The funeral for Regulus Black was an odd affair indeed. Everyone in attendance, save for one, knew that the whole thing was a sham - and the one was the officiating wizard who spoke over it. Sirius Black wore pitch black sunglasses to shade his eyes from view and held tightly onto Remus's arm, careful not to put pressure on the fresh tattoo there. James and Lily's fingers were laced together.

"Why bother having a funeral at all?" Peter had asked. "Nobody but the five of us will be there."

"Because there's loads of eyes everywhere, always watching, Peter," James had answered, straightening Peter's tie. "And the longer we can help Regulus keep up the charade, the safer he will be."

"But Sirius thinks he's a Death Eater now anyway, doesn't he? Why do we need a charade?"

"Because Sirius is wrong," James replied, "And eventually when Regulus comes home and Sirius knows that, he'll be glad that we did all we could to support him."

It felt worse than James had expected it to - standing in the middle of a cemetery, watching a nearly empty casket lowered into the ground. The only thing in the casket had been a last minute add by Sirius. A record - Jazz by Queen. But even knowing that all they were burying was a bit of vinyl, it still made James's heart ache because he knew what that vinyl represented and he glanced at Sirius, who stared straight ahead, absently running his fingers over the still fresh tattoo on his right wrist.

After the soil had been thrown and shoveled back into place over the top of the wood box, the five of them walked shoulder to shoulder back across the cemetery, past a young man who was laying flowers on a nearby grave, and out into the road of Godric's Hollow, and across the street to the Potter House. Sirius took careful, halting steps as he walked, Remus close beside him, and James leading the way into the house.

"That was -- right awful," James murmured.

"Absolutely terrible," agreed Lily.

Remus and Sirius had gone to the living room, and Peter had followed after them, while Lily and James went to the kitchen to get drinks and food for everyone, and a cup of aconite tea for Remus.

"I swear it couldn't've been worse if there was an actual body in that bloody thing," he shook his head, digging through the fridge.

"I mean, emotionally, no," Lily agreed. She poured water into a teacup over the leaves and sent it to float out to Remus in the living room before turning to pull down four glasses from the cupboard. "Do you reckon it made any difference, going through all that?"

"I think it'll help Sirius in some context," James answered. "But as far as helping Regulus with You-Know-Who's rouse - that I don't know. I didn't see anyone there to be spying on us, not that it particularly means anything that there wasn't anyone we could see watching. There's loads of way around that... I think it didn't hurt, at least."

"Well there was one bloke that was there at the end," Lily said, "He was laying flowers at that other grave."

"Yeah, I saw him, too. He wasn't even watching us. I kept an eye on him the whole time he was there," James reassured her. "I think he really was just laying flowers."

Lily had set together a tray of small finger foods and glasses of pumpkin juice and she lifted it, pausing by the counter. "James, is Sirius alright to be going out camping tonight, really?"

"Yeah, I think it'll do him some good," James answered.

Lily nodded and carried the tray out into the living room.

Poor Remus was feverish by this point, his face red and forehead beaded with sweat. Sirius held the tea cup for him because when he held it, the cup clattered on the saucer and the tea spilled into the little dish.

"I'm sorry," Remus murmured, "I shouldn't be taking everyone's attention... It's about Regulus today, and the - the loss we've had as a family."

"He's not dead," Lily murmured, shaking her head. "And what are we supposed to do? Ignore the fact that you're going through hell directly in front of our eyes?"

James paced, and when the time came, Lily gave saw them all down the stairs to the basement. She hung a bag of provisions onto James's shoulder. "Take care fo him, huh?"

"Anything for our Moony," James replied, and he turned to help Sirius shoulder the weight of Remus as the four Marauders started off down the tunnel they'd dug to the Howling House, far off in the woods behind the cottage. Peter raced along the tunnel in his rat form, and met them all at the far end. They unpacked their things and Remus lay shivering on the couch while the last hour or so ticked away before the full moon would change him.

"Particularly bad moon this month," Sirius said quietly to James, watching as Peter offered Remus chocolate and Remus refused it.

"Possibly the worst I've seen him have," James whispered.

"My hearing is fine," Remus called to them, "Just so you know."

Sirius pirouetted into the living room, "I hear a bad moon a'rising," he sang at Remus, grinning ear to ear as he went.

"You can't hear a moon rise," Remus said, dizzy and keeping his eyes closed, even as he was his usual Remcyclopedic self. "The lyric is see."

"But you were talking about hearing," Siris said, "It wouldn't be as funny if it was all about seeing since you heard.... see?" Then he continued on with his song, "I heaaar trouble on the wayyyyy..."

Remus's bones cracked and popped and changed so hard that night that, and the consciousness of the wolf was the last bit to come so that he was shouting out in pain the entire change, and when it was complete and the werewolf got to his feet, his howl was so grand that it shook the windows of the Howling House and even Lily could hear it all the way back at the cottage.

"Oh my stars," she whispered, covering her eyes and thinking of poor Remus.

It almost made her second-guess the choice she'd made to connect herself with Remus Lupin with the maguique amour...

