Work Text:
July 1977
James’ feet hit the ground with a thud, right on the doorstep of a non-descript house in the Midlands, just south of Leicester. He took a deep breath to steady himself – he’d had his Apparition license barely three months now, and he was still getting used to the light-headedness he felt every time he reached his destination. When he was certain he wasn’t going to vomit, he raised his hand to knock on the door.
It flew open before he even touched it. “Thank Merlin!” Remus cried, grabbing James by the forearm and yanking him inside the house. His eyes were wide and he was practically panting as he slammed the door behind them. “What took you so long?”
“Sirius rang me barely thirty minutes ago!” James said indignantly. “Is it that bad?”
A steam whistle, like those used by train conductors, sounded from the back of the house, and James and Remus jumped.
“Yes,” Remus said, closing his eyes and putting a hand to his chest. “Sirius must have tried to put her down again.”
“Wait, you mean—that was the child?”
“You’ll see,” Remus said seriously, beckoning James to follow him.
They entered a small bedroom with lavender walls. On the bed was a small child. At least, James thought it was a child. At the moment, her head looked like the front end of a tiny, scarlet locomotive, nose and jaw elongated into a sort of circular snout, hair and face red as the Hogwarts Express. Steam was emanating from both ears, and instead of wailing, the sound coming out of her mouth mimicked a train whistle perfectly.
Sirius stood next to the bed with his hands over his ears and a defeated look on his face. He brightened slightly when he noticed James and Remus in the doorway.
“Prongs! Thank Merlin!” he cried, coming over and wrapping James in a desperate hug. “I’ve really set her off now, no clue how to make her stop that.”
James’ mouth dropped open. “That’s Nymphadora?”
“I’ve told you, she’s a metamorphagus. Thought it was cute at first, didn’t we, Re?” He shook his head. “She gave herself rabbit teeth at dinner time and matched her skin with the carpet when we were playing Hide-and-Seek earlier.” He sighed heavily. “Those were happier times. So naïve we were then.”
“So how did you go from rabbit teeth to…this?” James gestured at the child, who was still literally steaming, and cringed.
“Tried to put her to bed, is all,” Sirius said. “A little bit ago she grew some fangs, said they’d protect during the night, but she only managed to cut her own lip. That set her off crying, and now this.” He waved helplessly at the little train-girl, then turned to Remus. “You’re certain about the ethics of using a Silencing Charm on a four-year-old, are you?”
“Yes, Sirius. Remember the rule.”
Sirius looked chagrinned. “Do nothing Wallburga would’ve done,” he said, as though he were parroting an ancient maxim. He raised an eyebrow and added, “Though, to be fair, she would’ve done far worse than Silence me by now.”
“Right. I suppose that rules out a sleeping draught, too.” James sighed and buried a hand in his hair, thinking. “Didn’t Andy give you any advice? Does Nymphadora always pitch a fit when it’s time for bed?”
“Andromeda said she’s normally quite good about bedtime,” Remus said. “That’s part of why I agreed to this job.” He gave Sirius a pointed look.
“Oh, shut up, as if you wouldn’t have spent your evening with me regardless.”
“I would’ve loved to spend the evening with you. In fact, I thought once Dora went down for the night, I’d get to spend the rest of the evening snogging my boyfriend until her parents came home. Instead, I’ve spent the better part of two hours trying to figure how to quiet a tot without jinxing her!”
“If she’s usually all right, what’s the problem today?” James asked, interrupting their bickering. “Maybe she’s just missing her mum?”
“I suspect it’s a bit more than that,” Sirius said casually. “I may have inadvertently frightened her a bit.”
James narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “How’s that?”
“Don’t say it again!” Remus practically yelled. He gestured towards the door and added, “At least go out there so our little steam engine won’t hear you.”
“For Godric’s sake, Pads,” James said anxiously as they exited the room, “What’ve you done?”
To James’ surprise, Sirius looked like he was fighting laughter. “Well,” he began. “She might’ve asked me and Remus to check her room for monsters. You know—trolls, poltergeists, and the like.”
