Throughout the night after showering and getting dressed, James held Renata especially close as they slept. At some points, they would roll away from one another, finding their own comfortable position for a couple of hours, but eventually, they would make their way back to each other. It was hands down, the best night of sleep that James remembered ever having and everything had placed him in such a peaceful mindset that he didn't need to dream to enjoy his night. Instead, when Renata turned back into him in her sleep, he would wrap his arms around her and hold onto her tightly. 

And sometimes, when his back was facing her, Renata's arm would drape over his waist and she would spoon him, which was oddly comforting. James had never experienced being the "little spoon" but as it turned out, he actually really liked it.  However, their sleeping arrangements left him slightly confused the next morning when he woke up to being poked directly in the middle of his face.

He stirred and even without his glasses on, he could see the image of Ron, sitting on his side of his bed. Despite his eyes being open and looking right at the little red-head, Ron continued to poke him.

"Ron, what are you doing?" James groaned, finally lifting his hand to block Ron's finger. Ron didn't say anything but he didn't need to as James felt a kick in his back. As he was startled, he sat up in the bed and looked over to see that Harry and Neville had also climbed into the bed at one point without him knowing.

Harry was tucked in the middle, one hand holding onto the fabrics of his father's shirt, while the other had a loose grip of Renata's hair. James didn't see Neville initially but as he leaned over, he could see that with Renata resting on her side, she had her arm wrapped around Neville as the boy peacefully slept facing her.

"Was kicking Renata out of her own bed not enough for you three last night, " James began with a small laugh, " that you all had to come and invade this one?"

James pushed himself up, thinking that Ron was awake for the day and figured he had to get him some breakfast, however, as soon as he sat up, Ron climbed over into his spot and laid down with a content smile. Apparently, he was only after James' spot for the warmth as he pulled the blanket over him and closed his eyes.

With James out of his spot, he was left to stand at the side of his bed with a surprised look, not believing for a few seconds that he had been tricked by a little one. Yet, there was no point in fighting Rong at the time, seeing as it would probably lead to waking up the other three. Shaking his head, James left the room and closed the door over to prepare himself some coffee and think about whether he would start making breakfast or not.

He was just about to make a grab for his wand when there was a knock at the door, leaving him slightly confused as he wasn't expecting any company. As he made his way to the door, he assumed that it was probably Sirius, but instead, as he opened it up, he was pleasantly surprised to see Remus.

"Moony!" James greeted with a smile. "You're home, I...I didn't know you were coming back. The last letter I got from you, you were just settling in the colony. Is everything alright? Are you okay?"

Even though Remus was a grown man, sometimes, James couldn't help himself but worry over his best friend/ brother. Ever since they had made the discovery back in their second year that Remus was infected with lycanthropy, it had sent James into a protective mode where all he wanted to do was help him in any possible way that he could.

"Everything is fine, James," Remus answered as he was allowed in, " at least, for me it is. I'm afraid this is only a visit because I felt like I needed to speak with you in person about this matter."

Inviting him into the kitchen, James welcomed him to sit down so they could discuss whatever it was that Remus needed. Surprisingly, even though Remus appeared quite nervous with whatever the topic was, James couldn't help but notice that in the time his friend had been gone, he looked a lot better. There was more colour in his face and he didn't seem as rail thin as he normally did. Maybe going to the colony for a bit of time had actually done some good for him, or maybe he had found some sort of happiness to help him start taking better care of himself.

"Alright, what's going on, Moony?"

With his hands becoming slightly fidgety on the table, Remus didn't meet James' gaze right away before he started speaking. "James, you know that I would normally never ask for help...financially...if I could help it. I already feel shameful as it is approaching you right now-"

"Remus, I have told you times and times before that you don't have to feel shameful about asking for financial help. I don't mind helping you in any way possible, I've been telling you this since we were boys-"

"I know, but this isn't necessarily for me."

There was sudden confusion on James' face, but he didn't reject anything right away, he wanted to hear more as he gave Remus the floor to explain.

"The colony is composed of people of all ages, adults, the elderly, and children. However, the other night, we just got our youngest in. A toddler, James, probably no older or younger than Harry," Remus began, seeing as James' eyes widen at the mention of the child.

Back when Remus had been bitten he was only four years old, how he had managed to survive was more than a miracle because just his wounds alone had nearly killed him. But a two-year-old suffering such wounds, how had the child managed?

"I know what you're thinking, it is a miracle," Remus said, " at least in my eyes and some of the eyes of the others at the colony. But there are some, mostly Ministry workers that aren't infected with lycanthropy that aren't as optimistic of the matter. His first full moon is coming up and I'm certain, if the boy doesn't have wolfsbane for his first transformation, he'll be dead by the morning."

