AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello readers! I am truly sorry for not updating my story as
much as I would like to…but you try explaining to your teacher that
Fanfiction is much better than Canadian History (yuck…my least favourite
subject). So, all in all, school work and social life has been in the way
of my Fanfiction writing. No worries though, for this is the new
installment of my story! Enjoy, and if you don't like, then don't read
it…simple as that!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own ANYTHING (except maybe for the stuff that you don't recognize from the books)
*~*~*
"Lily, you sure you don't need any help with the tea?" Remus asked, as he watched Lily stagger about helplessly.
"N-no…I'm fine," she said reassuringly. If only her words spoke for her actions…
CRASH! * tinkle tinkle *
"Er--maybe I will need a little help…" she said. Remus walked over and magicked the remnants of the mug into the garbage pail. After the tea was finally brewed properly, the four friends sat around at the Potters' kitchen table, sipping their drinks. James and Lily were silent, and seemed to be drooping off into sleep again. Lily had her head down on her arms, and James' head was balanced on his arm, which was propped up on the table. Both had their eyes glazed over.
"Have you guys gotten ANY sleep at all?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded, showing his interest in the answer to the question. Lily gave a small snort.
"Sleep? What's that?" she answered sarcastically.
"No really," Remus prompted, his hazel eyes showing true concern.
"Not really, Moony," James replied as he set his empty mug on the table. "Harry hasn't given us much of a chance to rest. He needs supervision twenty-four seven!" he exclaimed. He sighed and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. "Coffee has become a close friend of mine."
Suddenly, Sirius was struck with an idea. You could almost see the light bulb click on over his head. "Hey! What if you and Lily take a vacation?" he suggested. James and Lily studied him for a moment, as if thinking that he had truly gone through the roof.
"What? Just so we can not get any sleep in a different location?" Lily questioned. She and James broke into laughter.
"You've got to be kidding! We can't go anywhere with Harry--"
"Who said you have to bring Harry?" Sirius inquired, finally coming to the point of his idea.
"Leave Harry?" Lily began. She was looking a little worried, but James was looking thoughtful.
"That's not a bad idea," James thought aloud. Lily glared at him murderously.
"And who, Mr. Potter, is going to take care of Harry?" she asked scathingly. Sirius bobbed up and down in his seat childish-like but James and Lily did not notice.
"I'm sure we can summon a baby-sitter, MRS. Potter!" James said indignantly. "We really need this vacation!"
"Back to my first question…who?" James and Lily bickered back and forth upon the subject until Remus cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Sirius was still bobbing up and down, trying to get a hold of James and Lily's attention (yet failing miserably).
"Ahem!" They all turned to stare at him, James and Lily now standing up looking as though they'd throttle the other. "I believe, Sirius and I would be glad to take care of Harry." He paused for effect, but he was soon greeted by something unexpected…the laughter of James and Lily.
"You guys?" Lily gasped, nearly choking for air. She was leaning against the refrigerator for support, and James was practically rolling around the floor in laughter.
"I love you guys as brothers and everything," he said, "but you? With my son? That's ridiculous!"
"Why's that?!" Sirius asked, a bit irritated.
"Well…I guess it's because…it's you," Lily explained. Sirius and Remus stared hard at their so-called friends.
"Don't you trust us?" Remus questioned. He had a sincere look in his eye, so James and Lily ceased their peals of laughter.
"Of course we trust you…but--"
"But?"
"But…well…um…er…"
"Well put, Prongs!" Sirius said, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "If you guys don't have a real reason…why don't you just let us take care of Harry so you can go on a second honeymoon or whatever you want to call it." He waited patiently for their answer. James and Lily gazed skeptically at each other, unsure of what to say. They DID need this vacation…but this was Sirius and Remus you were talking about! That's half of the Marauders that caused havoc at Hogwarts! It was enough that one quarter was the father…
Finally, James looked at his two best friends after reaching a tacit agreement with his wife. "Fine…you can take care of Harry."
*~*~*
A week from that day, James and Lily were rushing about the house frantically. They were trying to pack all their things so they can depart as soon as possible and give last minute instructions to Sirius and Remus. Harry was sitting in his play pen, watching the adults zoom by him.
"And finally, at eight o'clock sharp at night, Harry takes his last bottle. His next feeding won't come until probably three…or whenever he wakes up crying," Lily explained.
"Don't forget to tell them about the mobile!" James said as he dashed up the stairs, a pair of his pants thrown over his shoulder.