“Okay,” James said slowly. “Normal four-year-old fears, I’d think. So what went wrong?”
“Well, while I was checking the closet, Re was checking under the bed. So it’s possible that I might’ve said—” Sirius was snickering now, and James slapped a hand to his own forehead, anticipating what was coming, “—‘Closet’s all clear, but I think there’s a werewolf under your bed!’”
“Padfoot!” James cried, but he let out an exasperated laugh, as well. “You absolute tosser, why would you say that to a little girl?”
“Oh come on, it’s funny! Because Moony is—”
“I get the joke, arsehole,” James said, shaking his head but still chuckling. “But you outed Remus and scared a child on top of it. Not worth it, mate.”
“Prongs, you couldn’t expect me to resist such a golden opportunity! And I didn’t really out Remus, Dora definitely does not think I was talking about him.” He rolled his eyes. “I almost wish she did, she adores Remus. She’d probably settle down if I could tell her that’s all I meant.”
Sure enough, they both noticed at precisely the same moment that the train-whistle sounds had subsided from Dora’s room, replaced by a babbling child’s voice. Remus was speaking sternly, but the child’s voice only got louder to cover his.
“Well, it sounds like Remus might be handling things, then. But maybe you shouldn’t say anything else to her all evening,” James said, shaking his head. “And I still don’t understand why you two called me?”
“But of course we’d call you, you’re brilliant with children! All those little goblins you tutor in Transfig? They adore you!”
James spread his hands helplessly. “Sirius, they are eleven and twelve! Not the same as four!”
“How different can it be, really?”
Before James could even begin to list for Sirius every difference he could think of between children aged twelve and four, Nymphadora shrieked, “BUT SIRIUS SAID IT WAS THERE! I’M NOT GOING TO SLEEP UNTIL DADDY GETS HOME!”
Remus appeared in the doorway looking weary. “She’s turning red again. If she starts whistling, I’m leaving.”
“You can’t leave!” Sirius and James exclaimed in unison.
“If anyone gets to leave, it’s me,” James added. “I didn’t sign up for this.”
“But we need you!” Sirius whined. “I know fuck-all about children.”
“At least I know not to say ‘fuck-all’ in front of them,” Remus muttered.
James shook his head. “How is it Andy chose you for this job, Pads?”
“No other options,” Sirius said, shrugging. “It’s her and Ted’s anniversary, so she asked a favor. One Black sheep to another, eh?” He cackled at his own pun.
Dora yelled for her father again, and all three boys jumped.
“I mean it,” Remus warned, shaking a finger at Sirius, “I’m not staying here if she transfigures into a siren.”
“Mythological, or like the Muggle blues and twos?”
“Either!” Remus yelped. “And who’s been teaching you Muggle slang?”
“I’ve got a telly in my flat, you know.” Sirius turned to James with wide eyes and fluttered his dark lashes. “Prongsie? My extremely generous, clever, talented, best mate?”
James snorted. “Why, yes, Pads, I’d love to try to tame the little banshee. Thanks for asking,” he said flatly.
Sirius clapped him on the shoulder and grinned, and Remus pressed his hands together and bowed his head slightly as if offering a prayer. James rolled his eyes and, with a deep breath, stepped into the little girl’s room.
Nymphadora’s hair was fire-engine red when James entered, but her face had returned to a natural – if ruddy – flesh color. She had deep brown eyes and the chubby cheeks of a toddler, but James thought he recognized the arched eyebrows and narrow nose of the Black family in her features.
She scrunched up that nose upon seeing James, but she didn’t transform into any sort of creature or machine. Still, her brown eyes turned steely gray, increasing her resemblance to the Blacks as she raised her tiny chin haughtily and demanded, “Who are you?”
“I’m James,” said James, holding out a hand awkwardly in the child’s direction. She shook it very seriously. “I’m friends with…” he gestured vaguely towards her bedroom door, where Remus and Sirius were watching the exchange with hopeful expressions.
“Oh. Sirius is my cousin.” Her tone was disapproving, but her eyes shifted back to brown, which James took as a positive sign. “He’s supposed to be minding me while Mummy and Daddy have a grown-up night at the theatre.”
