July, 1981.
"Happy birthday to him, happy birthday to him, happy birthday dear Harry…"
The telephone rang.
Remus peeked over the edge of his book, his eyes suspiciously fixed on the noisy object. His mother appeared in the door.
"Oh, good, the telephone works," she said. "Come on, answer it!" She gestured encouragingly at Remus. He looked doubtful.
"Are you sure? I mean, how does that thing work?"
"It's easy," she replied, walking over to the telephone, which was still ringing. "You just pick up the receiver and say your name." She looked very uncertain, however.
Remus stretched out his hand and carefully picked up the receiver. He held it next to his ear. "Hello?"
He almost jumped when he heard James's voice. "Hi!"
"Oh, er, hi."
"You finally gave in to the Muggle habit of calling?"
"What?" said Remus dully. "Calling?"
"Never mind," said James quickly. "I actually wanted to invite you."
"For what?"
"Well, you see, next Friday is Harry's birthday, and we wanted to combine it with mine, because that's easier. So, I don't know if that's possible for you…"
"Sure," answered Remus. "Count me in. I´ll be the first to come."
"That's exactly what Sirius said."
"Trust me, I´ll be the first."
"As long as you don't come before six o'clock," warned James. "And bring a nice present for Harry."
"Sure," promised Remus. "I will."
"Okay then, see you next Friday."
"Yes, see you then."
"Oh, and Remus? About that present…"
"Hm?"
"Babies don't like books."
~*~
July 31.
A man appeared at the end of the street. The early morning sun shone just over the top of the trees, on his light-brown hair and his green cloak. The man checked his watch. One minute past six. He started walking in the direction of a house on the corner of the street, but suddenly stopped when he saw the motorbike standing in front of the house. He groaned softly and ran the last few meters to the door. He rang the doorbell.
"I so hate both of you," said James when he'd opened the door.
"And a goodmorning to you too," replied Remus cheerfully as he stepped inside.
"Morning?" said James, running his fingers through his wild hair. "It's hardly morning!"
"Where's Sirius?" inquired Remus, pulling his cloak off.
"In the garden. I was just about to bury his corpse," said James sarcastically.
"Aw, poor Harry," said Remus, not impressed by James' bad mood. "Now he'll never get a present from his Godfather."
"I will be lucky if Harry is still sleeping," muttered James. "With you two idiots ringing the doorbell at such a ridiculous time." He waved in the direction of the kitchen. "You'll probably find Sirius there, making himself coffee. Amuse yourself."
Remus watched his friend walked sleepily up the stairs, then he entered the kitchen. Sirius was stirring his steaming coffee, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
"So," he said, "I turned out to be faster than you!"
"At what time did you arrive?" asked Remus, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"About one minute before six," answered Sirius. "James made me wait outside for a whole minute, saying he told me to come after six o'clock." He sighed. "He wasn't even happy to see me."
"Gee, I wonder why," said Remus innocently. Sirius grinned.
~*~
The Daily Prophet, bread, eggs, orange juice, coffee, tea, porridge for Harry, and a pile of presents. Those were the ingredients for their breakfast.
Sirius watched in amazement how Remus ate eight slices of breath with cheese and bacon, a scrambled egg, and drank two glasses of orange juice.
"Apparently I've forgotten how much you eat," he said. Remus looked slightly embarrassed.
"I can't help it," he replied softly. "It's full moon in six days…" They all looked down at their plates.
The silence was broken by Harry who apparently thought it necessary to swing his spoon in the air. Lily cried out and she quickly got up and took the spoon from Harry's hands. James, seeing the longing look in Sirius' eyes, said: "No. Don't even think about it!"
"I can't do anything here," muttered Sirius sadly. Remus shook his head.
"You weren't really going to do it, were you?"
"Maybe I was…" said Sirius. "And maybe I wasn't."
"You're insane," concluded Remus.
"Yeah, Remus, I love you too," said Sirius.
Remus pretended he shivered in disgust. "Eeeeew…"
~*~
A few hours later, all the preparations for the birthdayparty were made. A long wooden table was set in the garden with various dishes on it. Sirius and Lily were hanging the last lampoons in the trees. They would be lit when it was getting darker.
"It's actually a good thing that you came so early," commented James.
"Why now?" sighed Remus.
"Well, now we can use you as our servants."
"Oh, right, use us as your slaves, what else are friends for?" replied Remus.
"I did not say slaves, but if you so desperately want to be one, I won't stop you," said James, picking up Harry who was crawling through the grass with the toy wand Sirius gave him in his small hand. Harry waved the wand around him and finally put it in his mouth. Remus noticed that his blue eyes were now turning into Lily's amazingly green ones.
"Can he put that in his mouth?" he wondered quietly, seeing Harry's attempt to eat Sirius' present. "What's that thing made of?"
"I don't know. Hey Sirius!" James called. Sirius performed an amazing acrobatic stunt when he turned around on the ladder he was standing on. "Yeah?"
"What's that wand made of?"
"What's that wand made of? Hello, were you a Head-Boy?! What are wands made of?" answered Sirius.
"Er, wood? Just a wild guess."
"Gee, hole in one! Yes, wood!" Sirius shook his head and turned around again.
"You got to admit, it was a pretty stupid question," commented Remus.
"Quiet, slave," was James' answer.
