Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

Summer Lovin' (James Potter)

I have a confession to make ... this one shot was written over 2 years ago. In fact, I'd written it before the last one shot and after writing this one, I ended up hitting the worst writing slump I've ever experienced. I stopped writing for well over 2 years, but I somehow managed to write Harry's most recent one shot and I'm coming out onto the other side of my writing slump. 

What I'm trying to say is - thank you. The response of you wonderful fawns has brought back my love of writing, so thank you all ~

This one shot was requested by niki_0809 . Again, sorry for the ridiculously long wait, but I hope you like it!

As always, please leave plenty of comments. I'm currently living off of the validation ... 

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Every so often, but not so often that I lamented at how bad a daughter I was, I caught myself having ungrateful thoughts. Some part of me could accept that part of my sadness and disappointment was justified; my parents were leaving me in the care of their friends for the duration of my summer holiday.

They were going to miss the entire summer before my sixth year and there was absolutely no way for me to contact them. But, the far greater part of me, that part that was overwhelmed with pride over the parents I had, knew they were leaving me because they had no other choice. My parents weren't running off and abandoning their responsibilities. Rather they were fulfilling those responsibilities.

They had been recruited and pulled from their long retirement to join the fight against the Dark Lord who appeared to be going from strength to strength. My parents had a reason - an extremely justified reason for leaving me in the care of the Potter family. I had no reason to be upset at them.

A hand settled on top of mine, startling me from my thoughts. Realising I hadn't said a word from the moment we'd entered the Potter family parlour, I glanced at my parents who sat on either side of me. They were busy, talking and laughing with Mr and Mrs Potter as if they weren't about to embark on perhaps the most perilous mission they'd ever been asked to go on in the entirety of their illustrious careers. They had been out of the force for years now, having retired when I was a child, and yet after receiving their first summons, they were throwing themselves back onto the front line. Never mind that they hadn't kept up with any of their training regimes whilst retired, or that they were now older than their colleagues, they were ready to complete their duty. I couldn't help but think I was worrying in their stead.

Mrs Potter, likely wanting to coax me out of my silence, addressed me with kind eyes. It was those kind eyes that Potter had inherited. "I for one will be glad to have another woman around the house. With my husband and my boys running around all day, the house is a bit too male at times."

Appreciating the effort she was putting in and managing a small smile, I said a faint, "I'll bet."

Before Mrs Potter could say anything more, she was cut off by something crashing, sounding like it had been thrown down the stairs. The noise, followed by raucous chatter, had every adult laughing and shaking their heads. Mrs Potter shrugged as if to say 'see what I mean'. Salazar's soul, I'd expected this much noise at least considering that both Potter and the eldest Black lived in this home.

"Boys," Mr Potter called out, turning briefly from his conversation with my father. The older wizard carried himself in the same mischievous manner that seemed innate for his son and turned his eyes to the open parlour doors where both suspects stood. Black shared a look with Potter, cradling an empty cauldron against his chest. "Come and greet the Redds."

The two Gryffindors, likely smug that they were not chastised, entered the room and took turns greeting my parents before silently greeting me with a nodded head. I returned it, not having expected anything more. Did our parents really expect us to become chummy over this holiday when I'd never once spoken to them before? My eyes lingered on the pair for a moment longer, catching the second when Black, with his usual arrogant smirk, nudged Potter who kept looking at me. Shifting my eyes to the taller of the pair, I held his gaze and arched a curious eyebrow. He hurried to look away.