"Oh yeah…Harry has this thing with the Quidditch mobile in his room. It plays a lullaby for him, and that's pretty much all that will get him to sleep," Lily said. "It's found over top his crib and the wind key is right in the back."
"Okay…Quidditch mobile in nursery," Remus recited. Sirius was looking puzzled.
"Wait…what did you say about Quidditch?" he asked. Lily sighed exasperatedly and pulled a sheet of parchment, which had to be at least three feet long. "Lils…History of Magic was due years ago!" Sirius joked.
"Ha ha, Sirius," she said. "This isn't History of Magic…this is instructions on taking care of Harry!" She handed the list to an awestruck Remus. "I divided the list into sections…food…changing…nap…and miscellaneous!" Lily then went into a detailed rant on the list and reviewed everything she had already told them. "There! That's it, really!" she said.
"That's it, huh?" Sirius muttered, low enough so Lily hadn't heard him.
"Okay, everything's packed!" announced James has he glided down the steps. "See ya, sport!" he said as he kissed the top of his son's head. Harry gurgled happily.
"Oooh, I'm going to miss you, Harry!" Lily gushed as she picked him up and hugged him tight. "Don't worry, mummy will be back soon…now you be good for uncles Padfoot and Moony, alright?" She was answered with another cheerful goo. "Be good!" she said, but this time she was saying it to Sirius and Remus.
"Yeah, guys," James said. "This is my son you're looking after!" They said their goodbyes, and after another session of saying farewell to Harry (Lily was on the verge of tears now…it WAS her first time leaving him), the two of them Apparated to their destination.
"Ah! The Potter household is ours to rule!" Sirius said as he flopped on to the couch. He then sniffed the air and caught a whiff of something quite…erm…stinky. He looked up at Remus, who must of noticed it too, because he was plugging his nose.
"I'm not doing it!" Sirius exclaimed, using his shirt to shield his nose.
"Well…don't look at me!" Remus cried. The both of them backed away slowly from the play pen, while Harry seemed to laugh hysterically at their antics.
"I'll flip you a coin for it!" Sirius called, yanking a knut from his pocket.
"We can't flip a coin on who's going to ch--HEADS!" he yelled, for Sirius had already threw the coin into the air.
"And the winner is--er--TAILS!" he said.
"Liar! That was Heads! You're cheating! Give me that knut!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Oh…this is stupid…fine! Rock, paper, scissors."
"Rock, paper, what?"
DISCLAIMER: I don't own ANYTHING (except maybe for the stuff that you don't recognize from the books)
*~*~*
"Lily, you sure you don't need any help with the tea?" Remus asked, as he watched Lily stagger about helplessly.
"N-no…I'm fine," she said reassuringly. If only her words spoke for her actions…
CRASH! * tinkle tinkle *
"Er--maybe I will need a little help…" she said. Remus walked over and magicked the remnants of the mug into the garbage pail. After the tea was finally brewed properly, the four friends sat around at the Potters' kitchen table, sipping their drinks. James and Lily were silent, and seemed to be drooping off into sleep again. Lily had her head down on her arms, and James' head was balanced on his arm, which was propped up on the table. Both had their eyes glazed over.
"Have you guys gotten ANY sleep at all?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded, showing his interest in the answer to the question. Lily gave a small snort.
"Sleep? What's that?" she answered sarcastically.
"No really," Remus prompted, his hazel eyes showing true concern.
"Not really, Moony," James replied as he set his empty mug on the table. "Harry hasn't given us much of a chance to rest. He needs supervision twenty-four seven!" he exclaimed. He sighed and ran a hand through his rumpled hair. "Coffee has become a close friend of mine."
Suddenly, Sirius was struck with an idea. You could almost see the light bulb click on over his head. "Hey! What if you and Lily take a vacation?" he suggested. James and Lily studied him for a moment, as if thinking that he had truly gone through the roof.
"What? Just so we can not get any sleep in a different location?" Lily questioned. She and James broke into laughter.
"You've got to be kidding! We can't go anywhere with Harry--"
"Who said you have to bring Harry?" Sirius inquired, finally coming to the point of his idea.
"Leave Harry?" Lily began. She was looking a little worried, but James was looking thoughtful.
"That's not a bad idea," James thought aloud. Lily glared at him murderously.
"And who, Mr. Potter, is going to take care of Harry?" she asked scathingly. Sirius bobbed up and down in his seat childish-like but James and Lily did not notice.
"I'm sure we can summon a baby-sitter, MRS. Potter!" James said indignantly. "We really need this vacation!"
