A/N: Sirius's POV, this chapter is dedicated to new follower, the bookworm fiend. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thanks for joining the ride!

-C

Seven of us were sitting in the room, but it felt so incredibly empty. I'd asked Dumbledore if it was really necessary to have Amy leave the well-fortified house, and so he suggested that we hold the meeting at my house instead of the Order headquarters. I agreed, especially because it meant we wouldn't have to leave Aludra with a babysitter.

She was playing on the floor in front of us, actually, playing with blocks Lily had gotten her.

Lily, James, Dumbledore were familiar faces for Aludra, but she'd been a bit shy around Frank and Alice in a way she hadn't been when she was very young.

"Now, I have something very important to tell all of you," Dumbledore said, putting his tea down on the table again. "There has been a prophecy. I won't discuss the particulars, but as your due dates are all in the end of July, it is very likely that your children will be targeted by Voldemort."

I grasped Amy's hand.

It was one thing, knowing the wanted us to join the Death Eaters, that they might kidnap or even torture my family, but to kill my little girls? We hadn't even named them yet and their possible death was being discussed.

"Amy and Sirius," he said, clearing his throat slightly. "Your twins do not fit the prophecy, as it is about a male, but if the Death Eaters know about the pregnancy, I do not know how much they do know. It is possible that you are safe in this regard, but it is equally possible that your children are equal targets to the others."

Amy nodded. She was taking this remarkably well, better than I was. I didn't want half-comforts. I wanted explanations, answers, assurances that my daughters would be absolutely safe.

"What about us, then?" Lily asked. She was unearthly pale, and Lily was usually pale enough as it was. "What should we do?"

"Extra precautions will be taken," Dumbledore assured. "Extra warding on your homes. Anything we can dream up that won't affect your freedoms, at least until we know what their moves will be."

Amy tilted her head.

"You don't think they're going to attack anyone yet?" she said softly.

Dumbledore looked at her and nodded slowly.

"I do not believe that Voldemort would risk the opportunity to recruit those of you who are not prophesied. Especially you and Sirius and Frank and Alice."

I nodded.

Our blood. He would not risk killing off unnecessarily the children of pureblooded families, especially if there was a chance they might be male and continue family lines that were growing fewer and fewer all the time. I had received my father's vault key and the news of his death together from a goblin that didn't seem to care about the fact that I'd been disowned.

Wizarding law was wizarding law. With Regulus gone, the family fortune had to fall to me. Bellatrix was probably still fuming about it somewhere.

Dumbledore outlined some basic security updates that he and Moody would be implementing over the course of the month.

"This won't affect Christmas plans?" Amy said firmly. Merlin, she thought of everything. "Because this is our daughter's first Christmas, and we don't want this to ruin it."

Dumbledore smiled as Aludra grabbed his robes, smiling up at him.

"Yes, we will do whatever we can to ensure that Aludra's Christmas is perfect." He patted her head gently and she cooed, rolling over and letting go of his robes. "Alastor has grown especially fond of her."

We all laughed.

It was true, actually. Aludra and Mad-Eye were mutually fascinated by each other, and she had a way with him. Every time he dropped by to tell me anything about the Order or check on our wards, he brought her a new gift. Of course, that probably didn't hurt her fascination with Mad-Eye.

"Well, I suppose that's all I have for you now," Dumbledore said with a sad smile. "I hope that none of this turns out to be necessary and that we win the war before July even comes, but one can never tell with these things."

That was for Amy's benefit. Those of us in the Order knew that it would take an absolute miracle to have the war be over that soon.

Aludra sat herself up, picking up a block and switching it between her hands while Dumbledore got up and moved to get his cloak. I watched Aludra with a smile while Amy helped Dumbledore with his cloak. My daughter was putting a block in her mouth, which was some that had become more interesting to her than Lily's hair, at least.

"I suppose we really ought to be going, too," Frank said, putting his arm around Alice. "We'll be having Christmas with my mother, so we probably won't see you until Boxing Day."

"That's a shame," Amy said with a laugh. "We'll see you then, anyway. Have as much fun as possible. Safe travel."

"Thanks," Alice said as Frank helped her with her cloak. The two women kissed cheeks. "Have a lovely Christmas."

Frank and Alice left and the four of us looked down at Aludra together, who seemed unaware that there were so many eyes on her.

"Are we being selfish?" Lily said softly. "I mean, I'm thrilled to have a baby, but…."

"No," Amy said firmly. "I thought that when we were pregnant with Aludra, but it is the right thing. Dumbledore can say all he wants that this could be over by July, but I'm not a fool. Even with the minimal things that end up in the papers, it's impossible for everything to be over that quickly. It could be years, maybe even decades, and we shouldn't put our lives on hold because a megalomaniac thinks he should take over the entire world and impose blood purity."

We all nodded sadly. Lily's eyes were shining with tears as she touched her abdomen. But Lily and James left after a few goodbyes and I was sure that James would spend the evening working through their fears.

I turned, though, and saw Amy fall onto the sofa and begin to cry and shake.

