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Arthur poked the plastic bag with his finger, staring at it with confused wonder. Plastic was not terribly common in the magical world, and it was a solution he found terribly clever for a people who didn't have water-repelling spells. The package in question was packed very tightly, and had been torn open at the top somewhat aggressively. He could see how the ripped plastic stretched and warped and he had to resist the urge to experiment with it himself.
"So this is how muggles handle nappies?" he asked with delight, finally pulling a folded disposable diaper from the pack with a bit of difficulty, "Goodness these are packed tightly, aren't they? I would love to know how they accomplished it."
Remus stared at him blearily. He had arrived at the Weasleys that afternoon and it was now past bedtime for all of the children. Harry was asleep in his crib, under the close watch of Regulus - unbeknownst to anyone else in the house.
While the help was appreciated, the constant chaos of the house had overwhelmed him. Now the near silence was unsettling, he found himself constantly holding his breath and searching for any sign of danger, too far from Harry to hear his breathing. On top of the emotional agony he was already experiencing, his brain seemed to have forgotten how to function. Everything felt foggy and distant and it took considerably too long for him to realize what Arthur had said.
Fortunately, Arthur was thoroughly enraptured by his new muggle find and didn't notice. With some exploration he had discovered how the diapers unfolded, remarking on the elastic sides that hugged the legs - "oh that must be terribly useful, I wonder if they use that in their clothing" - before finally unfolding the velcro-like tabs. He was fascinated by their roughness and how they managed to stick to the front of the diaper.
"I must tell you, Remus, I will never tire of muggle ingenuity! The things we take for granted thanks to magic - they invent the most remarkable things to accomplish!" he said, smiling at his handiwork.
"What do wix do?" Remus asked vaguely, trying to remember what Lily and James had done, "They're cloth, aren't they?"
Arthur nodded, "Yes, of course, it only takes a wave of the wand to clean them!" He chuckled, "There's spells you can put on them to let you know when they need to be changed, as well."
"Some of the nappies in the store had a line on the front - when the nappy is wet it turns blue so you know to change it," Remus said, thinking back to his nearly disastrous trip to Tesco the day before.
"Really? I do not know how they do it, truly I don't, but I would love to learn," Arthur remarked wistfully.
Remus just nodded, staring at the pack of nappies.
—
There was another reason muggles had switched to disposable, Remus was learning, they were just freaking easier. The cloth diapers Molly gave him were just these rectangles that were not remotely shaped like a baby, and he had to arrange them and then use a pin to secure it…
The first time he tried, he had discovered the hard way that boy parts had the ability to aim out of a gap. The twins were there for that mishap and had cackled with delight. At least someone was enjoying this.
Now he was trying to do it properly while Harry squirmed and complained, wanting to run around, and the pin slipped and -
A high pitched shriek filled the room and Remus stared in mortification at the tiny pinprick on the boy's belly that wasn't even bleeding. Immediately the diaper and pin were tossed aside and he pulled the boy into his arms, bouncing him and cooing apologies into his ear. Harry sniffled and cried into his shoulder.
Remus felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see the eldest, Bill, standing with his lips pursed.
"Give him to me," the 10 year old said with confidence, taking Harry into his arms. With a few tickles and a raspberry to the cheek, the small boy was giggling in delight again. Bill then placed him on the changing table, making faces at him, folding the diaper on him and pinning it expertly before placing Harry on the floor to toddle after Ron.
"I'll get a teddy bear you can practice on," Bill said flatly, rolling his eyes at Remus before disappearing off the stairs while the stunned man stared after him.
—
"He won't stop fussing," Remus said helplessly, "He was like this all night."
Molly nodded, taking the miserable toddler off of his overwhelmed godfather. Remus was still awed every time he saw the experienced mother effortlessly pick up one of her children with Ginny strapped to her chest, the small baby oblivious to any change. She bounced and cooed, "Has he been pulling at his ear?"
"I - I think so?" Remus said uncertainly, feeling awful for not having noticed, "Could something be wrong with his hearing? Should I floo Poppy? Or take him to St Mungo's?"
Molly gave him a kind smile, patting Remus's arm without disrupting either Ginny or Harry, "It's hard at first, I know, everyone goes through it - just give me a moment before you decide it's an emergency, luv." Then she kissed Harry's forehead and tickled his chin so he'd open his mouth and stuck her finger in.
Remus stared, utterly confused.
"Oh! There it is," she said with a soft laugh, "Poor lamb has a molar coming in - they're dreadfully uncomfortable. Fortunately we have toddler pain potions and teething biscuits."
Remus took Harry back into his arms, "A tooth? This is all over a tooth?"
"Yes, dear, and he's got eight molars altogether," she said with a soft chuckle, "He'll be thoroughly miserable for a few days-"
" Days? " Remus croaked.
"- but it's perfectly healthy. Don't worry now, I'll help you through this first one. First he needs a nice, crunchy biscuit to help," she continued without skipping a beat, sweeping off to the cupboard to search for the teething biscuits she kept on hand for Ron.
—
It was a cold and rainy day, and all the kids were inside. Bill and Percy had retreated upstairs, and Charlie was delighting the younger four children with a game he invented that involved pretending Llewellyn was a dragon. The cat took to this role by going limp like a ragdoll and having and just gazing out irritably. His tail wasn't twitching, though, so Remus was confident that he was enjoying himself more than he would ever admit.
"Now you boys be careful with that cat," Molly had chided when the game started, "If you're too rough, he will scratch you - and it'll be your own faults!"
The twins and Charlie had muttered their understanding before rushing off to grab Llewellyn. Then Molly excused herself to go feed Ginny again.
"I don't need to be alone to do it," she had explained at one point, "But it is easier when Ginny's not distracted."
To his surprise, Charlie was quite good not just with the cat but also at making sure neither the twins nor the toddlers were too rough. Remus had fully expected that within minutes, there would be a blur of black fur bolting out of the room but Llewellyn handled it particularly well.
At one point, Harry pulled himself to stand and tried to take a wobbly step - it would be his first, Remus realized and his chest felt too tight - only to fall, bonking his head on the coffee table as he did.
Remus rushed in, grabbing him and fussing. He checked if there was any sign of a wound and cooed and worried as the boy burst into tears. Ron watched on with wide eyes and the twins exchanged a glance. Charlie set his 'dragon' down and put his hands on his hips.
"He's only upset because you're freaking him out," he said sternly, and Remus gave him a withering glare.
Charlie huffed and walked over to him, "If you do that - you'll teach him falling is bad. Just blow a raspberry on his belly and he'll be happy again."
"A raspberry?!" Remus asked, incredulous, for the very first time feeling the urge to shout at one of the children.
"Yes. Lift up his shirt. Blow a raspberry. He'll be right as rain." And with that he went back to scoop up the cat who had been lying lazily on the floor and continue his game.
Initially he grit his teeth and wanted to snarl - how dare this child tell him what to do, tell him Harry wasn't hurting, tell him that blowing a bloody raspberry would fix anything . Then he looked at Harry who was still sniffling and wobbling and, well, there was no harm in trying.
So he tentatively pushed the boy's shirt up to reveal the round belly and blew a raspberry. The boy immediately shrieked with laughter and Remus found himself doing it again before tickling him and laughing with him. Across the room, Charlie smirked at him.