BABY HARRY PART 2
After the incident with Snape, Lily slunk into the cauldron shop, trying very hard to keep out of view of Madame Malkin's windows. Severus had had to make his way there shuffling on his heels to buy new shoes. James followed Lily into the shop, wondering what she could possibly want. They already had several cauldrons of different sizes and metals. How many could she need?
Lily went to the back and began to poke through the tiniest cauldrons they made. Most were very cheap, thin pewter. James watched, not quite sure what she was looking for. They all seemed the same to him. She finally found one that met her approval and grinned.
"Is that for brewing things to put into a vial?" James asked.
"Good guess, but no. I think Harry is old enough to have his own now. He is nearly a year after all, and he's already walking! These can't take a very high heat, so he can't possibly hurt himself on it. That's what I went into the Apothecary for. I got loads of powders that he can play with. Some will foam, some fizz, some make sounds and all of them change color. Do you think he'll enjoy it?"
She was so happy and looked so hopeful that James could never disagree. "If he's got his mother's brain, he was born ready! He seems quite adept at poisons already. I bet old Snivelly's toenails turn pink and grow six inches tonight."
They laughed and Lily purchased the little cauldron. Their next stop was Eeylops Owl Emporium. Large and small metal cages were suspended all about the shop. Most of the owls were in their cages where they slept during the day. At night, all of the cages were opened so that the owls could flutter out onto the perches and flap around the store without bothering any customers. Purchasing an owl during the day was much easier as they were too sleepy to cause a scene. The witches and wizards could get it home without it screeching, flapping and nipping their fingers.
The Potter's large speckled screech owl rarely took an interest in Harry, as he never received any post. Harry usually couldn't be bothered with their owl anyway for the same reason – it never had anything for him. He hardly seemed to notice it at all.
"Harry, do you see him? Can you see this fluffy guy?" James put Harry onto his shoulder so that Harry could peer into the cage. "He looks just like Owlicious, doesn't he? Yeah? He looks exactly like our owl!"
James put his finger in the cage. The owl had woken by the sound of voices around it. It leaned forward to nibble at James' finger. James stroked the owl's chest fluff. It hooted importantly, stretching its legs. James got the impression that it was showing off how long and strong they were. It seemed as if it applying for a job by trying to say 'look how sleek these are, I could deliver a heavy package with no problems!'. James laughed.
"Ah, I'm sorry buddy. We're not buying an owl today, I'm afraid. I only wanted my son to see you. I don't doubt you're quite talented though!"
The owl spread its wings out, as if shrugging. It yawned. Then it gave a few very noisy screeching hoots, before fluffing itself up to its full size and nestling back down. Harry, who had never seen an owl do this before, was terrified. To him, the owl had suddenly turned into a massive beast of feathers and was shrieking at them in warning that it would attack. He burst into tears.
James held him in a tight hug. Harry hid his face in his father's neck and sobbed. James lovingly rubbed Harry's neck and spoke softly in his ear.
"Oh dear, did that scare you little mate? Yeah? I know it did. I know. Shhh. You're alright. Yes, mister owl is asleep now. You're ok. Dada is here, you're ok." James gave him a big kiss on his temple, then gave Harry a tight hug.
Lily had rushed over from admiring a barn owl. She ran her fingers through the tufts of messy hair on Harry's head. "My poor little pumpkin juice, what's wrong?"
"He was frightened by that owl, but I think we're ok. Hmm? Harry ok?" James kissed Harry's little cheek.
Harry whimpered and sniffled. He eyed the owl nervously.
"It's alright son," Lily smiled. "He won't hurt you! No, these owls won't hurt you. They don't eat little boys. Come on, let's go see some owls who aren't so big."
She led them over to some very small terrariums where several small owls shared a home. She put her hand in the tank and one of them hopped onto her finger. She lifted it out carefully. James had knelt down and put Harry on his knee.
"Look at this little guy, Harry!" Lily said, showing her son the tiny burrowing owl. "Isn't he sweet? He's just your size!"
Harry was suspicious, but he was also incredibly curious. The tiny owl peeped happily and puffed himself up. He looked remarkably like a Puffskein, only with much larger eyes. Harry smiled. He reached his finger out to poke the owl who deflated with a long, high 'wooooo'. Harry giggled, then made a grab for it. Luckily, Lily was faster. She moved the owl out of his reach.
"No-no, love," she said. "We don't grab owls. That hurts them! We have to have gentle hands, see?" Lily took Harry's hand and ran it down the little owl, then lightly petted its head. "There we are! See? He likes that!" She helped Harry to feel it again. "That's nice, isn't it? Can you show muma gentle hands? Can you touch the owl?"
Harry thought about it, then reached out and patted the owl's head. It was still rather hard, but the owl seemed to understand that Harry was just learning. It cheeped gladly, bobbing its head in a congratulatory way. Harry stuck his fingers in his mouth and gurgled, clearly very pleased with his accomplishment.
"That's the way!" James grinned. "Who's our smart boy, eh?" He tickled Harry's stomach.
