without another run in with Kreacher. The house elf would surely give Abby’s location away and her life could be in danger depending on exactly what was being discussed behind the closed doors.
He rushed out of the house and across the street to the park to await Abby. He hoped she would not stay much longer but he knew she wouldn’t leave if she thought there was information to be gained by staying.
“Peter, go back to James’ and let everyone know I am still alive,” he said. “I am going to stay here and wait for Abby.”
“I think I should stay with you,” Peter said. “If you have to go back in there, you can’t go in alone.”
“Go and report in, then if you insist, come back and stand watch with me,” said Sirius, weariness evident in his voice. “If Abby comes out before you get back, we’ll wait here for you so you don’t think something happened.”
Peter nodded and strode into the small cluster of trees. Sirius heard the faint pop of someone Apparating. Within five minutes, he heard several more pops from the trees and drew his wand. He stepped back slightly into the shadows. What he saw coming out of the trees made him smile.
Not only was Peter back, but James, Remus and even Lily were with him. He shook his head and put his wand away. He didn’t call out a greeting knowing that voices carried.
“Abby still in there?” whispered James when he was close enough.
Sirius nodded gravely. “I am starting to get worried. The plan was once I left, she would get out of there. She has five minutes and I am going back in,” he said softly.
Remus nudged Sirius and nodded towards the door of Grimmauld Place. Abby was coming through the door followed closely by Lucius Malfoy. They strode down the steps and stood talking on the sidewalk. Sirius could see Abby smiling at Lucius and watched as Lucius bent down and kissed her on the cheek before going back up the steps and into the house.
James and Remus each grabbed one of Sirius’ arms to stop him from rushing across the street. They watched as Abby turned and slowly walked towards them.
As soon as she was close enough, Sirius’ dangerously soft voice said, “What in the hell do you mean by letting that Death Eater kiss you?”