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Lily Potter was sat in an armchair with Baby-Harry nestled comfortably in her arms. Even now, weeks after Voldemort's defeat, she found herself watching him constantly, as if looking away for a moment might somehow allow the universe to steal him from her.

Baby-Harry, meanwhile, appeared completely unconcerned with such possibilities. He was occupied with the much more important task of trying to grab a lock of his mother's red hair.

James Potter stood nearby with his arms folded, observing the scene with the patience of a man who had spent the better part of an hour repeating the same argument.

"You know," he began casually, "most people would consider a few hours at a spa a reward."

Lily didn't even look up from Harry. "Most people aren't Harry's mother."

"Listen to me. You've spent practically every waking moment with him." James tried to argue.

"He's my baby."

"He's our baby and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him."

Lily's expression suggested that she found this claim highly questionable.

James placed a hand over his heart as though deeply wounded. "That look is incredibly offensive."

Baby-Harry chose that moment to glance at his father and raise one eyebrow in a manner that was disturbingly judgmental for someone who couldn't yet walk.

James sighed. "Not you too. Apparently everyone in this house has trust issues."

Lily's lips twitched with amusement despite herself.

James immediately seized the opportunity. "Look, I already arranged everything. A full afternoon at the spa for you. Completely paid for."

Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Will Marlene and Alice be there too?"

"Yes, a full afternoon of girls talk."

For the first time, Lily hesitated.

James noticed immediately. "See? That got your attention."

She shifted Harry slightly in her arms. "I don't need a spa day, why are you pushing so hard?"

"Because you've been taking care of everyone except yourself. Just a few hours. That's all. I'll stay here with Harry. We'll play, have fun, and when you come back, both of us will be perfectly fine."

Harry looked between them.

James pointed at him. "Back me up here."

Harry responded by grabbing his father's finger. "I'll take that as support."

Lily laughed quietly. "Fine. A few hours. But at the slightest problem, you send me a patronus, okay?"

James threw both hands into the air in triumph. "Victory!"

"Don't make me change my mind."

"I would never." The grin on his face suggested otherwise.

Lily stood, carrying Harry with her. She kissed the top of his head and held him close for a moment.

"Behave yourself while I'm gone."

Harry responded with a happy babble.

She turned toward James. "And that applies to you too."

James looked offended. "I am a responsible adult."

Lily raised an eyebrow, and Harry too.

James dramatically lay down on the sofa. "You two can be very cruel, you know? I have feelings."

Once Lily had left, James decided that the afternoon would be dedicated to proving her concerns completely unfounded.

For the first hour, everything went wonderfully.

Harry's magical toys filled the sitting room with floating lights and tiny enchanted creatures. A stuffed dragon swooped through the air while Harry laughed so hard that he nearly toppled over.

James spent much of the afternoon making increasingly ridiculous noises and faces, all of which Baby-Harry considered the peak of comedy.

At one point James lifted him into the air and flew him around the room.

"Behold!" he announced dramatically. "Harry Potter, conqueror of the skies!"

Harry squealed with delight.

James banked sharply around a lamp.

"Oh no! A rogue dragon approaches!" The stuffed dragon obediently swooped past, Harry laughed so hard he hiccupped.

Clearly, James decided, he was excelling at this parenting business and so the time passed pleasantly. Eventually Harry began rubbing his eyes.

James recognized the signs. "Someone's getting tired. Good timing. It's nearly feeding time anyway."

James carried him upstairs and gently placed him in the crib.

"I'll be right back," James said as he adjusted the blanket. "Just stay there while I get your bottle."

The baby blinked.

James chuckled. "Actually, don't answer that. You're not exactly known for following instructions."

With that, he headed downstairs toward the kitchen. Preparing the bottle took only a few minutes. Humming cheerfully to himself, James climbed the stairs and pushed open the nursery door.

"All right, Harry, your lunch is—"

The rest of the sentence died in his throat, the crib was empty.

James stopped moving and a nervous laugh escaped. "Very funny Harry."

He crouched beside the crib and looked underneath it, nothing there either.

