Saturday morning, Harry woke up early, even though James had told him many times he could sleep as late as he wanted when he stayed over at Potter Manor.  Harry had gone to bed last night almost at his normal bedtime at home for some reason, instead of staying up till ten the way he usually did when he visited his dad.  James had no set bedtime for him and didn't really make Harry follow any kind of schedule, he was pretty much free to do what he liked, unless there was something planned during the day, like a Quidditch match or a visit to Diagon Alley or the zoo or something.

Now he was wide awake and ready to start the day.  He scrambled out of his Snitch emblazoned sheets, his feet hitting the thickly plush red rug that carpeted his bedroom. The walls were covered in Quidditch scenes, magicked there by James.  Harry had chosen the décor when he was five and obsessed with Quidditch.  He was considering changing it now that he wasn't quite as obsessed with Quidditch as he used to be.

 Now he also liked brewing potions with his da, Severus, and Lily, and helping Lily with the herb garden.  He liked digging in the dirt and planting, and watering the seedlings and watching them sprout.  He was starting to learn all the names of the magical herbs and non-magical ones as well that were used in his parents' apothecary. It was fun sitting with Lily and looking at her huge leather-bound herbal and listening to her tell him the uses for mandrakes and bluebells and dandelions, and then having her point to a picture and ask what plant it was.

If he named five plants correctly, he got a sweet as a reward.

Severus did the same with his book of potions, and in this way Harry learned some of the most difficult subjects in Hogwarts at an early age. 

He ran to use the bathroom and when he returned, Blink, one of the Potter house elves was there with a set of clothes for him and asking if he needed assistance with anything. 

"No, I'm fine," Harry answered. "I'm big, I can dress myself, you know."

Blink frowned. "If Master Harry is sure?"

"Master Harry is," he answered, giving the big-eyed creature a smile.

Harry quickly dressed in his favorite pair of jeans and a soft yellow shirt his mum had bought him when he'd started school with Uncle Remus this year. "What's for breakfast, Blink?" he shouted as he ran down the hall. 

"Whatever the young master wishes," came the usual response.

That was one thing Harry didn't mind about staying over his dad's.  There were no restrictions on what he ate or when he ate it. Though Harry had learned the hard way to not overindulge in sweets after making himself vomit from eating too many chocolate frogs one time.  So now he was careful, but he still liked sugary foods for breakfast, like powdered donuts and muffins, things that he wouldn't be allowed to eat on a daily basis at home, where his mum and da insisted he eat decent food at mealtimes and only one or two sweets for dessert or snack.

That morning, he had Blink make him a Belgian waffle with whipped cream on top and he drank hot cocoa and apple juice as well.

James came in a few minutes later and had his usual coffee and pancakes and sausage.  "Morning, sport! How did you sleep?"

"Good," Harry answered, his mouth full of waffle.

"Close your mouth, kiddo, before you choke," James said, recalling Lily admonishing him once that he needed to start reinforcing a few things, like table manners, when Harry was over.  James preferred not to follow all of Lily's rules, he liked letting his son be a free spirit, but some things he had agreed on.

Harry did, and then Sirius, who was visiting yet again, also came into the kitchen.

"Oi, Blink! Get me a scrambled egg with ham in it and some crumpets with blueberry jam and a side of potatoes plus a cup of tea. And make it snappy!"

"Right away, Master Sirius!" the elf bowed and clapped his hands and soon  Sirius's breakfast was before him, steaming on a heated plate.

Harry rolled his eyes.  Sometimes it amazed him that neither his dad or his other godfather ever said "please" or "thank you" to the house elves.  He would have been in trouble if he ever yelled out orders like Sirius to his mum or da that way, or forgot to be polite when he asked for something.

"What do you want to do today, Harry?" James asked, same as always.

Usually Harry didn't care what he did, but today was different. Today he wanted to try out a present his da had bought him.  "I want to play with my Drinkable Potions kit, Dad."

