You Only Live Once

CHAPTER 44

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" James bellowed in horror at the sight of puke all over Mira. He had been a dad for over four months and yet he still wasn't used to Harry being a baby . "How many times have I told you not to puke all over your aunt?" He shook his head taking baby Harry from Mira's arms and moving him to the kitchen so he could wipe his mouth.
"He's a baby , Jamie. He's not doing it on purpose" Mira said calmly, getting up from the couch to go wash her shirt in the kitchen sink. Mira was used to it by then anyway. With baby Melody around and all this time  she spent with Harry , some puke was the least of her concerns.
Harry was almost five months old and Melody seven months old and they were getting along really well. Mira spent most of her days at Godric's Hollow with Lily and James while the two babies played together . Baby Melody had officially become part of the Potter family just two months after Harry was born. Dumbledore wanted to put her in an orphanage since she didn't have any immediate family to take care of her. But Mira put her foot down and refused to give that sweet baby up. Obviously Mia and Monty backed her up and promised to help Mira bring that sweet girl up . So now Melody and Harry were brought up as cousins.
The doorbell rang at exactly nine , like it was supposed to. Mira had become paranoid with dates and time , not wanting to forget about a major event again and put everyone in danger.
"It should be Moony" James said , putting Harry in his high chair and beginning to go open the door.
"Go get ready, pal. You don't want to keep your wife waiting" Mira took a hold of his hand , stopping him. "I got it form here." She smiled at him and he smiled back , nodding his head before going up the stairs. Him and Lily decided to go out for their one year anniversary and Mira and Remus would babysit Harry for the night.
"Hello ." Mira greeted opening the door. She hadn't seen Remus since three months ago when he left for his big mission. He had just come back last week and was in such a bad state that he had to go to St Mungo's to be treated by professionals , so everyone had to visit him there . Everyone but Mira.She knew she was being petty and childish but she  wanted to stay mad at him, for not listening to her and ending up the way he did.
"Hi" Remus replied , shortly standing at the entrance of the house, looking like he had no intention of going in.
"Will you just stand there?" Mira asked with a raised eyebrow .  Remus did in fact step in the house but the first thing he did when the door was closed behind him was to wrap his hands around Mira. It took her a second to get over her pettiness and copy him , hugging him back tightly.
"I'm so sorry" he whispered, lightly stroking her hair. When he didn't see her at the hospital alongside everyone else he was so disappointed . James had told him that she hadn't shown up just because the babies couldn't be left alone. But James was known to be a bad  liar and that occasion was no different .
"Me too"
"We should talk about it you know. What happened that night" Remus reminded.
"When the babies are asleep" Mira sighed, pulling back from the hug. She had talked about that night with Mia and Monty but she knew that she had to do it with Remus too.
Twenty minutes later Lily and James were ready and out the door , after Remus and Mira practically begged them to leave, because of all the fuss they made about Harry's schedule. Like Mira didn't know it by heart already.
Mira was playing with baby Melody , her little giggles echoing all over the living room, making Harry who sat comfortably on Remus' arms laugh uncontrollably.
"So young to be a mother" Remus commented , shaking his head with a smile at the sight of Mira with Melody. "And yet you're a natural"
"I always wanted to be a mother.I  believed  I would be really good too" Mira said , still fussing over baby Melody who had taken a firm grip of her shirt and wouldn't let her go.  And it was true. Ever since she remembered herself she wanted to have a baby one day. She wanted to have a family of her own .
"How come?"Remus asked, intrigued.
"I know exactly what not to do. And sometimes it's easier to know what not to do than to know what to do" 
The room feel quiet after that. When Mira said things like that Remus genuinely didn't know what to do, what to say, what reaction was appropriate.
"Evan said 'That's beautiful ,Mira. Show those children what a childhood should be like' when I told him" she said with a smile that slowly faded when she realised what she had said. Remus sometimes caught himself resenting Evan for always knowing what to say, but he couldn't anymore. He had accepted that he played a huge role in Mira's life in Hogwarts and realised it was a huge loss for her. She was a nineteen year old girl who had experienced so much grief that she had normalized it . So much so that she never talked about it or thought of it if she could help it.
"Ro-"
"Mark never listened , Remus. If he had just listened that day he would still be alive. I lost my brother because I couldn't convince him to stay . I can't lose you too. I can't handle losing anyone else."
"What happened that day, Ro?You've never told us"
"Mum and Dad had a huge fight . Dad wanted to move Mom wanted to stay. The rational thing for me to do was to stay with my mom. I wanted to stay with my mom. But the thought of starting over in a new place was so compelling. I begged Mark to stay with me, I tried to talk to him about the opportunities he would have. But he was angry , with Dad, so no matter what I said ,  he didn't budge. So he left with Mom and then... the accident happened. Mom was pissed, she was driving and crying on the Highway in the middle of the night. It didn't take long."
The two babies had managed to quiet down during Mira's confession. Harry was practically asleep and Melody had her little eyes half closed while looking at Mira as if she understood what she was saying. Remus carefully put Harry in his crib and then sat next to Mira on the couch , facing her with a sad expression. As if Melody could sense the mood that had settled in the living room she lifted her little hand , reaching for Mira's face. Mira focused on the baby on her lap and brought her closer to her face until her palms were pressed against her cheeks .
"Mama" the little girl mumbled. Just a four letter word, almost a whisper out of a baby's mouth before she went to sleep. And yet it managed to completely change the atmosphere in the living room , as Remus and Mira looked at each other in complete shock.
"You're definitely doing something right"