September 0.2: Fic: Bedtime Stories
Title: Bedtime Stories
Summary: The stories parents tell their children about the Prisoner of Azkaban
Characters/Pairings: Molly Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Harry Potter, James S. Potter
Genre: Angst
Beta: no
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Medium: fic
Word Count: 1238
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: no
November 1981
"Mum, I would like to hear the story of the Prisoner of Azkaban again?" Charlie Weasley said to his mother, Molly, as she tucked him in for the night.
Molly sighed and shook her head, "Let me tell you another story, Charlie Dear. That story isn't right for bedtime, no it isn't." She regretted having children with big ears and that Arthur didn't think to wait to tell her when all their babies were asleep instead announcing the capture of the hideous Sirius Black at the dinner table. He didn't stop there as their elder boys begged that he tell the story in all its gruesome glory after the younger ones had gone to bed.
Charlie just shook his head, "No. I want the story of the Prisoner of Azkaban!" His little face reddened as he turned pleading eyes on his mother.
Molly knew that she wouldn't get him to sleep otherwise-- her second eldest was as stubborn as they came.
"Alright." She finally said, "but then I want you to go to sleep straight away and no wandering downstairs to bother your father or me."
Her son beamed and nodded solemnly.
She tried to quickly think about how to soften the harsh realities of the story so that it wouldn't give him nightmares. A minute later she started her story,"There once was a lovely little family, the Potters. They were James, Lily, and Harry Potter. They were all very happy until they found out that You Know Who was after them. James asked Sirius Black who was his very best friend to protect his family by being the Secret Keeper and..."
"What is a Secret Keeper?" Charlie asked through a yawn.
"It is a person who is given a great secret to keep, my dear boy." Molly softly said not really wanting to go into further details. Her son was still small after all even though he was two years away from going to Hogwarts.
"Go on, Mummy!" Charlie said as he rubbed at his eyes, "What happened next?"
"Well, Sirius Black wasn't the friend that the Potters thought that he was. He betrayed them to You Know Who and caused their deaths. When the Potters' very dear and darling friend, Peter, found Sirius hiding in a muggle town not far from where the Potters' lived, he wanted to bring Sirius to justice but Sirius hurt him very badly. And that is the reason why he is in Azkaban at the moment because he hurt his friends."
As she finished her story, Molly saw to her relief that her little son was sound asleep. She smiled and kissed him gently on the forehead before leaving his bedroom. Outside in the hallway, she stopped and reflected on the reality of the story that she had just told her son. She still couldn't believe that young Sirius Black had betrayed and killed his friends like he had done. After all these years of disowning his own family, she supposed that he did have the ambition and cunning of the Blacks after all. But she felt so bad for the Potters how could they not have known this about Sirius?
Christmas 2016
"Daddy?"
Harry looked up from his desk where he had been catching up on some paperwork he had brought home from work to see his eldest son, James, standing in the doorway of his home office.
"What is it Jamie?" He asked as he got up and walked around his desk and crouch down to his son's level. James was wearing his pajamas and as far as Harry knew had been tucked into bed by Ginny a hour beforehand. No doubt, Jamie didn't want to go to sleep. It was up to Harry as his father to see that he did. The joys of fatherhood.
"I...I wanted to ask you something." James replied staring down at the plush carpet. That was unusual for his bold boy, Harry thought.
"You know that you can tell me anything you want." He smiled at his son who looked like he had been judged and condemned all at the same time.
"Was the Prisoner of Azkaban really your godfather? The one whom I'm named after?" James finally whispered as if he didn't want to know the answer.
Harry's heart jumped into his throat. He and Ginny had always tried to be honest with their children but there were things that they felt had to wait until they were much older. Sirius being the Prisoner of Azkaban was one of these things.
"Who told you that James?" He asked, dreading the answer.
"A few of the older boys in Gryffindor. They were teasing me saying that I would be just like him because I have his name."
Harry sighed. Boys, in particular, teenage ones could be so cruel. "Ignore them, James. They're just jealous of you. But I think that it is time for me to tell you about the Prisoner of Azkaban. You are old enough to know now. Come let's get you back into bed."
A few minutes later, James was tucked into his bed and Harry started his story.
"When I was a baby, my parents trusted their close friends immensely. One of them was Sirius Black and your grandfather chose him to be the Secret Keeper. A Secret Keeper is someone who keeps the location of a person or a place secret and no one but the Secret Keeper can reveal the secret. Unfortunately, Sirius suggested another friend, Peter, to take his place. Your grandparents agreed and that turned out to be a bad idea."
"Why?" James asked as he snuggled deeper into his warm blankets.
"Because Peter gave their location up to an evil man."
"He hurt them, Daddy?"
"Yes, he did unfortunately. I...I can't tell you more details than that now-- you're much too younger still but I promise that when you're older I'll tell you everything, I promise."
Somehow, James knew that it wasn't up for discussion so he didn't insist on being told, but he still didn't understand how that made his namesake the Prisoner of Azkaban.
He must have uttered his thought out loud because his dad smiled a sad wistful smile before saying, "Everyone knew how close Sirius was to your grandfather and how he was the logical choice which is why they thought that Peter would be the better choice. After everything, people believed that it was Sirius who betrayed his friends including the bad Peter. They caught him and put him in Azkaban but he escaped twelve years later to seek revenge and justice for his friends."
"He did?" James was in awe. His namesake sounded like such a hero.
His father voiced James' thought out loud, "Yes, he was a hero. Never forget that son. You are named after two great heroes who gave their lives for mine. They were great men and you should be proud to have their names as your own."
He got up and bent to give his son one last goodnight kiss.
Outside James' door, Harry whispered, "You two would have had such fun with him-- he is more of a Marauder than I ever was."
