December 1981: New Moon (Charmus)

[Remus Lupin]

Sirius' initial reaction almost warmed Remus' heart. To know that his friend thought so highly of him - it was the calm before the storm. Because he would have never left Charlotte, that had been the truth. But this realization, this baby, it wasn't something he could handle. He shifted his gaze away from Sirius at his friends words, hoping to hide the fact that they stung. No, Charlotte hadn't asked for this either, that was true. But there was a choice to be made and the two had completely different opinions on the matter at hand.

While he could have dealt with just one or the other, both of them were now against him, telling him he had to go back. Telling him to get a gift, to go home with his tail between his legs and make everything better. But how could he make things better when they were obviously so screwed up? He could bring home a thousand baby things, read some books, and still be just as terrified. He wasn't cut out to be a father, it was just as simple as that. And while he had James and Sirius, both of them now father.

Clearing his throat, he looked at both of his friends, shaking his head. "I am a wolf. A monster-" he paused, knowing full well that the word had been banned from conversation ages ago, "I am not fit to be a parent, regardless of how many people want me to be. The baby is better off without me. I could get presents and go home - sure, but what kind of life is it going to have with me there, screwing the thing up? If it's even human."

His voice broke with his last words, and he buried his head in his hands, shaking it back in forth as he tried to process everything. The baby - his baby - was going to be a wolf. And how could you give an infant the Wolfsbane Potion? How could you protect something so small and innocent from a terrible life. But in a way, they were right. Charlotte couldn't handle that alone, she hadn't ever seen the transformation. She wouldn't know what to do. "What are we going to do? Char deserves a perfect little baby and I don't think I can give her that." 

[Deleted]

Sirius would have rolled his eyes at James' complete shock of him using a curse word, had he not been getting the same treatment from Willa whenever he would swear at home. Sometimes he did roll his eyes in those situations, and the talking to she would give him when both of the kids were asleep was something out of another world - all that controlled rage in such a tiny body. And Georgie would just giggle at hearing the word usually, she was too smart to go around repeating it, and Rebecca could barely make out what they were saying as it was. Anyway, when james gave him the look he had seen on his wife's face so many times, he sighed and gave a nod of understanding. He didn't think it was the end of the world of the kids knew how to swear and more importantly when to - would just make them cooler than all of the other kids wouldn't it?

It didn't take too long for his inner rant to come to an end as Harry started tugging at his pant leg. He leaned over and picked up the smiling baby, tossing him in the air and then catching him moments later after he'd begun to laugh. Was really nothing, hanging out with a baby - if you had fun with them then they'd automatically love you. And Harry was doing wonders for the frustration that was coursing though his veins towards Remus. Finally, at James' words, Sirius did give him a roll of eyes. Charlotte was so in love with the bloke that he would need to be absolutely mad to think that she'd want to get rid of his child. Nothing wrong with her if she did choose to abort under the circumstances though - would take a lot of strength to get through these past couple weeks without anyone there to give her support. Suddenly, Sirius felt a stab of guilt, even he and Willa had been too busy to check in on her - but then, they had thought she and Remus were still together.

His harsh look at Remus softened when the guy started to speak again. He thought that they had dealt with all of this werewolf business back in second year - being one didn't change who Remus was, it only made him stronger, and none of them cared about it anyway. He listened to what his friend was saying, trying not to be too critical about anything. He had no idea what kind of pressure being a werewolf put on Remus, as Sirius was - obviously and thankfully - not a werewolf. But he'd been around him during full moon nights enough times to have an idea about what he was going through, and more importantly, he knew him well enough to be able to pick up on his different facial expressions in relation to what he was feeling. And Sirius liked to think that Remus could do the same with him. He liked to think they all could read each other.