Diagon Alley was quiet for the most part after night fall, far fewer witches and wizards filled the streets and half the shops were closed up for the evening. Florean Fortescque's Ice Cream Parlor was still open, though not for much longer, as Jasper Odair whistled while he worked at cleaning up, wiping the counters and tables.

The door jangled and he shouted, "Be right with you!" from the kitchen, where he was setting dishes to washing themselves.

There was a brief pause, and then a voice from the door way said, "Would a spot of help make the service a wee quicker?"

Jasper looked up, a grin splitting his face at the sigh of the real Florean Fortesque in the doorway, already reaching for an apron from the hook by the door.

"I always find a spot of help from you to be most helpful, indeed," Jasper answered and Florean came over and started helping at the duties of closing up and getting the equipment cleared off and set up for the next day. You see, the secret to the delicious taste of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was partly in the fact that the measuring of ingredients was done meticulously by hand, rather than magic, because - like potion-making - it was an art which needed to be done the way muggles to as the magic, in it's haste to be quick, sometimes left something to be desired in the precision and exactitude. This, Florean Fortescue had once said, was the secret to putting love into every bite, too. "Can't treat with love that which you never touch with your hands."

When they'd finished and everything was prepared and cleaned up, Florean took off his apron and hung it on the hook at the door where he'd got it from. He turned to a list of new recipe ideas that Jasper had been working on for the past several nights after the dishes were completed and the doors locked for the night. It was a large corkboard with pictures and notes tacked up all over it, a cluster of images and words, pictures of food and flavor combinations, and the board itself was so meticulous that it was obvious how much care and thought had gone into the work on it. Jasper's passion and loyalty showed.

What a Hufflepuff! Florean thought as he mused over the ideas Jasper had worked on, smiling, "These are all most excellent, Jaz."

Jasper took off the hat that was part of his Fortescue's uniform, holding it humbly in his hands, and stepped up beside Florean, also looking at the board. "Thanks," he said, and he smiled. "I thought some of them might be sort of interesting to give a go at." He'd come up with some very unique flavors indeed, such as one that blended watermelon and salted chocolate, and one with raspberry jam and bits of biscuits with cream worked right in, and an apple and cheese flavor that had actually been inspired by Meg Johnson, who had told him about an apple-and-cheese pie that her sister-in-law made.

"You always do the very best at thinking up these new flavors and keeping the shop new and refreshing. You've done a grand job of things."

"Thank you sir." Jasper glowed with the kind words.

Florean turned to Jasper, "My boy, let's go and get us some dinner at the Cauldron. My treat. I have something I'd like to talk with you about."

"Alright, sure." Jasper took off his apron and hung it and his hat up and they left the shop.

Together they headed down the alley toward the Leaky Cauldron, Jasper's hands in his pockets and Florean Fortescue whistling quietly as he strolled, nodding to people who they passed. Everyone they went by nodded back or smiled and waved, a couple shouted, "Good evening Fortescue! Odair!"

At the Cauldron, the old bartender saw them to a seat and they each ordered a meat pie and Florean got an ale and they chatted while they waited for their meal, talking about the flavors Jasper had come up with and what their inspirations were, and Florean very much wanted to know more about this Meg Johnson that made Jasper's eyes light up.

"I know you were very upset about Ethel when she left you, Jasper, and maybe it isn't my place to say this, but I've never seen you so happy as you are right now... P'haps Ethel did you a favor by cutting you free? This Meg - she makes you smile."

"Does she ever," Jasper replied. He grinned, looking down into the glass of gillywater he'd ordered. "She's funny and she's gorgeous... She's got all these beautiful massive red curls, like her head's on fire - oh but not in a bad way, it's more like she's a candle in a dark room and I've been living in that dark room a long time and it's nice to have a bit of fire. Oh and she's a real keg of dynamite, if you know what I'm saying. Completely incendiary."

Florean smiled. He'd once felt that way about a girl, too.

Their meals came and Florean thanked Tom and gave him a bit of extra tip, "We're going to be here for a time," he explained, "Keep the ales coming." Tom nodded and slipped away. Then Florean turned back to Jasper. "Jasper, my boy, it's been - what, three years? - since you came and started working at my ice cream parlor..."

"A bit better than two, yes, sir," Jasper nodded.

"Since you came on, my sales have quadrupled and you've done such a grand job I think I've spent no more than a week in the shop in the last year myself."

"Yes," Jasper said, "And I've missed you about the shop."

"Like hell you have," Florean chuckled, "I've found myself rather lacking things to do there. Bit of an ornament when I am... So, as you know I've been looking more and more into my hobbies these days."

"Yes, how is that going? Have you acquired any new dragons?"

"Oh we've rescued several - and I've been working at looking into taking on some of the training aspects, not just the rescue and rehoming of the dragons. I swear, more folks are fool enough to try at hatching their own than you'd think! I've just bought a facility and we're already needing to expand... I'm looking at purchasing a couple of mountains in Romania that have recently become available, but to do it I'll need more trainers and more time and --" he paused. Florean smiled, "All of this leads precisely where I'm headed in this talk, mind you."

"Sir?"

"I've said it from the start when I hired you on that one day I'd retire," Florean said, "And I intend to retire now. At least from ice cream as I've loads to do with the dragons."

