December 1981: New Moon (Charmus)

[James Potter]

(for reference)

The afternoon had gone from good to unbelievable. Remus had shown up out of the blue - nothing wrong with that, James was always game for company, and was just hanging out with Harry while Lily took a rest upstairs. The kid was awesome. James could always count on Harry to laugh at his jokes, or anything he said or did, really. He got such a rush from just being with him, knowing that he was his and Lily's forever, this perfect little person. This afternoon had been spent filling the living room with color-changing bubbles while Muggle music played in the background - Harry had loved the bubbles this summer, many mornings spent out in the sun on his father's lap, watching them go by after James blew them, and James didn't see anything wrong with bringing the fun inside. Lily probably would, but they'd get there when they got there.

So Moony arriving? Fantastic! The more the merrier!

Until he revealed why he'd been so hard to track down, lately.

Something rather big on his mind.

James tried to look at him sternly through the haze of bubbles between where they were seated on the living room floor - this proving ineffective, he swatted with his hand, much to his son's delight, until he could see Remus well enough to properly give him the look he'd earned.

"Let me get this straight," said James, "you're leaving her because she's going to have one of these?" The young father rather unceremoniously held out his son towards his friend - a friend who seemed to have lost his mind. Remus would be a grand father, and it wasn't as if he could actually leave his pregnant wife in good conscience! He was just scared, was all - but did he think any of them would let him get away with this?

[Remus Lupin]

Things were not exactly going as planned for Remus Lupin. Life had given him more than he had ever expected. He had a wonderful wife that loved him regardless of his condition, and a part time teaching job at a muggle school. It was grand, and wonderful, and it was all too much. He'd been so happy and content two weeks ago, snuggled up with Charlotte before he had to leave for the moon. She had told him she had news for him, big news. He thought it had been about her writing.

He had been wrong.

Charlotte was going to have a baby. His baby. It was too much, and they had argued up until he had left. He told her he needed time to think. But that had been two weeks ago. He hadn't been home, instead he had gone into hiding, only ever stopping by his parent's house when he needed something. He hadn't mentioned what was going on to his parents, and they weren't questioning him. Yet.

So he had gone to the Potter's, hoping that James would understand and perhaps help him figure out what to do. After all, James had Prongs 2.0. His friend had been glad to see him, and he had settled down on the floor with James and Harry, watching the bubbles fill the room. He was sure Lily was going to have something to say about that.

He stared at Harry, leaning back slightly as James held the child out to him. Remus did enjoy holding his nephew, even if he was cute. Babies and him didn't mesh well, which was another reason he wasn't keen on having one of his own. "Yes, one of those. But less human. Bambi is a full human child, this thing that Charlotte is going to have..." Remus trailed off, not sure if he wanted to say the words out loud. He had never meant for this to happen, it couldn't be happening. He shook his head, moving over so he could stare past Harry at his friend, giving him an annoyed look.

[James Potter]

Remus hadn't yet gotten the hang of being around Harry, a fact James was starting to tire of as he held his son towards the bloke. Harry was going to be around for a long time - it wasn't that difficult to chill with the little guy, and Remus really should be getting used to him. But Remus seemed continuously perplexed by what he did, and by how a person could be so tiny and yet so loud, and uncomfortable about how Harry was indisputable proof that James had slept with his wife. Now you'll have your own evidence, Moonbeam, he thought with a smirk.

The smirk was wiped off of his face as his friend called his unborn child a thing, James' brows disappearing under his shaggy hair. "A few things," he said, loudly clearing his throat. He leaned forward and essentially dropped Harry onto Remus' lap and settled back, confused as hell but determined to get to the bottom of this. Remus would be a great dad, as awkward as he was around Harry - he'd be better with his own kid, more instinctive. "First off - you're having a kid, not a thing, and if I hear that again I'll - " Harry turned to giggle at him and James cut himself off, not wanting his kid to hear him threatening his uncle. Not a good example. So he put on his smiling-because-Harry's-here-and-only-because-of-that face, used his happy-because-Harry voice, and continued. "You know what I'll do. Or Prongs, been missing him lately."

