Omake 5: Childhood memories part 3

Children were machines with love tanks that needed to be fulfilled quite regularly. Especially when you were sleeping peacefully, even more so if you were tired as shit.

It was probably around 3 a.m. when Harry felt something poking his face insistently. He frowned a little and tried to ignore it by turning his head in the opposite direction, but it obviously didn't help. Giving up, he opened his eyes slightly, more asleep than awake as he begrudgingly searched for the source of his predicament. The first thing he saw were Mare's mismatched eyes, the elf was face down (at least from his perspective) having crawled his way through the pillows and was blinking tearfully at him.

"I d-didn't mean to wake y-you" the small elf whispered. Harry's instinctual answer was to say something like "You were poking me, what exactly did you think would happen? Brat." but the grumpy words never left his lips, since Mare began to hiccup, tears now running down his cheeks.

No no no sobbing no!

Quickly placing a Muffliato around Mare and himself, he looked around and sighed in relief when he saw the others still sleeping. Moving very slowly he sat up, turning from the waist up so he could take the crying Mare and place him in his lap.

"Shh shhh why are you crying?" the kid was hugging him quite strongly, crying in his shirt loudly. Thank Merlin for the Muffliato.

"N-nightmare"

"Hmm… do you want to talk about it?" the elf shook his head in negative, still hiding in his chest, so Harry stayed silent and simply made comforting circular motions in the tiny back, the other hand over the small head, humming softly.

Harry was starting to fall asleep again, nevermind that he was seating when the little elf finally released his grip, small hands cleaning the slightly red eyes before looking up, blinking at Harry in a matter that was totally awake.

Please no.

"Can we play?" was the totally serious question, the hopeful stare now shining with energy.

No we can't, is 4 a.m., everyone is asleep and I'm so tired I think I could sleep over a pointy rock.

"Sorry bud, it's a little bit too early for that. Can you go back to sleep?"

"I'm n-not sleepy" The little brat had taken quite the nap during the afternoon, so this was sadly Harry's fault for allowing it.

"…you have to try. Lie down and try to fall asleep again"

"But, w-what if the nightmare c-comes back?" Huh, so that was the real reason.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? It may help" Harry hadn't even finished that phrase when the kid shook his head, saying "NO!" quite loudly. He was surprised to see the normally shy elf express himself so stridently, but that was to be expected given the circumstances.

"Ok, ok, that's ok too" he waited for the elf to calm down again before saying "we all are here together. Nothing bad will happen I promise"

"…p-pinky promise?" Harry wondered mildly where he learned that small piece of human culture, before mentally shrugging and accepting; sealing the contract with the small finger.

The little elf looked much better already, even if he was still way too awake for Harry's liking. Hugging the small child again, he hummed the few lullabies he knew from heart; managing not to fall asleep before the kid did. After that, he levitated the child carefully towards his place between Demiurge and Shalltear, having to move the vampire's arm so the elf actually fitted in the reduced space.

Once that whole ordeal was done with, he took down the muffliato and lied down again, sleep greeting him the moment his eyes closed.

Harry slept soundly after that, and didn't wake up again until much later when he felt movement, more specifically, that of a kid waking up. Harry was still too tired to do shit however, so he subconsciously tried to put the kid back to sleep by giving soft pats on their back and humming. Had he been more awake he would have thought this better, since his humming was waking up the others, but at least the one he was patting was falling asleep again. Harry let out a tired and relieved sigh, and was beginning to dream again when he felt even more movement and the squeaky noise the mattress made when someone stood up. Opening his eyes in resignation, he blinked sleepily at the room.

He had a hand over Demiurge's back and the demon was snoring slightly over his torso, so he figured the little demon had been the one that woke him up first. Aura was sleeping soundly, taking the space that was meant for two children. Albedo had changed from being at the end of the bed to sleeping across their feet, and seemed quite comfortable… wasn't Cocytus supposed to be between them? Turning his head to the other side of the bed, only Mare was still sleeping, since Shalltear was standing right at the side of the bed, looking at him guiltily.

Harry brought his free hand to his lips, making a shushing motion before whispering "Don't move" towards Shalltear. The little vampire giggled softly before nodding, a complicit small smile on her face before it was covered by her tiny pale hands.

Where the heck was Cocytus? Harry thought it over for a few seconds before checking the only place left of his bed; over his head. True enough, the insectoid was sharing the big pillow Harry was using. He let out an amused smile at the position Cocytus was sleeping in, curled up with its tail wrapped around himself like some sort of cat.

Glad everyone was still either sleeping or in the room, he summoned his wand and casted Tempus, surprised to see it was actually 10:21am.

Deeming it was a decent hour to have breakfast, he slowly sat up, waking Demiurge in the process as he stretched. The little demon rubs his eyes sleepily, before looking around as if searching for his glasses. Harry accios them from the nightstand, giving the item to him before addressing the bunch of children.

