LIGHTNING STRIKES EVERYTIME HE MOVES

Desdemona wore a pained expression as she stared at the dramatic headdress. “You’re really pushing it with me, Potter. This-” She gestured toward him vaguely, “I really will not miss.”

“ are you devastated because you cannot outdo this look? “ james guessed, holding back a laugh. “ that’s fine. once we’re outside hogwarts there is likely a chance for you to excel out there without me in the nearby area. likely is the word you might want to take note of. “

“ you’re ALWAYS wild, Jenny - last day or not you’ve always looked like you came out of the woods or something. which I think I’ll miss seeing sometimes- you look alright, mate. glad to see you’re finally loosening up a little.”

“ ah, you’ll be seeing more of my ever gorgeous face, lenny. there is no reason to fret. i know you don’t see that many handsome faces around except from mine --- how heartless would i be of a friend to take this away from you? “ a grin. “ thanks. my ego is now alive and kicking now that i’ve heard it from you. you tidied up well too. “

“you look handsome as always, james, it’s quite the thing. i’d be shocked if sirius could outdo you for the most outrageous look for the end of year ball.”

“ mary, you are always quite the contrary, doll. “ james responded with a click of his tongue. “ you don’t look bad yourself ---- and speaking of sirius, i’ve been on the look out for him the whole night. have you seen him? “

     “you look so stupid.”

“ finally the dreaded day has arrived ---- my dashing looks have decided to abandon me altogether, leaving me look like you on a daily basis? “

He could be find in a corner of the room, using his fingers to count how many beers he had had. However, due the unknown amount of beers he had consumed, this was proving to be rather hard, and it was after his third – or perhaps even fourth – attempt that he gave up. In stead, he wandered over to a person standing nearby, and with a crooked, and most of all, drunk grin he addressed them.

   —— “You,” he said, pointing a finger at their chest, “look like you want to see me doing thebest Freddie Mercury impression you will ever witness.”

"wormy ??" james blinked. james could fairly remember the drunk incidents peter was involved with. he was certain he got drunk first before he could even remember all the shenanigan they did together --- but seeing peter drunk before him that night was actually exciting to witness. he had no idea how things would unfold now that pete was so keen on doing a mercury impression, but he was actually curious and lookng forward to it. "alright, alright. give it your best shot then. i expect to be impressed by your amazing talents. "

they visibly relaxed at the sight of james, who always was a fresh breath of air on slow days like these. “don’t tell my boss, won’t ya?,” they asked, or no: begged. a dramatic look was in peter’s eyes as they glanced at their friend. “my life will end if i get fired from this … brilliant job. cheers, by the way, for the help with those tomatoes.” they paused, as they pretended to think on james’ question —– the compliment was something peter felt a bit embarrassed by, really, even if it was said in a playful manner, and they looked around if no one had heard it. “hm, no, am afraid i dunno who you’re talkin’ ‘bout. mr. stouthell–” who was his boss. “– is the cutest person here, after all.”

“ my lips?  sealed. “ the moment just begged for james to animatedly zip his lips --- a hint of mischief reflecting in his eyes. “ don’t worry ‘bout it, mate. i think i’ve mastered all the cleaning up charm after i have to clean up harry’s toys and the mess he leaves.... he wants me to thank his uncle peter, by the way. he likes that recent gift you got him. “ a little smile. he was just really glad to bump into an old friend that he didn’t even bother hiding his building enthusiasm. “ who is that, stout-who?  i don’t know a stout. i only know wormtail as the cutest worker around. “ he teased with a wink. “ anyone else can go. so how’s life anyway? outside of work--- i want to hear it all. “

Eyes lingered on her husband for a long few seconds as she heard him finally agree to her nagging. Though she had known James since they were just eleven years old, she was an expert at the tone of his voice and just what they meant. She knew just from the way he spoke that he wasn’t being truthful  and that he would take Harry out again because that’s just who James was. Her eyes left him and went back down to their toddler before checking the temperature of the water and the placing him inside the tub. Lily was very, very pregnant, really she could go into labor anytime and she didn’t want to be arguing with James when she did. She didn’t need labor pains and then a headache on top of it all- labor was already miserable enough. So for now she dropped the topic completely aware of is dishonestly in it. She knew Quidditch was an important thing to her boys, and she would never want them not to play.. but Harry could still barely talk and stand up on his own and that was what worried her. She worried that his little body and little brain couldn’t understand it. She didn’t want him hurt or confused until he was old enough and strong enough to walk without falling and forming coherent sentences. Lily wet Harry’s hair as he played with some bath toy boats, she smiled just watching the cute sight in front of her.

