'Smile!'

'Smile!'

For the Day 1 prompt! @jilytoberfest

‘I still don’t get why you bother with that chunky muggle thing, we can’t even move in those photographs!’

‘You know,’ Lily’s sweet tone was betrayed by the roll of her eyes. ‘It’s nostalgic, and I can’t really expect Mum and Dad to frame wizard photos.’

‘Why not? We keep that horrible vase your sister’s given us, they can keep something of ours.’

‘You know,’ she starts again, ‘Muggles don’t usually keep moving pictures around, now I wouldn’t be opposed to that, but that would mean she’d have to hide it… and I don’t think Mum would want to hide any of us.’

James straightens his back. ‘Yeah, you’re right, we make too good of a family to keep it to ourselves. The Muggles deserve to see the handsomest of them all.’

That makes Lily giggle and peck her husband on the cheek. She reaches for the polaroid camera that lay discarded on the coffee table, James never figured out how to work it.

‘Smile!’ She exclaims, and right before the camera clicks, James starts tickling the small baby sitting on his lap. Lily rejoices, sure she must have caught the moment.

‘Mum and Dad are going to love this.’

James stands up, Harry’s head resting on his chest as he recovers from the attack. ‘I bet, they’re going to make a right fuss as soon as they see how much this little guy’s teeth have grown. Is that right, Haz? Is grandma going to send another letter complaining about how we never bring you over so she can smother you in peace?’ He speaks in an exaggerated silly voice that makes Harry laugh and reach for James’ face.

‘Oh, please, at least they don’t yell! If I get another howler over breakfast from Euphemia telling me we need to visit soon and bring Harry because they have more gifts for him…’

‘Hey, leave her be! You know she gets lonely, alone with Dad in that big house, her two kids away –‘

‘Talking about her kids,’ interrupts Lily, waving the polaroid near her face. ‘Is Padfoot dropping by soon?’

Harry seems to perk at the mention of his Godfather. ‘Pa’foo?’ He asks, big green eyes travelling from his mother back to his father.

‘Yeah, yeah, your beloved will be here soon,’ says James, talking to Harry rather than Lily. ‘I still can’t believe that was his first word.’ He mutters that to himself.

Mere moments later, the telltale roar of Sirius’ motorbike can be heard from outside their home, and the familiar sound makes Harry clap and laugh in anticipation.

‘Talk of the devil…’ utters James, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

Lily’s eyes roll back as she watches her husband excitedly go for the door. She follows them and crosses her arms, leaning against the wall with what she’s sure is a sickeningly sweet look; watching her son smile big and squish Sirius’ cheeks in his tiny hands whenever his Godfather picks him up does that to her.

‘Heard from a little birdie that little Bambi was missing his Pa’foo?’ Sirius coos while kissing one of Harry’s hands, and Lily was sure that if she tried telling any of their old classmates the Tall, Dark and Handsome Sirius Black actually spends at least three days of the week making a baby voice for her son, they’d say she was mental. Oh, yeah, they’d require proof to believe that.

Struck by an idea, she makes her way back to the coffee table and picks up the discarded muggle camera before quickly walking back and snapping a picture of the scene. Sirius, noticing the click, finally stops fussing over Harry and turns to Lily.

‘I hope that’s not your muggle rubbish, Evans,’ he jokes and Lily laughs freely because she knows he doesn’t mean any of it. ‘I want proper pictures of this baby here, need this charming smile in my wallet to balance the dad’s ugly face.’

‘I’m afraid you’ll have to make do,’ she retorts and shakes the fresh picture as James makes an indignant noise. ‘And it’s ‘Potter’ now, you of all people should know, best man.’

‘Yeah, yeah, sure, let me see that.’ Sirius dismisses the conversation when he notices the picture developing.

Soon, all three of them are looking fondly at the blurry photograph in Lily’s hand and Sirius takes it before turning his attention back to Harry, who had started crying out for him.

‘You know…’ whispers James, ‘We are going to use wizard film for my parents. No this isn’t up for debate! Mum will skin me alive if I send her still, blurry pictures of her grandson – hey, stop laughing!'