"Merlin, Moony, so what are they going to do-"

"Nothing and that's the problem," he told him, " the Ministry isn't going to do anything because you know how they feel towards werewolves. One less werewolf is one less person they need to worry about. I'm sure they are actually hoping that the child dies. And with no mother or no father to intervene or fight-"

"Where are the mother and father?"

"Dead. They didn't survive the attack, their wounds were too great, not to mention they were muggles. I suppose the werewolf that bit this boy did so in hopes that he would survive for the transformation, very similar to Greyback's motive. We might be looking at a case of a Muggle-born, but it's too early to say."

"So you need money for wolfsbane for the boy?" James asked.

"It's the only way I think he'll survive if he's able to keep his mind, I did plenty of damage to myself when I was younger before you all helped me-"

"What about you, Moony? Why not let me pay to help you as well?"

It was quiet for a moment and James was sure that Remus was going to start fighting him on the matter, trying to convince him otherwise that the little boy at the colony was far more important. He knew that Remus didn't like asking for help, in fact, he hated it, but sometimes he wished that Remus would put the stubborn nature aside and just accept the help. He had been against the idea initially of the boys becoming animagi for him to keep him company on the nights. However, when it actually came down to the boys doing it and helping him every full moon, he never found himself complaining afterwards.

"Look," James said in a firm voice, just like the one Renata taught him to use with Harry, " you and I are going to go to Gringott's this afternoon. I'm going to go to the vault and I'm going to pull out money for the boy and for you to get the wolfsbane you need. You're not going to argue with me, you're just going to accept it. Understand?"

For a moment, it really did look like Remus was going to argue with him, but instead, he gave a mere nod of his head as he looked down at the table.

"Thank you, James. I don't know how I could ever repay you."

"You don't have to repay me," James told him, " your friendship has always been worth it. Now-"

Before they could proceed any further, there was another knock on the door leaving James to get up and answer it. Remus looked over the back of the kitchen chair as James opened it up to reveal Sirius. He wore a smile on his face, about to give in to his usual morning greeting, but as soon as he saw James' face up close, Sirius came to a halt and gave him a look before letting out a loud gasp.

"Sirius, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, you sly stag," Sirius grinned with a shake of his head, " look at you, you're glowing. You're actually...you had sex with Renata last night!"

In the background, Remus spat out the coffee he had been sipping since James had offered it.

Bewildered that Sirius could pick up on it so easily, James grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked Sirius inside. Meanwhile, Sirius was clapping his hands together, completely drowning in a celebratory mood as his little "Prongsy" was all grown up.

"Sirius, be quiet!" James scolded him. "You're going to wake up Ren and the boys, they all still sleeping-"

"I bet she is!"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, James didn't know what to say to get Sirius to stop, while Remus looked almost ready to drop the cup in his hand. Suddenly, the awkward tension between Sirius and Remus had vanished as if it had never existed as they both obviously shared an interest in learning about James' sex life.

"Did you really?" Remus asked him, leaning over the back of the kitchen chair. A grin forming on his face as well that nearly matched the one on Sirius' face at the time. "You actually-"

"Alright, yes, we did!" James whispered in a low tone. "What's the big deal? I've had sex before, you've all met Harry, the proof-"

He stopped talking as Remus and Sirius didn't say anything, they were just smiling at him. It might have come across as them just strictly teasing him, but James didn't realise just how happy they were for him at the time. When Lily had passed away, they didn't think that James would ever be able to recover from the loss, let alone find himself another woman to care for. And yet, they had been proven wrong and they were extremely happy about being wrong.

"We're just happy for you, Prongs," Sirius said, clapping his hand onto James' shoulder, " that's all. Renata's great...apparently in more ways than one. So how was it-"

"I'm not going to discuss that with you!" James exclaimed. "That's private, Padfoot!"

"Oh come on, I told you about my first time-"

"I never asked though! You just willingly told me that!"

All the bickering outside of the room hadn't woken up the boys oddly enough, but it did manage to stir Renata from her sleep as she shuffled out the room a few seconds later. She was busy rubbing the sleepiness away from her eyes, still probably experiencing some soreness as she walked rather slow, but as soon as she lowered her hands and spotted the three in the kitchen, she couldn't help but blush, especially since Remus and Sirius wore such giggly grins on their faces.

James shot her an apologetic look, which made her feel even more embarrassed because that made her think that Remus and Sirius definitely knew what had taken place the night before. However, she attempted to remain as casual as possible about it as she went over to greet Remus with a hug.