A tiny knot formed in his stomach. "Harry?"

He searched the room thoroughly. He checked behind furniture, inside the wardrobe, under the rocking chair, and every other absurd location that somehow seemed worth checking despite the fact that Harry was a baby and shouldn't have been capable of reaching any of them.

When he found nothing, the knot in his stomach tightened considerably.

Soon James was moving rapidly through the entire house, opening doors and calling Harry's name despite knowing how ridiculous that was.

He checked every room, Harry was nowhere and, then a silver light suddenly materialized beside him. A doe-shaped Patronus bounded gracefully through the air.

Lily's voice emerged from it. "James, we're finishing up now. I'll be home in about ten minutes."

The Patronus dissolved, and James stared at the empty space it had occupied. His face drained of color. "Ten minutes? Oh no."

He had searched the entire house repeatedly and was no closer to understanding what had happened.

"I’m back!" Lily voice sounded bright and refreshed.

James considered several possible escape plans. None seemed practical.

A moment later Lily entered the sitting room carrying a small bag and looking considerably more relaxed than she had that morning.

"That was wonderful," She smiled at him.. "I haven't felt this rested in ages. How was it for you all? Did you have fun? Is Harry sleeping? I'll go check on him."

James swallowed hard, and before he could say anything, Lily was already moving upstairs to check on her baby, every step she took seemed to increase his terror.

"Lily, I'm sorry."

She stopped outside the nursery door and slowly turned to look at him. "What exactly are you apologizing for?"

James looked utterly miserable. "I only left for a few minutes. I looked everywhere," he said desperately. "I don't understand how it happened. One second he was there and the next—"

But Lily was already in the room and approached the crib. She leaned forward and reached toward the center. And delicately she lifted something that looked like air, but which turned out to be something James knew very well and that hadn't occurred to him until that moment.

The Invisibility Cloak.

And underneath it, Harry was sleeping peacefully. His chest rose and fell in the steady rhythm of deep sleep. Completely unaware of the catastrophe he had apparently caused, he looked perfectly content.

Lily hummed in response, "Okay, I admit you were right, though how did the invisibility cloak get here?"

James remained silent, remembering now that he was the one who had accidentally left the cloak there that morning.

Rosalie Potter's crib was empty.

Only moments earlier, Harry had carried Rosie upstairs after spending the afternoon playing with her around the house. Daphne had gone out to meet Astoria for lunch and had left Harry in charge of their daughter.

Rosie had laughed through every game, insisted on chasing enchanted toy butterflies around the sitting room, and eventually rubbed her eyes with the unmistakable exhaustion of a sleepy toddler. Harry had smiled, kissed the top of her blonde head, and tucked her into her crib.

"I'll be right back, Rosie," he had told her while adjusting her blanket. "I'm just going downstairs to warm your bottle."

Rosie had answered with a cheerful babble.

Certain that she would still be there a minute later, Harry had gone downstairs. Preparing the bottle took almost no time at all. He returned to the nursery still holding the warm bottle in one hand and smiling to himself.

"All right, Rosie," he said as he stepped through the doorway, "I've got your—"

The words never reached the end of the sentence, the baby has disappeared.

His instincts as an Auror immediately took over. Rather than allowing panic to control him, Harry forced himself to examine the nursery carefully. He looked behind the rocking chair, opened the wardrobe, checked beneath the changing table, and searched every corner where a curious toddler might somehow have wandered.

She wasn't there.

Harry stepped into the hallway and began searching the rest of the house with the same methodical precision he would have used during an investigation.

He had nearly reached the stairs to search the ground floor again when his mobile phone began ringing. Harry took it from his pocket, glanced at the screen, and felt his stomach tighten.

Daphne.

He closed his eyes for the briefest moment before answering.

"Hi, love." His voice sounded perfectly steady.

On the other end of the call, Daphne sounded relaxed and cheerful. "Hi, Harry. How are my favorite people doing?"

Harry continued looking around the room as he answered, hoping against hope that Rosie would suddenly appear from some obvious hiding place he had somehow overlooked.

