Disclaimer: Not mine. Get me it for the holidays and I will love you forever!

A/N: There is no author note this time, except to thank my ever-wonderful beta Victoria.

Becoming Moony: Suspicion Comes (In Small Packages)

Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Remus watched with drooping eyelids as the "men" of the small family marched up and down the hallway. He looked next to him at Peter, who shrugged and went back to his magazine. Remus sighed and dropped his head backwards. An elegant hand dragged his bangs back from his forehead. Remus opened his eyes and looked into Josephina's kind blue eyes. The woman smiled at him and called for her son.

"James, dear, do stop pacing. You're making poor Remus dizzy." Remus grinned at her and glanced over to where James had paused. The rumpled man stopped momentarily, ran both hands through his already disheveled hair, and started pacing again. Up and down. Up and down.

James Potter, Sirius Black, and Richard Evans crowded the small hallway going up and down. Up and down. They would each start on opposite ends of the hallway, meet in the middle, turn, and march back the way they came. It was all rather disorienting and Remus was beginning to get nauseated. If they didn't stop pacing soon, Remus would hurl. And as the full moon had been only yesterday, hurling was a very likely option at this point. The transformations had begun to get very strange. His vision would go fuzzy; there would be an extreme ache in his bones and then, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just a large blank space that would disappear hours later when he woke up. It was rather confusing, if not a little frightening.

"Sirius. Sit down, you won't do anyone any good if you wear yourself out." cajoled Josephina, trying to get someone to stop pacing. Sirius glanced at her, shook his head, and turned.

"I give up." she whispered.

"Probably a good idea." said Remus, closing his eyes. Josephina hummed in response and went back to petting his hair.

There was a sudden clatter as the door across from where they sat, opened. Out came a doctor and a rather plump nurse. The doctor looked at the three men pacing and then at the three people sitting calmly. He shook his head and motioned to James.

"It's a boy."

Remus laughed as James went from pale, to red, to purple, back to red, went past pale and jumped straight to translucent. Sirius was slightly calmer in his colors only going from white to pink. Mr. Evans was about the same as James, only not as vibrant in his coloring.

"Huh? I mean…wah….eh…right…" James stuttered, moving robotically towards the door. The doctor moved aside to allow him into the room. Mr. Evans following James immediately. The rest were content to sit outside and let them have their moment. After Elizabeth's death of cancer earlier that month, Mr. Evans hadn't been quite the same. To see him so lively was warming.

"I can't wait. I can't wait. When can I see him?" said Sirius, bouncing up and down. Up and down. Remus was seriously considering being ill if all the erratic movement didn't stop.

"Sirius. You will get your chance, now sit down or we'll go home." snapped Remus, prompting everyone to stare at him in shock.

"You okay, Remmie?"

"No. I feel like I'm going to be sick and you bouncing up and down is not helping."

Sirius frowned and sat next to Remus, "What's up?"

"I don't really know. Just stop moving for a while, alright?" asked Remus, laying his head on Sirius's shoulder.

"Okay." Sirius wrapped his arm around Remus's shoulders and waited.

/page break/

"Look at him. He's so tiny. The little fingers. Aw, you're too cute. Yes, you are." Sirius cooed at the tiny baby in his arms. Remus shook his head slowly; who knew that stud-muffin Sirius Black would be a baby person.

"Look at him, Remmie. He's so adorable. Lily, you can't have him back. He's mine now." stated Sirius, stepping further away from the hospital bed. Lily laughed tiredly and lay back against the pillows.

"Sure, you can have him half the time and we'll take him the rest. You can have all the crying and dirty nappies. We'll take the cute part."

"Hey, that's not fair. I'm the godfather. I get the cute parts, it's in the Godfather's Unanimous Code of Conduct and Regulations Handbook." Sirius said with purpose and sat down in the nearest chair. He curled little Harry in closer to him and cooed at him again. Sirius moved the blue cotton blanket a bit and played with the little fingers that stuck out of it. The tiny hand gripped one large finger delicately. A whoosh of air left Sirius's lungs as he stared at the diminutive creature that held him hostage.

