So, this was written to celebrate somehow convincing 151 wonderful people to follow me on tumblr. It was also written for Favourite Hogwarts House BC with 'sunshine', Favourite Friendship BC with 'Participation' and the IYD Challenge with 'Wonderful Talent'. As has been discovered, I can neither title things, nor write summaries for shit.
Disclaimer - you all know by now that I don't own Harry Potter
Drawing the thin curtains closer together, James Potter glanced over his shoulder with a smile. His sleeping wife was spread out across the bed, her chest moving steadily as she breathed. Her fingers flexed as tiny hands grabbed at them, their owner tucked to her side and grinning to himself.
"Hey there, little man." James whispered as he crossed back across the room and placed a knee on the mattress. His two year old son turned the grin on him, giggling happily as he wriggled free of his mother's arm. He crawled across the duvet, using whatever purchase he could gain from it to pull himself along further until he came to a stop next to James' knee. Using the arm he was offered, he unsteadily got to his feet and placed his palms on his father's cheeks when James bent low enough for him to reach.
"How about you and I have some breakfast, yeah?" James asked quietly, tapping his forehead against the toddler's and smiling at the happy pats his cheeks got in return. He carefully picked Harry up, small arms immediately wrapping around his neck and a dark head rested lightly on his shoulder. He got to his feet slowly, expertly avoiding the two creaky floorboards in between him and the door. "Let's let your mum sleep a bit more, eh?"
-xoxo-
The kitchen was warm from the morning sunshine streaming through the window above the sink. James placed Harry on one of the dining chairs, dropped a kiss to the top of his flyaway hair and warned him to stay where he was. Keeping an eye on him at all times, James kept him distracted by setting a toy snitch off and quickly went about making breakfast.
He didn't notice the silhouette of his best friend passing the window until Harry's delighted shrieks of "Pa'foo'!" brought him out of his thoughts. He'd been reading the paper, Harry balanced on his lap as they both ate slices of banana and apple. If Lily had caught them, she'd have said he was indulging their son too much by ignoring the high chair.
"How's baby Prongs this morning?" Sirius asked with a grin, lifting Harry out of James' arms faster than the Quidditch player could react. His grin softened when a slobbery kiss was placed on his cheek and he reciprocated by blowing a raspberry against his godson's forehead, laughing when Harry's nose scrunched up. He started to spin in slow circles, tightening his arms around Harry's waist.
"What are you doing here?" James watched the two of them dance around the kitchen, fighting to keep the smile off of his face. Sirius stopped spinning and lowered himself onto the chair opposite James. He pulled a face at Harry when the toddler began to play with his hair.
"What? Am I not allowed to come and see my best mate?" There was a smile in his voice and he bounced the baby on his knees. James set the snitch off again, watching Harry's eyes follow the small, golden ball around the kitchen.
"Even if you weren't, it wouldn't stop you." James grinned when Sirius scowled at him.
"Good to know I'm appreciated." He muttered sourly, winking at Harry when the toddler looked up at him.
James merely blew a kiss in his direction and went back to reading the paper.
-xoxo-
The sound of feet hitting the bare floorboards of the stairs had all three males turning to the kitchen door. Their faces lit up when Lily walked into the room, scratching her slightly rounded belly with one hand.
"Morning, love." James said as she approached them, her eyes scanning the table and then glancing at the high chair in the corner. Her lips twitched and she shook her head slowly.
"Morning, boys." She smiled and bent to place a kiss against his forehead, moving around the table to stroke a hand over Harry's hair. Sirius coughed lightly when she went to move away and she rolled her eyes, hugging him from behind so that her arms were around his neck and her chin was on his shoulder.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you loved him more than me." Sirius complained, turning his head to peck his best friend's wife on the cheek.
"I would never." She assured him with a grin, tightening her arms slightly before letting go. Harry smiled happily at her over his godfather's shoulder and she reached out to stoke his cheek gently, her fingers lingering a second too long.
James gave her a concerned look and she shook her head, offering him a reassuring smile before making for the kettle. James folded the paper and dropped it on the table, pulling a face at Harry when the little boy looked at him. He had his thumb stuck in his mouth and his hair was even more unruly than his father's, but James thought he had never seen anything more perfect and he smiled.
"Sometimes I'm convinced you don't listen to a word I say." Sirius complained. James glanced up and offered him his best smile.
"Sorry, what?" Lily snorted as she stirred sugar into her tea and Sirius' lips twitched as he stroked a hand over Harry's hair.
"I said 'you're looking at the new beater for the Falcons'. Which you would know if you had actually been listening." James ignored the stab of pain at the mention of his old team and felt himself grin. Much like his wife had a few minutes earlier, he moved to wrap his arms around Sirius' shoulders. Harry clapped his hands happily and both men turned their grins on him.
"Well done, mate! That's blood-" A light cough from Lily, who had sat down at the end of the table, had him hastily correcting himself and blowing air into Sirius' ear when he laughed. "Bloomin' brilliant, that is."
