Disclaimner: JK Rowling be a BAMF.
His Boy
Chapter Forty-Nine: Water
Harry's eyes were practically bulging out of his head as he stared up and all around, his little being shaking with excitement.
That morning he had been completely slathered with sun screen and dressed in his red swim trunks, a white t-shirt, and his floppy white beach hat that kept the sun off his face and neck. However, he had been confused when Sirius said they were not going to the beach yet. That would be another day trip, but today they were going someplace super special with water. Now Harry knew where they were and he couldn't believe his eyes.
Bright colorful slides and pools of cerulean water were everywhere. People were everywhere as well, splashing and laughing like they were having the time of their life. It was just like a playground, but with lots of water!
"Well, what do you think, Prongslet?" Padfoot asked, grinning. "It's called a water park."
"Brilliant!" Harry beamed so brightly, jumping up and down, that Sirius laughed.
"Before we do anything though, you need to put this on to be safe." Remus stated, coming over holding a small blue life vest.
"What is it?" Harry asked curiously as Remus helped him take off his shirt and get the vest on, buckling it and adjusting it until it was all the straps were done and tight enough so it wouldn't come off.
"This is a very special floaty. It floats even better than your water wings and will always get your head back up above the water so you can breathe. This way if something happens, not that it will, but if it does, you'll be safe in the water until we can get to you."
"There are lots of people here and lots of water that will be above your head in many places, so safety first, right?" Lexie added with a smile as she bounced Rozzie gently. Rozzie had on her pink baby bathing suit under a teeny tiny little life vest that had an extra bit up by her head to help keep it supported better if she ended up floating by accident.
"What about starting out slowly and getting used to the water?" Remus suggested, pointing over at the lazy river pool where the water would push them along in big round floats.
"Sounds perfect." Sirius nodded and they made their way over. Sirius grabbed a child sized tube with leg holes in the bottom so that Harry could have use of his legs but wouldn't lose the tube while in the pool. Sirius grabbed a normal large tube for himself and tethered it to the handle on Harry's so they could stick together. He placed them in the water and helped Harry into his littler tube.
Harry laughed excitedly, kicking his legs in the warm water as Sirius climbed into his own tube and they began to float along the current of the pool. Remus was right next to them in his own floaty and Lexie and Rozzie were on their other side. Lexie had laid back in her float and rested Rozzie on her chest as they floated along, the little one's feet getting wet in the water that came up and over Lexie's stomach just a tiny bit.
"Paddy! The water is warm like my bath!" Harry remarked happily, his toes skimming the bottom of the pool for a second and then losing traction altogether.
The river went around in a long oval shape, taking them past a small water fall that Sirius steered their tubes under to get them all wet. Lexie avoided the water fall, not wanting to get Rozzie too wet and then have her be cold before they could get back to their towels.
Harry liked the water fall, loving the way it splashed all over him and got him positively soaked. The warm water felt nice on this hot day and he didn't even feel the least bit chilly when they came out from under the water fall.
"Look, Harry!"
Harry turned his attention ahead of them and gasped. There was a tunnel here made out of a bridge that they could go under but people could also walk on to get to the baby pool in the center of the river. Harry looked up as they went under the bridge and saw a couple of kids bout his own age waving down at him. He waved back, laughing, and watched as they ran to get to the other side of the wide bridge. Harry liked going under the bridge. There was a plastic froggy off to one aide blowing bubbles and he laughed, enjoying that.
When they came out from under the bridge on the other side, those two kids were there again, waiting. When they spotted him they waved and Harry waved back again, laughing and popping bubbles as he did so.
They spent a good bit of time in the lazy river, just going round and round until Harry decided he wanted to try something else. So he and Remus, to give some alone time to Sirius and Lexie, left the lazy river and made their way along to the play area for younger children that was nearby one end of the lazy river bridge. Harry waved to Sirius and Lexie as they passed.
