QLFC Round 12 - Pair Them Up!;
Cannons, Reserve Keeper: Write about two characters (Harry & Lily) in a familial relationship.
AN: Thank you to Mags and Amy for betaing :3
Firsts
Lily's favourite moments since becoming a mother are all the firsts she's had. Of course, she loves Harry just as much the second or third time, or even the seventieth time, he does things, but the firsts are special. She's never missed a first moment, and although she's helping in the war and defying Voldemort, being there for each one is her proudest achievement.
"James, no!" Lily shouts, stopping his endless flow of words. He's going on about Harry's 'first' word again, but Lily is adamant that 'ga' does not count as a real word (though she knows she may have felt differently had she been there at the time).
"I'm telling you, Lils, that was definitely his first word."
Lily's hands are already moving towards her waist and her foot starts tapping impatiently. "Remus agrees with me that 'ga' is not a word and so it doesn't count." She pauses for a moment as she remembers a conversation she overheard the other day. "And anyway, didn't you make a bet that his first word would be some variation of 'Dad'? You don't want to lose the bet, do you?"
James sighs. He tries to look frustrated, but Lily can see how pleased he is that she used the bet as part of her argument.
"That is a very good point, my love." He scoops an arm around Lily's waist and plants a kiss on her cheek.
Lily has just turned and the kiss has moved from the cheek to their mouths when they're interrupted by a loud crack, followed quickly by, "Get a room, you two."
"We're in one," James says with a laugh. "This is our house; you're the intruder."
Harry starts to cry at that moment, startled by the sudden loud noise. It silences all three of the adults and they rush straight over to him.
"It's okay, munchkin," Lily says soothingly as she picks Harry up and starts to rock him. "It was very loud; it's okay to be afraid."
He's starting to calm as Lily rocks. Then, out of nowhere, he opens his eyes and spots the recent addition to the house.
"Pa'foo'," Harry says excitedly, stretching his arms out.
James' face falls and Lily starts to laugh as Sirius takes Harry from her arms and tells James, "You owe me five galleons, mate."
It's been a hectic week at work for Lily. She doesn't know why, but for some reason, everybody has been getting injured recently and St. Mungo's is fuller than Lily has ever seen it before. They've had an all hands on deck situation and this is the first day off Lily's had all week. She was expecting to spend the day with James, maybe taking Harry out to the park, but the Auror department has been hectic, too, and James ended up being called in last minute so it's just her and Harry.
Harry's crawling around in the corner, switching between which toys he's playing with. Lily happens to be watching him closely when he puts down the stuffed hippogriff and makes his way over to the enchanted building blocks across the room. Only this time he isn't crawling; he's walking.
Lily almost falls off the sofa in shock. Harry had shown no signs of walking before now, and here he is walking (well, stumbling) one shaky foot in front of the other across the room. She leaps up and grabs the camera from the table and starts snapping away. The photos are party to stick in the photo album as a memory, but partly as proof to James that it really did happen—she doesn't need a repeat of the first-word incident.
As Harry walks, she smiles to herself. It's moments like these that make her so glad to be a mother, even if she is still a little young.
Of course, it's Sirius who buys Harry his first broom. He'd wanted to buy one as soon as he was Harry's first word, but Lily and James made him wait (Lily because Harry was too young, James because he knew that there would be a better toy broom out by the time Harry could actually ride it).
Lily is the one that puts him on the broom and sets him off, though. She doesn't trust either Sirius or James to make sure he's properly secure.
Almost as soon as his bum hits the seat, Harry's off. Lily chases after him to make sure he's safe while James takes pictures. It's a lot of fun, but once Lily knows Harry is safe, she takes the camera out of James' hands and lets him and Sirius chase him around the living room.
Harry shows no sign of wanting to get off the broom, so after a while, Lily heads into the kitchen to make some tea for them all. As soon as she turns the kettle on, there is a loud crash from the living room followed by shouts from James and Sirius, their cat screeching (and then immediately racing past Lily), and a loud shriek from Harry.
"What happened?" she asks as she rushes into the room. Her heart is pounding and her hand has tightened around the wand in her back pocket.
It takes her a moment to realise that Harry is still firmly secured on his broom and all three occupants of the room are laughing. Almost instantly her hand whips upwards and her wand is pointed at James and Sirius.
"Never scare me like that again!" she tells them.
Her wand stays trained on them for a moment before she goes over to Harry and unfastens him from his seat.
"Are you okay?" she asks Harry, holding him up at eye level so she can inspect him.
"Kitty!" he replies. James and Sirius start laughing again.
"What happened?" Lily asks them again.
"The cat came in and Harry almost flew straight into him. It was hilarious. Here, I got a picture."
James holds out a photograph to Lily, and then she's laughing just as much as the others as she pulls Harry closer to her chest.
As the green light shoots from Voldemort's wand, Lily looks back towards Harry's cot. She thinks over all the first moments she's shared with him; his first word, his first steps, his first broom, his first nightmare, the first time he saw snow. Then she imagines all the firsts she's going to miss; his first bit of accidental magic, his first trip to Diagon Alley, his first day at Hogwarts, his first girlfriend, his first job.
Harry smiles up at her, not quite sure what's going on, and a tear rolls down Lily's cheek as her eyes go blank.
Word Count: 1,117.
AN: I'm so sorry for the amount of death I've been writing recently. I really don't know what's wrong with me at the moment, but I'm enjoying ripping people's hearts out in varying amount so I'm not really that sorry. Hopefully whatever I write next won't be as mean.
This is for:
Hogwarts Halloween Party - Halloween Bingo;
45. (dialogue) "It's okay to be afraid."
Hogwarts October Event - Around The World In Thirty-One Days;
Nepal - (dialogue) "Never scare me like that again."