Lily put the owl back with its family. They browsed a bit more before thanking the shop owner and going back outside. Lily was just putting Harry back into the wrap when there was a large crack of thunder overhead. In the next second, it began pouring rain. Lily pointed to the ice cream parlor and they made a dash for it.
James held the door open as she and Harry scooted inside. He wheeled their trolley in and let the door close behind him. They shook the water off as best they could and wiped their feet. Lily squeezed her hair dry over the rug as James wiped his glasses off.
"Hello there ducks!" An elderly woman called to them from over the counter. "Won't be a tick! You have a look 'round and I'll be back in a second to take your order."
"Thank you," Lily smiled. "Oooh, look Harry! Ice cream! Yummy yummy! Let's see what they've got."
There was a long, wood and glass counter that spanned the back of the shop. There were dozens of flavors, some by Muggles and some unique to the wizarding world. When the cheerful old witch came back, James ordered a cone of pumpkin pasty and treacle tart. Lily got a cup of chocolate frog for she and Harry to share. She took a spoon and turned around, slamming right into someone.
"Oy, are you blind? You there, can't you look after your wife?"
Lily looked up to see who had spoken to rudely to them. Her face split into a wide grin and she laughed. "Sirius Black, you scared me!" She shoved him playfully. "That was rotten, I nearly put the ice cream right in Harry's face!"
"Would've been the best day of his little life, too," he laughed. "Hello there, Harry! Hey mate! You've gotten so big since I last saw you. And how are you Prongs?"
"Tired, but we'll live." He and Sirius hugged. "We really needed a day out. Harry was getting grouchy. He threw oatmeal at me this morning."
"Yeah, well, I've seen how you look first thing in morning. He probably thought you were a troll."
They laughed and Sirius led them to a table where he had been sitting. Sirius had heard about Lily's mother passing, and he gave her his sympathies. She smiled sadly and thanked him. After an awkward silence, James told Sirius about their afternoon encounter with Snape. The two of them laughed like a pair of mad poltergeists. Harry, elated by the happiness around him, clapped his hands and laughed with them.
The three of them swapped stories about the latest happenings in the wizarding world. Sirius always had interesting things to share, as his family supported the Dark Lord. Though he wasn't part of them anymore, he still had a few relatives who were on the fence about their feelings of purity, and they were willing to speak with him. James was always getting news from the Aurors, as his father had served the Ministry for his entire life, and now with the Prophecy, they seemed to feel a duty to let the Potters know what was going on. Lily was concentrating on feeding Harry without getting him covered in chocolate, but she added the rumors she'd heard from other witches, and what was going on in the muggle world.
Right in the middle of a sentence, Lily felt something grab her leg. Startled, she looked down to see a small, thin, freckled face grinning up at her. It was another little boy, slightly older then Harry, and clearly much better at walking. He had been attracted to some of the shiny sequins at the bottom of her robe and was clutching them as if hoping that they would come with him.
"Well hello there," Lily smiled. "James, we've got a visitor!"
James and Sirius both looked under the table and laughed. Lily waved at the little boy, who put a hand up and flexed his fingers at her.
"And where did you come from, little man?" She asked. She held out her hand and helped the boy off the floor. He stood net to her, holding on to her chair. "Where is your mummy? Did you escape?"
Lily ran her fingers through the boy's bright red hair, then put a hand on his back so he wouldn't fall over. The boy suddenly saw Harry sitting in her lap and looked curiously at him. He reached a hand out to poke Harry in the side, checking to see if he was real. Lily grinned.
"Did you come to make friends? Look, Harry! See, there's another little boy. What do you think?"
Harry put a finger in his mouth. He really hadn't been around too many other children before. He didn't seem to know what to make of the boy. He finally took his slobbery finger and pointed at him. The boy grabbed Harry's finger and shook it vigorously. Lily was afraid that Harry was about about to cry, from the shocked look on his face, but to her surprise, he made a bubbling sound and gave a small laugh.
"Oh, are we all friends, then?" She beamed. She leaned over and put her arm around the red-haired boy and lifted him onto her lap. "There we are, now we can see each other properly, hm? How is that?"
The ginger boy immediately started to pat Harry. Then he grabbed at Harry's hair. In return, Harry gave him a poke in the eye, his finger still soaked from being in his mouth. Neither of them seemed too bothered by the others rough behaviour. In fact, they seemed to be carrying on their own squeaky, gurgling, drool filled conversation.
Lily was bubbling over with joy. "He's found a friend, James! His first friend! Look at them, they're just dolls!"
James and Sirius both moved closer, watching the two boys with great interest. Lily glanced up to see a short, portly woman wheel a pram over to their right, a few tables ahead of them.
"Right, here we are, Won-won! I'm sorry it took mummy so long," She began to set two ice cream cups down, then looked about. Whoever she had expected to see was no longer there. "Won-won? Ronnie?" She called sweetly at first. Then more frantically, she began looking under tables. "Ron! RON! Ronald Weasley! Where are you, Ron?!"
Lily recognized her immediately when she got a good look at the woman's face. She should have known it was Molly Weasley straight away, she thought stupidly. The Weasleys had joined The Order of The Phoenix not long ago and they'd been spending a lot of time together. Of course, this had to be her son Ronald that she frequently mentioned. Lily thought she should have guessed this too. The hair was a dead give away.
