The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix Part Three

A Single Stitch

"There you are, Jamesy... there you are! Ah, what a pretty little slip knot you've made. Very good." Dora's voice was chirping happily and she grabbed hold of her son's head, her palm against his cheek and pulled him into her, kissing his temple, beaming in pride, "You're such a good learner! You always have been very bright."

"Aw c'mon, mum, it's just a knot," James said, his face red, a blotch of Dora's lipstick on his skin where she'd kissed him. She smiled at him endearingly as he crinkled his nose with and wiped at the kiss-smudge with his wrist. "It's nothin' to get all smushy about."

Dora nodded, "You're right, you're right of course, I'm just quite proud of my little lad."

James's brush only deepened.

"Now you've got your knot, you can tighten it 'round the tip of your needle... like this...:

James looked at her needles and took his little slip knot and looped it 'round his needle.

"Alright, then we cast on - loop the yarn about this way... over your finger like me, Jamesy - see, like this?"

He looped.

"Now it's just a little - a flip of your wrist, see, like this... and the needle swoops through here and... loop... and swoop... loop... and swoop... see what I'm doing?"

"Yeah, but yours looks better than mine."

"Yours looks darling, love," Dora clucked.

"It's wonky, see?" James held it up.

"It isn't - it looks lovely!"

James frowned at his loop and swoop work, his brow furrowed, still suspecting that his was wonky.

There were steps on the stairs. "And what have we here?" Lily asked, smiling as she came down to the living room, where James and Dora sat side-by-side with yarn in balls at their feet, Roger laying across James's lap, stretched long and lazily watching the yarn as it moved with James's looping and swooping, his paw batting nearly absent-minded-like.

"James is learning how to knit," Dora announced, beaming proudly.

Lily laughed, "Oh? And how is that going?"

"Wonkily," James replied at the same time as Dora answered, "Wonderfully!" James glanced at Dora, then looked to Lily and shook his head as Lily laughed.

"Well I think it looks splendid so far," she said, leaning over to look at James's barely made progress.

James laughed, "Of course you do. You have to. You're my mum and your opinion is highly biased seeing as you made me and all."

"Well I think you're doing great too," Lily said.

"And you're even more biased!" James accused. "You're nutter enough to marry me."

"I tried not to, if you remember," Lily said.

James grinned. "But in the end, you couldn't resist."

"In the end, you broke my senses and I went mad and that's landed me here. I'm not sure which of you is more to blame - you or Sirius! There I was, perfectly normal, perfectly sane... and along comes you lot..."

Dora said, "I know the feeling, honey. His father and Minerva were the same way."

James laughed, "I can't bloody believe Minnie was Dad's Sirius Black."

Dora smirked, "Oh no Jamesy. I was your father's Sirius Black."

James stared at Dora with one eyebrow raised. "Either you dunno Sirius well enough or else I don't want to know any more details."