• Growing up Harry •

• tummy ache •

January 31st 1986

"Daddy it huwts" Harry whined, close to tears as he curled himself into a ball

"I know kiddo I know..." James said softly as he patted Harry's sweat damp forehead

Harry had come down with the flu and of course it had happened during a time in which lily wasn't there

She was busy with work and had left James alone with Harry for the weekend, everything had been going fine until a few hours ago when Harry came down with a fever

Now he was having sweats and complaining of his stomach hurting

"D-Daddy I want mummy" Harry whimpered, softly beginning to sob into James' chest

James sighed and hugged onto his small son tighter, "it's gonna he okay Harry uh you'll be fine"

He once again wished lily was present, she would be able to brew a strong potion which would cure Harry's sickness ... James though had never been great at potions and wasn't about to risk Harry's health now

Harry let out a few quiet sobs, burning his face in his hands

"Shhh munchkin shhh" James tried gently rubbing Harry's back but nothing he did seemed to calm Harry, it reminded him of the days when Harry was only a wee thing, sobbing and sobbing with no clear answer to stop him from sobbing

"Daddy my...my tummy..."

"Oh Harry...uh how about I go get you some pills for the pain...uh I think your Mummy got some they're just downstairs"

Harry whimpered and held onto James tighter

"Okay kiddo lets go get you some" James easily lifted Harry and began to walk out but Harry began to squirm and whine

"Daddy no hawold" Harry reaches weakly for his Hippogriff stuffy

James smiled softly and grabbed it for Harry thinking how silly it was Harry had named the Hippogriff after himself without even knowing it

Harry hugged it tightly and calmed down making it easier for James to take him down to the kitchen where lily kept the pills handy

"Accio pills" James said quietly causing the small bottle to zoom out of the drawer and into his hands

"Tylenol? Huh" James read the name with a slight bit of confusion but proceeded to take out two pills and hand them to Harry

"Just eat them kiddo and then you'll feel better"

Harry shook his head and pouted, "Dey don't wook good"

"Harry they'll make you feel better, don't you want that tummy ache to go away?"

Harry hesitated and reluctantly nodded as he took the pills and swallowed them down

He made a cringing face and then rested his head against James' chest once more, "daddy can we watch squid...witch"

"Squidwitch? Harry what on earth..." James' voice trailed off realizing what his son was attempting to say

"You wanna watch quidditch baby?"

Harry nodded and hugged tightly onto his Hippogriff

"Alright" James said with a smile, feeling happy that Harry finally wanted to watch a quidditch match with him

Usually Harry only liked to play it and refused to watch the matches with James, it was nice to see that he'd finally warmed up to the idea of spending quality bonding time with James

James took a seat on the couch, moving some of Harry's school work off the table where he was about to test his feet

He was happy to say that Harry was progressing very well, Remus often would write to him of how spectacular Harry was...how very much alike lily he was turning out to be

James felt proud, Harry of course still struggled with pronouncing some words but he was decent in just about everything else they'd done, and he had an immense heart filled of compassion which James knew had to have come from lily

Harry snuggled into James' side and let out a quiet whine

"How's the tummy now Harry?"

"Still huwts" Harry said quietly, slightly shivering as he spoke

"Kiddo do you want a blanket?"

Harry nodded

James quickly reached for a blanked and wrapped it tightly around Harry, he then sat back comfortably and turned on the TV

Luckily, due to the World Cup that was coming up later that year, quidditch seemed to be the only thing on their magically spelled muggle tv

James flipped through the channels until he found the Montrose Magpies playing, knowing full well they were one of the best teams and deciding Harry would likely be most interested in watching them play

"W-won woves dis team..." Harry said through a yawn

"Who the Magpies?"

"No da owange"

James smiled, his son was making reference to the Chudley Cannons who he of course knew the Weasleys loved

It was nice to see that Harry was at least somewhat in the know of quidditch, meeting that Ron kid was the best thing that's ever happened to Harry

The two had grown practically inseparable. Neville was of course still basically Harry's brother, the two always getting alone buy the bond Harry has with Ron wasn't like anything he'd had with the Longbottom kid, and definitely not alike to the horrid relationship with his chubby cousin

The two sat watching quidditch for a long time, Harry seeming to grow more and more interested in the game the longer it was on. He'd started asking questions and audibly cheering along

It made James smile, though after the game was over Harry yawned and allowed his eyes to close

James would've wanted to take Harry to bed but was exhausted as well and in no mood to take Harry to bed only to have him cry out for comfort a few minutes later

"Daddy I wanna be a seeker" Harry said through a yawn

James smiled and kissed Harry's head, "I have no doubt in my mind that you will be son, no doubt"

Harry smiled and snuggled closer to his father, falling asleep within minutes

James grumbled quietly, dealing with a sick Harry all day hadn't been ideal and he was sure that the small headache he now has would be a massive tummy ache the next day, just like what'd happened to poor Harry

Though James simply smiled, everything was worth it when it was for Harry

He fell asleep dreaming of watching Harry playing quidditch
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