But he had to sigh at his last, "Mate - it's not like you f*cked her while in wolf form at some point, yeah? She's not going to pop out a bloody wolf." Insensitive? Maybe. Logical? Absolutely! Harry tugged at his hair harshly as he went on, "And the baby is already growing inside of her. Remus, she's going to have one regardless of you being around or not, but it'll be better if you are. And if you won't go back for her, then go back for yourself - you won't hate yourself as much that way."

Sirius didn't need to delve into the why of it - everyone in this room knew that it would happen - hell, it was already happening right in front of them. He glanced at the clock on the wall, his gut pulling at him - Willa had wanted him back by now to help with the girls. He was supposed to get back before they woke up if he went to run errands in the morning, and his one question for James had turned into a conversation that needed to be had. He cleared his throat, separating himself from Harry and placing the little babe on the floor, where he started to crawl over to Remus, bless the kid, "On a different, less relevant note, James - can you write out the spell to make things red and sparkly? Better yet, do you have any balloons that are already red and sparkly kicking about? Georgie wants them for her party next week." He stood up, giving his tall friend a raise of the eyebrows, "Which I expect to see you and a pregnant Charlotte at, by the way." On any other day, at any other time when he hadn't already given Willa his word to be back he would stay. But she needed him the same way that Charlotte needed Remus right now. And he wouldn't be giving a very good example to the idiot if he spoke about not ditching his wife and then proceeding to ignore the needs of his own. It was all about responsibility - oh if the fourth year version of himself could see him now.

[James Potter]

At Remus' insistence that he was a monster, James felt his heart sinking heavily into his gut as he exchanged a slightly exasperated look with Sirius. How - how much more was it going to take to convince the bloke that while yes he was a werewolf, he was always, always, Remus f*cking Lupin first! All that he and the boys had done for him, did it not matter? Had it not changed his perception of himself enough for him to be a man about this? James knew Remus had hid some of his inner thoughts about the business while they were in school, but figured they'd made some great progress, and he'd thought that opening up to Lottie and being accepted by the girl he loved had done away with that line of thought. Because how could he agree to commit his life to hers if he still thought himself a monster? He wouldn't do that to her, and besides, she so blatantly didn't think it! Charlotte Fudge was no moron, she knew full well the risks of marrying him, and obviously didn't think she was sharing her bed with a monster. Wouldn't sleep so comfortably then. Not that she had likely been sleeping comfortably since her husband's rather short-sighted departure, but they'd get him back on track, they would...

He nodded to Sirius' points, seconding it all. As his mate got to his feet, Harry moving about to Remus, James continued, all notes of joking gone, "A kid needs his father, Remus. You'll learn as you go, I swear. And no kid's perfect, setting everything up for failure with that line of thought, mate." He chanced a small smile before meeting the other's eye with a firm, "What she deserves more than a perfect child is her husband sharing this with her. She can't've anticipated any of this either - I imagine she's freaking out in her own way, no less than you, but she's going to see this through. Are you?" Although James would have liked to believe he could just pick up his mate and deposit him at his own house and go on his merry way knowing Remus would stay and everything would be fine, unfortunately he knew that this wasn't his decision. He and Sirius could push for Remus to go back however hard they wanted, and hell, maybe it'd even work for the short-term. But their friend needed to commit to this of his own accord if it was going to stick.

Make the right choice, mate - or hate yourself forever for leaving and missing this opportunity. Up to you.

Sirius spoke, drawing James' attention and slight laugh. "We have red and sparkly everything, gimme a minute." He got to his feet and went to the hall closet to their internal store of party supplies, calling out as he did, "Georgie officially Sorted herself, then? Another lion in the house?" James bagged up a batch of the glittery things they'd used for Harry's last birthday and headed back to the living room, tossing the lot to Sirius. "Give the girls a squeeze for me, yeah? Party's going to rock, just let me know if you need more of those or whatever, everything here is either Gryffindor or deer themed, so no shortage of red." He looked down over at Remus, decidedly not plopping back to the floor, brows raised to an expectant question - So what are we going to do now?

