OHMYGODI'MSOSORRY (not that most of you care) – this weekend has been rather hectic, so I'm updating on Monday rather than three days ago, which is when I should have. Apologies, but as it is Easter Monday and therefore a bank holiday, it's still technically the weekend – that's my excuse...

DISCLAIMER: I own no part of the Harry Potter books, films, etc. Everything belongs to JKR/Warner Bros.

All bits from the book(s) are in bold.

The Meaning Of Family

Chapter Four

Remus awoke to an eerie silence, nestled comfortably in his bed, his body curved as though wrapped around another – he realised with a hot flush of embarrassment that it must have been Sirius's, but when he opened his eyes he realised that Sirius was not beside him. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen and neither, Remus noted with horror, was Harry.

He scrambled out of bed, eyes darting in every direction. Where was Sirius? Where was Harry?

Oh God. What if the Death Eaters had got them? What on earth was he supposed to do now? He paced up and down for a good few minutes, tugging at his hair, until finally he reached a conclusion. Of course – he would contact Dumbledore! Why hadn't he thought of that before?

He strode over to the bedside table where he'd left his wand the previous night. As he approached, his eyes fell upon a piece of parchment – a note, hastily scribbled in Sirius's untidy hand.

Moony –

Harry woke up and wanted feeding – and guess what, there is not a single bottle of milk in your house! (HOW DO YOU EAT YOUR CEREAL?) I have gone to the shops to get some and I took Harry and also some Muggle money from your bedside cabinet – hope you don't mind.

Sirius

Remus breathed a heavy sigh of relief and sat down shakily. How stupid had he been? Thank Merlin Sirius hadn't been captured – he never would have forgiven himself if his best friend had been taken by Death Eaters less than twenty four hours after his other best friend had been murdered by those same people. On the other hand…

Was it true what Dumbledore had said? Was Voldemort really gone? Regardless, surely there were still Death Eaters out there wanting revenge for the fall of their Dark Lord weren't there? Even though Dumbledore had ensured them protection of the very best kind, wouldn't it still be prudent to keep a low profile for a while? He sighed, silently cursing Sirius for making him worry so much.

He dressed slowly and went downstairs to get some breakfast (carefully avoiding a DADA textbook avalanche). Just as he reached the foot of the stairs, there was a loud, jaunty rap on the front door – it could only be Sirius.

'For Merlin's sake, Sirius we're supposed to be keeping a low profile!' Remus hissed as he opened the door, stepping back so that Sirius (and Harry) could squeeze into the cramped hallway. Sirius had several carrier bags weighing him down.

'What on earth did you buy, Padfoot? Are we expecting a siege or something?'

'Very funny, Moony! I got talking with the woman in the shop – very nice woman, indeed – and she told me all about this funny formula milk that you're supposed to give babies – honestly, I was about to buy twelve litres of cow's milk instead!' Sirius chattered as he made his way into the kitchen. Remus hoped he was joking – he hadn't really bought twelve litres of milk, had he? There'd be no room in the fridge, for crying out loud! Sirius really was the absolute limit, but misbehaving stray thoughts couldn't help noticing how good he could look with a powder-blue baby carrier strapped to his chest. Remus shook himself mentally and silently told himself off, before following Sirius into the kitchen.

'I thought you were joking!' he exclaimed, horrified, as he watched Sirius pack at least twenty bottles of milk into the fridge.

'Well, the woman in the shop thought that Harry would be able to digest cow's milk properly at his age, he probably wouldn't need formula, but I bought both to be on the safe side,' Sirius explained brightly, pulling plastic bottles, rubber teats, bibs, bath ducks and other assorted items from yet another carrier bag.

'Sirius!'

'What? At least I'm not shying away from my responsibilities!' Sirius said, rather hurt.

Remus gave him a calculating look, unsure of whether that last statement was aimed at him or not. Well, he conceded, Sirius was right about not shying away from his responsibilities. He really was… throwing himself into the whole parenting thing.

'Well… do you know how to prepare it?' he asked Sirius after a rather awkward little pause.

'Oh, you don't need to – it's only newborns where you have to heat it up and test it and stuff.'

Remus gave him that annoying, calculating look again. 'How do you know so much about babies?'

