When Sirius Met Harry

Sirius Black was awoken abruptly from a deep sleep by an urgent tapping on the window of the bedroom. He rolled over sluggishly, willing the tapping to stop so he could return to sleep. For several minutes, the tapping persisted, slowly breaking into his consciousness and forcing him awake.

As he opened his eyes, he realised he didn't have a clue where he was. He sat up abruptly, still half asleep, taking in his surroundings. To most people, this situation would be disturbing to say the least, but Sirius was not exactly unaccustomed to waking up in a strange house with very little idea how he got there. He surveyed the room gingerly as he pushed his long black hair out of his eyes, the familiar throbbing of the previous night's excesses starting to hit home.

He was in a large and lavishly decorated room, slightly too pink for his taste and with a definite feminine air. As his head slowly began to clear, he became aware of another presence in the room. Much to his delight, when he turned around he found a pretty, naked young woman lying next to him, her curly auburn hair falling gently across her caramel coloured shoulders.

He grinned inwardly, silently congratulating himself on his latest conquest. He vaguely recognised her as a young witch he had met the previous evening in the Hogg's Head, whilst on a rather wild drinking binge with his three friends, Remus, James and Peter. He remembered very little about their encounter, but no matter, there would be plenty of time to make up for that later.

He was about to wake her with a gentle kiss, when the tapping noise once again punctured his thoughts. Quietly, he slipped out of bed and tiptoed across the room towards the window. Early morning sunlight bathed the room in a pinkish glow as Sirius pulled back the curtains to discover the perpetrator of the noise; a large brown owl sitting patiently on the windowsill. It lifted its leg impatiently towards Sirius, indicating with a slight nod of its head to a small note clearly marked 'Sirius Black'.

"What the-" Sirius whispered to himself. It couldn't be much past four in the morning, he thought as he carefully detached the note from its bearer. He wondered who on earth could be trying to contact him here, at this time. The owl flew away, apparently satisfied that it had completed its job as Sirius tore open the note.

The contractions have started!

The note bore only four words, but they were enough to make Sirius jump into action. He dressed at break neck speed, stuffed his wand into his robes and Disapparated with a loud crack. The witch on the bed awoke, looked around the room, and lay back down against the pillow with a resigned sigh.

~

Moments later, Sirius appeared just outside the door of James and Lily Potters house to find Remus Lupin standing at the open door, ushering him in.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked his friend, a note of alarm in his voice.

"Calm down, Padfoot, it's early yet," Remus replied, placing a calming hand on Sirius's shoulder." She started having mild contractions about half an hour ago, but she's fine, she's upstairs with James."

"Is she alright? I mean, is she in a lot of pain?" asked Sirius as they went into the sitting room.

"It's not too bad at the moment. James is in more of state than she is. He insisted she go upstairs and lie down, but there's really no need. I already sent an owl to the nurse, but she said there was no need to do anything for a while yet."

Sirius found himself once again admiring his friend's cool composure. He knew exactly how James must be feeling. He made towards the stairs, but Remus stopped him.

"Leave them be for the moment. They'll be back downstairs in a minute when Lily's calmed him down a bit." He smiled, pushing Sirius gently down on to the delicate olive green sofa and went into the kitchen to conjure up some tea.

"When did you get here?" Sirius asked him when he returned.

"I've been here all night. We came back here after you disappeared and carried on drinking. Peter left a few hours ago, and I crashed on the sofa." A wry smile formed on his lips. "So did you have fun last night?" he asked. Sirius grinned back at him.

"Couldn't tell you. I don't even remember where I was, let alone how I got there," he said. "She was a looker, though, I know that much."

"Are you seeing her again?" Remus asked.

"Dunno. She was still asleep when I left."

"Merlin's beard, Padfoot, you're terrible. You didn't even say goodbye?" Remus smiled with mock horror on his face. Sirius pulled a face at him and lay back lazily on the couch.

Despite Remus's understated good looks and easy-going personality, he rarely dated. Both Sirius and James had tried to set him up with girls on numerous occasions, but he had always politely but firmly declined. He couldn't be bothered with one-night stands, and feigned disinterest in anything more serious, but it was obvious to everyone who knew him that he longed to settle down into the type of relationship that James had with Lily.

Remus had been bitten by a werewolf as a child and now suffered painful and dangerous transformations every full moon. This was something that his closest friends had known about since their first year at school, and it had never bothered them in the slightest, but the wizarding world harboured a deep seated fear and loathing of werewolves, making any chance Remus had of getting beyond a couple of dates impossible. He had had his heart broken on more than one occasion when the girl in question had found out his secret, and he had now all but given up hope of finding someone who would accept him for what he was.

