It was a brisk autumn night, and Harry could be found in the nursery of St. Mungo's hospital. His wife was asleep, having just given birth to their third child, their first daughter, Lily.
Harry held the tiny girl close to him as he sorted through the pile of muggle fairytale books that Hermione had brought by. His eyes fell on one titled 'The Little Mermaid' and so he picked it up and began to read quietly to his daughter. She wouldn't be able to understand, but that didn't matter.
He reached the end of the book, and couldn't help but to burst out laughing, which woke his wife.
"What's so funny?" Ginny asked, sitting up in the bed. She reached for Lily, and Harry reluctantly handed the small girl over.
"I was just reading Lily 'The Little Mermaid'," Harry said, laughing again.
"I've heard Hermione read that to Rose... I wasn't aware that it was a comedy?" Ginny looked at her husband, puzzledo.
"That's because it's not. I was laughing because the mermaids in this book are nothing like the mermaids I encountered during the Triwizard Tournament. I think that if they were more like Ariel, I wouldn't have been so stupid and stuck around, waiting for everyone else to show up. The mermaids in the Black Lake were, well, hideous and scary." Harry's face grew serious, remembering the sharp teeth and pale skin of the mermaids he had encountered. If he hadn't of been such a dumb prat, he would have had a great lead for the maze, and able to reach the goblet first. Then maybe...maybe Cedric would still be alive... Ginny reached out and grabbed his hand, knowing where his thoughts had gone.
"Harry, there is nothing you could have done to change what happened. Please, let's not diminish the beauty of this day with what ifs." Ginny handed their daughter back to Harry, who eagerly took the baby into his arms. He stared down at the tiny red haired girl, and smiled.
"Can you imagine if the mermaids in the lake started singing to us like they do in this book? I mean, yah, they sang their creepy poem, but that's not the same." Harry cleared his throat and quietly started to sing:
There you see her (sha la la)
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her (a-bout her)
And you don't know why, but you're dying to try
You wanna kiss the girl
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Possible she want you too
There is one way to ask her
It don't take a word, not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl.
He gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead, and then leaned over and kissed his wife. She was right, there was no reason to be upset. He had a beautiful wife, three happy and healthy children, and a job that he loved. He had everything he could ever want.