James made a face.  "A Drinkable Potions kit?"

"Yeah. It's really cool.  It comes with a small cauldron and a book that tells you how to make all these cool drinks that are kind of like real potions." Harry said eagerly.

"Sounds like something old Snape would have given him," Sirius sneered. 

"My da did give it to me, Uncle Sirius," Harry said.  "B'cause I helped Mum watch Rosie and Eric for the afternoon on Thursday."

"They've got you babysitting already? You poor kid!"

Harry was puzzled.  "I'm not poor, Uncle Sirius.  And I like playing with Eric and Rosie. I'm teaching them how to color and stuff."

Sirius shook his head.  "Six years old, and already acting like a nanny. Such a shame, huh, James?"

James nodded.  "That's Snape's influence, you know.  He grew up dirt poor and had to work since he could crawl and he thinks work builds character or some such rot.  He's so stuck up he doesn't know how to let a kid be a kid."

Harry set down his fork.  He was no longer hungry.  His stomach was starting to hurt, the way it always did when he heard his dad talk mean about his stepfather, whom he loved just as much as he did James.

"Typical Snivelly." Sirius laughed.  "He was a serious stick even when he was in school. Always had his nose buried in a book."

"Or his face in a cauldron," James said.  "That's why his hair was always so greasy."

"Dad-" Harry began. "You promised last time you wouldn't say stuff like that."

"Stuff like what? The truth?" snickered Sirius.

"It's not true!" Harry cried, scowling at his godfather.  "Da's hair ain't greasy! He washes it every day."

"He does? That's a miracle! Must be Lily's influence," James said, then laughed at his own wit.

Harry was about to get up and get his kit when Sirius drawled, "Hey, Prongs, remember the time we hung old Snivellus upside down by the lake and threatened to give him a ducking for spying on us?"

"Yeah and didn't we also make his pants vanish or something? Those were the days, eh, Padfoot? Snivellus could never take a joke, I remember him threatening to tell a teacher on us."

Sirius laughed again.  "That was the best prank, Snape was such a prude, we almost made him cry when we-"

"Why did you do that?" Harry shouted, unable to stand it anymore.  His green eyes were bright with tears of anger.  "Why were you so mean to him, Uncle Sirius?"

Sirius looked at him in astonishment. "Why, Harry, we weren't mean, we were just having a bit of sport, is all.  It was all in fun."

"It didn't sound like Da was having fun."

"Aww, that's ‘cause Snape has no sense of humor.  He doesn't know the meaning of the word fun."

"Yes, he does," Harry said. "I have fun with him a lot of times. We go to the cinema and out for ice cream and for walks in the park.  He's a good da, Uncle Sirius! And you shouldn't have done that to him when you were in school!"

Sirius stared at his godson.  "What's this? You're giving me a lecture, little Snitch? Over a bit of fun with your dear old da? The snivelly coward, Snape?"

Harry totally lost it then.  "It wasn't FUNNY! You were mean and nasty and you should have gotten sent to the Head's office. Like the mean kids who put worms in my mum's lunch did when she was little! You and Dad are always saying mean things about my da and I want you to just . . .SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

Harry was red-faced and screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, kid, calm down," Sirius said.

"NO! I WON'T! YOU TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID ‘BOUT MY DA!"

"Harry, stop shouting and sit down," James ordered.

But Harry ignored him. "TAKE IT BACK! IT'S NOT TRUE! YOU'RE A MEAN OLD LIAR AND I HATE YOU, UNCLE SIRIUS!" Then he slammed his fist down on the table so hard that his plate fell on the floor.

For one moment, neither man moved.  Then James said angrily, "Harry, you know better than to talk like that to your godfather. Say you're sorry."

"No! I won't! He was mean and nasty and it wasn't funny! And you were mean too, Dad!"

"Harry, for Merlin's sake, stop being so dramatic. That was over ten years ago. Now say you're sorry to Sirius and then I'll give you the surprise I have for you," James bargained.

