THC Round 9 - It all ends here
House: Slytherin
Class: DADA
Entry: Standard
Class prompt: Fluff
Main Prompt: [Action] Baking a cake
Additional prompt: [Dialogue (multiline)] "Trust in your gut." / "What's your gut telling you?"
Word count: 2420
Betas: shy-n-gr8, VanillaAshes, Fires Of Eden Red Rose Aurora, Aya Diefair
Okay, I had way too much fun with this! I kind of feel bad for James, yet I also kind of don't. This is pure xD Enjoy reading!
He Just Wanted To Be Nice...
It wasn't an easy feat to accomplish. Quite the contrary, in fact. To think that he had imagined it to be simple, that Sirius had actually rolled his eyes and scoffed at him mentioning it was beyond his comprehension at this very moment.
James blinked as the batter flew off of the Muggle electrical spinny thing in his hand and splashed against the wall in front of him. The sensation of chilly, goopy wetness against his cheek, as well as the tan-ish splotch of something on the right glass of his spectacles, highlighted just how little he knew about what he was actually doing.
Or what he was supposed to do.
He frowned at the foreign utensil in his hand as the batter on his cheek slowly began to run down his skin. He had seen Lily use it before, but for some reason, she managed to only have batter in the bowl at the end. That was what he got for wanting to do it Muggle-style… He thought it would be a good idea to follow what his gut—and heart—told him. He would be able to show his wife that he was embracing her Muggle heritage, the way he was trying and failing to—
A giggle behind him caused him to turn around swiftly. The spinny thing was now dripping batter onto the floor, but he didn't notice as he had set his whole attention onto a tiny and incredibly amused human sitting in a highchair.
"You think Daddy is making a right mess, don't you, Harry?"
Another giggle escaped his son as he clapped his hands, excited at the show his father was involuntarily giving him. For once, it wasn't him causing the chaos.
"Dadda ick!"
James gasped in pretended shock and put his free hand over his heart. "You're calling me icky, young mister?"
Harry screeched excitedly and jumped up and down in his highchair.
"Of course, you'd laugh at me, you little traitor, you." He smirked fondly and turned back around, the happy gurgles of his son as a constant and very welcome background noise. "Now, what did Mummy do that Daddy did not do?"
He didn't know what he had expected, but Harry didn't know, either. At least he didn't let him know, which was just as bad. Great assistant. Not being able to formulate proper sentences. He was on his own, then.
A sigh escaped him as he put the spinny thing down onto the counter, smudging a puddle of batter underneath it. He scratched his head. James had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do now. He had put everything into the bowl according to the recipe he had found in one of Lily's notebooks. Or had he forgotten something?
Curiously, he picked up the small book that he had placed next to the sink before the batter explosion and quickly wiped a splatter of slimy goo off the recipe title.
'Fluffy Lemon Cake,' it read in Lily's beautiful handwriting, right at the top of the page. 'Measure the dry ingredients (listed above), put them into a clean mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.' Yes, he had done that. 'In another mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients (listed above, including the eggs) and mix thoroughly.' He'd also done that. 'Then, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing continuously until a smooth batter forms.'
James looked up from the instructions and towards the dripping countertop. His eyebrows twitched as his eyes followed a bit of batter that made its way down the backsplash.
How could baking a birthday cake for his wife have turned into a disaster as huge as this one? Sirius had said baking a cake was easy, and he had seen Blinky, their family house-elf, make cakes as glorious as small statues day in and day out when he was younger. How in the name of Merlin's itching behind had he managed to fail as dramatically as this?
An exaggerated huff escaped him as Harry let out another giggle. He really wanted to get this cake sorted before Lily returned home, which would be in about…
James looked at the clock hanging on the opposite, gloriously batter-free wall, and he baulked. "Crap!" he cursed, completely forgetting the impressionable boy in the room.
"Crrrap!" Harry squealed happily and, much to James' horror, kept on repeatedly yelling, "Crap, crap, crap!"