"We're doing fine."

"I'm glad to hear it. How's Rosie? I miss her already. Let me hear her."

Harry wanted to scream, but he managed to keep his voice calm. "She's taking a nap."

"...A nap?"

"Yeah. We played for a long time this afternoon. She wore herself out."

"That's strange. Rosie never naps at this hour."

Harry searched desperately for an explanation that sounded natural. "I suppose today was different. We were running around the house most of the afternoon."

"I think I'll come home a little earlier than I planned."

Harry's grip on the phone tightened.

"Everything all right?"

"Oh, yes," Daphne replied pleasantly. "I just feel like coming home. See you in a bit, love."

The call ended.

Harry lowered the phone slowly and he wiped a hand across his forehead and discovered that it had become damp with cold sweat.

By the time he returned to the baby room once again, Harry had searched the entire house several times. He stared at the crib for another moment and then remembered a story that his mother always found funny.

When his father thought he had lost him, his mother put her hand into what appeared to be an empty space and discovered baby Harry sleeping peacefully under the Invisibility Cloak.

Harry's eyes widened, he hurried back to the crib and leaned over its side once more. At first it appeared just as empty as before, but now he noticed a few small blond strands sticking out.

He reached forward, grasped the invisible cloth and gently pulled it back.

There, curled comfortably beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Rosalie slept as peacefully as if nothing unusual had happened. Her blonde hair rested against the pillow.

Harry closed his eyes and released a long breath. "So that's what Dad felt,"

Rosie continued sleeping without the slightest concern.

Harry carefully lifted her into his arms, folded the Invisibility Cloak, and carried his daughter downstairs.

When Daphne returned home a short while later, she found her husband sitting on the sitting-room sofa with Rosie sleeping soundly against his shoulder.

"Welcome home." Harry said.

Daphne smiled back, though her eyes studied him for a moment longer than usual before she set down her bag. "Hello."

She crossed the room and leaned over to kiss Harry before brushing a hand gently through Rosie's blonde hair. "Our little troublemaker is really taking a nap at this hour?"

Harry nodded. "I told you, Daph.”

Daphne's gaze drifted almost absentmindedly toward the neatly folded Invisibility Cloak resting beside Harry on the sofa. "Was Rosie asleep under the Invisibility Cloak?"

Harry sighed, shaking his head with the weary resignation of someone who had spent the last half hour living through one of the greatest scares of his life. "Yes, love."

Daphne's lips curved into an amused smile. "I thought so. Who would have thought that the same thing would happen to you as to your father?"

Harry looked down at the peacefully sleeping little girl in his arms before meeting Daphne's eyes again. "I've never understood why mom laughed every time dad told that story."

"And now?"

"Now I understand why my dad always insisted it wasn't funny."

Daphne laughed softly, sat down beside him, and rested her head against his shoulder. "It is a little funny."

Harry looked at their sleeping daughter, "only after you find the baby."

Five-year-old Harry could hardly stop smiling as the broomstick carrying him and his father descended gently toward the backyard. The flight had been James's idea, a secret adventure in the middle of the night.

Harry had loved every second of it. They had soared over fields, skimmed across the tops of trees, and flown so high that Harry had sworn he could almost touch the moon.

James guided the broom to a soft landing on the grass, making barely a sound. As soon as both of them stepped off, Harry looked up at him with sparkling green eyes.

"That was brilliant, Dad!"

James chuckled, though he immediately lowered his voice and glanced toward the house. "Keep it down, Harry. Remember, we have to be super quiet. We don't want to wake Mum, okay?"

Harry nodded with complete seriousness, trying his hardest to look responsible. Unfortunately, the enormous grin stretched across his face made that impossible.

"Okay," he whispered.

"Good." James smiled and rested a hand on his son's shoulder. "We'll sneak inside, you'll brush your teeth, climb into bed, and your mum will never know we disappeared for an hour."

Harry nodded again, entirely convinced that his father's plan was flawless.

Together they turned toward the back door, they had taken barely three steps before both of them stopped.

Lily was standing in the doorway.

