How Could You?

(One-Shot)

Disclaimers: I don't own anything apart from some DVD's/books for this series.

AN: This is a short standard prompt for "The Houses Competition" set in 'Marauders' Era' time. As I am old (ish), my views of them may vary from the young ones, including the fact that I am TeamCharlus/Dorea, have Sirius/James as distant relations through Black blood, as well as TeamTrans (as an ally). I do not accept any new stuff by Rowling.

House: Gryffindor

Class: Prefect

Category: Standard

Prompt(s): 1) [Restriction] Dialogue must always end in a question 2) [Action] Teaching somebody to fly

Word count: 1,208 according to AO3 (2.5 pages)

Summary: In which, a little boy has big plans for his first broom.

Harry didn't know how to communicate what he wanted very well. He was not quite one year old yet. Almost. But not just yet. He watched whatever was going on around him. It was mostly his two parents. Sometimes, a big animal with horns would show up in his nursery. It would make weird whistling sounds that made Harry fall over in his playpen, laughing his head off.

One day, he heard his mother calling for someone as she held up an opened package.

"Jim, would you come here, please?" Lily called through the house. She was sitting in the living room with Harry on the floor next to her. In her hand, she held a tiny broom.

"What is it?" James asked as he entered. He glanced at Harry before whistling softly. It sounded just like what that horned animal would do. Harry instantly fell on his side, laughing hysterically. "I wonder why he thinks my whistling is so funny?" James laughed right along with his son.

"What do you think of Sirius's gift for Harry?" Lily held up the little broom after both of them had stopped laughing.

"Is that what he sent him?" James took the broom.

"Don't you think Harry is a little young for flying?"

"Well, how high does this go?" James asked, looking down at the package. It was only three feet off the ground when left in a floating position. He put the broom in front of Harry who stared at it in wonder.

"Yah?" Harry pointed at it. "Wha' it?" He was trying to ask 'what is this' but lacked the vocabulary, so pointing at it was the only thing that seemed to get results.

"Do you want to try it?" James leaned over with a grin. He hoped his son would inherit his flying skills. He picked Harry up.

After pulling the broom around to position it beside his hip, he placed Harry on it. The broom hitched up a little with Harry's weight, making James take a firmer hold on his son's shoulders. He began pushing Harry around in a circle.

Harry's eyes opened wide in wonder. This was fun! Every day, James would let Harry ride on his broom, as James carefully kept a tight grip on his son, until one day, it got even better when James finally let Harry go for a moment. He still kept his hands out on either side, ready to grab the boy just in case. The broom went a little faster without James dragging it back all the time. Oh, this was really fun!

He quickly learned that flying in a straight line didn't work. He bumped into a wall. James pulled him back. He bumped into a bookcase. James pulled him back. He nearly bumped into his mother one day.

Lily glared at James. "Did you not show him how to turn yet?"

Sending her a sheepish grin, James snatched Harry off the broom. After Lily left, he went outside to give Harry a wide space in the yard to start learning how to turn.

"What do you think?" James indicated the yard before putting Harry back on the broom. "Should we practice turning out here, Harry?"

But Harry was distracted by the hammock at the other end of the yard. "Oonah?" That was the best he could come up with for 'Moony' at the moment as he pointed, asking where 'Moony' was. The werewolf would often lie in the hammock after a full moon, sleeping. But it would be another two weeks before the next full moon.

"Aw, are you missing Moony?" James patted Harry's head. "Why don't we show you some flying tricks? Would you like to show him something cool when he comes back?" Harry's answer was pointing at the hammock again. "Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it? You think Moony would like to see that?"

James pulled the little broom over. They spent a few days outside in the cool fall sun. James was on his own broom beside Harry, pulling the toy broom along so that Harry would get used to the feeling.

While watching James, Harry soon learned to lean forward a little just like James did, making the broom go faster. He soon discovered something funnier than a stag's whistle.

Speeding up made his father come charging after him. If only Harry could keep just out of reach.

"Would you slow down, already?" James demanded, swerving his own broom in front of Harry to stop him from going beyond their property. "How did you learn to pick up speed, anyway? I didn't teach you that ... did I?" James thought over all their little lessons. He couldn't remember ever teaching Harry that one. Not yet. Harry was too young.

Glancing around, James noticed that Harry was already on the other side of the yard.

"HARRY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" James shrieked, zooming after him once more.

They went back inside. James hoped the smaller spaces would keep Harry in line.

He was wrong...

Harry had started chasing the cat around until the poor animal found refuge under the table. It peeked out at the tiny terror on his broom, hissing madly.

"You know this is all Sirius's fault, right?" Lily grumbled one day, a few cat scratches decorating her arm after she had tried to soothe the terrified kitty. James just shrugged pathetically as Lily went on. "Do you also know that Harry is still flying into things? Am I right in saying you've yet to show him how to break?"

"I ... thought I showed him that already?" James asked as he half-laughed.

Lily gave him a hard look. James sighed before taking Harry into the living room. He listened to Lily try to talk some sense into the cat before setting up the broom in its float position once more. Showing Harry how to break was the hardest bit. Harry still didn't understand words plus by now, he was addicted to speed. He didn't want to break, unless of course a break meant literally destroying something, like that vase Lily didn't really care about.

James was determined to teach Harry everything about flying. He kept pulling the broom up to perform a slide into a halt position, but even after a few days of trying, Harry didn't seem to get it, unlike how he seemed to pick up everything else that had to do with flying.

Harry did end up entangled in some hanging jack-o-lanterns that they had put up for Halloween on one occasion, but he found that funny as well.

"Is this a joke to you?" James grumbled, repairing the decor before picking up the hysterical boy. He glanced at Lily sitting on the couch, hiding her laughter in a book.

As it was getting late, James put the toy broom away. "Why don't we just try again tomorrow?" James asked, holding Harry up.

But James would never finish his flying lessons with his son. Those precious moments were ripped away from him in a single instant.

A soft whooshing sound drifted through the house, sending tingles over everyone inside.

James's eyes went wide, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

"Peter, how could you?"