"Oh, why, thank you. But I think you must now welcome your guests, because there comes Dumbledore and Hagrid," said Remus. "C´mon, give me Harry." James handed him the toddler, who was now quietly sucking the wand, while his father crossed the garden and welcomed the old Hogwarts Headmaster and the giant Gamekeeper. Hagrid was holding a large – something. It was wrapped in coloured paper, and had an odd shape. Wondering as to what it was (although he would never admit it, of course, he would say it was doing it for Harry) Remus walked over to them.
"And there is Harry," said Dumbledore fondly. "How are you doing?" Harry looked up at the man with the half-moon spectacles and the long silver beard, and he took the wand out of his mouth and pointed it at the old man.
"A first attempt to do magic," said James. "Professor, the drinks are over there, Remus can help you-"
"He has appointed me his slave," said Remus.
"- while I welcome Peter." Remus looked over his shoulder. Peter had appeared at the fence. He was wearing a shirt with long sleeves, even though it was in the middle of the summer.
James approached Peter while Remus showed Hagrid and Dumbledore the drinks. Harry was still waving with his wand and muttering incomprehensible things. He hit Remus a few times, but he didn't care. Sirius, finished with the lampoons, came standing with them.
"Babysitting?" he asked.
"No, just holding him. I'm not sitting on him," replied Remus cleverly.
"Good, because I don't think James and Lily want a squished child," said Sirius.
"Why not? That would be really special."
"Yeah, but squished children fall so easily."
"Just keep them out of the wind, and they won't fall," said Remus reasonably.
"And I'm not looking forward to a flat Godson," added Sirius.
"So that's your real reason! Very selfish, Sirius."
"Of course! You must be selfish, else you won't survive in this cruel world," explained Sirius. "Imagine, you share everything you have, and then it gets winter, and cold, and you get all purple, and when you have no food your stomach shrinks, and then it starts consuming itself, so you kind of get eaten from the inside." Sirius acted it out for Remus, pulling painful faces with his arms over his stomach. Harry was staring wide-eyed at his Godfather's show.
"And then you finally die, your face all greenish and everything, and your feet black and death, and then-"
Toc. Harry hit Sirius, who was now on his knees acting out starvation, on his head.
"- and then there's always Harry to remind you things can get worse," added Sirius. "Was that supposed to be a curse?" Harry smiled broadly at him.
"No, I think that was supposed to be a spell to cure you," said Remus.
"What was I talking about again?" wondered Sirius. "Ah. You see, Remus, you must be selfish, else you will get hit on your head by Harry!"
"A wise lesson," commented Remus. "Come, I´ll get you a piece of the birthday cake, or Harry will have to hit you after all."
~*~
"And then the short wizard said: "but that hippogriff landed in my wife's mashed potatoes!" Sirius ended his joke. The people gathered in the garden burst into laughing.
Remus, sitting on a creaky chair, grinned softly. He looked over his shoulder. Behind him, Harry had found a hidingplace for his parents. His arms were wrapped tightly around his new friend, a dragon Hagrid had given him. The animal looked suspiciously home-made. Apparently it also served as a pillow for sleeping children.
Remus looked up and saw Lily looking at him. She smiled a knowing smile at him. Harry wasn't as well-hidden as he thought.
Dumbledore got to his feet. "I am terribly sorry to ruin the festive atmosphere," he said, "but I'm afraid I must be going."
"Ye-yes, me too," stuttered Peter. This seemed to be the sign for everybody to get on their feet and announce they were leaving as well. The four candles on the table were extinguished and Lily picked up Harry from the ground. He pulled a face and continued sleeping. "I'm putting Harry in bed," his mother said to no one in particular.
"Run, run, as fast as you can," said Sirius.
"Huh?" replied Remus.
"You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread man!"
Remus rolled his eyes. "You're insane!"
"True," agreed Sirius. "And I'm leaving."
"Already?"
"Remus," said Sirius, watching Remus with a stern expression he stole from McGonagall, "it's WAY past children's bedtime!" Remus laughed and kicked to Sirius, who jumped out of the way, pointed and laughed at Remus, said goodbye to James, and walked out of the garden. A few minutes later they heard the motorbike starting. The rumbling sound of the engine slowly died as Sirius flew away.
Remus helped James clean up the garden and put the dishes in the sink.
"Now I wish I had a house-elf," sighed James, several glasses in his hands.
"That reminds me, what happened to the mansion and the house-elves?" asked Remus. James' face got a "I´d rather not talk about that"expression, but he answered anyway.
"The mansion is empty, and the house-elves are temporarily working at Hogwarts. Such a large house is a bit too easy to find," he explained.
"Like a big arrow hanging in the air, telling Voldemort 'here they are'," said Remus.
"Indeed," agreed James, whiping his hands clean with a towel. "That's why Lily and I are planning to go into hiding."
"You are?" said Remus suprised. "When? Where?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you, because I hardly know myself. And, Remus, hidingplaces are supposed to be secret."
"I know, I know, I know." Remus glanced quickly at the clock on the wall. "Not that I would ever tell anyone where it is. James, I'm going too."
His friend nodded and followed him into the hall, where Remus put his cloak on.
"You can manage?" inquired James.
"Yes, I can," sighed Remus. "You've been asking me that almost since the first day I met you. Do I look that weak?" He spread his arms and looked down, observing his body.
"Sorry," said James. "I just…" He saw the twinkle in Remus' eyes. "Ow, you hateful person! Get out, get out, get out." He opened the door and pushed Remus out. "Don't come back when until I ask you to!"
"Hah, bet you'll be begging me on bended knees to honour you with my presence."
"You've been with Sirius too much lately," concluded James.
Remus shrugged in a comical way, smiled innocently, and Disapparated.