[Remus Lupin]

Harry was giggling, positively delighted to be in Sirius' arms. And Remus watched, pain in his chest. Because he'd never really been comfortable around his nephew, and he hadn't even met Sirius' newest addition to the family. Georgie was a little easier for him, she was older and was able to talk. It wasn't as awkward as being around a baby. And sitting here, letting the words he hadn't wanted to say spill out, he felt so exposed. He knew they wouldn't like what he was saying, they'd come so far in school. He'd been outright convinced by the time they left that his condition was nothing more than a huge inconvenience. And when Charlotte had accepted him, and then married him? It had seemed like it was absolutely nothing. Just a small part of his life that he had to deal with.

But the war had gotten worse, and things had spiraled. He'd been given a special "task" by Dumbledore, a task that almost lost him his friends. Peter had never doubted him, and Daisy and Charlotte had been on his side. But they were so convinced there was a spy, that it had to be him. Remus had been in the depths, running with the monsters. He had seen what they were capable of - what he was capable of. And all those feelings had vanished. He was truly a monster, even if no one wanted to admit it. Because with that potion every month, he was no different than the rest of them.

His head shot back up at Sirius' words, his mouth twitching in annoyance. Not only had Sirius swore again in front of Harry, but he was being a prat. Of course he and Charlotte hadn't done - that - while he was a wolf. That was absolutely insane! But the disease was in his blood, it was a part of him. And it wasn't like there was research on werewolves mating, considering his furry little problem was still a giant target on his back in wizarding society. Remus didn't have time to rebuke the comments though, as Sirius was getting to his feet and Harry was making his way over.

Picking up Harry, he placed him in his lap, staring down at the small boy as James continued off of Sirius' thoughts. He looked up to meet James' gaze, trying to absorb everything the two of them were saying to him. "I know it's not going to be a wolf. Not unless she gave birth during a full moon which I don't even want to imagine. But how do you know, how can you be sure that the baby...won't be like me. I can't let an infant go through that." Remus placed a kiss on Harry's head, doing his best to fight back the tears. "And I know, the baby is there. And it's growing and it's real but I have no idea how to even do this. My dad isn't exactly a model father, and Char and I, we didn't talk about having kids. It wasn't how things were supposed to happen."

But it had happened, and now he had to make a decision. Cradling Harry close as the two discussed red sparkling things, he couldn't help but smile as Harry pulled on his shirt and reach up to Remus face, resting his tiny palm against his cheek. This blasted kid was melting his heart. Looking up to Sirius, he brushed his face with his free hand and nodded. "We'll be there, I promise. I just have to figure out how to face her when I go home first. But I can pass on the invitation to Dais and Peter if you'd like me to."

[Deleted]

Sirius made eye contact with James and raised his eyebrows. They both knew that Remus wasn't actually a monster - that he was better than most of the wizarding population out there - and he'd thought that they'd gotten over this 'I'm-not-good-enough' bit eons ago! He looked at his old friend directly, putting aside anything that had ever passed between them. They'd had ups and downs together - were still currently figuring out the tail end of a down actually - but the guy needed to know that Sirius was still there for him. They were brothers in the end, and no bad blood between them was going to change just how much he cared for his friend. And what James was saying was true - even though he and Willa had Georgie before Becca, Sirius was still learning the ropes of having an infant running around the house. "Well it's happening, so step up like Charlotte has and deal with it." 

He didn't want to accuse his friend of being non-Gryffindor, but honestly, Charlotte - probably one of the most meek people he'd met in his life was facing a fear that not even he could fathom getting through without Willa. It was time for Remus to cut the sh*t. "You think I had a good example of a happy home? C'mon mate, we all have our demons, we can't let them control our futures."

James went off to find him what he'd asked for, and Sirius stood there regarding Remus with a frown on his face. Here he was, holding Harry perfectly fine, making the kid laugh, making the kid happy - which was sometimes not an easy feat as he'd learned through babysitting the little bugger from time to time - and still he thought that he would be a terrible parent.

