I know I write a lot about Harry being a father, but I would like to talk a little bit about my inspiration for writing Harry.
There is a very famous Brazilian man, because in addition to being handsome, he has a reputation for doing everything. He is married and has a son, and since he got married and had his first child, he has stayed at home. But why is he famous? Because he does EVERYTHING. He has a program where he teaches you not only how to make the food, but how to make the utensils that you will use, such as barbecue, wood stove, iron pot ... Everything. He already built a tree house, which was not a simple tree house, it was much better than what I would do at The Sims.
His wife is a famous actress, and he also had this career, but he only became very famous when he started this program. And, that's where my inspiration comes from to write Harry as a father.
I think he would be like Rodrigo Hilbert? No. But like that.
And I know that there are several mothers who also stay at home taking care of the children and everything, I know guys.
I think Harry would try to build a crib himself, or a treehouse, and stuff, because he didn't have that, and I think it would be almost therapy for him to be able to provide that to his children.
I'm just writing this because I remembered it and wanted to share it, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but at the same time it makes ahahahhhhha
And here is a Gif of Rodrigo cooking something that probably he was the one who planted and harvested (or, if it is a meat, he was the one who created the animal)
someone had asked me to write about James asking Harry for loving advice during his Yule Ball, and inspired by @startanewdream fics, I wrote this :)
tell me what you think :)
AO3
‘‘Dad! ’’ James sighed as if he had been guarding the air for hours, looking relieved to see his father in the mirror. ‘’I’ve been calling you for hours!’’
‘’James, not a minute ago.’’ Harry laughed, albeit a little worried. James barely wrote letters that were more than 10 centimeters, something terrible must have happened for him to use the mirror. ''Did something happen?''
‘’Something horrible!’’ His son sighed, his brown eyes looking alarmed. ‘’Can you meet me at Hogsmeade? I don’t want to talk about it in the mirror.’’
‘’James, is it really terrible? Something about Lily? With Albus? Did anyone threaten you?!’’ Harry was already on his feet, ready to Apparate near Hogwarts and protect his children like a dragon mother.
‘’We’re all fine… well, I heard Albus was caught out of bed, but nothing much.’’ The son shrugged. ‘’So, are you coming? I know it's not exactly the date yet, but I need to see you. Alone.''
''Oh Jamie… what did you get into?'' Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes and trying to imagine what could be that time.. The last one was when he and his friends were caught in the Forbidden Forest taking care of a phoenix, then there was that one when he fought with a Ravenclaw after hearing that Greg was speaking ill of Albus… James was a good boy, and very intelligent for his own safety, but sometimes, Harry felt that he had inherited much of the Weasley blood.
‘’Dad, I just need your help.’’ His son asked, looking calmer now, his voice lower, and his shoulders relaxed, and if Harry didn’t know him, he would say he looked almost miserable.
‘’Alright… I’ll go.’’
[...]
The next day, Harry had entered McGonagall's office and asked him and James to leave the school quickly for lunch, for a private conversation. Needless to say, the principal looked at the ex-student as if he was still 15 years old and was hiding that, in fact, he was going to fight in the Ministry.
‘’Thanks for coming,’’ The boy said, following Harry through Hogsmeade, not unlike the James they had left on the platform a few months ago. ‘’I thought you couldn’t get me out of there… But you’re Harry Potter, of course you can.’’
‘’James, don’t try to win my heart.’’ He warned him, even though he wanted to laugh. ‘’We can’t always do this, so I really hope this is important.’’
‘’It’s important!’’ The two entered the Three Broomsticks, walking over to the back table that Harry had reserved for them. Some teachers and visitors stared at them, as always, but as soon as they sat down, Harry surrounded them with a muffling charm, thinking that maybe James didn't want his problem to come out in tomorrow's Daily Prophet.
‘’What happened then?’’ The son twisted a little ashamed, which was unusual for that extroverted boy who spoke at the elbows and was so articulate that Harry sometimes wondered if it was really his son.
‘’How did you invite mom to the Yule Ball?’’ Oh… Harry realized then, what was the urgency. He sighed, thinking that while he wanted to laugh, he wanted to hug his son, a little desperate that James was old enough to ask girls out, and that he was still coming to ask his father for help.
‘’Hm… I didn’t invite her, actually.’’ Harry grimaced, remembering his 14 year old self who was much more insecure, morose and introverted. But James also reminded him very much of himself, even though a year older, his son had been in a bad mood for the past few months - fortunately, not because he was being tortured and being discredited after seeing a colleague die. James was just a teenager.
''Not?! She who invited you?’’
‘’Actually… we didn’t go together.’’ His son’s face seemed to fall with the news, and Harry took advantage of the shock to wave to the waitress, ordering two beers. ‘’I went with another girl, and she went with Neville.’’
‘’What’s your problem? Why didn’t you invite mommy? Or, okay, I get it, you were afraid to invite her and she would say no.'' James looked hopeful, which Harry thought was a little strange, since his kids knew their parents hadn't fallen in love since the first time they if they saw each other, or anything like that they saw in Muggle films.
‘’Well… I didn’t like her. Not like that, at least. I liked another girl, and your mom still couldn't get close to me without blushing or stuttering, so…’’ Harry shrugged. ‘’Thank you.’’ He smiled at the waitress, who broke into their protection circle and placed the beers in front of each other.
‘’So, did you invite her?’’ James asked as soon as the woman left. ‘’You liked her.’’
