Chapter 37

The month of May welcomed warmer weather for the Hopkin's-Black family, and Adria was simply basking in it. With little good news to grace them over the few months the year had brought them, anything with little pleasure was bound to lift her spirits and feeling the warmth of the sunrays on her back as she played outside with Jude and Mila was tugging the smile on her lips brighter than it had in weeks.

She hummed a sigh when she felt lips brush her bare shoulder. She had decided to wear something a little more revealing to soak up all the sun offered, and she laughed in the morning light when Sirius started to thank Merlin when he caught sight of her and she shut him up with a kiss.

"Have I ever mentioned," Sirius whispered into her skin, wrapping his arms tightly around her, "that you are simply gorgeous."

"Hmmm," she giggled softly, her eyes closing at the feeling of his lips still attached to her, "I think you've mentioned it once or twice in our time together."

"I'll put it on my list to tell you every day," he mumbled, tightening his grip, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Her laughter continued as she turned around to capture his lips and the beauty of his eyes and he smiled into her, his hand cupping her cheek and the other tightly gripping her waist, "I love you more than anything."

"You promise that?"

"Of course I do, Sirius." She couldn't help but frown at the look on his face, "...what is it?"

He took a deep breath, "you're so happy today," he said with a broken voice and heart, "I didn't...I didn't want to ruin that."

"What's happened?" she tensed ever so slightly but his fingers soothed her when he ran them over her back with the sole purpose of keeping her stress level down, "is everyone alright?!"

"Yes - well, our friends and family are. Muggleborn's...aren't." His frown deepened, and she soon noticed the letter clutched in his hand.

Her voice was quiet when she whispered, "another village?" and her hand slid to her heart when he silently nodded.

"When do we leave?"

"That's just it," he said, letting her go and kissing her one last time, "you don't go."

"What?!" she couldn't help but screech, eyes wide, "what are you talking about, Sirius?!"

"The mission," he trailed off, "they think I'll be out on it for over a week."

"A week?!" she squeaked out, soon shaking her head furiously, "Sirius...no - that's...it's too dangerous!"

"I'll be with James and Lily, and Remus too-"

"Oh, so you're all leaving me?!" she screeched. She didn't mean that, and he knew she didn't - anything they could do to protect muggleborn's and their safety was always one of Adria's top priorities, but she was just...scared.

"We can't leave Jude and Mila with the order for a week - or with anyone for a week." She couldn't help but agree with that, spending a few hours away from her babies was hard enough never mind a full week.

"I don't want to go," he said, putting that out there just so she knew how reluctant he had been reading the letter, "and believe me the thought of leaving you here on your own is killing me, but - but it's the order."

"I know, Sirius." She frowned, turning to the two toddlers giggling wildly, "they're going to miss you. Not as much as I will, of course, but-"

She stopped mid-sentence when he pulled her into him. His arms were tight around her and his head buried deep into her neck. She knew what it was for, it was fear mixed with high emotions that made them wish they never had to endure such a fight before. All Adria wished for every night was to wake up in the morning and receive news that the war was over - that she was safe to play with her brother and niece in the park instead of their back garden.

That she could walk down the street and not be afraid that her Husband would be spotted by a member of his family.

"I'm not leaving you forever, Adria," he whispered in her ear. It was confirmation of the fears in her mind, that there was always a chance that he wouldn't return, "I will come back to you. To my family and nothing could ever stop me."

"If you don't I will hunt you down, Sirius Black," she warned, kissing his cheek and pushing herself further onto her tiptoes to hug him even tighter, "I will hunt you down and drag you back here, fuck I'll even resurrect you if I have to. I don't care what I have to do, but you are not leaving me!"

"I'd never dream of it, my beautiful girl." He smiled into her skin when she finally relaxed and held him. The warmth of the sun beamed down on them in the comfort of their garden and she couldn't help the first tear that spilt at the thought of him gone for a week.

The thoughts in her mind ran wild. She was frustrated over the fact that she wouldn't be with him because she wanted to go and fight but the pull of her brother and her niece being left with the order or hell, even Benji and Arden pained her.

Jude was so used to both of them being there, and of course, he loved sleeping over at Benji's on the odd weekend, but his home was with his oldest sister and she couldn't leave him on his own. She just couldn't.

Of course, Sirius was his guardian too, his big brother even - and a father figure. But when it came down to it, Adria was the obvious choice to stay and if he was Sirius' biological brother, then he would stay instead.

