Hi everyone! Here is the next drabble! Special thanks again to LittleLionGirl for her second word request.

**Word: Ectopic- occuring in an abnormal position or place; displaced** This one takes place during Harry's sixth year, from when he is in detention for attacking Malfoy to when he kisses Ginny. It is a little different from the others I've written so far, and I hope you all enjoy it.

I watched my wife who was watching our son being watched by the man who I knew now had always been in love with her.

Yeah, it was messed up.

Unfortunately, it was also typical.

Welcome to the afterlife of James Potter.

I stood at my wife's shoulder. She must have known I was there, but she didn't turn around. She just continued to stare through the large round window, one of many scattered throughout the spirit world. Together we stood in silence and watched the scene before us.

Harry was clearly in detention. He was copying old records slowly and tediously. Every few minutes, he would glance at the clock as though dying to be out of that room. Personally, I couldn't blame him. I'd been in detention more than my fair share of times, and I knew how awful it could be. Combine that with Snape's presence, and I didn't think Voldemort himself could have come up with a worse punishment.

The professor in question was watching Harry. From my point of view that was obvious, though Harry probably didn't notice. He was sitting at his desk, a stack of essays in front of him, and a quill writing away in his hand. But his eyes were not on the paper, and I felt bad for the student whose paper he was marking, because in his distraction Snape could hardly be giving a fair grade. Instead, his eyes were lifted the tiniest bit, just enough to watch Harry.

Not for the first time, I wondered what he saw when he looked at my son.

Since I died I learnt more about the circumstances that led to my death. It's funny how after you're dead all the mysteries you encountered in life open up before you. It wasn't hard to find my ancestors, and even some bored spirits of strangers, who had watched my life unfold. They told me about Wormtail and Voldemort and Snape. Especially Snape. I knew now what I had never even guessed at in life: Snape was, and is, completely in love with my wife, he gave Voldemort the prophecy that led to mine and Lily's deaths, he begged Voldemort for her life and, when that failed, changed sides. He hated me. He loved Lily. But how did he feel about our son?

On one hand, he treated Harry horribly and unfairly. It was understandable, I suppose. Harry looks identical to me, save for his eyes which he got from his mother and the scar that he got from Voldemort. When Snape looks at him, he must see not only Lily's son, but Lily's son with me. Which means that Lily must have had sex with his sworn enemy. And the scar can only be a reminder of the mistake he made fifteen years ago that led to the love-of-his-life's death. So, in a way, Harry was just a human beacon taunting him and reminding him of his failures. How could he not hate him?

But on the other hand, he had also saved Harry's life. Harry's eyes and disposition were both clearly Lily's. And the only way that scar on his forehead could exist, the only way he could be sitting, living, breathing, in that room, is if Lily had given everything she had to protect him. If Snape truly loved Lily, how could he not love the person she cared about most?

Did he look at Harry and see my son, or hers?

As selfish as it was, there was a rather large part of me that hoped that Snape hated Harry. What, you may ask, could possibly make me wish for something that would only make my son's already difficult life even harder? Simple jealousy.

I knew that Lily loved me, but I also knew that there had been a time when she had loved Snape. I often wondered if, had Snape not called her a Mudblood on that fateful day in our fifth year, she would have managed to change his ways and they would have ended up together. I often wondered if he ever thought the same thing. And I often wondered if I should just ask her, but I never managed to get the words out.

As crazy as it might be, there was a part of me that was worried that if Lily saw all that Snape was willing to do for her, if she saw that he loved her son, protected him in ways I couldn't, she would fall in love with him again. Maybe, years from now, it wouldn't be me spending the afterlife with Lily and Harry, but Snape. Maybe he would become Lily's husband, Harry's father.

I couldn't even face that in my imagination.

With a jolt I realized how Snape must feel every day of his life.

So, yes, maybe it was selfish, but I couldn't deny that standing there with Lily, watching Snape gaze at my son unfathomably, I wanted to hit something. Instead, I contented myself with clenching my jaw and reminding myself that Lily was my wife, that Harry was my son, and that nothing could ever change that.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I saw Lily lift her hand out of the corner of my eye. She laid it flat against the glass-like substance that formed the window and leaned towards it as though she could fall through and be with her son.