"Where are they?" Sirius said, changing the subject abruptly. As if they had been summoned, James and Lily appeared at the top of the stairs. Sirius sat upright, staring at his friends, open-mouthed. James's handsome face was gaunt and white with worry. He wrapped his arm protectively around Lily's shoulders, supporting her as though she were made out of glass. He slowly guided her down the stairs. Lily looked beautiful. There was no other word for it. Her red-brown hair was tied neatly back, her face slightly flushed. She beamed at the young men as she followed her husband's lead, supporting her weight on his arm more to humour him than out of necessity. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, she gently shook him off and sat down on the chair opposite the sofa.

"Lily, are you... I mean..." Sirius stood up, not really knowing what to say or do.

"I'm fine, Sirius, honestly. I just wish you would all stop fussing," she said good-naturedly. "I've got hours yet, and it's going to be a very long day if you two don't calm down a bit. Tell them Remus." She turned to her friend, a mixture of desperation and mild amusement on her face.

"I've tried," Remus said, smiling back at her, holding his hands up in resignation.

Sirius turned at last to James, who remained silent. He seemed to be in a state of shock. He met Sirius's gaze, but seemed to stare right through him as he dropped heavily down into a chair.

"I'm going to be a father." He suddenly beamed at Sirius, and leapt out of his seat to embrace his friend. "I'm going to be a father!" As he said it, the reality seemed to sink in, and as quickly as his face had lit up seconds ago, it dropped again. "Oh my god, I'm going to be a father!" he whispered, his voice changing from sheer joy, to utter panic and terror. He shook slightly and swayed as the shock hit home. He looked as though he might keel over at any moment. Sirius stared at him, still unable to speak. Remus took charge, as usual.

"It's OK James, it's OK," he said soothingly, guiding James back to his seat. "Just sit down for a minute, alright?" Sirius sat down too, wondering how Remus and Lily could stay so calm at a time like this.

If the truth were known, he felt a little foolish. It seemed as though he was handling this almost as badly as James, yet it wasn't his wife about to give birth, not his child about to be born. He had long since resigned himself to the fact that his best friend was no longer a wild free bachelor, and their days of casting charms on the hems of witches' robes were over, but having a child... well that was a different matter altogether. His friend had grown up. Was he jealous? He wasn't sure, but he suddenly felt a little scared and lonely. Here was James, about to settle down once and for all with a family of his own and what did he have? A string of one night stands with women he barely knew and would probably never see again. He suddenly felt a surge of resentment towards this baby. He would lose his best friend; he was sure of it, and all because of this little child. He pushed the thought away, ashamed of himself, and turned his attentions back to James.

James was still sitting on the chair, his eyes wide with terror, as Remus knelt at his feet. It seemed slightly absurd to Sirius that Remus was fawning over James while Lily sat alone on the other side of the room in labour. Absurd, but kind of understandable. Lily had always been the strong one. She was intelligent, brave and always cool under pressure. Very like Remus in fact. James, on the other hand, whilst courageous to a fault, was rash, impulsive and passionate. Very like himself. They made a perfect foursome really, each person's qualities complimenting the others. Sirius felt a momentary pang of guilt that yet again, he had thought of them as a foursome, completely overlooking the fact that their other best friend, Peter, seemed to have been forgotten about.

"Has anyone told Peter? He'd be upset to miss this," he asked no one in particular.

"Tried earlier on," replied Remus, turning away from James. "We sent an owl to him right after yours, but we've heard nothing yet."

Something told Sirius that they wouldn't have given up quite so easily if they hadn't heard from him so quickly, but that was the way it had always been with Peter. He was always an afterthought. Try as they might, they could never quite fit him into the group as easily as they could each other. It wasn't something they had ever discussed, but Sirius knew the rest of them felt as badly about it as he did. Peter knew it too, and attached himself to them like a limpet most of the time to avoid being left out by their feeble attempts to include him in their activities.

"How could we be so irresponsible?" James's voice interrupted Sirius's thoughts.

"What?" he asked, abruptly.

"How could we bring a child into the world now? In the middle of this war?" James looked from Sirius to Remus, pleadingly. "It's no time for a child to be born is it? He could get killed. He's going to grow up knowing nothing but violence."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, and then slowly turned to Lily. Her composure was visibly shaken, her face white with unspoken fear. It was something they had all thought about but never discussed, at least not in front of Lily. Remus stood up.

"OK, Prongs, that's enough. Lets go and get some air," said Remus, gently. He stood up and guided James to the large glass doors at the back of the room. He stared pointedly at Sirius, indicating that he should talk to Lily while they were gone.

