His Boy
Chapter Thirty-Six: Unexpected Play-Date
Sirius placed a magnet over the top of one of Harry's more recent drawings and smiled, leaning back to admire it. The kid was getting better. His stick people now had actual bodies. With odd popsicle stick shaped arms and legs and necks, but still. This one was a particular favorite of Sirius's, due to the fact that Harry had gone and drawn the entire Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team on their brooms. Moony had then placed it in a special potion for a couple of hours so that the people would move, so now they were zooming about back and forth on their brooms, over a green line that was the pitch, in a blue line that was the sky, and tossing about the balls they had been given. Sirius wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure there were at least three Snitches, two Quaffles, and only one Bludger, but then, it was the drawing of a four and a half year old.
As Sirius stepped back to admire the picture one more time, the telephone rang. He jumped a little, not really used to it ringing. Normally only Moony was home when it rang, but as it was that time of the month again, Remus was upstairs sleeping the day away and Sirius was home from work. And typically it only rang when Harry's teacher needed to get a hold of them, or in the afternoon around three, when Hermione usually rang about five times a week so she could chat with Harry. But it wasn't three yet, and Harry was at school, so then, it had to be Miss Nancy.
Grabbing up the phone, Sirius spoke normally, as Remus had told him to do. He didn't need to yell for the other person to hear him. "Hello, Black, Lupin, and Potter residence, Sirius speaking." Remus had also taught him the proper way to greet the other person on the phone.
"Hello, is this Harry's godfather?" A woman's panicked voice sounded from the other end of the phone.
"Yes, it is."
"Oh thank god, this is Marny Scratton's mum? Your Harry is friends with my daughter?"
"Yes, I remember Marny very well. Sweet kid."
"Thanks, well, the thing is, oh I hate to be a bother, but my eldest daughter, she's fourteen, has gotten into some trouble and I actually have to run up to the hospital and…" She choked back a sob.
"I'll get Marny from school, don't worry about it." Sirius paused for a moment, trying to remember the woman. She didn't pick of Marny from school usually, Harry said, it was normally Marny's big sister who did during her lunch time. Sirius had only met the mother once or twice before he'd gone back to work and once on Halloween when they'd stopped to trick-or-treat and offered to take Marny along. Diane. That was her name! And she also had a… "I could look after the baby as well, if you need. That way you can just get to the hospital instead of trying to lug him around with you."
"I don't know how long I'll have to be there. Are you sure you could manage?"
"Positive. I can be there in five minutes. It's the little green house on the corner right?"
"Yes, oh thank god."
"Alright, you go pack them both a bag, and I'll be there shortly."
"Thank you, oh god, thank you."
Sirius hung up the phone and dashed into the front hallway to pull on his boots and jacket. He grabbed Remus's car keys from the hook and went out into the snowy yard, heading for the car. Remus had given him a few lessons, enough so that, should he need to, he could get Harry from school and back without having to worry much about hitting anything. He was good on a motorbike, the car just game as second nature to that.
He drove quickly, the road a little snowy, but not overly so… and the car had some enchantments on it that made it not slip and slide. It could also do some other stuff, things that Arthur Weasley had said were legal to do to a Muggle contraption, like using a sensory charm on the mirrors.
He pulled into the driveway of the little green house in exactly five minutes and three seconds. Diane was already out on the porch, rocking a baby back and forth on her hip.
Sirius smiled, meeting her halfway down the front walk and reaching to take the baby bag and the fabric shopping bag from her in one hand and moving to grab up the little car seat in the other. He dropped the bags into the passenger seat and got the baby seat situated in the center of the back.
"I cannot thank you enough for this…" Diane sobbed slightly, looking wracked beyond all nerves.
"It's no problem." Sirius promised as he took Nathan from her and gave the little guy a tickle. The baby giggled. "In a community this small, we've all got to look out for one another."
"We've been here since August, and I still haven't gotten to really know the neighbors." Diane admitted, reaching out a hand to brush a booger away from her son's face with her sleeve. "I work at night…"
"And with three kids during the day." Sirius nodded in understanding. She was a single mother trying to take care of a baby, a four year old, and a teenager all by herself while probably running on very little sleep and a surplus of coffee.
"I was worried I was going to have to drag Marny along to the hospital, for a four year old that's just.. It would not have been good. And then I remembered how she talks and talks about her friend Harry and how you were nice enough to take her trick-or-treating…"
"I completely understand." Sirius reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Does Miss Nancy know?"