The pain and longing on her face made me want to cry.

"It's the Quidditch final right now. Harry's worried because he knows everyone will blame him if they lose since he was in detention and couldn't play. And to top it off Ginny is playing seeker against Cho which is messing him up emotionally-"

"What?" I cut her off, and I knew she knew from my tone that I had one eyebrow raised even though we were both still staring at our son.

"Cho is his ex-girlfriend and Ginny is the girl he has a crush on now. I think he's hoping that if Ginny catches the snitch for Gryffindor they'll somehow end up together, because right now he's too nervous to ask her out since she's Ron's sister and he doesn't want to upset Ron."

I didn't say anything, but I felt my stomach drop as I realized just how long she must have been watching him to have learnt all of these intimate details.

She leaned closer as Harry glanced at the clock again, and, now that I knew what to look for, I realized the look on his face was part fear, part nervousness, and part desperation. He really did want to get out of there to find out what happened in the match.

"He's hurting," she whispered, her agony obvious.

"I think he's dealt with worse than nerves before, Lils."

"I know; that's why he deserves happiness now. He shouldn't be hurt. Not even the tiniest bit."

Suddenly, she frowned and her voice increased several levels in volume. "How could he do this to him? To my son? Severus is horrible to Harry for no reason. I don't understand. After everything, why would he try to hurt him?"

I wanted to encourage this line of thought, to make her resent Snape, but I loved her too much to do it. If I had a legitimate answer to this question that caused her so much distress, I had to give it.

And, as luck would have it, I got my answer right then.

Harry jumped slightly and his expression changed to discomfort. It was only the briefest reaction before he wiped his face blank again, but Lily and I saw it, and, judging by Snape's expression, so did he. The corners of Snape's lips lifted the tiniest bit and a smug look appeared in his eyes. I looked at the card Harry was holding for an explanation, and felt my own stomach flip.

James Potter and Sirius Black. Apprehended using the Agrestus hex upon Julian Melantrope. Melantrope transfigured into a chicken. Double detention.

Anger surged within me. So that was Snape's game was it? Force Harry to learn all the horrible things his father and godfather had done? My fury made my hands shake. Not fury for myself, but for Harry. He was as kind as his mother had been, and I knew it disturbed him greatly to know the idiotic and horrible things I had done as a teenager. That had been obvious last year when he had been willing to risk capture by that cow Umbridge to speak to Sirius about me after seeing Snape's memory of me bullying him. I knew I had disappointed my son and I wished more than anything that I could go back in time and undo those acts, that I could've been a better person in my life, but I couldn't. All I could do was try to make up for it now. Besides, as a fifteen year old, the last thing on my mind was how my actions would affect any future children I might have. I wished that it was otherwise, but all the wishing in the world couldn't change the past.

I wanted to hate Snape for punishing not only me, but my son, and for trying to ruin a relationship between us before we'd even had a chance to make one, but I couldn't. For one, Snape wasn't telling Harry anything that was untrue. I really did do all those things. That was my own fault, not Snape's, and I had to deal with the consequences of it. More to the point, I could never hate Snape anyways. Not after all he had done to protect my son when I wasn't there.

I forced my voice to be steady and finally answered my wife's question.

"He's hurting Harry to hurt me, Lils. He will keep Harry alive and well for you, but he will make sure his life is as miserable as possible for me."

For a long moment she was silent. Then she whispered, "I will never be able to forgive him for it. Even if he is saving Harry's life… I just can't forgive him for being so terrible to my son."

I sighed and said the words I knew I must say, as much as I didn't want to, because I knew I loved Lily more than I hated Snape. "Don't be too hard on him, love. He's in an impossible situation. If he's nice to Harry, he gives in to me. If he's mean to him, he betrays you. No matter what he does, he loses. Remember that his life has been one long series of heartbreaking events. Admittedly some of those were his own fault, but he's trying to do the best he can to fix his mistakes now. Maybe he's messing up a bit with Harry in the short term, but he's human, and he's hurt, and he's entitled to slip up now and then. In the end, he is willing to save Harry's life at the price of his own. Just the same as we were."