The look of pure adoration on Sirius's face made everyone smile. Harry may not have come at the most opportune time, but he was making sure no one forgot how cute he was, one finger at a time.

"Okay Sirius, let someone else hold him for a while." said James, trying to take his son from the rather stubborn man.

"No. I'm not done yet."

"Sirius."

"I don't want to. And you can't make me."

"You would think that Sirius was the little one." mumbled Josephina to Richard Evans. He laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Come on, Sirius. You can have him back after everyone else has held him, okay?" James finally persuaded Sirius to give up the baby to someone else. Remus.

As Remus held the bundle of baby, he wondered how such a little guy could hold everyone under his thumb. Harry would soon develop his own personality and Remus wasn't sure how that was possible. For something so small, growing into himself was a miracle. The tiny body curled closer and whimpered. He quieted down and wrapped a miniature hand into the navy blue cashmere sweater Sirius had bought him for Christmas. A chorus of 'awes' came from around the room and made Remus smile. A baby was wonderful, they couldn't be racist and they didn't have any prejudices, they just were. This small creature didn't care that Remus was a werewolf, that he had next to no money, and that he wasn't the most handsome of people. Harry just cared that Remus had a warm body, a strong heartbeat, and would hold him till Remus's arms gave out.

"You can't have him back, Prongs. He's mine now." whispered Remus, still staring at the little body in his arms. Laughter erupted from the small hospital room. Sirius gave a whoop and started to do a little jig.

"That baby is going to have everyone so wrapped around his fist that he will get away with everything. And then some." said Lily, putting her arms across her chest. James smiled and put his arm around her, kissing her forehead.

"That's okay, for now at least."

/page break/

"'Mus! 'Mus!" called the nine-month-old Harry Potter. Remus smiled and bent down to pick the infant up. The baby squirmed slightly and placed his head on the shoulder in front of him. His hands went to Remus's collar and his feet were placed into the ribs. Remus shifted the baby so that the offending feet were not pressed into him.

"How are you today, Harry?"

"Nyah!" yelled Harry, swinging his arms around in the air and gesturing wildly.

"That good, huh? Has Uncle Sirius been teaching you how to speak?"

"'Mus!" called Harry, leaning onto Remus and opening his eyes wide.

Remus laughed, Harry was far too cute for his own good sometimes. Watching Harry was like taking a large bite out of a block of sugar.

"Hey, Remus! Thanks for watching Harry. I know you probably have better things to do." said Lily, stepping into the front room.

"That's silly, Lily. You know I love babysitting him." said Remus over Harry's cry of "Ma!" Lily reached forward and took Harry, balancing him on her hip.

"You be good for Uncle Remus, okay?"

"'Mus! 'Mus! 'Mus! Pa'foo?" Lily and Remus laughed. Harry was probably wondering where Sirius was, because usually if you had Remus, you had Sirius.

"Not today, Harry. Padfoot had to work." said Remus, knowing that Harry probably didn't understand.

"Wor-t? Wha tha?"

"Work is something that your mummy needs to do." stated Lily, handing Harry back to Remus. "You know how to reach me?"

"Yes. Now go on, we'll be fine." said Remus, showing her the piece of paper that was firmly lodged in his back pocket. The piece of paper that allowed all Order of the Phoenix members to talk to each other at once.

"Fine!" called Harry, wiggling to be let down. Lily left and the two boys were on their own.

"So what are we going to do today?" asked Remus, plopping Harry down onto his blankets. Harry looked around at the millions of multi-colored toys, plushies, and other assorted playthings, and then glanced up at Remus.

"Bowed"

"You're bored! How can you possibly be bored? You only have the three trillion toys your stupid father and godfather bought for you!"

Harry giggled and reached out a hand, "Bootk."

"What? A boot?" asked Remus, not comprehending. Harry frowned and stretched his hand out further.

