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''Where is my mum?'' Harry asked, but he gladly got into James' car.
''She had to attend a meeting,'' he said. ''Hello, how was school?''
''Normal,'' Harry shrugged, tossing his backpack into the backseat and strapping in, but always watching James with curious eyes. He had already noticed that the boy looked a little suspicious whenever he was around Lily, but James didn't get angry or upset, it had been Harry and Lily for years now, if he had been in his shoes he knew that would feel the same. ''She said if I can go to the party tomorrow?''
''I've tried to convince her, but unfortunately I don't think she's agreeing to this,'' The boy's shoulders slumped, quickly turning to look out the window instead of James. ''But she was full of things to do today, so maybe later she'll change her mind,''
''She's been very busy the last few days,'' Harry said, looking hurt.
''PhD isn't easy at all, but trust me when I tell you she's doing this mostly for you. It's hard now, but it will be worth it,''
''I know, she told me that,'' He shrugged. ''It's just that she doesn't have much time for me anymore... I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, I'm happy for her but...''
''But you miss your mum,'' James said when Harry fell silent. ''It's understandable. And she misses you too, if you want to know. Like today, she was mad that she couldn't pick you up, but Slug wanted to have a meeting with her and Lily chose to go now so she could get home early,'' Harry looked at him. ''Your mum is very smart, she knows it hurts you not to have her for dinner, and stuff, but it's hard now to be easier later, you know? We always have to sacrifice something to achieve our goals, and having that free time is what Lily sacrificed. But when it's over and she can give up a few hours of classes, it will all be worth it.”
''Do you like her?'' Harry asked, arms crossed over his chest and head turned to James.
''What?!''
''Do you like her?? The way you talk about my mother… it's too friendly for someone who only works with her and agrees to drive for her son,'' His brows drew together. ''Do you like her?''
''Harry, you already said, is friendly. We're friends, I've got nothing to do but teach, it's nice to change the routine a bit, and if I can do that by helping her, then ok,'' James used the excuse of driving to completely ignore the eyes of the boy, feeling like a little boy playing truth or dare.
''No, my mum has other friends,'' James did a good job of avoiding the grimace he wanted to make. ''And none of them seem as willing as you are. And come on man, you already come over to our house on a weekday night with a pizza because my mum said she was too tired to cook… Is that what old friends do?”’
''We're not old,'' James said, hating himself for looking so affected by a 16-year-old boy. ''We have thirty-seven,''
“Very close to forty,” Harry said, shrugging. ''My mum says she's old,''
''Lily isn't old, she’s fine!'' It was the wrong thing to say, he knew as soon as he felt Harry's green eyes - so much like Lily's - widen.
''You like her!'' he accused him, uncrossing his arms and gesticulating like a madman. ''I don’t believe it! Will you be my stepfather? You're not going to live with us, are you? I mean, that would be cool, you're good at football and maybe you could give me some lessons, but James, man, I don't want you messing up our Saturday routine because you're taking her out to dinner… Are you going to kiss her? Eww.” James, as a thirty-seven-year-old adult, tried very hard not to blush, but couldn't help but chuckle nervously, stopping at the traffic lights and looking at Harry, who looked very alarmed at the whole idea.
''Harry, no, I'm not moving in with you guys or anything, but I can still give you some football lessons. Me and your mum are friends, that's all, and I'm a good friend who knows she needs help now and then with her teenage son who sometimes talks too much and is too smart for his own good," he said, looking at Harry, who was still looking at him as if James was the mad there.
‘’You like her… I can’t believe this… have you told her yet? Man, it's a horrible experience,'' Harry looked back straight ahead as James sped up, shifting in the seat. ''I said that to a girl last year, and it was traumatic as fuck,''
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," James warned, knowing Lily's rule about good language. ''Why was it traumatic?''
''Don't try to change the subject. My mum says you do this whenever you feel pressured. By the way, she talks about you a lot, if you want to know…” Now, James blushed. ''You should tell her, my mum is a lot nicer than Cho, believe me... And as long as you don't kiss her in front of me and don't ruin our Saturday routine, I'm glad you guys stay together... Maybe you'll convince her to let me go to the party tomorrow, and I don't say anything about this talk?'' James parked in front of Lily's house, looking at Harry who had the most mischievous smile he could imagine a 16 year old boy having.
And all he could do was laugh, running a hand through his hair, trying to understand how he'd let a boy blackmail him like that. ''Alright,'' James assumed defeat. ''I will talk to her about you.''
Harry's smile widened. ''Great doing business with you, James. I hope things work out for you,'' He grabbed his backpack from the backseat, opening the door and getting out of the car. ''She likes Honeyduke's chocolates, the coffee caramel and the cherry liqueur ones…just in case it comes in handy at some point,'' He winked, closing the door and opening the gate to his house, walking away without looking back.
James patiently waited for that mini version of Lily Evans to get inside the house safely before leaving, and he almost felt ashamed when instead of continuing down the avenue, he turned left to the Honeydukes.