‘’I invited, but she already had another partner.’’ Harry shrugged, laughing at the memory of him being a fool and asking Cho out.
‘’Oh…’’ Then James cringed, as he did a few times when he was upset, looking at the glass in front of him and seeming to think about several things at once. ‘’So… did you call another girl?’’
‘’Hm, yes… Why?’’
''How did you do it? I mean .. call another girl, even if you liked the other one?’’
‘’We were like friends.’’ Harry shrugged, a little awkward to deal with the situation, realizing that his son’s problem was not just the shame of inviting someone to the ball. ‘’Well, at least I saw her only as a friend… Why? Anyone in particular?’’
‘’There’s this girl…’’ James still didn’t look at his father, his cheeks slightly flushed. ‘’I… I like her, and we are… we get to know each other,’’ Harry thought it looked like much more than just two acquaintances, but he wouldn’t disturb his son. ''But when I went to invite her, she had already agreed to go with another guy... I mean, I took too long and I think she thought I was inviting her because I had no choice.'' James ran his hand over his face, looking almost in pain. Harry's heart sank into his chest. ‘’I was late because I wanted to be nice when I called her, I even bought chocolates.’’ The boy laid his face on the table, looking totally miserable now.
‘’James…’’
‘’I was an idiot, that's what.’’ He said, his voice muffled against the wood. ‘’I should have known that a girl like her didn’t have all the time in the world to wait for my good will.’’
‘’Why don’t you tell her that?’’ Harry tried, trying hard not to actually get up and hug his son.
‘’And humiliate me even more? No thanks.’’ James raised his head from the table, but kept looking down, his hands running nervously through his hair.
‘’You can call a friend.’’ Harry thought of Mira, James’s friend that he had great affection for. But maybe it was because the girl was just too kind and smart, and she always seemed to be ready to keep James from being expelled - besides she was the one who took the phoenix to Hogwarts and spent almost a year trying to tame the bird.
‘’Yeah… maybe I’ll call Rosalia.’’ James looked at him, and Harry almost let on his disappointment.
‘’Just be kind and don’t charge yourself too much... Ask to speak to her alone, in case she is surrounded by friends.. ’’
‘’..They always are.’’
‘’..And invite her. But don’t let her think that she’s your last option, no one likes that.’’
‘’Ok.’’ His son didn’t look very happy, but he nodded. ''Thanks.''
‘’James… I’m sure you’ll find another time to ask this girl out, and then you can try to have something, or just decide to be colleagues. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll know how to handle the situation.’’
| DURING THE YULE BALL… |
As the songs went on, his excitement seemed to increase to the point where his cheeks and throat hurt from laughing and singing, so when Mira pulled him to get a buttered beer, he let himself go, accompanying her through the sea of people like a fool in love that he was.
''They're good.'' James talked about the famous band that played, leaning on the wall next to the table and crossing his legs, he didn't even know where he left his cape anymore and he didn't mind being wearing only his black vest and the shirt. He swallowed a good amount of beer before noticing that Mira was staring at him. ''What's it?''
‘’Nothing, just thinking you’re a great party buddy’’ She shrugged and also took the drink, oblivious to the fact that his chest ached with anticipation ‘’It’s hot here, don’t you think? I'm sweating.’’ Her cheeks were flushed and red was running dangerously down her long neck, where James did not want to venture out, knowing his weaknesses.
‘’Do you want to go outside?’’ He nodded towards the gardens.
‘’Nah, I still want to hear them play Wicked Game.’’ He nodded, wanting to be where she was. ‘’I was really abandoned at my first dance,’’ Mira seemed to speak more to herself than to James, so he just remained silent, looking at her curiously. ''Is weird.''
‘‘Don’t be dramatic, I’m here.’’ The blonde laughed nasally and looked at him, eyebrow raised as she approached and leaned next to his, very close.
‘’You’re not my date.’’ He shrugged and drank his beer, wanting to tell her that he wanted her to go.
‘‘Pretend I am. ’’ Her black eyes looked at him as if he said there was a dead body in his room.
‘’You already have one.’’ Mira reminded him, and his laugh came out without any humor, and he wouldn’t doubt that his face was twisted in a frown.
‘’Who kissed me thinking of another.’’ At the same time he regretted having verbalized, denying and messing up his hair ‘‘Forget it. Do you want to go dancing?’’
‘’Did she do that?’’ Of all he wanted, Mira’s pitying look wasn’t one of them.
‘’Don’t look at me like that Hazel, I’m not a fucking child who fell down the stairs.’’ Admitting that he was upset wasn’t in his plans, it never was, so she couldn’t expect the opposite from him now. Besides, he had also thought of Mira when he kissed Rosalia, so he was not a complete saint.
''It's not me you're mad at, besides, I can't pretend I'm not furious.'' James almost lost his eyes to face his friend, who left her mug on the table and crossed her arms over her chest, looking over their heads, or at least those she could manage.
''Furious?''
‘’Yeah, how could she do that? I understand she is still getting over the breakup with Nicholas, now, do this to you? No, no, this is playing dirty. Why the hell weren't you honest and.. ’’
‘’..Mira, you don’t need to pick up my fights for you,’’ James took her arm, getting too close for his own sanity ‘’I'm fine, okay? It was nothing.''
‘’This is so stupid James, I don’t believe it.’’ Merlim would help him not to shut that girl up with a kiss. Now he wanted to kiss.
