Belabor: to explain, worry about, or work more than is necessary.
May 21, 1981
"…There're some rings in the freezer in case he gets fussy, otherwise a pop sickle should do the trick. There's some applesauce in the cupboard, that should hold you the afternoon. Put him down for a nap around one-thirty. If it's too early, he won't sleep, and if it's too late he won't sleep tonight. There're plenty of toys if he gets bored. He really likes the picture books. He gets into everything, though, so you've got to keep a good eye on him. We've put all the breakables up, but all the same….
"If there's an emergency, Alice Longbottom's on call, and if you're really desperate, Mrs. Bagshot is just down the street. St. Mungo's direct floo line is above the mantle, first aid's in the bathroom cabinet. We'll be back tonight, and if anything happens, you can get a hold of us through Dumbledore. Any questions?"
James Potter looked down expectantly into the crib he'd been pacing in front of. Bright green eyes stared back at him. A shrill squeal was the only reply he got. James grinned and scooped his son into his arms, heading for the stairs.
"I know it's the first time we're leaving you on your own with Padfoot, but you'll be fine. You get the hang of it pretty quickly."
At the bottom of the stairs, Sirius stood with a diaper bag slung over one shoulder, an armful of stuffed animals, and a parchment covered in instructions that was practically touching the floor. He was staring at Lily's small, neat writing, looking rather windswept as Lily hurled yet more details at him at a mile a minute.
"… don't know if he's allergic to strawberries yet, so you'd better steer clear of those, but if he does get into them, there's a spell in A Healer's Basic Guidebook. But if you've never done it before, maybe you should just take him to St. Mungo's and –"
"Lily," James cut across her smoothly, leaning down to kiss her cheek as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Sirius isn't going to give him strawberries, are you, Padfoot?"
Sirius shook his head fervently, slightly wide-eyed.
Lily let out a great gust of air, which left her somewhat slouched. "I'm sorry, Sirius. We've just never left him with someone who hasn't had a baby before."
"Don't worry about it," James said lightly, bouncing Harry in his arms and not sure if he was talking to his wife, his best friend, or his son. "He's ten months old, he can practically take care of himself. Besides, I've already given him the Sirius-sitting instructions. Everything'll be fine. And if it's not, we'll make Moony godfather instead."
He flashed a smirk at Sirius as Lily took Harry, kissing his rosy cheek. "You be good for your godfather," she told him before letting him spill into Sirius's overflowing arms.
He juggled the baby in his arms, looking down at Harry's bright, slightly sticky face. Harry squealed and pushed a little hand against Sirius's chin. It might have been the first challenge Sirius Black had ever met with nervousness.
A/N: Tehe, Sirius/Remus babysitting always amuses me a bit. Poor blokes... Anyway *cringe* it's been a while again, hasn't it? :/ I've had to babysit a lot lately, which leaves no time for writing! Hope you liked this one.