A/N: Not only is this the first chapter of my submission for Lady Phoenix Fire Rose's Ultimate Humiliation Challenge, for which my character was Harry, it's also a sequel to Harry Potter: The Boy Who Babysits, which I co-authored with AlongCameASpider and can be found on her profile.
Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 1
I've been called a nice guy so many times, that I guess it must be true. The fact that I was currently standing in the house of Phillip and Felicia, the two kids whom I babysat the majority of last week and who relentlessly pranked me in the process, seemed to be even more of a confirmation. I was about to babysit them again, because I recognized their love for pranks as their way of breaking free from the burdens and annoyances of basically being confined to this house and their parents all the time. It was their form of stress relief, and I was about to become their guinea pig a second time, but now, it was willingly. Better they prank someone who wouldn't give them up to their parents.
On second thought, am I a nice guy, or just a glutton for punishment? Either way, here I was.
"Again, thank you so much for coming back," their mother told me sincerely as her husband handed her a light fabric scarf. "We've never had a babysitter actually come back a second time."
"Well, we had such … fun last time," I said with as vague a phrasing I could, "I figured they'd enjoy having me back."
The mother, whose name I couldn't remember for the life of me, actually smiled at this. Then it quickly faded. "Oh, I forgot to mention this earlier, but Phillip and Felicia have friends over tonight as well." She called down the kids.
Within seconds, there were not two, but four kids lined up at the bottom of the stairs. Phillip and Felicia, who had very big smiles on their faces, I immediately recognized. But it was the other two children accompanying them, a boy and a girl, who were new to me.
The boy had sandy blond hair and light blue eyes while the girl had auburn hair and brown eyes. Each were regarding me with decidedly more curious looks than their compatriots.
"Tom and Madison," the mother introduced them. "They're good friends of Phillip and Felicia and they wanted to spend some time with them. Since they hadn't seen each other in quite a while, I couldn't deny it. I hope it's no trouble?" She gave me an expression that communicated her worry that I might suddenly say no and abandon my promise.
Admittedly, the thought did momentarily cross my mind, then I remembered how nice of a punishment glutton I was. "No, it's fine. It's just more opportunity for fun, that's all." I even managed a smile that could pass as genuine. But really, 'fun' in that sentence was most likely a substitute for 'pranks.'
The mother sighed in relief. "Excellent! Well, you have the number of our neighbors if you need help. We should be back no later than 11. Dinner is in the refridgerator, and the kids should be in bed by no later than 10, at the most." I glanced at my watch, noting that it was currently 5:30.
I nodded as she and her husband, who has never said a single word to me despite me babysitting his kids twice, made their way to the door, opened it and stepped outside. Once they had, the mother turned back to face the five of us.
"Be good for Harry. We'll be back soon!"
And with that, she closed the door behind her and the two of them embarked on their night out. Which left me alone with four little kids and the majority of the night ahead of us.
I exhaled and slowly turned around, expecting to find myself alone, but surprisingly, all four kids were still in the same spot. The audible sound of a ticking clock was almost like the countdown to the inevitable outburst of mayhem.
"Er …" was all I managed to get out.
Phillip and Felicia stepped forward as Tom and Madison absconded back up the stairs, both giggling profusely, which I didn't take as a particularly good sign.
I knelt down to talk to my babysittees. "So, um, what's with those two?"
Phillip and Felicia exchanged looks. "Well," said Felicia, "after you babysat last time, we told Tom and Madison all about what we did. And that sort of made them want to … get in on it."
I sighed. "Of course. Look, let me just say that whatever pranks you pull tonight, make sure none of them seriously hurt me or a … certain body part of mine." During that last part, I lightly rubbed my backside as I not-so-fondly remembered all the things that happened to it last time I was here.
"We … can't make any promises about that," Phillip remarked evasively.
I sighed again and looked over to a small bag I had brought with me. "Well, I at least brought spare clothes."
"You'll definitely need those," remarked Felicia as a grin broke out across her face. "Just be ready."
Those were the last words I heard from them before they dashed up the stairs, no doubt to prepare whatever forms of "humorous" torment they had in mind for me. All I could do, in that case, was await the first of the night's pranks.
I should get a medal for this, or something.
