Sitting On The Baby By HPOD sufferer
Date: Thursday, 24th August, 8:11PM
Rating: K+ (Scary and Supernatural themes may scare young children), sexual implications (very minor)
Summary: Sirius bounded into the compartment, making to sink into the seat next to Lily. The seat in which a sleeping baby...well, slept. Eyes popping, James grabbed his friend's wrists, stopping him from sitting. Sirius Black was frozen in a strange, half-sitting, half-standing position. Lily grabbed the baby quickly, and James released his friend. "You know," said Lily " Baby sitting doesn't usually consist of actually sitting on the baby."
A baby has appeared. Where from? Why? Who does the baby belong to? Harry travels to Marauder Era. AS A BABY! Something went seriously wrong on that Halloween night.
Chapter 18: Special Type of Hope
A house, a man and a child, a dog's yelp
A twisted fairytale and I'm calling out for help
Something's coming, I can feel it in my bones,
Like an unseen omen, whispers of a ghost's moans
I need something to save me, make it alright
You're the fire of the darkest shadow of the brightest night.
When you come I'll tell you you're my special kind of hope,
Only you in these hard times help me cope.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
This is the beautiful sound that woke Gryffindor tower at one a.m. on Wednesday morning.
"Shut up!"
"Kill that baby!"
"Let us sleep!"
"I CAN'T, HE JUST WON'T SLEEP!"
"Then put him to sleep!"
James rubbed his eyes, bending over the cot to pick up the wailing baby. "You never shut it, do you?" he yawned. "It's what, the fifth time this night?"
Harry whimpered into James's pyjamas. "Nooooo, bad man nooo..."
Peter sat in bed staring blankly at James. The rest of the boys snored away, already over the shouting match that erupted every time Harry cried. "He cries more these days," Peter said.
"Nights, you mean," James muttered, sitting on the end of Peter's bed. "What's keeping you up?"
Peter shrugged after a moments pause. "Nothing...just thought I'd give you a hand."
"That's nice of you," James murmured, rubbing small circles into Harry's back, rocking back and forth. The boy's green eyes remained open, as if he were scared to sleep.
"He keeps saying about a bad man," Peter said quietly as to not disturb the rest of the tower's inhabitants.
"Yeah, well," James ran a tired hand through his hair, making it more crazy than normal. "Don't we all worry about a bad man?"
Peter frowned, gazing straight ahead and out the window. "He's never going to leave, is he?" Peter whispered into the dark. "They say he's immortal."
"Harry?" James asked stupidly.
"No," Peter snorted. "Him."
"I don't know," James said, looking out the window as well. "I hope not." He turned and smiled at Peter. "But we'll get him, won't we Wormtail? We'll fight him, together, the four of us. What if we got him at last! We'd be famous!"
"But he's immortal..."
"Nothing can stop the marauders," James said seriously. "I don't think we're some stupid group of kids- do you? We got something here Peter, and if we work together...that's better than any spell or enchantment that makes you immortal."
"Aright!" Peter said. "I didn't say no."
"I didn't that you did," James snapped, then sighed. "I'm just tired." He slid off the bed. "Harry's asleep...and we should be too. G'night Wormtail."
"G'night."
James tiptoed across the room to where Harry's cot stood and gently lowered the warm bundle. His hands grasped the bars and he stared down at Harry, thinking.
Was there truth in Peter's words? Was Voldemort immortal? Was James and his friends going to spend the rest of their lives fighting Him, only to die and leave their children with the same fate? Would they win?
But as James had said, he didn't know.
James gazed down at the smooth skin of Harry's face, his eyes tracing the button nose, round cheeks and finally to the jagged scar on the little boy's forehead, and he realised something. James did have one thing: James Potter had hope.
When dawn broke a few hours later, it was with great difficulty that the students of Gryffindor tower awoke, with only the knowledge that sleeping in would do them more harm than good to keep them going.
It was more difficult for a one James Potter than anybody else, but he kept the knowledge that the sooner he left, the sooner he could deposit the source of all the mayhem in his fellow Head girl's arms close to his heart. He also kept the head of mayhem perched on his chest- it seemed Harry had not had a good night's rest the night previous (as Sirius jokingly commented) and needed to catch up during the day
"I can't honestly see a reason why babies can't sleep at night, but sleep all day but for the sole purpose of annoying us," James grumbled to Remus as the pair walked down the stairs and into the common room. James searched the room of stragglers, and made his way with determination over to a girl with red hair.
"Righto," he said in mock cheerfulness. "He's all yours then."
Harry was shoved into her arms, and the boys headed towards the portrait hole without looking back.
Lily made a small sound of protest at their retreating backs, turning to her friend. "What was I saying again?"
The girl giggled. "You were just saying how responsible James is becoming," the girl said, covering her mouth.