But Harry was furious and not to be appeased by vague promises.  "No! I won't!" He burst into tears. "I want to go home! I don't want to stay here anymore! I want to go home!"

"Now, sport, you're acting like a crybaby," James began.  "Just like your da."

"I don't care!" Harry bawled. "I won't say sorry! I wanna GO HOME!" He stomped his feet in fury.

"You are home, Harry James Potter!" James snapped, angry that his son didn't consider his house his home.

"NO-O-O-O! THIS ISN'T MY HOME!" He made as if to run out of the room towards the living room, where the fireplace was.

James lunged and grabbed him, tucking him under his arm. "All right, son, you need to go to your room and calm down.  You can stay there until you stop screaming and apologize to your godfather."

He marched the howling and kicking youngster upstairs and put him in his room.  He reasoned that maybe Harry was overtired and needed a nap.  In any case, he couldn't damage anything in his room.  James shut the door and locked it. 

I can't believe he said that to Sirius! Of all the cheek! He's got Lily's temper, all right.  James winced as Harry shrieked and kicked at the door, screaming that he wanted his mum and that he wanted to go home.

This was the first time James had ever seen Harry throw a tantrum and the first time he had ever attempted to discipline the boy.  It felt very strange and James didn't like hearing his son screaming and crying, but neither did he like how Harry defended Snape over a prank that had occurred over ten years before.  Any other kid would have laughed his head off.

Bloody Snape, he's turned my son into an old stick-in-the-mud without a sense of humor, just like him, James thought angrily and headed back downstairs. I can't believe you married that git, Lily! Look what he's done to our son! Turned him into some goody-goody prat.

Harry finally stopped kicking the door and then he turned around and began throwing all his toys all over the room, indulging in a full scale fit because he didn't know any other way to handle the hurt and anger inside him. Very soon the floor of the room resembled a disaster area and Harry then threw himself on the bed and cried. 

He cried so hard that he made himself sick to his stomach, but when he went to run to the loo, he found the door was locked and he ended up being sick on the floor.

Then he was scared he would get in trouble for making a mess on the carpet and he called Blink. 

The house elf came immediately and cried, "Oh no, Master Harry is ill! You must go to bed and I will tell Master James."

"No, no please don't!" Harry begged, sniffling. "I don't wanna get in trouble. Could you just clean it up, Blink?"

"Yes, of course," the elf made a quick gesture and the vomit was banished and he also put all the toys back on their shelves and in the trunk.  Then he vanished with a pop!

Half-an-hour later James came upstairs to let Harry out and see if he had calmed down enough.

He found his son sitting on his bed, his face blotchy with tears and snot and felt like an ogre.  This was why he hated trying to discipline his child. He always felt horrible afterwards.  Besides, Harry got enough of that sort of thing from Snape, the strict bastard, he sure didn't need it from James too.

"Hey, sport.  You all over your . . .uh . . .fit?"

"Yeah. I guess.  Do I still hafta say sorry to Sirius?"

Harry's lower lip trembled pathetically and his glasses were smudged, but James could see the wretched expression in his son's eyes. 

"How about later you do that? Do you still want to go home to your mum?"

Harry sniffled.  "Maybe."

"Listen, why don't we forget about what happened, okay? We'll start over." He sat down and took Harry on his knee.  "I have something really neat for us to do today, kiddo."

"Like what? Making potions?"

"Nah. That's plain boring. I have something much cooler." James said, smiling and tousling his son's hair. "Today I'm going to teach you how to ride my hippogriff, Buckbeak."

Harry's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Really. How's that sound, sport?"

"Awesome! Thanks, Dad!" Harry yelled and suddenly he wasn't mad any more, he was too excited. "I always wanted to ride one.  Where is he? Can I see him? When are we going to ride him?"

"Right now." James said.  Then he carried Harry from the room and down to the stables where he kept his prize hippogriff, Buckbeak the Magnificent.