"Bootk!"

Remus glanced to where Harry pointing and saw only shelves. Shelves that were covered in books. Books!

"A book? You want to read a book?"

Harry giggled once more and bounced up and down, "Bootk!"

"I see. You want to read a book. Well, at least you are getting some culture." mumbled Remus, sitting next to Harry. He picked up one of Harry's books and flipped through it a minute. He showed it to Harry, who nodded enthusiastically. Remus sat back against the couch and pulled Harry to him.

"Paf!" called Harry. Remus smiled and gave Harry the black Labrador plush. Paf was its name, a shortened version of Padfoot, or so everyone assumed. The thing did look remarkably like Padfoot.

"Moon!" Harry squealed as Remus handed him the small timbre wolf that went with Paf. Harry tucked each animal under each arm and leaned against Remus. Remus smiled and began to read.

/page break/

James and Sirius laughed as they looked upon the living room, or what used to be the living room. It looked as though a small tornado had blown through and scattered things everywhere. Baby toys were strewn across the carpet, books were half open and lying on the floor and the coffee table, and Harry's blankets were crumpled and tossed about.

Remus lay on the couch, sweater off, shirt untucked, and one arm thrown above his head. Harry lay on his chest, crunched up with a thumb in his mouth. Remus's right hand was on his back and both had dark circles around their eyes and mussed up hair. They had apparently passed out after an afternoon of fun and merriment.

"Aw, poor Remus, worn out by an infant. How sad." joked James, leaning down to pick up some of the toys. Sirius reached across and picked Paf and Moon up off the floor, placing them on either side of Remus and Harry.

"Might as well let them sleep, yeah?" asked Sirius, helping James to pick up the toys. James nodded. The two quickly got the mess cleaned up before Lily got home.

"I'm home!" called Lily. James went to greet her. Sirius moved over to the sleepy heads and brushed Remus's bangs back from his eyes. The tired golden eyes opened slowly. Sirius grinned as Remus glanced down at the baby on his chest.

"He still asleep?"

"Yeah."

"Mm-Kay" Remus laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes once more.

"Lily and James are home."

"Well, until they get their son off of me I can't move, can I?" Sirius laughed and gently moved the sleeping child off of Remus. Harry snuffled and opened a bleary eye.

"Pa'foo!" mumbled Harry, rubbing at an eye. Sirius held Harry to him, telling him to go back to sleep. Harry closed his eyes and laid his head on Sirius's shoulder.

Remus sat up and stood to go talk to Lily. She needed to know that he thought that Harry might have the beginnings of a fever. He hoped not, sick babies were awful.

Sirius went to give Harry to James, who promptly went all "gooey" as Sirius called it. Sometimes James was just a little too pathetic around his son, sure love was great, but coddling was too much. Sirius was a firm believer in raising a kid right, but was resolutely against any form of coddling. Unless they were sick and then the poor kid needed a good coddle. All in all, it was a very hypocritical view.

/page break/

Remus coughed and fell back against his pillows. He felt horrible. He had only felt this bad the one time he had gotten the flu. Remus prayed to all deities that he did not have influenza. Sirius was at work and so Remus had nothing to distract him from the impending doom of illness. He couldn't even read properly, his vision was too fuzzy. He could barely move and it hurt to think. He really needed something to do, but what?

Two hours later Remus decided that sleep was the best solution. Sleep wouldn't let him concentrate on the illness and he didn't have to worry about how far the war had progressed in the last few months.

Remus was a proud member of the Order of the Phoenix, but there was only so much that the group could do. They could fight the Death Eaters all they wanted but they still couldn't predict where Voldemort was going to strike next. It was disheartening to say the very least.

