And they could never tear us apart

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-

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———

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No, but we're about to!!

-----

"Hey!" Harry said, looking up as Sirius gently opened the door to the hospital room.

"Ron said he had strict orders that I come in first," Sjrius said, keeping his voice soft as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"Least we could do after your heroics today," Ginny said, smiling tiredly without looking away from the bundle in her arms.

"I don't know if I'd describe getting hexed by your mother as particularly heroic," Sirius quipped wryly.

"Speaking as the person who was trying to give birth when she attempted to break in here after I specifically said I wanted everyone other than Harry to wait outside, I think it was very heroic."

"Thank you for stopping her," Harry said, green eyes wide and earnest as he looked at the still-healing marks on Sirius' face. "I'm so sorry it came to that."

"Don't even worry about it. Lily did worse to me when she was in labor with you. Broke three of my fingers, and had a burst of accidental magic that made everyone in the room grow tastebuds in unmentionable places. Took a week of potions to undo!"

Harry stared at him in horror while Ginny laughed tiredly before wincing, clearly still sore. Harry shook himself briefly before scrubbing one hand through his messy hair to settle himself.

"Right, so, we wanted you to be the first to meet our son — your grandson. Which, you probably guessed given that you're here to see us right after he was born. Er—"

"I would love to meet my grandson," Sirius said, lips twitching as he cut off Harry's nervous ramble.

Harry nodded once and, with all the anxious and eager energy of a new father, spun to take the baby from Ginny before freezing as he tried to recall how to do so safely. It was very reminiscent of how James had been when Harry was born, right down to the bundled baby with a wild poof of hair sticking out. Sirius felt his chest tighten, the old ache of wishing James and Lily could see this, be here for their son, throbbed dully inside him for a moment before he pushed it down.

Soon enough, Harry passed the tiny newborn from his trembling hands in to Sirius' steady ones, and Sirius gently cradled the baby close. His grandson was so tiny! Logically he knew the boy was bigger than Harry had been, seeing as Harry had been born just a few weeks premature, and this baby was nearly two weeks overdue. But holding the tiny baby in his arms, seeing the absolutely miniscule features of his face and the tiny fingers and nails, made Sirius feel like he was holding the smallest baby on the planet. That, or Sirius was simply too large, like when he bloody well told Hermione he wouldn't be able to fit in her new car, no matter how fuel efficient it was supposed to be.

The baby squirmed a bit, before pursing his lips and yawning, settling comfortably in Sirius' arms.

"Yeah," Sirius whispered, voice full of affection, "that's definitely a Potter."

"James."

"Hm?" Sirius looked up to see Harry staring between Sirius and the baby, looking almost nervous.

"His name. It's — we decided on James."

Sirius nodded, having been expecting that. Every discussion about children's names had made Harry go quiet and fidgety for the last five months, a sure sign that Harry had a preference he wasn't certain about voicing. It made sense that Harry would want to name his son for the father he'd never known.

"A biblical name, I see, I see," Sirius joked, smiling as Harry relaxed a bit from how tightly he was wound.

"Well, it's... I know you know it's not a biblical name. I wanted — and Ginny was okay with it, she agreed — that we could name our son after my father." Harry swallowed nervously and then made an odd buzz sound.

Ginny snorted softly, and Sirius heard her say "Oh, Merlin," under her breath.

Sirius looked at her and then looked at Harry, who was turning a bit red. Sirius cocked his head to the side in question, and raised one eyebrow, a simple gesture that had gotten Harry spilling his guts on more than one occasion. Truthfully, Sirius credited that eyebrow with getting Harry to finally ask if there was any Potter family jewellery he could use to propose to Ginny with.

Harry cleared his throat and gave it another go, clearly enunciating like he was learning a spell.

"Father...ZZ! As in fathers, plural. With an s... which gets pronounced as a z for some reason."

Sirius blinked at Harry for a second, wondering if they were having the same conversation.

"Hey, Harry," Ginny stage whispered, like she was in a poorly acted play and trying desperately to prompt someone else's line, "You should totally tell Sirius what Baby James' middle name is!"

Harry startled slightly and nodded once, "Right, yes! It's........ Sirius?"

"Yes?" Sirius prompted after a moment of silence.

Harry deflated as Ginny started quietly cackling, even as she wheezed with pain.

