Thanks for sticking with my other story! I hope you all like this one just as much. Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I am obviously not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own any of her work. Likewise, I do not own any Beatles songs. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction, would I?
"I don't know, Lily-flower."
Lily sighed. "It's only for a few hours. He'll probably sleep the entire time. I honestly wouldn't even go, but—"
James gave her a stern look. "You're going, Lily. Besides, I'm sure Padfoot can handle Harry for a few hours. Right?"
Sirius meekly smiled. When Lily owled him, asking for a favor, he had no idea what she might need from him. If it were anyone else, he probably would have told them to shove it, but for Lily, he'd do anything.
Sirius looked down at Harry, squirming in his mother's arms. He sure was a Potter, there was no doubt about it. With his messy black hair and penchant for trouble, Harry made his father proud. Sirius loved the squirt more than anything, but the thought of babysitting made him want to run and hide.
"There's plenty of formula in the fridge. He just had a bottle, so he shouldn't be hungry for a few hours." Lily explained.
What if Sirius was a rubbish godfather? Sirius didn't have any experience with kids, unless you counted Regulus. And look how well he turned out. No, Harry would be better off with Remus or even Peter. Anyone but him.
Lily smiled broadly at him, totally unaware of Sirius's inner battle. "James, if you'll take Harry, I'm going to finish getting ready." She quickly kissed James's cheek. "I can't believe this is our first night out since Harry was born! Time really does fly."
Once she was out of earshot, James squeezed Sirius's shoulder and asked, "Are you alright, mate? You seem a bit off."
Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just…."
"Scared?" James offered.
Sirius scoffed. "As if! I'm a Gryffindor, remember?"
"Like you'd ever let us forget." James ruffled Sirius's hair affectionately. "It's okay to be scared, you know. Babies can do that to people." James glanced down at his son. Harry cooed softly. James tickled Harry's belly, and the baby grabbed ahold of James's finger. One of James's fingers was longer than Harry's whole hand. Sirius couldn't help but smile.
"When Lily told me she was pregnant, I was ecstatic." James admitted. "But afterwards, I was terrified. What if I was a horrible father? What if he hated me? I had no idea what to do!"
"That's rubbish!" Sirius exclaimed. "You're a brilliant father."
James smiled. "Thanks. And you're a brilliant godfather. Harry loves you. It's only one night. You don't have to worry about screwing him up or anything."
Sirius's heart swelled. Occasionally he forgot how lucky he was to have someone like James in his life. Lily and Harry, too. "Don't let it go to your head, but you're pretty extraordinary."
James winked. "Oh, it's going to my head."
"Prat."
"Git."
"Alright, boys, that's enough of that." Lily chided as she walked back in the room. She'd changed into a figure-hugging black dress and let her fiery hair hang loose around her face.
Sirius let out a low whistle. "Looking good, Lily-flower."
James shot him a look. "Watch it, Black. She is my wife."
Sirius smirked. "She likes me best anyway."
Lily ignored their banter. She hugged Sirius and said, "Thank you again for watching Harry. I'm glad we have you to count on."
Sirius kissed her cheek. "Anytime. And have a good time, you two."
After Lily pulled away, James handed Harry to Sirius. Sirius was always in awe of how tiny and delicate his godson was. Sirius gently cradled his head and held him tight against him.
"Thanks, mate," James said. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll be back before you know it."
With a chorus of goodbyes and kisses to Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Potter left Godric's Hollow to celebrate their anniversary at an exclusive restaurant in France.
Leaving Sirius alone with a baby.
"Please, please, please stop crying!"
Harry had been screaming bloody murder for almost an hour now. Sirius tried feeding him; Harry didn't want that. Sirius tried bouncing him; Harry howled louder. Sirius even tried shaking Harry's favourite rattle; no dice. Sirius huffed in annoyance. This baby did not want to shut up!
And it made Sirius want to crawl under a rock and die. He knew he'd be a rubbish godfather. And now he was right. Harry was clearly miserable, and Sirius couldn't do anything about it.
"I'm sorry, Harry, I'm sorry I'm a horrible godfather." Sirius pressed his cheek against Harry's head. "I don't know how to make you happy."
Harry's only response was wailing, his tiny red face wrinkling into a frown.
Sirius raked his hand through his charcoal hair. What was he supposed to do? Lily didn't tell him what to do for uncontrollable crying! Sirius laid Harry down on a blanket on the carpeted floor. He was panicking. Harry hated him. The one person he loved more than anything else in the world hated him. How was he going to tell James? Hey, mate, your baby hates me didn't sound like a good conversation starter.
In a panic, Sirius whipped out his mirror to talk to James. Normally, he would never interrupt a date, but under the circumstances….
"James!" Sirius called out. He scooped up Harry and tried bouncing him, praying the motion wouldn't cause his godson to throw up. "James, you there?"
