Disclaimer: Lily, Harry, and James aren't mine. However, the fictional ancestors of the fictional characters in this book are mine.
Author's Note: I had weird ideas writing this, including an evil old hag cursing the potters, and Lily sneaking out of bed at night to rub Milana's Magical Mess-Forever in James and Harry's hair. Yeah, I was pretty bored. This idea actually worked out, but I don't think it's one of my funnier ones. I promise, though, that the next one will be very, very funny. Well, I think it is, anyway.
4- It Runs In The Family
Why do Harry and James have such messy hair?
"He's got your hair," sighed Lily.
"What's wrong with my hair?" protested James.
Lily looked at him seriously. "Well, all his life he's going to have messy, uncombable hair- at his birthday parties, at school, at his wedding. Doesn't that make you feel guilty in the least?"
"No," said James, looking as un-guilty as possible. "I like it. And it's not my fault."
"Says who?" asked Lily, flaring.
"Says my dad," said James, unperturbed.
"Your dad doesn't have messy hair," Lily puzzled.
"No, but he did do a few things he wasn't supposed to do as a kid."
"Like father, like son."
"Well, he did something with big consequences."
"And this pertains to the subject… how?"
James leaned back. "It's a long story."
"Christopher Potter! Answer me!"
Chris ignored the call from his mom as he quietly pushed the dusty box open. His mom would go over to his friend Robin's house to se if he was there if Chris didn't answer her calls. There, she'd probably talk with Robin's mom for hours.
The words on the front of the box had no particular interest for the five year-old, except for the top five:
Brian Joren Potter- KEEP OUTThe first three weren't really that interesting- all it told Chris that the box had belonged to the deceased Great-Uncle Brian. The last two were far more informative- Chris wasn't supposed to be in this box, and someone wanted him out. But that meant there was something good in there, didn't it?
"Great-Uncle Brian was a nutter fond of chocolate ice-cream with ketchup," Chris' mother had said when Chris had asked her about his Uncle Brian. "He went around telling people he was the Minister of Magic ever since he was twenty. He worked as a taxi driver, really- I'm not sure he knew how to drive, though. Anyway, when he was seventy-three, he won the Daily Prophet Prize Raffle. He bought a few things that same day- must have been pretty expensive, because he died two days later and didn't have a penny. No one else has ever done anything that weird in their life, and I don't want to see you†Put that chocolate ice-cream and ketchup away, Chris!"
What did nutters buy with tons of money and not want others to see? Chris was about to find out.
The box was empty, except for some cloth that padded the bottom of the trunk. Drawing it out, Chris saw it shone silver. Chris gasped, throwing it over himself. Looking down, Chris saw nothing.
"So that's where your Invisibility Cloak came from!"
"Lils, I can't even tell a story without you interrupting."
"Ooops. Sorry. But that is your cloak, right?"
"Yeah."
"You won't ever let Harry roam around the school at night with that cloak, will you? He's already got your hair- he doesn't need your habits."
"Erm"
"James!"
"Um… of course, Lily dear. Anything you say." James hoped his crossed fingers weren't showing.
As Chris shut the door of the box, ready to sneak downstairs before his mother found him, the unseen words flared brightly.
Ye who steals from this here box,
May be cursed with chicken pox.
Hair so fine won't be so fair,
You'll be cursed with messy hair.
Christopher looked in astonishment the next time he passed a mirror- had his hair been that messy before? Turning his head to the side, he grinned. It looked pretty cool.
"That's the end of your story?"
"What more is there to say? I'm telling you, the hair runs in the family."
Lily sighed. "Whatever."
She turned to Harry for a moment, then turned back to James, a suspicious look on her face. "James"
"Yes?" asked James, looking innocently at her.
"Your father's name wasn't Christopher. It was Benjamin."
James mock-sighed. "And it was such a good story, too."
Lily stared at him for one more second as she digested this information. Then James was running for his life as she furiously chased him. "James Potter! Get back here! You little-"
Harry's green eyes opened, wondering where everyone was. Unfortunately, he couldn't see anything, not even the empty ceiling above him, because his black hair was in his eyes and he couldn't get it out.