"We should just high-five each other in the face, it would hurt less," Harry groaned.

"Do not high-five me, I'm holding James."

"Sirius."

"... Yes?"

"No, that's— He's James, Sirius!"

"... Yeees?" Sirius felt like he was going to lose his bloody mind.

"Noooo—" Harry groaned, pushing up his glasses so he could bury his face in his hands.

"I'm dying," Ginny gasped, tears streaming down her face as she laughed helplessly.

"James Sirius Potter!" Harry shouted, causing the baby to startle and begin wailing.

"Whoa, hey, easy lad," Sirius soothed, bouncing on his heels to jiggle Baby James gently. "It's okay, your Dad's just a bit worked up. I know, I know, what an awful ruckus. Yeah, that's a good lad, just a bit of a startle, nothing to fuss over."

"I made my son cry just saying his name," Harry whispered hoarsely.

"He's less than an hour old, he doesn't know that's his name. To him it was just loud. Considering how many Weasleys there are he'll probably be exposed to plenty of other loud noises soon enough," Sirius said, soothing his godson now that his grandson had calmed down.

"Okay, I know we already said Ron was gonna be his godfather, but can I change my vote at the last minute? Because Ron can't get any of our niblings to stop crying, but Sirius just managed it with two generations of Potters in less than a minute."

"I— No, we already told Ron. And besides, he'll need the practice based on what Hermione has been hinting at," Harry said, rubbing his forehead.

"Well, in that case I'm going to take a bit of control here and clear up your disastrous communication," Ginny said, before meeting Sirius' eyes and smiling widely. "You hold in your arms the first of the next generation of Potters, James Sirius Potter. Named for both of Harry's fathers!"

Sirius' jaw dropped as tears sprung to his eyes.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

"Is... is that okay?" Harry asked, fretting.

Sirius nodded, taking a deep breath and trying to blink away the tears. He was so touched, in ways he struggled to articulate.

"It's more than okay," Sirius said, sniffling.

5,8 K. Rated T. CW: medical child abuse.

"I have to tell you something", Sirius says. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone."

James leans forward, looking him intently in the eyes to let him know that he is listening. Sirius can't bear it. He stares into his hands and spits the words out of his mouth before he has time to second guess it.

"My mum is poisoning me."

For a while he can only hear James's breathing hitch. They both wait quietly for Sirius to say something, to undo the confession, but he can't.

Day 6: Pierce

Don’t they know that murder is illegal? You just know there are a bunch of homicidal maniacs out there who love to read those stories. They write them, too, in between killing people. 

in the woods somewhere | part 19 @dailyprongsfoot prompt May 2026 | 7: cold | AO3 | start at part 1

The fire in the hearth burns merrily, chasing away the chill of the night. Spring nights outside of the cities are still rather cool, even if James doesn't feel cold at all right now. His skin is still heated, his heart still pounding from what they just did.

Sirius flops down into the sheets next to him, just as breathless. He's a vision in the soft light of the fire, his hair tousled and his eyes bright. James is tempted to devour him again right away, but sadly his body will need a bit of time to recover first.

After their fight with the stinger swinging monster they should probably both rest more in general. James' arms still sting a little from its attacks, even if Sirius gave the injuries some tender care before they got thoroughly distracted.

Maybe they really should have let the herbal salve sink into James' skin a bit more and let it do its magic before tumbling into the sheets. Maybe then James wouldn't have rubbed most of it into the bedding of the creaky inn bed.

It only means they will have to redo the whole process later. But who can really blame James for not caring as much about all that as he probably should when Sirius is there, right next to him after a week of painful separation?

James reaches out for Sirius and pulls him closer and into another heated kiss, drinking down his breathless chuckles like fine wine.

It would be perfect, but there is one thing still pushing at James' mind, demanding his attention.

“Not that I'm not flattered,” James mumbles against plush lips. “But why did you follow me?”

“Because I missed your snoring,” Sirius says with a grin.

James pokes him in the side. “I told you I don't snore.”

“I beg to differ.”

“And I beg of you a real answer.” James looks at him, at his fiercely independent mage who loves his freedom and fears a leash. “Why are you here, Sirius? You know where I'm going.”

Sirius sighs and flops onto his back. He stares up at the plastered ceiling instead of looking at James. “Because I hate the idea of you binding yourself to someone else.”

