• Growing up Harry •

• another sleepless night •

March 29th 1981

The painful sound of Harry's loud wails once again awoke the young sleeping couple from what seemed to be one of the most pleasant slumbers either had had

"Your turn" Lily mumbled, rolling over as if she could start a new sleep away from the obnoxiously loud crying of her son, "and don't bring him in here this time...h'needs t'learn" she slurred sleepily

James huffed, debating on pretending to still be asleep, though that hadn't worked well for him the previous time he'd tried. He recalled Lily giving the silent treatment for a couple days after he'd pulled that little stunt

A loud groan escaped him as he willed himself to sit up, "shouldn't he be able to sleep the night now?? It's been eight months of this and I'm sick of it!"

James stormed toward his son's room feeling a tired sense of rage. He'd read extensively on when children usually could sleep through a night, and was highly aggravated to see that there was a possibility after four months Harry could've learned to sleep the night ... but of course his son managed to be one of the stubborn children who preferred to cry and cry every single night, being a real pain in the arse for his parents

James couldn't even recall the last time he'd slept through a full night, another sad thing of becoming a parent. It pained him to admit that when Sirius asked him to go out partying he had to decline the temptation as he was basically functioning on no sleep and also had responsibilities, like his son

Harry's refusal to sleep had gotten so bad James had even suggested Lily slip Harry a sleeping draught, but she'd shot that stupid idea down practically before he'd even suggested it

James swung the door open to reveal little Harry's small figure wriggling around as he sobbed and sobbed. James felt his frustration begin to fade at the sight, despite being heavily sleep deprived seeing his son in such a state of distress cued his papa bear instincts

"Shush Harry...Daddy's here don't worry munchkin" He cooed

Harry's sobs softened at the sound of his Daddy's voice. In the months that had passed, Harry had become impossibly more attached to Lily. However he had also warmed up to James a considerable amount, which was very relieving

James had embarrassingly enough spent a few nights close to tears at the concerning thought that Harry may hate him forever

Harry swung his tiny arms above his head, indicating clearly to James that there was nothing he needed specifically. No new nappy, no food ... just the comfort of being held

Although Lily had advised him against it, he instantly caved to Harry's request and held his small son with ease. "You okay there kiddo?"

Harry mewled, babbling about nonsense that made James smile. "I'll take it you want to see Mummy don't you?"

Harry began to squirm, clapping his hands together and smiling a wide toothless grin

James found himself momentarily lost in the striking green eyes he recognized as Lily's, the only thing that separated Harry from being a mini clone of himself

"Alright then munchkin lets go see her" James took Harry back to their room, balancing him on his hip as he went

He placed Harry onto the bed then flopped himself down, sinking happily into the plush fabric of their bed. Harry instantly took off crawling towards his sleeping mother

He struggled a little, still not great at crawling and the soft surface of the bed only made it more of a struggle for him, but being the headstrong little thing he was he continued to will himself onward

After letting out a few frustrated whines, Harry finally reached Lily, grabbing onto her hair in a way that made James wince to see, Harry still hadn't learned gentleness

"Ouch ouch! James! I've told you fifty times Harry can't sleep in here with us...he has to learn and this isn't helping" Lily let out a groan and took Harry into her lap, satisfying her son's burning need for love

He babbled on about gibberish and kicked his chubby little legs in excitement upon being held by his mummy

"Lily, love, Harry just doesn't like to be alone is there any fault in that?" James punched his pillow a couple times trying to get it as comfy as possible

"Yes James there is...he won't learn to sleep through the night if we keep this up" she bounced Harry on her leg as he let out happy coos 

"But Harry needs this honey, don't you Harry?" James yawned as he spoke, frankly too tired to start an argument over something so easily solved

Lily gave him a 'really' look recalling James telling her the day Harry was born that it was useless to talk to a child when they had no hope of responding

"I thought at this age there was no way he'd be able to respond?"

James, realizing his mistake, frowned, "whatever...Harry's different, he's our special munchkin"

Lily rolled her eyes and sighed looking at her very happy son, "what are we going to do with you? Hmm?" She gently ruffled his messy hair

Harry's smile widened and he leaned into his Mummy's chest

"Lils I hate to break up this moment but...can we go to sleep now? I'm exhausted"

Lily nodded slowly and stared at Harry's excited little face, it was undeniable that he loved sleeping with them ... that he loved being with his parents, especially his Mummy

Lily's heart warmed at the thought, she'd of course noticed Harry's clinginess to herself and found it all the more adorable. She didn't dare boast about it to James who was quite obviously jealous of the 'mummy's boy' tendencies Harry had developed

"Goodnight Lily" James placed a gentle kiss to her temple

Lily smiled, "goodnight James" she then placed a tender kiss on her son's soft messy black hair "Goodnight my angel, mummy loves you"

Harry placed his little hand onto her chest, hugging onto Lily tightly as his emerald eyes heavily fell closed
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