Before he did anything stupid, he decided to do something worse, when he noticed that a bewitched mistletoe grew on top of them, as Michael had said that happened whenever a couple was very close at the ball. And before his conscience shut him up, he let his impulsive part take over;
‘’Oh ... you know the tradition, right?’’ It didn’t give him even a second to want to undo the stupid phrase, wanting to punch himself.
Mira's eyes widened and her cheeks were almost the color of her lipstick, looking shocked by what her friend had said, hardening in his hand and momentarily looking like a statue.
‘’Hm… ’’
‘’..It’s a joke.’’ And as if the world was trying to fix its shit, Ghost Tears announced that they would sing the song they had been waiting for all night; Wicked Game. ‘’Hey, let’s dance.’’
And without looking too much into the blonde's face, or caring about the fact that his heart was beating so fast that he wouldn't be shocked if he fell hard on the floor, he carried her into the middle of the room again and adjusted himself to dance, placing the hand on her waist as they had rehearsed. His heart trembling with their proximity, and how beautiful Mira was, even closer. He would dream for months about that blue dress and that cleavage.
‘’Shall we dance?’’ Mira asked, seeming to bite a laugh. And if James hadn't been willing to look at the band, a little embarrassed, he would see how hopeful she looked.
‘’Yes ... I mean ... if you want ..’’ He finally looked at her, staring into the big dark eyes contrasting with the pale skin.
''Yea, sure.'' Mira smiled from ear to ear, no longer seeming to care that Scott abandoned her in the middle of the ball. In fact, she looked even happier now, which made James, still happier than hours ago.
thinking a lot about a one shot where Harry takes James S. to a muggle party (because his friends are going, so he wants to go too) and we see a little bit of Harry being a protective father
something cute that I wrote about James Sirius with his parents, after having a shitty day with my own dad.
I love to write about this boy <3
------
‘’James is growing too fast.’’ Molly said, looking out the window, admiring her grandson who climbed the tree with the help of Harry, who was below looking concerned that the boy would climb so fast and so high.
‘‘It is… and every day more attached to his father.’’ Ginny was also staring at them, a silly smile in her face as she sipped her freshly made cup of tea. ‘’If Albus and Lily are always clinging to me, James is with Harry. He always gets upset when Harry doesn't have breakfast with us.’’
‘’Are you two running yet? In the morning?’’ Molly asked, looking at her daughter.
‘’Yes, every morning. We go to that park close to home, you know? We have improved a lot, I think James will soon reach me and get faster than me.’’ Ginny laughed softly, shrugging. ‘’But he needs Harry to be home and make the pancakes, if not, he’s in a bad mood all day.’’
‘’It’s the phase.’’ Molly continued to stare at the grandson on the tree. ‘’And how are the others? Aren't jealous of the morning runs?’’
‘’Albus hates mornings, just like Harry. And he doesn't like to go running with us, so he stays asleep and helps Harry with breakfast, or, when he insists on going, he keeps timing. Lily isn’t even old yet, so she’s just upset about not going along because she’s going to be away from mommy, but she also likes to sleep in the morning.’’
''I thought James was the sleeper.'' The two laughed when James pretended to be falling just to scare Harry - who got scared.
‘’He prefers to sleep in the afternoon. In the morning, he likes to stay with me. We run, sometimes we feed the birds and ducks around, and then we go back to the house. But every day, he needs to sleep after he comes back from school.’’
‘’And is he doing well?’’ Ginny nodded to her mother.
‘’He is a golden boy.’’ Molly laughed too. ''He reminds me of you a lot... All excited, determined, without taking no for answers... He's a perfect copy of what you were like as a little girl.'' She said, looking at her daughter, much older than she was when she climbed the trees like James, and kept scaring her parents.
‘’Sometimes we need to take care of him and his accidental magic here and there, but he’s been enjoying it a lot. Every day he comes with a new story to tell.’’ She smiled, amazed at how easily the boy slipped through the tree branches. ‘’Yesterday Albus had a fight with Lily, and he stood among them saying ‘No Al, you can’t fight with her.’ ’’ Ginny laughed. ‘’It was the cutest thing to see.’’
‘’He and Harry had a fight last week... James said he didn’t like him anymore.’’ Ginny looked at her mother, looking a little sadder now. ‘’Harry cried.’’ She laughed without humor. ‘’As if it were possible for James not to like him. Anyway, afterwards James made a letter apologizing and saying that he loved Harry and was very nervous, but he wasn't going to do that anymore.’’
‘’He’s just a kid, he’s learning to deal with feelings.’’ Molly soothed her. ‘’You already said that you hated us a few times.’’
‘’And I’m sorry about that... I love you, I hope you know.’’ Ginny said.
‘‘I know, don’t worry.’’ Molly hugged her daughter sideways, looking back at her grandson now on his father’s back, laughing out loud at something Harry had said. ‘’James takes care of Harry a lot, huh?’’ Not that the other kids didn’t make him be that silly guy in love, but it looked like James activated something in Harry that no one had ever met.
‘’Yes… I hope there’s a space in James’s heart for me. Even if it's small.’’ Ginny complained, a little jealously, and a little happy.
‘’Of course there’s more. James loves you as much as he loves Harry.’’
‘’Ah, I don’t know. James really is attached to Harry-- '' She couldn't finish the sentence, as the eldest son's voice echoed through the kitchen, very excited for someone who had woken up at seven thirty in the morning and hadn't slept until now - were still two in the afternoon, but Ginny knew her son must be getting tired by now.
