“The end,” I said softly, kissing Harry on the head. He looked up at me from my lap, where he was sitting.

“Ah… Ah ohh,” he gurgled through a big smile.

I laughed. “Come on, let’s go get Daddy.”

We went down the stairs to find James in a meeting with Dorcas.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I said as they gazed at me curiously. “It’s time for Harry to go to bed and I just wanted James to say good night…”

James smiled weakly and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. “Night, son. Sweet dreams…”

Though James appeared fine, I could tell he wasn’t. As soon as I turned my back to him he laid his head into his hands with frustration.

****

“I’ll get him,” James said groggily as Harry awoke the two of us with his high-pitched screams.

I rolled over to look at the clock: one a.m. The past few weeks he’d been crying at the same time.

I heard James trying to soothe him, but it didn’t work. Pushing the covers off my bed, I stumbled into Harry’s room.

After I’d taken Harry from James’ arms, his cries softened greatly.

“How’d you do that?” James asked, staring at me in awe.

“The book said it was normal,” I replied, picking up a small novel from the side table and thrusting it into his hands. “The baby naturally relates to his or her mother, because she is ultimately the main source of food…”

I rocked Harry a little until he began to drool on my arm. Laying him back down into his cot, I smiled at James. “Don’t worry about it. He still loves having you around. You know how he always lights up when he sees you.”

James nodded, and then led me back to the bedroom.

****

“I’ve got to go back,” Remus pronounced loudly in the kitchen a few weeks later. “But only for three months. Then I'm done.”

“When are you leaving?” questioned James, standing up.

“In an hour.”

“Told Marie yet?”

“Fixing to.”

“Hey, Remus… good luck. And thanks for all of your help around here. We’ll miss you.” I said softly, hugging him.

“And I’ll miss you. Thanks for letting me treat this place like home again.”

“It’s always going to be your home,” James grinned. “The doors are always open.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll see you all in three months…” He bent down to Harry’s highchair, where Harry was playing with his applesauce. “See you, little man… I love you.”

Harry just smiled.