Part III
The little boy looks around, a little confused. He's in a hospital room, he can tell, but he wonders why he's here, how long he'll remain. Something important has happened, he can tell. He can see it in the awed whispers of the nurses around him as they take his blood and run their wand over him, turning bits of him into all sorts of funny colors. And he can tell because there's no one here he knows, and there should be, shouldn't there? He had a mother and a father, he knows he did, but his memories are a little fuzzy around the edges, as if they're from a long time ago. And somehow he knows his father and mother won't be coming here to see him. Is that what's happened to him, why he's in the hospital without a mother to hold his hand, and a father to pat his back and tell him to be a big boy?
He looks around, and there's people coming and going everywhere, voices he doesn't recognize, words he thinks he should know, but can't quite understand. And then, snatches of a conversation from the room outside, that he can't quite catch, but he listens intently, half recognizing the voices, knowing that it's to do with him, somehow.
"…Bloody hell, Prongs! What are you thinking?"
"What else would I have done? He's been a good friend, Sirius, a great friend. He deserves this chance. You know that. We've done more than this before."
"You know what I think."
"It's a moot point now, isn't it? Surely you won't hold your suspicions against a child! Besides, he'd never have chosen this if he was what you thought."
"I never thought he wouldn't want out, James. But I never thought he'd choose this."
And a woman's voice, then, cutting in firmly before he can find out who they're talking about.
"The choice is made, Sirius. He's coming home with us. And you know what I'll expect of you if you're planning to maintain visiting privileges." And then her voice softens. "He's a beautiful little boy, you'll see. He's irresistible."
And then he sees them, walking towards him purposefully, but to him it's still a blur, and there's something about their faces that he should know. They stop by his bedside, the lady with red hair, holding a baby boy, and a tall, thin man with glasses and messy black hair. And there's nothing but kindness in their eyes, and he knows that these people are here to take him home; he belongs to them now.
"Hello, Remus," the man says, with a little catch in his voice. And he realizes that Remus is his name, although he had never quite forgotten it.
"Hello," he whispers back, and the baby boy turns around to look at him, and grabs Remus's finger in his pudgy little hand.
"This is Harry, Remus," it's the lady who speaks this time, "and I'm Lily, and this is my husband James."
"Am I coming to live with you?" he asks, although he already knows the answer.
"We'd like that very much," she says, and he nods, already in awe of this lovely woman, with her soft voice and kind manner.
"Did you know my mum and dad? Is that why I'm coming with you now?"
"You could say that. They were lovely people, Remus. You must always remember them."
And he nods again, even though they are so fuzzy in his mind, already half forgotten as this new family comes into clearer focus. Harry the baby smiles at him, and Remus smiles back, touching the little dimple on his cheek. And Lily sits on his bed and gathers both of them into a hug. James is smiling too, now, though he still looks a little sad, and he pats Remus on the back softly, just like he imagined his father would.
"Thank you," he whispers, and Lily just smiles, and pulls him a little closer. "You're our little boy now."
And James is still smiling, and shaking his head.
"It's the least we could do, Moony."
And Remus, smiles, though he doesn't quite understand who his new father is talking to.
Part IV
Prompt: almost
He's been here for nearly two months now, and this little house in Godric's Hollow feels almost like the only home he's ever known. Harry, who's learning new words every day now, can almost pronounce his name now, and loves sharing his toys with Remus. He has his own little room, with slanting roofs and a cozy window seat, just two doors down from James and Lily, and sometimes, on weekend mornings, they make a mess of eating breakfast in bed all together in the large bedroom. Remus thinks Lily's the most wonderful cook in the world, as mothers are, and James got him his own toy broomstick, and is teaching him to fly. He's not allowed to take Harry up with him, but sometimes, when he's got his feet firmly on the ground, Lily will let him pick up Harry, his little brother.
And one day he gathers his courage and asks Lily if he's allowed to call her Mum, and she gathers him up and hugs him so tightly, and says of course he can, this is his family now. He loves them all fiercely, and he's almost found the courage to ask James if he can call him Dad.
His naughty streak is returning, and he almost manages to get in trouble when he races his chocolate frogs across the white living room sofa on a hot day and gets their melting tracks all over the furniture. But James just laughs uproariously and ruffles his hair (which just won't stay messy, like James's and Harry's; he's tried, in front of the mirror, which made fun of him for having such a silly idea), and even Lily smiles, though she would have liked it better if Harry hadn't decided that this was the time to play doggy and licked the stains off the sofa.
And it's late tonight – the moon is up, hanging in the sky like a large round balloon, and he almost got sent up to bed already, but Sirius is visiting, and he's a big boy, not like Harry, and he wants to stay up and play. Sirius is great fun; he used to look at Remus funny when he was new here, but now they play together all the time, Sirius and Remus and Harry, and he loves wrestling with and petting Padfoot.
But today they're just sitting on the scourgified sofas and talking. Remus is sitting in his favorite spot in Lily's lap, almost asleep, but he can tell that they aren't happy, and he wonders what's wrong as their voices wash over him.
"…can't risk it anymore. It's time to go under the Fidelius."
"You'll do it, won't you, Sirius? I told Dumbledore that if was necessary, it would have to be you."
"Are you sure, James? Everyone will know it's me. And if there's a spy still out there…"
"At least you've dropped that ridiculous notion, Sirius. I trust you're satisfied that there are no spies in this room?"
"Well, of course not, Lily, but don't you see that only makes things trickier? Don't you see we need a decoy?"
"Why is that necessary, Padfoot? We know you won't let us down."
"How do you know, James? How do know I'm not a risk under that kind of torture?"
"I'm sorry, Sirius. Of course this is a huge risk for you. You know that Dumbledore's offered, if you'd rather not."
"It's not about me, you git. I'd do anything to protect you – all of you. But I can't help thinking I'm a bit of a security risk. We need someone invisible, someone whom no one will suspect."
"But it's you we trust, Sirius."
"You trust others. You trusted Moony; you trust Wormtail."
And Remus, who hasn't quite understood what everyone around him is saying in low, strained voices, almost recognizes those funny names, but he's too tired to ask whom they're talking about.
And Sirius speaks again, in a hushed but urgent tone.
"Just think about it, won't you, Prongs?"
And James and Lily nod, tightly, and then it's time for bed, and when James carries him upstairs, and Lily tucks him in with a goodnight kiss, and he's asleep almost immediately, utterly secure. Because in such a beautiful house, with such a wonderful family, almost nothing can go wrong.