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[4] Liam and James Make You A Birthday Gift

Summary: Inspired by his birthday party at school, Liam goes to James for help with your birthday present.

Notes: Marauders modern elementary school AU, kindergarten teacher!James Potter x nurse!reader, mom!reader x son!OC (Liam). Sorta weirdly angsty? Idk how that happened. Vague mention of parental death, grieving.

A/N (27/6/24): Guys just don't believe me when I say I'll update regularly lmao it's never gonna happen. Tried to upload this last night but I literally fell asleep lmao so this is semi edited

Previous Part: Career Fair Next Part: James Takes Liam to School Series Masterlist here

Look.

We all know that James is the best kindergarten teacher at his school.

His students’ test scores always improve through the year

Their standardized test results are exactly where they should be for the grade level, if not higher

And the kids themselves love him

But in order to keep his kids happy and engaged and eager to learn, he sometimes has to … shall we say bend the rules …

Just a teensy weensy bit

A little bit

A tiiiiiiny bit

At the beginning of the year, James told the class that if they were well-behaved by the time that each of their birthdays came around, he would throw a small birthday party for each of them

And let me tell you

The kids were thrilled

James quickly set a few ground rules for the kids (because the admin at his school is stupid and ScHOoL pArTiEs cAnT bE hELd wiThOUt adMiNiStrATivE pErMiSSiOn so he had to be kinda careful)

NUMBER ONE (more for him than them)

James checked each of his students’ allergy records in the school database to figure out what treats he could bring to school 

You know, without sending anyone into anaphylactic shock and probably getting sued in the process

and NUMBER TWO

Everyone must thank Mr. Black at the front desk on the day of each party

(Sirius would help James smuggle treats into his room for these parties, so James figured it’d be nice to have them say thank you)

Honestly, James enjoyed these parties just as much as the kids

Even the planning part was fun for him

About a week before a kid’s birthday, he’d ask them what treat they wanted for their party

Some kids *cough* draco *cough* want a bunch of super-sugary Halloween-type candy

(James gets them reduced sugar and sugar-free knock-off brands for Draco's birthday because he doesn’t think he can handle nineteen sugar-high kids all at once)

Others want to have a pizza party or order from a nearby restaurant

Sweet little Dean just wanted Fig Newtons lmaooo

(James bought an extra pack for her to take home)

But each and every time, no matter what they want, James makes it happen

Liam’s birthday is on January 2nd, which is over winter break

Which is a shame because James was really excited to celebrate it on the day of

Usually with kids who have birthdays in the summer, he celebrates their half-birthday

But that won’t work for Liam obviously bc his half-birthday is in the summer

So James just decides to celebrate Liam’s birthday when they get back from winter break

Before winter break, however, James asks Liam what treat he wants for his party

And Liam

Sweet summer child

Liam says he’d really like some home-made oatmeal raisin cookies

Like

What.

What the fuck kind of answer is that??

For a sIX YEAR OLD

WHAT.

This fucking child is somehow like ninety years old and six at the same fucking time

James’ utter bafflement must have been visible on his face because Liam explains himself pretty quick

And James’ heart breaks when Liam tells him that his grandma died when he was really young but his mom tells him all the time that her mom’s oatmeal raisin cookies were the best thing ever

Apparently every time you try to recreate them for Liam, some disaster happens and you’re unable to finish 

(i.e. you’re called into work and have to take the cookies out of the oven half-baked so the house doesn’t burn down, you and Liam take a nap while the cookies are baking and almost actually burn the house down, Liam accidentally gave you the salt rather than the sugar, etc.)

