minnow // sirius black

fifty-two

52 ;  basement

Esme's 2nd birthday was going to be a quiet day. Sirius and I had managed to coerce our friends to come over to celebrate, even if it would not be a party, it would be a gathering. 

I wouldn't tell Sirius, but I wanted nothing more than I wanted to see James. Since the day he had left our home to return to their safe house, I had missed him an immense amount. More than I even understood. Part of me worried. 

It was James' idea to invite Remus, "He admitted that he's beginning to feel as Peter says he feels. Isolated, alienated, alone."

The guilt that those words brought me was immense and seemed unending. No matter how worried I was that he was leaking information, I still loved Remus with a part of my heart that would never stop caring. He was my best friend in the world, and I felt unbelievably awful for nearly abandoning him despite the complete safety that my children and myself were in. 

Unless Sirius told Voldemort himself, my children would never not be safe in this home. My family would never not be safe here. As long as we kept Remus at a distance; didn't give him information that could harm us if learned, we were safe. The idea of him being a traitor was sickening, but I had no proof, and part of me was determined not to believe it.

I had snappily told Albus that he should have just let Lily and James stay with Sirius and I. Our home was the safest place for them - second only to a home of their own under the charm. He brushed it off, stating that he'd rather have us separated. The people that Voldemort wanted most in one house put an impossibly large target on my home. Had I not been exhausted, I would've called his bluff. He had his own motives for keeping my brother and I separated and part of me wanted to know. I wanted to learn his secrets, but another part of me didn't care.

So when he opposed James and Lily bringing Harry to visit me, I told him to genuinely mind his own business. I would never let anything happen to my nephew, let alone my twin brother. They were the most important people in my life, second only to my own daughters. He quickly backed down when I threatened to move my family to a place he would never find us. 

No matter how much Albus wanted to control us, he wanted my continued service to the Order more. 

James and Lily arrived three days before Esme's birthday, on the 17th. We temporarily moved them into the attic since Dean was with his family. We had told Remus and Peter that they weren't coming until the 19th, just in case. The other two then planned to come the same day. 

I couldn't honestly say that I remembered inviting Peter, but I felt guilty that he had only met Esme on two occasions, both of which being weddings.

I roped Lily into helping me get the basement ready for her family, Remus, and Peter, since Dean and Kayla had managed to convince her mother to watch Riley and their new son Max and would be taking their room in the attic when they arrived. I was incredibly excited about the new addition, though I had yet to meet him. He was born a month before Harry and Aubrey, so it was a guarantee that they would grow up together.

She agreed much more quickly than I had expected, and immediately darted away from a fussy Harry, and an even more fussy James. Sirius sat with Aubrey asleep in his arms, watching James with intense smugness and arrogance.

"I take it Harry is a bit more than a handful." I asked as we began the descent into the basement. It was a mostly finished basement. There was two bedrooms and a bathroom. The first bedroom, the larger one, was to the left of the stairs. The bathroom was adjacent, further into the basement. The second bedroom was in the back right corner, across the way from the bathroom. To the right of the stairs was a large open space, perfect for a kitchen and living room area.