Somewhere in the house, Prongs called out and he responded quickly with a small grin, "She's definitely a spitfire, I'll tell you that much!" As much as he loved spending time with his mates, Sirius knew he was overdue in getting home. Willa was already going to give him a talking to for not being back on time. "Yeah, I will mate - cheers. And those two already know about it, but couldn't hurt to remind them." He gave James a hug after taking the red loot and squatted down to balance on his hind legs in front of Remus and little Harry. He put his hand on Moony's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, looking him directly in the eye, "You're the smartest man I know - you can do this, alright?" With another squeeze of the guy's shoulder, Sirius got up and stretched a bit, before waving as he headed out.

The world was still a mess, confusing as all hell, but they were here, they were alive, and they were all going to have beautiful lives together god damn it. 

[James Potter]

At Sirius' look, James could only return the disbelieving raise of brows with his own. There was so much unknown in this situation, questions that they all had that would simply have to go unanswered for the next few months. It sucked that there weren't easy answers, or even available answers, to help settle Remus' mind...but it was what it was, simple as. He watched as the father-to-be so gently held Harry, the usually giggling toddler looking up at the bloke curiously at the oddness in his voice. Fighting away tears, bud. Before he could respond - hadn't a clue what he was doing when Harry had been born, even with the great example of a father he'd been blessed with - Sirius jumped in, and James nodded in whole-hearted agreement. He was off to gather the party supplies for Sirius in moments, glad that they all had something fun to look forward to after all this. The supplies relinquished, a hug exchanged, and James watched as two of his best mates said goodbye. Not long ago such camaraderie and support would've been a dreamed-of thing between the two of them, and it was with much gratefulness and relief that James saw them moving forward. The last months had been horrid for a multitude of reasons, but one of the worst had been the two of them accusing the other of being a traitor, and watching the rest of their friends, watching the rest of the Order, pick sides. He'd done what he could to get them to see reason, that neither of them could ever do what the traitor was doing, but - to his immense frustration - his word hadn't ever been enough.

Glad we're moving past that, good grief.

Left with Remus and Harry, he looked down to the pair of them impatiently. James wasn't a big fan of putting off the inevitable. It seemed to him that there was nothing left to do but, well, go. Get Remus back to his own house and wife. But for that, Remus would need a plan. Trying to do away with his own impatience with his mate, James took a seat across from Moony and his son, proud of the kid for getting his act together at a good time - no need to freak the bloke out even more by having him deal with a difficult toddler.

"Right, so - what're you going to say to her? Don't think she'll buy temporary insanity as an excuse. Little steps - we figure this bit out, then go get flowers or pack up one of Harry's old onesies to show you're on board, and then you go home." It sounded like as good of a plan as they could have at this point, and James hoped dearly that Charlotte would be home when they got to the cottage. He didn't quite fancy leaving Remus there on his own, fear of him catching cold feet again and all...

[Remus Lupin]

Sirius' words were harsh - something Remus could always count on. But in this instance, perhaps that was just exactly what he needed. Sirius had his share of family issues, but he'd had the Potter's as well. And while Remus still admired Charlus and the way he had raised Sirius and James, he still felt overwhelmed. Because what if he was just like his father? His mother was sweet, caring. She'd be ecstatic to find out that she was having a grand child. She'd be disappointed to know that he'd run. He hadn't mentioned it when he had gone by to have his father go check on Charlotte. He'd come up with an excuse, although lame, to keep the issue from being pressed.

Remus nodded, glad to know that relations between Peter and Sirius were doing okay. It hadn't been an easy thing for Peter to come to them with. But with Daisy expecting a baby (how were all of them becoming parents?), Peter had come forward. And as much as Remus had wanted to be angry, he hadn't allowed himself that. Peter needed their help, and things had ended in a way that kept any of them from getting killed. He knew he was still the one holding back from Sirius, unsure of how to mend the bond they had once had. Bitter about all those months spent with Fenrir Greyback...