The play area was an absolutely wonderful world of color and water. Fountains spurt up out of the ground while children between the ages of baby and seven shrieked with laughter, running through the jets and enjoying watching them shoot up high while the water rained down upon them. Next to the fountains was a large wading pool. It was no deeper than two feet and had many other wonderful things to do. There was a cup station where littler toddlers seemed to be having a blast filling and pouring cups of water. Three bright red arches all connected to one another sat off in the far side of the wading pool. The left arch has a streaming water fall flowing down from inside it, the center arch had a bucket set up on top of it that would fill and then tip when it was full, getting whomever was under it a nice blast of water all over their head. The third arch was similar to the first, only it had jets shooting inwards from it's sides, creating a wall of water that would be fun to run through. In the very center of the pool were three big different sized mushrooms with red tops and white spots. Water flowed down the very top center of their heads, creating round flowing water falls that the children could run under or hide behind. There were also a couple of slides at the edges that went into the water, small enough not to be scary. A playground with swings and play equipment was visible beyond the pool.
It was a preschool water paradise.
Harry let out a natural howl of amazed delight before dashing towards the pool. Remus grabbed him quickly.
"One moment, Harry. We need to go over some rules first." Remus explained gently, knowing that Harry was very excited to go play but also that he needed to remember certain things while doing so.
"Now, first off, you need to stay where I can always see you and answer right away if I call, just like when we're at the playground at school."
"Ok, Moony." Harry nodded.
"And you can play with the other kids, but remember to always be nice and share. No fighting if you can help it. If something happens like that or you get hurt, you come and get me or call for me, alright?"
"Just like the playground!" Harry laughed. These were the same rules they always had at the playground! It was going to be easy to remember how to play here.
"Right! Exactly like at the playground. You also need to stay in this pool or the fountains, but you cannot go anywhere else without me. And no talking to strangers by yourself. Got it?
"Yep!" Harry nodded. He was good at these types of rules.
"Alright. You can go play. I'm going to sit right here at the edge of the pool and watch you."
"Okay, Moony." Harry nodded and whooping, dashed into the pool happily.
Harry didn't know what to do first. Deciding to start at was closest, he wandered over to the bigger of the two little slides. This one was about the same size as the one at the playground at home and it was a swirled tube too. Excited, he climbed to the top and giggled as water rushed around his legs as he sat down. He pushed off and it took him, flying and slippery, down and around and splash! Into the wading pool. Boy that sure was fun!
Harry went down the slide a couple more times, waiting in line behind a couple of other kids who had decided to slide as well. Another little boy, probably about six came dashing over. He waited behind Harry for a moment before seeming to get impatient and pushing past both Harry and the other child. Harry was knocked to the side rather roughly, pushed right on down in the water. His ankle twisted beneath him and the front of it scraped against the slightly rough surface of the pool floor. It was made so little feet didn't go slipping and sliding all over the place, but it also could be harsh if you landed on it wrong,
Harry sat flat on his bottom and looked down through the clear water at his ankle. It was rubbed raw in the front, but it didn't appear to be bleeding. It didn't hurt too bad either.
Standing up, Harry went around to where the slide ended and when the boy who pushed him came out the other end he glared. "Hey! You hurt me!" He pointed down at his ankle, lifting his foot out of the water. As the air hit his injury it began to sting and his eyes widened, oh boy, that did actually hurt!
"You was in the way." The other boy said, sticking out his tongue rudely at Harry.
"You should say sorry." Harry continued to glare, not liking this boy very much. He was mean.
"I dun say sorry to baaaaaaabiiiiies." The boy jeered and laughing, rocketed away in the opposite direction of the slide.
Harry stood there for a moment, perplexed. He had never met another child who was mean and refused to apologize before. Sure, he'd had run ins at school and the daycare, but there was always an adult nearby who stopped the fighting and made apologies happen.
Ankle really stinging now, Harry made his way over to where Moony was sitting and held up his foot.
