“Here comes the birthday boy!” James Potter walked into the kitchen carrying his self in miniature: his son Harry who turned one year old today. Harry yawned and laid his head on his father’s shoulder, his eyelids drooping. Apparently, he did not appreciate his father awaking him from his slumber.

The red-headed woman looked up from her cooking and laughed. “He’s too tired to even acknowledge that it’s his birthday. Today’s your first birthday, Harry!” Lily Potter said excitedly, walking over to her husband and child. “You’re one year old!” Harry’s only response was to yawn again. Lily smiled and kissed her son on the cheek.

“I would have let him sleep longer, but I just couldn’t wait for him to wake up,” James said, placing Harry in his high chair.

Lily raised an eyebrow at her husband. “So you were more excited for Harry’s birthday than he was?” she inquired, smirking.

“Perhaps,” James responded, grinning as well. He examined the brightly decorated kitchen. “Wow, it looks great!” Various colored streamers hung from the ceiling and were draped elegantly across the table. Balloons were fastened everywhere, and a large banner with Harry’s picture was placed on the wall. Lily had charmed it to sing ‘Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you!’

“Thank you,” she said, beaming at him.

“And something smells incredible,” James said, sniffing the air.

“That’ll be Harry’s birthday cake.” Lily nodded her head towards the oven. “Chocolate, as it’s his favorite.” With a wave of her wand, Lily sent the plate of eggs and bacon she had just fried soaring in the air until they settled in front of Harry, who rubbed his eyes and was too sleepy to even recognize that food had just landed ahead of him.

“Come on, Harry. Eat your breakfast so we can open presents!” James said. He waved a fork laden with eggs towards Harry’s mouth. Harry dozed off and his head rocked slightly before falling over facedown into his breakfast.

Lily chuckled and lifted Harry’s head off the plate. His face was covered with eggs and he looked bewildered, as though not quite sure what had just happened. James wiped Harry’s face clean.

“Maybe we should let him sleep until he’s ready to wake up,” Lily suggested.

“Nah, I know what rouses him,” James said, pulling out his wand. A huge puff of colorful smoke erupted from the tip. As soon as Harry identified the vivid lights that he loved, he immediately snapped out of his daze and became alert and attentive. He giggled with delight and reached out in attempt to grab the smoke with his tiny hands.

Lily and James exchanged smiles. “It always works,” James said, shrugging. He scooped eggs into Harry’s mouth who was stimulated to eat now that the vibrant illumination was present.

“More!” Harry yelled, desiring new smoke as it disappeared. James obliged and out from his wand came an enormous puff of smoke which spelled ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!’ Harry, of course, did not know what it read, but he loved the new, remarkable shapes the smoke was forming into.

Once Harry was fed and the colorful smoke camouflaged with the air, James cleaned after him with his wand.

“Do you think you could give Harry a bath?” Lily asked James. “I need him occupied while I finish the cake. And he probably should be washed before Bathilda comes. I told her she could stop by whatever time was best for her.”

“Time for a big, birthday bath,” James said, picking Harry up from his chair. Harry frowned at his father. He did not like taking baths.

---

Half an hour later, Lily and James crowded around Harry as he opened his presents which included a number of toys and games and an assortment of sweets. His dark curls were especially messy as they dried from his bath and he smelled of raspberries. Harry was running around the room in circles trying to catch his new Floating Ball. He stood on tiptoe reaching his arms high up to grab it, but it would always soar in a different direction.

Harry’s attention turned away from the ball though when his mother brought out his birthday cake. The heavenly aroma of freshly baked chocolate accompanied her. He pointed to the cake and cried happily “Cake! Cake!”

“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Harry, happy birthday to you!” Lily and James sang. Lily set the cake on the table. It was beautifully decorated with icing and dancing candles were placed at the top. Harry blew at the candles, but couldn’t extinguish every flame because some hopped around the cake out of his breath’s reach. When Lily and James joined him in blowing at the candles and finally every flame was put out, Lily cut the cake into pieces.

“I like cake!” Harry squealed, as Lily fed him a bite.

“Eat with your mouth closed, Harry,” she instructed him.

“This is delicious, Lily,” James said, his mouth full of cake.

“That goes for you too,” Lily teased. "Do I have to teach my son and husband proper manners?" But she grinned in appreciation and hastily moved the cake out of Harry’s reach as he was making a tremendous mess. His fingers and cheeks were coated with sticky chocolate. “Yummy!” he giggled.

Just then a large brown owl zoomed in through the open window and landed at Lily’s feet. A bulky package was tied to its legs. She bent down to unfasten the parcel.

“It’s for you, Harry!” she said enthusiastically, reading the name on the package. “And it’s from Sirius!”

“Sirius? I told him not to go through the trouble of getting Harry anything,” James said. “The git never listens.”