The news that there was a traitor in their midst was terrifying and had made many paranoid. Even the infallible Marauders had been affected by the news. James, worried about Harry, had quit his job and stayed with his son most of the time. He didn't have very much help either. Lily was working as a Healer, Sirius was still training for the Auror program, Death Eaters had killed his mother a month earlier, and Remus…well Remus didn't see Harry much anymore. Remus didn't know why either. What had he done? James almost made excuses not to see Remus anymore. He didn't come to full moons, he skipped Remus's twenty-first birthday celebration, and never asked Remus to help baby-sit.

Sirius still saw them once in a while but not enough to count. It was still more than Remus saw them. Peter had all but disappeared from their lives, but it was understandable, his mother was not in good shape and he had three younger sisters and a younger brother to take care of. Peter was only seen at Order meetings and sometimes he stopped in at the bookstore where Remus worked, just to say hello and get the latest gossip.

The latest Order meeting had been very uncomfortable for Remus. People would stare and whisper behind his back and would glance away quickly if he looked at them. Alastor Moody was constantly popping up from behind doors and walls, never saying anything, just looking. Dumbledore and McGonagall were about the only people who still seemed to want to talk to him. Molly Weasley, nee Prewitt, was rather nice as well, always asking after his health and baking him chocolate chip muffins. She stated quite firmly that he never ate enough and that if he would only stop by the Burrow she could remedy that.

Remus, it a state of almost asleep, heard the front door open and footsteps sounding across the floor.

"Sirius?" he called, sitting up. Sirius appeared in the doorway, came over, kissed Remus's forehead, and walked back out the door, saying that he was meeting James, Peter, and Fabian Prewitt down at the Leaky Cauldron. Remus stared at the door, stunned, his stomach filling with dread. He knew what this was. They all thought that he was the traitor. James, who didn't want him around Harry. Lily, who was always busy. Moody, the paranoid Auror. And Sirius, who didn't seem to want to touch him anymore.

"Sirius!" came Remus's choked cry. He was up and out of the bed, down the hall, and wrapping his arms around Sirius's shocked form in under twenty seconds.

"What's the matter?" asked Sirius, a picture of nonchalance.

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm the traitor. I'm not! Sirius, I swear to you, I'm not! Please, you have to believe me! I would never do something to hurt Harry. You know that." Remus pleaded, tears streaming down his face. He buried his face into Sirius's warm and soft leather jacket, which still smelt of motorcycle oil and nature.

"Remmie." Sirius's voice was hoarse and low. Remus looked up into the face that he loved so much, begging with his eyes to believe what he said.

"I…" Sirius sighed, "I know you would never intentionally hurt anyone, really. I just think that maybe they could have offered you something better and that you may have…"

Remus stared in astonishment, "You think that I would sell out the only family I have left for some overgrown toddler whose mother, clearly, didn't teach him the difference between right and wrong?!"

Sirius shrugged, clearly uncomfortable, "No, I just thought that maybe they had offered you something that….I couldn't."

"What do you mean?" asked Remus, tightening his arms around Sirius's waist.

"I don't know. A better life style, a change in legislature, a cure! I don't know what I was thinking. Everybody has me turned all around I don't know what to do anymore." said Sirius, putting his arms around Remus at last.

"Sirius, hear me now. I don't want anyone but you. They could offer me a million galleons, a cure, and a library devoted to me, but I would still only want you."

"Yeah, I knew that. I just didn't want to think that you were the one who was…." Sirius shook his head. Remus smiled and placed his head on Sirius's broad chest.

"I won't deny that I would love the library, though." Sirius laughed and pulled Remus closer. Remus coughed in response, his sickness coming back full force.

"You okay?"

"I think I've got the flu again. I hate the flu."

"Poor little Remmie. Don't worry, I'll take care of you." said Sirius, swinging Remus up into his arms and walking back toward the bedroom.

"I thought you were meeting…?"

"They'll get over it. You're more important."

Sirius stayed with Remus the whole night. Making sure that he was happy and didn't need anything. In the days that followed, they stayed together and everything was okay. The lingering doubt was there, but it wasn't as strong. Both thought that maybe they would all get through this okay.

A/N: Well here it is. Whoopee!