‘’Mom!’’ The boy ran over to her, a bag full of blackberries in his hand. ‘’Look what we got!’’ He opened the bag for her. '’Daddy put me on his back and then I climbed the tree and I went to the top and did you know that you can see everything from up there? We need to go up together, will you please with me? We can fly. Can we fly up there? We can see-- ’’
‘’--Jamie,’’ Ginny interrupted him, hand on son’s shoulder and bent down to look him in the eye. ''Breathe. We can fly together.’’ She smiled at him, who smiled even more.
‘’YES! I love flying with you.’’ James celebrated. ‘’Look… this one is for you.’’ He took the largest blackberry out of the bag, handing it to Ginny as if it were the most precious thing. ‘’It's very sweet, I’ve already eaten some.’’
‘’I can see. Your mouth is very dirty.’’ Ginny ran her hand over her son’s red-stained cheeks, happy to see him so full of life. ‘’Thank you dear, I’m sure it’s sweet.’’ Ginny bit down on the blackberry - it really was sweet.
‘’And...’’ James put a flower in his mother’s hair, concentrated enough to do it right. ‘’Okay, now you’re even more beautiful.’’ He commented, full of precious childlike sincerity. Ginny's face lit up, just as Molly noticed, that Harry's face was lit looking at that scene. ‘’Here Nana, this is for you’’
‘’Thank you my love.’’ Molly took the bag full of blackberries (even the ones that were not yet ripe). ‘’Do you want to help me make the pie? ’’
‘‘No, thank you.’’ James smiled again, laden with that childlike sincerity. ‘’Can we fly now, Mom?’’ He turned to Ginny, as if he were dealing with an important matter.
‘‘I don’t know… let me think.’’ Ginny feigned a mystery, scratching her chin and narrowing her eyes dramatically. ‘‘We can.’’ James celebrated again. ‘’Harry, ask if Al doesn’t want to help his Nana in the kitchen. He was really excited to make the pie.’’
''I'll be right back.'' Harry said and smiled, winking at his son and then heading to the living room where the various children's voices came from.
‘‘Bye Grandma,’’ James planted a luscious kiss on Molly’s cheek. ‘’Come on mom, let’s fly.’’ He pulled Ginny, looking very excited about the idea of doing that.
‘‘Bye, my love.’’ Molly nodded, laughing at that boy who was so small and looked so full of life, seeing him look proudly at Ginny when she started telling him about how she learned to fly.
Molly was certain of few things in life, but there were two things she would never doubt; 1. That James was a golden boy, as were all of her grandchildren.
2. That Ginny still had a lot of room in his heart.
Heyy so I always had this idea in my head that if Blaise ever had a son, he and lily Luna would date and Harry would remember that Blaise also had a crush on Ginny and be all weird about it. Could u please write something about it🥺👉🏻👈🏻
I never thought of that!
thank you very much for the prompt, I hope you like it <3
It was Albus who saw them kissing in an empty hall.
Obviously he told James because ... Who else would he tell?
James didn't know him very well, because they were 5 years apart, but Albus hated the boy.
And even though James had already left Hogwarts, he thought it was important to go to every Quidditch game, just to assess his sister's possible boyfriend.
Albus was also watching him, and since they were both Slytherins, he didn't look so crazy when he tried to talk to Eliot.
It was Teddy who told Harry, because, James told him and the boy did not like to know that his little sister was dating.
Of course, on vacation when Albus and Lily came home, the mood was not the best.
Albus was on Teddy's side, he didn't like the news and had hated it when he heard Eliot telling another colleague that the two were dating.
Harry found the situation strange. Blaise liked Ginny and ... he didn't like that.
Ginny and James thought the boy was just an asshole. Like father, like son, right?
For both of them, the problem was not Lily dating, but dating him.
So, the girl had to face the family before she even took over the relationship.
''You don't even know him! And if his father wanted Mom, or was an asshole, I have nothing to do with it! Albus is a friend of Scorpion and his father wanted to kill Dad!''
Teddy argued that she was very young, barely 14 years old and relationships where the person is very young, always cause trauma.
"You dated at 14!"
''Yes! And I was traumatized until I was 17! ''
The whole situation was very strange, and the joy of the holiday seemed to be wearing off by the second.
Lily slammed the bedroom door and did not go down to dinner.
Which made Harry almost worse than she was in mood.
''What did you have to get into her person life?!'' He told the three boys.
''We? She was making out in the hall with him like a... ''
''A what, Albus?'' Harry's eyes widened, as did Ginny's, who seemed to have been taken to that fateful scene where another brother caught his younger sister kissing with a guy.
The night did not end well. Albus went into the bedroom, annoyed that they hadn't realized he did it because he cared about Lily.
Teddy and James were upset that they didn't give the boy a chance, as they did with Scorpion.
And Ginny and Harry thought that maybe Lily was right. They did not know Eliot.
"Maybe you can introduce him to us when ... when you feel comfortable," Harry said, sitting on his daughter's bed, upset that the first day of vacation had been like that.
"It was just a kiss, I'm not going to marry him."
'' Your brothers just got worried ... They want to see you well. ''
'' They show it in a bad way. '' She sighed and Harry laughed softly.
'' You did the same thing when Teddy and James said they were dating. You haven't talked to Teddy in almost a month. '' He reminded her.
"I was 9 years old!"
