"Bloody hell don’t you look like shit" Sirius said bluntly causing all 3 people in the kitchen to turn and glare at him, Carys leaned against the doorway and shook her head

“Where’s mum?” she questioned, her voice made them wince. Maris re- entered the kitchen from the pantry as if summoned.

“Morning Carys…” she glanced up and stopped, dropping the bowl in her hand on the side and hurried over her youngest daughter, taking her shoulders in her hands. “Are you okay little one?” she demanded running expert eyes over her face “Hmm it seems you have a cold...back up to bed for you right this instance we'll be up in a second with your breakfast, I don’t want you to leave that bed except to go to the toilet, come one I’ll take you" Maris said checking her daughter for symptoms before turning her round and shooing her back upstairs.

A silence echoed round the kitchen before Sophie swallowed her tea and spoke shaking her head as she did

"Poor sod, Mum isn't going to allow her out of bed for the next million years, she's just scary, it's like she wants us to be ill all the time just so she can mother us back to health" James nodded and finally began eating his food, speaking as he did

"You've got that right, she's even moved on to doing that for children that aren't her own as well. I mean look who she dragged in and he's never left" James said Sophie nodded the pair of them looking pointingly over at Sirius who was still shovelling food into his mouth. Sirius stopped his fork half way to his mouth and grinned

"Hey, I tried to leave but she brandished the frying pan so fiercely that I got scared and bottled it, only Moony can stand up to her, maybe that's why she adores him so" James seemed to think deeply about it nodding slowly as he did

"You know I really don’t see how he does it, he’s not more charming then us, he’s not better looking and yet every adult adores him, well they adores us of course because we’re the best but still Mum seems to melt when he’s polite to her" both James and Sirius looked thoughtful

"Well I certainly don’t adore you. You both just annoy me" Sophie commented taking her seat at the table, before James could comment Maris entered the room rubbing her hands together

"Well she has a fever” she announced to them “and she'll be in bed for the next day or so, poor Carys she has no sense I told her not to go out last night but she was determined to see her friends and now look at her," Sophie and James smothered a grin as they glanced at each other, if anything Maris Potter looked thrilled at her youngest ill health

"So Mum do you want me to take her up some breakfast?" James asked, he already knew the answer but he figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.

"No that's okay hunny I'll take it up to her in a minute, she’ll need plenty of fluids as well" James rolled his eyes, From the look of it Carys wasn’t getting out of that bed for at least a week and if James knew his sister he knew that she wouldn’t like that. Maris busied herself getting Carys little breakfast tray ready

"So what is everyone plans for today?" she demanded placing toast on a plate. Before any of them could answer though they heard a voice from the living room "Maris are you there? It’s an emergency there’s been another attack" Maris's face darkened at the voice and she pushed the tray at James "Actually James you can take it to her, excuse me" she left the room leaving them in an uneasy silence. James glanced at Sirius before turning his gaze to Sophie who was watching the doorway with a thoughtful expression on her face. She turned back and caught James’s eyes and spoke

"Well that's a change...I think that was the first time I've seen mum give up a chance to smother us to death while we're ill, don't you agree James?" James nodded his head thoughtfully, "Guess the call was important, it sounded important” Sirius put his knife and fork down and burped

"Forget it Prongs" he commented with an underlying echo of steel beneath it "Bring the tray up to Carys and we'll bug Moony and Wormtail into coming out to Diagon alley, I wonder how easy it would be for Moony to join us from Ireland" James turned his attention back to Sirius with a grin

“Of course you’d want Moony there!” he said grinning at Sirius who scowled at him, he glanced at the once covered table which was now practically empty and shook his head in amazement "Jeez Padfoot do you think you ate enough?" Padfoot stared at the table consideringly and patted his stomach

"No I think I could manage to eat more" he looked up as Sophie made a sound of disgust

"You're disgusting" she proclaimed wrinkling her nose up James picked up the tray and turned around shaking his head and went upstairs to Carys' room somehow he didn’t think Sophie would ever accept Sirius in their house, she was never keen on him before and now she just seemed to hate him.

James walked up the stairs and down the hallway to his sister room, he stopped and gently used his foot to push the door open, the room was dark but he had been in it enough times to know his way around it. Once he reached the bed he placed the tray down and walked over to the window, banging his shin against the chair, he gave a muffled oath and opened the curtains before walking back to Carys who was watching him quietly

“Hey Rys” he said keeping his voice quiet in case she had a headache “I’ve brought you some breakfast up and mum made you a drink, No idea what it is though, how you feeling?” Carys scowled weakly at him

“I feel ready to run a marathon and then after that I was thinking I could enter a beauty contest” she ran a shaky hand over her forehead “I feel so bad Jamie” she moaned, James looked sympathetic and pushed the tray closer, Carys looked at it but pushed it away “Why are you here?” she asked “I was psyching myself up for another smothering session” James grinned as he fluffed her pillows

“Mum had to take a call, it sounded urgent so taking care of the invalid fell to me, you sure you’re not faking to get attention?” he asked smiling as he did. Carys nodded looking relieved, she shot a quick look at the door but when it was clear that no one else was coming she switched her attention back to her brother and spoke

“Can you keep mum away from me?” she pleaded “She’s driving me mad already” James grinned and shook his head

“I’m am only a man and as a man I am limited in what I can do, in short little sister it’s impossible, she’s made her mind up to nurse you back to health and she’s going to nurse you whether you want to or not, still it’s kind of amusing for me and Sophie, gets the attention off us for a while” Carys sighed and spoke sarcastically

“So glad I can be of assistance” she remarked before changing the subject “In that case James you have to get me out of here” James bent over slightly and felt her burning forehead, shaking his head as he did.