Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All locations, items, spells, characters, ect. are most likely property of J.K. Rowling.

Review Responces:

Jen: More chapters will be up soon. I already am up to chapter 15 before he even gets to school. I'm working on the typing still. Thanks for reviewing!

Eric2: Thanks for reviewing! Other people are going to be invited to the party. You'll have to wait and see. About the father/son issues; you'll also have to wait and see.

babyjayy: Thanks for reviewing!

minnie-mae: Yeah, I tried to have chapter 5 out fast. The rest of the chapters I'm sorry to say will take longer to get out. Thanks for reviewing!

PrincessSkywalkerOrgana: Aww, I glad you liked it! Thank you for reviewing!

Krissy: Not at all! I love constructive criticism! I think Harry is a bit out of character myself. Same with Lupin. I'm not good at keeping them in character. Ginny won't be in the story much, sorry. I don't plan on any Harry/Ginny in here, so there won't be much Ginny. The story will mainly be the father/son relationship between James and Harry. I'm adding in a little Voldemort war kinda things later though. Thanks for reviewing!

volleypickle16: Thanks for reviewing!

yaminy-grint4eva: Thanks for reviewing! Ron is awesome! I may check yours out in the future. I'm not much of a song-fic person though. I may even go read it later though.

Shadowrayne: Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing!

Sarah: Whoa... umm... yeah, the chapter is here. I said it would be a bit later than usual. I've been really busy.

Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter typed and up. Finally! It would have been up sooner, but I kept changing things. I didn't really like my original draft with crying Harry, so I've gotten rid of and changed a lot of the crying parts. Yeah, I've made another outline for the story. Hogwarts will begin around chapter 15 or so. Chapter updates are going to be a little slower from now on; I haven't wrote anything past chapter 10's beginning.

Chapter 6: Just Like James

Harry was no longer sitting on the couch. James walked upstairs to Harry's room and stood by the door. Harry was looking at his bag of prank items from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Harry found what he was looking for- a little capsule. Harry looked up and saw James by the doorway. He immediately shoved the rest of his joke stuff under his pillow. James raised an eyebrow and walked over to Harry's bed.

"…Hi, dad." Harry said in an attempt to sound innocent.

"Hi, Harry," said James looking at Harry cautiously. "just seeing what you were up to."

"I was -er--" Harry pulled a book in front of him. "reading."

Harry pressed the button on the capsule and slipped it into James' robe pocket.

"Well, okay…" said James getting up to leave. He got to the door and suddenly began to laugh uncontrollably.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked innocently.

James looked over at Harry and realised Harry had just pulled a joke on him. James jumped on the bed and pushed Harry down. He ruffled Harry's hair and smiled.

"You-are-too-much-like-me!" he said between laughs.

Lily walked in, "what is…?"

She looked at the two of them and immediately realised what was going on.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" she yelled. "This is not funny! How dare you play a prank like that on your father!"

Lily said the counter-curse to Harry's joke. James stopped laughing and caught his breath again. Lily frowned at Harry.

"You're grounded for a week! I mean it, Harry! I want you in bed by ten every night! No flying, no owls, no T.V.; I don't even want you to leave this house until next Friday, and you are to stay in your room for the rest of the night! Do you understand me?!" Lily screamed.

"Yes," Harry said coldly. He had never seen his mother so angry.

"Good," said Lily.

She turned around and walked out the room, pulling James with her. "Mini-James," she muttered.

Harry got up and walked to the door, locking it. He didn't want to be bothered. He pulled out a book from his school truck and attempted to interest himself in it. There was a knock on the door and Harry heard the familiar voice of his father.

"Can I come in, Harry?" he asked.

Harry looked up at the door, but didn't answer.

"Are you in there, Harry?" James asked kindly. "I'd like to speak with you."

Harry looked back down at his book and didn't say anything. Harry heard James say, "Alohomara!" The door clicked, and James walked in. James looked at his only son and frowned; he hated seeing Harry unhappy.