'' Lily .. They just don't want you to get in trouble, as we all do. It's not worth the headache afterwards. ''
"Okay ... I don't even like him very much, he's kind of boring," she confided. '' But, I knew Albus was gossiping about my life, so I let him believe it ... I didn't know he was going to do it all, however. ''
''No Eliot then? '' Harry asked, not wanting to look too hopeful. It was already too difficult to have dinner with Malfoy.
'' We're just friends. '' Lily shrugged
"Good." Harry kissed the top of her head, much more relieved. "We all love you."
'' I love you all too. '' She smiled. "They're behind the door, aren't they?" Lily whispered, seeing the shadow of four people's feet on the floor behind the door.
"They are." Harry whispered as well, taking his wand and waving it in a simple gesture, causing the door to open and the four of them stumbling into the room.
Even Ginny had red cheeks.
"Just checking if ... Everything was fine," she said, running a hand over the boys' backs, pushing them toward her sister's bed. "Ask her for forgiveness" Ginny said through grits, and the three rolled their eyes, taking a step forward.
'' Sorry Lilikins. '' They spoke in unison.
'' But I'm not going to lie and say I regret it, '' James said. "That's my revenge from when you snitched me."
'' And I'm not going to say that I'm not happy that you are just friends ... He sucks. I hate him, '' Albus said, still not smiling. '' But I heard that Joe is single. '' He blinked.
'' No Al, Joe is an idiot. But thanks ... Teddy? ''
"Sorry, Lil." The man said, rolling his eyes. '' But you're still very young. Wait until you're old so we can lie at your age at the bar, and that's when you can date. '' Ginny's eyes widened, slapping the back of his godson's neck, making him swallow his laughter. ''It’s a lie. We will never do that. Or we already did. ''
The rest of the vacation went smoothly, at least compared to the beginning. And Harry wondered who was the next person who already wanted to kill him and who now had children, that his children would be friends.
James knew that he couldn't go into his father's office, he knew that his mom would lecture him if she saw him there, and that his father would probably do it too, but he needed to go there.
Yesterday, when he was at the Ministry with Harry, just so he could get some documents from his office and make sure he hadn't left anything there while he spent the week off at their country house, James saw him taking something out of the wardrobe.
It was like a shallow basin, hidden inside his dad's closet, and James saw when he put his wand on top of that shallow water and pulled something out of it, placing whatever it was, against his forehead before closing the closet and doing a grimace.
He knew that there was also one of those in his office, at home, and he remembered seeing Harry already touching one of those and putting something inside, which was why he was there.
James was just curious, he didn't want to ask his dad or mum, and he knew he could easily find out for himself what it was. If it was dangerous, Harry wasn't going to keep this at home first.
Coming out from under the cloak, James ran to the closet, then opened it and saw whatever it was, in a specific space. He pulled the basin gently, afraid of the water leaking and dirtying the floor, then stared at it, seeing only his reflection in it.
‘’Ginny Weasley.’’ He tried, thinking that something would happen if he said something specific, but the water remained normal. Then, getting closer to see if there was anything inside, James was pulled in, swallowed by the water and thrown to who knows where, falling almost infinitely in a dark and a little suffocating tunnel. He tried to scream but his voice did not come out, and it was only when his ass found the hard floor that despair took over his body.
He was stuck in that. His dad would find out that he messed with his stuff... And what was that?
‘’Hello?!’’ He screamed, but his voice just echoed, and before he could repeat, he noticed a movement nearby.
It was very dark, and noisy, James tried to recognize the location but there was so much noise that it was impossible to concentrate. Looking around for some help, he saw his dad, and James then swallowed the cry he wanted to give.
Harry should not have been over 16 - a little older than James himself -, looking so disturbed that he was frightened, bloody, sweaty and dirty, the green eyes that James knew so well, that were usually bright with joy, were dark with pure terror, and his body was so thin that for a few minutes he wondered if he ate well.
There were flashes of light everywhere, and a spell passed close enough to his head to make him understand that this was not the most pleasant place to be. But even if he hadn't seen the spell, he would have known how to point it out, since there was blood on the floor and broken glass everywhere.
‘‘Dad!’’ James tried to scream, running towards him when a spell tried to reach him. There were a lot of people around, a lot of screaming, and he noticed that Harry was carrying someone's body. Someone very hurt. ‘’Dad!’’ He tried again, not sure how it would end.
It was a memory, it could only be, but James felt it was not one of the best.
And then, when he tried to warn his dad again that he had a crazy old man pointing his wand at him on his left, Harry was protected, but he didn't even notice. The crazy old man was hit and hurled away, the sound of his body hitting the wall startled James.
But no more than what came next.
Harry screamed, screamed louder than James had ever heard anyone scream, and then, looking in the direction his dad was looking, he saw a man. He was tall, thin, with a long black beard and hair, he was also hurt, but he looked much sicker than everyone around him. He looked troubled. James thought it was almost impossible for someone to look that way and stay alive.
‘’Sirius!’’ Harry screamed, so loudly that James had to cover his ears. A woman had hit him with a green spell, he looked even more disturbed when he waddled back, but now, there was no more life in his eyes, not even a drop of color, and his body just hung back, as if not weighed absolutely nothing, disappearing into a veil.
‘‘Dad.’’ James ran towards him, trying to hug him. ‘‘Dad, please.’’ He asked, amazed to see the man he inherited the name from, die in front of him. ''Dad.'' James begged, but Harry didn't hear him, he continued to scream, struggling in the arms of the man who held him, Harry keeping saying that they needed to go after him, that they had to save Sirius, that Sirius needed help.
