Sirius couldn't shut his mind up, no matter how hard he tried. He wouldn't be able to sleep that night, he knew it, he could never sleep on Halloween, even if chasing after a hyper child while trick-or-treating wore him out to the point of exhaustion. He would just lie awake all night, or maybe wander into said hyper child's room and watch her sleep, reminding himself that she was safe.

But for how long?, Sirius' mind asked. Violet was the Girl Who Lived, the savior of the wizarding world. Dumbledore had warned them that keeping her safe was imperative, which of course he and Remus agreed with, and that as she got older things could easily go bad. There were a lot of maniacs out there, and horrifying as the thought was, some of them would kidnap a five-year-old and do...Merlin, stop thinking like that.

They had already had a scary moment. When Violet was three, they went out for a day trip to Diagon Alley. While they were there, they ran into some Death Eater sympathizers who were convinced the Dark Lord would return someday and come after Violet again. The little girl perched on her godfather's hip had no idea what was being talked about, she just knew that the man saying it was scary. Sirius wondered if she remembered that now. He didn't want to scare her by bringing it up, or remind her of it.

From his bedroom, Sirius heard the front door open and Violet's presence filling the house. She was really excited about something, it sounded like, and when Remus gently shushed her to say that her godfather was asleep, she apologized quietly and continued on. Even her just being in the building made Sirius feel the smallest bit better.

He opened the door to his room and leaned against the door frame.

"...show everyone my costume!", Violet was saying. "Brenna said that her costume is cute but I told her that you said I look ado-adoble."

"Adorable", Remus corrected with a smile. "And you do, cub, but it's not a competition, okay? We're all just going to have fun."

"Of course it isn't a competition", Sirius said. "Vi's already won it, haven't you, love?"

She giggled as he walked over and picked her up.

"How was school today?"

"Good! My teacher gave us a lot of candy."

"A lot? What are you gonna do tonight when you get more?"

Violet didn't answer that and just carried on. "Are you gonna come with us tonight?"

"Of course", Sirius replied though he had been considering staying home and telling her he didn't feel well. "Did I hear you say there's something going on at school?"

"Yeah! All the teachers are handing out candy so we can trick-or-treat there, too!"

"Wow, that's awesome. Why don't you go play for a bit, love? I need to talk to Remus."

"Okay."

Sirius kissed her cheek loudly before setting her down. Violet hurried off to her room.

"How are you doing?", Remus asked.

"Not well. You?"

"It comes and goes. You don't have to come tonight, we can tell her you're sick."

"I was planning on that", Sirius nodded. "But I think going will help. Seeing her just now helped."

Remus smiled. "She does have a way of boosting spirits, doesn't she?"

"She does."

Two hours later, Sirius was helping Violet change into her costume–well, he was trying to.

"You need to stand still for me, love", he said. "You're wiggling too much."

"Sorry, but I'm excited!"

"I know, and as soon as we get you ready you can get all your wiggles out."

Violet took a deep breath and focused on standing completely still. Sirius chuckled.

"Alright, and done", he said as he zipped up the suit. "Turn around."

She did and he couldn't stop himself from laughing. They had managed to find a costume that would make her look like a deer, and they just had to do it. James would certainly approve.

"You are the cutest thing I've ever seen, you know that?", Sirius said. He picked up the antlers that came with the costume and put them on her head. "Perfect. Come on, we have to go get pictures."

"I don't wanna", Violet groaned dramatically.

"I know, but we need these pictures for when you're a teenager and we want to remember how little you were."

"M'not little!"

"Right, right, you're a young woman with a full-time job in the city. Come on, we don't have much time."

Violet begrudgingly smiled for a few photos before the three of them left for her school.

Okay, so seeing a hundred small children in costumes was also a good mood boost for Sirius. Violet pointed out all of her friends as well as Brenna, the girl Violet didn't exactly get along with. Brenna said hi to her, and the only reason Violet responded was because Remus was big on politeness and she didn't want to get in trouble.

"Where do you want to go first, kiddo?", Sirius asked her.

"My classroom", Violet replied excitedly. "I wanna show Miss Marie my costume!"

"Okay, we're right behind you."

Violet scampered in front of them.

"This helps", Sirius said under his breath.

"It does", Remus agreed with a smile. "Why doesn't Hogwarts do this?"

"I don't know, but they definitely should."

They reached Violet's classroom and made small talk with her teacher about how well the little girl was doing with her schoolwork. Violet looked very proud of herself.

Once they had made the rounds to every room in the building–and a large number of people asking if Sirius and Remus were Violet's parents–the small family left and apparated to their normal Halloween route, the neighborhood around Hogsmeade. After the fifth house, Violet asked to be carried. After the tenth, she was too tired to continue. She protested the idea of going home, but the fact that she could hardly keep her eyes open spoke louder than her words.

Violet managed to stay awake long enough to get into her pajamas and sort through her candy, getting playfully annoyed everytime Sirius stole a piece when she wasn't looking.

Eventually she fell asleep on the couch, with her head resting on her godfather's lap. He rubbed her back gently and stared down at her.

"We'll keep her safe, Pads."

Sirius looked up to see Remus looking at him, determined.

"We will", he agreed. "When...when do we tell her about all that?"

"I don't know. Certainly before she leaves for Hogwarts. Who knows how other kids will react to seeing her."

"I don't want her to see Halloween like we do", Sirius said softly. "She loves it so much."

"She does", Remus nodded. "There are bad memories associated with everything, though. We can make new ones. We are making new ones."

They were, and they would continue to for as long as possible.