And Liam just really wants to try good oatmeal raisin cookies

He’s had them from a box from the grocery store before, and they’re not bad (it kinda surprises James that he liked them at all, but then he remembers who exactly he’s talking to lol), but Liam wants to try some good home-made oatmeal raisin cookies

And maybe bring one home for his mom

And FURTHERMORE, Liam is plenty aware that no child in a million years besides him actually enjoys oatmeal raisin cookies

So he asks for chocolate chip for the rest of the class so they get something they’ll actually enjoy

James is just kinda speechless at first

Like you can hear him just blinking down at this sweet, kind, selfless little six-year-old

And slowly he nods, and the bell rings to signify the end of the day (and semester since it’s the last day of school before winter break)

Poor James is practically catatonic as he gets his kids on their busses and in cars home, then packs his own things and finally makes his way to the library to get Remus and Sirius

And they both know something’s up immediately

After some gentle prodding (and Sirius outright refusing to leave the school library until James tells them what was wrong), James tells them what happened

(Remus and Sirius aren’t quite sure what the big deal is until James explains further)

James’ parents died during his second year at university, and he was horribly torn up about it for years after

Still is, sometimes

He was always terribly close with his parents, and they would always do anything—anything—for their James

(Including practically adopt Sirius during high school)

And now, thinking about Liam’s grandmother dying when he was young, all James could think about was you

James couldn’t imagine you’re any older than him, and he’s twenty-four, which means you had Liam young

And if Liam’s grandmother—your mother—had died when Liam was young, that meant you were left to take care of a baby all on your own at—what, twenty years old? Nineteen? All while going to university to become a nurse, and then actually becoming a nurse after that, long shifts and heavy workloads and all

The thought made James’ heart ache terribly in his chest

That night, James spends nearly two hours searching for different oatmeal raisin cookie recipes

He plans to do trials 

A competition of sorts with Sirius and Remus serving as judges

Because James is DETERMINED to bake the best homemade oatmeal raisin cookie Liam will ever have

(He’s sort of nervous for you to eat one, but he figures even if it isn’t as good as your mother’s, it hopefully won’t be awful)

James, Sirius, and Remus’ holiday celebrations only really extend to sleeping over on Christmas Eve at Remus’ mother’s house, which is only a couple blocks away

So James spends every day of winter break baking a new cookie recipe and shoving cookies down Remus’ and Sirius’ throats

But by the beginning of second semester, James has crafted the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie recipe

(It was rather simple, actually, and the “secret ingredient” was more of a secret process than anything; James used only brown sugar rather than a mix of brown and granulated, added some cinnamon, and put the balls of dough in the freezer for twenty minutes before baking so they would be nice and chewy)

James decides to hold Liam’s party at the end of the first week back at school

(Just to make sure the kids know they’ve got to go back to learning)

And Liam’s party goes swimmingly!! (ofc)

James brought chocolate chips, as promised

But he was terribly proud of his oatmeal raisin cookies, so he brought enough for the whole class as well

And holy shit

James never thought it could be done

But EVERY SINGLE KID in that classroom was eating oatmeal raisin cookies like there was no tomorrow

Like

James tried to make sure there was a cookie left at the end for Liam to take home to you

But he couldn’t keep them out of these kids’ grubby little paws and they ended up eating them all :(((((((((

James is really sad when he notices

He hadn’t quite realized just how much he wanted you to try his cookies but now he’s really disappointed

And poor Liam :((((((

Poor baby Liam is also pretty put out by it, James can tell

James apologizes to Liam about it

Liam says it’s fine, but James sees right through it

He gives Liam a big hug at the end of the day as well as another apology

(And a lollipop, but secretly so the other kids don’t ask for one too)

A month passes, and everything’s pretty normal

Until one weekend in early February, James hears knocking on his apartment door

He’d been grading, and Remus and Sirius were over to hang about and chat

James wasn’t expecting anyone else to arrive so he’s pretty confused

But he answers anyway

(Let's be honest here people, James would be the first to be killed in a horror movie)

Thankfully Jason doesn’t murder James on his doorstep

Instead (and very surprisingly) it’s Liam who’s standing anxiously at James’ front door

Immediately, James thinks the worst

Did something happen to Liam? Are you home? Did something happen to you?

