Five Years Later...

A baby's cry broke the silence in the small room, bringing smiles and happy tears as the sound of the first indignant wail carried through. This little one's arrival had been highly anticipated, just like the recent rash of arrivals after that fateful day in the Wizengamot. Many things had changed since then, tears had been shed, anger had been voiced and acted upon, scandals uncovered. However, for the Black family and their friends, life had gone on.

Orion's smile and congratulations to the new grandparents were distracted by an annoyed-sounding whimper in his arms at the loud, distracting sound. He chuckled softly and soothed the babe in his arms, talking to his newest son with a quiet, steady tone. Only a few months old, little Dragos Galen Black was a handsome bugger, with Harrigan's pale features, Orion's rich black hair, and silvery-green eyes. Once Dragos had drifted back to sleep, he looked over to see how Harrigan and Rodolphus were handling his nearly five-year-old daughter, Larissa Rhiannon. Larissa was a beautiful little girl, with a full head of rich dark brown curls and the bluest eyes Orion had ever seen.

She was most certainly daddy's girl, Orion had been wrapped around her tiny fingers from the moment she'd been placed in his arms, crying softly with those bright blue eyes staring at him. As his only daughter, she was perhaps just a little bit spoiled, but Orion turned a blind eye to that. It was a husband's duty to control his wife, not a father's. He indulged her shamelessly for the most part as Harrigan looked on, shaking his head in fond exasperation at his husband's lack of control.

Orion had nearly lost his husband and daughter five years ago, his new son wouldn't have even been a possibility. His grip tightened just slightly on Dragos, when the babe made a small noise of protest he brought him to his shoulder instead, savoring the warmth and baby scent from the full head of black hair resting happily on his shoulder.

Albus Dumbledore was dead. Five years ago in the Wizengamot session where Harrigan had revealed his shocking evidence about Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and young Ariana Dumbledore's death, a lifelong imprisonment had been the future Albus had been looking forward to, not Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot. Enraged by the loss of both his seat as Headmaster and now his position in the Ministry, Albus Dumbledore had thrown a Killing Curse at Harrigan.

Orion had pushed his husband to the floor and braced for the impact of the spell. It had never come, instead, the floor had vibrated from a body landing nearby. Amidst the screaming, shouting, and echoes of spells flying in the room, Orion had turned his head and looked, afraid of what he was going to see. It turned out he had lost someone after all, just not his pregnant new spouse.

His dear friend Lucien Lestrange had been the one laying there, a peaceful blank look on his aristocratic features. Abraxas had been kneeling at his side, a look of shocked grief clear on his face. Not many had known exactly how close the pair had been, Orion was one of them. If Harrigan had guessed that the two were lovers, he hadn't said a word. And now Abraxas was staring at his long-time lover with a blank, lost expression on his face.

When informed of their father's death and who had caused it, Rodolphus and Rabastan had shown a horrible but understandable mix of rage and grief. The day after taking possession of the Lordship ring worn by his father, Rodolphus had stormed into the Ministry, into a full meeting of the Wizengamot court, and demanded the death of the man who had killed his father. When faced with the grief-filled fury of the young man and the memory of his aristocratic, highly-respected father none of the Wizengamot court had been able to meet Rodolphus' eyes.

It had been unanimous, Dumbledore had received the Dementor's Kiss, which was about the same as a death sentence in the wizarding world. His body had not lasted even a half-hour without the soul to hold it together and not many had found themselves mourning a manipulative old man with far too many dark secrets in his past.

Their lives had been going well since that day, Larissa had been born without any further excitement in Harrigan's pregnancy. About two days after her birth James Potter had proposed to her older half-brother Regulus, the pair bonding four months later. Remus and Bellatrix had continued to date informally, though Orion suspected that an engagement wasn't far off for the intellectual pair, who got along very well.

Today however it was time to meet the newest member of the family. Harrigan calmed their daughter, straightening her small dress with a smile and a few soft words to calm her down. She slipped her fingers into Rodolphus' hand, the other being held by Severus. Larissa was infatuated with Rodolphus, something that everyone in their little family group found adorable. She was often found sitting with him and Severus, curiously watching Rodolphus work on a project or asking Severus to explain what one of the 'big words' in his texts meant.

Moving towards the doorway, Orion motioned others through first, as such he was one of the last to enter the room and see the tired but besotted expression on his younger son's face as he cuddled a small bundle of blue blankets in his arms. Dark hair was just visible peeking over the edge of the blanket as well as a tiny set of fingers that were clenching the soft embroidered edge.

James Potter had an incredibly bright smile on his face as he gazed, besotted, into the small face from Regulus' right. Looking up, he grinned at their assorted family members and friends.

"Family, friends," he began with absolute joy shining in his eyes, "I would like you to meet our son, born on the 31st of October, 1982. This little one is Hadrian James Potter, named in honor of the one I think we can all agree made sure we were able to stick together. Without you, Harrigan, I'm not sure where I would be at this point in time. I can think of no greater way to thank you for simply being a part of my family than to honor you somehow in the name of my son."

Harrigan's eyes were bright with tears as he acknowledged James' words. Orion smiled at his husband, curled his left arm around his shoulders, and privately echoed his son-in-law's words.

Thank you, Harrigan, for truly turning around the Black family fortunes. Thank you, beloved, for turning my life around.