"Right," Lily said disbelievingly. "Why did I say it again?"
The girl made a face and shrugged. "Only you have the faintest idea of how your mind works, don't go asking me."
"Thanks..." Lily muttered. "breakfast?"
The two girls began to make their way down to the Great Hall, and within minutes were seated and ready to eat. Lily dug into her cereal happily. "Lovely day," she said.
The sky above grumbled threateningly.
"Ok, maybe not," she smiled. "What say you Harry?
Harry moved his hands in front of his eyes, then removed them. "Boo!"
Lily decided to humour him. "Ok," she covered her own eyes. "Peeka-boo!" she looked at him. "I see you!"
"Boo!"
Lily screamed. Because, when she had uncovered her eyes, Harry's green eyes were not staring back at her. Two large brown eyes blinked.
But that wasn't the only change. Lily stared at the skunk, which waved its tail threateningly.
"Oh no you don't-" she began...
"OH MY GOD!" Lily wiped her face but the stench remained on her like a second skin. She rubbed her eyes furiously. "Yuck, yuck, yuck!"
A group of Slytherins seventh years cackled madly, Snape included in their midst. Unseen by the Gryffindors and Teachers, a wand was placed into a pocket.
Lily held the baby-turned-skunk as far from her personage as she possibly could. Faintly she heard people from her table shouting at someone...probably Slytherins, she concluded. Who else would Gryffindors shout at, apart from themselves? she looked desperately around.
The little creature in her hands made a small sound, and she looked at it. Despite its actions, it looked shocked and scared and...
Lily shook her head, trying to shake away the treacherous feelings of pity. Harry the Skunk did not deserve pity. Although, she had to admit, he made for a very adorable skunk.
"Lily," said her friend very slowly through the sleeve of her robe, "please change him back. Then get washed up. Please."
Lily gave her friend an unamused look. "There's a reason I got head girl position this year, you know."
"Oh, and what's that?" said a voice behind Lily, muffled by the evident hand that covered the person's mouth and nose. Lily slowly, as if in slow motion, turned in her seat to face the owner of the voice. James stood in the area between the Gryffindor table and the next, bag on his shoulder. Lily guessed that James was either going to his first class room or the library to study. James dropped his hand from his mouth and pushed his glasses up his nose.
Lily contemplated the head boy for a few seconds. "One, I'm smart; two, I'm responsible; and three I'm head girl mainly to make sure you don't get up to any tricks."
"Oh," James said innocently. "So you didn't get it for the same reasons as I did?"
Lily wasn't even aware that she'd placed Harry the skunk on her lap. "What reasons would that be Potter?"
"Well, mostly because of my intelligence and good looks..." James trailed off, grinning boyishly. "But also because I'm a good friend, good in bad situations and-"
"-and what?" Lily asked impatiently. "Don't you dare say it's to keep me in line, I'm not the one who sneaks out of the common room every night."
James squinted his eyes slightly, as if trying to figure out the puzzle that was Lily Evans. "I don't do it as often as I...did."
James's fingers twitched and Lily was shocked when his hand, instead of running through his hair, dropped to his side. "I wish you would trust me Evans. People can change, Lily-I know I have, and so have you. But into what?"
James shrugged to himself, pulled his bag up onto his shoulder more and stumped off, looking dejected.
"You've changed into a stink bomb," Lily's friend muttered into her sleeve; never the less, Lily heard it. Huffing, Lily stood up, tucked her books under her arm and Harry cradled in the other and walked the same path Potter had done so very recently, in search of a bathroom, a bottle of perfume and a quiet place to think.
The prefect bathrooms were her first choice, and soon she was at the entrance. "Pantene Shampoo," she muttered, and it opened.
She stepped in, breathing in the fresh scent, which masked her own repugnant one just a bit, giving her relief at last.
Harry the skunk squirmed in her arms, and Lily put him on the floor, letting the young black and white animal sniff the tiles while she moved to the marble sink.
The smell didn't seem to want to fade in anyway, and Lily closed her eyes. She didn't want to stink like this during school today. It would be too embarrassing! She had to get rid of the smell. She was a witch for gods sake!
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, an image of something entirely non-wizarding drifted across her mind. The image of a muggle perfume bottle, the type her sister used.
Lily shook her head. Petunia's perfume stank awfully and even if Lily was game to risk the unpleasant smell, she still didn't have a bottle of perfume with her.
She was a witch however, and the answer came instantly.
Lily pulled out her wand, silently thanking the friend who had given her The Witch's Guide to Beauty. Silently she cast a deodorising charm. Lily was very good at charms, and she breathed deeply to admire her handiwork. Granted, the charm would only last three hours, but that gave her enough time to reapply it during breaks until a such time when Lily could have a good bath, soak and scrub.
