Lily Anne was having a very terrible night.

They were out of Cadbury Animal biscuits, which Lily Anne always had as a snack when they got home, and she was absolutely inconsolable as a result. She lay in the middle of the carpet in the living room, face down, crying and kicking one foot rhythmically, muttering "busy, busy" over and over as she touched her thumb to each of her finger tips, one arm twisted 'round an old stuffed duck whose beak was a mess, having spent years being chewed upon.

Daisy sat on the floor beside her, gently rubbing Lily Anne's back with her palm intermittently, delicately balancing the line between providing comfort and over stimulating her. She flicked through telly channels until she'd found an airing of Mr. Bean just starting. "Lily Anne," she said, "Lily Anne, look, it's Mr. Bean."

Ecce homo qui est faba... ecce homo qui est faba...

Lily Anne half-looked, her fingers still moving feverishly, eyes sodden with tears. "Busy, busy, busy..."

"You love Mr. Bean, look - he's so silly!" Daisy laughed along with the laugh track and Lily Anne glanced between Daisy and the telly, a wobbly smile coming 'round her face. Daisy smiled too.

The telephone rang, then, and Lily Anne startled at the sound, her voice quickening, "Busy, busy, busy, busy...."

"It's alright, darling, it's just the telephone... just the telephone... Mummy's going to answer it, you watch Mr. Bean. Look, he's dancing to the saxophone music now! You love that part." Usually Lily Anne danced with Mr. Bean at that part. Today, she just watched in fascination. Daisy pushed herself up from the carpet with a sigh and hurried to the kitchen, where the nearest extension was. She lifted up the phone, "Hello?"

There was even more noise on the other end of the line as there was at her flat. Loud music was playing and shouting voices.

"Hello? Hello?" came a voice, a bit muffled.

"Hello?" Daisy repeated.

There was a loud scuffling, scraping sound, then, "Daisy?" It was James Potter, his voice suddenly sounded proper. "Hullo?"

"Hi, James - yes it's me, Daisy. Can you hear me?"

"Ah there you are!" his voice was a bit louder than necessary, but she assumed that was because of the party or whatever was happening in the background.

God, please don't let him be in a bar. Why is he calling me from a bar? she thought, and she bit her thumbnail, looking out over to where Lily Anne lay on the carpet, clutching the goose and staring up at Mr. Bean on the telly, still counting off her fingers. The sobs had stopped though, which was a good sign. The laugh track from Mr. Bean seemed sharp to Daisy's ears, but Lily Anne liked it.

"Where are you?" Daisy asked, holding the phone with her shoulder and moving both hands to untangle the long coil of the cord that connected it to the wall-mounted cradle.

"Sorry?"

"Where are you? It's very loud," she raised her voice.

"Oh. Blast, sorry. Hang on." There was another scraping sound, then he said something that she couldn't quite catch. The background went positively silent and when he came back on, she could hear him clear as a bell - but he was still talking louder than necessary, "Is that better?" he asked.

"Yes!" she said, mocking his volume, "But you could do with speaking up a wee bit, I can't quite hear you when you're shouting!"

James paused, "Sorry," he said in a regular tone.

Daisy asked, "Are you at a party or -- a - a bar or something?"

He'd been so perfect. Why'd he have to go and ruin it? Why did she let herself fall for his charm and let her guard down and --

"No, sorry, I'm at my mate's record shop. You know Remus's husband owns a record shop, yeah?"

"I think he mentioned it once or twice," Daisy said, relief coming over her. "Why are you calling me from the record shop?"

"I don't have a phone at home and he said I could use his," James answered. "Remus had your number from his class roster. I - I hope it's alright he gave it to me. I realized we didn't really say anything about getting in touch to schedule that tea and - I - he suggested I call you up. Apparently that's what blokes do these days is call --"

She could almost hear the blush rising up in his voice.

"Yeah, that's usually what they do these days," she said, shaking her head. "You don't have a phone at home?"

"No," James answered.

How weird, she thought.

In the living room, Lily Anne had sat up and was hugging her goose to her chest, chewing on the beak and counting off her fingers with her other hand, staring at the telly with wide eyes. Mr. Bean was choking on lady's perfume in the department store and Lily Anne was transfixed as Mr. Bean threw himself to the floor and pushed his body along the carpet to get out from under the cloud of scent.

"You still want to, yeah? Have tea, that is?" James asked.