Sirius mocked bowed. When he looked back up, he cocked an eyebrow at James and wiped his free hand against his thigh.
James watched him for a few seconds before sighing. "You didn't come here just to tell me about the Falcons."
Sirius gently readjusted Harry and ignored the slight bight of pain when the toddler pulled on his hair before leaning forward. "Wood wants you back on the team."
It was James' turn to raise an eyebrow and he drained what was left of his lukewarm tea before speaking. "He tell you that, did he?"
"Not in so many words." Sirius answered easily. His foot knocked against James' leg under the table. "He asked me if you were going to go to try-outs. I told him chances were slim, but I would see what I could do."
James scowled at that and the returning kick he gave to his friend was perhaps harder than it should have been. "And why, exactly, would you tell him that? You know I'm not going to-"
"You miss it." Sirius spoke over him, bouncing Harry gently when he started playing with the sleeve of his godfather's jumper. Lily smiled at him from down the table and he squirmed out of Sirius' grip to go and climb into her lap. When he was settled more securely, she rose to her feet and left the room after pressing a kiss to her husband's head.
"Don't look at me like that, Prongs, you know you miss it." Sirius leant forwards properly, resting his forearms on the table and tracing the pattern on the table cloth.
James frowned and scratched his chin. He couldn't deny that, not really. But someone had gotten hurt under his watch. Their entire career had been ended about twenty years too soon because he hadn't been paying close enough attention.
Whilst he was trying to come up with excuses, Sirius sighed and fiddled with the snitch that had landed on the table.
"Jamie, what happened to Higgins wasn't your fault." James looked like he was about to protest and Sirius held up a hand. "I know you like to think it was, but James, mate, how were you meant to know? That bludger went rogue. It happens. You know that. You can't blame yourself over something you couldn't control."
"I haven't even touched a broom in five months." James said, rubbing a hand across his face and letting it thud back onto the table. "Even if I wanted to, I'd be shite."
Sirius' lips quirked upwards. "You, the mighty James Potter, be shit at Quidditch? Never going to happen, mate. Look, just come to the try-outs. You don't even have to fly. Just come and watch, and if you feel up to it, then you feel up to it. Truth is, mate, they need you back."
James took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I'll think about it."
"S'all I ask." Sirius grinned. "Now that that's over with, I'm going to go and find my godson. As much as I love the woman, spending that much time with Lily can't be good for him. She's no doubt teaching him how to be a responsible person."
"Perish the thought." James murmured with a small smile. Sirius snorted and brushed the hair back from his face.
"I never listened to my mother and I turned out just fine." He said with a sniff. James pushed back from the table and shook his head.
"Yes, but your mother was a madwoman who had the genius idea of mounting house-elf heads on her walls."
"That was Dad's idea, actually." Sirius said mildly as he pushed passed the other man and into the living room.
-xoxo-
Lily was sat on the sofa, Harry next to her and playing with a Muggle toy car that Arthur Weasley had given him for his second birthday. It was old and so faded that the blue paint had started to come off in places, but their son loved that car almost as much as his toy snitch. The second he saw his dad and godfather he dropped the toy and gave them a massive grin that they returned.
Sirius crouched down in front of him and accepted the kiss he was offered with pretend annoyance, his hand reaching out to tickle the toddler's tummy. He squealed happily and clambered down so he was standing on Sirius' thighs, his hands placed on either shoulder.
"Pa'foo'!" He said around his smile and Sirius made a show of rolling his eyes and scooting further away from the sofa so he could transform into Padfoot without crashing into anything. Harry waited for him and clutched on James' leg so he could remain standing.
With Harry safely on Sirius' back, James collapsed next to his wife on the sofa and accepted the arm she placed around his shoulders. He rested his head against her shoulder and pressed a kiss to it when she stroked his hair.
"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, her other hand resting protectively on her belly. He reached over to rest his hand on top of hers and nodded as he linked their fingers.
"I'm fine."
"He's right, you know." Lily said, her thumb brushing over his knuckles. "I know you miss it."
James closed his eyes. "I didn't think I'd miss it this much."
Lily smiled slightly. "So go to the try-outs." She moved her legs out of the way as Sirius bounded past, Harry howling with laughter on his back. "Don't let yourself be unhappy because of something that wasn't your fault."
It didn't take James very long to stop trying to talk himself out of going. Sirius must have sensed something had changed because he padded back over to them and butted his nose against his friend's knee until James scratched behind one of his ears. "Okay."
The dog tilted his head to the side, deliberately being obtuse and Lily laughed when her husband huffed. "I'll go to the try outs."
Sirius carefully climbed up onto the sofa. When Harry was safely in Lily's arms he licked James' face and then sprawled across his legs. He changed back into a human moments later but didn't move and grinned up at him, wiggling around until he was more comfortable.
"About time, mate."