There was so much terror in his eyes, that all James managed to do was start to feel like he wanted to cry like a baby, while he was afraid and sorry for his father.
It was terrifying.
Before James could see the unfolding of that, he spun and fell back into the tunnel, a little too numb to feel the fall. Falling on a hard and wooden floor, but now, everything was clear and silent.
It was a bedroom, he identified as he looked around, still feeling the tears burning in his eyes. The sun was shining outside, but inside, it was as if James were inside a cave.
His dad was lying on the bed behind where James fell, covered even though it was hot outside, crying silently and stared at nothing. He was hurt, not as much as in the previous memory, but James could see the scratches and cuts healing on his skin.
But it was another wound he was talking about.
Harry looked destroyed, James noticed.
Harry was alone in that room, after his godfather's death, and crying silently, as if he was too exhausted even to blink.
‘‘Dad.’’ James called him, in vain, just wanting to bellow his despair. He put his hand on his dad's arm, feeling his skin as cold as ice. It was like he was dead.
And maybe he felt that way.
‘‘Shit.’’ Harry groaned angrily, raising his hand in front of his face; was bleeding. He had pressed his nails so hard against the flesh that he had started to bleed. James swallowed the sob.
He looked so different from the man who had taken him out to buy a new broom last week, or that James had seen him cooking while they danced badly, just to irritate his mum who complained that he would end up cutting a finger if he continued to playing with a knife like that.
He looked so lonely and sad that all James wanted to do was hug him. Hug him the same way Harry did when he got hurt, or after they ended up fighting, or like he did last week when James arrived from Hogwarts. He just wished he could hug Harry until all of that was gone.
James looked around and walked around the small room looking for letters, or any sign of his uncles there, because of course Ron or Hermione at least sent letters to him, right? Or Grandma Molly could have sent him a cake... But there was nothing. Just a mess and a broken mirror.
Harry was alone.
Where were they, when he needed it most? Why did he have to deal with everything alone? Why wasn't anyone there, just making sure that Harry didn't think he'd seen it all, and killed himself? His hand was bleeding! Clearly, he couldn't take it anymore!
‘’URG!’’ Harry screamed, making James startle, before throwing a pillow at him - which he didn’t even feel - and hiding under the covers again.
James was about to really start to cry when he was pulled again, without even having time to… hug, or just watch his dad a little longer. And this time, he went back to being in the dark.
It was cold, and it seemed a little scary to be wherever he was, he could barely identify where he had been taken this time.
‘’Harry Potter!’’ A shrinking voice echoed around the place, and James turned to see who was speaking.
It was horrible, all the people who were there, were horrible. But the one farthest away was the worst. He had no nostrils, just two cuts on his face, and the red eyes made James take a few steps back from his dad.
And speaking of Harry, James noticed that now, he was older, much thinner, haunted and sad. He was completely injured, blood was running down his arm and his glasses were broken. It was like seeing a corpse. Even though green eyes shone more than ever.
‘’The boy who lived... came here to die!’’ The man screamed again, and then James understood who he was.
‘‘DAD!’’ He screamed, desperate. No, that was Voldemort, what was his father doing there!?
James threw himself in front of Harry, back to those weird people and Voldemort, touching his dad's shoulders and trying to wake him up. But it was in vain, he had no way of changing what was about to happen.
Again Harry was alone, James realized, and again he seemed to need a hug, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, as if he was too tired to even fight for his life.
Where were his friends?! Where were those who loved him, when he needed it most? He was walking towards death, alone!
Uncontrollable, James hugged him, placing his head on his chest as if to protect him from what was to come. And he knew what was coming, but he didn't know if he could look, he didn't even like to see the scar that had been left on his chest.
‘’James’’ Harry’s voice called him. He was startled, hugging Harry's ghost even more tightly. ‘’James.’’ This time, he felt a hand on his shoulders, and the real Harry, almost 40 and much healthier, was there. ‘’Come on, let’s go out of here’’ He didn’t look angry, in fact, he looked almost as upset as James.
Before Voldemort was able to finish shouting the death curse and James witnessed his dad's death, they were sucked in, and this time, out.
‘‘Dad.’’ James finally cried, hugging him as hard as he could, happy to hear his heart beating and feeling the flesh and warmth of his body. The man didn't look angry, again, he just hugged James and put his chin on his head, also taking a deep breath.
‘’James, those memories…’’
‘’Dad, you were alone!’’ James broke away from their embrace, angry, completely irritated now that he remembered that. ‘’I saw.. I saw Sirius dying and then… you were alone!’’
‘’James--’’
''--No! How was Uncle Ron not with you? How did they leave you there, alone!? I saw what you did in your hands, Dad, I saw.. There was nobody with you.’’ Harry closed his eyes, running his hand over them and seeming to think about what he could answer to that. ‘’You went to die.. you… Why didn’t anyone take care of you a little? Why has no one ever taken your place and decided things a little for you? Why did everything always have to be you?’’ James shouted, a little disturbed. ‘’You’ve always taken care of everyone. You saved the world. But no one ever… it seems like no one has ever taken a second out of their time to take care of you!‘’
James grabbed one of the last gifts Uncle Ron had given to Harry, and hurled it away, making it shatter against the wall.
‘’I don’t want them to be my godparents if they never took care of you!’’ He finally screamed, sobbing and feeling a little pathetic and relieved.