Sirius shrugged. 'You seem to know a lot too. I used to watch my mother feed and bathe Regulus when he was born. And the woman in the shop gave me these.' He delved into another carrier bag and produced several books on baby and toddler care.

'Wow,' said Remus, rather surprised. 'You really are serious about this whole thing.' He smiled at his friend, who was pouring milk into a two-handled beaker for harry.

'Don't you mean Sirius?' Sirius joked, grinning back at him. Remus chuckled, although his laughter died away as he looked at Harry. Sirius was also staring down at the tiny boy.

'Everything's changed,' he said to the baby carrier.

'I know.'

'I don't like it.'

'I know but we've got to –'

'I want everything back the way it was before!' Sirius cried, almost on the verge of tears.

'I know, Sirius, but we've got to carry on – for Lily and James.'

'I don't want to. I want them back again!'

Remus looked at the man standing before him, so like a lost child, and he wanted to cry. He had never seen Sirius so out of his depth before – Sirius was always the confident one, the self-assured one, the one who was absolutely gorgeous and knew it… Now he just looked like a boy who had lost his mother and didn't know what to do. It was the face of someone who had suffered a terrible loss and didn't have a clue what to do about it.

'Sirius –' Remus was at a loss what to say, and he looked at Harry for somewhere to place his gaze. Harry had been playing idly with his dungarees, but now looked up, and his bright green eyes met Remus's own tired brown ones.

'Sirius, I know it sounds horribly cliché, but… they're still here, y'know. They're part of Harry.'

Sirius unstrapped the baby carrier carefully and cradled Harry in his arms. There was a long silence. Sirius closed his eyes, and Remus saw a single tear slide down his best friend's cheek as he held the baby to him, the last living traces of Lily and James Potter, and kissed the top of his head with a kind of fierce affection.

'Don't leave us, Harry,' he whispered, seemingly unaware of Remus, the kitchen, the carrier bags and the multiple piles of Defence textbooks – anything, in short, that wasn't part of the little bubble he was currently sharing with Harry. 'Don't you ever, ever leave us. We promise to look after you as best we can, and we will love you and cherish you forever.'

Remus walked slowly, uncertainly, towards Sirius, who smiled and reached out an arm; Remus squeezed his hand but Sirius pulled him into a tight embrace. He was surprised, but not enough to pull away for at least a minute, until Harry started squirming in Sirius's arms.

'You got ants in your pants or something?' Sirius laughed as Harry wriggled about. He held Harry up and sniffed, wrinkling his nose. 'Jeez, you've got something in there, anyhow!'

Remus giggled. 'Give him here, Padfoot,' he said, holding out his arms, but not feeling too hopeful. He was therefore a little taken aback when Sirius handed Harry over without complaint. Perhaps Sirius wasn't so enthusiastic about the dirty nappies side of parenting.

'You got anything we can transfigure into a changing table?' asked Sirius hopefully.

Remus raised his eyebrows. 'How many coffee tables do you think I have, Padfoot?'

Sirius shrugged. 'We could use your dining table?' he suggested.

Remus snorted. 'Okay, but you're buying me a new table!'

'Hmm… Maybe we should have gone to my mother's.' Sirius sighed. 'I wish I still had my place but… well, since the Death Eaters blew it apart…'

'Yeah.'

Harry started to whine plaintively.

'Okay, okay little man, just a sec – what should we do, Moony?'

Remus bit his lip. 'I guess my dining table will just have to bite the dust.'

'Sorryyyyyyy.' That little child-like tone again. Remus couldn't help smiling.

'It's okay, Padfoot. Harry comes first now.'

Sirius smiled back. 'He'll always come first.'

'Come on then, Harry, Uncle Sirius and I will get you sorted out straight away, I promise.'

Sirius tried not to laugh. 'Uncle Sirius?' He shook his head. 'I'll have to get used to that, I suppose.'

'Imagine having to get used to "Daddy",' Remus said. He couldn't imagine Sirius as a father. Mind you, the way he had wholeheartedly jumped into a co-parenting role with Harry made Remus wonder whether Sirius really was as completely un-paternal as he insisted.

Yes, I realise I know nothing about babies, but that's the beauty of fiction! Well, that's my excuse anyway… Plus it's fun to watch Sirius and Remus completely out of their depth. Please R/R :)