Come Home + Sirius Black

four: a visit from moony

It was safe to say, now that Charlotte had had Harry for two days, that she had no idea what she was doing. And it made her wonder if James and Lily had any idea what they were doing in the year that they had with him. Every second that he was awake, he was crying. But when he was asleep, he was blissfully unaware of the world around him, peaceful and comfortable in his own crib. It had almost made her feel bad for the Dursleys, who had been taking care of two crying babies at a time until now.

And despite the fact that she hadn't gotten more than five hours a sleep the past two nights, she had to admit, it was a welcome distraction. She had been so busy taking care of Harry that she hardly had any time to stop and feel the grief that had succumbed her for the past few weeks. But she was doing her best, and she knew that that was what counted. She knew that somewhere, Lily was smiling down on them.

The fact that she had been caring for Harry had been kept secret. It was Dumbledore's wish and, now that she had him in her care, and that she's heard the endless whispers of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, it was what she wanted too. She wanted Harry to be raised quietly, away from the stares he would inevitably get once he started attending Hogwarts.

The only person she told was Remus Lupin.

She thought that if there was anyone in the world who could possibly understand everything she was going through, it would have been him. She knew that James, Sirius, and Peter meant the world to him. And he had always had a special bond with Lily that went even beyond her own friendship with her.

Charlotte knew herself, and she knew she needed a friend now more than ever. Maybe Remus could've used the same.

But her letters went weeks unanswered, so after she informed him of her arrangement with the Dursleys and that he'd be at hers for the week, she decided that she'd give him the space that he clearly needed.

But then, on the morning of her third day with Harry, there was a knock on Charlotte's door, and it seems that Remus was there to answer his letters after all.

"Moony," she gasped when she opened the door, and before he could say anything, she threw his arms around her.

She heard him chuckle in her ear. When she pulled back, she realized how dreadful he looked. His eyes were tired, and there were newer scars on his face than there was the last time she saw him. Some of them looked fresh and painful. And despite that, he was smiling at her. But it was a sad kind of smile, the one that said I know what you're going through.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know I should've wrote in advance, let you know I was coming."

"Don't be silly." She shook her head, stepping aside from the doorway to let him in. "You know you're always welcome here."

And she meant it. Her and Remus might not have been as close as she had been with James and Sirius, but he had always been a friend.

Once he had settled into her living room with a cup of tea, she had excused herself to bring Harry into the room. When Remus took a look at him, Charlotte could see his dark eyes soften.

"He's really starting to look like James," he said with the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

"He is. I remember, we all thought he was going to look like Lily because of his eyes."

The last time all of them had gathered— Charlotte, Remus, Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, Dorcas, and Marlene— was shortly after Lily gave birth to Harry. They were all jokingly placing wagers on who he'd end up most like. And now that she thought about it, that might have been the last time Remus even saw little Harry. Order business frequently had him out of the country.