“And he is, isn’t he?” James gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Him and Remus?”
“Uh-uh,” she said, shaking her head and lifting her chin again. “Remus is nice, but Sirius said there are monsters under my bed.”
“Right, I heard that.” James grimaced and sat down near Dora’s feet. “The thing is, Sirius likes to make jokes sometimes.”
Nymphadora brightened for a second. “I like jokes, too!” Then she frowned. “But that’s not funny.”
“No, it isn’t,” James agreed, shooting a look at Sirius. “He’s very bad at jokes.”
“Hey!” Sirius cried. Remus shushed him.
“But what if he wasn’t joking?” the little girl asked, her face scrunched up in concern. “I don’t think he was joking. He said he was always serious.”
James and Remus groaned. “Really, Pads?” James said through clenched teeth. He rubbed his forehead and heaved a sigh.
Sirius bit back a laugh. “I couldn’t help it!”
James rolled his eyes. “Of course. All right, Nymphadora—”
“I’m just Dora!” she yelled.
“Right! Dora,” James said quickly. “How about I check under the bed, make sure all the monsters are gone, and then…”
“He’ll tell you a story!” Remus declared.
James whipped around to look at him. “I will?”
“You will!” Sirius said gleefully. “Remus and I will just wait out there in the living room, then?”
James sighed again. “You owe me,” he said, pointing at Sirius and Remus in turn. The latter nodded vigorously, and James turned back to Dora with a crooked smile. “Right, so. I’ll check for monsters, and then I’ll tell you a story. How’s that?”
“All right,” Dora said. She folded her little arms over her chest and gave him a dubious look. “It had better be good, though.”
Sirius gave James a thumbs-up and darted away from the bedroom door. Remus gave a small shrug and an appreciative smile before turning to follow his boyfriend.
As promised, James made quite the show of looking under and all around Dora’s bed for werewolves and other baddies, even picking her up and swinging her in the air to make sure they weren’t hiding under her bum. After she was giggling and thoroughly reassured of her safety, James returned to the foot of her bed for story-time.
“What about Babbitty Rabbitty?” he asked, scanning his brain for children’s stories. He couldn’t remember all of them, and the ones he could—like The Warlock’s Hairy Heart—would probably do more harm than good in terms of assuaging Dora’s fears.
“Mummy read that yesterday!”
“What about…mermaids? Isn’t there a story about mermaids?”
“I don’t like mermaids!” Dora cried. “They’re mean!”
James had no idea if that was true or not, but Dora seemed to be growing a small, spiraling horn out of the top of her head in response to her emotions. The last thing he needed was her getting all worked up again and turning into a Snorkack.
“Okay, okay, how about this?” he said hastily, holding up his hands to calm her. “How about I tell you a story about a…princess?”
“Princesses are boring! They always get locked in the tower.”
“Not this princess!” James declared, giving Dora a stern look to hide the fact that he had no clue what he was talking about. “She’s able to go wherever she pleases, and she has adventures, and rides horses and…unicorns, even! How about that? Does that sound all right?”
“Maybe.” Dora scowled, but the horn started shrinking. “Does she fight monsters?”
“Er, of course,” James said, nodding sagely. “She’s a warrior princess. She lives in a big castle, with a tall tower full of shiny treasures, but she leaves the tower every day and she goes riding in the forest. On her unicorn. And she carries an enchanted sword, and she protects everyone who lives in the castle from trolls and any other whats-its lurking nearby.”
“Okay,” Dora said. She scooted down in her bed and rested her head on her pillow. “I think I like this princess.”
James breathed an internal sigh of relief. “I think you’d like her, too. She doesn’t have powers to change her face like you can, so she wears Muggle disguises like big hats, or a mask and a cloak, so no one will know she’s a princess when she leaves the castle. But she also has, er…enchanted armor, to match her sword, and—”
“What does she look like when she’s not disguised?”