Sirius stared at her, trying to find something to say.

"Is he right?" Lily asked him, her wide eyes staring back at him.

"No," Sirius said simply, wishing that he were outside with James and Remus was in here with Lily. Remus was so much better at this kind of thing. "The baby will be fine. We'll win the fight before he's had a chance to notice it's happening. You know we'll win. It's just a matter of time."

Lily seemed to relax a little, and Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he'd said something right.

"I hope that's true," she put a protective hand on her stomach, stroking it as though she were stroking her child. "I just want it all to be over. I'm sick of all this violence." She dropped her head forward and started to cry softly. Sirius looked into the garden desperately. James was crouched on the floor, his head in his hands, Remus standing over him with his hand on his shoulder.

Sirius moved towards Lily and knelt on the floor in front of her. He put his hand gently on her shoulder. He couldn't remember ever seeing Lily cry and it hurt him to see her so distressed. She leaned in towards him and placed her head on his shoulder, still sobbing quietly.

"I promise you, everything will be OK," he said firmly, wishing he could believe it himself. "How many times has he tried to kill us and failed? Voldemort will never get past the marauders. He wouldn't dare!"

Lily looked up at him, smiling through her tears. "I'm so glad I've got you lot. You and Remus are like brothers to me. I don't know what I'd do with out you," she said softly. "And Peter," she added. Sirius smiled inwardly as he remembered his earlier train of thought. He kissed her gently on the head

"Anyway," she said, suddenly regaining her composure. "I bet this is weird for you, your best friend settling down and all. Are you OK about it?" Sirius blushed and looked away, ashamed that Lily had guessed his deepest thoughts so easily.

"Of course, I'm really happy for you both," he said with forced cheerfulness, realising instantly how false he sounded. Lily ruffled his hair, playfully.

"He'll still be the same old James, you know. He'll just be a bit more tired than usual." She smiled benevolently at him.

"And he'll talk endlessly about babies, I expect," said Sirius, glumly, fighting to suppress the bubbling feelings of resentment again.

"Well it'll make a change from Quidditch!" Lily said, laughing softly as she saw Sirius start to smile despite himself.

Suddenly, she put her hand to her stomach and winced, leaning forward slightly.

"Oh God! What's happening," Sirius exclaimed with alarm. "Is the baby coming? James! Remus!" He shouted, wildly.

"It's OK, it's OK, don't panic," said Lily, her face still screwed up from the pain. "Don't worry him, they're only twenty minutes apart."

"Are you sure we shouldn't send for the nurse yet?" asked Sirius, looking to the garden desperately searching for sign of Remus and James, but they were gone.

"Not yet," Lily said firmly. "I'll tell you when. Or rather, I'll tell Remus since he seems to be the only one of you who isn't flapping around."

"I'll get Remus, then," said Sirius, standing up and walking to the door.

"If you must," sighed Lily, sitting back into the chair. She rolled her eyes with impatience.

Sirius went outside into the large garden. Remus and James were nowhere in sight but he knew where to find them. He walked across the neat lawn to the summerhouse at the bottom of the garden. The sun was fully up now, and beating down hard on to Sirius's back as he walked. It was going to be another beautiful day. He opened the door to the summerhouse and found James sitting on a bench, looking decidedly calmer.

"Lily just had another contraction," he said to them both.

"Stay here for a moment," said Remus. "I'll go and see to her."

"I should come too," said James, standing up quickly.

"I'll call you if she needs you. Just relax for a while. You're going to need your strength later on," Remus said firmly and walked out of the door past Sirius. Sirius sat down next to James.

"Butterbeer?" asked James, picking up a bottle from the box in the corner. Sirius took it and gave it a tap with his wand to remove the cork. The two men sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping on their beers. Finally, James spoke.

"You'd think that after everything we've been through, having a baby would be like first year transfiguration," he said.

James was as scared as Sirius, and Sirius knew it.

"It'll be fine when the baby's here," he said. "Everything will probably just fit into place then."

"Yeah," James replied, and they lapsed into silence again, sipping on their beers. They did that often, sat together without talking, but it was a comfortable silence. For as long as Sirius could remember, James had felt like a brother to him, not least because he had lived with him and his parents for a time after he had left home. They had taken him in with open arms when he needed it most, and Sirius had not forgotten that.

After a while, James spoke suddenly.

"Listen, Lily and I were thinking... well, if you like, we'd like you to be godfather to the baby," he said, staring at the floor and playing nervously with the rim of his bottle. "If you want to that is. I mean, I'm sure Remus would do it if you don't want to."