"Wake up kids, aren't you hungry?" he asked softly as he gently shook Aura awake. Once the young elf was standing sleepily out of the bed, he was free to get down as well, finally able to shake awake the other children.

The last one to wake up is Cocytus, being the harder to reach since he was in the middle of the king-size bed. The smallest kid is stretching four arms when Harry's curiosity gets the best of him, asking about his change of sleeping position.

"It. was. too. warm" said the insectoid softly, not looking at him. Ah, he had forgotten to take into consideration the characteristics of his species…he would have to remember it next time.

"It's ok kid, you're not in trouble. You can sleep there from now on" he clarified gently patting the insectoid's cold head, before walking out of the bedroom with the bunch of children behind him. He couldn't help but think in a line of ducklings following their mother.

Chuckling at the mental image, he sent a [Message] to Sous-chef, asking him to bring ingredients for a large breakfast to his room. The rooms of the Guild members were designed as a presidential suite; with a large bathroom, a bar, a piano room, a master bedroom, a guest bedroom, a kitchen for a personal chef, a dressing room, and many other really unnecessary rooms. Right now, it was going to be the first time the personal kitchen was used, since he wanted to keep the situation as unnoticed as possible.

The mushroom-like NPC arrives in a matter of minutes, so Harry goes to receive him since he hadn't let any of the maids in. Normally, the regular maids would take turns to follow him during a whole day, but he had ordered them away for these few days, much to their chagrin.

Sous-chef stares with utter disbelief at the children guardians, so he gives him a short explanation on the situation at hand, putting emphasis on the short durance of the spell and the request of silence regarding their small status. The NPC nods in understanding before starting to cook, fulfilling all of their demands swiftly. Even with such a broad menu, they find themselves eating in a matter of minutes, seated in the small dinner room present in Harry's personal chambers.

He keeps an eye on the kids during the whole meal, making sure they are grasping the utensils right and that the food gets mostly into their mouth and not over the table and floor. It's a little complicated with such a large amount of children, but it was not as bad as it could be if he hadn't magic. Levitating food and passing things down the table with wandless magic was certainly helpful.

Truth be told, they didn't really need to eat, but Harry had felt nostalgic as he remembered his first family, so he had wished for a regular breakfast since he knew he wouldn't be able to have one once they were back to normal.

Once they had all eaten Aura asked for lollipops, which was immediately supported by a chorus of agreeing children. Harry was still eating though, so he asked her to go to Sous-chef to ask for some.

"Ok. Do you want one too?" Distracted with Cocytus' small mess, he answered distractedly with a "Sure kid" as he cleaned the insectoid's claws and helped him hold the fork right.

The elf ran enthusiastically towards the mushroom-like NPC, standing in her toes at the same time she made hand motions for the elder to bend down.

"Can you give us lollipops? One for Hadrian-sama too, he was too shy to ask for one himself so he sent me to do it" was the worst attempt at whispering Harry had ever seen, since he could hear it all the way from across the room in his sitting position. What the heck? She had offered it to him! The little elf wasn't finished though, because it continued with her supposedly discrete voice "He didn't want to ask because he's an adult. Don't say I told you, but-"

"Ahem! Aura come back please, you haven't finished your vegetables yet!" he yelled mildly embarrassed before chuckling to himself. Oh, how could he have forgotten? Young kids could embarrass their parents so very easily. Why, he recalled this one time James had-

"Here you go, Hadrian-sama!" the young elf interrupted his thoughts as she offered the lollipop to him, the others already eating theirs. Oh well, he would have enough time to feel nostalgic and act like an old man later. Thanking Aura with a few pats on her head, he finished his candy with a single bite before standing up to thank sous-chef, requesting him to come back in the afternoon.

Accompanying the mushroom-like NPC out of his room, he renewed the silencing charms around the whole area before coming back to the dinner room. Stopping the small mayhem only small children without supervision could produce, he vanished the rests of food without a second thought, before asking the kids what they wanted to do.

Listing off a few options, in the end the majority had chosen to play in the forest with the creatures Aura supervised. Opening up a [Gate] he made sure to avoid the part of the floor that was occupied by other Nazarik denizens, so he let the children explore around at their leisure, with the condition of staying in the clearance and not going too far away.

Everything was well for the first couple of hours, until a small mishap from Shalltear had one of the Tob-Bears accidently hugged to death. The creature disappears with a "Puff" sound, as the distinctive ashes of the fire-type monster fall to the ground. Consoling the depressed vampire while calming down a furious Aura had not been easy, but he had managed in the end. If anything, he was glad it had been one of his [Summoned] creatures and not one of Aura's original ones, since it would have been disastrous otherwise.

So, now they were having a funeral, because Harry couldn't convince them not to have one, even if the animal in question was nothing but ashes now. Once the "ceremony" had ended, he hoped to dispel the depressive aura by distracting them with something else. As such, he transfigured their clothes into swim suits, telling them to go have fun in the lake that was in the middle of the clearing.