“Erm…she’s small, and she looks lovely in a ball gown, but don’t let that fool you. She packs quite a punch. And—” an image flashed in James’ mind, and before he could stop himself he said, “—she’s pale, with dark red hair that flows like a waterfall down her back. And her eyes are green like the forest.” He blushed fiercely, but Dora just smiled.
“She sounds beautiful.”
“Yeah,” James said softly. He took off his glasses and polished them awkwardly on his shirt. “She is.”
“And she’s brave?”
“So brave,” James said, recovering himself. “She isn’t scared of anything, not even…vampires.” He decided against saying werewolves – no need to remind Dora of the evening’s trauma. “In fact,” he said, warming up to his story, “there was this one mean, pale, greasy vampire who hated the princess’ kingdom. You see, the princess surrounded herself with shiny, bright things, and the vampire only liked darkness.”
A self-satisfied smirk crossed James’ lips, and he chuckled to himself before continuing.
“But even though the princess was bright and the vampire was dark as night, he wanted to control the princess. He thought he could use his vampire powers to bind her to him forever, and then she’d have to stay with him no matter how horrible and pale and greasy he was.”
“But the princess is free!” Dora cried. “No one can trap her in a tower!”
“Of course not!” James exclaimed. “In fact, an incredibly handsome, strong young knight rode into the forest one day to warn the princess about the vampire’s plot. He was afraid the vampire would gain control of the princess and take her away forever. The knight wanted to rescue her. But do you know what the princess said?”
Dora’s eyes were wide and the ends of her hair had turned bubble-gum pink. “What did she say?”
“She said she didn’t need the knight’s help at all! She told him he was arrogant and presumptuous, actually—” James reached up and subconsciously ruffled his own hair, “—and she had her sword, and her unicorn, and her kingdom behind her, and she could fight the vampire all on her own!”
“Wow!” Dora exclaimed. Her hair faded back to brown. “What’s presumptuous?”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s—sort of like he was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. Assuming the princess needed his help when she didn’t.” James shrugged and wrinkled his nose. “You follow?”
“Yes,” Dora said seriously. “She’s so brave.”
“She is,” James agreed. He smiled and gave Dora a gentle pat on the knee. “And do you know what happened next?”
“Tell me!”
“The princess—” slayed is too violent, right? Right, “—banished the vampire from her kingdom! She stood in front of him, waved her sword, and told him he wasn’t ever to return, and he could never threaten the princess or her people again! And the vampire ran away and left her kingdom forever!”
Dora sat up and let out a cheer. “Hurrah! And then the princess rode her unicorn back to the castle and had all the sweets she wanted!”
“Of course she did! What’s the use of being a princess if you can’t have pudding whenever you please?”
Dora beamed and fell back into her pillows. “I wish I were a warrior princess. Then I’d be so brave, too.”
“Well, I think you’re already quite brave,” James said, tucking the covers up under her chin. “And I bet your mum and dad think you’re already a princess.”
“Maybe.” Dora snuggled down into her blanket. “Daddy calls me that sometimes. I wish I had a unicorn, though.”
“Ah, don’t we all.” James grinned. “But maybe, if you get some rest right now, your dad will let you have some sweets tomorrow, all right? That’s the best part of being a princess, anyway.”
“Mmkay,” she murmured. “Good night, James.”
“Good night, Dora.” He left the room quietly, turning off the lamp as he went.
Relieved as he was, James still put on a weary face as he walked the short corridor to the living room – Sirius and Remus deserved a bit of grief for calling him to Leicester for anything other than a party on a Saturday night. Internally, though, James felt a surge of pride. He really was rather good with children.
~~~
“Prongsie-Pieeeeee?” Sirius called, letting himself into the Potters’ house the following weekend. He’d moved out of the mansion at the start of the summer, now that he was of age, but he still more or less came and went as he pleased. James pretended to mind the intrusion, but he secretly always felt a rush of delight when Sirius walked through the front door yelling something nonsensical.
Although, “Prongsie-Pie” was a very high level of nonsense, even for Sirius.
“I’m in the kitchen,” James called back, shaking his head.
