Honey, I Lost the Kids
Harry Potter was terribly bored. Lying down on the large blanket his Daddy had placed on the floor, he looked around. Toys of every size, shape and colour were scattered around him, silently begging to be played with. But Harry didn't want to play with them anymore. He'd already spent half an hour of his time with them – too much time, in his opinion.
His Mummy was hosting a small get-together for her friends in the backyard – strictly girls only. Harry didn't think that was fair; the backyard was loads of fun! There were pretty flowers to step on; a sandbox to play in; and that little bug that rolled up into a tiny ball if you touched it! So much fun!
Neville clutched a large blue ball in his chubby fists. "Let's play ball!"
"Noooo," said Ron, slumping down with his teddy bear. Harry had met the boy this morning, along with his mother who had a very large stomach. "My sister's in there!" he had said proudly, plopping down beside him. Ron was funny, too, and crawled super fast, which impressed the other two boys a lot. "There are teeth marks all over it, Neville," he said.
Neville pouted, "It tastes like sweets." He lay down beside them, and they began to watch the male adults.
Harry's Daddy, who was sitting one a red armchair, said, "Glurk blabbity zwagwa gloopy."
Padfoot, Wormtail and Moony roared with laughter.
Harry was frustrated; he didn't understand any of what the adults said! A few weeks ago, he had come to a shocking realization that his parents couldn't comprehend Harry after several futile attempts of trying to engage in conversations with them, but they would just laugh at him. Later on, he'd given up on his efforts, but was pleased to know that other babies could communicate just fine with him.
Harry had an idea, "Let's play hide and seek!"
"Okay! But who's going to seek and who's going to hide?"
Ron sat up. "How 'bout the big people find us and we hide!"
"But we have to be quiet… they'll catch us if we're loud!"
"… and then they started to fight over Wormtail. You should have seen them, Prongs; they looked more lovesick than you with Evans at school."
Peter flushed, "you promised you wouldn't tell!"
"Aw, come on," said Remus, laughing, "how could we not? You shouldn't have left the love potion laced sweets lying around."
James asked, "Why'd he have them in the first place?"
"Rosmerta,"
"Ahhh."
Sirius rummaged through his pockets and took out a golden furry snitch, "I saw this in the store and I couldn't help myself… do you think Harry'll like it?"
James rolled his eyes, "you spoil him too much, Padfoot. Besides, how many times do I have to tell you: Harry's going to be a CHASER not a bloody seeker, you tosser."
Ignoring the last comment completely, Sirius smiled brilliantly, "I'm his godfather. I'm entitled to spoil my godson rotten." His gaze landed on the empty blanket lined floor. "Where's Harry?"
"What are you talking about? He's right here – oh man." James jumped up, and turned in a circle – the children where no where in sight. He could have sworn he had heard them babbling nonsensically a second ago...
"Maybe they're with the girls," said Remus, trying to reassure the other men. There was no need to panic now. Panic led to worrying, and that led to hyperventilating, and that always led to someone wetting their pants – and he wasn't talking about the kids.
The fellow Marauders rushed towards the back of the house. Sliding the glass door open, Lily met them by the entrance.
"What's up?" she asked, moving past them towards the kitchen.
"Have you seen Harry, love?"
Lily almost dropped the glass cups she held. "I thought I left him with YOU?"
"He's joking, Evans! We're just er, playing hide and seek with them…" said Sirius, lying through his teeth. He pushed her gently out the backdoor. "We have it all under control."
Lily stared hard at them for a few moments, and then relaxed. "Well, end the game. The children need to be changed, and Neville hasn't had his nap yet."
They nodded cheerfully and deflated once she exited. All of them had a sinking feeling that if she found out they'd lost the kids, she'd make them all take a nap – permanently.
"I'm hungry," said Ron, as they crawled over the carpeted hallway upstairs. Harry had thought hiding downstairs would be too obvious, so he opted for them to hide upstairs. Crawling upstairs took up all their concentration for talking, but once they heaved themselves up the last step, Ron's stomach growled loudly.
"Shh! They'll find us!" said Harry.
Ron stopped altogether; his eyes watered, and his little chin wobbled.
Neville begrudgingly handed him the blue ball, and Ron nibbled on it.