"Amy," I said, scrambling to sit beside her, putting my arms around her. "Amy, it's going to be okay. Like Dumbledore said, they're not going to want our girls."

"No," she choked out. "No, they want all of us."

I recoiled slightly, wincing.

She was right, in a way. It was almost worse to be wanted alive than to be wanted dead.

"Amy," I whispered, petting her hair. "Amy, you heard what Dumbledore said. Extra protections will be added. That will protect us, alive or dead. And he is right about Mad-Eye and Aludra. I don't think Mad-Eye would let anything happen to her."

"I know," she said, resting her head on my shoulder. "It's going to be okay, right? But…but it's two instead of one this time and it was hard enough the first time, and…."

"Woah, Amy," I said, looking down at her and frowning. "What is this about? Is this about Voldemort and the prophecy, or is this about the pregnancy?"

"Both, I suppose," she sighed, wiping her eyes. "I mean, everything's hitting us at once and I don't know what to think at the moment. One child, sure. But three? Sirius, we're still basically kids!"

I sighed.

She was sort of right, although I didn't exactly want to admit it. I loved her, and I wanted her to feel safe. But having three children would make life in this war so much more difficult.

"Let's just think about how wonderful it's going to be to have three little girls to spoil," I said with a smile.

She snorted.

"Sirius, you don't need any more children to spoil, especially with all that gold you just inherited. We'll need a bigger house just for all the toys and dolls."

I raised my eyebrows. It wasn't a half-bad idea.

"No," she snapped, kissing my cheek. "We've got enough room here for five of us." She groaned. "Ugh, five of us. It's like I can feel how large I'm going to get already."

"I think you're going to be beautiful," I said honestly, touching her stomach and pressing my lips to her cheek. "And I think that you're going to be a super mother, dealing with the twins on top of this little villain."

"Mumumumum," Aludra babbled from the floor and I blinked, looking down at her.

"What was that, princess?" I asked, getting on the floor beside her as she looked up at us from her blocks. "What were you saying?"

"Mumumum," Aludra said, grinning. I laughed, kissing her cheek.

"Oh, you clever girl," I said, scooping her onto my lap. "Is that your mummy?"

Amy rolled her eyes.

"She's just repeating syllables, Sirius," Amy said. "She's not speaking."

I shook my head. I knew Amy was right. She'd read me all about this in the parenting books, but I liked to believe that our girl had some understanding of her babblings.

"With how clever her parents are?" I teased, bouncing Aludra slightly on my knee as she grinned and babbled on. "Nonsense, love. She's speaking."

Amy just smiled at me as I spent twenty minutes trying to get Aludra to say "Dada," but she apparently inherited our stubbornness as well and seemed to prefer "Mumum."

"Mumumumum," she babbled on happily hitting a block against the carpet while I touched Amy's ankle and rested my head on her lap.

"Do you feel better?" I asked, looking up at my wife's smiling face.

"Yes," she said, running her hands through my hair. Her eyes got wide, and she went to say something, but it was too late. Aludra had already started slamming the block down against my foot instead of the carpet.

"Merlin's-!"

"Sirius!"

"What?" I groaned, nursing my smarting foot. "It's not like she's speaking yet!"

"Says the man who just insisted that she's clever enough to speak already."

"Mumumumum!"

I groaned, pressing my head into Amy's lap again. She laughed.

"Would you like a pain potion?" Amy teased.

"Yes, please," I said, kissing her knee. "Have you noticed that she's been chewing on that block all day?"

"Chewing?" Amy asked, getting up to get a potion for me.

"Yeah, like she's chewing on food or something."

"Sirius, she's still breast-feeding. She doesn't chew on food yet."

"You know what I mean."

Amy sighed, handing me the potion and sitting beside me on the floor, pulling Aludra onto her lap.

"Let's see your mouth, miss," she said, trying to coax Aludra to hold her mouth still. "Oh, Sirius!" Amy giggled, excited.

"What is it?" I asked, frowning as I put the empty vial on the couch.

"She's starting to get her first teeth," Amy said, tickling Aludra. "That would explain why she's been so cranky. It hurts, doesn't it, love?"

"Aw," I cooed, leaning forward and kissing Aludra's cheek. "Soon you'll be able to eat big people food!"

"Not that soon," Amy said with a snort. "She's still got at least another six months of breastfeeding, and after that a lot of mush until she can eat soft foods."

"Humph," I said on my daughter's behalf. "Well, I guess I'll just have to think of lots of clever ways to distract you from that painful tooth, then, won't I?" I frowned slightly. "What do we have for her to teethe on?"

"I'll find something," Amy said, snuggling Aludra. "At least, I'll find something to make do until you get a chance to go out and buy her everything wizards have invented for teething little children."

I laughed.

"Well, I know what you're getting for Christmas, princess," I said, tapping Aludra on her little nose. "Teething rings, dolls, and your very first tooth!"

"The tooth won't be in by Christmas, Sirius."

"Don't underestimate our princess, Amy. If she wants the tooth by Christmas, she'll have the tooth by Christmas."

The tooth was not in by Christmas, although it was starting to peek through the gums more clearly.

