Harmony at Home

A Bedtime Story

Little Sophie Potter was sick.

She had Owl Flu, which gave her a very runny nose, a tickly chest and a throaty cough. Her best friend, Alison Longbottom, had been given an owl for her tenth birthday by her Mummy and Daddy, and the silly, screechy thing had brought Sophie her flu, along with a letter inviting her to Alison's birthday party.

But she was now too unwell to go, and was very cross about the whole thing.

So the whole family had decided to get together to try and cheer Sophie up. Hermione Potter spent her time lighting one of her trademark waterproof, bluebell flame fires in the hearth of Sophie's bedroom, where she was all cwtched up under her fluffy quilts with her stuffed unicorn for sympathetic support. Mimi the kneazle was there too, curled up on Sophie's chest, though she did get frightened every time Sophie sneezed, and the eldest Potter child had to hold the kitten in place to stop her scampering for safety.

Harry and little Celesca, meanwhile, were on Hot Drinks duty. Harry was making a honey and lemon drink to soothe Sophie's itchy throat, adding a secret potion ingredient that would speed up the healing process. Celesca, standing on a little stool next to Harry at the kitchen worktop, was busily stirring sugar into her Mummy's tea. She would add sugar to her Daddy's coffee next, but she was always confused by the strange mix he liked.

"Daddy?" Celesca frowned as she scratched her chin.

"Yes, honey?"

"I cant remember - is it two white sugars and one brown that you like, or is it the other way around?"

"No, you have it right," Harry replied with a smile. His daughter was so cute when she pulled on her golden locks in her confused, mild anxiety. How she ever turned out blonde Harry had never discovered, but he was eminently thankful for it. She was just perfect for it, wherever that particular gene had come from.

"Oh. Okay," Celesca chirped happily. She dropped two white sugar lumps and one brown one into Harry's cup, which was Gryffindor scarlet had a big, golden lightening bolt on it to match his old scar, and began to stir.

"Daddy, why do you have two different sugars in your coffee?" Celesca asked curiously.

"Well, your Mummy would say it's because I need to stay sweet for her," Harry quirked. "But I just like the taste, really."

"Isn't it very bad for your teeth, though?"

"It is," Harry agreed piously. "Which I why I don't drink coffee when your Gran and Granddad Granger come to visit!"

Celesca nodded as she understood that. Once she'd finished stirring the sugar she jumped down from the stool and gave her Daddy a big tray he'd made ready on the kitchen table. It already had Celesca's favourite hot drink on it - warm milk with a dash of something called nutmeg, that made her very sleepy - and a saucer of chocolate biscuits. Harry placed the other drinks on it and they went to join Hermione, Sophie and Mimi upstairs.

Once there, Harry handed out the drinks and sat on the head of Sophie's bed. She curled up into his chest and he helped her drink the hot honey and lemon mixture, while Celesca folded herself into Hermione's lap at the other end of the bed.

The fire crackled happily in the background as Sophie looked up at her father. "Daddy - can you tell me a story?"

"Ooh, yes!" Celesca cried happily, bounding up. "I'll just go and fetch my Seven Storey Book of Stories!"

"No! I don't want a storybook story," Sophie frowned. "I want a Mummy and Daddy story instead. They are always better than the ones in the fairy tale books anyway."