"Yes, I called her right after I hung up with you." Diane leaned forward to kiss Nathan. ":Be a good boy. I love you."
"'uma, 'uma, 'uma!" Nathan crooned back at her, laughing, apparently in a very good mood.
"Are you sure?' Diane asked again as Sirius turned to put Nathan in his seat.
"Yes. And take your time. Don't worry if it gets late. You just do what you have to do for your other daughter right now. Marny and Nathan will be safe and well looked after, I can promise you that. Now get going. She needs you."
"I just… thank you." Diane waved as she ran to her car, purse clacking against her side. "Oh! Marny's…"
Sirius ran over, tugged open the back of her car and pulled out Marny's car seat with ease. "Go."
Diane started the car and pulled out of the driveway, waving as she did so. Sirius waved back and then put Marny's seat in the car next to Nathan's. "Well little guy. It's about time to get that sister of yours from school anyway, so why don't we go do that first and then we'll go back to my place and have an unexpected party?"
Nathan burst into tears now that his mother was gone and Sirius sighed, hushing him and helping him put the binky that was hanging from the collar of his little snow suit into his mouth. He hiccupped and began sucking, teary eyed.
"Yeah, this is going to be a re-learning experience." Sirius laughed, wondering what he'd gotten himself into. He'd done just fine looking after baby Harry when James and Lily had needed sleep. It had been nerve wracking at times, but he had done it. And he was going to be the father of a newborn come August, so he might as well get a little practice in now, on a baby that could actually hold his head up and understand simple sentences. "It'll be okay buddy. Let's go see sissy."
"'issy?" Nathan asked, choking out a sob and sniffling at the name. "Issy, issy, issy!" He bounced in his car seat a little and Sirius smiled, pulling out of the driveway.
He turned the corner and went down towards the school, pulling into the parking lot among the cars of other parents picking up their preschoolers or kindergarteners from the morning classes. He pulled Nathan out of the car seat and situated him on his hip, bouncing a little like Nancy had been doing and as he used to do when Harry was little.
Inside the school was the normal going home chaos that was only to be expected in a room full of four and five year olds. The usual chitter chatter of greetings between children and parents, the putting on of snowsuits and boots and hats and mittens, everyone trying not to crowd the cubby area and shifting to other parts of the room to get each of their kids ready to go home.
"Paddy! Look! I made you a… why do you have a baby, Paddy?" Harry asked in wonderment, frowning as the paper mache mask in his hand drooped a little. He was confused. "I thought my brudder wasn't coming 'til August."
"That's not your brudder, that's my brudder!" Marny laughed, running over with a mask in her hand as well. "Mr. Padfoot, why d'you have Nathan?"
"Because you and Nathan are going to come play at our house today while your mum and sister are busy." Sirius explained simply, knowing he probably shouldn't tell Marny her sister was in the hospital until they'd heard from Diane about her oldest daughter's condition. He didn't know if it was serious or minor, but judging by how frazzled Diane had been, he was sure it wasn't something too minor. It was the hospital after all.
"Really!?" Harry's eyes went wide and he and Marny looked at each other, both gaping for a moment before throwing their arms, and masks, in the air, cheering.
"Alright, let's get ready to go." Sirius stated. "Grab your things and let's head over to the reading area to put them on."
The kids did as they were told, bouncing and happy. They hurried over to the reading area which was used by most of the parents who had babies or toddlers who needed to be set down so they could help their older child get their things on.
Sirius placed Nathan down on his feet and the baby wobbled a bit, but stayed upright on his boots. He was just over a year or so old if Sirius remembered correctly from Harry telling him what Marny had told him about her brother. Nathan immediately reached for the shelf of books, but Sirius let him, helping the two four year olds pull on their snowsuits and boots. He mittened and hatted both, letting them put on their own back packs as he put away the books Nathan had pulled from the shelves. He scooped the baby up. "Alright troops, let's head on out!"
"Yaaay!" Harry whooped and he and Marny grabbed hands, running for the door.
Sirius got them all in the car and back to the house without a problem, listening to the chatter of the two four year olds going back and forth about their morning at school punctuated by the occasional word put in by Nathan who refused to be left out of the action.
"And then we painted them!" Harry announced as he took off his boots and kicked them aside to the drying mat next to the door.
