"Lily, are you going to get Harry?" James asked sleepily.
"No," Lily answered to her pillow, "I got him the last...fifteen nights in a row. I think you can handle our little baby boy for three seconds."
James thought for a moment, then tried to reason, "No I can't."
That was the wrong thing to say to Lily at that moment, "James Potter! He's your son, too! Now get your arse over to the next room over, or I'll never let you touch me again, do you hear me?"
"Yes, dear," James cowered. Lily softened at this and also got up.
"Here," she offered, "I'll walk you through it."
The hallway was dark, and the floor board squeaked a little, but James and Lily managed to get to their son's room in one piece. The walls were painted the palest shade of blue, with a white lining around the windows and the door frame.
Against the farthest wall was the powder white crib. Lily walked forward at once, but James dawdled at the door way.
"James," Lily hissed once she realized her husband was not next to her anymore.
Eager to avoid one of Lily's moods, James leapt forward and came to the side of Harry's crib. But here he stopped, and turned to Lily.
"What do I do now?' he asked, sounding both afraid and feeble at the same time.
Sighing, Lily bent down and picked up the still crying baby.
"Sit," she ordered, nodding her head in the direction of a wooden rocking chair by the window.
James sat, perched on the edge of his seat, but seated all the same. Lily walked, or rather bounced, over to he husband and held out the baby. James didn't take Harry.
"Lily, I can't," he pleaded, looking from his wife, to his son and back again.
"You're not going to break him," she soothed, cradling Harry to her chest with one hand, and forcing his arm into the baby holding position, "Just listen to me."
James' brow knitted, but he let his arm go loose enough so Lily could mold them.
"Support his head," she instructed, getting down on her knees in front of James and placing Harry onto his hands, "Harry's only one month old, James. He's not going to die because his father holds him."
A flinch told Lily she was right about James' fear of holding Harry. It was... well, not a stupid fear, but an ungrounded one. Unlikely, at best.
Once James seemed calm, Lily backed away and stood up again. The scean in front of her looked right. It was dark outside, but a lonely street lamp outside cast a glow on her husband and son. Harry had finally stopped crying and was only hiccupping in his sleepy state. James was gazing in awe at the tiny figure he held in his hands, looking so lovingly at his son, Lily found it hard to believe he had ever been afraid of holding him.
Smiling to herself, Lily crept from the room, ready for some well deserved sleep.
What was it, she thought, climbing back into bed, that made men fear tiny little babies?
One month later
"Lily," Sirius complained, "I just can't do it."
"And why not," Lily asked, still holding Harry out to him, "You are his godfather, Sirius."
"I just can't, okay," he hissed, ignoring the snuffles Harry was making. He turned away from her.
Lily rolled her eyes, and left for towards the kitchen. Sirius turned, and upon finding the room empty, sat on the sofa. Lily came back a few minutes later, bottle in one hand and baby in the other. She sat next to Sirius, and put the bottle in one of his hands, then grabbed the other and turned it into a cradling 'L' shape.
"Lily, what are you doing?!" Sirius's protests fell on deaf ears, and before he knew it, he was holding his godson.
"Lily," he said weakly, looking into Harry's questioning eyes, "I'm not sure if I can do this."
"It's not hard," Lily explained, "Just offer him the bottle and see if he'll take it. When he does, tilt it back so the milk is tilted at a downward angel."
Lily reached over and positioned Harry's little arm out of the way. She then sat back and watched Sirius struggle with the positioning of the bottle. It would almost be laughable, if you weren't Lily, Sirius or Harry.
Ten minutes later, Sirius finally found a comfortable position and tilted the bottle slightly up. Harry grumbled happily and started to drink.
"See," Lily reasoned, "It's not that hard."
"H-how do you do it, Lils?" Sirius asked hoarsely. Lily smiled.
"I blame maternal instincts," she grinned. Sirius' face fell a little, and Lily raised her eye brows in understanding, "James couldn't do this either until a month ago."
"But that was a month ago," Sirius argued, eyes still fixated on Harry, "I had a whole month, and I'm only learning now. Tell me, Lily, how pathetic is that?"
Lily smiled.
"Remus still can't do it," She pointed out, "It'll be his turn for this little lesson, soon. AND, from what I hear, Frank Longbottom still won't pick up baby Neville. Alice nearly blew her top when he told her that he wasn't ready."
They sat there for a few moments, silently enjoying each others company. Sirius feeling thankful and Lily feeling triumphant. Some while later, Sirius left.
Lily settled her baby in his crib after burping him, and gently closed the door. She leaned against it and took a deep breath.
Two down, she thought, one to go.
"Lily, please don't make me do this," Remus pleaded. Lily only smiled.
"Begging's not going to help you, Remus," Lily advanced on her werewolf friend; baby Harry sniffing in her arms, "It won't be hard. All you have to do is carry Harry upstairs and put him in his crib. I'll do all the rest."
"Lily, I can't hold him," Remus tried again, backing away.
"For the love of god," she hissed, turning away from him. Remus let out a deep breath and took a step towards the entry way, but Lily rounded on him.
"What is it," she demanded in a hiss, "That makes men so sacred of any baby they have any ties to? Sirius and James wouldn't even hold him until I forced them to. Harry's not going to break as soon as anyone bet me touch him."
Remus just looked at her.
"Lily?" he asked tensely, "Are you okay?"
"No I am not okay, Remus," she snapped back, "I can't be the only one around here who holds the baby."
Remus looked blankly at her. Then, Lily just slumped. All the fight went out of her. She sat down on the sofa and rocked back and fourth to sooth the whimpering Harry. She looked up at Remus as she did this.
"Please," she begged, looking utterly depressing, "Just once. If you still feel like you can't handle him, I'll never mention this again."
Remus dropped his head, stepped forward and took the baby from her arms. He didn't need to have his arm molded like James or Sirius did, like many other things Remus Lupin did, he was a natural at holding a baby. Lily smiled.
At first, Remus was unsure about climbing the stairs, but in the end took them slowly, but surly. Harry's door was the last door on the left of the hallway, and as soon as Remus was in the room and situating Harry for his nap, he didn't even notice that Lily was no longer behind him.
In fact, Lily was watching him from the door way, just like she had watched James settle a crying Harry. She was watching calmly, just like she had watched Sirius feed her hungry baby. Vaguely, she wondered where they had all learned the way Harry had liked to be held when fed, or that he liked to be rocked forward first, then back in the rocking chair. Or that he liked to have his stuffed bunny with him before he went to bed.
Lily turned and headed down the hallway, ready for her own well deserved nap after a month of mothering and teaching.