“There’s a letter attached.” Lily tore open the envelope that accompanied the parcel and read:

Dear Prongs, Lily, and of course little Harry,
I’m enclosing Harry’s birthday present. I know you two told me not to get him anything, but it’s his first birthday and I just had to send him a gift. I think he’ll like it, actually, I think James will like it more! I really am disappointed I wasn’t able to be there, but nonetheless, I hope Harry has a happy birthday. Enjoy your gift, Harry!
Always, Sirius

“What does he mean by, ‘I think James will like it more’?” James asked, baffled. “Does he expect me to like a teddy bear more than Harry does?”

“That was really kind of him to send Harry something,” Lily said, beaming as she folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. She sighed. “I do wish he could have come though.”

James peered out the window longingly. “Yeah, I do too.” Lily thought she saw the trace of a slight frown on his face. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm.

“I know it’s tough being shut up here,” Lily said, smiling sadly up at him. “But the Order has to come first.”

James rearranged his features into what he hope was a convincing grin. “Who said anything about it being tough?” He took her face in between his hands and kissed her forehead. “We can handle anything,” he assured her.

Lily knew he was trying to hide his frustration. “Let’s open Sirius’ present,” James said, keen to change the subject.

“Harry, Sirius sent you something,” Lily said, seating herself on the carpet in front of him, James following suit. “You remember Sirius, don’t you?” She understood Harry’s wide grin to mean that he did remember his godfather.

Lily assisted Harry is ripping the package open and as soon as the object inside became visible, James burst into laughter.

“A toy broomstick?” James said wide-eyed, looking down at the child-sized broom. “That’s genius! Sirius is brilliant, it’s just what Harry needs!” Indeed, as Sirius predicted, James seemed more thrilled at the broom than Harry did.

“Look at that, Harry!” Lily exclaimed, bending down to him and pinching his cheeks. “Your first broomstick!” Harry stared at the broom in bright interest. He had no idea what it was, but he was spellbound by this unusual, novel object. Suddenly, the broom levitated two feet off the ground completely on its own accord, as though it expected someone to mount it. Harry gasped softly; his eyes were as wide as galleons.

“He has to try it!” James said animatedly.

Lily looked skeptical. “I don’t think he’s ready for it yet, James. Maybe we should put it away until he’s a bit older,” she said worriedly.

“He’ll be fine, Lils,” James assured her. “It only rises a couple of feet.” He lifted Harry onto the broom.

“Alright, but make sure he doesn’t go too fa-”

Lily’s words were cut off. The second Harry’s hands gripped the broomstick, it shot through the air at full speed. Harry zoomed across the room, a look of pure euphoria pasted on his face. His jet black hair flew in every direction, looking crazier and wilder than it usually did.

“Harry!” Lily shouted. “Be careful!” But she looked deeply amused and couldn’t help giggling.

James was laughing even harder than she was. “He’s a natural!” he declared, beaming.

Harry skyrocketed to the kitchen and back again. His eyes were broad with glee. “WHEEEEEEEEE!” he squealed. “WHEEEEEEEEE!”

“Harry, time to stop, you could hurt yourself,” Lily called out to him, although she kept smiling.

“No!” Harry cried. “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

“Come on, Harry,” James chuckled. “That’s enough.” Harry ignored his parents. Couldn’t they tell he was having fun? He didn’t want to come down.

James began to chase his son. “Stop, Harry!” Harry only laughed and accelerated. Their black and gray cat, which had just awoken and crawled out from under the sofa where she had been asleep, spotted Harry rushing towards her, inches away. She hissed in fright and dashed off to hide under the sofa again.

James sprinted faster than ever trying to reach Harry before he really killed the cat or caused damage to anything else, or worse, himself. Harry clapped his hands in delight, screaming, “Yay! Yay!” He now zoomed in circles around the sofa the cat was concealed under. She stood frozen in fear, not even daring to move. She looked as if she was going to faint in terror.

By this time Lily stood up and began to run after Harry as well. It was quite a scene: Harry racing from corner to corner of every room, James running with all his might at the rear, Lily, desperately trying to keep up, right behind him. The brown owl Sirius had sent to deliver Harry’s gift noticed the chaos in the room and began to screech loudly while flying around and around their heads excitedly, contributing to the commotion.

“Move, you stupid owl!” James said, impatiently waving the owl away as it blocked his view of Harry.

Harry glanced behind him and noticed his parents dashing after him. This only surged more enthusiasm and hysteria into him, as he thought it was a game his mother and father were playing with him. “Me winning, Daddy!” he cheered. “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

“Alright, you won!” Lily said, pausing to catch her breath and pushing her red hair out of her face. “Now, Harry, please come to Mummy.”

“ME WINNING!” Harry roared, his green eyes gleaming with mischief.

“I find it hard to believe that this is a toy broomstick!” James shouted to Lily above the noise of Harry’s screaming and the owl’s screeches. “Its speed is way too advanced for a toy!”