"Hey, Harry!' James said brightly.

"Hi," Harry said not looking up from his book.

"If it makes you feel any better, I thought the joke you pulled earlier was kind of funny." said James hoping to cheer Harry up. Harry smiled. "Unfortunatly, you know how your mom is. She doesn't want you pulling pranks like me, especially on me. She is your mother though, and therfore in charge of punishing you."

"I'm sorry, dad. I just wanted to have a little fun. I wasn't thinking." said Harry.

To Harry's surprise, James smiled.

"It's alright. I would have done the same thing. There's nothing wrong with having some fun every once in awhile." said James.

"So… This is being grounded?" asked Harry staring down at the book on his bed.

James raised his eyebrows at Harry. Had he never been grounded before?

"Haven't you been grounded before?" James asked. 'I got grounded all the time when I was your age!"

"Nothing to ground me from," Harry shrugged. "the Dursley's already took away all my stuff and locked it up. They gave me extra chores sometimes, but they couldn't ground me, because there was never anything left to ground me from. It's not like I had friends in Little Whinging, everyone was terrified of me. Dudley wouldn't let them be my friends."

James looked shocked. "That sounds a lot worse than being grounded to me," he said. "but I guess you can still count this as your first time being grounded. Afterall, it is the first time your mother and I have grounded you. Don't worry about it though, this is all part of life, Harry. You have parents now that set rules you have to obey. You also make mistakes and learn from them as you go. As your father, I'm here to help you learn and today and I welcome you to learn about the world of grounding."

Harry half smiled, "I know, it's just so hard!" he said sadly.

"Lighten up, kid." said James wrapping Harry in a one armed hug. "This is all new to you. You'll get used to it soon; I'm sure of it!"

"Thanks, dad." said Harry. "I think I'm going to go to bed now, I'm kinda tired."

"'Night, Harry!" said James closing Harry's door.

Harry closed his books and set them on his bookshelf. He then got into his bed and fell asleep.

Harry awoke the next morning on his own for the first time since he left the Dursleys. He walked over to the window and looked outside; it was a beautiful day. Defiantly would have been a great day for flying if he wasn't grounded. He looked at the clock and noticed it was 7:30, about time for breakfast. He got back up on his bed and starred at the ceiling. What do you do when you are grounded from everything? Harry thought to himself. Well, on the plus side, it's already Saturday, so I'm only grounded six more days, thought Harry. grr, what am I thinking? Six days is a long time!

"I don't like being grounded." Harry muttered to himself.

"You're not suppost to," said a voice in Harry's doorway.

Harry say upright and looked at his doorway. James was standing there smiling at him.

"I have so much I need to teach you, Harry." James laughed. "If being grounded was fun, it wouldn't be a punishment. It's suppost to be boring, so you don't want to get grounded again."

Harry laughed, "I know, I was thinking outloud again."

"Your mother told me to tell you that if you don't come downstairs for breakfast soon, she is going to come up here and force you to eat."

Harry and James exchanged grins. Then, Harry got up and followed his father downstairs. Dumbledore was down there talking to Lily, about the Order Harry assumed. They stopped their conversation when Harry walked in.

"Good morning, Harry." said Lily and Dumbledore.

"Morning mum, morning professor." replied Harry.

Lily set a glass of milk and a huge plate of French toast in front of Harry.

"So, what are you going to do today?" Dumbledore asked Harry.

'Read I guess," shrugged Harry.

Dumbledore gave Harry a puzzled look; Harry immediately stared back down at his French toast.

"He's grounded," Lily said responding to Dumbledore's puzzled look.

Harry turned a shade of scarlet, Why don't you just tell the whole world? Harry thought. Dumbledore looked at Harry disbelievingly.

"Really?' he asked. "It's only been five days!'

"Yes," answered Lily.

Dumbledore looked at Harry surprised. His blue eyes gazing at Harry through his half moon spectacles. Something about Dumbledore's eyes made Harry feel even worse. Guilt rose in his stomach.