She wore a red dressing gown over her nightclothes, her arms folded firmly across her chest. James had the distinct impression that if looks alone were capable of causing physical harm, he would already be lying unconscious in the garden.

Lily was simply staring at him with a calm expression that somehow managed to be infinitely more intimidating than any kind of scream.

Harry looked at his father, then back at his mother.

James forced a nervous smile. "Good night Lily, the moon is beautiful but not as beautiful as you."

She ignored him completely, her eyes shifted to Harry. The cold expression disappeared as though someone had waved a wand, replaced by a warm smile.

"Harry, my love, did you have fun?"

Harry nodded so enthusiastically that his untidy black hair bounced. "Yes! We flew over the trees, and Dad let me steer for a little bit, and we—"

Lily laughed softly as she approached, and interrupted him by gently stroking his hair.

"I'm glad you had fun." She leaned down and kissed his forehead before smiling again. "Very good. Go brush your teeth and go to bed."

"Okay, Mum." Harry happily skipped into the house, still smiling from ear to ear.

James watched Lily's gentle expression and allowed himself a small breath of relief, perhaps this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

But Lily slowly turned her head toward him, james met her eyes and every hopeful thought vanished instantly. Those bright green eyes were no longer warm or amused.

"Really, James?" Her voice was perfectly calm.  "Are you serious? And if you say 'No, that's Sirius', I'm going to cast a freezing spell on you and leave you in the yard all night."

James was choosing his words carefully. "Lily, before you say anything—"

"Oh, I'm going to say quite a lot." She took a step toward him, never raising her voice. "Do you have any idea how much effort it took me to get Harry onto a proper sleep schedule?"

James opened his mouth. "I-"

"You do know," Lily continued before he could answer, "because I told you. Repeatedly. Every single evening."

"I just thought—"

"I know exactly what you thought." Lily folded her arms again. "You thought a little nighttime broom ride would be fun."

James offered a cautious smile. "It was."

Lily stared at him.

"...For Harry," he corrected himself.

"You know how hyperactive he is, James. You know that once he's excited before bedtime, it takes forever for him to settle down. I finally managed to get him falling asleep at a reasonable hour, and then you decide to take him flying under the stars." she said without breaking eye contact.

"It wasn't a long flight." James rubbed the back of his neck. "I just wanted to surprise him."

"And you did. Tomorrow evening I'll be the one dealing with an overtired little boy who doesn't want to sleep."

"I can help." James volunteered

"Oh, you'll do much more than help." Lily smiled sweetly, a smile James had learned to fear almost as much as genuine anger. "Tomorrow you're going to be the one who tires Harry out."

Unless, of course, you'd rather spend the next month sleeping on the sofa, James."

James blinked. "A month?"

"Two Month." Lily smile.

"T-Two? But-"

"Three months." Lily held up three fingers.

James placed a hand over his heart. "My beloved wife, surely we can negotiate."

"Four months."

James decided negotiation was no longer a promising strategy. "My sweet and beautiful redhead. Tomorrow I'll make sure Harry goes to bed earlier than ever."

Lily immediately pointed a finger at him. "Don't exaggerate, James. If Harry changes his schedule again, you'll still be sleeping on the sofa. So you'd better respect my schedule, he doesn't going to bed too early or too late,"

James nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Understood."

"Good."

Without another word, Lily turned around and walked back into the house, closing the back door behind her.

James ran a hand through his already untidy hair, glanced up at the stars, and allowed himself a faint smile.

"I was lucky, really thought I was sleeping in the yard today.," he murmured to himself, sounding almost pleased.

As far as James Potter was concerned, the fact that he was still going to be sleeping in his own bed counted as a decisive victory.

A five-year-old girl skipped happily along the pavement, swinging her father's hand with every other step as they made their way toward the little ice cream shop a few streets away.

"Daddy," she said, looking up at him with an excited grin, "I'm getting mint chocolate chip."

Harry smiled. "Are you certain? You haven't even seen the flavours yet."

"I don't need to. Mint chocolate chip is always the best."

"Is that so?"