Danipuff/41 Points earned
Summary: The stories parents tell their children about the Prisoner of Azkaban
Characters/Pairings: Molly Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Harry Potter, James S. Potter
Genre: Angst
Beta: no
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Medium: fic
Word Count: 1238
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: no
November 1981
"Mum, I would like to hear the story of the Prisoner of Azkaban again?" Charlie Weasley said to his mother, Molly, as she tucked him in for the night.
Molly sighed and shook her head, "Let me tell you another story, Charlie Dear. That story isn't right for bedtime, no it isn't." She regretted having children with big ears and that Arthur didn't think to wait to tell her when all their babies were asleep instead announcing the capture of the hideous Sirius Black at the dinner table. He didn't stop there as their elder boys begged that he tell the story in all its gruesome glory after the younger ones had gone to bed.
Charlie just shook his head, "No. I want the story of the Prisoner of Azkaban!" His little face reddened as he turned pleading eyes on his mother.
Molly knew that she wouldn't get him to sleep otherwise-- her second eldest was as stubborn as they came.
"Alright." She finally said, "but then I want you to go to sleep straight away and no wandering downstairs to bother your father or me."
Her son beamed and nodded solemnly.
She tried to quickly think about how to soften the harsh realities of the story so that it wouldn't give him nightmares. A minute later she started her story,"There once was a lovely little family, the Potters. They were James, Lily, and Harry Potter. They were all very happy until they found out that You Know Who was after them. James asked Sirius Black who was his very best friend to protect his family by being the Secret Keeper and..."
"What is a Secret Keeper?" Charlie asked through a yawn.
"It is a person who is given a great secret to keep, my dear boy." Molly softly said not really wanting to go into further details. Her son was still small after all even though he was two years away from going to Hogwarts.
"Go on, Mummy!" Charlie said as he rubbed at his eyes, "What happened next?"
"Well, Sirius Black wasn't the friend that the Potters thought that he was. He betrayed them to You Know Who and caused their deaths. When the Potters' very dear and darling friend, Peter, found Sirius hiding in a muggle town not far from where the Potters' lived, he wanted to bring Sirius to justice but Sirius hurt him very badly. And that is the reason why he is in Azkaban at the moment because he hurt his friends."
As she finished her story, Molly saw to her relief that her little son was sound asleep. She smiled and kissed him gently on the forehead before leaving his bedroom. Outside in the hallway, she stopped and reflected on the reality of the story that she had just told her son. She still couldn't believe that young Sirius Black had betrayed and killed his friends like he had done. After all these years of disowning his own family, she supposed that he did have the ambition and cunning of the Blacks after all. But she felt so bad for the Potters how could they not have known this about Sirius?
Christmas 2016
"Daddy?"
Harry looked up from his desk where he had been catching up on some paperwork he had brought home from work to see his eldest son, James, standing in the doorway of his home office.
"What is it Jamie?" He asked as he got up and walked around his desk and crouch down to his son's level. James was wearing his pajamas and as far as Harry knew had been tucked into bed by Ginny a hour beforehand. No doubt, Jamie didn't want to go to sleep. It was up to Harry as his father to see that he did. The joys of fatherhood.
"I...I wanted to ask you something." James replied staring down at the plush carpet. That was unusual for his bold boy, Harry thought.
"You know that you can tell me anything you want." He smiled at his son who looked like he had been judged and condemned all at the same time.
"Was the Prisoner of Azkaban really your godfather? The one whom I'm named after?" James finally whispered as if he didn't want to know the answer.
Harry's heart jumped into his throat. He and Ginny had always tried to be honest with their children but there were things that they felt had to wait until they were much older. Sirius being the Prisoner of Azkaban was one of these things.
"Who told you that James?" He asked, dreading the answer.
"A few of the older boys in Gryffindor. They were teasing me saying that I would be just like him because I have his name."
Harry sighed. Boys, in particular, teenage ones could be so cruel. "Ignore them, James. They're just jealous of you. But I think that it is time for me to tell you about the Prisoner of Azkaban. You are old enough to know now. Come let's get you back into bed."
A few minutes later, James was tucked into his bed and Harry started his story.
"When I was a baby, my parents trusted their close friends immensely. One of them was Sirius Black and your grandfather chose him to be the Secret Keeper. A Secret Keeper is someone who keeps the location of a person or a place secret and no one but the Secret Keeper can reveal the secret. Unfortunately, Sirius suggested another friend, Peter, to take his place. Your grandparents agreed and that turned out to be a bad idea."
"Why?" James asked as he snuggled deeper into his warm blankets.
"Because Peter gave their location up to an evil man."
"He hurt them, Daddy?"
"Yes, he did unfortunately. I...I can't tell you more details than that now-- you're much too younger still but I promise that when you're older I'll tell you everything, I promise."
Somehow, James knew that it wasn't up for discussion so he didn't insist on being told, but he still didn't understand how that made his namesake the Prisoner of Azkaban.
He must have uttered his thought out loud because his dad smiled a sad wistful smile before saying, "Everyone knew how close Sirius was to your grandfather and how he was the logical choice which is why they thought that Peter would be the better choice. After everything, people believed that it was Sirius who betrayed his friends including the bad Peter. They caught him and put him in Azkaban but he escaped twelve years later to seek revenge and justice for his friends."
"He did?" James was in awe. His namesake sounded like such a hero.
His father voiced James' thought out loud, "Yes, he was a hero. Never forget that son. You are named after two great heroes who gave their lives for mine. They were great men and you should be proud to have their names as your own."
He got up and bent to give his son one last goodnight kiss.
Outside James' door, Harry whispered, "You two would have had such fun with him-- he is more of a Marauder than I ever was."
Danipuff/41 Points earned