"Looks like you've got yourselves a little trouble maker now," Dumbledore chuckled.

Harry sank down in his chair embarrassed. He didn't like his parents and Dumbledore talking about his behavior at home. Harry did seem to have a fairly close relationship with the Headmaster at school, or at least, closer than that of his friends and the Headmaster. He didn't want Dumbledore knowing about his home life also.

"So, what exactly did Harry do anyway?" asked Dumbledore curiously, still watching Harry through his half moon spectacles.

"He thought it would be amusing to use a Tickling Hex Capsule on James yesterday."

Dumbledore, still looking at Harry laughed.

"Sounds like something James would do to me. I would have never expected that from Harry. Maybe, Harry is finally realizing he's a kid still." Dumbledore smiled at Harry.

"It is," said James entering the conversation.

"Exactly," said Lily. "James is starting to have a negative effect on Harry."

"Hey! I heard that!" said James a bit offended.

Harry looked up at his frowning mother and frowned himself.

"I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to upset anyone. I just wanted to have a little fun!" said Harry sadly. "Do you still love me, mum?"

"Of course I still love you!" exclaimed Lily. "I'll always love you no matter how many stupid things you end up doing!"

Lily walked over to Harry and gave him and bone crushing hug. Dumbledore smiled to himself and turned to James.

"I'm glad you're still treating Harry like a child. Sometimes I think he forgets he isn't an adult yet. It's good to see him having some fun and not thinking so much about fighting Voldemort and saving people."

James sighed, "I just wish I could have been there for him when he was growing up."

"Well, you can never have that, James, but you can try to enjoy his last childhood years together." Dumbledore said.

"Harry doesn't want me to though, he said so." James whispered to himself, forgetting Dumbledore had fairly good hearing.

"He does want to, James. Trust me. He just is unsure of it sometimes." Dumbledore assured him quietly so Harry wouldn't hear.

Dumbledore winked at James and got up from the table.

"I need to get going now. I'll see you three again soon. Have a good day." Dumbledore said and dissapparated.

Harry finished his French toast and walked upstairs. He grabbed The Professional Guide to Quidditch Captaining off his bookshelf and went back downstairs. He found a comfortable spot on the couch, sat down, and began reading. An hour later, James walked in.

"Having fun?" he asked kindly.

Harry set his book aside and looked up at James, "What do you think?"

"Umm… you look kinda bored…" James said.

"No, I'm having a blast." Harry said sarcastically.

James rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen to find Lily. She was sitting at the table reading the Witch Weekly.

"Lily, I really think we should let him go outside…" James trailed off.

"James!" Lily snapped. "He's grounded!"

"Yeah…" said James. "but don't you think all the other stuff you grounded him from is enough?"

Lily looked deep in thought. "Well, I guess I overdid it a little…" she said.

James looked hopeful, "A little?"

"Alright, tomorrow he can go outside." Lily gave in. "I don't know why you're getting all involved in this though. Harry loves hanging out with you anyway; you're giving him less chances to"

"He hates me," James said bitterly. "something about me trying to take Sirius' place."

"He doesn't hate you, James!" Lily said. "He's just a little confused maybe. He just lost Sirius and doesn't know if he wants another father figure I bet."

"But I'm his real father!" James argued.

"Just give him time." said Lily.

"So… are we planning the party tomorrow?" James whispered, changing the subject.

"Yes. That reminds me, Ron and Hermione sent a list of his friends yesterday. We need to get the invitations out soon."

"We can send them tomorrow." whispered James. "I'm gonna go check on Harry."

Lily rolled her eyes as James left the kitchen. Harry was no longer on the couch when James walked in. He must be in his room. James thought. James went up the steps and sure enough, Harry was on his bedroom floor with some parchment and a quill next to him.

James raised an eyebrow, "You aren't sending owls, are you?"

"No," said Harry coldly. "mum grounded me from it, remember? No one said I couldn't write letters though."

James glanced at Harry's letter.

