One-Shot: The Shoe Box
"Harry, come here, would you?"

Harry walked over from his seat at the Grimmauld Place's kitchen table and joined Remus Lupin in the hallway.

"Yeah?" Harry asked, his mind back with Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking.

"Well, I was fingering through my old school things and I found this." Lupin held out to Harry a large, card board shoe box. It look decades old..

"What is it?" Harry asked uncertainly. He was actually a bit annoyed. He had really been enjoying that Yorkshire pudding. Lupin chuckled softly.

"It was your father's, Harry. I opened it and found his--er--collection of poems." he said, a smile breaking out on his face.

"My dad was a poet?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Not exactly in all subjects.." Lupin said slyly. Harry raised his eyebrows but Lupin just smirked and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Harry and this peculiar box.

Suddenly hungry, not for food, but for the contents of this box, Harry bolted up to his bedroom he shared with Ron and slumped down on his bed and pulled out the first piece of parchment, which his father had obviously titled, Lily Evans, Riddle Me This.

Lily Evans, Riddle Me This

Lily Evans, riddle me this
Why is your smile like a world of bliss?
Why does your laugh pierce my core?
You leaving me hanging, wanting more

Lily Evans, riddle me this
Why do you talk to him but give me a hiss?
Why do you cringe when I walk by?
All I have done is give you my best try

Lily Evans, riddle me this
Why is it your eyes every night I miss?
Why do I dream of you every night?
You seem so close, but you are truly out of sight

Lily Evans, riddle me this
Is it true that with you, nothing goes amiss?
Why are you the angel to help me when I'm down?
You are always smiling, no traces of a frown

Lily Evans, riddle me this
Why can't you supply me with a simple kiss?

Harry smiled inside, thinking of that memory back in Snape's mind. His dad apparently very much fancied his mum, at least more than he had fancied Cho Chang last year. He then became more eager to read more and carefully set the poem on his bed and pulled out the next piece of aged parchment.

Apparently

Every day you tell me
That Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail, and I
Make your life misery
But for the smartest witch of our year,
You can't see what is apparently
Clear to everyone else here

Lily Evans, my Christmas Tree
Green eyes and fiery red hair
I taunt you for one reason, it's easy to see
It's because for you, I really care
But you can't see what is apparently
Clear to everyone else here

You are the flower and I am the bee
Buzz, buzz, buzzing 'til your eyes flare
I never try to make it red you see
I'm just trying to show you that we'd make the perfect pair
And still you can't see what is apparently
Clear to everyone else here

What is so clear? you may ask me
But to tell you is quite the dare
It would be so much easier if for yourself you could see
An 'I love you' would answer my prayer
But it seems you just can't see what is apparently
Clear to everyone else here

Harry couldn't help but laugh a bit after this one. Man, did his dad have it bad with his mum! He even sounds a bit-- obsessive, could you say? In fact, the next poem kind of backed him up on that...

Obsession

Always in my dreams, in my nightmares too
That perfect, pale face is haunting me endlessly
They say its challenge I pursue
But its challenge I pursue obsessively

Lily Evans, my obsession
You've worked your magic on my heart
Lily Evans, my obsession
Hopefully we shall never part

Lily Evans, my obsession
I could write about you for ages
Lily Evans, my obsession
With your name, I could fill a million pages

Lily Evans, my obsession
You are perfect in too many ways
Lily Evans, my obsession
The time without you, I count the days

Lily Evans, my obsession
When you turn me down I show nothing inside
Lily Evans, my obsession
But deep down, you've hurt my pride

Always in my dreams, in my nightmares too
That wonderful challenge I pursue
Is Lily Evans, my obsession

That’s when Harry decided his father was nuts.

“Was this healthy?” Harry wondered aloud, laughing to himself.

“Sirius and I would ask him that every day.” Came a voice. Harry looked up, startled, but was relieved to find it was only Lupin. Lupin smiled at him and took a seat next to Harry.

“You enjoying the poems?” he asked slyly. Harry grinned broadly and nodded.

“Thanks for bringing them to me.” He said sincerely. Lupin smiled his warm, comforting smile.

“No problem. You know which one is my favorite?” Lupin asked excitedly. Harry handed him the box and Lupin dug into it, pulling out one from the very bottom. It looked much older.

“He wrote this in his second year, when he actually realized he liked Lily. It’s not that good because.. well, he was twelve.” Lupin said earnestly, handing James the parchment.

Numb

Red hair and green eyes
The face that I used to despise
I called you names and made fun of you, too
But who ever thought I'd start to like you?

For two long years, I've made your life bad
But I never noticed the good qualities you had
You were smart and funny and helped people a lot
And not to mention, I think you're pretty hot

When I see you, my entire body goes numb
I say nonsense things and you make me seem dumb
Lily Evans, a flower I will someday catch
I think I have finally met my match


Harry put the poem away and walked down with Lupin for dessert, feeling he had learned another comforting thing about his father.

"My father was obsessed." Harry said softly, shaking his head in pity. Lupin, who caught this, smiled.

"One of the many symptoms of love."


A/N-I actually enjoyed writing the poems. My favorite one was Apparently. Which one was you favorite? Or did you not like any of them? Well, either way, please leave a review!