Growing Up

Part 34.

Halloween was fun, Harry had the time of his life. Sirius, well, padfoot, spent most of his time trotting next to Harry, barking and growling at anyone who got too close.

That was a fun story to tell Amelia, who had never been to a magical school. Marlene wasn't suprised in the slightest, but alas, now she knew who the muddy footprints in the common rooms were all those years ago.

Ivy had dressed as a butterfly, with little wings in the back and a black poofy skirt. Harry and Ivy went up to all the houses, and Remus probably had more fun than any of them.

It's funny, Remus never imagined himself with a child. That said, Harry was not his own, but Remus still considered Harry his child. Now Sirius, on the other hand, If you told Remus that him and Sirius would be raising a child together four years ago, he would've laughed in your face until he cried. But now, his past self would've passed out in shock.

Everyone went back to 12 Grimmauld place to unwind. Harry and Ivy went to bed, and Sirius started tossing out beers.

Remus walked up to the mirror in Harry's room, staring at the two of them. I guess you could say he was self-reflecting, but that wasn't the point. Harry looked in the mirror and paused, then lifted his finger to his forehead.

"Moon-ee, we're the same!"

Remus paused, a lump in his throat.

"That's right, bambi,"

Collect yourself, Remus.

After a moment, he finally responded with a smile. "We're the same."

***

"Oh god." Remus put his face in his hands.

"Long night?" Marlene popped off the tab with her teeth and sat down.

"We're the same..."

Sirius walked up from behind and rested his head on Remus' shoulder.

"What's wrong, moons?"

Remus looked up with tears in his eyes.

"He pointed at his scar, and said we were the same!" He sighed. "Oh, i don't even know why i'm crying."

"Like a little girl." Sirius smiled sincerely and dragged him along the parlor.

It clicked to him now that he wasn't being dramatic when he looked at Amelia, and she had tears in her eyes as well.

Marlene looked over at her in amusement.

"What?" she whined. "That's tragic."

Remus sat down on the couch, deep in thought.

Halloweens were hard, would they get any easier?

"They will." Marlene answered.

Remus looked up in confusion, wondering if he said that out loud.

But she was looking at Sirius. The moonlight reflected on her skin. Apparently he had asked the same thing.

It was kind of a spooky thing, all of them in the room. Watching Sirius be so natural was comforting. Remus never told him this, but 12 Grimmauld place had always been most unsettling. Of course, Sirius would've never known, he grew up in that house. He never knew any different, for not too long, at least, the Potter home was very cozy.

Amelia asked where the nursery was, as she wanted to check on Ivy. Remus grabbed his wand and pointed it to the door. The door unlocked with a slight click and opened slightly.

"Ugh, that would be so useful." Amelia sighed

Everyone looked at Marlene, who was twirling her wand in her hand.

"What? She never asks?"

Remus laughed. He watched as Amelia peered inside the bedroom. It reminded him of how he used to do with Harry. When he was so tiny, he couldn't hold up his own head. Remus used to hold him in his arms, acting like this was the only thing that mattered, because at the time, it was.

Remus' love for that child could defy life itself. Harry wasn't his own, but that never made the slightest difference. If Harry wanted to dance, Remus would let him ruin the furniture. If Harry wanted to cook, he'd let him burn the house down. If Harry wanted to scream, Remus would let it deafen him. In those few months of Harry's mere purity and fragility, Remus now realized nothing really did matter then, nothing but keeping that baby safe, even if it meant his or Sirius' life. Remus would go on to wonder if Harry would ever know how much they cared for him.

He would.

Word count: 721