"Oh, Lily's going to kill me…"
"James?" As if on cue, like she had a sixth sense or something, the front door opened and the melodic voice of his wife echoed through the hallway. "I'm home, honey!"
"Crap!" the two Potter men said, one desperately, one excitedly. James whirled around, eyes scanning the room for his wand, as he felt his left hand brush against something solid and drag it off the counter. A loud clattering sound reached his ears just as his brain had caught up with what he had just smashed onto the tiles.
The spinny thing.
"Everything alright?"
"Yes!" he called back, voice quivering with adrenaline. "All good, don't come in yet!"
But Lily had been too quick—or just hadn't listened in the first place—and was already standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a mixture of shock and amusement on her freckled face.
"What in Merlin's name happened here?"
James blinked at her before looking at the mess behind him—batter. Everywhere. The backsplash, the countertop, the underside of the cupboards, the left side of the sink, parts of the window looking out over the back garden… And the floor. Don't forget the floor. The spinny thing had sprayed batter almost everywhere up to knee height, including Harry's highchair, who found the whole ordeal incredibly amusing judging by his bright smile.
"Mama!" He squealed loudly at seeing Lily in the doorway, reaching towards her with his tiny hands.
"Hey, my little darling, how was your day? Good?"
James watched her cautiously make her way through the battlefield that was their kitchen and pick up their son to cuddle him close to her chest.
"What did Daddy do here, huh?"
"Crap!"
The silence that followed that exclamation of their nearly two-year-old was deafening as James tried to think of excuses that would enable him to either: 1) vanish on the spot, 2) suffer from a spontaneous spell of amnesia, or 3) die. Option three would be a bit radical, but as he saw the look on his wife's face, he very shortly wondered whether it would stay that radical.
"James?"
"Yes, love?"
Lily opened her eyes and seemed to choke on her words as her gaze travelled over the state of both their kitchen as well as her husband. James, on the other hand, tried his best to remain calm under the scrutinising look of his wife.
"What is the meaning of this?"
He blinked. "Well," he hesitantly answered as he pushed the spinny thing out of his way using his foot, "I was trying to bake a cake. For… you. You know. For your birthday?" That came out more like a question, but he was nervous, so no one could really blame him.
And luckily—he silently thanked his charm—he saw Lily almost melt in front of him, hopefully forgetting the ordeal around the fact that he had accidentally taught their son his first curse word. Sirius would have a field day if he found out.
"You wanted to bake a birthday cake for me?" Tears gathered in her eyes and for a short moment, James panicked. "That's so sweet of you!"
Harry reached up, a look of confusion on his face, and patted at her cheeks, trying to stop the tears from falling.
"It was supposed to be a surprise… And Harry was supposed to help me, but he isn't much of a help, really."
A soft huff of laughter escaped her as she turned to face their son, who, as soon as he had the full attention of his mother, burst into giggles. "My two boys," she said dreamily and pressed a kiss onto Harry's cheek.
James stood there amidst the smudged batter, hands sticky and the splatters on his cheek and glasses drying into an icky crust and just watched his family for a few peaceful moments. He had no idea what he had done to get this lucky, but here he was, a husband, a father, and the happiest man on Earth.
"It's a shame about the cake."
James blinked and tilted his head. "Why's that? It's still salvable."
"Is it, though? How do you plan on saving it?" It was obvious that Lily tried to keep a straight face as she looked at her husband, who immediately channelled the inner Marauder.
"Ah, I'll find a way. I always say 'Trust in your gut.'" He'd find a way. Right? He looked around him and felt a tentative wave of doubt wash away his confidence.
"What's your gut telling you?" she asked, a knowing smirk on her beautiful face.
"That this cake would taste horrible either way because I think I messed up somewhere and that we should ask Remus to go to the local bakery and buy one instead. Yeah, yeah, I said it, I know."
Laughter filled the small room as first Lily, then Harry, and then James couldn't hold it in any longer. The whole scene looked like something exploded whilst James had been standing in the middle of it.