An irritated James appeared in the mirror. "What is it, Padfoot? Can it wait? I had to sneak into the bathroom." Sure enough, James was surrounded by black and white checkered tile.
"Your son won't stop crying!" Sirius was relieved that he had finally reached James. Hopefully he would know what to do. "I've tried everything, and I have no idea what to do."
James sighed. "I'm sure he's fine. Did you feed him?"
"Yup. Won't eat any more."
"Did you burp him?"
"He won't eat anything to burp!"
"Bounce him?"
"I'm bouncing him right now! And look!" Sirius moved the mirror so James had a full shot of a sobbing Harry. "This was a terrible idea. I'm sorry, Prongs. I'm really sorry. Do you want me to call Moony or something?"
"Seriously Sirius, you're fine. Have you tried singing to him? He likes songs." James suggested.
"Singing." Sirius deadpanned. "Are you joking?"
James raked his hand through his hair. "Just sing him some songs and I'm sure he'll nod off soon. If not, call me back."
Sirius sighed. "Okay. Thanks, mate."
"Anytime."
Sirius set down the mirror and turned back to Harry. "Okay, Harry. A song will calm you down? I'll sing you a song." In a desperate attempt at a lullaby, Sirius rocked Harry back and forth and quietly sang, in tune of his favourite Beatles song, "Hey, Harry, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better."
For the first time in over an hour, Harry stopped crying. Sirius laughed with relief. Harry was okay! "Remember to let her under your skin, then you begin, to make it better." Harry's cries ceased to an occasional whimper. Sirius kept singing. He would sing until the end of time if it stopped Harry from being unhappy! Once Sirius finished the song (complete with a repeating round of na-nas), Harry's eyes were heavy.
"So my godson is a Beatles fan," Sirius murmured. "Well, Harry, at least you have good taste. That's one good thing you got from your father. He's a bit of a tosser, really." Harry stirred slightly, opening his emerald eyes to gaze at Sirius. "But you have your mother's eyes. And they're wicked beautiful. Yup, you're going to make me proud someday, breaking the hearts of every girl at Hogwarts. I guess you'll take after me in that way."
Sirius leaned down and cupped Harry's head. Before he could pull away, Harry's tiny hand grabbed his nose. Sirius laughed. Harry's face crinkled, as though he was trying to smile. Sirius laid Harry down on the blanket and pulled out one of his favourite stuffed toys—a stuffed black dog, a present from Sirius. Feeling like a total idiot, Sirius moved the dog around the blanket, even making little barking sounds. Harry wiggled his toes in response, and moved his hands to try and grab the dog.
"You like dogs?" Sirius grinned. "Oh, I think I can do better than a toy."
Without warning, Sirius transformed into a dog. Harry rocked back and forth with an attempt at a smile. Feeling a burst of energy in his dog form, Sirius bounded around the room, panting as he jumped up and down on the couch.
Even though he had been crying less than ten minutes ago, Harry was now happy and trying to smile. Sirius felt a surge of success. He wasn't a terrible godfather at all!
Lily and James arrived home around three hours after they left. James had taken Lily for dinner, and then to a Muggle film. Lily even convinced James to take a walk, something she liked to do. Apparating was nice, but Lily always enjoyed walking home and talking like when she was a little girl. Lily couldn't stop smiling. Between all the late nights up with Harry, Lily and James hadn't had much time to themselves. As much as Lily loved staying home with Harry, she needed this break.
"That really was nice, James," Lily said as she pressed a kiss to her husband's cheek. "Thank you so much."
James snaked his arm around her waist. "Anytime, love. Maybe we can do this more often."
Lily smiled. "Sounds wonderful." She turned the key in the door. "I hope Harry didn't give Sirius any trouble."
James adjusted his glasses and mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like, "me too."
When she opened the door, Lily stopped in her tracks. James collided into her back. "Lily, what's wrong?"
Her jaw fell open. Her eyes bugged out. Lily looked ready to explode. James stepped through the door and scanned the room; shredded pillows, a broken lamp, and…dog prints were scattered throughout the room.
James rubbed Lily's back. "Okay, love, calm down. I'll clean everything up."
"I just hope nothing happened." Lily murmured. She stepped through the doorway and looked around the room. "Sirius?"
They heard the soft snore in response. James nudged Lily and pointed over to the couch, where Sirius and Harry laid, sleeping. Sirius was flat on his back, clad in his leather jacket, black t-shirts, and jeans. Harry rested on Sirius's stomach, rising and falling along with Sirius's breathing. Lily smiled. She glanced up at James before looking around the trashed room. "I think your son inherited his godfather's reckless need for adventure."
James smirked. "Along with his father's ability to reek havoc."
Lily sighed. "Raising Harry might be a challenge."
Looking down at Sirius, James added, "but at least we're all raising him together."