There are some pure-blood families in the wizarding world, who,. Believe it or not, take it for granted that their child is magical. If little Johnny or Susie is still not spinning teacups with Mummy or Daddy's wand by the time they're six or seven, the parents simply brush it off. "Oh, he's a late bloomer, you know, it runs in the family." Most of the time, they're quite right. Some children just don't display their talents quite as soon as others. Of course, there's that small percentage that are Squibs, plain and simple. Their family is duly shocked of course, when that owl from Hogwarts with the welcome letter doesn't arrive by the first of September after the child turns eleven. Parents start calling the headmaster, or the Ministry, trying to see if it got lost in the post, but it was never sent. Then the neighbors start talking when the child isn't at school, and the awful truth comes out. It never occurred to them that instead of a late bloomer, their child was a never-bloomer. It is still surprising that some people simply take it for granted that their child is magical.
Emily and Harrison Potter were not that sort of people. When they discovered that their Baby Jamesy was a wizard, they took him to the finest ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley, Florean Fortescue's. Of course, it was a few minutes before it occurred to them that he was magical.
Harrison loved to fly. His favorite broomstick was a Tinderblast from 1940, one of the first editions of that particular brand of broomstick. Harrison rode that broom for years, until he had a son. Then he bought a Comet 200 for himself, saying that he wanted to save the Tinderblast for James to learn on.
He solemnly swore to make certain that the boy appreciated the fine art of riding a broomstick. This, of course, meant sneaking him out when Emily wasn't looking for afternoon rides on the Comet out around the house. Emily was not much for riding on brooms anyway; she preferred staying on the ground as much as possible, and she thought that James was far too young for flying lessons. But Harrison firmly disagreed, and when Emily was out doing the grocery shopping or visiting with friends, he would take James soaring around the yard, a firm grip around James' middle with one hand and a firm grip on the handle with the other. James loved the rides, and he'd usually whimper when Harrison took him back in the house afterwards.
One day, when James was two, Emily had to go to Diagon Alley for some fabric for a new dress – she planned on being gone about an hour – perfect for Harrison to give James a ride. Harrison raced out the door a moment after Emily Floo'd away, carrying James on his shoulders.
It was a bright, warm autumn day, and the birds and squirrels were very active preparing for the oncoming winter. Harrison held James snugly, and they swooped up in the air. James squealed with glee, waving his hands in the wind, and Harrison looked down to see his son's hair being completely mussed about with the air rushing past. His hair will never sit straight again, with all the riding we're doing, he thought. At the moment he looked up from James, he saw a bird flying straight at them.
Harrison's first reaction came from his years of riding – duck and roll. Unfortunately, until then he'd never had a small passenger with him when he attempted the move. James slipped out of his grasp, and Harrison's yells were intertwined with James' as he fell. Harrison threw himself into a dive, plunging to the ground, and flipped himself off his broom onto the ground, praying he could still catch James before he fell on the ground, which would certainly lead to a trip to the wizarding hospital, St. Mungo's, some very awkward questions, a loud argument with Emily, in which she would be quite right, and no more rides for James.
But James never hit the ground. Harrison looked for his toddler in the air above him, but he was nowhere to be seen. He looked on the ground – no injured child. Then he heard James shrieking with laughter – he was floating about in the air – like a leaf, he was swooping about, squealing and yelling with joy and excitement.
Harrison breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled out his wand and brought James down. Just as he pulled James in a tight hug, he heard Emily from behind. "WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH OUR SON?!?!" she shrieked. "He could have been killed – "
"Dear, it was an accident – "
"Accident my foot – what were you thinking?"
"He slipped when I rolled to avoid a bird – "
"Is this what you do when I'm away?"
"But he loves riding on the Comet – "
"I don't care! You cannot just fling him about like a blasted playtoy!"
"I know it was close, but please – "
"No please about it, he could have been hurt – "
"I know, thank heavens you – "
"He could have been killed! Our only son!"
"Thank God you caught him when he fell off the broomstick, I'm not sure if I could have caught him, we'll never play on the Comet again without you here!"
But Emily didn't fire back right away. She had a thoughtful look on her face. "You were on the Comet?" she asked, with a note of disbelief in her voice.
"Yes, yes, we've been doing this for months – he loves it, he cries when we go back in, but we ducked and rolled to avoid a bird, and I lost my grip on him – "
"So, you weren't tossing him around with your wand?"
"No, of course not, I'm the reason he fell – thank goodness you caught him in time, he really enjoyed you flying him around like that – "
"So that wasn't you?"
"No dear, you caught him,"
"No, I just came back for my purse and I saw you flinging him about like a rag doll – "
"But I wasn't – I didn't have time, I'd just touched down when I saw him…"
"So if it wasn't me…" Emily mused.
"And it wasn't me…"
The Potters' eyes locked – Emily grabbed James from his father and swung him in the air. "Our baby is a wizard!" she cheered.
And they went out for ice cream. Emily celebrated James discovering his skills, and Harrison privately celebrating the fact that his son was a born flier. And he never took James out on the broomstick without Emily there on the ground again… well, not any times that she knew about, anyway.