Chapter 3 - A Fawns cry

Lupin made his way past Sirius into Grimmauld place. He had never been here before and was curious to see the home that Sirius grew up in. The walls were darkly painted and portraits of what he assumed were Sirius' ancestors hung on the walls, each eyeing him curiously as he passed and made his way to where a small child was sitting on the floor. Harriet Potter. He had only seen Harriet a few times as he had liked to avoid her in the fear that she would be horrified by the scars on his face. She looked up at him in awe before suddenly she blew a raspberry at him.

"Oi you naughty little madam." Sirius called out from behind Lupin, moving past him to pick her up from the floor. She giggled at him and continued to blow raspberries into his face, much to his dismay. Sirius used his hand as a barrier against the spit and led the way through the hallway and through a large door into the dining room. There were about 15 chairs around a large dining room table. Sirius placed Harriet into a high seat and sat down next to her at the head of the table. Lupin took a seat next to him - Harriet eyed him suspiciously.

"Can I get you anything,Moony?" Sirius asked, looking at Lupin from head to toe. He noticed that he hadn't taken off his jacket.

"Just a drink please Padfoot." Remus replied, slightly nostalgic at the reminder of their childhood nicknames.

Sirius raised his wand and summoned two butterbeers, pushing one across the table to took a sip of his own and paused, considering Remus for a moment.

"Okay Moony, what is going on out there since I rescued Bambi? I have seen that the Daily Prophet have been spreading rumors but have you heard anything about Dumbledore or the ministry searching for her?" Sirius asked, Remus found his nickname for Harriet adorable and well suited. He smiled slightly before replying.

"Dumbledore actually came to see me to talk about the situation. He knows exactly where you are but he wouldn't want to cause a scene by showing up here. He would prefer that… Bambi…. Be with her last remaining relatives but he is willing to consider keeping her here with you. The only thing is, he wants to discuss with you some extra measures of protection. Maybe having a more experienced wizard move in here with you for extra protection ..."

Sirius cut in: "No no no no no, I don't want some old blighter babysitting me and telling me what to do. I am perfectly capable of protecting her myself." He looked around at Harriet who was playing with her feet and looked up as he turned, her eyes wide.

Remus had known that this wouldn't be an easy task: "Sirius you might not have much choice, having a more experienced wizard living here could be the difference between her staying with you and being taken from you to live with her biological family. At least try having someone stay here and see how it goes. it's a big house it's not like you would have to be close or anything."

Sirius considered this for a moment, he reached over to Harriet and tickled her chin before sighing and turning back to Remus:

"Okay Moony. I'll do it - for Bambi. But I want a maximum age of 40 and they can't be boring! I definitely couldn't stand that. I also need Dumbledore to make sure that NOBODY knows that she is here, spread some story about her being with her relatives but don't tell anyone where that is."

Remus nodded, taking a sip of his butterbeer: "Thank you Sirius, you just made my job a lot easier. I would stay here myself but …. You know my situation, I should go and tell him now, no doubt he will be waiting outside ready to pounce."

"It was nice to see you Moony. It's been a tough couple of days. I miss them more everyday, no doubt she does too." Sirius explained to Remus, tears in his eyes as Remus finished his drink.

Remus put his drink down and put his hand on Sirius' shoulder. "I miss them too. I will try and come here as much as I can to check up on you both, I would hate to think of you being alone in this big house."

Later that night Sirius was in the dining room writing a letter to Dumbledore adding a couple of conditions that he had thought of since Remus had left.

He was adding '...any past affiliations with You Know Who's supporters means that they can't be trusted although I am sure that I don't need to tell you that. I don't want any risks in proximity of ….'

He was interrupted by a child's scream, his blood ran cold and without even thinking about the ministry possibly tracking him he apparated into Bambi's room. She was standing up in her crib, her little face bright red and tears streaming down her face. She reached out her arms toward him when he appeared.

He rushed forward to pick her up, very concerned as he approached. Looking around for signs of any intruder that might have caused the scream. As he held her in his arms she wiped her nose on his shoulder, usually this would have bothered him but he barely cared in this moment, he was looking her over for any cuts or bruises. There was no sign of anything

wrong in the room or on her body- so why was she upset?

"Whats wrong sweetheart?" Sirius asked, stroking her back, he knew it was unlikely that she would understand what he was saying when she suddenly cried out something that answered his question:

"MAMA!"

Sirius felt a lump in his throat as she cried this out, he struggled to hold back tears but eventually let them fall as she continued to sniffle, calming down slightly. He picked up the picture on her bedside, showing her Lily and James and she took it from him and held it close to her.

That night Sirius fell asleep on the rocking chair in Bambi's room. He didn't want to leave her alone but he also didn't want to be alone, even though he knew that she and Remus were all he had left.