He considered his friend, cooling down a mite. He knew that Remus had always worried about having kids, but James hadn't really thought fit to address the issue head on. He and Lily were nuts, all of them could admit it, for having Harry so young - he thought that he'd have this sort of talk with Remus eventually (Lottie would push for kids at some point, even if she thought she wouldn't). But he'd...not done his research. He wasn't totally sure about how lycanthropy could be passed on generationally, but he felt the situation wasn't as dire as his friend was making it. "You don't know that for sure about your kid, Rem - and even if he does come out, ah, furry - it'll be your kid, and yours to keep," he said firmly before continuing with a chuckle. "And we call my kid Bambi - he's not going to think he's all human."

[Remus Lupin]

Remus flinched as James shoved Harry into his lap, and he looked down at the small child with a force smiled on his face, waving down at the little black haired boy. Harry looked just like James, besides those eyes. Lily's green eyes staring up at him. Remus was positive that Harry was going to start screaming in only a few seconds, and looked back up at James, an expression of annoyance on his face. The look did not last long, however, as James started making the most ridiculous face and using an absurd tone of voice to speak to Remus. What exactly was he doing?

Remus picked up Harry, holding the child out in front of him as he looked at James. "Fine, a kid not a thing. And Prongs is more than welcome to come play with Moony once a month, should Prongs' keeper allow it," he retorted, giving a roll of his eyes. If James was itching to be a deer that badly, he had plenty of times to come and romp around with a werewolf. After all, it wasn't like the transformations had stopped.

And he wasn't about to put a child, his or anyone else's, through a transformation. Not now, and not ever. He had told Charlotte he didn't want kids, he had thought she felt the same. Not that this had been planned, but she had still wanted to keep it. The baby. He gave a sigh, looking away from the small child in front of him to his friend. "That's not the point. Have you ever been through a transformation? Prongs, I was four years when it first happened to me. And it was terrifying. I can't put an infant through that."

[James Potter]

His friend bloody flinched as he was, as he'd probably say, "accosted" with caring for Harry. The least he could do was try and not look ill at ease - the kid was chill, not an idiot. And he was walking about for little spurts - picking something up and carrying it around like a champ - totally rocking all of the shapes-in-holes toys - babbling more coherently (currently a jolly "bub bub bub" as he poked and observed the bubbles) -

There was nothing to be scared about in terms of him! And Remus' kid would be equally as awesome, James had no doubt. There was the whole bit about the kid potentially being born a werewolf, which James had no idea how they would all handle, but they would all handle it. As much as he would never admit it, it was taking a village to raise Harry - he and Lily did their best, but there was only so much two inexperienced young people could realistically manage, what with the war disrupting the time they would've spent reading up on child-rearing. That same village would be there for the Lupins - they were daft if they thought otherwise.

James nodded with approval as Remus admitted his child would be a child, not an object, and waved away the bubbles that were separating the three of them. This was a rather serious discussion, and the pastel bubbles weren't adding to the severity of it. As Remus spoke, James leaned forward to push Remus' arms toward his chest so that his child wouldn't topple to the ground - Moony still held the kid as if he was a time-bomb, not an adorable toddler. His friend's words grabbed at his heart as he settled back against the sofa, though, and he gave the other an apologetic look, thoughts of the little Lupin scampering from his mind for the moment. A slight sigh escaped as he ran an agitated hand through his hair, knowing he could've - should've - been doing better for Remus. "Prongs' keeper will allow it - sorry, mate. Really, I hadn't...Merlin, it has been..." You had the phases of the moon in your head for years - having a kid and being at war doesn't excuse that. "Next one, I swear, all right?"