James is immediately crouched in front of Liam, eye level, asking him what he needs

And Liam anxiously stutters out that he needs help

With what? you may ask

Well, my dear reader

Liam needs help making homemade oatmeal raisin cookies

For his mom

For her birthday

LIAM ISTG—ASDKFJHLWN

YOUR SON IS SUCH A SWEETHEART

AND JAMES CANNOT GET OVER IT

(He’s also super relieved bc he was real scared for a second that something terrible had happened)

So Liam and James and Remus and Sirius (who Liam knows as Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black from school) all get to work making homemade oatmeal raisin cookies for you for your birthday

Liam explains that you’re working a twelve-hour shift and a couple hours of overtime on top of that, so you set him up with Ms. Hope (Remus’ mom, who watches him often)

Apparently Liam asked her if he could go to James’ apartment to ask if he could bake oatmeal raisin cookies for his mom, and Ms. Hope said yes

(Remus quickly calls his mother to reassure her that Liam arrived safe and sound and is currently baking with them, just so she doesn’t worry herself)

Liam also informs James, Remus, and Sirius that he’s supposed to be staying at Ms. Hope’s house until tomorrow morning, when you’ll pick him up

Ms. Hope insisted that you leave Liam with her and not worry about him, if just for the night

The four boys have a blast for the next three hours or so, baking far too many batches of cookies and then finding a nice gift bag to put them in

James also gets some stray craft supplies (he keeps it around in case he runs out at school) and everyone makes their own birthday cards for you

Harry goes back to Ms. Hope’s just in time for dinner, which James, Sirius, and Remus join them for, much to Ms. Hope’s excitement

The evening is just terribly fun for all of them

Fast forward to the next day and you’re rushing to look semi-presentable to go get Liam from Ms. Hope’s house

The doorbell rings, and you’re cursing internally because you’re already fifteen minutes late

You got home so late at night that it was actually early in the morning, and you’d overslept

And now there’s another thing to deal with at the door

James’ eyebrows raise slightly at the force with which you wrench open the door, and he’s a little concerned that you’ll be displeased at what he’s done

But you realize who it is (Liam) and who he’s with (James) and all the tension in your shoulders melts back

Liam is immediately all over you, wishing you a happy birthday with a big hug and a wet kiss to your cheek and resting his head on your shoulder when you pick him up

You’re completely thrilled to see him

(If immensely confused about why your son's teacher is also on your doorstep with a rather large gift bag)

James smiles sheepishly, but he’s reassured by your smile as you say good morning

So he explains the whoooooole story with you pitching in here and there

Until finally he gets to the fact that he and Liam (and Remus and Sirius ofc) have made you oatmeal raisin cookies

At this point, James is pretty certain that you can’t do much to endear him further to you

But you’ve got the most lovely way of proving him wrong when he begins to think like that because the way your eyes light up at the mention of oatmeal raisin cookies makes James want to keep repeating the words over and over so the look never fades from your face

He hands over the gift bag (with another small explanation about the two extra cards and who exactly Sirius and Remus are), wishes you a happy birthday, and politely excuses himself

As much as James loves to be around you and Liam, he knows his place

At the end of the day, he’s still Liam’s kindergarten teacher, and Liam is still your son

So he leaves you and Liam to celebrate your birthday between the two of you

When he gets back to his flat and locks the door behind him, James feels a strange sort of ache settle over his shoulders and seep deep into the cavity of his chest. He swallows around the strange feeling in his throat and takes a deep breath. It’s fine. Everything’s fine. 

Next Part: James Takes Liam to School

[5] James Takes Liam to School

Summary: The month following your birthday sees you and Liam growing closer with James outside of school, and when you're stressed and in a rush, James offers to help.

Notes: Marauders modern elementary school AU, kindergarten teacher!James Potter x nurse!reader, mom!reader x son!OC (Liam). Last one was really long and this one is kinda just regular length, sorry :/

A/N (26/7/2024): ok I made a small change since I first posted this ... just figured a little Tonks cameo would be fun lol so now Tonks watches Liam before school :)

Previous Part: Liam and James Make You A Birthday Gift Next Part: You Get A Visitor in the ER Series Masterlist here

Okok first lemme explain something really quick

Your apartment building has a lobby sort of thing on the first floor right as you walk in

And this lobby doesn’t really have a ceiling if you know what I mean? Like the building is hollow above the lobby area, and there are like balcony/hallway things inside the building for each floor where you can enter the apartments

(idk if that makes sense but please just bear with me on this one pls)