"Woah, what happened, mate?" Remus asked concernedly. He lifted Harry onto his lap and took hold of his foot so he could get a better look at the little boy's scrape.
"That boy over there pushed me down." Harry stated, pointing to where the boy was now running about over by the fountains. "And he didn't even say sorry when I told him."
"Oh, well that wasn't very nice of him. Well, your ankle looks like it has a bit of road rash, but it's not bleeding so, I think you'll be alright. We can fix it up really well later when we get back to the hotel, okay?"
"Okay." Harry nodded. He knew Moony meant he would magic it better, but there were too many Muggles around right now to do magic. "Look Moony! He did it again!"
Harry pointed over to where the mean boy was terrorizing the children playing by the mushrooms now. He was pushing or pulling them all out from under the mushrooms, trying to take them all for his own. Remus sighed and rose to his feet.
Harry followed after Remus as they entered the pool and wandered over to where the little boy was. Remus crouched down to the boy's height. "Hello there. I couldn't help but notice that you're not playing very nicely with the other children here."
"My mum says I can do whatever I want cause I'm special!" The mean boy stuck out his tongue. "I'm the most specialest boy there ever was, she said so, so I get to do what I want! And I want these mushrooms!"
"Well, I'm sure you are a very special little boy, but all children are special because everyone is different. You can't have the mushrooms all to yourself, that would be mean. This is a place where you play and share and wait your turn, just like at school."
"I'm home schooled!" The boy laughed and then began to shout, "MUMMY! MUMMY! THIS MAN SAYS I CAN'T PLAY HERE!"
A tall blonde woman wearing a blue bikini and carting a two year old on her hip came dashing over. She pulled the mean child towards her, away from Harry and Remus. "What are you doing to my son!?"
"Begging your pardon, but it's what your son is doing to all of the other children. He's pushing and pulling at them and refusing to share. He pushed my boy down and hurt him. He's been terrorizing the other children." Remus explained calmly. He gestured to Harry's scraped up ankle.
"How dare you accuse my sweet baby of anything like that! He is a perfect angel. He would never push or pull or be cruel to the other children unless they started it. Sweetheart, tell mummy what really happened." The woman stated, looking positively livid that Remus could even think that her son could be less than perfect.
"The other kids wasn't letting me play. And that boy pushed me on the slide and hurted my finger." The fake angel held up an obviously find wet little finger and his mother glared at Remus.
"Your child is a hellion! Come my sweetie, let's get you some ice cream to help make your finger feel better, that's it my love."
The woman grabbed hold of her son's hand and led him away towards the ice cream stand. Harry watched, feeling rather dejected.
"Moony, why didn't she believe you?"
"Well, Harry. Some people are blind when it comes to people they love. They don't think they can do anything wrong, but that's not true because everyone does wrong sometimes. However, you don't need to feel bad because you did what you could. What say you we go find Paddy and Muma and Rozzie?"
"Okay." Harry nodded and they left the children's play area and headed back over to the lazy river.
"Harry!" Sirius waved and climbed out of the lazy river, toting his float along behind him. Lexie waved but continued to do laps. Rozzie had fallen asleep, lulled by the movement of the water and she wasn't about to wake her up.
Sirius scooped up Harry and cuddled him close. "Having fun?"
"Yeah, but there was a mean boy, he hurt me and didn't say sorry." Harry stated, pointing down at his poor little ankle.
"Aw, well that wasn't very nice of him." Sirius frowned as Remus told him the rest of the story. He didn't like it when his little boy was behaving nicely and other children treated him poorly. It sounded like they had done all they could to get the boy to apologize though. "We'll, Harry. Why don't you, I, and Remus go down some of the slides before lunch time?"
"Yeah!" Harry whooped excitedly. He squirmed down and, clutching onto Sirius's hand, bounced along in the direction of the water slides. He couldn't go on all of them, he was too small. However, he could go on some of the slower ones with tubes that Sirius or Remus could ride with him in.