He looked up as Sirius placed a hand on his shoulder, giving a sharp nod to his words. "Thank you Sirius." And then Sirius was gone, off to his kids and his wife. Remus turned his attention to James, letting Harry escape his lap as the toddler moved back towards his father. He sighed at the words, unsure of what exactly he should say. What he should do.

"I don't know what to say to her. I have to tell her the truth, I mean I reckon she knows that I've run off because I'm a coward," Remus finally answered, running a hand through his hair. "I don't think flowers is going to cut it mate. Or a plant for that matter, just give her another thing she has to worry about." Perhaps bringing a onesie from Harry wouldn't be that bad, but he felt like she deserved more than that. "Where do you even buy stuff for babies?"

[James Potter]

"You're just getting spoiled with attention today," James said with a laugh, arms out invitingly as Harry waddled back to him. Once he'd made it, James took him in his hands and fell back dramatically; just because there was a serious conversation going on didn't mean he could stop entertaining his kid. As Remus spoke, James listened while holding Harry up above him airplane-style to get the giggles out of his son that he so loved. The kid had no fear of heights, was going to be an incredible Quidditch player; already he was going too high up for Lily's comfort on his toy broom, absolutely fearless. And although Remus was mostly rejecting his ideas, at his mate's last, James had to grin over at him.

"Whole shops devoted to baby stuff - kinda ridiculous the amount of things you never knew you needed, but they're mad helpful and all. Want to go? I can show you our favorite, I bet they've restocked since we nearly bought them out when Lily was pregnant." He sat Harry down on his stomach, holding him lightly as the kid balanced, and looked over at his mate. Look at you, stepping up. Although he'd only known about this for a matter of minutes, James tacked a finally onto the end of his thought. Remus would be glad he did this, James was more than certain. Sure, it'd take some time to get used to it, even more time than had already gone by, but Remus would get there eventually. And until then? He would be supportive of his wife, and he'd have the support of his friends. He'd never be alone in this, and if the time away and this talk had been what it took for him to understand it? James was glad to be part of it.

[Remus Lupin]

He loved watching James with Harry. It was familiar in a way he hadn't expected, reminding him of how Charlus treated James and Sirius when they were growing up. Blood didn't always make a family, and the Potter family had shown him that so many times over. James, Sirius, and Peter. They were his brother's, no matter how many times he acted like a damn idiot. And he needed that, especially right now. He needed Sirius to give him a hard time and talk sense into him. He needed James' fatherly advice. And Peter - he would need Peter to talk to about how terrified they both were, seeing as Daisy's pregnancy was what had sparked Peter to come forward and admit the truth to them all.

So no matter how scared he was right now, no matter how much he just wanted to run and hide. He wasn't going to, and he knew his brother's wouldn't let him. He listened to James intently, nodding with his words. A whole store of stuff he could pick from - that should be easy enough. James and Lily had bought a lot of stuff for Harry (well, they all had gotten Harry a lot of stuff), but surely it would be simple enough to pick out a few things to bring back to Charlotte. She hadn't had the baby yet, so if he could just find her the things they would need now... "Yeah, I mean...it's not like I'm prepared to go shopping, left most of my money at home. But I can't come home empty handed. And if I'm having a baby I might as well start getting stuff now."

[James Potter]

Leaning Harry slightly left - until he started to fall, laughing, and tried to regain his balance - and then slightly right until the same thing happened, James listened as Remus accepted the idea of shopping for baby stuff. It was a step in the right direction, and as the destination of that direction was home, James was all for Remus hitting the road. He didn't need to be with the Potters right now - he needed to be with Charlotte.