"Molly! Molly, over here!" Lily called.
Molly look up, red in the face with an expression of irritation and fear. Clearly she didn't want to be distracted in case Ron tried to make a run for it. Then she spotted her son sitting on Lily's lap and she smiled., relieved She made her way over to them and sighed in an exasperated way.
"Hello, Lily," she said. "I do apologize, I really hope he hasn't bothered you too much."
"No, not at all! He's been a perfect gentleman. He just came over to make friends."
"Good. Oh, they can be such a handful! I can't take my eyes off of this one for a minute."
"It's fine. Where is everyone else?"
"With Arthur and his sister. It's just mummy and Ronnie's day out." She sighed deeply. "You would think that I could at least turn around for a few seconds. I really am sorry."
"Don't be," James said. "Really, Molly, it's alright! It happens to us too, and we've only got one. Anyway, I expect he thought Lily was his mum. There aren't too many woman with red hair about."
Lily grinned, yet she couldn't help but feel sorry for Molly. Apparently, she was all too used to apologizing for her children. The Potters had heard, of course, about the large Weasley family. Some wizards thought they had far too many children. The snobbier pure-bloods had even tossed the word "disgusting" around. Lily couldn't understand that. Arthur and Molly had loved each other deeply since they'd gone to Hogwarts, and the way they looked at each child with such love; they were a strong family and Lily had always admired them. Molly shouldn't have always had to apologize if one of her sons was friendly to the wrong person, Lily thought. They were a wonderful family with nothing to be ashamed of.
"Would you like to sit with us?" Lily offered. "I think your son is too comfortable now!"
Molly grinned. "Really? Of course – if you don't mind..."
"Nonsense!" Sirius said. He rose to help Molly bring her things over to their table. As he began wheeling the pram over, he was surprised to find another tiny face amidst a bundle of blankets. "Oh, who's this then?"
"This is our latest addition," Molly replied, going pink. "I... I know we have a lot already but..."
"Well, they're like chips, aren't they?" Sirius laughed, sitting back down. "You really can't have just one! There's nothing wrong with it, Molly. If other people don't like it, they're probably only jealous that they don't have such a nice family."
For a moment, Molly looked as though she might cry from gratefulness. Then she grinned and said, "This is our last, in any case. I've finally got my little girl!" Molly lifted her from the pram and cuddled her.
"Really?" Lily gasped. "Oh, how wonderful! What's her name?"
"Ginevra – only I call her Ginny," she beamed. "And Lily, the one you've got is Ron."
James scooted over to peer into the blankets. "Molly, she's lovely! What a sweetheart. She's already got her trademark hair! Hello, little girl. Hello, Ginny!" He put his finger into the bundle, tickling Ginny's chin. She gurgled and cooed. "How old is she?"
"Only just two months. Of course, that's a far cry from our Bill. He's..." A tear ran down Molly's cheek, and she wiped it away with a corner Ginny's blanket. "Forgive me. I'm just being an emotional mummy. He's just started at Hogwarts! Sorted into Gryffindor and everything, just like us."
"No! Really? I didn't realize you had one that old already! Oh Molly, you must be so proud!"
They talked for a long while. Harry and Ron eventually fell asleep against each other. When the rain finally stopped, Sirius decided he should make his way home. He gave Harry a big kiss, hugged Lily and James, then disapparated away. Not long after that, Ginny began to fuss. Molly decided that they had better make their way home as well. James finished his ice cream, Lily helped him gather up their things, then they went home too.
Once inside, Lily took Harry to his crib and gently laid him down. He grunted in his sleep, but otherwise didn't even move. She sat on a rocker next to it, her head leaning against the bars, staring lovingly into it.
"Hey," James whispered. He went to sit on the chair's arm and held her. He watched his sleeping son for a moment as well. "I wish I could sleep like that. He's so peaceful." He kissed the top of Lily's head. "They're so lovely, aren't they, babies? Harry was so sweet with little Ron this afternoon."
"Wasn't he?" Lily grinned. "I was just glad they even got along, but you'd have thought they were brothers."
"Yeah... what do you say we call it an early night? Maybe we can give him a brother." He winked.
"Really? You'd like that?"
"Why not? I think Sirius was right about them being like chips. Besides, we'll have fun trying if nothing else." He gently pinched the spot where Lily's jeans had been burned through.
Lily laughed, smacked James with a pillow and ran to the master bedroom. He chased her. Lily had honestly felt ,for a few hours, that she might not ever smile again. She might have lost a family member, but now she realized she could grow her own new family. They could have two maybe even three more. As James had said, why not? Everything was going so right for them. Apart from everything else, Lily knew that in a few weeks, they would make Peter their secret keeper, and go into much deeper hiding with Sirius. Then they'd have nothing to worry about for a long, long time. Not even Voldemort.
(( Sorry for ending with feels! I was done with this awhile ago, but it was my birthday and I completely forgot to post it. Sorry again! Thank you for the reviews I've had, I love receiving them. I've had a request for Hermione, so she's next! I promise it won't take as long.))