They found a slide that Harry could go on and started walking up stairs after stairs, after stairs. They were getting pretty high up! Harry was excited, although the ground was looking pretty far away and it made him a bit nervous. So long as he had his Padfoot and Moony with him, he'd be okay. He clung tightly onto Sirius as they reached the top.
There was a man up on the top, showing people how to get into their tubes and go down the slide. He smiled brightly at Harry.
"Wow, you must be pretty brave to come all the way up here!"
"I am brave." Harry nodded. He had been a lot more outgoing in the past few months than ever before. Why, he had even jumped off one of the swings at the playground last week.
Harry watched as Remus got into his tube, sat down, and waved. "See you at the bottom!" Then he was gone, a yellow tube floating down a blue slide and around a corner.
"Alright, here we go." The man set Harry and Sirius's tube down in the beginning of the slide where the water was pulsing. Sirius climbed in and then held out his arms for Harry.
Harry looked down the slide and then at Padfoot with his silvery grey eyes shining brightly and those strong arms that always, always, kept him safe. Taking a deep breath, Harry stepped into the water and then climbed into Sirius's lap. He leaned back, cradled by Sirius's body and Padfoot wrapped his arms around his little boy tightly. "Here we go, Harry!"
"Ah!" Harry shouted as the tube moved forward and they started down the slide. It wasn't too fast, but to Harry it sure felt fast! He laughed as they went around a corner and got splashed by water. "Hahahaha!"
"Woohoo!" Sirius shouted, his legs dangling out in front of them but not so far that they would hit anything.
Harry hollered excitedly the whole way down, enjoying the wind on his face and the water everywhere. It was simply magnificent! It was also over too soon.
They went around a large corner and the tube dropped down the slide and then fast into a long shallow pool of water.
"Paddy that was so cool!" Harry jumped up and down once Remus had lifted him out of Sirius's lap and set him down on his feet. He had completely forgotten about the sore on his ankle. He was having too much of a blast to remember it. "Let's go again, please?"
"Haha, alright." Sirius laughed. "But this time, you can ride with Moony. He hasn't had a chance to go down with you yet."
"Okay!"
They spent the rest of their day going down slides and splashing about in the wave pool. Lunch was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with ice cream comes for dessert. By the time three o'clock hit, the whole group was worn out and ready to head back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.
"Where're we going?" Harry asked as he gripped tightly one Remus's hand. He, Moony, and Rozzie were giving Sirius and Lexie some alone time for their honey moon today. They wouldn't be gone too long since Rozzie would need to eat again in a couple of hours and she wouldn't take a bottle, but it was plenty of time to go have a bit of fun.
"Right here." Remus pointed to a big sign with a shark on it that was no more than a block away from the hotel. It hadn't taken very much time to get there at all.
Harry stared, still not getting it. Moony laughed and they entered the building. After getting through a short line and getting stickers on their shirts, Moony led Harry along through a pair of big double doors... And then Harry's jaw dropped.
They were standing under a huge tunnel of glass, but that wasn't the most exciting part. Behind the glass, swimming happily through the water there, were hundreds of colorful fish.
"Moony! Moony!" Harry started jumping up and down, pointing and looking all over the place, not sure which fish to look at first. There were so very many of them!
Remus laughed at Harry's excitement and they started walking along the long tunnel. There were other people, mostly with children, here as well. They went slowly, admiring the fish and enjoying the different shapes they were. There were red fish and yellow fish and fish with big bulging eyes. There were blue fish and pink fish and big fish and tiny little fish.
"Rozzie, there are soooo many fishes in here." Harry said when they stopped to watch some particularly interesting fish. Remus sat down on the ledge bench there and Harry climbed up, staring through the glass. "There's a really big blue fish and it's go a big big mouth! And there's a purple fishy and it has teeny tiny fins. Oh!" Harry jumped and backed away from the glass. "I see a shark!"