“We can fathom its mysteries later. Right now we have to stop Harry!” Lily shouted frantically in response.

Harry continued to fly and enjoy himself as his parents hectically chased after him. At one point, he came so close to crashing into the wall, but fortunately, he made an extremely sharp and magnificent turn to avoid collision. Unfortunately, though, the end of the broomstick harshly hit the display shelf leaning against the wall, sending a number of breakable objects cascading to the floor with a huge clatter as they all smashed to pieces.

Lily groaned, although her expression twitched for a moment as if she were going to smile. James turned to her grinning as well, and both of them were thinking the same thing. “You, know he may be on the verge of getting himself killed and destroying the house,” James said to her, “but you can’t deny that he is clearly a talented flier. Did you see that turn?”

As Harry flew past them again at a dangerous speed, however, the grins vanished from their faces. “Harry, come down this instant!” Lily said firmly.

“No,” Harry said simply. “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

But the next time Harry zoomed past them, James was prepared. He lunged at the broomstick, forcing Harry to come to a stop. This sudden force caused Harry to fall off the broom and land directly on his bottom. His green eyes filled with tears and his lip quivered. For a moment, Lily and James thought he would cry. But the tears abruptly disappeared as Harry giggled with joy. He clapped his hands, as if to applaud his spectacular flight.

“Again!” he cried. “Again!”

“Maybe we’d better put this away for now,” James said, frowning down at the broomstick. His glasses were askew and his dark hair was untidier than usual from running. “How in Merlin’s name did this broomstick get labeled as a toy? I mean, did you see the speed and height Harry was flying at? I wonder if Sirius..." his voice trailed off.

"Did something to the broom which caused it to fly faster than it should have flown?" Lily questioned.

"Maybe," James shrugged. "It seems like a Padfoot thing to do."

“We’ll contemplate that later,” Lily said, as she examined the remains of the objects Harry smashed.

“But did you see how brilliantly he flew?” James asked in amazement, grinning proudly at his son. He scooped Harry up in his arms and kissed him before holding him out in front of him. “You’re going to be one hell of a Quidditch player!” Harry’s face broke out into a toothy grin and he laughed. He didn’t know what in the world Quidditch was, but he could tell from his father’s smile that it must mean something good.

“What’d he break?” James asked Lily, as he set Harry down.

“Oh, nothing that we really care about,” Lily replied. “He shattered that vase Petunia sent me for Christmas.”

“That really hideous one?” James asked.

“The very same,” Lily responded, grinning.

“Well, I suppose everything happens for a reason,” James smirked.

Lily laughed. “I’d better get rid of the pieces before Harry gets to them.” She waved her wand and the shattered residue vanished.

“Alright, Harry,” James asked. “What do you want to do now?” No one responded. “Harry?” He turned around to discover Harry curled up, fast asleep.

“Well, that broom ride must have tired him out,” Lily whispered. “Let him take a little nap. That way he’ll be bright and energetic for Bathilda when she comes. She absolutely loves him.”

James gently picked Harry up and carried him to his bedroom, followed closely by Lily. He laid him in his crib tenderly, careful not to wake him. Harry breathed softly, looking so peaceful. A small smile played at his lips. For a while, Lily and James stood watching him sleep.

“He is so bloody adorable,” James said, gazing down at Harry.

“He looks like you,” Lily voiced happily. “A lot more than I thought.”

“I know,” James said, his voice full of pride. “That’s why he’s so adorable.”

Lily swatted him playfully on the arm. Before leaving, both of them planted a kiss on Harry’s face.

“We should remember to write to Sirius thanking him for Harry’s broom,” Lily told James as he closed the door to Harry’s room. She collapsed onto the couch looking exhausted. James dropped down beside her and threw an arm around her shoulders. She leaned closer to him.

“I only hope Harry is awake when Bathilda arrives,” Lily yawned, rubbing her eyes. “She’d be so disappointed if she didn’t get to see him.”

“Well, then we’ll just have to wake him up with some more colorful smoke,” James said, chuckling.

“What a first birthday,” Lily commented, smiling up at James.

“I agree,” James said, beaming. “I wonder if this is a warning sign telling us to brace ourselves for Harry’s second year of life.”

Lily laughed, but then fell silent. “He’s growing up so fast,” she sighed.

James gaped at her incredulously. “Lily, it’s only his first birthday!” He kissed the top of her head. “You act as if he’s come of age!”

Lily laughed again. “It’s really hard to imagine Harry as a seventeen year old,” she said, considering the matter.

“Bloody hell,” James said weakly. “Our little Harry, seventeen years old…”

A tangible silence fell upon them for a moment as they both imagined their son growing up.

“He’s going to be a great Quidditch player,” James repeated.

“He’s going to be great in general,” Lily said determined and resolute. “Believe me, I have a really good feeling about Harry…”