"Back to my first question…who?" James and Lily bickered back and forth upon the subject until Remus cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Sirius was still bobbing up and down, trying to get a hold of James and Lily's attention (yet failing miserably).
"Ahem!" They all turned to stare at him, James and Lily now standing up looking as though they'd throttle the other. "I believe, Sirius and I would be glad to take care of Harry." He paused for effect, but he was soon greeted by something unexpected…the laughter of James and Lily.
"You guys?" Lily gasped, nearly choking for air. She was leaning against the refrigerator for support, and James was practically rolling around the floor in laughter.
"I love you guys as brothers and everything," he said, "but you? With my son? That's ridiculous!"
"Why's that?!" Sirius asked, a bit irritated.
"Well…I guess it's because…it's you," Lily explained. Sirius and Remus stared hard at their so-called friends.
"Don't you trust us?" Remus questioned. He had a sincere look in his eye, so James and Lily ceased their peals of laughter.
"Of course we trust you…but--"
"But?"
"But…well…um…er…"
"Well put, Prongs!" Sirius said, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "If you guys don't have a real reason…why don't you just let us take care of Harry so you can go on a second honeymoon or whatever you want to call it." He waited patiently for their answer. James and Lily gazed skeptically at each other, unsure of what to say. They DID need this vacation…but this was Sirius and Remus you were talking about! That's half of the Marauders that caused havoc at Hogwarts! It was enough that one quarter was the father…
Finally, James looked at his two best friends after reaching a tacit agreement with his wife. "Fine…you can take care of Harry."
*~*~*
A week from that day, James and Lily were rushing about the house frantically. They were trying to pack all their things so they can depart as soon as possible and give last minute instructions to Sirius and Remus. Harry was sitting in his play pen, watching the adults zoom by him.
"And finally, at eight o'clock sharp at night, Harry takes his last bottle. His next feeding won't come until probably three…or whenever he wakes up crying," Lily explained.
"Don't forget to tell them about the mobile!" James said as he dashed up the stairs, a pair of his pants thrown over his shoulder.
"Oh yeah…Harry has this thing with the Quidditch mobile in his room. It plays a lullaby for him, and that's pretty much all that will get him to sleep," Lily said. "It's found over top his crib and the wind key is right in the back."
"Okay…Quidditch mobile in nursery," Remus recited. Sirius was looking puzzled.
"Wait…what did you say about Quidditch?" he asked. Lily sighed exasperatedly and pulled a sheet of parchment, which had to be at least three feet long. "Lils…History of Magic was due years ago!" Sirius joked.
"Ha ha, Sirius," she said. "This isn't History of Magic…this is instructions on taking care of Harry!" She handed the list to an awestruck Remus. "I divided the list into sections…food…changing…nap…and miscellaneous!" Lily then went into a detailed rant on the list and reviewed everything she had already told them. "There! That's it, really!" she said.
"That's it, huh?" Sirius muttered, low enough so Lily hadn't heard him.
"Okay, everything's packed!" announced James has he glided down the steps. "See ya, sport!" he said as he kissed the top of his son's head. Harry gurgled happily.
"Oooh, I'm going to miss you, Harry!" Lily gushed as she picked him up and hugged him tight. "Don't worry, mummy will be back soon…now you be good for uncles Padfoot and Moony, alright?" She was answered with another cheerful goo. "Be good!" she said, but this time she was saying it to Sirius and Remus.
"Yeah, guys," James said. "This is my son you're looking after!" They said their goodbyes, and after another session of saying farewell to Harry (Lily was on the verge of tears now…it WAS her first time leaving him), the two of them Apparated to their destination.
"Ah! The Potter household is ours to rule!" Sirius said as he flopped on to the couch. He then sniffed the air and caught a whiff of something quite…erm…stinky. He looked up at Remus, who must of noticed it too, because he was plugging his nose.
"I'm not doing it!" Sirius exclaimed, using his shirt to shield his nose.
"Well…don't look at me!" Remus cried. The both of them backed away slowly from the play pen, while Harry seemed to laugh hysterically at their antics.
"I'll flip you a coin for it!" Sirius called, yanking a knut from his pocket.
"We can't flip a coin on who's going to ch--HEADS!" he yelled, for Sirius had already threw the coin into the air.
"And the winner is--er--TAILS!" he said.
"Liar! That was Heads! You're cheating! Give me that knut!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Oh…this is stupid…fine! Rock, paper, scissors."
"Rock, paper, what?"
