When Remus awoke, he immediately wished he hadn't. His head was pounding, and the room seemed to spin before his eyes. He closed them firmly, and pulled the duvet up even higher, hoping against hope that he could fall asleep again. No such luck. Eventually, he climbed out of bed, deciding that if he couldn't be sleeping, he might as well raid the fridge for food. The full moon always left him ravenous, and since Sirius had started work again, he made sure to always leave Remus food for when he woke up. Wincing at the pain in his head, Remus began the long, slow shuffle down to the kitchen.

He froze however, when he heard the door shut. He grabbed his wand with one hand, the other gripping the handrail tightly as he edged down the stairs. He came to a sudden stop when he reached the bottom of the stairs and realised whom it was.

"Alex? What are you doing here? And," Remus asked in a hoarse voice as Sirius' girlfriend turned around, revealing the precious cargo in her arms. "Why have you got Harry? I thought he was meant to stay at the Weasley's today"

Alex smiled at him, her dark green eyes taking in the way Remus was holding onto the banister tightly, almost like it was the only thing keeping him standing. It wasn't, but that wasn't too far off the mark. "He's not very well. Molly said he was sick a minute ago, and he's got a very high temperature. Sirius gave Molly my details last month, I'm the emergency contact for when you're out of action"

Now that he looked properly, Harry didn't look well. He was holding onto Alex so tightly that Remus was sure it would hurt. His face was pale and sweaty, and he was shivering slightly. He gave a pitiful moan, and Remus' heart broke. He hated to see Harry in this state. He wished, more than anything, that he could take this away. Harry didn't deserve to be ill.

Alex looked down at the dark haired six year old in her arms, concern written all over her face. "I'm going to take him up to bed. I'll get him comfy, and then if I can, I'll come and help you"

Remus watched her take Harry up to his room, not quite sure what to do with himself. His own problems suddenly seemed insignificant. He debated going up to see Harry, but when he swayed dangerously on the bottom step, he decided it was probably a bad idea. Plus, if Alex saw him looking this bad, she'd probably force him to go back to bed.

OoOoOo

Once he'd eaten the leftover cottage pie and forced himself to take a shower, Remus felt vaguely human again. Still using the banister for balance, Remus walked along to Harry's bedroom. He poked his head in the door and smiled at the sight. Alex was sitting on the edge of Harry's bed, holding a cold flannel on his forehead and tugging the duvet up under his chin.

"Do you think you can go straight to sleep Harry? Or do you want anything?"

Harry squinted at her, even though he couldn't see without his glasses, which Alex had put on his bedside table. "Where's Jethro?"

Alex smiled slightly. "He's laid down here. I don't think he could get any closer to you unless he were in bed with you"

Remus snorted at the sight of the Golden Retriever, his body pressed up against the side of the bed. He had to admit, getting the dog had been one of Sirius' better ideas over the years. Harry and that dog shared a bond the like of which Remus didn't think he'd seen anywhere else.

Harry grinned. "That's because he loves me. Could you tell me a story please? Remus always tells me a story before I go to sleep"

Alex looked around at Remus, but he gestured for her to continue. Harry and Alex had been introduced earlier that year, but Harry had been incredibly shy around her. He often was around new people. Maybe this was the beginning of a change in their relationship…

Alex frowned, trying to think of a suitable story to tell a six year old. "Ooh, have Sirius and Remus told you about the time when your mummy poured a whole goblet of pumpkin juice on your dad's head?"

AN: Right, I've written this chapter for two reasons. One, I just needed some cuteness. I'm struggling with uni work at the minute, and I just needed a break. Second, a few people have raised concerns about Alex. I don't want to put her in the main story too much, as I want that to focus on the relationship between Sirius, Remus and Harry. Also, I'm terrified of her becoming a mary-sue. She's not like that in my head, but I just worry that she is a bit sueish whenever I have a scene with her.

Oh, and don't fret. The next update for The Last Years of Peace is coming – I'd like to get a good way through chapter 57 before I put chapter 56 up

Please review.