So you and Liam’s apartment is on the second floor of the building, right above the post boxes for the building

And you, Liam, and James have figured out that James’ apartment is the one right above yours

You’re not 100% sure how you feel about this yet … but so far it’s only brought good things (read: cookies for your birthday and seeing James get his mail every day while you’re on your way out the door for work)

James, on the other hand, is lowkey super thrilled

Bc he loves (LOVES) to see you in your scrubs early every morning

The two of you have made a habit of making light conversation for a couple minutes in the morning

(Or sometimes James just waves at you with the sweetest, prettiest, kindest smile if you’re in a rush)

It’s the highlight of James’ day tbh

Maybe tied with seeing Liam at school

You and James have actually become pretty good friends through these small interactions

Over the month or so since your birthday, James has learned, little by little, what constitutes a regular day in you and Liam’s household

Mornings are rather chaotic since you usually work 12-hour shifts from 7 to 7, so you pay one of the high school girls that lives in the building to watch Liam for an hour and drive him to school

You leave at 6:30-ish, which is right around the time James gets his mail (fucking morning person)

(He's started putting an alarm on his phone for 6:20 to remember to see you get the mail every morning)

Tonks is the girl who watches Liam in the morning (she insists you call her that and who are you to say no), and she also picks him up from school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and drops him off at Ms. Hope’s house across the street for a few hours before you can pick him up from there and take him home (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Ms. Hope can pick Liam up herself)

It’s a couple evenings a week that James crosses paths with you and Liam as you’re walking across the street back from Ms. Hope’s house

He always takes fifteen minutes or so (as long as you and Liam have the time) to talk with Liam about his day, what he enjoyed at school, if he had trouble on any homework (which is rare), and what he and Ms. Hope got up to after school

(Secretly, James hopes you’ll be impressed with how good he is with kids even though it’s literally his job lmao he knows it’s backwards thinking but he’s just so smitten)

But James knows better than to ask the same boring “what are you doing today” during your daily morning chats

Every morning, he asks you a random question about yourself

The second morning you and James talked (he hadn’t thought to ask you much more than “what are you doing up so early” the first time around), he’d asked about your favorite color

Then it was whether you prefer cats or dogs

James knows a bunch of random trivia about you now, like your favorite food and how you hate working in the med-surg unit and the name of your favorite stuffed animal from your childhood

And every morning, James tells you his own answer to the question of the day

His favorite color is red (which you think fits him, but he specified that he likes a dark wine color or a maraschino cherry best), he likes cats but prefers dogs (he laughed to himself when he told you like he was making an inside joke, but you didn’t ask questions), his favorite food is his mom’s recipe for biryani (you noted that he used the past tense when speaking of her), he loves bringing his kids to the library because one of his best friends is the librarian (James mentioned Remus, and you nodded because he’s Ms. Hope’s son), and his favorite stuffed animal is a plush rabbit named Miss Beatrice, who he still has in his apartment (you bullied him into admitting that he still sleeps with her on occasion, but it's so sweet you can't really laugh)

It’s become almost a sort of game, and you’ve come to know each other quite a bit more in these little five- or ten-minute interactions

It’s fun :)

And it’s normal and regular and consistent, and you and James like it that way

So James is rather alarmed when you come rushing down the stairs and into the lobby at 6:40 one morning, Liam running along with you with his school bag, trying to keep pace

You heave a sigh as you come to stand James’ side, checking your own mailbox (which you usually don’t do in the morning, and it makes James all the more concerned)

James can tell you’re trying not to brush him off but it’s obvious you’re in a rush

You’re halfway through explaining to him that Tonks came down with bronchitis and can’t watch Liam, and on top of that, your alarm didn’t go off this morning because you’d turned it off yesterday for your day off and forgot to turn it back on so you’re already running late, and you hate asking Ms. Hope to watch Liam at the asscrack of dawn—

James doesn’t really think about the words he says before they’re coming out of his mouth

He just offers to take Liam to school

It’s not like he’d be going out of the way for it anyway, I mean he and Liam are going to the exact same place and Liam has already been in James’ apartment before and knows it relatively well, so what’s the harm?

