Prompts: Horses, Rainbows, Stuffed Toys.
Enjoy (=
The door swings shut with a quiet snick. A middle aged man with dark messy hair and glasses trods tiredly though the London townhouse. Putting his heavy bag down on the kitchen table, he heaves a weary sigh. Today has been another long hard day in a string of long hard days.
Working as an auror is a lot more time consuming than Harry ever thought it would. When he was still at Hogwarts, he saw it as another way to help people, Hermione calls it his "saving people" thing, and this time, Harry is inclined to agree with her. He has been on the same case for what seems like forever, although he knows it has only been a month. Tonight he has been following another false lead, tracking yet another dead end trail, and frankly he is sick of it. On paper, this case sounds serious, but in reality, Harry is being lead on a wild goose chase. Literally. According to the research department at the ministry, the mythological goose that grows on trees. Muggles call them 'barnacle geese' but some wizards believe that they have magical abilities, and are very similar to magical creatures, such as veela, centaurs or dragons.
Giraldus Cambrensis, the barmy old wizard who claims he spotted them fighting on his family's ancestral land, swears that they are a menace, and that "the ministry must do something about them!" Apparently they are violent and ruined his crops. Bloody barmy farmers. It couldn't have been the rather miserable and unpredictable weather that Scotland is suffering at the moment. No, it had to be magical geese.
Harry pulls out the gigantic tome that Hermione has recommended that he read for information in tracking, finding and then subduing these so-called birds, if need be. Trudging over the faded blue over-stuffed armchair in front of his fire, he begins to read.
"...a notoriously aggressive being. They are viewed by ancient Muggles as images of warrior deities, both male and females of the rare species. While they are not deities, they do possess extremely rare and powerful magical abilities. They, similar to a phoenix, are immortal. However they do not regenerate via flame. A Barnacle Goose, Also known as the more common, Barnyard Goose, grow on trees and then drop onto water to be born again. This process is similar to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar..."
Harry begins to drift of, and struggling to read the dry text becomes increasingly difficult. He realizes that he has read the same line four times without retaining any information. Frustrated and tired, he slams the book shut. Dust floats out if the old pages, and the tiny particles are highlighted by the electrical light, dancing to an unheard song. Harry pulls himself up, he may as well just go to sleep now, the amount of work he was getting done. Thank Merlin today is Friday and he does not have to go to work tomorrow.
Harry wakes slowly, to the blaring of the muggle alarm clock. He reaches out through the sleep filled haze and bangs on the snooze button with more force than strictly necessary. Dragging himself into a sitting position, he scrubs the sleep crusties out of his eyes. Making a grab for his glasses, and almost knocking them onto the floor in the process, he shoves them onto his face. The room comes into sharp clarity instantly, rather than the mildly coloured blur t was previously. This also brings into focus the calendar across the room. It was a present from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who brought it back for him from their trip to Hawaii last winter as a Christmas present from all seven of their children and Harry. This month's picture is one of a stereotypical tropical beach scene. Umbrella and implanted in the sand, shading the many lounge chairs set periodically across the beach that seems to stretch forever. What Harry would give to be relaxing on the beach in the sun, rather than getting soaked in London's cold miserable rains. The calendar is seldom used, and there is only one date with anything written down. Harry doesn't need to look to know what it says.
'School Fair. Teddy.'
Harry gets up and dressed for the day. Faded, baggy denims and an old comfortable pullover t-shirt with the batman symbol on it. Andromeda is going to drop Teddy off at ten so that they can go to the fair, and she doesn't have to.
Puttering around the house getting breakfast for himself, Harry revels in the quiet stress-free weekend routine. Cracking the eggs with practiced ease, and dumping them into the frying pan with a sizzle. The smell of cooking eggs and bacon begin to fill the house. He takes a deep breath, and relaxes for the first time all week.
"Harry!" cries Teddy as he comes tearing through the door. "Are you ready to go to the fair? Do you think they'll have cotton candy? Harry, do you?"
"Whoa, slow down Ted." says Harry, ruffling his multi colored hair, he must have every colour of the rainbow today, testament to his excitement. Usually the more excited and more energetic Teddy is, the more colourful he becomes. As he gets older, he gains more control over his metemorphogas abilities, however when he is running on an emotional high, he becomes more expressive with his colours.
"Thanks Harry. I'll be back at four tomorrow to pick him up again. Have fun at the fair" Andromeda sounds grateful and Harry thinks that it will be nice for her to have some time to do whatever she wants, without worrying about what Teddy is doing. "His bag is just inside the guest room door. It's got everything in it, pajamas, clothes for tomorrow, toiletries, and Binky. He'll try and tell you he's too old for his teddy bear. Don't let him fool you. He hasn't quite grown out of it yet." she says exasperated fondness. Andromeda has an extremely choosy heart, and both Teddy and Harry had managed to worm themselves inside, and attach like limpets. She doesn't mind as much as she pretends to.
"Harry" Teddy whines, "Can we go yet? It started twenty minutes ago! Can we leave now? Can we, can we, can we?"
Harry drags a hand through his already messy hair. He anticipates a long day with an over energized seven year old. But it'll be fun, a change of pace from his long dull hours at work. "I guess we'd better be going then. Hang on to my arm Teddy, I'm going to side-along you. Bye Andromeda, have a good weekend. Teddy, say goodbye to your Gran."
"Bye Gran!" yells Teddy, waving his arm emphatically.
The sensation of being squeezed through a tube is heightened when side-alonging someone, even somebody as small as Teddy.
The smell of buttered, salty popcorn, cotton candy and balloons assault his senses. A cacophony of noise reaches his ears. Young children laughing and shouting. Parents talking about the shenanigans of their offspring, catching each other up and gossiping. Teddy is chatting animatedly at his side. Harry is being dragged towards some stall or another, probably the cotton candy stall.
"Oh! Harry, can I do that?" Teddy is pointing to a stall across the other end of the school. It says 'Pony Rides 12 sickles' They start the walk over, and all the way, Teddy is talking a mile a minute about how awesome it will be to ride a pony, how huge its going to be, how good he is with animals and about the horses at Cousin Draco's.
Harry takes photos with the muggle camera that Hermione gave him. He takes photos of Teddy riding on a grey pony, photos of Teddy with cotton candy on a stick. Photos of ˇTeddy on the Ferris wheel, on the rollercoaster, and on the water slide. Andromeda will enjoy them. He knows.
Harry takes Teddy home around five. The first Merlin's School for Magical Children fair is a huge success and the funds raised will go towards keeping the school running for a few more years.
It has been a busy day, and a very welcome distraction. Harry feels content and happy with his small family. Its days like this that makes his life worth living.
Fin
AN- Thanks for reading! I enjoyed writing it and it's only the second fic I've ever written, so please be kind, haha.