And of course, as she went to greet Sirius, he offered her a wink, which led to him getting smacked on the arm.

"Hey, instead of hitting me, you should be thanking me!" Sirius whined as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm. "I told you if you talked it over-"

Within seconds, Sirius found Renata's hand over his mouth, which earned her a smile and a kiss on the cheek from James. Sirius attempted to get her to remove her hand but licking the inside of her palm but apparently, Renata only saw that as a challenge as she licked her other hand and quickly wiped it over his forehead. He let out an ear-deafening screech before pulling away and running to the bathroom to clean off the spit.

Due to the scream, Neville, Harry, and Ron woke up and made their way out of the bedroom for breakfast. Harry seemed more than excited to see his "Uncle Moony" as he ran over and jumped into the man's lap to hug him. Ron and Neville remained cautious as they weren't too familiar with him, although Ron made his way over first to investigate since Harry seemed fine.

But Neville remained with his arms wrapped around Renata's leg, holding onto her tightly.

"Is that Frank's and Alice's boy?" Remus questioned. "That's Neville, isn't it?"

"Yes," James answered, flinching slightly at the mentioning of the two names of the former Aurors and friends, " he's been coming over a lot. He gets along really well with Harry and Ron, although a bit more shy than them."

"Oh, he's not shy," Renata said lifting Neville into her arms, " he's just reserved and he's watching everything around him. Isn't that right, Neville?"

Neville didn't say anything, blushing himself as all eyes were suddenly on him before he buried his face into Renata's neck to hide.

As James sat at the kitchen table that morning, he had to wonder if he was dreaming because everything seemed so perfect at the time. After Sirius had cleaned his face, he returned and settled at the table where he and Remus spoke as if they hadn't spent a day apart. Remus seemed happy for Sirius when it came to the discussion of Adelmo when the visit with Alcina was brought up and Sirius was willing to donate some of his own money that he had inherited towards the colony.

Meanwhile, Renata sat in between Harry and Neville, setting plates for all three of the boys as they carried on their own discussion. It was agreed after James told her that he was going to Gringotts with Remus that she and Sirius would take Ron and Neville to their homes before she took Harry to his eye appointment.

When it was time for all of them to leave, Sirius was left to take Ron home while Renata was in charge of Neville and Harry. Before she left though, James shared a kiss with her, only to see that everyone was watching them with smiles.

"Um, are they always going to do that?" she asked him in private.

"I sure hope not," he answered, " but knowing Sirius, it could be a possibility."

With Harry holding one hand and Neville holding the other, they said goodbye to Ron before making their way out of the flat. To turn the trip into a game, Renata had them hop on all the lines in the pavement, although Harry nearly lost his balance at one point, almost bringing all three of them down.

But Neville was laughing so hard that he was red in the face when they arrived outside of the Longbottom home. Renata gave him a moment to collect his breath before she knocked on the door to alert Augusta that they had arrived. It took a minute or so but Augusta came to the door, happy to see all of them, especially happy to see that Neville appeared to be in a good mood.

"I take it that you all had a good night?" Augusta questioned as she held out her hand to guide Neville inside.

"We sure did," Renata smiled before telling Harry to tell Neville goodbye and that they would see each other soon.

The cuteness only escalated as Harry let go of Renata's hand and ran forward to give Neville a hug, but the force had brought Neville to topple over backwards. Renata chuckled while the boys giggled on the floor before Harry pushed himself up.

"Bye, Nevy!"

Neville was placed on his feet by his grandmother to say his goodbyes as well.

"Bye, Harry! Bye, Mummy!"

Suddenly, it was as if time had stopped and Renata felt the same surge of panic race through her like the first time Harry had called her "Mummy." If it wasn't bad enough, Augusta had certainly heard it as the woman's face became blank, drained of all colour, and she was quiet for a few moments.

"Augusta, I'm so sorry," Renata apologised to her immediately, " I'm sure it was just a mistake, he doesn't know any-"

Before Renata could finish, Augusta pulled Neville inside fully by his hand and closed the door over with a swift slam in Renata's and Harry's faces.

Placing her hand over her own mouth, Renata gave a shake of her head, still in shock herself but feeling terrible as well. She knew that it wasn't Neville's fault and it wasn't even her fault if she was being completely honest with herself. It was just an unfortunate predicament and while she didn't want Augusta to be upset with her, she completely understood why the woman would be.

But there wasn't much time for her to dwell on it as Harry gave a small tug on her hand.

"Mummy, let's go bye-bye!"

Renata offered a small smile behind a nervous swallow as she could only think of one thing. These children were going to be the death of her.