It has been over a year since the murder of his wife, Lily, and James Potter wishes every day that it is simply a nightmare that he will wake up from. Unfortunately, it isn't and in the wake of her death, James finds himself as a single parent to th...
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"'I love you,' the prince told the princess. And do you know what the princess said? She replied with "thank you." And they lived happily ever after-"
"James!"
Peering up, James's glasses almost slid off his nose and he resembled a little boy about to be scolded by his parents as he was surrounded by the other children. They all looked as though they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to as they were gathered around the armchair closest to the fireplace in the Burrow. However, James attempted to flash a smile in Renata's direction as she stood in the doorway between the living room and kitchen, a flushed red to her face as she looked embarrassed.
"What? It's just a story," James said with a grin as he watched her arms folded across her chest, " the children liked it, right, everyone?"
"Oh, I get it!" Bill piped up bringing everyone's eyes to fall on the eldest Weasley child. "I get why she said 'thank you' instead of 'I love you.' It's because the prince was the first person to tell her that and mean it because her parents were evil, right? They told her they loved her but they didn't mean it, not like the prince, so when he said it, she was thankful. Thankful that someone could love her for who she was."
The room grew silent as the other children looked at Bill as if he had shoved a stick up his nose, but Renata and James, the only adults currently in the living room were quiet as they were caught off guard with how precise and spot on Bill was.
"Wow, Bill," James cleared his throat after a few seconds, " that was really deep."
"Yeah," Bill nodded with a smile, " can we go play now?"
At the mention of playing, all of the children seemed to dart off in different directions to go play something different besides engaging in another storytime. Harry was dragged out of his father's lap by Ron and as Ron pulled him along, Harry made a grab for Ginny and pulled her along until all of them were out of the room.
It was Christmas time and Molly decided that she wanted everyone to come to the Burrow to celebrate the holidays together. James and Renata had shown up earlier along with Harry as they had cooked a couple of dishes to share. Since then, between Arthur and James, they were in charge of keeping the children out of the kitchen and out of Molly's hair, but at one point, Molly called for Arthur's assistance, leaving James alone with the entire group.
But as they all raced upstairs with the exception of Ron, Harry, and Ginny, who gathered near the Christmas tree to marvel at the stacks of presents and the beautiful ornaments, Renata made her way over and sat herself down in James' lap, giving him a stern look.
"Oh come on, Ren," James chuckled, " don't give me that look! Did you hear Bill? He understood you perfectly."
"Yes, but did you have to tell all of them that I said 'thank you' after you said 'I love you?' I told you it was an accident and you caught me off guard!"