Yet there was still one problem, Lily concluded as she felt a small nose prodding her ankle. Harry looked up at her innocently, still in his skunk form. "Hey, stinky," she murmured, training her wand between his eyes.
"Finite Incantato," she said clearly.
Nothing happened.
"Fin-ite In-can-ta-to!"
The skunk remained a skunk.
Lily closed her eyes for a second, and mumbled to herself. "Come on!"
Fifteen tries later Lily looked at her watch, and as she cursed, she picked up Harry and ran from the bathroom, ignoring a very desperate-looking red-faced prefect, sprinting off for her first class.
She ran as fast as she could yet still managed to be five minutes late fro Potions. Outside the door Lily took three deep breathes. "It's ok, heaps of people are late, all the time," she reminded herself.
She pushed open the door, and immediately all eyes turned to look at her. Slughorn looked up from the cauldron he was stirring.
"Sorry, sir," Lily said. "I am late."
Slughorn smiled. "No matter, no matter, no matter! Take a seat Miss Evans!"
Lily looked around, and to her dismay the only place left was next to a boy with wild hair and glasses, and had a smirk on his lips. He patted the seat, giving her no choice but to slide into it.
Behind her, Sirius Black sniggered. Lily made a point that she was ignoring him by flicking her hair over her shoulder and loudly taking her possessions from her bag and setting up her things. Once done, she wriggled in her seat, raised her head in a dignified manner, smoothing down the white fur stripe of Harry's back. James leaned over the desk, scribbled something and pushed it into Lily's hands.
Are you needing help?
Lily frowned at the paper, flicking her eyes up to Slughorn for a second. She opened her notes and dipped her quill into her ink bottle- at the last second she slipped the note over her work and wrote quickly in her swirly writing, so different from James's chicken scratch handwork.
I happen to understand every single word Sluggie is saying, as you well know, Potter.
The note went back to James, who read it and Lily heard him stifle laughter, scribble once more and slip the note under the desk where it wouldn't be seen and onto her thigh. Lily picked up the note.
I was actually talking about the fact that you have a skunk on your lap, which you haven't the sense to transfigure back into a baby.
Maybe I prefer a skunk instead of a screaming, smelly, wriggly child.
And skunks aren't smelly? I'm pretty sure I can make him scream and wriggle...I could do the same to you.
Ergh, Potter! I'm trying to graduate from Hogwarts, SANE!
Well then, your aims were ruined a long time ago.
"Miss Evans," Slughorn said, and Lily looked up to the round head swimming above her. "Notes in class? I would never have thought..."
"Potter started it," Lily said automatically.
Slughorn chuckled heartily. "I thought Gryffindors didn't cast the blame onto others, or perhaps I am wrong?"
"Oh, we're brave sir, but we also know justice. Potter started it," Lily answered, earning a great guffaw from the Head of Slytherin House.
Slughorn chuckled once more, moving away. "And as I was saying, Veritaserum is very..."
So, how are you enjoying being Head Girl, anyway?
Lily glanced at James in annoyance; didn't he know when to stop?
It's ok, although it's a bit...hectic. And then there's Harry. You taking him on Saturday?
Lily watched James's expression very carefully as he read the note. He bit his lip, worried it, and dipped his quill into his silver inkpot.
I'm guessing you know. About Remus. Poor bloke, I have to be there. You understand right? I wouldn't duck out of duty if it weren't for something as important as this.
Of course I understand. Just...be careful, all of you. He may be your friend but...the werewolf isn't.
James took this last note, read it and shot Lily a grateful glance. She gasped very quietly when his hand grasped hers under the table. "I knew you'd understand Lily. Not many people would. You're special like that."
When James turned Harry back into his natural form after class (much to Lily's relief; she was very glad James was so good at Transfiguration) Lily smiled at him widely.
It felt nice, she told herself as she headed to her next class, to be told you were special every once in a while. But it felt even better when you could look at a person and know it all the time.
A/n: Pathetic chapter, isn't people ( a bit like my health at the moment...)! But finally (drum roll please) we have, in the next chapter: THE FULL MOON. At the Shrieking Shack. Gasp. No seriously, it should hold a lot more than the last few chapters. I'm pretty disappointed with my work to be honest. Oh, well. Better luck next time? And erm, for a hint, the midnight scene was actually part of the plot. And the Potions scene was a bit of romance (no, duh!)
So sorry for taking so long, but I did say I was having trouble. Above is the result of such trouble (cringes...a skunk, please help me).
This chapter is dedicated to Shaggy37 (who gave me a push in ideas, and even though the result was bad, you have to laugh at Harry turning into a skunk) and brainchild, whose reviews, out of the many I have received, stick to the forefront of my mind. Also, thank you very much to the rest of the reviewers, everybody give them a big round of applause!