Since swimming had been out of bunds, the children immediately ran towards the "forbidden" lake, hopefully forgetting everything about the small accident of before. He walks at a more sedated pace after them, changing his clothes for a swimsuit as well, but instead of getting in fully he just sits down at the edge, his legs moving slightly underwater as he kept a watchful eye on the bunch of cute brats.

The water level had been forcefully adjusted with Harry's magic to an appropriate level, so he didn't worry overly much as they played and swam around the lake. It was not like any of them could die by drowning, but his parental instincts wouldn't allow him to be careless regarding their safety.

Movement suddenly halting, he felt his body tense as their mischievous eyes focused on him, before a whole war started on who could throw more water at the other. Harry found himself forced to participate, so he threw aguamenti left and right as he avoided the "attacks" of the kids, jogging around the lake. He threw cold water at most of them, making them yelp at the temperature, and hot water at Cocytus since it was the only thing that made him react. Their attacks almost never reached him however, since they were using only his hands to throw water, so he transfigures a few fallen leaves to give them water guns and even the playfield.

They play around the clearance for quite a while, alternating between jogging, evading and countering the water attacks of the others, until the game reaches its end with a final, undiscussed winner. Harry and the kids were all pathetically defeated when Mare got serious and used elemental magic to create a wave, the water coming from nowhere as it flooded the whole clearance without a second thought, the few creatures that were in the vicinity running away from the mayhem.

A few minutes of panic later, he let out a relieved sigh once he noticed everyone was alright and laughing, congratulating Mare for winning. Deeming he had had enough heart attacks for the moment, he instructed them to get out of the lake, drying them up with a swift wand movement before changing their clothes back to normal. Opening up a [Gate], he was the last to go through, guiding them towards the dining room for a quick meal.

It was a repeat of breakfast, but now with the children talking amiably as they laughed and joked with each other. He supervises the lot of them as he eats silently; a warm smile on his face as he recalled times long past.

Once lunch ended, he decided to play something calmer, so he improvises a few games regarding equilibrium and slow movements. It feels like some sort of Yoga, but with a lot more talking and less humming. The children got tired of it quite quickly though, so in the end he settles for playing Musical Chairs.

The first attempt at playing it was terrible. The chairs simply hadn't been designed to hold a full tackle from the competitive children, so they broke down on the first round. He waved his wand to repair them, adding a few runes for resistance before trying to play a second time. The game is repeated a couple of times before pausing for dinner, with the winners being Aura and Shalltear respectively.

When the final meal of the day was over, he congratulated Sous-chef for a job well done before dismissing him, taking the bunch of brats back into his bedroom. It was too early to go to sleep however, so he sat down in the floor with the children surrounding him, deciding with an amused smile the last game of the day.

The game of "this little piggy" wasn't supposed to be this intricate, but he was having so much fun. Basically, Harry would say the beginning using his own hands for the story-making and let the children complete the phrase, which was proving to be quite imaginative for them. Up until now, he got quite varied responses, from "trained wolves in the park" to "Got eaten by a plant", and his personal favorite "went away to check everything was ok" from Demiurge. The little demon had been restless since they finished diner. It didn't seem to matter how many times Harry said he got it covered, everything was fine and that they were not under attack, all the kid ever did was look inflexibly at him.

In the end he picked up the stubborn kid and placed him on his lap, thinking he may as well end the game to tell a story. Using magic to illustrate his words, he spoke about wards and magical shields in the simplest way possible, explaining to the awed children a little about what he had done with the wards around Nazarik. Once that was done he shifted the images to tell an adventurous tale, giving a kid-friendly version of a few adventures the Golden-trio had had in his first life.

He focuses on the fun parts of course, like riding on the dragon's back as they escaped from the "bad guys" of the bank, or the tests they had overcome to reach the philosopher's stone. With every tale, he uses Djinn illusory magic to make a small show, the figures being like a 3D hologram as the made-up characters moved, flew and fought in accordance to the story. Every time he changed to another tale, he would pick up a different kid and place them on his lap, so everyone had their "turn" at passing time with him.

Once everyone had been with him at least once, he called it a day and transfigured their clothes into pajamas. After that, he decided the sleeping order at random, with Cocytus being the only one that had a designated space in the pillows above them. In the end, the sleeping order from left to right was Demiurge, Aura, Albedo, Harry, Shalltear, and Mare. Redoing the cushioning charms on the floor, he slept with the two little girls cuddling with him, the top of his head oddly cold due to Cocytus' proximity.

And thus, the second day was over.

AUTHOR NOTE:

And that was it! If it were canon, Harry wouldn't be so tired just because he had a busy day, but I wanted to represent the parent's view when they take care of small children, so that's why the beginning was written like that haha.

My respects for those that deal with small children on a daily basis, you never get bored with those little balls of energy near you. I only see my small cousins once per month or so, but is still taxing as hell.

Either way, thanks for reading and hope you liked it ;) Not sure how often my updates will be, since I'm back at work now, but I'll try to keep it reasonable.

See ya' around~