****First Step****

C'mon Harry, come get Paddington," Sirius said as he, Remus, Dora and Andromeda sat in the living room of his home, trying to coach Harry into walking.

Lily and James had been trying to get Harry to walk before their deaths, but all the trauma of their deaths seemed to have caused a bit of a setback. At eighteen months, Harry still wasn't walking or talking, but according to Andromeda and the child Healers at St. Mungo's, this was a perfectly normal reaction and that Harry would start developing more normally soon. So, he, Remus, Andromeda and Dora were trying to coax Harry into walking while Ted watched in amusement, camera in hand to catch the big moment.

Harry looked around at the people surrounding him with a smile, he couldn't quite understand what they were wanting him to do, but the tall man who always smiled and fed him and took care of him, now that the 'Mummy' lady and 'Daddy' man had gone away, was holding his bear and the other man was showing no sign of taking him over there to get it.

Harry took a tentative step towards his bear and then another, the room was so big! Finally, he got close enough to the man to grab his bear.

"You did it!" Sirius crowed picking up Harry and hugging him. Your first steps!" Harry paid him no mind, contentedly chewing on Paddington's ear.

They spent the rest of the evening encouraging Harry to walk from Sirius to Andromeda, then from Andromeda to Dora and finally from Dora to Remus again while Ted took pictures. They quickly learned that while the bear was good encouragement the first time, Harry would get upset if Paddington was taken away and wouldn't cooperate, even if it meant getting him back. So everyone had to think of a new incentive to get Harry to walk to them. The best one had been Remus using Harry's favorite cookies to entice him over.

Soon, Harry's eyelids drooped and Sirius announced that it was time for bed. He carried Harry into the nursery and got him ready for bed. Harry slept like a log that night, clutching Paddington.

******First Words******

"Mooey, Dodo,"

Remus looked up from the lesson he was teaching Dora to see Harry standing in his playpen where Remus had put him for his nap.

"Harry? Did you say something?" They had been trying to coax Harry into speaking for days but the baby had just smiled and refused to speak. Now finally, it appeared that he was obliging them.

Harry pointed at him with a smile, "Mooey!"

Remus laughed as he picked him up, "I'm Mooey, am I?" He carried Harry over to Dora, "Who's this?" He pointed to the young girl.

"Dodo!" Harry laughed, clearly pleased with himself.

"Oi!" Dora said, a little upset at the name.

"Dora, he's a baby. It's his way of pronouncing your name. We'll teach him how to say it correctly as he gets older," Remus said calmly, trying not to laugh. He set Harry on the floor with some toys and went back to his teaching, eager for Sirius to get home so he could tell him the news.

By the end of the day, Harry could say 'Mooey', 'Dodo', 'Pafoo' and 'Meme'. Dora was still put out about being called 'Dodo', but other than that, everyone was happy that Harry was finally talking.

Sirius went to bed that night feeling better than he had in weeks, Harry was finally catching up to where he would've been if James and Lily hadn't died and he was incredibly thankful for that. It looked like things were finally starting to come around their way.

The End for Now.