Sirius entered, smiling sweetly and carrying a bag from his favorite French bakery around the corner. James sipped from his glass of pumpkin juice, eyebrows raised warily at his friend. “Nothing good could possibly follow that horrendous nickname, Pads. What’ve you done, or what do you want me to do?”
“What? Who says I want you to do something?” Sirius put a hand to his chest and did his best to look offended. “What I want is to say good morning to my best mate. I want to offer him breakfast and see how he’s doing, what he’s been up to this last week.”
“You’d know what I’ve been up to if you weren’t still in your honeymoon phase with Remus,” James grumbled, hating that he sounded so jealous. But aside from their recent adventures in child-minding, he hadn’t seen Sirius all week. He snatched the pastry bag from Sirius’ hands and peeked inside.
“Honeymoon! Good one, Prongs.” Sirius shook his head and barked out a laugh. “I’ll have to start calling him that, it’ll drive him mad. But honestly, I’m here because I miss you.” He widened his grey eyes and gave James another sweet smile.
James narrowed his eyes in response. “And…?”
“So suspicious!”
James shrugged as he pulled a croissant out of the bag and took a large bite. “Call it intuition.”
“Fine, fine.” Sirius leaned back against the kitchen counter on his elbows and crossed his legs at the ankles. “I do miss you, you know. But I’m here with pastry because Andy and Ted have invited me to a Muggle Renaissance Faire this afternoon, and I’m hoping to entice you to come along.”
“A Muggle Renaissance Faire?”
“Yes, sounds ridiculous to me, too. But it might be fun, you know I love to see what Muggles get up to. And apparently Dora’s asked for you.”
“She has?”
“Well, she asked for Remus first, told Andy she likes him better than me. But Remus has got plans with his mum this afternoon, so Dora said that’s all right, she’ll take you, instead.” Sirius grinned smugly.
James rolled his eyes and gave Sirius a gentle shove. “I’m flattered.” He shook his head. “But all right, I’ll come along. Far be it from me to disappoint a young lady.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Prongsie,” Sirius countered. “I’m sure you’ve disappointed many a young lady.”
James shoved him harder this time. “Do you want my help or not?”
“Yes, please. Can you be ready in an hour?”
“Sure. Just let me shower and change.”
“Lovely. Are Mum and Monty around? I should say hello.”
“Mum’s upstairs, but I expect she’ll be down in a few. Dad’s already out in his garden.”
“Brilliant!” Sirius clapped his hands together. “I’ll visit with them while you get dressed.”
An hour later, James and Sirius waved good-bye to James’ parents, linked arms, and apparated to the Tonks’ house.
They’d barely knocked on the door before Dora threw it open and greeted them excitedly. “Hi, Sirius! Hi, James!”
“Hello, my dear,” Sirius said, squatting down to give her a hug. James did the same, and she practically flew into his arms and squeezed him tightly.
“I told Mummy the story of the warrior princess,” she said, beaming.
“Did you?” James said, grinning back at her. He ruffled her hair as he straightened up.
“Yes, several times now,” Andromeda said drily, coming to stand behind her daughter. “Thanks for coming today, Dora won’t stop talking about you.”
“You should be thanking me, Andy, I’m the one who bribed him with delicious French bakes,” Sirius said.
“He didn’t have to bribe me,” James said, rolling his eyes but still smiling. “I’d have come anyway, if only to keep an eye on him. He’s trouble, you know.” Sirius snorted, and Andromeda and Ted laughed. “Besides,” James continued, “I’ve never been to a Renaissance Faire. Should be fun.”
“Oh, you’ll love it,” Ted said excitedly. “It was one of my favorite things when I was a tyke, but I haven’t been since Dora was born.”
“Yes, Ted took me once right after we started dating,” Andromeda added. “And it really is fascinating. Muggles are so creative, you know?”
“I’m creative, aren’t I, Mummy?” Dora asked, tugging her mother’s skirt.
“You’re very creative, love,” Andromeda said, patting Dora’s head. “But remember, you mustn’t show the Muggles all the things you can do, all right? They don’t understand magic.”
Dora’s expression was almost too angelic. “Yes, Mummy.”
