Regained Moments

Chapter 9

At the end of class James picked Harry up after putting everything back in his bag, walking out of the room as fast as he could, having a good excuse to quickly rush past Slughorn as he tried to catch James to talk about Harry. Professor McGonagall's request to meet him and Harry may be something James knew was more of a social call, but she was well known as a strict teacher who wasn't one to accept someone being late for any reason.

"Hello Professor." James said with a smile, leaning on the doorframe as McGonagall sat at her desk, presumably doing some marking.

"Ah, Mr Potter, and little Mr Potter." McGonagall said, standing up and going over to a cupboard in the corner, which James knew contained biscuits and a tea set. "Come on in."

"Hey Harry, this is Professor McGonagall, she's the Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor. She's strict but nice. If you need help and can't get me, you can come to her." James explained to the small boy in his arms.

"Okay, it's nice to meet you." Harry said very quietly, his eyes fixed on Professor McGonagall widely as he clung onto James tightly, not completely comfortable around her yet.

"It's very nice to meet you too. Can I call you Harry?" McGonagall asked, seeming much kinder than she usually did to students.

"That's fine." Harry said with a small nod, still holding James as tightly as he could, James walking over to the table as McGonagall put the metal box of biscuits on her desk, still holding something covered in brown paper and pale string.

"Have a biscuit, Harry." McGonagall said with a warm smile, gesturing to the tin in front of her on the desk.

"You can have one Harry, it's not the late evening." James said with a smile, nodding his head and gesturing to the tin too. There were many different flavours, but James didn't know which ones Harry liked, so he couldn't recommend one for Harry.

Harry leaned forwards to look at the different biscuits, he had never had one before, well, he had been given stale rich tea biscuits once when the Dursleys needed to feed him, and they were really good compared to Harry's normal food. Harry couldn't see and rich tea biscuits in the selection, but he saw a lot that Dudley would have stuffed in his mouth immediately. Looking up between James and McGonagall as he slowly reached towards a bourbon.

"You don't have to be so cautious, Harry, just take it any enjoy it." James said softly with a small smile, pressing a kiss to the back of Harry's head as Harry finally crabbed it.

"Harry, how old are you?" McGonagall asked, making Harry look back up at her with wide eyes as he nibbled the biscuit.

"Mm?" Harry asked in surprise, holding the bourbon more tightly as if worried it would be taken away. "I'm 4."

"Has James told you about Quidditch yet?" Professor McGonagall asked, a smile on her face.

"Felicity was making a fuss about Harry as though I would stop going to Quidditch because of him." James explained for Harry, as they didn't talk too much about Quidditch.

"So you know about flying?" McGonagall asked with a smile, James wearing a similar one as he already knew what the package she was holding was.

"Yeah." Harry said shyly, but his eyes were bright as though he was excited at the idea.

"Well, seeing that you're 4 you're too young for a broom like the one James and the rest of the students rides, I think this must be for you." McGonagall said with a smile, holding the package out to Harry who looked at it before reaching out for it.

Harry was careful unwrapping it, having to hold the biscuit in his mouth, trying not to tare the paper. What he found inside was a broom rather different to the one he used to sweep the house, which was larger, longer, and had bristles coming from a rectangular block of wood which went every which way and were rather short. This broom was only a little longer than Harry was tall and was a smooth brown colour, the bristles being about a third of the length, and they were all perfectly grouped to a point.

"Thank you." Harry said, he didn't know anything about flying really, but he already felt like he had a connection to the air through the broom, it made him feel almost too happy.

"Of course, it is a toy broom so you won't be able to go as fast or high as James can on his broom, but this is safer for you and is the only thing you can ride at your age." McGonagall said, before looking at the time. "You two should get to your next class, Harry, feel free to visit any time."

"Thank you!" Harry said happily with a bright smile on his face, James chuckling a little.

"Thank you Professor." James said with a small chuckle as he saw the look on Harry's face. "Harry, why don't we go put the broom in my room?"

"Okay." Harry said a little sadly, making James laugh again.

"I'm sure you're going to be the best Quidditch player." James said, booping Harry on the nose gently. "I can teach you how to fly at the weekend."

"Thank you!" Harry said, lighting up again.

"Of course baby." James said with a smile, McGonagall smiling as she watched them.