Sirius paused for a moment before answering. He hadn't expected this. What did he know about children? Did he even want to do it? He realised he should probably say something.

"Wow, thanks," he said awkwardly. "What does a godfather do? Would I have to change nappies and stuff like that?"

"Nothing like that." James smiled. "It's just, you know, in case anything happens to me or Lily, you'd just be there for the baby, make sure it's alright."

Under normal circumstances, Sirius would not have hesitated in saying yes, but he knew this would not be an idle promise. With the war raging, and James and Lily's involvement in the Order being so dangerous, there was a very real chance that he would have to live up to his role. He really didn't know whether he could handle it.

"Wouldn't Remus be better?" he asked. "I mean, he's really good with kids, and I don't have a clue. I wouldn't know what to do."

"Well if you don't want to do it - " James started, an edge of irritation in his voice.

"No, no, it's not that," Sirius cut in hastily. "I just meant, well, why are you asking me and not Remus? I'm not exactly good at this type of thing and Remus was born for it." Sirius briefly wondered whether the fact that Remus transformed into a dangerous werewolf every full moon would be an issue, but knew instantly that it wouldn't. Like himself, James and Lily trusted Remus with their lives despite his affliction.

"We just wanted you," said James. "Look, just think about it, OK? You don't have to decide now."

Sirius didn't answer, but sat deep in thought while he finished his butterbeer. It would probably make more sense if he stepped aside and let Remus take on the role. He suspected that James had asked him more out of a sense of duty as his best friend than out of practicality. Remus would certainly love the idea - he was already almost as excited about the child's arrival than Lily and James themselves. He had helped them decorate the nursery and spent endless hours trying to decide on names while Sirius drank himself into a stupor, wishing they'd talk about something else. If the truth were told, Sirius just didn't see what the fuss was about. He felt nothing for the baby, not even affection. He decided he would wait a while and then tell James that he wouldn't be the child's godfather.

Time passed slowly, and after what seemed like an eternity, Remus arrived back at the door.

"The contractions are closer together now. The nurse is on her way," he said, as James and Sirius got to their feet. "You should probably come back to the house now." James's face resumed its look of mingled shock and terror as they made for the door.

As the three of them walked towards the house, James bombarded Remus with questions about Lily, Remus responding calmly and offering advice on how to help her through it. Sirius half listened, trying to fight the feelings of foreboding he felt in the pit of his stomach. He wished he could share in James and Lily's excitement a little more. He knew he was being childish and selfish, but a part of him wanted everything to stay the same as it was. He wanted to be able to sit in summerhouse and drink butterbeer with James forever.

As they reached the house, the doorbell rang. Remus went to let the nurse in and update on her Lily's progress while James rushed upstairs to sit with Lily. Sirius sat down on the sofa, not really knowing what to do. He almost wished he hadn't come - he could have stayed with the young redhead and enjoyed himself, instead of sitting on the sofa like a third wheel, waiting for his life to be turned upside down.

When Remus had shown the nurse upstairs, he returned to sit with Sirius. They sat on the edge of the sofa, listening intently for any indication of what was happening upstairs.

The clock ticked by for a couple of hours and still there was no news. Remus made no move to go upstairs and find out what was happening, and Sirius didn't really want to. They made a few feeble attempts to talk about the war and the efforts of the Order, but their minds were both elsewhere. After a while, Sirius blurted out what was occupying his thoughts.

"James asked me if I'd be godfather to the baby," he said abruptly, and then quickly regretted it; realising that telling Remus might not have been such a good idea.

"I know," Remus replied softly. "He told me a while ago that he was going to ask you. He asked if I'd mind."

"And do you?" Sirius asked.

"Not at all. I suspected they probably would." Remus smiled at his friend, knowingly. As always, he could read him like a book and had half expected him to react badly to the idea.

"Well it doesn't matter anyway, because I'm not going to do it," Sirius said firmly.

"Why on earth not?" said Remus, though he knew the answer.

"Because there's no point. If anything did happen to James and Lily, I'd only come running to you anyway. I wouldn't have a clue what to do with a baby," Sirius replied, searching his friend's face for approval. "You'd be far better at it than me. It just makes more sense this way."

"Have you told James this?" asked Remus.

"Not yet. He told me to think about it first. Look Moony, between you and me, I'm not really into kids. I'm too selfish. The last thing I want is responsibility for a child. I can barely take care of myself." Sirius fell silent, wanting his friend to tell him something that would make him feel better about the way he was feeling. Remus studied Sirius closely for a moment before he spoke.

"You're jealous aren't you?" Remus smiled with understanding. "You think this baby's going to come between you and James don't you?" Sirius flushed, angry at being caught out once again.

