Marlene

37- Venus Marlene Black

"He's all wrinkled," Marlene looked down at the baby that Lily had passed her. She was resting the baby on her own baby bump.

"That's how babies are Marls," Lily yawned.

"Not my baby," Marlene shook her head, "my baby is going to be born in her teenage years so that I don't have to change nappies."

"Sure," Lily shook her head in an exasperated fashion and held her hands out for her son. Marlene passed the child to his mother.

"So, when's the Christening?" Marlene asked, resting her hands on her stomach.

"Well, I said to James, that we should wait until your little one is born," Lily looked up from her son, whom she had been making funny faces at, "that way they can share a Christening."

Marlene grinned, "I think that would be wonderful."

********

At the end of October, Venus Marlene Black was born.

Marlene was very proud of herself, as just a few days before Venus had been born she had completed a powder pink blanket for the little girl, with the initials VB sewed into it in Navy Blue thread.

"Dammit, she looks like a prune!" Marlene grinned down at the little girl.

"She looks like you," Sirius' voice was heavy with emotion, and he too had a large smile on his face.

"Are you saying that I look like a prune?" Marlene asked.

"No, I'm saying that both of my girls look absolutely beautiful," Sirius kissed her on the cheek.

"Nice save Black," Marlene muttered.

********

Not weeks later, Venus and Harry were both Christened. It was a quiet affair, with only the two sets of parents and a priest present.

It was risky for Lily and James to be out of the Flidalus Charm's protection, but it was important to Lily that Harry be Christened. So they kept it small and quick, returning almost immediately to James and Lily's house.

Venus was turning out to be an extremely fussy baby. She cried throughout the entire service, and through most nights.

The only time she wasn't screaming her head off, was when Sirius was holding her. The two of them had already seemed to develop a very close father-daughter bond. And Marlene was already teasing Sirius about how much he was going to spoil the girl.

He proudly told James and Lily that, 'Venie is going to be a daddies girl.'

Marlene laughed at this and told her mother all about how cute the father and daughter were.

"Well sweetie," said Sarah, "I think that Venus seems just like you. You always preferred your father's attention, he always said it was because I was rough with you."

"I did threaten to use the silencing charm on her when she was screaming her head off at midnight last week," Marlene thought aloud.

"That would be it then!" Sarah laughed, "Venus has spotted that Sirius is the one who she's more likely to be able to guilt trip into doing things for her, so she's latched onto it."

"Mum she's a baby!"

"But she's also got McKinnon blood!" Sarah said proudly, "we McKinnons have always been advanced!"