Lily shook her head, sighing some as she put some shampoo into Harry’s head of thick hair. “I love my friends… But all of yours on top of them while I’m pregnant just exhausts me thinking about it.” She told him honestly as Harry’s hair turned bubbly as she massaged it into his sculpt. With her second pregnancy she was tired all the time, maybe it was because she was looking after a child already as she grew another but this time around she needed naps any chance she could get and naps with a house full of her friends and James’ ? that just wasn’t going to happen. “Let’s just have yours over.” Lily mumbled knowing that there was no way those three wouldn’t be over since they were over so much they might as well just live there. Sometimes it was frustrating. but those three did bring a smile to Harry’s face and that was worth the headache of a full house. “And you can clean up their mess too.”

“ alright, how about this --- i promise not ever to take harry into his first quidditch lessons with his quidditch superstar dad: james potter at least any time soon. “ perhaps it would be safer as well if he continued discreetly teaching harry shortly after lily’s labor. that way, he would be able to keep an eye out in case it was time for the second little potter to grace this world her presence. james was quite confident he can settle this ongoing dispute with lily with just a bit of the right words to say in a conversation... there was a way out of the inevitable knee kicks from his hormonal, easily-angered wife. there was hope and salvation; or so he liked to believe. james potter was a man who took his chances anyway.

“ got it. “ he affirmed with a nod. as much as he’d like to see their old friends and have a catch-up session with their lives, he missed his gang the most. ( it was also a way of young harry to use his innate adorable quality to extort money from his uncles; something james didn’t mind given sirius, remus, and peter are surprisingly quite generous at the wee lad. ) “ maybe some other time then, for them? don’t worry, i’ll ask them to bring something good for us to snack on.. and we can always use the extra money they give harry, not bad, right? “

how plain life was; peter worked at the magic neep – the greengrocer’s of hogsmeade – and spend their days refilling the aisles of the shops with various vegetables and fruits. it reminded them of the work they did one summer, back at home, and while they were no expert on fruits & vegs ( unless you count strawberries dipped in chocolate ), they liked the simplicity of the job. still, this didn’t mean there weren’t the occasional problems: peter fought with their boss about quidditch teams plenty of times and they sometimes struggled with customers who were irrationally angry because all the damned cherries had sold out ( something peter surely couldn’t help ). another problem was their clumsiness, and on that particular day their shoelaces were not tied, which soon enough led to peter s t u m b l i n g and c r a s h i n g onto the floor, as well as the box of tomatoes they had been carrying. red was everywhere as the tomatoes rolled through the store and their cheeks flushed, and peter muttered a quick, “fuckin’ hell,” before looking up and seeing a customer.

      —— “i meant …,” a pause. “sorry for the mess. you lookin’ for something in particular?”

james held back a smile. the sight of peter on the floor sure brought back a lot of memories of their many mischief making together back at hogwarts--- and his youth was always something he looked back on with a profound nostalgia. he took his wand and cast a charm to put the tomatoes back into their crate, flashing his mate the widest grin he ever had in days. “ no cussing when there’s a customer around, ya buff. “ he teased cheekily before holding out a hand. “ well of course i am lookin’ for the cutest person ever to work in this grocery. bet his name’s peter pettigrew. ‘ya know him? “

Had everything she said gone in his one ear and then straight out the other?  She was upset and all he was doing was giving her excuses.   Ridiculous excuses that only angered her more and more as he continued talking. “I don’t care if it was bloody amazing!” She glared harder, her fists clenching as she tires to control her out of control emotions. “It’s not dangerous?“A laugh as she tried to understand how his logic worked, "it’s dangerous for anybody at anytime, you toerag.  I didn’t want him out and you did it anyways. What if he had of gotten hurt? Even with you there as a safe guard. For Merlin’s sake, he can barely walk without falling and you took him out on the broom.” Lily was huffing in anger. Lily had been a loyal, protective person before becoming a parent but it seemed to only grow more intense after birthing harry. And even if James was Harry’s father her protective nature towards him wouldn’t lessen. She wanted to kick him again until her own foot hurt.

“Shut it.” Lily breathed in heavily. “He’s not going out again. The present is being locked up and don’t you dare take him out without telling me where.” Lily hated motherhood in a way because she was always the bad guy. The one who nagged. The boring one. But James would be seen as the hero, the fun one, the one harry would enjoy spend more time with. Lily wanted to be that light in her son’s eyes, but she had to lay down the rules to ensure he would grow up correctly.  “Take him out on a broom again before he’s in school and I’ll crush your scones,  do you understand me?” She said to James with a raised eyebrow hoping he would be giving her the right answer she wishes to hear. If not he might just get the sleep on the couch that night and the next night and the next until he understood. Lily was pregnant with their second child she didn’t need James doing things like this when soon there would be another child they would have to care for. “If you hadn’t taken him out I wouldn’t have to stress. I’ll bath him. You’ve already done enough to day”  and she left the kitchen to start the bath. She turned the tap on, making it a nice temperature before adding some bubbles. Harry loved bubble baths and lily loved the smile on his little face at the happiness it brought him. Lily knelt in front of Harry as she helped him undress, “Mommy loves you, Harry. You can play as much Quidditch as you want when your get older, okay? Then Daddy can teach you all about it.” A nod and a kiss to his cheek.