James listened as his friend spoke, but could hardly believe what he was hearing. No, Moony, of course I have not been through a transformation. "The point is, Rem - you have a kid on the way regardless of whether it was planned or not. So we're going to figure it all out. It's going to be fine. Breathe, would you?" He shot the bloke a grin, giving him a playful nudge with his foot. For someone about to be a father, Remus wasn't catching on to how awesome the gig was yet. It was happening rather fast, though -

"Hold on...didn't you just get married?" James let out a laugh, doing a bit of mental math. Charlotte and Remus had been married that spring - it was December - Lottie had probably known for a little while -

"Look at you," he said with a smug little grin. "Even me and Lily were careful for over a year. You crazy kids. What's Lottie think about all this?" He couldn't imagine the girl siding with Remus on this one - she'd gotten exponentially stronger, it seemed, since the two had gotten together in the first place. Convincing her to say goodbye to a baby, even if they'd never planned on kids? Remus had as good a chance of that as he would of getting her to stop writing.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus looked at the one year old in his arms, absolutely perplexed at why James was also so pumped on the boy. James was so pumped about being a Dad, and Remus could simply not understand it. He'd done nothing but talk about the kid before he was born, and now Remus received weekly updates on what Harry could do. Not that Remus minded such updates, it was sweet to know what his nephew was doing, but he just didn't get it. While he did like kids, he didn't understand what was so interesting about them when they were this young. He much preferred his older students at the school who could carry on intellectual conversations.

Besides, James was so good at being a Dad. He was a natural at it, something that Remus would simply not be. He couldn't even get used to holding Harry properly, something he realized as James shoved Harry towards Remus chest. He frowned at the gesture, adjusting to hold Harry properly in his arms, peering at the small toddler. He shook his head at James, feeling a twang of guilt. He hadn't meant for his words to sound like he was bitter. After all, James had a life now. Remus' had known when they graduated that full moons would be different. He was simply thankful that he had a support system that had learned how to make him the Wolfsbane potion, the transformations weren't nearly as bad as they had been right after graduation. "It's fine mate, really. You've got him and Lily take care of. I don't blame you," Remus answered, nodding towards Harry he spoke. "Besides, gives me time to think."

This last full moon had actually been nice to spend alone, as it had given him time to think about this whole having a kid situation. Especially when he had felt the first moments of pain once the transformation had begun. An baby could not go through that, he had been so stupid to not do more to prevent this. Something he was even more painfully aware of as he listened to James words, this had not been planned. And it was not going to be fine. "It's not like I meant to make a kid, James. And what am I supposed to do if it's like me? Chain an infant up to a wall? I was four years old when my father did that to me, and I couldn't understand it. I'm pretty sure chaining a baby up would get the kid taken away from us," Remus retorted, doing his best to keep his voice cheerful. He knew not let his tone slip into one that seemed like he was yelling, small children didn't seem to like that.

Remus felt a blush creep on his face, and he smiled awkwardly at his friend. They had not just been married, it'd been a few months after all! They had gotten married at the end of May, and it was November now. He did his best to not smile back at James, but it was difficult when his friend had such a smug look on his face. He simply shook his head, letting himself sigh before he answered the question. "We're not crazy kids, thank you very much. It's been almost 6 months since we got married. And Char," he paused, knowing full well what the answer to James' question was. "She wants to keep it."

[James Potter]

"No, Remus - I mean it. I’ll be there next month. They’ll be fine without me for a night, go hang at yours or something. Because if having time to think has brought you to the conclusion that you’re not fit to be a father, that the best thing to do is get rid of this kid before it’s born - " James cut himself off with a heavy breath, unable to keep his tone upbeat, the thought of that chilling him to his core as he looked at his son, the perfect tiny being that he was. He wouldn’t deny that he and Lils had thought about that. They were incredibly young, their world was at war. It didn’t make any sense to follow through with a pregnancy, commit to not only bringing a child into the world but seeing him through it for the years to come. But once they’d made the choice, neither had looked back, and James didn’t want his friend to go on to regret this decision. Best make help him change his mind while there was still time. "You could use a thinking buddy, is all I’m saying. Happy to be there, all right?"