‘’James.’’ His dad approached, placing a hand on his shoulder. ‘’Thanks for the concern for me, really.’’ He smiled. ‘’But your uncles took care of me a lot.. Those memories, they are just 3 different days that do not show how much they took care of me. Your uncle Ron... he was my best friend from the first minute we met. He wanted to duel me, and we didn't even know how to levitate a feather without blowing something up.’’ Harry smiled at the memory. ‘’I’ve never been alone.’’
‘’But .. ’’ Harry interrupted him.
‘’Son, these memories ... they are moments that I need to get out of my mind from time to time, to free up more space, or not to be affected when I need to deal with cases that resemble them. There are thousands more, of moments when your uncles, your grandparents, your mum, were with me. Your uncles drove a car to the Dursleys' house to save me, when we were only 12. Your aunt has put judgment on our head for all the years, in addition to making people believe me when I was called a liar. Your grandparents were like parents to me, and they took care of me for all the years… Your mum? Saved me, in that last memory.’’ Harry hugged him, stroking his brown hair. ‘’Dad was never alone, don’t worry.’’
''I'm sorry for breaking that'' James murmured, his voice muffled against his father's chest.
‘’Okay, we can fix it… But I don’t want you to mess with my stuff anymore, understand?’’
‘’Yes.’’ They went back to being silent, James taking the opportunity to return his dad’s embrace in the same intensity, feeling a little bad for the moments when he pulled away from his father's or mother's embrace ''What is that?''
‘’A pensieve. That's where we put some memories. Sometimes we need more space.’’ James nodded. ‘’Thanks for the concern, it’s really sweet’’
‘’You looked so… disturbed.’’
‘’I was, but everything improved when your mum and I were together. She really saved me.’’
‘’Did she go to that forest?’’ James asked, looking at him.
''No, but she was what made me come back.'' Harry said, smiling.
‘’I love you, Dad.’’ James sniffed, wiping tears from his eyes. ‘’You’re my hero.’’ It was Harry’s turn to sniff.
‘’I love you too, Jamie… I’m sorry it was those memories you saw. The other day I can show you how your uncle was dressed at our Yule Ball. You will die laughing.’’ James laughed softly, squeezing his dad even more, happy that he was there, even after all.
just a normal Potter day, when Lily Luna asked about Harry's scar
‘‘Dad.’’ Lily called out to him, making herself on her own bed and snuggling under the sheets to listen to the story Harry was going to tell her. In the next room, he could hear the boys' mattress springs, and a Ginny trying to get them to lie down.
‘’Hi my love.’’ Harry fiddled with the organized box of books, looking for the one with the cute cover and a princess riding a dragon. Lily's favorite.
‘’What’s in your hand?’’ Her little hand tried to reach his ‘’I can never understand.’’
‘’What’s in my… Oh, yes.’’ Harry looked at the back of his hand, already forgetting the thin white scars that had marked his skin since he was 15 years old. ‘’This is a scar.’’
‘’Did you fall?’’ Lily watched him with light brown eyes, much lighter than James, but a little darker than Ginny’s. Around it, when looked at closely, a thin moss green circle could be seen, almost camouflaging to brown. They were beautiful.
''No, it was an evil teacher who did this.'' Harry didn't quite know how to explain that event to his 6-year-old daughter, and he didn't think it would be healthy to give details of what he had experienced at the age of 15, and the torture that suffered. Not now.
''Why? Did anyone help you?’’ This time Lily reached for his hand, much bigger than hers, and her delicate little fingers traced the lines that hadn’t hurt for years, her curious eyes trying to read every word it contained.
‘’I must not tell lies.’’ Harry read to her. ''It is what is written.''
‘’Did you tell a lot of lies?’’ Lily looked at him, looking taken aback by the confession. ‘’We can’t tell lies.’’
''No, we can't. But no, Dad wasn’t telling lies.’’
‘’So why did you write that?’’ The girl gave up on lying down, sat on the bed and pulled his hand tighter, as if she wanted to erase the scars.
‘’It’s a very long story, my love, maybe the other day Dad will tell you.’’ He offered it to her. ‘’We’re going to stay with the princess who ran away on her dragon tonight.’’
‘’I like this one.’’ She smiled, but then looked back at Harry’s hand, and then kissed it. '’It won't hurt anymore, Daddy, it will heal.'' Unexpectedly his eyes filled with tears, and he had to blink several times to keep them away, feeling (as he always did) the most loved being in the world, even though sometimes He still didn’t understand the reason for all that love.
‘’Thank you my love.’’ Harry kissed her forehead, smiling like a fool. ‘’Lie down, let’s read about Ophelia and her dragon, Dodie.’’
thank you very much to @matrixaffiliate and @deadwoodpecker who helped me finish this one shot
ao3
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''James is dating.'' Harry said, no longer holding on to the secret, remembering non-stop the scene of his son kissing the blonde warmly, in the back of the house.
Harry knew that his children were growing up, apparently it was inevitable that this would not happen, there was no potion or spell that would slow that moment. But he hoped he was free a few more years from having to deal with teenage romance.
''What?'' Ginny said, stopping the cream on her face and turning to him with eagle eyes. ''How do you know?''
''I saw it.'' Harry sighed, resting his elbows on his knees and hiding his face with his hands. When did your son stop saying 'ew' for any interaction between man and woman and started practicing them? Nobody talked about it when you said you were going to be a father.
''Saw? What the fuck?'' Ginny was still half-white and the other half intact, looking at him like an owl mother, looking like she was about to leave the room and go down to the second floor in order to find her newest perverted son.