"Money's not a problem, mate, let me find some Muggle bills," James said unhurriedly, lifting Harry off of his chest and giving him leave to wander the living room while his father did the same. (Managing two systems of currency wasn't James' forte, but he could've sworn they had some Muggle money in the end-table drawer...nope...the other one?....) He brushed off anything Remus said about the money with a brisk, "Consider it my babyshower gift." Although, naturally, he and Lily would give a separate gift whenever that party was. Tracking down a number of bills, he organized them in his hands, asking, "D'you want me to come with you? I'm game, just need to let Lily know I'll be out." His wife had been resting upstairs when Remus arrived, so had - for better or worse - missed this debacle. He would've gone to get her if he'd known what was about to happen, but as it was...James would have hell to pay later on tonight when he let her know that 1) Remus had come over and 2) apparently he'd been MIA for a few weeks and 3) Charlotte was pregnant...

But that was later-James' problem.

[Remus Lupin]

He was going to look like a fool in a baby store, trying to figure out what exactly to buy. Sure, he had paid attention to the kinds of things James and Lily had gotten, but he'd never considered he would need to be purchasing those sorts of things. James was looking around the house for muggle money, "No I really can't-"/ but James was already cutting him off, insisting that it was a baby shower gift. But knowing James and Lily, he was sure this wasn't going to be the only baby shower gift. He would find a way to pay James back, somehow.

"Actually that would...I'd like that. I have no idea what I should even be looking for and I don't really want to do this alone." Remus took the money, standing up from the floor and straightening his jumper. "I'll just wait outside, yeah? And then we can go." He gave a nod to James, taking his leave out the front door. The fresh air felt good, and he wiped his face to hide any lingering evidence of tears. It wasn't long before James joined him, and gave him a nod. "Where to?"

A quick apparation and walk later, they were standing outside what seemed to be a large muggle baby store. "So, here we go."

[James Potter]

Luckily, Remus didn't put up too much of a fuss, but James was prepared to fight him on it if it became an issue. He had the funds, his mate didn't have much on him - what was the big deal if he helped out? James shot him a grin as he accepted the extra help of accompanying him to the store, and was soon swinging Harry into his arms and bringing him upstairs to his wife. He couldn't tell Lily everything - Remus would murder him if he went around blabbing the news - but let her know he'd be helping Remus shop for something for Charlotte for a bit. Excited to get his friend more comfortable with the idea of parenting, James met him out front and grabbed his arm. "You'll see." With a grin, he apparated them to a safe point near a muggle shopping center, pointing out landmarks as they emerged from the alley so Remus could find his way back.

"No need to look so terrified, mate," James said with a chuckle as they approached the store, clapping his mate on the back as he led the way inside, "nothing in here's gonna bite you." He looked around with a small smile on his face, weighing their options in the store full of pastels. "Right, so - knowing Lottie she's probably gotten every book there is already, so we don't need to worry about that...ah, this way." James meandered through the shop, giving friendly nods to the salespeople, until they reached the moms-to-be section. His friend was overwhelmed as it was - better to just focus on what they needed now to help Charlotte have a healthy pregnancy, right? Not worry about gathering the things the baby itself would use? "What kind of scents does she favor?" James asked, crouching down to examine the spread of stretch-mark creams and the like. Gesturing to the row of choices, he explained, "These'll help her not have stretch marks." He stood, stretching, and appraised the vitamin selection. "Would be good to nab some of these too, I'm sure she's seen someone at Mungo's, but it's easier to take this stuff at home than go in for potions all the time." There were journals, body pillows, picture frames, more books than he would care to count - and he looked at his friend with an apologetic sort of smile. "Lots of stuff, I know. Anything catching your eye?"

[Remus Lupin]

This was the right thing to do. He had never doubted that, but himself. This was the best choice, and could how a war broken werewolf ever be a good father? His own father had been present, always said and did the proper things, and it hadn't exactly worked out the best for him in the end, had it? Hardly even spoke to the man, especially after he had found out the truth behind his mothers death.