James gave a begrudging smile at the forced cheer in Remus’ voice, glad that Harry seemed none the wiser that his father and uncle were engaging in a discussion that could determine the fate of his cousin. James knew he could get him to see sense in this, make him come around, but simply gave a shrug at his words. "Breathe, Moons. You may not’ve meant for it to happen, but it did, and now you have this opportunity to have a child. Even if it inherits your furry little problem, things have changed since you were bitten. You have the potion - saying you wouldn’t use that for the little one?" He gave his friend a sad smile, continuing firmly. "You’re not going to have to chain up your kid, Rem. I swear. We’ll find a way."

He didn’t bother trying to hide his smirk as Remus started to blush, adorable lad, and let out a laugh at the bloke’s defense. Sure, sure - pregnant six months out of marriage didn’t qualify as being mad for each other? Happy in their marriage? It wasn’t a bad thing to be accused of, loving your wife. "Well then, that’s gonna be that, mate," he said with a quirk of his brow after hearing Charlotte’s opinion. "Good luck convincing her otherwise, honestly - didn’t convince her to leave you, don’t think you’ll talk her out of this. It’s hers too."

[Remus Lupin]

Remus didn't want to admit it, but the thought of having James there with him next month when he transformed did sound nice. He had missed them all being there, running around the Forbidden Forest with them had given him since fantastic memories. Of course, it had been completely stupid and idiotic, and transforming now was done in a much safer manner. But not being completely alone when he woke up in the mornings, able to laugh off the events of the night before - he had missed that. Not to mention, he knew that his words were pushing buttons. James could hardly finish his sentence, and Remus looked down at the floor during the silence. "Alright...I'm sure Charlotte would like the company during the night anyway. I know she worries when I'm gone," he finally answered. She did worry, and he could only imagine how she was worried now. It had been two weeks...

He brushed the thoughts from his mind, knowing that while it was a concern, it was a concern for later. After he figured out what to do with this situation. This false cheerful voice was a task, something he wasn't sure he could manage if he did end up having this child. How did James do this sort of thing? Remus looked down at the small child in his arms once more, still uncomfortable with holding Harry this close to himself. He was thankful they were at least sitting on the ground, just in case he accidentally dropped the tyke. "Yes, I have the potion. But it's not a cure James. There isn't a cure. It doesn't take away the pain - it allows me to keep my mind. So I don't injure myself, or others. That's not something to get too excited about." He paused, shaking his head slowly. James didn't understand, it wasn't as a simple thing to live a life like he had. "A cure won't ever happen either, you know. Not with how my kind are treated, how they are viewed."

James logic about Charlotte was, however, not flawed. Remus hadn't managed to convince Charlotte that loving him was a waste of her time. Somehow, he had done quite the opposite. He had asked her to marry him, and she'd said yes. Once her parents had found out about his condition, well, that hadn't gone over well. It had been bad enough that he was already an unfit blood match for her. But a werewolf? "Char's already sacrificed enough to be with me, thank you very much. I'd rather she not be hated completely." 

[James Potter]

James nodded at his friend's acceptance of the idea, glad to be able to help in some way. Remus would never ask for his help - never did, even now really wasn't, although he desperately needed it - but he was happy to give it. No matter his own busyness, that wasn't an excuse to be neglecting such a good friend. Remus was...oddly guilty sounding, though, and James narrowed his eyes at his words. All of their cards were going on the table today, weren't they? "Yeah, sure she does...was she okay on the last one? Probably one of the first you were gone for during her pregnancy, right? Lily would freak out over the oddest things when she was early on," James said with a knowing laugh, fondly remembering his wife's tendency to chuck things at him more frequently while pregnant with Harry. Speaking of - the kid was getting a bit rowdy in his uncle's arms, squirming about for the bubbles that were slowly falling around them. James gave him a grin, blowing some his direction.