"I'm not jealous," he snapped. "I just don't like babies that's all. I just don't understand why everyone makes it into such a big deal. It's just a baby. It won't do anything, it'll just lie around and cry and eat for the next few years until it turns into a child and then it'll end up running off and doing it's own thing anyway."

"Not everyone's childhood was like yours, Padfoot," Remus said softly. "And the reason people make such a big deal of it is because it is a big deal." He paused, looking for a sign that Sirius understood him. He found none. "Look, just do what you told James you would do, and wait. See how you feel when the baby is born. If you don't want the responsibility then, of course I'll do it - I'd be honoured to do it. But I really think you'll feel differently. You'd be great to have as a godfather."

"Why?" asked Sirius.

"Are you kidding?" Remus laughed. "You can be cool Uncle Sirius! You can take the baby for rides on your motor bike and teach him all about girls. If it's a boy that is."

Sirius smiled, despite himself. He reluctantly agreed that he would wait before telling James and Lily his decision, though secretly he didn't believe his mind could be changed.

Their conversation was stopped abruptly with the sound of a loud scream from upstairs. Sirius jumped to his feet, closely followed by Remus.

"Leave them alone," Remus said, putting himself between Sirius and the stairs. "They'll call if they need anything."

"Do you think she's alright?" asked Sirius. "Is it normal to scream like that?"

"She'll be fine, I'm sure. Women give birth every day. It just means the baby is nearly here."

The two men sat down again, waiting and listening. Another scream. More time passed, and the noise became almost too difficult for Sirius to bear.

"I can't listen to this and not do anything about it," he said, finally. "I've got to get out of here - I feel so useless."

"You've got to stay," said Remus. "They want you to be here. It's hard for me too, but there's nothing we can do except wait and be there for Lily when she needs us."

They waited, Sirius pacing the floor nervously, Remus sitting calmly on the sofa. After what seemed like hours, Lily's screams of pain stopped and were almost instantly replaced by a new sound - the sound of a baby crying.

Remus and Sirius smiled at each other, Remus with pleasure and Sirius with relief that his friend's ordeal was finally over.

A few minutes later, James appeared at the top of the stairs, beaming with delight.

"It's a boy!" he shouted, "I've got a son! Come and see!" He disappeared back into the bedroom.

Remus made to follow him, but Sirius stayed put.

"Come on, old dog," said Remus. "It's time you pulled yourself together. Your best friend has just become a father and he needs you to at least pretend to be enthusiastic about it."

Sirius reluctantly stood up and followed Remus up the stairs. He stood awkwardly in the doorway as Remus went over to Lily and James. Again, he was struck by how beautiful Lily looked. Her hair was plastered to her face and she looked exhausted, but something about her was glowing. She was cradling what appeared to be a bundle of towels in her arms, staring down at it with pure love radiating from her.

James stood in the corner, talking quietly with the nurse, while Remus knelt beside the bed next to Lily, staring at the baby with awe.

"He's amazing," said Remus, breathlessly. "He's got your eyes, Lily."

"I know," she whispered, her eyes still fixed firmly on her child.

Sirius still hung back, not really knowing what to do. He knew he should do something, say something to his friends, even just congratulate them, but he couldn't seem to get the words out.

"Would it be all right if I held him?" asked Remus. Lily nodded, smiling at Remus. Sirius watched as she carefully passed the bundle to Remus, who cradled the baby expertly against his chest, staring down at him as though he were the most precious thing in the world. Sirius looked over at James who was now regarding the scene with obvious pride as the nurse turned her attentions to Lily. There was something powerful happening in the room and Sirius didn't feel part of it. He saw Remus walking towards him with the baby, and he backed towards the door, shooting Remus a warning look. Remus paid no attention and walked closer, a knowing smile spreading across his lips.

"Look at him, Padfoot," he said gently, and before Sirius could protest, the child was thrust into at him, Remus gently manoeuvring Sirius's arms into position.

Sirius took a deep breath before he looked down at the baby, trying to mentally running through things he could say that would sound suitably enthusiastic, but nothing could have prepared him for what he would see when he finally rested his gaze on the child's tiny face. His mouth fell open with surprise as an enormous wave of emotion swept over him. The little boy looked almost exactly like his father. The realisation hit Sirius like a cannonball. This wasn't just any baby; this was a tiny part of two of his best friends, two of the people he loved most in the world.

At that moment, Sirius realised that he loved this child as if he were his own and he knew, without question, that he would die to protect him.

"Prongs?" he said softly, looking over at his best friend. "If you still want me to, I'd love to be his godfather."