"Oh wow!" Remus grinned. "I see it too. He's quite magnificent."
"Is he gonna eat the other fishes?" Harry asked concernedly, not wanting anything bad to happen to the other fish.
"Nah. He gets fed a lot so he isn't hungry enough to eat the other fish. Don't worry." Remus promised, patting Harry on he head and admiring the shark as it swam lithely through the water. They watched the shark for a few more minutes before continuing on down the tunnel.
"Moony! Moony! A turtle!" Harry jumped up and down excitedly again, pointing to the giant sea turtle swimming over them. Moony chuckled.
"He is extraordinary."
"Rozzie! There's a big big biiiig turtle swimming! He's green and big and looks so cool!" Harry beamed, swooshing one hand through the air, following after the turtle. He ran over to the glass again and watched as the turtle came down towards the bottom of the giant tank. He seemed to be eating at something and Harry waved to him. "Hi turtle!"
They spent a good bit of time watching the turtle, Harry enjoying him much more than the fish. It took some goading, but eventually Remus managed to lead him away from the turtle and further down the tunnel until they came out of the tunnel and found themselves in a dark room. There were tanks in the walls shaped like cylinders that went up to the ceiling and portholes of glass in the walls.
"Look, Harry. These are sea horses." Remus pointed out one of the cylinders. Harry peered in at the oddly shaped little creatures and laughed.
"Their heads look like horses, but their tails don't!" Harry stated out loud, amused by the sea horses. Next they saw sea stars and piranhas and even a big orange octopus. Harry kept up a running commentary, telling Rozzie all about the different sea creatures he could see. When they got to the jelly fish, Harry watched them float for a moment before deciding what they looked like.
"Rozzie, the jelly fishies are like big squishy bags of snot with dangly things hanging down from their butts. But they're kinda like umbrellas too, but full of goo." Harry stated this so firmly and so thoughtfully, Remus almost laughed. He managed to keep his smile hidden though.
"Harry, we don't talk about butts and snot in public."
"Sorry Moony." Harry grinned up at him, knowing he wasn't in too much trouble. He might be just under five, but he could see the corners of Remus's mouth twitching. His cheeky smile made Remus ruffle his hair and chuckle.
"It's alright, mate. Lets just set a good example for Rozzie, huh?"
"Ok." Harry nodded. He knew it was his job to show Rozzie how to be good and what things were naughty, even if he messed up sometimes. He did try his best to be good, but sometimes he slipped up and went to time out. Like when he'd broken his toy broom flying it in the house.
After the dark room, there was yet another room, but this one was long and had a long waist high tank along one side. People were peering down into the tank and reaching their hands in.
"Harry, look! We can touch little manta rays and tiny sharks." Remus pointed, motioning Harry over to the glass where he lifted him up on a ledge so he could see down into the tank well.
A lady dressed in a maroon aquarium shirt smiled and held up one finger. "You reach in just like this, and you can stroke along their backs but use just your finger and not your whole hand otherwise you might scare them." She explained, reaching into the tank and showing them how she ran one finger along the back of the manta ray.
"Wooow." Harry's eyes bulged excitedly and he extended his pointer finger. "Like this?"
"Just like that! Alright, now go ahead and put your hand in and wait for another ray to come along."
Harry did just that, letting his arm dangle into the water from the elbow down. He watched as a ray came swimming along, and reached just a little further. His finger skimmed along its back as it went by and Harry gasped, pulling his arm up. It dripped and he look up at Remus.
"I did it Moony! I did it!" Harry stated excitedly. He was so very intrigued by the manta rays. He put his arm in the water again and touched five more before he'd had his fill. Remus joined him, also feeling the rays and even one small shark as they swam by.
When they were done at the tank, they washed their hands and arms really well at the sinks nearby. They left the long room and found themselves partially outside, looking through glass at otters.