"Yes, I do," Daisy replied. "I'm sorry I forgot to give you my number. I was in such a rush to get to my class. What a ninny. Lucky Remus has it."

"Yes very." James paused, "So um. Tea. Yes. When?"

"I'm not sure, I need to see what my nanny can do, so she can watch Lily Anne. Probably after work one day. With classes over 'til September, I've got a pretty full work load. I took on a couple houses for a friend going on holiday this week."

"Right, yes."

"Perhaps I'll talk to her tomorrow and then - then we can make formal plans. What would work best for you?"

"I'm alright pretty much any time."

"Lovely," Daisy said. What was it like, she wondered, having an unlimited schedule like that? It must be marvelous, really. She would simply love such freedom.

James hesitated, "Shall I - er - call you again tomorrow, then?"

"Yes, that will do," Daisy answered.

"Alright. I'll - er - do - that."

"Very good," Daisy answered.

"Brilliant," James agreed.

They were quiet a moment.

"Is that Mr. Bean I hear?" James asked.

"Yes," Daisy said. "Lily Anne loves him. Or at least the laugh track."

"Harry enjoys him, too," James said. "In fact, he's at home watching the special as well."

Daisy watched as Lily Anne gnawed her duck's bill. "You left him at home?"

"Only for a mo' while I rang you up," James replied and before Daisy could ask how he thought it could be only a mo' if he was at the record shop and he didn't even live in London, James asked, "What about breaky?"

"What?"

"Breakfast."

"What about breakfast?"

"What if I pick you up and we get breakfast before your work and - and I can drive you - then you don't have to do the bus and it'll save you time - all those stops."

Daisy hesitated. "The longest part is honestly the train from Watford anyway," she said, "And --"

"I could pick you up in Watford."

"I'd have Lily Anne."

"Right. Right." James was quiet.

Daisy said, "Sorry. She enjoys the train and it's very hard to change her routine. You understand."

"I do, stupid idea really. Sorry, I didn't mean to put you on a spot."

"It's alright." Daisy bit her lip and looked down at the floor, resting her forehead against the frame of the door of the kitchen. Her back was aching and she was tired and she wanted to go to bed, really, but her evenings was her only proper time with Lily Anne.

"I'll call tomorrow and we can plan the tea, then."

"Okay," Daisy said. She paused, then, "James?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for the offer for the ride. I do appreciate it. It's not you. It's just our routine is all."

"I completely understand."

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure you weren't upset."

"I'm not even a smidge," he answered. "Your daughter comes first just as she ought to." He paused, then, "But breaky still stands as an offer if we can figure out a way to make it work. You talk to your Nanny. Let me know what's on. I'll make whatever work on my end."

Daisy smiled, "Thank you."

"Alright. I must let you go, I need to get home. I reckon I've heard enough of whatever this band is."

Daisy laughed. "Sounded like punk rock to me."

"Sirius Black would have it no other way."

"I feel like such a dolt. His shop's the Run Out Groove?"

"Yes. You've heard of it?"

"Everyone in London's heard of it, blimey James."

"Huh. Well. Yes, that's him."

"I knew Remus's husband owned a shop, I just didn't know it was that one."

"Yes - actually, he bought the previous shop that was here, it's been a record store for some time, and he fixed it up and --"

James continued talking, but Daisy had looked up to find Lily Anne was no longer in the living room watching Mr. Bean. She hastened with the phone to her ear, stretching the cord, trying to spot where she'd gone. The duck was on the floor, left on the carpet. Mr. Bean was trying not to eat his steak tar tar and Lily Anne was no where in sight.

"I've got to go," Daisy said, interrupting him. "Sorry." She hung up the phone without another word and ran down the hall the other way toward the bedrooms.

Lily Anne was in hers and Daisy hurried in. Lily Anne was standing at the window staring out, her palms against the glass, banging her head gently against it as she watched a man walking his dog outside. "There you are," Daisy said. She carefully drew Lily Anne away from the window, stopping her banging her head against the glass. "You're missing Mr. Bean."

"Bark, bark, bark," Lily Anne said, counting off her fingers.

"I see the dog," Daisy said, nodding. "He's a very big dog, isn't he?"

"Bark," Lily Anne said.

"Did he bark?" Daisy asked. Maybe that's what had drawn Lily Anne's attention to him. Who knew? But Lily Anne was prone to wandering, and once she'd even got out of the flat and Daisy had to go after her. It had been terrifying to say the least, and Daisy had  panicked whenever Lily Anne disappeared from her sight like that ever since.