Andromeda shook her head knowingly and smiled, and Ted winked at his wife over their daughter’s head.
Ted drove them to the Faire – “Muggle events require Muggle transportation” – which, to James’ surprise, was thoroughly delightful and full of magic in its own way. Far from being bored, James and Sirius watched in awe as a Muggle wood-worker carved a rocking horse out of a log using only a small knife. Dora was fascinated by the man who blew hot glass into translucent orbs and other shapes, and Andromeda bought her a necklace of colorful glass beads from a vendor. After they’d wandered for an hour or so, Ted treated the group to an early lunch – bangers and mash for Ted and James, embarrassingly large roast turkey legs for Andy and Sirius, and a small meat pie for Dora.
Andromeda was wiping crumbs from Dora’s face when suddenly Dora gasped and leapt from her seat, eyes wide. Without waiting for her mother, she took off running towards of a group of people gathering around a nearby tent, preparing to watch a metal-working presentation.
“Nymphadora!” Andy yelled. “Get back here! You know you can’t run off alone.”
Dora stopped running but began hopping in place, the ends of her hair turning pale pink as she tried valiantly to contain her excitement. “But look!” she exclaimed, waving her little arms. She ran back over to James and Sirius and grabbed one of their hands in each of hers, tugging them in the direction of the crowd. “Look, look, look!”
“Oi!” Sirius said, ripping a chunk of turkey with his teeth as Dora pulled on his free arm with all of her four-year-old might. “Andy, a little help here?”
“Dora, remember to stay calm, love!” Andy called after them, but she didn’t follow. James glanced helplessly over his shoulder at her, and she just smirked.
James sighed and shook his head. “Right, what’re we looking at, then?” he asked, accepting his fate and allowing Dora to drag him towards the object of her attentions.
“Look!” she repeated. She dropped Sirius’ hand and pointed at a young woman with auburn hair who was leaning casually on a long sword, balanced point-down in the dirt, as she chatted with a smiling young man in a full suit of armor. “It’s the princess!”
The woman was facing almost entirely away from them, giving them a perfect view of the long braid holding her thick red hair, but for a few escaped strands which were plastered to her neck with sweat. She was wearing a simple brown dress covered by a soot-stained apron, and James could see a glimpse of leather, low-heeled boots under the hem of her skirt.
He had never seen her dressed like that, nor carrying a sword, for that matter, but James would recognize that hair, that neck, that posture, anywhere.
Sirius, it appeared, would not.
“Oh, that’s…erm, a sword-maker, maybe?” Sirius told Dora, nodding at the anvil a few meters from where the young woman was standing. “What do Muggles call them, blacksmiths? I think she’s something like that. I’m not sure Renaissance Faires have princesses.”
“No, the princess!” Dora cried, tugging James’ hand. “From the story!” She looked up at him, eyes wide with hope. “Right?”
“Erm…” James said, just as the young woman turned away from her companion, giving James and Sirius a view of her profile.
A look of recognition crossed Sirius’ face, and with it a sly grin. “Ohhhh,” he said, narrowing his eyes at James. “That’s the princess James told you a story about, eh?”
Dora bounced in place, still holding James’ hand. “Yes!”
“It was just a story, Dora,” James said quickly. “The princess isn’t real.”
“Isn’t she?” Sirius asked wickedly.
“Yes, she is! She’s right there. She has red hair and a sword and everything.”
Sirius looked delighted. “Oh ho, this princess carries a sword?”
“She’s a warrior princess,” Dora said proudly. “She fights monsters and slimy vampires.”
At that, James chuckled. Sirius raised an eyebrow. “Slimy vampires?”
“You know,” James said casually, because there was no point in pretending any longer. “Greasy-haired, blood-sucking, snakes in human form.”
“Ah, of course.” Sirius nodded wisely. “A warrior princess indeed.”
“See!?” Dora exclaimed. “I know it's her, why can't we talk to the princess? She’s so beautiful!”
“Erm, she’s probably very busy, Dora,” James said.