Would you want to tell your son that his mother was murdered because his father was doing the right thing in the middle of a war?

It wasn't exactly a question he had expected to need to think about. And while his father had done wrong by him, in many other ways, perhaps this was not one of them. Lyall had known that Remus was a werewolf. He had no clue about his child, a baby who was something that should be bring him and Charlotte closer than they had been before. A new life meant a fresh start, moving past the war and putting it finally behind them.

It was the clap on his back that made him realize how lost in his thoughts he had gotten in the few seconds it had been since they arrived at the store. He let out an awkward chuckle at James’ joke – That’s going to be me now isn't it… – and nodded as they made their way inside. He kept nodding, as James had probably hit the nail on the head about the books. He asked about scents, which was a question he could actually answer, ”Lilac, she has these sweets that smell like it.” James was then explaining about stretch mark creams, before switching to talking about vitamins, and was glad when James finally gave him a moment to catch up.

”James, I think showing up with stretch mark cream after disappearing for no reason might end in my death,” he said as his voice caught up with everything that was happening. ”What about something for the baby? To show her I’m in this?”

[James Potter]

"Well, we don't want that..." Granted, Remus knew his wife better than James did, but the young father was having trouble picturing the waiflike Charlotte Lupin putting his mate into mortal peril. He was quite satisfied, though, with Remus admitting that he'd disappeared for no reason. Acknowledging that these last few weeks of absence had been an overreaction was huge, and James hoped that the couple would be able to smooth this over sooner rather than later. Probably should have something ready to say when you see her besides that, though, he thought with a bit of a worried glance to the guy, hoping Remus had recovered enough sense in the last few hours of reality checking to not come out and say that to his wife. As the bloke went on, though, James' excitement picked up again - prenatal care was important, obviously, but it was a hell of a lot more fun to check out things for the baby. The Lupins could come back here on their own to pick up the necessities (although he would happily be on-call if they wanted), now was the time to make a gesture.

"Something for the baby, yes, of course!" James peered around his taller friend to get his bearings, and pointed them towards...well, everything miniature, meaning everything absolutely adorable. It was going to be a nightmare visiting everyone in the next year or so, for the simple reasons of inconvenient naptimes and tiptoeing around the tiny toys and never avoiding the one pokey one - but James was glad Remus was joining the rest of them in fatherhood. It was something the other hadn't ever really spoken about wanting, he'd been hesitant of even holding Harry for the longest time, but whatever the guy thought - he was going to be a grand dad. He'd learn along the way, make recoverable mistakes as they all did, and...maybe he could finally prove to himself that he deserved what he had. A life, and a good one. A good home with a good woman, and a baby on the way.

"What're you thinking, like a toy, clothes..." Right, call him a fool - he was certainly grinning like one as he grabbed a pair with a Come on look - but there was really nothing more precious than... "Shoes?"

[Remus Lupin]

Just being in this store was putting his nerves on the fritz, the whole store a tad overwhelming. He had done stupid things in the past when it came to his relationship with his wife, but never anything of this magnitude. Simply vanishing like the fool that he was, and he wasn't sure he deserved her forgiveness for it. He knew it was better that he was going back instead of staying away, but he also deserved whatever Charlotte decided to dish out towards him. Did he explain himself as soon as he walked in the door, and did he let her get her emotions out before he said anything?

James was getting them headed in the right direction and towards items that were actually meant for babies. He had to admit seeing such small clothing was cute, and it had been his favorite part of when Harry was little. He'd never managed to dress the always wiggling kid, but minature versions of adult things were just inherently cute. He gave a laugh at the shoes, taking them from James to look at them. "Babies can't walk when they are that small, so wouldn't these be pointless?" He knew his knowledge about offspring was limited but he was almost positive it would be at least a year before his kid was wobbling around. "I'm getting them anyway," he added, before his curiousity got the best of them and he wandered further into the baby clothes.

"Help me find a little bow-tie, this kid is going to have style."