"It DOES taste like sweets!" Content, they continued their trek across the hallway. All of a sudden, they saw a blurred streak cut in front of them.
"Barnabas!"
The black cat licked its front paws.
"That thing nearly made me ruin my nappy!" said Neville.
The cat meowed, and trotted towards a slightly jarred door.
"C'mon!" said Harry, and they followed the feline inside the linen closet. Bedspreads and sheets were folded on top of the many shelves lining the walls. Harry knew his Mummy only ever used this room, making it the perfect hiding place. Harry closed the door.
"This is good," said Ron, as they watched Barnabas curl up around a worn blanket. "They won't find us now!"
Harry sat down beside Ron, "Where's Neville?"
A snore sounded from underneath mounds of freshly laundered clothes inside a basket. The two toddlers giggled and stretched the cat's blanket closer towards them, falling asleep soon after.
"Accio Harry, Neville and Ron," said James for the billionth time. They had searched the whole house; from top to bottom. But the children stubbornly refused to be found. He knew they were still inside the house, because the wards he had placed on all of the windows and front door would've alerted him if anyone tried to breach them.
"Use your nose, Padfoot." Peter said, referring to his animagus form.
"I've a cold. It's not as good," said Sirius gloomily. "Why don't you use your nose, Moony?"
"Are you forgetting you spread your germs onto me, too?"
"I'm a dead man, mates." James said, his shoulders slumping dejectedly. "Where could they BE?"
"Let's search upstairs again. I'll try to sniff 'em out as best as I can." The animagus quickly transformed, and bounded up the stairs, his friends not far behind him.
A black ball of fur skidded past their feet, hissing angrily at the sight of the big dog. Sirius growled back, baring his teeth and the cat yipped, bolting back to the linen closet. Padfoot, never one to decline a challenge, chased after him.
"Sirius!" They followed cat and dog inside the cramped closet, and gaped at the scene before them: Harry and Ron were snoozing peacefully under a frayed blanket, with Neville sleeping like a log in the laundry bin.
"I'M NOT GOING TO DIE!" James shouted into the sky, and then proceeded to hand out bone crushing hugs to his friends who shoved him off immediately. Unfortunately, the volume of James' shout roused the sleeping children up and they began to cry.
Unbeknownst to the adults, their crying was mainly due to being found - therefore losing the game - instead of their nap time being cut short.
"There you are!" said Molly Weasley, appearing behind them, and Remus quickly tossed a towel over Padfoot. She gathered her son from Peter. "Thank you so much for putting him to sleep. Usually he's very difficult."
Alice Longbottom chuckled. "Too true. Neville prefers eating his vegetables over taking naps."
Harry scrunched up his face in a scowl as his Mummy took him from his Dad. "Aggh goo goo baba!"
"I think he's saying, 'I need a change,'" said Lily. "Say bye to your friends, Harry." She waved with his little hand.
"Blooo beee!" Harry screamed, and Ron and Neville understood it to be: "Put me DOWN!"
The women and babies left soon after that, and the Marauders were left alone once again. Seeing that the coast was clear, Padfoot shook the the towel off, and spit the blue ball he had acquired from the basket onto the ground.
"Why the hell does thing taste like sweets?"
A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR! *throws confetti in air and blows kazoo* Also, I know Ron didn't meet Harry till Hogwarts, but please bear with it... didn't feel like leaving him out :)
Hpdwlotr24: Thank you sooo much! I love that you always include what you like in your reviews! It's very sweet! :D
Remus' daughter: Ahahahaa, I know you did! And the WHOLE train?! Don't worry, I won't be telling your father about what you've been up to... he'd be angry if he knew...
shadowkat678: Thanks again for the idea!
skHermione: Thank you also for putting about what you like about the story in your reviews! It's really kind! Hehe, I'm wondering what they'd put on their resolution list too! To be honest, I almost never follow what I put on mine. I'm not even sure why I make one, hahaa.
Chuggmuffin: Thaaaaank you! I feel pretty bad for Sirius too... such bad luck in the family department :(
MissDemigodWizard: Awww, thanks so much, it really means a lot! :)))
xxSiriusxxforeverxx: Thaaank you for reviewing!
RosesandThorns11: Hmm... I do believe Mister Potter is in love, don't you? Thank you for all your reviews! :D