scars || sirius black

67 - the prophecy

Snow fell sleepily from the sky as Emmy and Sirius brought their baby girl home from the hospital two days later. As they fretted about keeping her cosy and warm in the blanket Molly Weasley had knitted for her, Maeve slept on unfazed.

Sirius opened the front door of the flat an stepped back to let them inside first out of the cold. He set the bags down in the hallway and watched Emmy strolling into the kitchen ahead, gazing down at their daughter asleep in her arms.

He smiled softly as she turned to look back at him, glowing with happiness.

"We're home," she whispered and he thought she'd never looked more beautiful.

The blissful moment was interrupted by a perturbed yowl from Mac curling his way around the door from their bedroom, appearing annoyed that they'd left him alone for two whole days. It obviously didn't matter to him that Dorcas had been in to feed him.

Sirius picked up the cat, rolling his eyes fondly as he let Mac nuzzle the top of Maeve's head softly. He sniffed at the bundle of blankets indifferently and soon clambered down, heading straight back to his food bowl.

"Maybe she'll grow on him," Emmy laughed.

"She's going to have to," he replied jokingly.

They soon settled Maeve for a nap and Sirius began to unpack the hospital bags, insisting that Emmy rest on the sofa with a cup of tea. She was still taking pain-relief potions hourly and was exhausted from the last few days; not only having given birth but all their friends coming to visit them in hospital bearing gifts and a lot of emotions. Maeve's arrival was the best thing that had happened in a long time and everyone was so happy for them, she was their little piece of hope and in times like these that was more powerful than any darkness.

Remus had actually cried when he first met her, holding her with trembling hands as he gushed over how tiny she was. He had sobbed even harder when they asked him to be godfather.

———————

In the first weeks that followed, their home was filled with a near constant stream of freshly-cooked meals and beautiful gifts from their friends. Every moment seemed to pass in a blur, the sleep-deprivation blending the days into one.

Mac the cat was growing more used to Maeve and while he always made a swift exit when she started crying, occasionally they caught him sitting next to her bassinet and nudging carefully at her blankets. Once, they had to grab him before he clambered in next to her.

Emmy and Sirius grew closer together every day they spent looking after their daughter, if that was even possible. In the moments when all she wanted to do was burst into tears, Sirius was there to hold her tight and take Maeve out in the pram for a walk, and when they both woke to her cries every few hours at night, they squeezed each others hands and went to settle her in turns.

Sirius loved every moment of being a dad and Emmy often found him drinking a coffee in the morning with Maeve asleep on his chest, glowing smile on his face. She had never loved him more.

Remus tried to drop in for dinner at least once a week but he was constantly doing surveillance or raids for the Order so it was hard catching him for more than an hour at a time. He would spend most of the evening holding Maeve, so distracted that his food would go cold before he even took a bite.

Emmy loved to watch him with her, but as time went on she began to worry about him too. He seemed to spend every waking moment putting himself in danger, it was like he could find no other purpose in life other than to throw himself wholeheartedly in the face of whatever was most likely to kill him. Mad-Eye and Dumbledore praised his fervent endeavours at every opportunity, but anyone who really knew him could see it was destroying him.