Dear Hermione,

I'm grounded right now, so you won't see this letter for a week. I used one of those Tickling Hex Capsules from Fred and George's joke shop on my dad yesterday. Mum wasn't to happy about it. Grounded me for a week. Never seen her so angry before. It's only a week though, I think I'll live. It was well worth it to trick my dad for once! I'm so bored, I think I'm going to break your reading record pretty soon. I'm taking a break from reading a new Quidditch book my dad bought me right now to write this letter. I'm gonna go now, I think my dad is standing behind me reading my letter. No surprise there to me…

Best,
Harry

James turned around pretending her wasn't reading the letter.

"Were you reading that?" Harry asked.

"No," James lied.

"Yes you were, I saw you." said Harry frowning at James. He closed his ink bottle and put the letter in his dresser. "You're lucky that letter didn't have anything personal in it."

"I'm sorry Harry! I know I shouldn't have read it!" James begged.

"It's alright, I'll forgive you this time." Harry said.

"I won't read them again, I promise." said James hoping to get back on Harry's good side.

Lily walked in, "It's time for dinner."

Harry ate dinner and walked back upstairs. He read a few pages of The Professional Guide to Quidditch Captioning and went to bed.

"Get up!" said James.

"I'm sleeping," Harry replied.

James rolled his eyes, "Breakfast is ready."

"Not hungry…" Harry grumbled.

"I don't care."

"You should."

"I know you're hungry."

"Am not!"

"You're just lazy."

"I'm not lazy!"

"Prove it."

"Fine," Harry said throwing his pillow at James as he got up.

They walked downstairs where Lily was setting a plate of muffins on the table- blueberry and banana nut. Harry ate four muffins and went back upstairs. He grabbed Best Quidditch Plays of the 21st Century off his bookshelf and sat down in the corner of his room to read. Lily walked in about fifteen minutes later.

"Hi, Harry!" she said brightly.

Harry looked up from his book, "Hi, mum."

"It's a nice day outside." Lily said.

Yeah, rub it in. thought Harry. "Yeah, it is." He said not even looking up out the window.

"Listen Harry, I think I really overdid it on your grounding…" said Lily.

"Not really, I deserved it." said Harry not looking up from his book. "I mean anyone else would have gotten the same or worse for pulling a prank on their father."

Lily looked down at Harry with pity. Why does he always say things like that? She wondered.

"Well, then as part of your 'punishment', I want you to put that book down and go outside."

"Seriously?" Harry asked.

"Yes,"

"But you said I was grounded from going outside."

"I changed my mind."

"But…"

"No buts, Harry." said Lily firmly. "I want you to go outside and that's an order. If you don't obey me, I guess I could always add another week to your grounding…"

Harry jumped up off the floor in a hurry. He set he book back on his bookshelf and looked at Lily; she was smiling. Harry smiled back.

"I'm trusting you not to leave the house or try to sneak a ride on your broom. Believe me, if you do I'll find out and you'll be grounded the rest of the summer."

"You can trust me!" said Harry quickly.

Harry ran out of the room, down the stairs and out the door.

"What was that? 'I want you to go outside and that's an order!'" James laughed as Lily came back down the stairs. Lily slapped James on the arm playfully.

"Oww!" James joked.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, I didn't want him to get the idea he was ungrounded or anything." Lily said defensively.

"I've never seen him run out the door so fast." James added.

"Well, it's good to see him happier." said Lily. "He was getting to miserable with all those books. Besides, I don't want him reading everything in the house."

"Very true" James agreed. "Anyway, professor Dumbledore should be arriving soon. He wanted to keep an eye on Harry."

"Honestly James! You call me overprotective, and look at you! You call Dumbledore over to supervise Harry playing outside! I seriously doubt anything will happen to Harry while he's outside."

"Well, you never know!" said James embarrassed. "And Dumbledore can help plan the party."

There was a 'Crack' and Dumbledore appeared in front of them.

"Thanks for coming, professor!" said James.