"I made mine a sun!" Marny smiled, holding up her mask as she too, kicked her boots to put them near Harry's.
"Sun, sun!" Nathan responded, nodding his head as Sirius undressed him and then began coughing.
"Whew, someone stinks." He held the baby at arm's length. "Smells like you could use a new nappie, mate."
Nathan giggled, kicking his legs and clapping his hands even more happily. "'appie! 'appie!" He enjoyed speaking a great deal and was feeling better now that his familiar big sister was around.
"Harry, you and Marny can go into the kitchen and…" Sirius paused after a moment, remembering all of the wizarding things about the house. Marny was a Muggle… what was the legal process for this? "Actually, why don't you two go up to your playroom while I change Nathan?" There. That was the best plan. Harry's playroom contained mostly Muggle items except for Harry's toy broomstick that he was only allowed to fly outside after an incident involving a vase and tears.
"Okay Paddy." Harry nodded and led Marny upstairs to his playroom while Sirius quickly went about the house, immobilizing photos and stashing away wizarding items in one of the high up kitchen cupboards. He jotted a quick not to Tricia, asking about what the proper protocol was when it came to magic and Muggle children under the age of seven. Once it was sent, he carried Nathan into the living room and retrieved the baby bag from the hallway.
"Alright buddy. Let's get you changed." Sirius placed down the changing pad from the bag, put Nathan on it, and balked slightly as he pulled open the snaps on the legs and crotch of Nathan's baby jammies, the smell getting worse with every layer removed. Harry had had some stinkers in his diaper days too, but Sirius couldn't remember any of them being this bad. Perhaps his nose just didn't want to remember.
Sirius braced himself, removed the plastic pants and diaper, coughed and tried not to die as he folded it up and set it aside before getting Nathan cleaned up and a fresh diaper under his bottom. Just as he went to lift the new diaper up and over to pin it, the damn broke loose. Nathan burst out in laughter of pure delight as Sirius got a face full of wee. He had forgotten about that particular diaper changing problem.
Sputtering and trying to regain composure, Sirius stemmed the flow with the new diaper and then grabbed yet another fresh one. He managed to get this one folded up and pinned properly before adding a new pair of plastic pants and getting Nathan's jammies back on properly. He shot a spell at both dirty diapers, making them fairly clean before tossing them into the laundry room and returning to pick Nathan, who was quite enthralled with staring at Harry's wall of colorings, and made his way up the stairs. Halfway up he met Remus, who was blurry eyed. Without a word, he handed off the baby and went straight into the bathroom to shower.
Remus looked at the baby curiously, not exactly sure as to why he was suddenly holding a baby and had not been two seconds ago.
"Marny's head's stuck in the bucket!" Harry called as he came out of his playroom, followed by his friend who had a red bucket on her head. He ran down the stairs, slipped on the edge of one of them and tumbled downwards. Remus acted quickly, grabbing Harry up by the ankle as he slid by, hoisting him into the air so that he was hanging upside-down, glasses askew on his nose. Right then, the front door opened and Lexie entered carrying a box and Marny took a few wobbly steps and slammed into a nearby wall, falling backwards.
Lexie stared at the scene before her and set the box down next to the door before rushing forward to catch the rest of Harry. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?"
"I just woke up. I haven't the foggiest." Remus admitted, letting go of Harry's ankle now that he was safe. Lexie set Harry down and shot up the stairs to help Marny tug the bucket off of her head. "Well, I know this little girl. How are you, Marny?"
"Good." Marny laughed, rubbing at her ears which were slightly red from being pressed on by the bucket. She headed down the stairs to where Harry was waiting at the bottom.
"Where's Sirius?" Lexie asked after a moment, looking around the landing before noticing the rarely shut bathroom door was closed. She banged on it. "Sirius?"
"Baby wee! In my mouth!" Sirius called back, knowing that that would explain why he was in the bathroom at the moment.
"Well then." Lexie laughed and followed Remus the rest of the way down the stairs.
"So, Marny, this is an unexpected visit." Remus smiled, setting Nathan down on the floor where he stood before toddling into the living room where he grabbed up one of Harry's books and began chewing away at the corner of it. He flopped down on the floor, content for the time being.
"Mr. Padfoot said Mummy is busy so me an' Nathan are playing here today." Marny explained with a bright smile. She was all pigtails and her school uniform, which was quite cute.