“ alright, mrs. potter... let’s..... not make a fuss about it. you know frowning isn’t good for our baby, “ nor was lily’s rage safe for james but he ensured never to utter that aloud. he didn’t want to see more of her anger. and so with his attempt at making peace with his wife, he flashed her a cheeky little grin -- one that became his trademark even during his schooling days at Hogwarts. “ you have to trust me regarding matters on the broom even just a little more?  i charmed it safe.... it’s ok, i’m brilliant at these broom charms and i can cast them even with my eyes closed. i know we should have told you before we went out but the weather’s too nice outside to pass. harry is never too young to learn the art behind quidditch and flying ! “ his tone was hopeful, still wearing his smile.

“ alright.... no more flying for harry. “ though james could practically hear the deceit in his tone. he would have to be more careful the next time. and when the time comes, he might have to ask harry to lie when her mum asks him where they’ve been. since he was young he wanted quidditch and flying to be the form of bonding regarding the father and son tandems of potters --- and though his own father was too old to be flying around with james when he was a wee bit toddler, he still did guide him. just like the way james guided harry on the broom his godfather sirius got him for his birthday. he took a scone off the kitchen counter, a stale one, and went to hang by the door of the shower room watching his little family. “ maybe sirius’ visit later will cheer you up... “ james knew his best mate’s presence was mostly joy for his own sake. “ remus will be here too, and peter. maybe i can invite marlene and mary? amelia? “ he offered as a sign of peacemaking. “ harry would love the presence of guests don’t you think? “

Angry Lily was to be feared, but a pregnant angry Lily was to be feared even worse. She stirred a spoonful of sugar in her tea as she stared James down from her spot near the sink next to the window, seemingly calm, but actually far from it. When she had woken up a few hours ago to empty beds, no toddler making a fuss early in the morning and no note… it was then that the anger began to boil. And it was a look into their storage room to notice James’ broom was gone. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. A sweet smile showed on her lips as she heard her husbands voice and she set her tea up down, happy to know by the sound of his voice that he already knew he was in trouble.

“Did you two enjoy yourselves?” A hand resting on her growing tummy, her smile fading as she gave him a kick to his knee. “What did I tell you about flying?” She questioned, “What do I always say? Why don’t you listen to me, James Potter.” Lily huffed, glaring at him, “Harry is too young to go on that broom. I told you that a million times, why do you insist on not listening to me? He’s barely two yet, what if he hurts himself?” Lily waved a warning finger at him as she threw a few curse words at him in their mother-tongue. “Don’t take him out again. He’ll learn in school.”  The young mother turned away from him and knelt down front of Harry, frowning at the sigh of him all dirty and sweaty. She picked him up, flattening out his dark, messy hair and pressing a kiss to his little forehead, “Let’s get you bathed.” She said holding him close to her chest and shooting James another look before heading off to the washroom.

“ well, it was bloody amazing. harry’s clearly got that quidditch genes in him --- “ but before james potter could get away with talking about how awesome the afternoon smoothly rolled out for the father & son, he got a kick in the knee. it was true what they say about pregnant women having superhuman strength.. he could attest to it now, more than ever, especially when he also had a first hand account back when lily was carrying harry. “ it’s not dangerous for him... it’s safe. besides, i kept an eye out for him the whole time. i wouldn’t allow him to fall off his broom without having me as a safety cushion. “ he tried to get his way around the matter.

lily’s indifference to james taking harry to his first ever flying lessons at two years old was understandable. but he couldn’t help but feel elated, especially when his best mate sirius was giving him a nod for doing a job well done at raising harry. “ sirius’ present was put to a good use. right, harry? your godfather surely wants you to be the next quidditch superstar and i’m proud of you. “ he smiled, short-lived, before his glance landed on lily. “ love, don’t stress yourself too much. i’m going to bathe him. “

finally arriving at their humble home in godric’s hollow, he instructed young harry to go take a quick shower before lily would see them both soaking in sweat. especially young harry. they would be subject to a stern, quizzical glance--- but mostly it’d be on him. and so he tiptoed his way around fully forgetting lily’s lurking in the kitchen by this hour and so with a cheeky grin his tone climbed an octave higher than usual, “ hi, love. great afternoon, innit? ha ha. “ @evansofc