One of These Days, a drabble
Just a little something. Reviews welcome!
Words: 509 (give or take haha)
"Harry," Lily says, "come say hello to your father's friends."
Harry blinks green eyes at them, then goes back to pulling the cat's tail.
"I'm sorry," Lily laughs, and James has an enormous grin on his face as the cat hisses and darts under an armchair. Harry crawls after it like he can't understand why it would be upset. "And he'd just learned how to say hi, too."
"Harry takes after his dad," James says proudly. "Doesn't take orders from anybody, no sir."
"You take orders from me, James," Lily reminds him playfully.
"Oh, right. Of course," he says, and then he kisses his wife. They smile at each other.
Sirius sets down his coffee.
"You two seem happy," he says. "Married life still treating you well? James hasn't driven you to drink yet, Lily?"
"Oh, ha ha," says James, and the corners of Remus' mouth turn upward as he tries to slug Sirius across the table but can't quite reach. "We're doing fine, thank you."
"It's just hard being cooped up in here," sighs Lily. "But we know it's for our own good."
"It helps that you chaps come to visit," James says. "You need to come over more!"
"I know we do, but it's just getting harder and harder to find the time."
"Wormy comes by less, too," Lily points out. "He always seems so nervous."
"Maybe he doesn't like the cat," Remus mutters, and James and Sirius chuckle.
"Lily insisted," James tells them, and Lily is still trying to understand the joke. "Harry needs a friend, and I can't argue with that."
"And his birthday is coming up soon, right?"
"Yeah, the thirty-first. But I know there's a meeting for the Order on that day—you shouldn't skip it for him, Pads. Fighting this war's more important."
James raises a scolding eyebrow at him, and Sirius hastily takes another sip from his mug, looking deflated. Remus takes a moment to appreciate how easily James Potter can figure him out.
"Alright," Sirius sighs.
"Still, poor thing won't have anyone to come see him," says Remus, pityingly.
"I'll be sure to get him something he'll like, at least," Sirius promises. "A toy broomstick, maybe?"
"Goodness, trying to give him a head start on his Quidditch career are you?" says Lily, smiling again.
"'Course," Sirius answers. His voice bubbles with laughter. "He'll be famous one of these days, you know."
"Mama!"
Lily jumps and twists around—Harry is at her chair leg with his arms in the air.
"Do you want up?"
She pulls him into her lap, and Harry looks across the table at their guests.
"Ready to say hello now?" Lily asks, brightly.
"Hi," Harry says, and then flaps his tiny hand open and shut.
"Hello, Harry Potter," Sirius says, and reaches across the table to shake his hand. Harry doesn't seem to understand the gesture, but he participates happily.
Remus looks at Sirius over the rim of his cup, and in the brief moment that their eyes meet, Sirius's mouth twitches.
One of these days, he'll be famous.