Jasper sat up straighter, his heart racing. "Shut down the parlor?"

Florean reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out a pipe, which he stuffed neatly with some leaves from his breast pocket and lit with a tap of his wand. He bit onto the pipe and leaned back in the chair. "Jasper... my name's Florean Fortescue the Fourth. Florean Four I used to joke. I've come from a long line of Florean Fortescue's - four is just where they started counting from, you know, if you look back at the family tree and trace it about a while you'll find there's been fourteen poor bastards that've carried the name..."

"Blimey," Jasper said, laughing.

"I know, and it isn't even that good of a name!" Florean shook his head, "The idiots of my family really knew how to stick it to the next generation with that one... but --" he shrugged, "Appears I've gone and done it in a bit. I've never married. The only lass I ever fell for -- well, she never fell for me back, despite how good of friends we are to this day..." He sighed, then said, "So I've never had an heir to give my name to."

"I'll reckon she was a wonderful lass, though, 'ey?" Jasper asked.

"The best," Florean answered. "But now - with the dragons and the everything, being ready to retire and get on with getting old and all of that - well, I'm rather regretting that the line will end with five. Or fourteen." He paused, puffed his pipe a few times, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple rolls of parchment, "Which is why I'm giving it to you."

"Excuse me?"

Florean leaned forward now, and he started unrolling the scrolls. "My great-great-great-great--" (he paused to count the number of greats he needed to say here, then shook his head and decided it didn't matter, Jasper had the point of it) "--grandfather, the one who bought the space the shop is in - well, he originally ran a different sort of business out of there, a sort of magical exchange shop, this was back when the muggles were aware of the wizarding world, mind, and as the Statute came about the shop had to change a bit, became an apothecary for a time as it was handed down, then a drug store with a soda shoppe built in, and then Diagon Alley closed officially to nonmagical folks and there was no more need for the apothecary-medicinal bit of it at all then, and that's when it became an ice cream parlor. My dad was the first generation that grew up in the industry of ice cream, and I came next in the line, see, learning all he had to teach me... And he used to say 'son, you'll run this shop one day' and I would say 'no I'll be playing quidditch proleague with Flea' and my dad laughed and said that I'd be at the shop one day. Well he was right, of course, and Flea never played pro either so at least it wasn't just me..."

Jasper still looked confused, so Florean reined in his rambling.

"Thing is the ancient paperwork says here only persons by the name of Florean Fortescue may inherit the shop. See, that's when the family started counting Floreans and what made them start at it."

Jasper nodded, but he still didn't fully understand.

"I want to give you my shop, Jaz," Florean said, "But I need to give you my name first."

Jasper blinked. "You - you want to give me ---"

"The shop, yes," Florean said, nodding, "And I'm very sorry but it comes with the name built in. I know you wanted to call it Odair's the Ice Cream - very funny, might I add, because it's all about finding the joke in what life gives you and I wish that Fortescue had a bit more fun to it, but --" he shrugged, "Perhaps becoming Florean Fortescue the Five-And-Also-Fifteenth can be funny as well?"

"I don't know what to say."

Florean pushed the parchments across the table. "Say you'll think it over? Paperworks all drawn, it only needs to be signed by us both under the eyes of a witness and notified by a member of the Wizengamot. Luckily, Dumbledore's agreed to sign off on it if you wish to go ahead. I spoke to him during the reception at the Potter's wedding and he was most delighted with the idea." Florean sat back again and puffed his pipe.

Jasper stared at the parchments.

"I, Florean Fortescue IV, hereby formally and fully remit my property and all its means and use, to my heir, Florean Fortescue V, formerly known as Jasper Brian Odair, henceforth to be known as Florean Jasper Brian Odair Fortescue V."

The document went on into many pages and paragraphs detailing the legality of a name change, of a formal family adoption, and the legal rights and assets being transferred, up to, including, and not withholding of any profits made by the business on the property being inherited, as well as all legal rights to the two-floor apartment directly above the business and, indeed, the entire corner building in Diagon Alley.

"You're not joking. And it's the apartment, too?"

"Oh I should say not," Florean Fortescue answered, grinning. He paused, then, "Perhaps could be a nice home for a new, growing family, don't you think? Nice way to start over... and if anyone in this whole bloody world deserves such a thing, my boy... it's you."

Jasper smiled. "Sir. I find this is an offer that I cannot pass up."

Florean also smiled. "Well then. I think we've struck a deal." He held out his hand to shake on it.

Jasper took it and they shook firmly.

"Still, read it over - a good man always reads over his paperwork and makes sure that he finds everything quite agreeable before he signs the document formally. We'll plan to meet this Thursday - close the shop up early and we'll bring the documents to Hogwarts and see Albus there to have them witnessed and certified."

"Yes sir," Jasper answered. He rolled the parchments back up and slipped them into his pockets.

Floran crossed one leg over the other, puffed his pipe with pride, then said, "And I am sorry it had to come with the name, but I do reckon you'll rather enjoy being the Fifth-And-Also-Fifteenth Florean Fortescue. It isn't all bad, really."