“But I love her!” Dora’s skin was turning pink and her eyes began to bug out of her face, while her cheeks expanded like a pufferfish – spikes and all.
“Bloody hell,” Sirius muttered, glancing around to see if anyone was looking at them.
“Dora!” James said hastily, dropping into a squat so he could look her in the eyes. “Remember, it’s very important to stay calm around Muggles, all right? We can go meet the princess, but only if you stay calm. Can you do that?”
Dora nodded vigorously, her cheeks still pink but deflating to their normal, spike-free state.
“Excellent,” James said, sighing. “Come on, then.”
He led Dora to where a group of people had gathered, Sirius walking next to him with a wide grin on his face. The crowd was standing around a large wooden structure housing a forge, an anvil, and various metal-working tools, and the man in the suit of armor was explaining that a smithy like this is where knights would get their weapons and armor. While he spoke to the assembled people, Lily loaded wood into forge, trying to stoke a fire.
James, Dora, and Sirius came to a stop next to the large, brick oven where Lily was working. James reached up and gave his hair a fortifying rub before he spoke. “All right, Evans?”
She looked up from her work with a surprised blink, and James gave her an awkward wave.
“Oh! Hi,” Lily said, her forehead wrinkled with confusion. She wiped her hands on her sooty apron. “What're you doing here?”
“You know the princess?” Dora asked James in an awed whisper. Sirius stifled a laugh.
James tugged his hair again. “We came with Sirius’ cousins. Her dad is Muggle-born, he likes this sort of thing,” he said, gesturing Dora. “What are you doing here?”
“I work here every summer. I live in the next town over.” She raised her eyebrows. “Princess?”
Dora’s hair turned bright red. “Your castle is near here!?”
“Dora, remember to stay calm.” James cautioned. He turned to Lily sheepishly. “I may have told her a story about a princess—”
“A ginger princess,” Sirius added, helpfully. James shot him an I-hate-you look. It went unnoticed.
“A warrior princess!” Dora exclaimed. “She wears dresses but also a sword and a cloak to disguise her!”
There was an amused twinkle in Lily’s eyes. “Is that so?”
“And she’s little but she's so brave!” Dora mimed slashing with an imaginary sword, swinging her arms so hard she stumbled. “Even when the bad vampire wants to lock her away!”
Lily smirked. “She sounds impressive.” She put on a more solemn expression and inclined her head regally in Dora’s direction. “And who might you be, fair maiden?”
“I'm Dora,” Dora said, righting herself quickly. “Is this your enchanted sword?”
“Oh!” Lily bent down and lowered her voice. “It is, but don't tell.” She winked.
And that was simply too much for an excitable four-year-old to handle. Dora clapped her hands with delight and then let out a shriek that sounded suspiciously like a whistling teapot.
Sirius flinched. “Bollocks. Dora,” he warned, “remember, when Muggles are around we have to do our best to blend in, yeah?”
“I KNOW BUT THE PRINCESS IS RIGHT HERE!” Dora cried. “I DON’T MEAN TO CAUSE TROUBLE BUT THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!”
Lily laughed brightly. “It’s a wonderful day for me, too, to meet such an ardent supporter. A princess can always use more friends.”
“EEEEEEE!” Dora shrieked, and her hair turned bubblegum pink and stood straight on end.
“All right, that’s it,” Sirius said, scooping her up. “Back to your parents with you.”
“Nooooo, I’ll be good, I promise!” Dora wailed, but her hair did not revert to brown. Sirius tried to flatten it with one hand while he held Dora on his hip, carrying her in the direction of Ted and Andy.
James glanced around as Sirius strode away and was glad to see that no one seemed to be paying much attention to the little girl whose hair looked like a pink cone of fairy floss.
He sighed with relief and turned back to Lily with small shrug.
“Thanks,” he said, smiling awkwardly. “You probably made her entire week.”
“Oh, it was no problem. She’s adorable,” Lily said, smiling back. Then she raised her eyebrows. “But…you told your cousin a story about me?”
“Well, she’s Sirius cousin, actually,” James said, as though that answered Lily’s question.