Remus went on about Wolfsbane, and James knew all about that, of course - his friend was not getting it! "Mate, I know you've got it in your head that the kid's going to be like you, but you can't know that! Let's not rush the decision, all right? Sure there's some sort of text on this sort of thing...we just have to dig it up. If Lottie hasn't already."

"And this would make her 'hated completely'? Having a baby with her husband?" James failed to see the logic in his best mate's words. Yes, Lottie had had to make some tough decisions - werewolves weren't accepted into their society, and she knew that full well. She also knew she was marrying a half-blood, which was also a tricky thing to do, seeing as they'd married while Voldemort was still vying for control. But..."It's not like she's pregnant from a one night stand or something, Moons - and I'm sure she'd rather have sacrificed what she did to have the life she wanted instead of the other way around, you know? Scrunching herself into the box they wanted her in?" James shook his head, eyeing his friend. "She made her choice a long time ago, Remus. Consequences from the outside be damned - she wants you."

[Remus Lupin]

Remus squirmed at James' words, not pleased that his friend was narrowing his eyes at him. He didn't wanted to admit how long he had been gone, but it was bound to come up in the conversation. "I'm sure she was fine. It's not like the full moon isn't something she hasn't adjusted to. She's known about my condition for a few years now." Harry was starting to squirm, and Remus frowned, batting away the bubbles that were flying towards his face. Why couldn't children just sit still?

He shook his head at James, before finally giving up on holding Harry. He held the toddler out towards his father, sighing. "Would you take this? He's not mine and he won't sit still. Because he doesn't like me, I'm terrible at being an Uncle." Remus gave another sigh as Harry squirmed even more in his grasp. He had much preferred when Harry was incapable of moving. "And even if she has looked up the text, it won't matter. This isn't some sort of decision I'm rushing."

This whole situation was complicated, and Remus frown as James' scolded him. Yes, he was Charlotte's husband, but that didn't mean the situation was any better. He was still a werewolf, and he was already terrible at being a father considering the last time he'd actually seen his pregnant wife. "And she can have me, that's why we got married. But I never agreed to have a kid. Besides, I'm not even sure what she wants anymore James. She's probably furious, I haven't been home in two weeks since I found out." 

[Deleted]

Sirius Black had never thought picking up balloons was going to be so bloody difficult.

Georgie's birthday was fast approaching, and she had specified to him that since she was turning six years old, everything at her birthday party needed to be much more "mature" looking. He listened on, exchanging smirks with Willa when their little girl wasn't looking, and when she was, he tried to look as serious as he could muster. Georgie wanted to upgrade her sparkly pink balloons to sparkly red balloons, and by Merlin he was going to make sure she got the best damn red balloons she'd ever seen.

He knew things weren't all that easy for her these days - adjusting to a newborn younger sister in the house was a big change - so it was the least he could do to make sure that her birthday was so special that Rebecca wouldn't be able to steal her thunder. The little Gryffindor in the making wanted more people to pay attention to her, and she was their first - Sirius didn't want her thinking they preferred the newest addition to their little family.

But he was having the worst time tracking down sparkly red balloons. There were sparkly light blue, and sparkly pink - for baby showers no doubt - but no red, and no regular blue. He checked most of the muggle shops for them, and couldn't think of any charms that would make regular balloons sparkle on their own. Maybe James'll have an idea on where to get them. This particular best mate had a kid, Sirius bet he would have some tricks up his sleeve from the few birthdays he and Evans had planned for Harry.

In a bit of a hurry - Willa was at home with both the kids and he didn't want to leave her to deal with both of them, alone, for too long - he apparated to the little section of trees by the Potters place and strode swiftly to the front door before letting himself in. "Prongs - mate, you in here?" He wandered into the living room and caught the end of Rem's sentence.