"Ah, princess," I told Aludra in my wisest tone, "we need to teach you how to wish more forcefully for things. Nearly there, but not quite got it."

"What are you babbling on about?" Amy groaned, stretching as I sat down on our bed holding a half-awake Aludra, who, like her mother, seemed puzzled to have been woken up by me.

"Just secrets between me and my daughter," I teased, tapping Amy's bare toes, which weren't covered by the sheets. "Never you mind."

Amy rolled her eyes and yawned. I passed Aludra over to her.

"Oh, Sirius," she sighed, kissing Aludra's hair. "Her eyes have gotten so green in the last month."

"They're exactly the color of yours now, darling," I said, kissing her knees through the sheets. "She's going to be just like her beautiful mother."

"Mmm, Happy Christmas, Sirius," Amy moaned, stretching once more as Aludra sat up on her mother's lap.

"Happy Christmas, love."

"Dadadadadada."

I laughed.

"There, you see?" I said, kissing my girl's foot and running my finger along it until she giggled. "She wasn't being stubborn after all! She was saving it for Christmas. That's my clever little princess."

Sometimes, I could half convince myself of the ridiculous things I said about Aludra. What harm was there in believing that she was an incredibly talented and clever child? With parents like me and Amy, she no doubt was. I knew it frustrated Amy sometimes, but I liked to think of my daughter as perfect. I only had so long to believe it before she grew up enough to start proving me wrong. There were so few things to really believe in with the war that I would cling to Aludra's perfection as long as possible.

"C'mon," Amy said, a bit more awake as she sat up and pulled Aludra into her arms as she continued to babble. "Let's get this little princess ready for her first Christmas party, shall we?"

I grinned at her, leaning forward and kissing her lips eagerly.

Amy, smiling and confused, pulled away.

"What was that for?"

"That's the first time you've called her princess," I said happily. "At least, that I've heard. I…I was worried that maybe you…"

She frowned.

"That I what?"

I just smiled and shook my head.

Maybe it was illogical and unreasonable of me, but because I doted on Aludra incessantly and Amy was more reserved about it, sometimes I had fears that she didn't love Aludra as much as I did. And what with two more daughters on the way, it was something I'd been thinking about more and more all the time. She just smiled at me and I said, "All right, let's get her dressed."

Mrs. Potter had picked out Aludra's first Christmas frock, and although it was a bit frilly for my tastes – and seemingly for Aludra's as well – she did look like the very picture of an adorable little Christmas angel.

"Oh, Aludra, darling!" Mrs. Potter cried, taking my little girl in her arms as Aludra babbled on and on. "Oh, Sirius, she's just the most precious thing."

"Yes, she certainly is," I said as James poured drinks for the non-pregnant members of the party. "She's Daddy's little princess, aren't you love?"

"Dadadadada," Aludra babbled, grabbing at Mrs. Potter's collar curiously.

"When did she start saying that?" Lily asked, sitting down by the Christmas tree.

"Just this morning," Amy said with a smirk. "Sirius was convinced that it was meant as his Christmas present."

"And for some strange reason Amy insists it wasn't," I teased, kissing her cheek. "Here, Remus this is for you, from us."

"Sirius," Remus sighed. "Amy already sent me a present from all of you."

"I know," I said, pressing the parcel into his hands. "But we thought of something else you needed. Go on, Remus. Take it."

He sighed, looking down at the parcel in his hands. I winked at Amy, but she just shook her head and smiled.

It wasn't that it wasn't from both of us. She had technically agreed to give him the gift. Remus needed it, couldn't afford it, and we could. That was all I needed to become a virtual Father Christmas.

Remus seemed self-conscious about opening it in front of everyone, but he did so, the same way he'd always unwrapped parcels: slowly.

"Merlin, Remus, if you don't just rip the damn thing I'll open it myself," Amy snarled.

"Don't argue with a pregnant woman, Remus," James said urgently under his breath. "Just rip the wrappings."

Remus clearly did not feel comfortable doing so, but he seemed to agree with James about the foolishness of angering a pregnant woman.

He ripped the paper and opened the box and gasped. Tears came to his eyes.

"Sirius," he choked out. "Amy…."

"I know you wanted to see them one more time before you push them aside forever," Amy said softly. "And I don't judge you. I don't talk to my parents anymore, either. You're right, it's safer that way. But you should at least say goodbye."

"You're right," Remus sniffed. "I should. I haven't said this yet, but…my father wrote yesterday. My mother is dying."

I frowned.

We couldn't have gotten him a more timely train ticket, it seemed.

"Happy Christmas, Remus," I said, clapping his shoulder as he set down the box and took Aludra from Mrs. Potter.

"Mumumumum," Aludra babbled happily, throwing her little curled up fists around as Remus bounced her slightly.

"Happy Christmas," Remus replied, smiling at Aludra, who continued to babble contentedly. He seemed to be especially attached to her that night, and she to him, so I said nothing when he held her the remainder of the night, occasionally kissing her head affectionately as she sat on his lap, babbling to him her syllables as though she was saying something incredibly important.

And he listened to every syllable as if she were imparting words of great wisdom.