"Well then, that's wonderful!" Lexie said, eyeing Nathan to make sure he wasn't getting into anything he shouldn't.
"Have you guys had lunch yet?"
"Nope." Harry shook his head and then he and Marny followed Remus into the kitchen while Lexie scooped up Nathan and carried him in as well. Remus quickly heated up some left over lasagna from last night for the two older children and the adults of the house. By the time it was done, Sirius came into the kitchen, hair a bit damp still, but clean of wee.
"Oh good." He smiled, glad to see everything was currently handled. "I'll go get Nathan's back and see if he's got anything to eat in it. If not, I bet we can scavenge something up." He left the room and returned a moment later with the baby bag. He set it on the table and dug into it, searching, with a little help from Marny, for jars of baby food. They found several as well as a small lunchbox full of packets of white liquid.
"That's milk." Marny explained as Sirius eyed one of the packets curiously. "Mummy makes it and saves what Nathan dun drink. When she's gotta work, Natalie puts one of these in his bottle and heats it up. Then she puts on the top and shakes it so it's all the same temperature. But it can't be too hot, so you gotta test it on your wrist."
"How does your mummy make milk?" Harry asked quite curiously. He had never heard of anyone making milk before. All he knew was that milk came from cows and farmers squirted it into a pan before it got put into bottles and sent to the stores or the milk man like the one who had delivered at Privet Drive.
"With her breasts, cause she's a mummy. That's how mummies makes milk for babies." Marny laughed, seeming to find his question quite silly. "You'll see when you have your brudder."
"Wow!" Harry's eyes grew wide and he looked down at his chest before looking over at Lexie. "Are you gonna make milk like Marny's mummy?"
"Of course, just like your mummy did for you." Lexie laughed, reaching out to pat his head, knowing that this was a slightly uncomfortable conversation for the men in the room. But babies and breasts were perfectly normal, and if she didn't make a big deal out of it, Harry wouldn't either when the time came.
"I drinked baby milk?"
"Drank. And yes, of course you did! Babies don't have teeth enough to eat big people food, so they have to start with milk and then work their way up to baby food and other things."
"Nathan can eat cereal now too." Marny beamed proudly. She seemed a little more keen on her brother since the last time she'd discussed him. Back on Halloween she'd found him more of a burden than something to be proud of.
"Ah yes, I remember the days of creating a path of cereal along the floor for a certain baby to follow after." Lexie laughed, patting Harry's head. "It was always quite fun." She took a jar of baby food from Sirius and undid the lid while he found a spoon as well before he sat down and started working on feeding Nathan. The baby, it seemed, was quite hungry, though a bit messy.
"When does Nathan eat, Marny?"
"Before school, after school, a bottle when Natalie gets home from school, dinner time, and he gets a bottle before bedtime." Marny stated, glad to be able to provide her knowledge of her brother to these silly adults who didn't seem to know much.
"He eats a lot then." Harry laughed. Once he and Marny were finished eating, they went to change out of their school clothes into play clothes, Marny having found the bag her mother sent for her in the hallway.
"Can't catch me! Can't catch me!" Harry called as he ran around in circles on his favorite track to run. He ran from hallway, to living room, to kitchen, to dining room, and back into the hallway. It was a nice big circle and easy to get through as there were never that many obstacles in the way. After about fifteen minutes of the kids chasing one another around the house, Remus had the bright idea to bring down Harry's pedal train so they could take that in circles instead.
The two preschoolers boarded the train, Harry driving the engine while Marny sat in the car. Harry pedaled, pushing the train along with ease while Marny helped him with the choo-choo noises. When Nathan was done eating, Lexie placed him safely in his sister's lap and the ride continued, a bit slower (the added weight slowed Harry down a bit) but still just as circley and fun as before. After a while, the two kids switched so that Marny could drive the train and Harry, excitedly, got to hold Nathan.
Harry had never gotten to hold a baby before, so it was quite a thrill for him, hugging his arms around the tinier body that squirmed a lot. Harry was very pleased at his ability to hold a baby and ride in the train at the same time. That is until, he got puked on.
"PADDY! Nathan throwed-up on me!" Harry called from the living room. Sirius hurried to his rescue, taking the baby and handing him off to Remus before taking a wet towel to Harry's shirt. "Yuck. Do babies always throw up?"
"Yeah, it's pretty normal." Sirius laughed, tugging Harry's shirt up and over his head. Fortunately that was all that had been hit. "Do you want me to help you find a new shirt?"