His eyebrows furrowed, "Found out what?" Not like he expected his old friend to tell him everything anymore - the war had been rough on both of them, and had messed up a couple of things - but Sirius still considered Remus one of his best friends. So he put aside his bruised ego and leaned against the arm of the couch, shooting a look to James to explain if Moony didn't. Just needed bloody balloons, what did I walk in on here?

[James Potter]

At Remus' undeniably uncomfortable response, James' brow furrowed even more. Because what did he mean, that he was sure the girl was fine? Did they not speak? But maybe his friend didn't mean it, was just distracted by Harry, who was getting more active by the moment. He wasn't surprised to be offered back the kid, and James sighed laboriously as he retrieved his son. Not at having him in his lap again, but at his friend's absurdity. "We have been over this - Harry doesn't not like you, you're family, and it's not like he sits still for me either!" Harry was currently trying to climb up to grab his father's glasses, which James realized with a laugh, letting him take them off his nose. But Remus continued to go on in this depressing manner, and James didn't know what to do with him. It wasn't as if he could just apparate him back home and force him to apologize and accept his responsibility...

And it was not often that James Potter was at a loss for words. But Remus had been gone for two weeks, meaning he had, beyond the obvious negligence, missed Christmas with his wife, and that was just something you didn't do. Charlotte was pregnant, and her memories of this important once-in-a-lifetime holiday season would be lonely ones - because if he didn't know, that meant that Lily didn't know, so James doubted that the young woman had reached out to anyone.

If Harry had not been in his arms, James would have been swearing up a storm, and from the look he was giving his friend, the other should know that quite well.

Before he could figure out a way to express himself without frightening his child with the ferocity of his rebuttal, he heard the front door open, and the familiar announcement of his neighbor and brother stopped him from jumping up for his wand, just out of reach on an end table. Since the war they'd all tried to become less paranoid, but...it was an adjustment, going from being in hiding from maniacs wanting your whole family dead to being able to have a normal - well, normal for them - life.

"Yeah, in here," he called, not taking his eyes off of his dafter than daft yes-I'm-a-werewolf-and-that-sucks-but-I'm-going-to-let-it-ruin-my-life friend. Sirius, seeming rather harried himself - ah, the joys of fatherhood - settled in with them, and James was glad of it. He needed more witnesses to this, Remus going absolutely mad, and even if the other two weren't on the best of terms, it was good Sirius was here. In a furious whisper over the happy sounds Harry was making at seeing his godfather, James said, "Found out that he's abandoned Lottie - over Christmas - he's lost his bleedin' mind, Padfoot, I don't know what to do with him - "

[Remus Lupin]

Thankfully, James took Harry away from Remus, giving him a chance to stretch his arms. Children were heavy things to hold for a long time - something he hadn't really known until long periods of attempting to hold his nephew. And now that Harry was older he was squirming. He tried to smile as Harry stole James' glasses, but the whole conversation was a bit bleak. He knew James was simply trying to make him feel better about everything, including the fact that Harry very obviously was not fond of his werewolf Uncle.

But after he admitted he hadn't been home in two weeks, Remus was quite thankful for Harry's presence. The look that James was throwing at him was an angry one, and he looked down to avoid eye contact any further. What was he supposed to do? Go home to see his pregnant wife over Christmas when they were at such odds? It wasn't like it had been a joyful conversation when she had told him the news. He had needed time to think. It wasn't exactly his fault she told him right before Christmas.

But then the sound of the front door opening distracted Remus, and he looked up at the familiar sound of Sirius' voice. He stiffened, unsure of how to act around his friend. He wanted their friendship to be normal, more than anything else. But Sirius had insisted that Remus was a spy while the war was still happening, and it had caused quite the rift between the two of them. Still, he gave a nod in his friend's direction, looking back as James started whisper yelling over Harry's excited noises.

