Happy Father's Day
This one, I dedicate to mine own Daddy ❤ and my two brothers. because we never went a day without fighting and you're still my favorite people in the whole wide world.
Teddy is 17, James is 10, Albus is 7 and Lily is 4 (almost 5)
The first thing that Harry notices upon waking up is the sun warming his bare legs through the half-opened curtains. The second thing he realizes is that if the sun is waking him, he has slept a lot longer than normally. After grabbing his glasses from the bedside table he takes a quick look at the clock. 9:17.
Ginny must have coaxed the kids into letting him sleep in, which happens only a handful of times a year. Stretching his long limbs, Harry walks over to the bedroom door and opens it a tiny crack. Immediately the Muffliato Ginny must have cast over their bedroom loses it's potency and the customary noise that follows their little monsters everywhere reaches him. A smile sneaks onto his face as he leaves the door ajar and walks into the adjacent bathroom to have a quick shower.
After his routine ten minutes shower and a quick shave, things he has still drilled into his morning routine from Auror Training days, Harry casts an easy drying charm on his body and hair before pulling on some clothes. While he brushes his teeth, he can hear voices from the bedroom, although he's pretty sure the kids are doing their best to be quiet – they just can't seem to master the concept of it.
As Harry walks into the bedroom James, Albus and Lily sit on the bed looking guilelessly being dressed in clean clothes, combed hair and angelic smiles on their faces. When they see their father entering the bedroom, they almost simultaneously draw deep breaths and the boys manage to shout "Happy Father's Day, daddy!" at the exact same time. Lily however lags a beat behind, happily singing "Happy Daddy's Day, daddy!"
Trying his best not to smile at the beautiful sight of the hooligan he called his kids looking so deceptively perfect, Harry offers the best astounded face he can manage. "Godric, are these my presents? Three well-behaved children? I always wanted to have those!"
He looks at his wife gleefully and winks. Ginny, standing in the doorway with her arm around Teddy's shoulder, has trouble not to laugh. Teddy smiles at his father-in-all-but-blood. "Happy Father's day."
At the same time Lily jumps up on the mattress and throws her arms into the air, giggling madly. "Daddy! It's us! Albie, Jamie and Lilu!"
"Can't be. My kids don't do clean and proper clothes." Harry shakes his head doubtingly and kneels down before the bed, seemingly scrutinising the boys. "Nope. James always has his hair sticking out above his ears." He pokes Albus softly in the chest, making the little boy giggle. "And I don't think Albus even owns a T-Shirt without stains."
"Granny Dromeda used her special soap on it." Albus smiles at Harry brightly, showing off his missing front tooth. "And Mummy hexed Jamsie's hair flat."
"Ah, I see." Harry nods understandingly. "So, if you really are my kids, where's my present?"
All three pairs of children eyes light up at the word present. Since James was born almost ten years ago, Harry always got a picture of the kids for father's day that he proudly displays in his office at the ministry. At first it was only Teddy and James, quickly joined by Albus and then Lily only 3 years ago. Harry absolutely loves this tradition and has never taken down a single of the pictures in his office. Ron constantly argues that it makes Harry look soft and sentimental, two traits that are rather unfitting for a Head Auror.
"It's in the kitchen! Me and Teddy maked you a cake, daddy!" Lily squeals excitedly and jumps up and down on her parents bed in glee. Immediately both boys start yelling at her.
"Lily! That's a surprise!" James shouts as Albus cries "You always spoil everything!"
With big emerald eyes, so much like his own, Lily looks at Harry and plops down on her butt. Her lip starts puckering, a dead giveaway that she will start crying in less than a minute. Swiftly Harry scoops her up and kisses her head while meeting the boys' glares with a reprimanding look. "Stop it, you two. Lily didn't spoil anything. You can either behave and be part of the surprise or you can go to your rooms for the rest of the day."
"That's not fair! We did the whole work for the surprise!" James sounds bewildered.
"Yeah, Lily only made the cake and really Teddy did most of that!" Albus takes the same line. Both boys stare at their father indignantly.
"Well, then I'd play nice and stop shouting if I were you then. Because it won't be a very good surprise if you can't surprise me with it, will it?" Harry raises his eyebrows, giving his sons the clear sign he's not joking and it's either behave or be send to their room. James crosses his arms across his chest and refuses to meet his father's eyes. "Good. Now, can we go see my present?"
At once both Albus and James jump up and make a mad dash for the bedroom door. Ginny and Teddy can only just escape a collision because they separate and move to either side of the door before the little tykes storm out of the room. Ginny takes Lily from Harry, puts her on the floor and takes her hand, bringing up the rear after Harry and Teddy who follow the boys side by side.
The kitchen door stands wide open when Harry and Teddy reach the bottom of the stairs. Inside the sunlit room, James and Albus stand with their hands behind their backs and far too close for Harry's liking. Any second one of them is going to kick, shove or bite the other one, which could easily spark another shouting match. James is the first to catch sight of Harry.
"We're having a picnic on the beach!" James beams and points at 3 bags sitting on the kitchen table next to a cake container holding a messy-looking chocolate cake.
"I wanted to tell him!" Albus cries and stomps his heel on James' foot, just as Ginny enters the kitchen with Lily. Sighing frustratedly, Ginny hands the little girl over to Teddy and claps her hands loudly. "Enough! One more noise coming from either of you and you will go to the Burrow instead of the beach. James, we don't hit each other-"
"He started-"
"What did Mum just say about the Burrow, James?" Harry asks his son, pulling him out of Albus reach while Ginny grabs Albus by the waistband of his jeans.
"Al, if I see you kicking James again, there's no Quidditch camp for you this summer." Ginny continues, ignoring James complaint. "Next time either of you hurts the other one in any way, you're going to be in serious trouble. Now, say sorry to Dad because you spoiled his surprise."
"Sorry, Dad," James mutters dutifully as Albus looks at his father with tears in his eyes. "But I wanted to tell Dad about the picnic."
"You can give Dad his card and present. After you apologize." Ginny tells her son strictly.
"Sorry, Daddy." Albus sobs. Harry loosens the grip on James shoulders and motions for Albus to come into his arms. Ginny unhands him and Albus dashes for Harry's embrace, excepting the kiss to his forehead without the usual grouse.
It's Lily who breaks the silence after a moment. "Are we still going to the beach?"
Ginny smiles at her. "Of course we are. It's Daddy's surprise isn't it? Al, do you want to give Daddy the card? Come here. James, go get your jackets, please. Teddy, can you take Lily to the loo?"
Once all other kids had left the kitchen, Ginny hands Albus a big blue envelope which the boy gives to Harry. Smiling, Harry opens it and pulls out one, two, three, four cards and the anticipated photo. "Thank you, Al. You card is really pretty."
"Me and James made them together. But he used all the gold glitter." Albus shrugs.
"I still think they're both equally beautiful." Harry ruffles his son's black locks that, unlike his own, is always laying flat. "Do you need to go to the loo before we leave?"
Albus runs out of the kitchen nodding. Harry watches him with a smile as Ginny sits on his lap and kisses him for the first time today. "Happy Father's day, love. Still want those well-behaved children I imagine?"
"You know what, I think I like them the way they are." Harry smiles and rubs Ginny's back lovingly. His wife giggles, a sound that could easily be his favourite sound in the world. "They might be monsters, but they're ours. And it would be kind of boring if they'd behave themselves, wouldn't it?"