HALCYON ⟶ James Potter

Chapter Eight

Renata had a plan to when it came to welcoming everyone to the cottage, the adults were manageable with food and drinks, but for the children, she had a very special activity planned out. Waiting for the arrival of the Weasley children and Neville, she and Harry were up early as usual within the cottage, while James slept in. Leone had woken both of them as the kneazle had been struggling quite a bit establishing his new surroundings. He often slept at the end of Harry's bed most days, simply because the toddler didn't move a lot in his lip. There had been way too many occasions where James had accidentally kicked him off during the night, leaving him slightly bitter.

But that morning after Renata woke up, she and Harry headed to a special room that James had designed with the family in mind. Since the weather a lot of the time as too cold in the evenings for them to venture out in the hammock, James had designed a room so that the family could still enjoy their nights of "Brilla Brilla La Stellina." At first, Renata didn't understand what he was talking about but as James guided her and Harry into the room, she found herself unable to breathe for just a few seconds.

In one room, there was a hammock, magically reinforced to take the weight of an army if needed, but above it, the ceiling had been enchanted into the starry night sky. Of course, since Renata had never been to Hogwarts, she didn't know just how much influence the castle had on the decorations and modelling of the home, however, she probably wouldn't have cared either. To see the stars hover over their heads and still feel the warmth of the fireplace that was in the room, she couldn't help herself as she let out a strange noise dedicated to her excitement before wrapping her arms around James in a hug.

Meanwhile, Harry had been stuck in place, standing completely still as he stared up at the ceiling for several moments. He appeared to be in awe, his tiny mouth open after one of his hands reached up to adjust his glasses to make sure he was properly seeing everything.

"I figured this was best to get us through the long winter months," James smiled as he felt an immense sort of pride race through his chest as Renata continued to hold onto him. "Not to mention, at this rate, when Harry finally takes Astronomy at school, he'll be way ahead of the game."

It was perfect and while Renata and Harry were speechless in their own rights, there was no doubt that they adored the room.

So while James slept in that morning, Renata had scooped Harry up into her arms along with Leone to join her in the hammock. It was perfect for storytelling afternoons and cuddling, and sometimes, the hammock gave Harry inspiration for a wild adventure, such as being on a pirate ship in the open seas or travelling through space. But that morning, Harry was perfectly content cuddling into his mother's side as she told him the story of the Tre Porcellini or the Three Little Pigs.

He was close to falling asleep again, appreciating the warmth from Renata and Leone, as his mother's voice remained soothing but that quickly came to an end as James had finally woken up that morning and ventured into the room. He climbed in, still slightly sleeping, but he didn't really like waking up in bed to find the other side empty. Sometimes he wished that Renata would sleep in more, just so he could cuddle with her longer in the morning hours.