"I did not abandon her James. I needed time to think - that's an absolutely fair thing for me to want. It's not like I asked her to wait until the night of the full moon before Christmas for her to tell me she's pregnant-" Remus stopped, remembering that Sirius hadn't originally been here for the entire conversation. He cleared his throat, eyes shooting down to the ground. "She's fine, had Dad check on her. Didn't tell him what was up or anything, but he said she seemed ok." 

[Deleted]

Sirius' eyebrows shot up - Abandoned Charlotte? Remus? Is the world coming to an end? The thoughts of balloons slipped from his mind just a little bit, as did the idea of Willa's rage at him for not being back on time.

"No, no, no, James - he couldn't have-" He spoke in his friend's defence before that friend decided to enter in on the conversation as well. He leaned against the couch in confusion,hand coming up the the back of his neck to rub it. Remus and Charlotte were such a strong couple that he had never thought it would would come to this for them. They had something that would keep them together forever - at least that's what he'd always thought over the past couple of years but now this -

Suddenly, his eyes shot up to meet Moony's, "WAIT. She's pregnant?" It was one thing for the couple to disagree over some fight they'd had, but him leaving her when she was going through such a tough time was downright cold. He had been trying to get on Remus' better side over the past month or so, but he was quickly finding that he couldn't hold in his sarcastic comments in a situation like this one, "And she didn't ask you to knock her up in the first place but here we are."

He couldn't even imagine doing that to Willa. They'd already been raising Georgie together sure, but when the news of a baby had come around, Sirius had been terrified. More than terrified. What if he screwed this one up? Georgie was pretty much her own person by the time they had come to adopt her, he's had no faith in the idea that he could keep another child from becoming just as dark as the rest of the Black family. And now she was here and he was equally hating and loving life and there wasn't a thing he would take back. He shook his head, "Remus, you need to be the one to go back. Knowing Charlotte she's not going to want anything less than you there with her." Sirius met his friend's eyes, "And you need to bring a pretty big f*cking gift with you while you're at it."

[James Potter]

James watched his friends, bit gape-mouthed, as Sirius - ah - caught himself up with the situation at hand. They probably should've given him a gentler head's up, but seeing as James was still processing it all...couldn't be helped, really. And maybe solving this together - because no one was going anywhere until there was some sort of plan in place that led to Remus going back home - would help bridge the gap between Remus and Sirius, actually. It'd been infuriating, being hidden away from everyone and knowing the arguments that were happening among not just Order members, but among his best friends. There was an informant somewhere, but what that person was doing was more than just leaking information - doubt was spreading, trusts failing, practically lifelong friendships falling to bits. Long-latent angers flared up, old wounds reopened, and...

This could be going much worse, actually. Especially considering that Sirius was caring for a newborn himself. It'd been no surprise - rabbits, that's all James would say on the subject - but it'd still been something to adjust to the idea of. And that adjustment, really, was still going on in his friend's mind - having a daughter of his own blood, blood he knew had been darkened by his predecessors. After enough jokes about the baby being half Robbins, though, the subject started to settle on that front, leaving nervous terror excitement about the event. At least no wands out, right?

A quick check between the two, and he was glad to be right about that, at least. But James' hands quickly went over Harry's as words left Sirius - he shot his mate a sharp look. Mate! Once it seemed that the swears were going to be kept inside - a since-Harry house rule, except when the kid was asleep - he gave him a kiss on the back of the head and let him do what he wanted, which was to crawl over to his godfather.

"So - what're we going to do?" he asked, leaving no question about this being a we sort of effort. He and the others had always worked best as a team, and this was too huge to fix alone. "Besides figure out a lovely present for your wife, that is. Oh - Charlotte wants to have the baby," he filled Sirius in, letting a big fat obviously hang in the room. "So we are in a bit of a pickle, you see." The attempt at levity was hardly worthwhile, but such was his usual approach. James turned to Remus, meeting his eye as he spoke. "But you have got to go home, Remus, you can't run from this."