“Right.” Lily nodded, then waited a moment before prompting, “And was it his story, too?”
“No, that part was me.” James sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Wasn’t about you, exactly, just a warrior princess with red hair and a sword—” he nodded at her costume, “—and then, here you are.”
“Ah. I’m not really supposed to have the sword, they don’t let women be knights here,” Lily said, rolling her eyes. “But I convinced them to let me be a blacksmith—women blacksmiths existed back then, you know, you could inherit a forge from your father or a dead husband, sometimes. I also could’ve been an apothecary, plenty of women did that, of course, but that’s so much like potions it barely feels like playing a part.” She pressed her lips together suddenly, face going red as she shook her head. “Anyroad, even if I can’t be a knight, at least as a smith I get to hold the weapons when I’m demonstrating how they get made. It’s better than nothing.”
“Well, you look perfectly natural with the sword,” James said, and he couldn’t help grinning at the mini-lecture on professional women of the Renaissance. “So natural, in fact, I suspect you’re actually a knight in disguise as a blacksmith. Or maybe you really are the warrior princess from the story.”
“Ha! Maybe so,” Lily agreed, her eyes lighting up with her smile. “So, the princess has a cloak and a sword—”
“And a unicorn,” James supplied, because he’d do anything for that smile, even if it meant revealing his childish imagination.
“And a unicorn! Brilliant!” Lily laughed and clapped her hands. Then she cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows, her expression turning mischievous. “And is there a prince in this story?
“No, no prince,” James said, ruffling his hair again. “There is a knight, though, a male knight…”
“With black hair and specs, maybe?” Lily asked, still smirking. “And he helps save the princess from the monster?”
“Well, he tries, certainly.” James chuckled and shook his head. “But no, er, it turns out she doesn’t need him. She gets rid of the monster without his help.”
Lily’s teasing look slipped away, and her cheeks went pink. “Oh,” she said softly, and the smile she gave him now was full of sweetness.
“Yeah.” James shrugged, a half-smile on his lips, as well. “She’s sort of brilliant.”
Lily’s blush deepened. “It sounds like a nice story, I see why Dora loved it.”
“Well, thank you,” James said, with another sheepish shrug. “She needed a spot of bravery, you know, and I guess I was feeling…inspired.”
“Right.” Lily licked her lips, then glanced over to where the armored knight was finishing up his spiel for the gathered crowd. “Well, I’ve got to get back to work, I think. But it was good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too, Evans.” James waved and began walking over to where Sirius and the Tonkses were waiting.
Lily’s voice called him back.
“Wait, how does the story end?”
James stopped walking and turned around. “Sorry?”
“With the princess.” Lily was walking towards him now. “After she saves herself from the…”
“Vampire.”
“Vampire, of course,” Lily said. She looked up, her bright green eyes searching his. “What happens next?”
“Erm…nothing, really.” It was hard to think while she was staring at him like that. James shrugged. “She rides back to her castle for some pudding.”
“Does the knight with the black hair come, too?”
“To the castle? For pudding?”
Lily nodded, and her lips were twisting with that mischievous smile again. “Yeah.”
“Erm, no, well—I don’t know, I’m not sure he was invited?” James’ voice came out much higher-pitched than he intended it to.
“Ah.” Lily bit her lip. “Potter?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve got to do an exhibition now, but then I take my lunch break at half-noon. A bunch of the players eat in that tent over there.” She gestured to an area to the left of the makeshift smithy.
“All right,” James said, nodding, unsure what to do with the proffered information.
Lily looked up at him and shrugged a bit nervously. “Well…consider this an invitation. From the princess.”
James blinked. “An invitation?”
“To join me after lunch. For pudding?”
“For me—oh!” James’ cheeks flushed. But he folded an arm in front of his waist and bowed slightly, a grin on his face when he raised his eyes to meet Lily’s. “That tent, half-noon, for pudding. Yes. As Her Highness commands.”
Lily swatted his shoulder lightly, but she was beaming as she turned back to her forge. “Her Highness,” she murmured, throwing him a smirk over her shoulder. “I could get used to that, I think.”