"I wish it was over," she confessed. Though the confession was on both of their minds, "I wish we didn't live in a world of war, Sirius."

"I know," he said, "and neither do I. But we have to survive. Endure and Survive and we'll win."

-

Isaac and Blair decided to stay with Adria when Sirius was off on the mission just, so she wasn't coping on her own with two kids and so that if anything happened, they wouldn't be alone. Isaac had first agreed on his own but when Blair showed up to his apartment with a look of fear etched across her face and a suitcase, Adria had quickly welcomed her in too.

She was currently holding Sirius in her arms as tight as she possibly could on the off chance that he would get a letter saying he wasn't needed. She had asked the order just a day ago if he could apparate back every night, but they needed someone to be alert during nights and at all times throughout the week, and so no one could leave the city they had been assigned to.

"I have to go." The words spoken were hesitantly said because he didn't want to go - in fact, he wanted to hold her there forever and stay there with her. The thought of leaving her was killing him, eating him alive and he was still with her, he didn't know how he would be without her because they were never alone.

They were always with each other, always together. It was hard to comprehend how long he would be away for, but all Adria kept telling herself was that a week wasn't that long, though she knew it would certainly feel like it.

He held her face in his hands, brushing the hair from her face and just staring at her for longer than what he should have, and he whispered softly, "I figured at this moment I'd say I love you and what would you say-"

"To the moon and back."

"Exactly. So, a stop between the stars - but that's just...not enough. Because I would travel to every single planet, every single university to show how much I love you and I'd still not be able to explain how much I love you." He kissed her deeply with his lips moulding with hers and their bodies doing the same and she gripped his shirt so tightly that her fists hurt but she didn't care.

"Be safe, Sirius," she only got out before he had apparated and she almost fell to her knees had it not been for Isaac jumping in to hold her up. She gripped onto him for dear life and Blair rubbed her back.

She had already gone through that just before arriving at Isaacs did her sobs wrack through her and the tears stream down her face at the sight of Remus' face when he apparated away from her. He was scared but he was trying with all he could to hide it and he whispered his love to her with every second they spent together.

And now, that pain was returning but she was keeping strong. Adria had Jude and Mila, she had lost so many people in her life and the fear of losing Sirius and Lily and James and Remus was the only thing in her mind.

She had asked why Peter wasn't going either but Sirius with anger struck across his features told her that when he arrived home to his home with Thea just the day after he was at their home, he had been attacked by a couple of muggle teens who beat him pretty badly.

She was ready to go and find them and hurt them, but Peter had strongly advised to just leave it.

"So," Adria whispered, sniffling away the pain and allowing Isaac to wipe her tears, "what do we do now?"

"We take our mind off of it," Blair said with a sigh. She wrapped her arm tightly around Adria's shoulder, "they'll come back, Addy. They always fight to win and we all always win, you know how good of a fighter Sirius is - and Remus is always smart thinking. He doesn't walk into a fight unprepared."

"And," said Isaac, smiling at his girls, "they have a reason to come back. They have you two and that is enough. It's the same with James and Lily, they're fighting together but they still have a reason to come home and that's their family."

"I just," Adria took a deep breath, "I wish they didn't have to. I'm scared because...well because what if this isn't the last time this will happen? Being without Sirius for a day is weird enough - fuck, being without Lily is weird and Lily is who I'd go to when something like this happens.

I'm not saying that I'm not so relieved to have you two here because I'd be even more of a wreck but this...it's terrifying me. Because what if something happens? Maybe not even now but in the future! What if something happens to you two or Lily or James, or Remus or Sirius and they die, and I'll never see them again.

I would never be able to cope!"

"Nothing is going to happen to them," Isaac assured, "because we were all gifted with the strongest people in the world as our friends...and no matter what happens they will always come back to us."

"I agree with that." Blair's head lifted from Adria's shoulder and she took Jude's hand when he wrapped one of his arms around her leg at the sight of her. She smiled down at the boy, ruffling his hair and soon leaning down to pick him up and whispered, "I don't think it's quite possible for our friends to fall at the hands of those people. They're cruel and evil and they would fight until their dying breath to end them.

They'll come back to us."

Adria brushed the hair out of Jude's face and watched Isaac pick up Mila who instantly snuggled into him and with the faint ghost of a smile whispered, "I hope so."