QLFC. Captain of the Wimbourne Wasps. Round 7 Pairing Palooza. Chosen pairing: H.M.S Tainted Glass - aka JamesxRemus.
Remus had been away on an order mission when Lily had gone into labour. He'd been informed by a very excited Marlene the moment he'd set foot inside the Order Headquarters.
"Remus! Have you heard the news?" asked Marlene.
"What news?" asked Remus.
"Lily had the baby; she had a little boy. They've named him Harry," said Marlene, a huge smile lighting up her face.
"Well, good old Lily," said Remus, chuckling. "I take it everything went smoothly?"
"Very. In fact, she's home already," said Marlene.
"Wow, that was quick!" exclaimed Remus.
"Remus, care to join us?" asked Moody, interrupting the conversation.
"I'll talk to you later, Mar. Thanks for the update," said Remus, giving her arm a small squeeze as he made his way away.
"Glad you made it home," Marlene called after him.
Remus flashed a small smile over his shoulder at her.
Once Remus had been debriefed, he headed for Diagon Alley to the baby emporium to buy a small gift for baby Harry, a bunch of flowers for Lily, and a bottle of Ogden's Firewhiskey for James.
When Remus arrived at James and Lily's, he heard Harry crying. Remus figured it must be feeding time again. Boy, that kid had a set of lungs on him, thought Remus as he listened to the baby's lusty cries for a moment before knocking on the door.
As James pulled the door open, Remus caught a whiff of baby and talc, and smiled.
"Moony, you're back!" said James.
"Good to see you too, Prongs," said Remus, smiling.
"Come in! Erm, actually, come through to the kitchen, for now; Lily's feeding Harry currently," said James.
Remus followed James through the cramped hall to the kitchen and placed the gifts he bought on the counter.
James smiled when he spotted them.
"Moony, you didn't have to buy us anything, you know," said James softly.
"I know, but I wanted to. So, how's fatherhood, now that Harry's here?"
"Tiring, but so worth it. I can't wait for you to meet the little chap, actually." James smiled.
"How's Lily dealing with all this?" asked Remus.
"Great. She's a natural. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that she's so beautiful and tender when it comes to Harry that I can't help but sit and watch in awe," said James, rubbing his neck in an embarrassed manner.
Remus smiled at his friend.
Twenty minutes later, and Lily was ready to introduce their son to Remus. After a huge hug and congratulations, Remus was ready to take a look at the newest addition to the Potter family.
He leaned over the crib in the corner of the living room and looked at his best friend's son. The child was now sleeping peacefully, his small fingers curled in repose, the dark hair on his head looking darker because of the white sheets beneath him. He looked so tiny and perfect.
"Guys, he's beautiful," said Remus as he straightened up.
"Thank you, Remus," said Lily throatily. "Would you like to hold him?"
"Erm, sure," said Remus nervously.
Remus sat down in the deep-seated armchair as James lifted the child from his crib. Remus held out his arms, and James carefully placed his son in Remus' gentle arms. The child snuffled slightly but didn't stir. Remus merely stared in wonderment at the boy; never once did he expect Lily and James to have a child, much less together. Gently, he ran a finger down the boy's soft, dowdy face.
"Hey there, little guy, I'm Remus. Or Moony," he said quietly to the sleeping baby.
"Uncle Remus," Lily gently corrected him.
Remus looked up in a startled manner; he never expected to be anything more to the child.
"No need to look so shocked, Moony. You're one of my best friends; who else would I ask to be an Uncle? Besides Sirius, that is," said James, chuckling.
Remus spluttered something unintelligible.
Remus decided to take James to the Leaky Cauldron to wet the baby's head. Well, that is, once he'd cleared it with Lily first.
"Don't you dare bring him home unless he's as sober as a judge! Are you hearing me, Remus?" declared Lily in a mock threatening manner. "I am not doing the night feeds all by myself just because this gnome can't get his backside out of bed."
Remus laughed but agreed that he would only let James have two drinks maximum.
When they reached the old-fashioned pub, Remus ordered two Firewhiskeys from Tom before dragging James to a quiet corner. He knew James wanted to question him about the mission anyway, or so he thought.
Surprisingly, James didn't say a thing about the mission. Instead, he talked non-stop about what he hoped the future would hold for Harry. In a way, it kind of didn't surprise Remus—James has always had a one-track mind, but not normally this one-tracked. He decided to shrewdly watch James for a while. That's when he saw it: the refusal to talk about anything related to the war. James has already built a world without Voldemort in it, a world in which himself and Lily raise their son together: a nicer, kinder world where it's safe to raise a child. Right then, Remus didn't want to shatter that illusion; that'd come soon enough.
After three Firewhiskeys, Remus took James home. Home to Lily, home to Harry, in the hope that maybe, just maybe, when he woke up tomorrow, he'd find Voldemort had finally been put pay to, and he could live in the world he'd built in his head. But he doubted it.