Breaking Black (A Sirius Black Love Story)

Chapter 96

May 8th, 1981

It was Cassie's first birthday.

After my conversation with Snape, I tried to get Lily and James to go into hiding. But here we were, months later, and Lily and James were still out and about, gallivanting across the country, defying Lord Voldemort. I was worried sick over them.

Finally, after fretting about Lily and James nearly every night, Sirius spilled to me the prophecy wasn't about Lily and James, but rather about their son, Harry Potter. The poor baby, and Sirius' godson, was in grave danger, I could only assume due to Voldemort. This fact didn't necessarily ease my worries, but I understood what Lily and James were doing. They were only trying to protect their son.

Only my mother and Cassie's godparents were invited to the very lowkey first birthday party. My mother already told me she would be late, she had to work at St. Mungo's until ten. James and Lily were late as well, performing Order duties with the Longbottoms.

With all the late arrivals at the party, Remus was the first to arrive, leaving me, Sirius, and Remus to chat in our living room while entertaining Cassie. As far as I could recall, the last time Sirius, Remus, and I were in a room alone together, Remus and Sirius were having a heated discussion about the spy.

I despised the tension between Sirius and my best friend. Only Cassie seemed oblivious to it, as she crawled around babbling, trying to get on Remus' lap. Remus picked up his goddaughter and looked to Sirius.

"She has your eyes, Padfoot," Remus noticed, trying to break the silence. "Such a beautiful little girl. She's going to be a handful when she's at Hogwarts."

Sirius cracked a smirk for the first time since Remus stepped foot in the house.

"She will be a handful, but daddy's girl," Sirius agreed. "I just hope she doesn't meet a guy like me!"

"Hey, I fell for you and I turned out alright!" I laughed, trying to get in the conversation.

"Yes, but look at all the problems I caused you... And you don't even know about half of the other girls I dated at Hogwarts!"

"Remember Lucy? I hope Cassie's first boyfriend treats her better than you did to that poor girl," Remus asked. I'd never heard the name Lucy before. But Sirius seemed to remember and started barking with laughter.

"How could I forget? The way she tried to break in to the Gryffindor tower to get back at me! And James dumped flobberworms on her to get her to back off!"

"And Jane?"

"Eh, she was always more in to you, I don't feel bad for dumping her the way I did," Sirius shrugged. "A good time, but I remember she asked about you in the middle of snogging!"

Remus flushed red at the fond memory but started laughing.

Secretly, I was jealous as Remus and Sirius joyfully recalled their Hogwarts days. But they were getting along, and Cassie loved hearing her dad and godfather laugh together. Their peace and friendliness were all I ever wanted. It was just like old times, a few of the Marauders sitting together in contentment.

After deciding to eat cake without the Potters and my mother, Remus pulled a small box out of the pocket of his robe and set it on the ground. Pink paper covered the present, rather terribly, but the effort was there. Cassie, immediately intrigued, picked at the colorful paper. She tore the paper apart, more interested in ripping the wrappers than the silver box inside.

"Moony, what is it?" I questioned. I picked up the ornate box. 'Cassiopeia' was inscribed on the top.

"Open it," Remus whispered proudly. He raised his wand and turned all the lights off in the room, and I did just what he said. As soon as I opened the box, the living room was filled with a peaceful, silvery light.