"Okay." Harry nodded and they went upstairs together. Sirius dug into Harry's dresser while the little boy sat on his bed, pondering.
"Paddy?" He asked as Sirius tugged a clean shirt over his head. "Is our baby going to be messy like Nathan?"
"Very messy." Sirius nodded. "And he'll have stinky nappies, and cry a lot, but that won't last for too long."
"Did I stink and cry?"
"Of course you did. Every baby does." Sirius nodded as he watched Harry put his arms through his sleeves. "It can't be helped because that's how they tell us that they need something, because they can't talk."
"Oh." Harry nodded in understanding, though he was getting more and more wary of this whole baby situation. Was his brother going to be loud and cry a lot? He didn't think he would like that very much., He didn't think he would like stinky nappies either. "Paddy, I want a brudder, but can I have one that isn't a baby instead? We dun really need to keep the one in Lexie's tummy, do we?"
Sirius burst out laughing, ruffling his hair. "Sorry mate, but the only way you're getting a brother or sister is the baby from Lexie's tummy. It won't be all bad, I promise."
"Okay." Harry heaved a sigh, not so sure now. He was still kind of looking forward to a brother, but not so much to the idea of stinking and crying.
Marny's mother still hadn't called by dinner time, so Remus cooked up some grilled cheese and tomato soup for all of them while Lexie broke out another jar of baby food for Nathan. Sirius spent this time chilling with the four year olds and helping them finish their homework, which had been put off in light of today's special circumstances.
"I am best at hugging." Harry concluded as Sirius helped him fill out his chart. Harry and Marny had booklets with sentences in them that they had to finish and draw a picture for. Harry smiled, liking his booklet and opening it to the first page to read it aloud again. He did this every time he finished a sentence. "My name is Harry Potter. My birthday is 31 July. I am four years old. My favorite color is red. My favorite food is treacle tarts. I am best at hugging."
"Awesome, Harry!" Sirius beamed, glad that the last sentence was finished and Harry could draw his hugging picture. "What about you Marny? Can you read yours?"
Marny looked at her booklet, not able to read as well as Harry could. Harry was advanced in his reading, at more of a first grade level than preschool. "I need help."
"Alright then, let's see." Sirius smiled and took her booklet, opening it so she could look at it as well. "My name is Marny Scratton. My birthday is 1 September. I am four years old. My favorite color is yellow. My favorite food is pizza. I am best at dancing. Wow Marny, this is excellent as well." Marny beamed with pride.
The phone rang shortly after dinner, when everyone was in the sitting room playing a rousing game of Duck, Duck, Goose. Knowing it was probably Diane, Sirius got up to answer it.
"Hello, Black, Lupin, and Potter residence, Sirius speaking."
"Sirius? It's Diane."
"I thought so." Sirius smiled. "How are things going? How's Natalie?"
"She's… well she and some of her friends decided that they wanted to jump off of the bridge above the river?"
"Oh good god!" Sirius gasped, having driven over that bridge many times before. It wasn't that high up, but jumping off of it in winter? Well, that was probably one of the single most stupidest things someone could do. The water didn't freeze completely over and the bottom was quite rocky. "Is she alright?"
"The doctors say she'll be fine, but she has to stay in the hospital until Monday until she's healed up some more and been through some physiological testing. How are my other babies?"
"They're doing just peachy. Marny's homework is finished and Nathan took a nice two hour nap around three. Marny is being such a good big sister and helping keep him to him normal schedule."
"Oh that's good to hear! She's been much better with him lately than she used to be. I think it's because he's started sleeping through the night, so she's a lot less cranky with him."
"That's great!" Sirius smiled, glad to hear that Nathan did indeed sleep through the night. "Any idea on how long you'll be stuck at the hospital?"
"At least tonight but I'm not sure about tomorrow. If it's too much trouble though, I can easily come back and get the kids or call my sister. She lives around London."
"Well, they're perfectly welcome here for as long as you need. Harry is thrilled to have Marny here and Nathan is a good boy."
"Well if they get to be a burden…"
"Which they won't."
"…feel free to just say so and I'll come straight home for them."
"Honestly, I dunno as Lexie is going to let you have Nathan back. She keeps monopolizing his affections." Sirius laughed, peering out the kitchen door to where Lexie was going around the Duck, Duck, Goose circle with the baby firmly on her hip. "But then, it might also be the hormones."