"Moony! Moony!" Harry laughed, jumping up and down. "Moony, those are otters, just like Hermione has! They're just like Sir Snuggleston de Fluffners, only he's purple and they're brown. Can I ring Hermione later and tell her? Please?"
"Sure you can." Remus laughed, surprised that Harry could remember his friend's otter's full name without any trouble. But then, when you were little, you remembered things that were important to you more than the things that were important to remember. Remembering one of your best friend's favorite toy's name was quite important when you were four.
They enjoyed watching the otters gambol about, Harry giving a play by play to Rozzie. Then they moved onto the seals and watched them play with a floating ball and die in and out of the water.
Last but not least, they found the penguins. Harry thought they were a bit smelly but he did like the way they walked and swam.
"We'll, Harry. That's the last of all the animals and its about time we were heading back to the hotel. Rozzie needs to eat soon or she's going to start to fuss."
"Okay, Moony." Harry nodded and they went through the set of doors that led into the gift shop.
Now, if there is one thing every parent knows. If you end up in the gift shop, you usually leave with either a crying child or a treat.
"Moony!" Harry jumped up and down and then gazed up at Remus, his green eyes hopeful. He usually didn't ask or beg for things that often when they went places, an old ingrained habit from being with the Dursleys. It was typical of him to admire things and occasionally mention that he liked them or thought he might like to have one someday. The only time he'd really been hell bent on something was around Christmas time when he'd been desperate to get a toy golden snitch so he could get even better at Quidditch.
"Well, since you've been so good and because we're on a special trip, I suppose you can pick something out, but nothing too big. And make sure you find something for your sister too." Moony smiled, loving the way Harry's face lit up. He was such a wonderful kid.
"Oh! Thank you, Moony." Harry beamed and jumped up and down. He wasn't sure where to begin, but after a moment he wandered over to the wall of plushies. "Woah! That is a big turtle, Moony." Harry pointed to the large turtle sitting on the floor. It was about five feet long, big enough to use for a chair if you were short.
"Wow, it sure it."
Harry patted the turtle's head gently and then looked at the small stuffed animals. He looked them over for a minute and then laughed, jumping up and down and moving past the turtle to the baby toys. He picked up a rolled up blanket and showed it to Remus. "This for Rozzie?"
"Oh gosh, that is fantastic, Harry." Remus burst out laughing. The blanket was made specially for swaddling with a hood, but it was also shaped like a manta ray. The baby in the picture looked like it was being hugged all around by a manta ray with a smiling face on their head. The inside was pink and the outside was gray, but it was super soft all over. "You always pick out the best presents for Rozzie."
Harry beamed with pride and handed the blanket to Remus to hold onto before bouncing around the shop. He eventually decided upon a plastic turtle that would swim if he put it in water, just like the real big sea turtle. Boy, he sure had enjoyed watching that turtle.
When he brought his choice over to Remus, the older man was looking over them pretty post cards. He smiled. "That's a lovely choice, Harry. Look here, I think I found something even better than just giving Hermione a ring."
Moony held up a post card with the otters they had seen on it. Harry laughed.
"Oh! We can write and show her!" Harry smiled and they picked out other post cards for all of his friends, picking out the creatures he thought they would each like best.
When they got back to the hotel, Harry couldn't stop talking about all the amazing animals he had seen. He told Sirius and Lexie all about the fish, and turtle, and manta rays, and otters.
Sirius laughed brightly at Rozzie's new blanket, wrapping her in it after she had finished her lunch. Harry thought she looked good in it and Lexie couldn't stop cuddling her.
"She's just so precious! Harry, you are the best big brother."
Harry's chest swelled out with pride. "Rozzie couldn't touch the rays, so I thinked she could with that blanket."
"That was very thoughtful of you, Harry." Sirius nodded, proud of his little boy's thinking of his sister the way he did. Most kids would be more selfish or jealous, but not Harry. Well, usually not Harry. Every kid had their moments.