Daisy sighed and watched as Lily Anne drew away and went back toward the window, pressi g ber face to the glass, staring out at the man and the dog, her fingers rapidly moving. She shifted from one foot to the other and Daisy knew she must need to go to the bathroom by the motion, and there was still dinner to make - the animal biscuit drama had pushed their evening schedule back by quite a lot, and though her back hurt and she was so bloody tired she could just cry, she knew she had a long night ahead of her still.

Suddenly the notion of ever having enough time to see James Potter seemed laughable. She couldn't hardly even have enough time for a talk on the phone, much less tea or breaky as he'd called it.

God damn did she want to have breakfast with James Potter, though, that respectful, gentle man. Imagine, she thought, what it would be like to have somebody to talk to that listened the way he did, who cared the way he did... and dare she even imagine that he might even care about Lily Anne too?

The thought scared and thrilled her at once and scared her all the more for how it thrilled her.

Don't be stupid, Daisy, she told her self. You shouldn't be thinking of things like that. It was too easy to end up heart broken when you think of things like that.

"Come on, Lily Anne," Daisy said, "Do you want some dinner? Let's go to the loo and we'll make some dinner. Do you want to help?"

"Bark," Lily Anne said, but she let Daisy take her hand and lead her away from the window.

The tellyphone call had gone well, James thought, once he figured out he'd been holding the receiver upside down, and set the muffliato on the backroom door, that is. He felt nervous as he fixed dinner for him and Harry, who was in the living room now, watching the Mr. Bean special - the same that Daisy and Lily Anne had been watching. James could hear the laugh track from the kitchen.

When dinner was ready, Harry shut off the telly and came out to the dining room.

"Dad, I saw in Diagon Alley today that Honeyduke's is hiring. They're looking for somebody to help run the shop in London, the sign said. You'd be brilliant at that!" Harry looked hopefully up at his father.

"I'd eat more than I made money for working, I expect," James laughed, "Probably would end up owning money by the end of the week in that job."

Harry laughed. "You could send me loads of sets at school though. I'd be popular for sure, then."

James smiled and scooped the dinner onto Harry's plate. The stroganoff. Harry looked up. They never had Lily's stroganoff except for very special occasions, usually Sirius's birthday.

Truth was, James had made the stroganoff feeling rather like Lily was close at hand and it felt like an acknowledgement of her presence to make it.

"What are the odds of her daughter being named Lily, Rey?" James had asked, when he'd asked Remus for her tellyphone number and they had hurried back to Remus's office to find it in his records.

Remus had paused, a far off expression coming onto his face.

"Bloody hell, don't do the maths," James had said.

Remus had stopped calculating then and looked on with concern as James sank into the chair opposite Remus's desk and said, "Bloody hell. What have I done? Oh gods."

"James."

He looked up.

"Lily would've wanted you to be happy.  I think perhaps the take away is less what are the odds of it and more the fact that perhaps it's a sign of Lily being with you. Maybe even approving."

He couldn't help but feel her looking at him now, too, through Harry's eyes as he stared up at James questioningly.

"I was thinking of your mum a lot today," James answered Harry's unspoken question.

Harry nodded.

Remus had agreed not to tell Sirius anything about the date or the phone number or any of it until James was ready to. The use of the tellyphone at the Run Out Groove had been covered up by the noise of the show being played that night, during which Sirius was far too distracted to notice James tucked away in the back room. Remus had played a bit of a look out from the front counter to make sure James wasn't caught at it.

James sat down with his own plate before him, the stroganoff steaming hot. He stared down at it and laughed when his glasses fogged up. "Bit hot yet," he said, removing his glasses and wiping the steam from them. Harry laughed, too. James looked at his son and smiled. "Did you have fun 'round the Odairs today?"

"Oh loads. Uncle Jaz took me and Colin round Honeyduke's, that's how I saw the hiring notice. Colin's nutter for jelly slugs you know."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And we were proud of him, Dad, you wouldn't believe it. He asked for them and all on his own, too. I mean he called them Jellyugs, but he said it to the shop attendant. You know Colin doesn't talk to strangers but he did and Uncle Jaz near about cried..." Harry scooped up his first spoonful of the stroganoff, blew it off noisily, and jammed it in his mouth.

James was truly impressed. He took up a spoonful of the stroganoff, too, and took the bite, the creamy taste was warm and familiar. Comforting. Like a hug when one needs it most.