Chapter 2 - Cue the Montage!

It took me a whole month to get used to the fact that I was reborn as the female version of Harry Potter. I could deal with reincarnation - I've read enough stories about it that I actually believed in it myself - but I sure didn't expect it to happen to me, much less being reborn as the heroine of the whole book series! I always imagined that if I was ever reborn I'd be a non-entity, not important, no one,... someone up there must be laughing at me right now.

I did my best to be a good baby. I only cried when I was hungry or when I needed my nappy changed. Otherwise Lily and James thought of me as a happy baby. Whenever I had a moment alone and I wasn't asleep I trained my small body to move - it was hard being a baby and completely dependent on your parents to do stuff for you. I mean, I didn't mind most of the time (I learned how to ignore being embarrassed about my nappies) - I loved the attention they showered me with. I tried to spend as much time as I could with them, knowing what would happen soon. I tried to give them as many of my firsts as I possibly could, just so they'd give me those proud smiles that I hoarded in my memories.

I met Remus Lupin about a week after I was born since he was out of the country for a time. I wondered if he went to the continent on Order business. Since I still couldn't see properly I could not tell if he looked anything like his book description - same with Sirius, Lily and James to be honest - but his voice was warm when he spoke to my parents and godparent and when they introduced him to me it softened even more.

Unlike Sirius who loved holding me in his arms and sometimes wouldn't allow James or even Lily to take me from him, Remus didn't touch me. He just stood there as James tried to convince him that he wouldn't hurt me.

Why was he afraid of holding me, touching me?

My first smile came naturally without having to plan for it or train for it. One day in my 2nd month since being born I just smiled at James as he came to change my morning nappy. God, I loved that man to bits. He was the best dad any girl - any *baby* - could want. He was a goof and loved reading me bedtime stories using different voices. He loved making silly faces at me and grinning when I squealed from laughter even if I couldn't smile yet. He loved being my dad, I could tell. He never scrunched his nose at changing my nappies (unlike Sirius who dry-heaved every time my smelly bottom smell hit him), or when I spit and slobbered all over him.

James was in the middle of baby-talking to me as he was wiping my butt when I gave him my smile. He went silent and just stared at me for a few moments and then I was witness to a new smile that I had not yet seen from him. It bordered on touched (I could see sparkly things in his eyes again) and like he could die from happiness right that moment.

"Oh, I'm going to have to beat the boys away from you with a stick, won't I?" he said a few moments later as he continued wiping my butt before putting on my new nappy.

I met Pettigrew 4 months after I was born. He looked nervous as I was introduced and didn't want to touch me either. I tried my best to let my parents know that he was an untrustworthy person but I don't know if they understood me - since you know, I couldn't really communicate yet.

I squirmed and grimaced and when Lily tried to give me to Pettigrew to hold I started crying as loudly as I could.

I managed to persuade Remus to finally hold me at 6 months of age. He came for dinner every 1st Sunday of the month and I took my chance when he was sat down on an armchair and I was lying on the carpet near him.

I squirmed until I managed to roll on my tummy and made my way slowly and arduously towards his foot. Then I grabbed at his pant leg and tugged on it as strongly as I could.

Remus shut up in the middle of a sentence and looked down at me. I crawled even closed and sat up then reached up with my hands in an obvious way of asking to be picked up. If I could speak I would have said "Up!" but I couldn't yet, so I just made cooing noises and smiled at him warmly.

I was close enough to feel his body tense up and then he took a deep breath and picked me up to put me in his lap.

When I didn't cry the moment he touched me, his apprehensiveness started slowly disappearing. I cuddled as close to him as I could and gave him a gummy smile when he tentatively touched my hair to brush it out of my eyes.

"She's precious isn't she?" James cooed at me and Remus looked down at me and smiled the warmest smile I have ever seen him give. "Yes, she is."

I was crawling on the living room carpet and she was sitting on the couch folding clothes. James was somewhere in the kitchen, cooking lunch. I decided to take my first steps for Lily. I gave James my first smile, it only made sense I gave my mom my first steps.

I crawled to the armchair to the left of the couch and grabbed it as I pulled myself to a standing position. Lily gave me a small glance as she kept folding the clothes.

I looked at her and kept looking at her until I had her complete attention.

Then I let go of the couch and slowly wobbled towards her. It wasn't that far - only a metre or two, but it was long enough that I almost lost my balance. Luckily I managed to catch myself on the couch's edge and continued wobbling towards her now outstretched arms and gave her a beaming smile as I finally reached her.

I, being the daughter of James Potter, the god-daughter of Sirius Black and honourable niece of Remus Lupin, meant that I was the Heir of the Marauders. At least that's what I called myself when I decided to prank everyone with my first words.

It was the 1st Sunday of the month which meant that Remus was visiting, and of course, Sirius was also there - he couldn't not visit me every few days, he just couldn't stay away from me - his words, not mine.

I was playing with my stuffed toys - a stag, a doe, a wolf and a black dog (they tried giving me a rat too but I threw it into the fireplace and let it catch fire so it burned to ashes) - when I heard dad and Sirius bicker on what my first word is going to be - James argued that I was going to call him Dada or Lily Mama before I called Sirius Unca Siri since Unca Siri was two words and much harder to learn for a baby. Remus was chucking at the two and Lily was rolling her eyes.

I decided to do my first prank then.

I let the stuffed toys fall to the ground, except the black dog which I called Padfoot in my head since I couldn't speak it yet. Then I cooed loudly making them look at me and getting their attention. I waved the Padfoot around and pointed with it to Sirius then loudly said my first words.

"Paw-paw!"

I made sure it sounded more like Papa instead of Paw-Paw, so that James would think I named Sirius as my dad.

I had to work hard to stop from laughing when I saw how crest-fallen my dad looked.