"Paddy, can I have my bath now so I can try my turtle?" Harry asked after a little bit.
"Sure you can." Sirius nodded and they went into the bathroom where they filled up the tub. Harry climbed in, excited, and set his turtle free. It swam about in circles, making him laugh happily. It was a pretty awesome toy.
Later that evening, after they had spent a good bit of time playing in the tub, taking naps(going to the aquarium had really worn Harry and Remus out), Harry displayed some of his less nice brother attitude and more of his sibling rivalry one.
After spending all afternoon in the hotel room, the little boy was getting antsy to go do something. He had been looking out the window and spotted the hotel's fenced in playground. Now, he had been with Moony all morning. He had eaten lunch on Sirius's lap and then had lots of godfather time when playing with his turtle in the tub. He'd even had him when they'd laid down for a nap, Harry wanting to actually use Sirius as a bed like he did sometimes. It reminded him of that first night they had been together again and he liked the way his Paddy's heart beat beneath his ear. It made him feel safe.
Now, he'd had his guy time. He was full of wonderful guy time. Now he wanted some female attention, but, Lexie was once again feeding Rozzie.
"Muma, I think Rozzie is done." Harry stated five minutes into Lexie having picked up the hungry baby. "She thinks we should go to the playground."
"Does she really?" Lexie asked, spotting a possible conflict coming up. She was currently the only one who could feed Rozzie due to her not being good at taking a bottle to eat. She wasn't big enough to switch between the two yet and understand that they contained the same thing yet.
"Yes. She says she's full and thinks just you and me should go play." Harry explained, reaching out one hand to tug at Lexie's.
"Well, Harry, she's only just started eating so I don't think she's quite finished yet. But if you wait a little while longer, than I will gladly take you down to the playground." Lexie explained, kissing Harry on the forehead.
"But... I wanna go now." Harry grumped, crossing his arms and stomping one foot. He was tired of being in the hotel room.
"Harry, I can take you down to the playground." Sirius suggested. He and Remus were playing cards on one of the beds. They had all decided that after one full day at the water park and half of one spent out this morning, they all needed a little chill down time before dinner tonight. They would be going out to a restaurant to eat and that in itself with two small children was quite feat.
"But I want Muma to go with me!" Harry shook his head rapidly.
"Then you need to be patient and wait for Rozzie to finish eating first." Sirius explained, setting the cards down and getting to his feet. He could sense a tantrum coming and wanted to catch it before it occurred. Sometimes when Harry wanted one of them most it was because they were giving attention to Rozzie and he was jealous.
"But she takes forever!" Harry complained, stomping his feet again and clenching his fists. He raised his voice angrily. "I wanna go now! It's my turn with Muma!"
"Harry, no." Sirius reached out, lifting Harry up and carrying him into the bedroom. Harry thrashed about, trying to break free. Sirius shut the bedroom door and set Harry down to sit on the bed in front of him. He held onto him by the sides of his upper arms to keep him from moving away and to keep his attention. It wasn't a hard hold though, just tight enough to keep the little boy in place and from lashing out. Sirius crouched down, getting so he and Harry were the same height. "Harry, you need to calm down."
"But I want to go play on the playground with Lexie!" Harry shouted.
"Harry, you know that Rozzie needs to eat first. I think you may be feeling jealous and that's why you're angry right now." Sirius explained, knowing that Harry didn't always have the proper words for how he was feeling aside from the basic ones. He had to be taught the words for his feelings still when they were newer and the basic ones didn't cover it.
"Jealous?" Harry asked, the new word triggering his interest, though he was still feeling bad.
"Yes. When you feel jealous, it means you feel bad because you want something someone else has that you can't have. Right now you are jealous that Muma is giving Rozzie attention. You want attention from Muma too."
Harry pondered this for a moment. His voice came out normal now, not a shout, but still firm and irritated sounding. "Rozzie always gets lots of attention from Muma."
