Sparkles*
of
daddy & daughter
"Daddy?" she asked. "What are 'dose wittle sparkles in the sky?"
"Hmm, what was that, sweetheart?" The sound of his daughter's soft voice tugged his brain out of deep thought. He, Harry Potter, had once again lost himself in memories of his past; his adventures, his trails, his friends…how calm (and thankfully so) his life had been as of late.
His adventures now consisted of hunting the "Man Eating Sea Serpent of the Mediterranean," a.k.a. Harry, wriggling like a worm though the lake, behind his and Ginny's house. He was supposed to try to escape his children, who were vicious hunters, and had convinced their mother to do the Bubble Head Charm on them. Or another, assisting "Healer L." in nursing a lost and orphaned baby Yeti back to health in Tibet. This adventure consisted of Harry being a very high voiced nurse, for nurses were always girls, whilst his daughter was a very low voiced Healer, for Healers were always boys.
His trials were considerably worse than before as well; rather than his life being threatened by Lord Voldemort, his sanity and sleep were being robbed from him by three rather energetic toddlers. And he did have to actually leave the country for work as an Auror occasionally, and it was not even a question of whether he'd rather face Voldemort again than leave James, Albus and Lily, no matter how shot the time.
He had just returned home from one such trip that day, and to James's, Albus's and Lily's utter delight, he was three days early. They all knew exactly when daddy was supposed to come home, because they had dedicated a Muggle calendar just for marking it down; they circled what day he was to return, and ticked off each day as it ended. When he had told Ginny of his premature arrival, it had 'slipped her mind' to tell the children. She had actually thought it might be amusing to watch her three kids, whose cumulative height only just reached past Harry's, tackle her husband. The tackling escapade then led to a game of, "find the Niffler in the mud!" the Niffler, of course, being Harry.
After Ginny had whisked them away to clean and bathe them, Harry flicked his wand to return their land from the goopy mud, back to the pristine beautifully cut, soft grass, and laid in it, one arm behind his head. He closed his eyes and let his senses overwhelm him. He took a deep breath through his nose, and the scent of earth and grass filled his nostrils. A smile touched his lips as the aroma brought him back to his days of playing Quidditch for Gryffindor. The feeling of flying took over his brain as he concentrated on relaxing every muscle and letting his body sink deeper into the cushion of green around him. He felt a light breeze ruffle his hair, making the grass tickle his exposed arms and legs, and his mind began to wander back to the days of Hogwarts.
"Daddy?" she asked. "What are 'dose wittle sparkles in the sky?"
"Hmm, what was that, sweetheart?" He turned and saw his daughter Lily, now free of mud, lying next to him, her pudgy arms crossed over her chest, her red curls blowing over her face and into her blue eyes. He couldn't believe this precious little girl was his.
"The sparkles in the sky," she pointed a finger towards the heavens, "'dere are so many. Are you keeping Mummy's julerwy up 'dere?" Harry chuckled as he pulled his little girl into his side, and kissed the top of her head.
"Nope," he replied. "Those aren't for Mummy."
"Oh!" The little girl looked surprised. "Then who are 'dey for?"
"Guess," he said simply.
"Uuummm… Aunnie 'Mione?"
"No, not Aunt Hermione."
"Uncle Won Won? But he's a boy; sparkles are for girwls, Daddy."
"Well it's a good thing they're not for Uncle Ron either, isn't it?"
"Daddy! Just tell me." And Harry looked down at his daughter just in time to see the killer look, her big eyes staring up at him, bottom lip puckered. He sighed as he thought to himself, this isn't even that big of a deal and I'm falling for it. What happens when she asks for a new broom or something?
"Alright, alright." He said. "They're little diamonds that I put up there every time I think about a very special little girl. You see, in the daytime, that big bright sun up in the sky is there because I think about her every second of every day and night, I hired him you see, but he needs a break. So that's what the stars are for, they remind the little girl that I think about her all the time."
She gave him a puzzled look and said, "But I 'fought you said they weren't for Mummy."
"Mummy isn't the only girl I think about, and the little girl I'm talking about is even littler."
Lily thought for a while, and suddenly, her little pink lips formed an "o" and her eyebrows rose onto her red hair. She looked at her father, pointed a finger at her chest and said, "Meee?"
As soon as he nodded, she let out a loud gasp, flung her arms around her father's neck and said, "Aww of those are for me, Daddy? Weally?"
"Well," he said, "one or two are for your brothers because I think about them as well. But don't tell them, they won't like that." He smiled at her as she put her finger to her lips.
Suddenly, Ginny was calling for Lily from the house, saying it was time for bed. Lily looked at her father with her big bright blue eyes and said, "Daddy, do I have to?"
Harry sighed, almost ready to give in and say she could have five more minutes when Ginny yelled, "Harry James Potter, don't you dare say she can have five more minutes." He looked towards the house, and though he couldn't see his wife's facial expression, he saw a silhouette, whose hands were on her hips. Knowing it was a losing battle, he sighed again, picked Lily up and began walking towards their house.
As he stepped into the pool of light he said, "You don't want me to get in trouble with Mummy, do you?" Lily let out a big yawn before saying, "No, I guess not."
When they reached Ginny she said, "Where have you two been? The boys want a bed time story, Harry."
"Daddy was tewing me what the stars mean!" Lily said, as she took her mothers had and began to walk up the stairs.
"Oh? And what did Daddy tell you they mean?"
In a singsong voice she replied, "'Dat he 'finks about me more 'dan you." And with that, she skipped off to her room, only too happy to know that Daddy had put the stars up just for her.
fin