''I went to see if he needed anything, he was so quiet and... Ah Gin, he was kissing that friend of his'' The man groaned in disapproval, wanting himself to throw himself out of the window or oblivion himself. It was horrible to be sure that your children were growing up.
''Mira?! Oh, Merlin..'' Ginny sat next to her husband, still with rosy cheeks and steady eyes. ''But..'' She started. ''It's better here, than in a dark alley, who knows where... You and I know what we did to escape my parents.''
''Please speak quietly, the Gods can remember that and punish us even more.'' The man fell on the bed, watching the plaster ceiling they had chosen years ago .. 16 years ago.
So many, many nights that he interrupted his parents just because he wanted to sleep among them, or that he liked to sit on Harry's legs because he was his dad, and the times when he asked to hear stories from school... It looked like it had been a century ago.
They had lived there for 16 years, didn't seem to be so long ago that James had been born and Harry held him for the first time.
James was still talking to him, obviously, earlier the boy made a joke about Albus and some other Slytherin.. Robert? Stephan?Harry didn't remember, but it was one of those moments when James gossiped about his brothers, without actually gossiping. As if he just wanted to keep his parents aware of what was going on.
‘‘Should we go talk to him?’’ Harry asked, but not quite sure what he was going to say. Teddy had first told Ginny when he started dating Vic, so the whole situation was easier when he arrived. Did James expect him to help him? That he knew?
‘’We’re going to wait for him to come to us.’’ Ginny said firmly, still looking a little jealous ‘’And he will come eventually.’’
But James took a while.
The next day, he was talking normally at the table, and when the subject became Mira (something recurring, because apparently, Lily loved the girl), James acted naturally and told something they had done or something muggle that she introduced him to.. And then he changed the topic, without even looking ashamed or afraid.
In the days that have passed, every time Harry touched - unpretentiously - on the subject of dating, and how they would cope when Lily started dating, James shrugged and said that Lily would be lucky if someone was able to be with her for more than five minutes, and then, he would do whatever he was doing again.
Even when George asked him about girls on Sunday, James didn't blink. He laughed at the joke, rolled his eyes, continuing the matter normally.
Harry was going crazy.
But finally, a week and a half later, after another day where he went out with Michael and Piper (which Harry doubted), he finally said:
''I'm dating.''
Both were lying in a hammock, it had been a fun day. Harry, James and Albus had modified Lily's treehouse and made it more spacious and comfortable. Then they fixed the owlery, and also built a new home for Sir, their dog.
Albus had gone out with Ginny, they were both going to the market to buy something that Harry didn't understand, and Lily had gone out with Arthur and Molly for a walk.
Harry and James were left. They flew for a while and then settled in the hammocks he had won from Bill a few Christmases ago. The sun was almost setting behind the trees at the back of the house, and they were starting to hear some crickets, birds and even owls, with the silence they were making.
‘’Since when?’’ It was the first thing that came out, his curiosity and fatherly concern dueling in the chest.
But then James had said that, and Harry thought he was unable to hide his expression.
‘’Really dating? I think... Since after Easter.’’ Harry's eyes widened.
‘’Since April?!’’ They were almost in August!
‘’I didn’t want to tell you via Floo or Letter... Won't you ask who it is?’’ He finally sat on the hammock, looking at his son, who - just now - had pink cheeks. James still looked like the same boy that Harry saw growing up, but now he looked much older than he remembered. However, it was still the little boy who cared too much about his dad's opinion of him.
‘’Mira?’’
‘’How do you know?’’ James laughed nasally, sitting up too. ‘’Albus told you? He's a gossip.’’ Oh dear…
‘’Er… Yeah, yeah.’’ He wouldn’t tell the truth, besides, even James knew that Albus wouldn’t tell his parents anything, not if he asked for secrecy. ‘’But then… Do you like her?’’
‘’I wouldn’t be dating if I didn’t like her.’’ James gave him that cheeky smile, loaded with a confidence that neither Ginny nor Harry knew where it came from. Harry raised an eyebrow in response. ‘’It’s a joke, of course I like her.’’ He lay back in the hammock, legs out touching the grass, swinging it from side to side. ‘’I wanted to tell you before, but I thought I was being hasty.’’
‘‘No, it was really Michael and Piper.’’ James shrugged. ‘’I wasn’t going to lie about it, besides, Mira is out of town.’’ Harry smiled at his sincerity.
‘’So those outings with the boys, were you with her?’’
It was quite different to see James talking quite naturally about Mira, and to think about how he had dealt with Ginny in the beginning, so afraid to even hold her hand in front of Molly or Arthur.
The boy started telling about how it had all happened and how he had been an idiot before, and all Harry could do was laugh and listen, marveling at the ease of the facts and how much more comfortable James seemed to be telling the truth.
He thought vaguely of Sirius, of Snape's memory, confident and a smartass, even more so than his dad (as much as James seemed to want to appear extremely confident).
His son had that sparkle in his eyes that Harry had never experienced, telling him about how he felt when he realized he liked her, and how Mira said no when he asked her out (''Can you believe it? But in the end she went out with me and we kissed, so ... who cares?'')
Harry laughed and listened to everything, happy to be able to provide it to James (only Merlin and he knew how much he missed having someone who could hear him talking about Ginny), making some comments and reminding him of the traumatic sex conversation - which seemed much more important now.
He was happy to have listened to Ginny and let James come over when he felt comfortable, even though it was still awkward to think about his little boy, dating.