"That's right, but so do you. Muma loves you very much and loves to give you attention. But, Harry, you have to remember, that sometimes Rozzie needs a little bit more attention at certain times because she's just a baby. She can't feed herself, or change herself, or rock herself yet. It's our job, as her family, to help her do those things. When you were a baby, you needed all those things too."
"I did?" Harry blinked, surprised a bit.
"Yes. All babies do. And you know the only person who can feed Rozzie is Muma because she has Rozzie's Muma-milk. Remember how we talked about Muma-milk?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded. "Only mummies can make milk cause they has boobs."
Sirius chuckled. If only Lily Potter could hear her son right now. He had called them boobs once in front of Harry, but once was all it took. Lily probably would have preferred him to call them breasts or not call them anything at all, but she wasn't here.
"That's right. But don't say 'boobs'. Anyway, do you think you can be a nice big brother and wait for Rozzie to finish eating before going to the playground since she can't feed herself?"
Harry heaved a sigh. "Waiting is hard."
"Yes it is. You, Moony, and I could go down to the playground now though, and Muma and Rozzie can join us in a little bit. Or you can be patient and wait until she's ready to go. Or you can continue to make a fuss and not go at all."
Harry pondered that over. He definitely didn't want to not be able to go to the playground, so that choice was out. He could try to wait, but then, he really didn't want to wait, but he didn't want to go without Lexie either... "This is hard."
"Yes, sometimes choices are hard." Sirius nodded in understanding. "If you want to wait, you can play cards with me and Moony until Muma is ready."
Harry thought about it for a minute and then nodded. "Okay. I can do that."
"Alright! That is a good solid decision! But, I do want you to apologize to Muma for being rude and yelling."
"Okay, Paddy." Harry sighed. He didn't like having to apologize, but he'd do it if he had to.
They left the bedroom and Sirius pressed Harry forward towards Lexie. Harry sighed again.
"I'm sorry I shouted and was rude." Harry stated, looking down at his feet. "Paddy says that's what jealous feels like."
"It's alright, Harry." Lexie smiled and reached out her free arm to pull him into a hug. "Everyone gets jealous sometimes, but the important thing to remember is to stay calm and use your words to say how you're feeling because the only person who can say how you feel is you."
"I still feel jealous." Harry stated clearly after a moment. "Jealous makes me fusserated with Rozzie."
"Wow, Harry! Nice deduction and using your words." Moony smiled, impressed. He had taught Harry the meaning of being frustrated a few weeks ago. "Do you remember what I told you to do when you're frustrated?"
Harry nodded. "Ask for help and stay calm, don't hit."
"You sure are smart. Here, let's play a game and maybe that will help you be less frustrated while we wait for Rozzie to finish eating." Sirius suggested. Harry climbed up onto the bed for a good game of cards.
By the time it came for them to go to the playground, he was laughing and feeling much better. He was a pretty lucky kid, to have grown ups around who understood how the world worked when he had trouble with it, even if parts of that world were just his own feelings.
The rest of the family honeymoon went swimmingly. They spent one whole day at the beach, soaking up the sun and salty water. On the next day they went on a volcanic tour, Harry learning that some land masses were created by lava cooling and then life growing upon it over many, many years. Their fifth and last day was simple and restful, with fun in the hotel pool and more playground time. Harry was happy when it was time to go home though. He was excited to go on another airplane, and, his birthday was coming right up! He liked their vacation, but he figured he'd rather be home for his birthday, where all of his friends were.
This one is longer but not as good as I wanted. However, it came out alright. :D I'm super excited because we have only one chapter left in this installment of His Boy. As promised, the first chapter of the second, yet to be named, installment will be posted the same day as the last chapter. I hope you're all as excited as I am! As always, I'd love to hear what you think and if you have any ideas whatsoever for the second installment that you'd like to see, then just let me know and we'll see what happens.
Love always,
S.Q.O.