"Ahh, it was my pleasure, but I can't stay long. Where is Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"Outside," replied James. "I was hoping you could help me keep an eye on him while we plan the party."

"I thought you said he was grounded yesterday." Dumbledore chuckled in amusement.

"He is," said Lily. "I just thought I overdid it a little… so I made him go outside today."

"We needed him outside so we could plan the party anyway." James added.

"And you want me to 'keep an eye on him'?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, yeah…" said James. "If it isn't too much trouble that is."

"Well, I really don't think Harry needs someone spying on him. Not to mention the fact that I'm not a babysitter. But if you really want me to, I guess I'll do it, but I can't stay long." said Dumbledore.

"Thank you so much, professor!" exclaimed James and he and Lily walked upstairs.

Dumbledore looked out the window at Harry. He was lying in the grass staring up at the sky. Daydreaming Dumbledore guessed. Five minutes later, Harry got up and walked to the Quidditch Pitch. He sat down on a bench and starred up at the golden hoops. He immediately looked back down at the ground, determined not to think about how fun a game of Quidditch would be. Several more minutes passed before Harry got off the bench and began walking around the Quidditch pitch. Dumbledore smiled to himself; Harry was so much like James. Lily and James finally came back downstairs.

"So, it's settled then, James? I regular house party from noon to four, and James, you're responsible for getting Harry out of the house before the party."

"Okay, that sounds right." said James.

"I'm going to go send the invitations." said Lily walking back up the stairs.

James walked over to Dumbledore and sat down.

"So, how many rules did Harry break while we were gone?" James asked.

"Surprisingly, none yet. He's been admiring that Quidditch pitch for some time now though." said Dumbledore.

James looked out the window, "Looks like he might be more obsessed with Quidditch than I am"

"He could be." Dumbledore agreed. "It surprises me at how much like you he has grown to become. If he starts his own pranking group, I may even get him mixed up with you."

"I just wish he liked me more." James sighed. "It's like he hates me all of the sudden. At first he loved to hang out with me, then he just started shutting me out of his life and trying to avoiding me. I don't even know what I did wrong. Then, even stranger, he'll start loving to hang out with me again. He can't make up his mind or something."

"Just give him time, James. He'll come around. He's just going though a phase. He misses Sirius still and I bet he's afraid to replace him. He may not know what he wants."

"I hope it's just a phase. I want my son back." said James.

"You'll get him back soon enough, just be patient. Let him get his emotions sorted out first."

"I guess I can try." James said.

"I'm sorry, James, but I really must get going now." said Dumbledore checking his watch. "I'll see you again soon. Good luck with Harry." With that, Dumbledore dissapparated.

James walked outside, thinking about what Dumbledore just said. He hoped Harry would make up his mind on his emotions soon. Harry was sitting down on the bench again.

"Hey," said James.

"Hi," Harry replied.

"Are you getting hungry?"

"I guess."

"If you wanna come in, I'll make you a sandwich." said James.

Harry shrugged, got up, and followed James into the house. They went into the kitchen and James made Harry a really sloppy peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He gave the sandwich to Harry and stared down at the mess covering the counter. Peanut butter and jelly lay smeared everywhere.

"Your mother won't like this mess," said James laughing. He pointed his wand an the counter and said, "Scorgify!" making the mess on the counter vanish.

"That's better," said James sitting down at the table. Harry ate his sandwich and got up from the table.

"I'm going to go upstairs," said Harry walking up the steps to his room.

Reviews are appreciated!
If anyone can give me any tips to get Harry, Lupin, Dumbledore, ect. back in character, please help. I'd really apprecite it.
Also, can anyone tell me what AU is? What slash is? I've seen those around and guessed what they were, but now I think I got it all mixed up. I'm pretty new to fanfiction.

Chapter end note: I think this chapter was way out of character for everyone. I'm really sorry about that. I have to admit, Dumbledore is way off and I know it. Harry was having mood swings or something; I purposly added them. Everything will make sense later in the story I hope. feel free to ask me questions though and I'll try to answer them.