And you kinda … freeze … for a second

And at this point, James knows you pretty well, you know?

He knows you’re gonna refuse, say you can’t ask that of him, so he reassures you that it won’t be a problem at all and says he and Liam will have fun and get to school on time and everything

Just for added effect, he winks at Liam, who giggles and tugs on the sleeve of the shirt under your scrubs and asks with the sweetest, widest eyes if he can stay with Mr. Potter for the morning

And ever the thoughtful little boy, Liam reasons that then you won’t have to be stressed about bothering Ms. Hope or about where Liam might be for an hour in the morning

You’re considering the options, looking between James’ and Liam’s wide, excited eyes, until you finally sigh quietly

Just to be sure, you ask James if he’s sure he doesn’t mind

And of course, James doesn’t

(It took a while for James to convince you to stop calling him Mr. Potter and he’s always seen how you hesitate for a moment before calling him James, but he surprises himself with just how hot he feels under the collar when you don’t hesitate to call him by his first name this time)

You look down at Liam again and nod lightly, and your son is just all smiles and buzzing with excitement immediately

He gives you a hug around one of your legs, which you reciprocate as best as you can, and you exchange ‘I love you’s before you’re thanking James profusely on your way out the door

James watches you get in your car and drive away through the glass front doors of the building

And he must have an awfully fond look on his face

Because Liam just looks up at him with the cutest scrutinizing eyes you’ll ever see and asks “Do you like-like my mom?”

James just about chokes on his spit lmaooo

But Liam isn’t letting James off the hook without an answer, so James tries to be as tactful (and evasive) as he can be and says

“Your mom is very sweet, Liam. I can see where you get it from.”

Your chaotic morning was truly a warning for the rest of the day, because work really sucked

And by the end of your shift, you realize you didn’t tell James where Liam should go after school due to the unforeseen circumstances of the morning, so you’re hoping you won’t find your son sitting on the welcome mat outside of your apartment

But you figure you’ll go to Ms. Hope’s in case James kept to the usual schedule

But when you arrive, Ms. Hope says that James had actually called and told her he’d be taking Liam to his apartment and to tell you that’s where your son would be when you got home

So ofc that’s where you go next

You sort of hesitate to knock on the door at first, just because you’ve never been in or even around James’ apartment and it makes you strangely nervous

(Which is weird because you assisted with surgery on a man who’d been in a motorcycle accident earlier that day, and you’d come out on the other side of that alive and mostly mentally intact)

But your fist kinda just acts for you and knocks on James’ front door

There’s silence, then a high-pitched giggle (Liam) and a sweet chuckle (presumably James) before the door is yanked open and your son is flying into your arms

Well, more like into your legs bc he’s six and short lmao

But you pick him up and rest him on your hip like he’s a lot lighter than he is

And he’s immediately babbling away at you about all the fun things they did at school and how he wants to hang out with Mr. Potter every morning and afternoon and he missed you and look what he made for you during art class today!

You’re already feeling better from your shit day at work, and when you finally get the chance to look towards the doorway again, James is there with the softest, most … ugh he's just the sweetest

Because he looks so in love

And you sort of hate that you can see it in the way he looks at you and Liam

James is truly the kindest, most compassionate man you’ve ever met, and you know that at the end of the day, even when he looks at you and your son like that, you’re already counting the obstacles in your head

Because first and foremost, you’re a mother, always, and your son will always come first no matter what

And James is literally Liam’s kindergarten teacher, and there’s no way you’d even entertain the idea of putting your child’s education anywhere near your own entanglements

And even if that wasn’t a problem, and as much as James makes lovie eyes at you, you haven’t dated since Liam’s father

It would be an enormous change, both for you and Liam

And again, you don’t want your son to get hurt

You hope you’re not as transparent as you feel and that your thoughts aren’t being projected onto your forehead, but the way James reacts to you looking at him makes you think that maybe they were

But … maybe not, because you give him a tight-lipped, sort-of-melancholy smile, and all James does is smile back, and there’s a sort of understanding that passes between you as your son babbles in your arms about his class’ dioramas of the jurassic period

Not now, but … Maybe.

Next Part: You Get A Visitor in the ER