“Me too,” James says softly, like a shared secret between them. “But you know I'll have to.”

“No, you don't.” Sirius turns his head to finally look at James, his eyes fierce and determined. “I'm right here.”

“And I won't force you into this,” James shoots back. “You made it pretty clear what such a bond would mean to you –”

“Cute how you think you could force me.”

James glares at him. “Says the man who ran away into the middle of the forest to not be forced into anything by the crown, which, if you remember, I'm part of.”

Sirius waves that away like it's nothing. “That was before I knew more about this bond.”

“That doesn't change –”

“Before I knew more about you.”

James' mouth snaps shut at the look Sirius is giving him, still fiercely determined and stubborn, but with a soft spark of tenderness in his eyes that shuts James up completely.

“Which, if you ask me, changes everything.” Sirius shakes his head like he can't believe he's saying that, then presses his forehead against James' shoulder. His breath brushes along James' neck, making him shiver. “I trust you, for some completely mad reason.”

It's the greatest compliment James could receive. It's doing funny things to his heart.

Lifting his hand, James buries his fingers in Sirius' long hair and pulls him into a kiss, heated and full of love, to have an outlet for all the things he's feeling for that infuriatingly stubborn mage. Sirius makes a small sound against his lips and wraps his arms around James, pulling him closer.

Their bodies shift on the bed, striving for more contact. James follows wherever Sirius leads.

A blanket gets kicked off the bed and slides to the floor, but neither of them notices. Sirius' legs wrap around James' hips with ease, bringing them even closer together.

in the woods somewhere | part 18 @dailyprongsfoot prompt February 2026 | 24: crash | AO3 | start at part 1

James ducks and rolls. The stinger of the beast hits the forest floor instead of him. It sends up a cloud of dust and James turns away, trying not to be blinded by it or breathing in too much of the dirt.

He barely manages to catch the second attack of the stinger with his sword. It still grazes down his arm as he pushes the beast back, leaving him with another set of scratches. James can only hope the beast is not venomous.

The creature is a tough one. Its shell is hard and impossible to break. James has tried different angles, but all it does is bouncing his sword back off it.

He nearly lost his grip on it the first time, he's more careful in his approach now.

Still, James knows he can't keep this up forever. His arms start to hurt, not only from the stinger scratches but also from lifting his sword over and over again, blocking the powerful swings of the creature. He's getting tired and he's still not close to finding a way to get rid of the beast.

“Duck!”

The command echoes through the forest. Without thinking about it much, James drops to the floor.

He knows that voice.

The stinger of the monster comes down at him again, but this time it bounces off of an invisible barrier. The beast screeches in outrage and pulls the stinger further back, but that's when James sees it – a little opening in the shell, just underneath the stinger. A soft bit of exposed muscle to give it free movement.

James lifts his sword and swings.

The stinger goes flying, cut off from where it was connected to the tail. The beast screams, dark blood spraying around as it thrashes the tail back and forth.

A blinding burst of light flashes over James' head, hitting the creature just between the eyes. It stumbles back, momentarily blinded by both light and pain. Its big head falls back and that's when James sees the second opening in the shell.

The tip of his sword sinks into the gap like it's cutting through soft butter. After the struggle James had with that beast it's almost infuriating how easy it is to kill if you know how to do it.

The monster gives a hiss, dark blood gushing from the wound at its neck. Then it slumps forward and James has to quickly stumble back to avoid getting crushed by the massive body that goes down with a crash.

He stumbles right into another person.

“A bit more than a week, James, and I find you in deep trouble already. I should not be surprised, but I'm a little impressed, I have to say.”

“Sirius.” James turns with a wide grin, all tiredness forgotten. “How did you find me?”

Sirius lifts James' broken horn pendant in answer. It dangles on its leather cord between his fingers. “Tracking charm. It's easy enough if you have something of the person you're searching for.”

Easy. Only Sirius would call something that sounds like a good bit of complicated magic easy.

James can't stop grinning. His eyes go over to the lifeless body of the monster they fought together. Maybe Sirius can make him a new protection pendant out of the stinger of the fallen beast. “We work well together.”

“Funny that,” Sirius says, looking down at the beast as well. “And more than a little ironic.”

James frowns and turns back to him. “Why?”

Sirius keeps his eyes on the ground. “You know how you keep saying that my magic is pretty good?”

“Obviously.” James points down at the slain beast.