Rosie nodded with complete confidence. "Always."

Harry laughed. "Well, I suppose I won't waste my time trying to convince you otherwise. You're just like your mother."

Rosie giggled, pleased with herself, and continued skipping beside him.

Harry was enjoying the peaceful afternoon. Today he was simply a father taking his daughter out for ice cream, and he couldn't think of anywhere else he would rather be.

Their walk came to an abrupt stop when Rosie suddenly froze in place.

"Dad," she said, pointing across the street, "look."

Harry followed the direction of her finger until he spotted the reason for her excitement.

A white dog stood quietly near the edge of the pavement. It was rather thin, its fur was a little dirty, and there wasn't a collar around its neck. It wasn't old, but it wasn't a puppy either. Harry studied it for a few moments before reaching the conclusion that it had probably spent its entire life wandering the streets.

Rosie was already staring at it with open admiration. "Can I go say hello?"

Harry looked at the dog once more. It appeared calm, neither frightened nor aggressive, so he finally nodded. "You can, but go slowly."

Rosie carefully approached the animal, holding out her hand just as Harry had taught her. The dog sniffed her fingers for a brief moment before its tail began wagging gently. Then, to Harry's growing concern, it calmly lay down on the pavement in front of Rosie and rolled slightly onto one side, silently asking to be petted.

Rosie's face lit up with delight as she knelt beside the dog and gently scratched. The dog closed its eyes almost immediately and leaned into her little hand with complete trust, looking as though it had known her for years instead of mere seconds. Harry watched the scene. The dog was incredibly gentle, and Harry could practically predict what she was about to ask.

Sure enough, Rosie looked over her shoulder, her green eyes sparkling with hope.

"Dad... can we keep him?"

Harry smiled helplessly and walked over until he was standing beside her. "Rosie," he said gently, "you know Mommy won't let you have a pet."

Rosie's smile faded just a little, but she didn't argue. Instead, she looked back down at the dog for a moment before lifting her eyes to meet Harry's again and she gave him that look, her green eyes gazing at him with hope, those eyes to which Harry could never say no.

"Please, Daddy," she said in her little voice. "I'll take very good care of it."

Harry tried to resist, he honestly tried.

He reminded himself that Daphne had already explained to Rosie that she was still too young to have a pet. They had agreed to wait until she was older and better able to understand the responsibility that came with caring for an animal. Harry had promised Daphne he would support that decision, and he fully intended to keep that promise.

Unfortunately, Rosie kept looking at him with those hopeful green eyes.

Harry held out for several more seconds before his resolve finally crumbled. "All right... but we're doing this properly."

Rosie's entire face brightened. "Really?"

Harry nodded. "First, we find out whether this dog belongs to someone. He could simply be lost, and if he already has a family, then he has to go back to them."

Rosie nodded so enthusiastically that her hair bounced.

"If nobody claims him," Harry continued, "then we're taking him to a veterinarian to see if he needs any vaccinations."

Another eager nod.

"And only if no one is looking for him, and the vet says everything is all right..." Harry smiled despite himself. "...then we'll bring him home."

For a moment Rosie simply stared at him, as though she couldn't quite believe what she had heard. Then she threw her arms around Harry in a fierce hug before hurrying back to the dog.

"We're taking you home!" she announced happily, hugging the bewildered animal as gently as she could. "You're going to have a family!"

The dog answered by wagging its tail so enthusiastically that its entire body seemed to move with it.

Harry laughed softly as he watched the two of them together. Now all that remained was Daphne's reaction. Harry thinks it can't be that bad, right? right?

Daphne Potter returned home and was surprised to find everything was silent. She walked to the living room where she found her daughter asleep on the sofa.

Curled up against her was the white stray dog, and the two of them were sleeping as though they had known each other for years. Rosie had wrapped one little arm around the dog's neck, using him as the world's softest pillow.

Daphne looked at her husband.

Harry sat in the nearby armchair and he smiled back looking like a man who knew that the judge's condemnation awaited him.