She still didn't turn from the window, but I could hear the shock in her voice. "Since when did you become such a fan?"

I smiled and rested my head on her shoulder, my eyes, like hers, still locked on our son, who was now hurrying from Snape's office. "I'm not. I still think Snivellus is a twat." I practically felt her roll her eyes. "But looking at all those cards Harry was sorting makes me wish I could change the past and fix my mistakes, and I know how hard it is to accept that I can't. I understand that for Snape… well, it must be harder for him than anyone to accept his mistakes. If I can't forgive him, then there's no way for me to forgive myself."

She turned to me, a small smile on her face, but as her eyes finally unlocked from the window they became unfocused and dizzy. When she leaned in to kiss me she missed and nearly fell over. I laughed and caught her.

"Feeling a bit ectopic, are you?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Ectopic?"

"Bet you don't know what that means," I grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes at me again, even though the action seemed to make her dizzier. "It means out of place. Though normally it's used to describe one's organs, not state of mind. I'm just surprised you know what it means."

"Hey, I do read you know!"

Her skepticism lay thickly between us. Then she said, "Word of the day toilet paper?"

I heaved a large sigh. "Sirius got it for me. When did you get so good at guessing?"

She laughed. "I've grown wise to your ways."

I was still holding her, steadying her, and as I realized that my grin faded.

"Lily, you can't keep watching him like this, you know that."

She stepped backwards out of my grasp. I reached out a hand to steady her as she swayed, but she regained her balance and slapped my hand away. "How can you even say that? He's our son! And yet you wander around with Sirius, laughing and joking, paying no attention to Harry while he goes through all these horrific events. You don't even seem to want to know him! You don't even seem to care about him! Tell me honestly, James, do you love our son or not because the way you're acting it doesn't look like it!"

For a long moment we stared at each other. Then she dropped her gaze.

"Sorry," she muttered, "that was uncalled for. I know you love him as much as I do."

"Lily, I know you love Harry. I know you're worried about him. I know you don't want to miss out on even one moment in his life. But spirits aren't meant to watch the living. You can't live in both worlds. Every time you look into the living world you fall a little more into limbo, you'll become a little more confused about who you are, and where you belong. And you'll miss out on parts of your own life. These windows are here for those times when we feel like we need a glimpse of those we left behind, not to watch a whole life. We can keep tabs on him and we will, we can be there for him when he needs us, but you need to learn to trust that he is a strong, independent person, and that he is going to be okay. Most of the time, he won't need us."

Tears filled her green eyes, making them seem to shine even brighter. "But what if he isn't okay?" She whispered. "What if he's there, and he needs me, and he's hurt, and I'm off, off laughing with you and Sirius or something and I don't even know that my baby is all alone wishing for me? What kind of mother does it make me if I'm not there for him whenever he needs me?"

I could have pointed out to her that there was little we could do for him even if he did need us, trapped as we were in the spirit world, but I knew that that wouldn't help and it wasn't the point anyways. The point was that Lily was worried about Harry and the only way she could make herself feel better was to be as close to him as she could. I didn't know how to take her pain away, so I lifted my eyes from hers and looked over her head- and then I saw something that made me smile.

"Don't worry, I think he'll have someone else to be there for him…"

I turned her around and her jaw dropped.

Harry had just been tugged into the celebrating common room, the entire house cheering that they had won the Quidditch cup, and now he had his lips locked on Ginny Weasley's.

Lily laughed and her eyes lit up. "He'll be happy."

I nodded. "He'll be okay."

I put my arm around her shoulders, and she put hers around my waist, and together we walked away.

AN: Well, there you have it! I hope you liked it. Like I said, it's not like anything I've written before and, being from the point of view of dead parents, I thought I might struggle with it a bit (since I've never been dead or a parent), but I actually found it much easier to write than last chapter. And I found I had so much to say that this drabble is by far my longest yet, almost hitting one-shot territory. Very strange. Anyways, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, so please leave me a review! And as always, I will be accepting any word requests. Until next week! Bertle out!