“And how you were so sure I would be the perfect mage for the prince?”

James opens his mouth to say something, probably to apologise again for his thoughtless comments on the matter, only thinking of himself, but Sirius lifts a hand and stops James' rambles before they can even start. James' mouth falls shut so fast, he almost bites his tongue, no magic involved.

“Well, you weren't the only one thinking that.” Sirius nudges one of the many legs of the beast on the ground with the tip of his boot, then takes a deep breath and looks at James. “I slipped out of a certain carriage last spring. That's how I ended up in the forest. I kind of ran away from becoming your mage and somehow you found me anyway.”

James stares at Sirius. He blinks a few times. Then the grin slowly returns to his lips, wider than ever.

“Please don't say it,” Sirius grumbles.

James' grin only widens more, his hazel eyes sparkling. “I told you it's fate!”

Sirius sighs, his shoulders dropping in defeat. “You won't shut up about it now, will you?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course not!” James flings the arm that's not holding his sword around Sirius and pulls him closer, only wincing a little when the cuts on his skin from the beast's stinger brush against Sirius' clothes. “It's exactly the epic, fated romance I was hoping for in my life.”

Sirius leans his forehead against James'. “Whatever you say, Your Highness.”

James closes his eyes and just takes in this moment of being close to Sirius again. “What will I have to do for you to stop calling me that?”

in the woods somewhere | part 17 @dailyprongsfoot prompt March 2026 | 28: sleepless | AO3 | start at part 1 Happy Birthday @neverenoughmarauders!🥳 (after breaking your heart last time I thought it would be nice to kind of glue it back together for your special day! 😂 I hope you like it! 💖)

Sirius can't sleep.

It's too quiet in the cottage without James' snoring. The bed feels too big without a warm body at his side, too uncomfortable without a pair of arms wrapped around his middle, just on the edge of too tight.

Sirius tries to ignore it and force sleep to come, like he did every night for the past week, but sleep does not cooperate with his wants or needs this time.

The night drags on forever.

Sirius wonders where James sleeps tonight, if he has found an inn or if he made camp by the wayside on the soft spring grass. He's hoping it's the inn. With James' level of self-preservation he would be robbed and murdered in no time if he'd ever attempt to sleep in a field.

This is exactly why it's good for him to have a travel companion that can cast protective charms. He needs that. He's getting into far too much trouble on his own.

It's for the best Sirius tells himself over and over.

It's for the best. It's for the best.

But if it's really for the best, why does it feel like Sirius' insides burn with a raging fire every time he thinks of James bonded to another mage?

It's not jealousy. Of course it's not. It's just that he knows the other mage families and the possible options they will present to James.

Sirius wonders if Lucius will slither his way into the crown's good graces or if a Nott will take his place.

His place.

Sirius tries to shake off that thought. It's not his place to be the prince's mage. He made sure it won't be, made a decision against it, one for freedom.

But that was before he got to know James.

And before he learned more about that bond too. It wasn't easy to get the information he wanted out of stolen books and transcripts, but he did his research. More than he has shared with James yet.

Still, he made a choice to turn his back on it all, to try for a life on his own, away from his family's expectations and meddling. Away from court. It felt good at first, this taste of freedom. His own cottage. Peace and quiet.

Too quiet maybe.

Just when he got a little bored with nothing but trees and herbs and bird song, James had arrived at his doorstep and made things a lot more interesting.

But now James is gone and boredom can return. There is nothing much to do in the forest, not for someone who likes to learn and explore.

He could leave the country and go somewhere else. Try something completely new and get rid of the lingering longing for James.

Or he could do something stupid...

Sirius huffs and turns around, punching the pillow into a better shape. No, he won't run after someone just because he has a nice smile and a pair of bright, hazel eyes and a witty, sharp tongue.

Just because he makes Sirius feel wanted and loved.

Just because he has taken a part of Sirius' heart along with him when he left.

Sirius groans and turns onto his back, looking around the room in the low light of the dying ambers in the hearth. It's utterly insane to give all of this up for a stupid, charming princeling.

His mother would have a field day with it.

Groaning again, Sirius gets out of bed. He rubs his eyes. There is no sleep for him tonight.

James might be already halfway across the country. The weather had been nice and in his favour for the most part.

Which means that he's halfway to the waiting, greedy arms of Lucius Malfoy.