Without saying a word, Daphne walked to the sofa, picked up a folded blanket from the back of the cushions, and gently spread it over both Rosie and the dog. The little girl shifted slightly in her sleep, snuggling even closer to her new companion, while the dog merely sighed contentedly without opening his eyes.

The sight drew the faintest smile from Daphne before she looked back at Harry and motioned toward the kitchen with a small tilt of her head.

Harry understood immediately. He quietly stood from the armchair and followed her, carefully closing the kitchen door behind them so they wouldn't disturb Rosie.

"I can explain—"

Daphne raised one hand before he could continue. "What did we say, Harry?" Her voice wasn't angry. If anything, it sounded calm enough to make Harry feel even more guilty.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck before answering. "We said Rosie was too young to have a pet."

"That's exactly what we said."

Harry nodded, accepting the point without argument.

"I know, and I'm not pretending we didn't agree on that." He leaned lightly against the kitchen counter before continuing. "But the dog isn't a puppy. Rosie and I asked around the neighbourhood where we found him. Nobody recognized him, and everyone told us he'd been wandering around there for as long as they could remember. As far as anyone knows, he's always been a stray."

Daphne listened quietly, allowing him to finish.

"After that, we took him to the vet. He's healthy, and he's already received every vaccination the vet recommended. Physically, he's in much better shape than I expected."

Harry smiled faintly as he glanced through the kitchen doorway toward the sleeping pair in the sitting room.

"You've seen Rosie out there. She hasn't left his side since we brought him home. She helped brush him, she filled his water bowl, she sat beside him while he ate, and every few minutes she's checking to make sure he's comfortable. I honestly think this could be good for her. She wants to take care of him, and I think learning that responsibility while she's still young could be a wonderful thing."

Daphne remained silent for a few moments, considering everything he had said before folding her arms comfortably. "We'll see what happens after the excitement wears off," she replied. "It's easy to be enthusiastic on the first day. What matters is how she feels in a month."

Harry nodded slowly.

"If she's still taking care of him then, I'll happily admit you were right." Daphne's expression became just a little more serious as she continued. "But if Rosie starts forgetting to feed him, forgetting to brush him, or forgetting to take him into the garden to do his business, you are going to be the one reminding her. I don't intend to become the bad guy every time she neglects her responsibilities. You were the one who decided to bring the dog home despite what we'd agreed, so you'll be the one making sure she follows through until taking care of him becomes a habit."

"That's fair." He smiled sheepishly before adding, "Actually... more than fair. I made the decision, so I'll make sure she keeps her promise."

The corners of Daphne's mouth softened just a little.

For a moment neither of them spoke, and Harry studied her expression carefully, trying to determine whether he was still in serious trouble.

"So..." he asked cautiously, "you're not angry?"

Daphne couldn't help smiling. "Oh, don't worry, darling." There was just enough amusement in her voice to make Harry suspicious. "I've already thought of several ways you're going to make this up to me."

Harry laughed quietly, relieved enough that his shoulders visibly relaxed. "Well... at least that doesn't sound like I'm going to end up sleeping on the sofa."

"Unfortunately," she replied with a smile, looking up into his eyes, "I sleep terribly if my husband isn't cuddling me at night."

Harry immediately went to hug her. "Is that so?"

"It is." Daphne rested her forehead lightly against his chest and laughed under her breath. "You spoiled me. After all these years, I've become used to falling asleep in your arms, and now I don't sleep nearly as well without you."

Harry kissed the top of her head. "I suppose that's the nicest consequence I've ever had to face."

"It certainly is." Daphne looked toward the door, "For the record, he's a lovely dog."

Harry smiled triumphantly. "I knew you'd like him."

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say that." The smile on her face betrayed her immediately. "I said he's a lovely dog. Whether I approve of the way he arrived in this house is an entirely different discussion."

Harry laughed. "Fair enough."

Daphne shook her head with affectionate resignation. "I married one of the finest Aurors in Britain, and yet somehow that brilliant man is completely incapable of saying no to a little girl with green eyes."

"I never really stood a chance."

"No," she admitted. "I don't suppose you ever did."