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It was a pleasant summer day in April of 1960 in the town of Galestrom in southern Briton. Local citizens went about their business and the only concern on anyone's mind was of the impending Quiddich match, scheduled for later that Friday afternoon. For you see, this town was not like a normal town in Britain. This was a Wizard Community. One of the last of a handful of all-wizard towns left. All the locals were full of pride in their town team, composed of amateurs that played in school and for fun as children.
The game of Quiddich is played on broomsticks, and is composed of seven players on each team and four different balls. The Keeper guards three hoops set on poles fifty feet above the ground on each end of the field. The three Chasers try to get the largest ball, the Quaffel, into the opponent's hoops for ten points. The two Beaters carry small bats. They use them to beat the Bludgers, Small vicious balls that chase players and try to knock them off their brooms, away from their team. Finally, the Seeker, whose job is to catch the Golden Snitch, it's worth 150 points. Once the Snitch is caught, the game is over, but it's not easy. The Snitch is small, fast and very hard to see, some games last hours, even days at a time. The town was buzzing about the return of a player who hadn't taken the field in more than ten years. A Chaser named Frank Potter.
Mr. Potter, however, was pacing nervously in his garden, just outside his bedroom window, absent-mindedly kicking Garden Gnomes into the hedges. His mind was inside the house, with his wife and his soon to be born son.
"Frank! Frank, Come in here!" The midwife yelled through the window. "It's almost time!"
Humph, It was "almost time" three hours ago. Thought frank, as he sent another gnome flying into the bushes. "I'll be right in Maude." Frank yelled towards the house, "Just need to get a few more of these Gno�" His sentence suddenly interrupted by his wife, Maureen, screaming in pain.
Frank sprinted through the yard. The screen door flew open by itself as he neared the porch. Seconds later he was holding his wife's hand, "Honey, do you want something for the pain, perhaps a small numbing spell or a potion from the cupboard?" Frank asked soothingly.
Maureen let out a stifled cry "NO! She shouted "I want this burned in my memory so I'll think twice before I let you talk me into having another child!"
Franks caring face turned into a sorrowful expression, "I-I though we both decided to have a baby�" he stammered.
"Don't worry honey, she'll feel differently in a few minutes." Maude smiled, patting his shoulder. "Once she's holding him you'll see. I wonder why this child is being so difficult...Oh no, Frank, call the doctor. Call the doctor now!"
Frank stood alone in the family room, waiting for news from Dr. Humphrey, who had been summoned an hour earlier. Maude walked in slowly. She nearly stumbled and fell into an armchair near the fireplace. Looking up at Frank, she wiped a tear from her eye. "The doctor said you can go in now, she's not doing good Frank. The doctor seems worried."
Frank peered down the hall to the bedroom door. It was slightly open with a sliver of light falling across the floor. "Here we go, I've got him and he looks fine, just a little tangled up." Frank heard a loud smack and suddenly his baby started crying. "Norla, how is she?" The doctor asked, not sounding very hopeful. "Here Maureen, hold your son, he's strong and healthy. "Frank could hear Doctor Humphrey talking as he approached the door. He heard his wife mumble something.
Suddenly Norla started yelling, "The potions, give me the blue one, no wait, the red, give me the red, quickly Doctor, we're losing her!
Frank sprinted for the door. It flew open so hard the doorknob planted into the wall.
Dr. Himphrey was standing over Maureen, forcing a red potion into her mouth, but it didn't seem to be helping. "Norla, fetch my wand, I want to try a healing spell, quickly, and I'll need that vile of the Dragons Blood Serum"
"Yes, Doctor, I've got them." Norla rushed across the room and pull Dr. Humphrey's wand out of his bag, then reaching for the Serum, she accidentally tipped it off the counter. It fell to the floor with a crash. "Oh no! I'll Apprate to the clinic and grab another vile. I'll only be gone a second..."
"No Norla, don't bother. She's already gone." Dr. Humphrey said solemnly, interrupting her. "Frank, I'm so very sorry." Dr. Humphrey looked down at his hands. "Norla, take the baby and clean him up please."
"Daniel, is it, oh no, she's really gone isn't she." Tears began welling up in his eyes as the Doctor nodded. Norla returned with the baby cradled in her arms, warped in a blanket. She handed him to Dr. Humphrey and turned to Maureen.
"You have a healthy baby boy," the doctor whispered, as Norla spread a sheet over Maureen's now lifeless body. "He was all tangled up and I had a hard time getting him out, but he's definitely a fighter this one."
"I'm so sorry. Maureen did get to see him." The nurse spoke softly, "Your wife smiled and said 'He's a James, definitely a James' and she passed on peacefully. I'm afraid no potion or spell could have saved her. It was just her time."
Frank took the kicking but now silent bundle in his arms and collapsed to his knees. "James, James Potter. My beautiful son."
