When Darkness Falls

Chapter 1

Suddenly, a baby's screams echoed through her small Godric's Hollow cottage. Lily instantly dropped everything and ran to the front room where James and Harry were. From the threshold into the room, she found Harry smiling on the rug while he played with wooden blocks; but she still heard the screams. Looking to her husband, she saw James wincing at the mirror in his hand. The two-way mirror that was his connection to his best friend: Sirius Black.

"Mate, are you sure that you wouldn't prefer to talk to Lily? She's better at this sort of thing than I am," James said.

"Talk to me about what?" Lily said.

James' eyes widened as he turned to look to his wife. He sheepishly grinned at her as she stood in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest with her ginger hair falling in front of her face. "Sirius is having...issues," James said.

"I am not!" Sirius shouted from the mirror.

The screams continued as Lily walked across the room and snatched the mirror from James. "Sirius, what's going on?" Lily asked.

"Nothing I can't handle," Sirius said stubbornly.

"Padfoot, either you tell her or I will," James said loudly enough for Sirius to hear him.

Sirius groaned and after a few moments of silence he spilled everything to Lily. "I don't know what I'm doing. She won't stop crying and we both haven't slept in what seems like days. Just when I think she's finally going to get some sleep she wakes-up and starts screaming bloody murder," Sirius said.

"Have you changed her?" Lily asked.

"I'm not that bad of a father," Sirius said hotly.

"I'm sorry, I was just checking. That's usually one of the reasons Harry starts screaming. That or he's hungry," Lily said.

"I've been changing her and she won't eat," Sirius sighed.

"Then she's probably sick," Lily answered.

"I figured that much out already. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. These things don't come with manuals," Sirius said.

"These things come with time, Sirius. It's only been four months," Lily sighed.

"She should have known better than to leave me with a damn baby. I can barely take care of myself," Sirius hissed.

"Whining about the past isn't going to help your daughter feel better," Lily retorted.

"Fine, then what do I do?" Sirius asked.

Lily examined Sirius through the mirror. His eyes were blood-shot and had dark circles around them, from his lack of sleep. The poor guy looked miserable like he really hadn't slept in days and Lily's heart went out to him. Sirius was trying his best, but he wasn't ready for the father thing when he was suddenly thrust into fatherhood back in July. Marlene McKinnon, one of Sirius' flings, had dropped off their daughter on his doorstep mere weeks before his death, leaving Sirius alone. She tried to help Sirius as much as she could from the confines of her home, but what Sirius really needed was a good night of sleep to gather his wits.

"James will be over there shortly to get her. We'll look after her while you get some sleep," Lily sighed.

"You mean it, Lils?" James asked.

James instantly shot-up from the couch and looked at his wife. "What kind of godparents would we be if we didn't step in and help?" Lily asked with one hand on her hip.

With a grin on his face, James stood-up and snatched the mirror from his wife. Lily knew that he was more excited of the prospect of seeing his best friend than getting a sick baby, which caused her to slightly chuckle at her husband. "Be careful!" Lily said sternly.