Still giggling merrily, Lily reached for her wand and waved it through the air. All of the dried-up batter vanished, the bowls started to wash themselves, and the spinny things from the spinny thing flew out of the corner James had kicked it into and jumped into the soapy water in the sink.
"How did you manage to create this much chaos anyway?"
An awkward laugh escaped James' lips as he raised one hand and scratched the back of his head. "Now, that's a good question, Lily, dear. You see, here I was following your recipe to a tee and—"
"You had no idea how to use an electric whisk, did you?"
'That's what it's called, then,' James thought, feeling mildly surprised. "Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it that."
"Of course, you wouldn't."
The smirk on her face hadn't vanished yet and James didn't know how to react to that doubt he felt directed towards him but stride over to where she was standing, still holding onto their son, wrap his arms around both of them and lean in closely.
"I wouldn't, no," he muttered softly before he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers lovingly.
A sigh escaped her before he felt her respond. Her lips were so soft and she tasted slightly sweet. Had she had ice cream? Without him?
But before he could make sure that it was indeed strawberry ice cream he was tasting, he felt a small hand pat him on the cheek.
"Dada, Mama, wan' kiss, too!"
Lily snorted and like the gentleman James was, he didn't make fun of her but turned to his baby boy. Harry's green eyes were sparkling with pure happiness at having the attention of both his parents at the same time. His cheeks were a healthy rose pink and the grin he had, showing off his first couple of teeth, was so huge it looked almost painful.
"We love you, Harry," Lily cooed and pressed her lips against his cheeks just before James followed her example and kissed his son's other cheek. He could feel his boy's little body vibrate with giggles as another squeal escaped him.
James didn't want this day to end. Ever. He had rarely felt his heart swell with pride and love as in this very moment. Well, that was until his heir, his very blood, decided to ruin it.
"Crap!"
James froze, lips still touching the traitor's cheek as Lily, as if stung by a bee, jerked away from Harry and James felt the concentrated power of her glare focussed on him.
"James…" The low tone in which she said his name caused him to gulp. Oh, he was done for. "James, could you please explain to me why our son knows a word like that?"
"Well…"
"Crap! Crap, crap, crap!"
"Well?"
James slowly shuffled away from his wife who was looking at him expectantly, a dangerous sparkle in her eyes. "It was an accident! I swear!"
For a short second, it looked as if Lily was about to explode before she closed her eyes and took one, two, three deep breaths. Harry patted her cheek again as if to calm her down. He had an adorably worried expression on his face, which made James wonder whether his son was actually on his side here. Not a traitor, after all.
"What's done is done, I guess," she said weakly before opening her eyes again. "We just need to discourage him from using it."
"Crap!"
"That might be a bit more difficult than it sounds." James looked at his son who giggled every time he said his new favourite word.
A moment of silence followed that exclamation and the only sounds that could be heard were the birds chirping outside the window underneath the chilly winter sun as well as the soft ticking of the kitchen clock.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Lily demanded almost out of thin air and James blinked at her, eyes big.
"What?"
"You promised me to follow your gut and get me a cake, and since you spread the entire batch of batter all over the kitchen…" she trailed off and fluttered her eyelashes at him.
"Right." Relief spread through him as he eyed her coy expression. "Right, I will Floo Remus, then. See if he can find something nice."
Just as he was about to make his way out of the kitchen, he heard Lily softly clear her throat. "Oh, and James?"
"Yes, dear?" He turned around, an easy smile on his lips.
"Don't even think for a minute that you are forgiven for teaching Harry that word," she said sweetly as she walked past him, swaying her hips enticingly. She always did that to tease him in moments in which he just knew he wouldn't be allowed to even touch her.
"Crap!"
"Exactly, Harry," James muttered as he watched the love of his life walk up the stairs to put Harry down for his afternoon nap. "Exactly that."
Crap! xD I hope you liked it!
Until next time - see ya!