Frank didn't play Quiddich that night. Instead, he sat in front of the fireplace, cradling James and telling him stories about his job at the ministry of Magic, and occasionally about his mother. Frank talked long after James fell asleep. Finally, a few minutes after midnight, Frank put James in his crib and walked into his bedroom. He scanned the room for a few minutes, looking at everything that Maureen left behind. She left a book laying on her pillow, open to the page she was reading before she got out of bed. Frank picked it up, took her bookmark off the night stand, closed the book and set it under her lamp. He noticed her ruby earrings in a coaster on the night stand. She loved those earrings, she bought them in a muggle store while she was on assignment for the ministry. He took them over to her dresser and dropped them in her jewelry box. She left some socks folded neatly on top of the dresser. He opened her sock drawer, third from the left third row down, to put them up. There was a box, wrapped in birthday paper with Frank's name on it in the back of the drawer. He pulled it out and sat on the bed. Frank would be forty six in two weeks. He fought with himself for ten minutes before he decided to go ahead and open it now. It was a battery powered AM/FM radio, just like the muggles use. Frank began sobbing and shoved it under the bed. He cried himself to sleep that night, unaware when Maude came in, covered him up and stayed in James' room to let him rest.
For the next two weeks each day saw a flurry of owls arriving at the Potter's door. Well wishes for his son and sincere sympathy for the loss of his wife flooded his home. Maude, Maureen's best friend and midwife stayed on to help Frank adjust to the new life he was thrust into.
"Frank. Franky, listen!" Maude scolded. "Take the bottle just like this, see, and check the temperature on your wrist to make sure� Are you getting this? �make sure it's not too hot for little Jimmy, and remember, the diapers will clean themselves, just put on a new one when the waistband turns blue."
"I got it, I got it. Check the blue waistband on my wrist when James gets hot." Frank grinned, looking up at Maude.
"You know Frank. You really should take this seriously." Maude spouted off, "I swear if Maureen could see this�" Maude stopped suddenly, "Oh Frank, I'm so sorry, you know, I mean, I would never�"
"I know Maude, I know. Frank said solemnly. "Every day I wake up and I know. I still feel her though, I think she can see me now, and I think, no, I know she'll always watch out for little Jimmy." Frank slowly wiped a tear from his eye. "Thankfully the Ministry has given me a full six months of leave, I suppose I will have to hire a full time nanny after that�"
Maude stopped him mid-sentence. "Now see here! I'm his Godmother and I will see the ministry closed and barred before I will allow some strange woman to take care of that darling boy! I will simply not have it! He will stay with me during the day. I already look after Jonathan and Claire Black's little boy. What's another bundle of joy going to hurt? James and Sirius will get along wonderfully. If you have a problem with that, I'll go buy some diapers from the Muggle Store. Then you'll have to clean them yourself. That would teach you a thing or two." Maude winked and whisked James off to his crib.
Slowly summer gave way and fall approached. Frank was invited to every Halloween party in Britain, as well as a few in other countries. Try as he might, he could not seem to build up the courage to go out on his own. Not just yet.
"Frank, I insist!" Maude scurried around Frank, holding shirts up to him, then tossing them away, one by one. "You will put on your nice cloak and you will join Albus at his home tonight! You know that that man loves you like a brother. He wants to see little Jimmy, and you cannot spend another night cooped up in front of the fire alone. It's not healthy!
"Maude, I think I can take care of myself." Frank said sternly, "I know Albus is only trying to be kind, but please. Walking around, acting like I'm not torn to pieces and watching James laugh and giggle as everyone tries to play with him. I just don't think I can handle it, no, I'm sure I can't. I have to go in to the office tomorrow, I haven't been in six months and I need to focus."
"Now Frank. You need to go see Albus while you still can." Maude started lecturing as she waved her wand, making ties fly over, tie themselves, then pop apart and land on the pile of unused shirts in the corner, "You know he's going to go back to Hogwarts soon, you hardly ever get to see him while he's teaching, especially with you going back to work now. He took time away from school to organize this party, and I suspect it's mostly for you, and you don't want to go? Shame on you! You go, you have a good time with your friends and if you feel like you can't handle any more, just apparate back here and I'll come straight over and tuck James in for you."
"I really doubt he did all this just for me." Frank stated, stifling a laugh as a tie wound around Maude's wand rather than his neck. "I'll go, but I'm not staying long, just enough for Albus to see James and show him to a few old friends."
With a loud pop Frank appeared, holding James, on the doorstep of his old friend Albus Dumbledor's home. Before he could knock, the door flew open. Albus was standing a few feet back, eyes twinkling and his auburn hair and beard waving in a gentle breeze that seemed to be coming out of the solid wall beside him.
"Frank! So good to see you, and you brought James, how wonderful!" Albus was beaming as Frank stepped over the threshold. "Here, let me take your cloak." With a flick of his wrist, Frank's cloak disappeared. "How are things at the Ministry?" "All is quiet I suppose?"
"Actually Albus, Oh, here, hold James, how thoughtless of me" Frank shuffled James over to Albus and grabbed a cup off the table. "Warm Tea please, Earl Grey" The cup filled itself with fresh tea. "The ministry's given me six months leave so I can take care of James. I'll be going back in Tomorrow.
"Very good, it's best that you get back into a familiar schedule, help you get you mind off...recent events." Albus put a hand on Franks shoulder. "Come, let me introduce you to some friends of mine."
Frank stayed until well past Midnight. When he returned home, he found Maude, asleep next to the fire. He pulled a blanket off the couch and covered her, then went to tuck James in.
As Frank stood in the doorway, watching his son sleeping peacefully he said to himself. "We're going to be all right. As long as we have each other we'll be just fine." Frank slept better in those few hours than he had slept in six months. Finally a new peaceful feeling fell over him as he drifted off into happy dreams.
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