"Oh that's right! You're going to have a little one this summer. Well, you can borrow him for practice whenever." Diane laughed, seeming to be feeling a bit better now that she knew her children were doing well. "Can I talk to them?"
"Of course. Marny! Mum's on the phone."
"Oh!" Marny dashed into the kitchen and took the phone, followed closely by the rest of the troops. "Hi mummy."
"Are you being a good girl?"
"Yes I am. I did my homework and helped take care of Nathan too. When are you gonna be home?"
"Probably not for a day or two sweetheart. Natty isn't feeling well, so I have to stay with her at the hospital for a bit, but she'll be better really soon. Are you okay staying with Harry?"
"Yeah, I like Harry's house. It's lotsa fun! Is Natty super, super sick?"
"No, not super super sick. She's just sick enough to be in the hospital for a little while, like that time she had to get her tonsils out. But don't worry, she'll be home soon too."
"Ooooh, okay."
"Okay sweetie, you be a good girl alright? Let me talk to Nathan now. I love you."
"I love you, Mummy. Nathan, it's mummy!" Marny held the phone up and Lexie took it and held it to Nathan's ear so he could hear his mother. When that was finished, Sirius took it back.
"See? They're doing just fine."
"I can rest easy now, that's for sure. Thank you so much for everything Sirius. I don't know what I would do without your help. Oh! Before I forget, if the kids need anything from the house, Marny has a key in the smallest inside pocket of her backpack. There's extra baby food in the pantry, nappies in the nursery, and milk in the freezer. But I don't think I'll be away for so long that you'll need to get extra supplies, but just in case."
"Alright, that's good to know. Remember, take your time. Don't rush home because you feel like you need to. We've got everything covered here." Sirius reassured her. They bid one another goodbye and hung up.
"Well, it's about bed time you lot." Remus said after a moment. "Let's head up and get teeth brushed and jammies on." The four year olds trooped upstairs, Marny toting along her bag.
"Marny, are you gonna sleep in my room with me?" Harry asked her as they scrubbed at their tiny teeth with little brushes. He spat into the sink and took a sip of water to help wash the rest of the tooth paste out of his mouth.
"Yeah!" Marny nodded, spitting as well before taking the water cup and rinsing as well. "Or maybe we could sleep in the fort!?" She suggested excitedly after a moment of pondering. Harry's eyes grew wide and he nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! Let's sleep in the fort! Oh Moony, can we?" Harry begged, looking up at the werewolf with those eyes of his.
"That does sound like a splendid idea." Moony nodded. "Let's get your bed things."
Harry and Marny changed into jammies and then gathered up Harry's sleeping bag, blankets, and pillows, carrying them downstairs to the living room where the fort was. It was just large enough for both of them to lay down in comfortably.
Seeing what they were doing, Sirius disappeared from the room momentarily before returning with the playpen he'd transfigured out of a shoebox. He unfolded it and set it up on the floor close by to the fort. "Let's have a special living room camping night!"
"Yeah!" Harry and Marny cheered, throwing their arms in the air and dancing about. Things like this were quite exciting when you were four. Sirius laughed at their reaction as he helped Remus pull out the sofa bed, turning the couch into a comfy place for sleeping.
Remus headed upstairs to get more blankets and pillows and set himself up on the large window seat, it being just long enough for him to stretch out on comfortably.
"Alright, everyone come here." Sirius stated, sitting down on the sofa bed with a book. Lexie sat down beside him, Nathan in her lap. Harry climbed into Sirius's lap while Remus pulled Marny up into his. They all relaxed into the pillows (or grown ups) and settled in for a nice story. When it was finished, the four year olds were tucked in beneath the gauzy fort. Nathan was swaddled and rocked with a bottle until he passed out and was set to sleep in the play pen. The adults dimmed the lights and settled down, mostly conversing quietly amongst themselves while listening to the occasional chatter from the two older children before settling down into bed themselves.
I promised you another chapter by Monday and look, there it is! :D I really enjoyed writing this one as it's a bit different from the other ones in that it includes a lot more Marny! I really do love Marny a lot, and Nathan of course. I felt it would be good to see Harry's reaction to an actual baby before he gets his I kind of just wanted Sirius to get peed on. Bahahaha! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I do! Let me know what you think if you want, I always appreciate it!
Love always,
S.Q.O.