Disclaimer: All of the characters and settings and whatever in this story belong to JK Rowling, who I am not. The cover isn't mine, either.
converge (v.) - tend to meet or come together
Simple Joys
Sometimes, it occurs to Ginny how quickly time has passed. It feels like only yesterday that she and Harry were seeing James off to Hogwarts; now, she waited anxiously in St. Mungo's Maternity Ward, as her son stayed firmly by Adelaide's side before she gave birth. None of Ginny's labors had ever been this long, and she was beginning to grow tired and worried when Al finally sent her the patronus- the baby was coming, very soon.
Fortunately for their children, Harry and Ginny had decided to take all the kids for the weekend. It was something they didn't do often enough, especially considering how much they both adored them. So when Adelaide went into labor, James sent patronus's out to she and Harry, Al, Lily, and Teddy, of course. The voice that had come from the silvery lion was shaky and nervous, but clearly excited. Ginny told Harry to go, James needed him there. Adelaide had her mum. Ginny would have her chance with Lily, if she ever got round to that. Someday, maybe.
Ginny threatened Harry with death if they didn't send word when the baby was about to come, and then pushed him into the floo. It took her not thirty seconds after Al's patronus for her to floo with Al's twins, only one and a half and bloody adorable, Ryan and Rebecca, and Jacqueline Lupin, four years older.
And all of this time has come together to this very moment, when she rushed into the Ward and Harry kissed her swiftly.
"How is she?" Ginny asked breathlessly.
"Fine," Harry told her, grinning, "though James is a bit worse for wear. She's worse than you. I wouldn't be surprised if his hand is broken."
"That a girl," Ginny replied firmly, giving him a brilliant smile. "He deserves it."
"Granddad!" Jacqueline interuppted, tugging on Harry's arm, "is Aunt Adelaide going to be okay?"
"Of course, sweetheart," Harry knealt down, holding Lina's, as they liked to call her, arms in his strong hands, "your Mum had you, and she's just fine! Daddy's just inside with Uncle James, he needs it." Jacqueline seemed satisfied with this answer, and wrapped her tiny arms around Harry's neck.
Just then, Rebecca, situated on Ginny's left hip, began crying. Ginny handed Ryan to Harry, while she rocked Rebecca back and forth soothingly.
"Shh, babe...Nana's got you..."
Rebecca gave a little sniffle, "wanna 'ee Dada," she said, and Ginny laughed.
"Let's get you down, then. Daddy will be here soon, okay?"
Rebecca looked confused, but said "kay," giggling. She waddled over to Ryan, sitting on the floor between Harry's legs, and tugged on his arms until they were standing and waddling about the room together. They were so cute together, and frankly, they sort of reminded her of Fred and George; always meddling where they oughn't belong...actually, they may have inherited that from her. Ginny hadn't noticed until now, but it was nice being in private; perks of being Harry Potter. Jacqueline ran over to run with them, keeping them out of trouble as only six-year-olds can. Keeping a watchful eye, she didn't notice Harry slide in beside her.
"Really, he's okay."
Ginny jumped, scowling at Harry and slapping his arm. "Don't scare me like that! I could've...had a heart attack, or something! Bloody-"
"Language, Nana," he scolded, grinning wickedly, whispering against her lips after a quick kiss, and she glared at him.
Just then, a sound came from the other side of the room, and James threw the door open, beaming.
"A girl," he breathed, goofy smile still in place. "Merlin, she's beautiful."
Ginny leapt from her chair, throwing her arms around James. "Is Adelaide all right?"
"She's so tiny," James replied, and Harry guffawed behind her. "Well, come on, you need to see her!" James said suddenly, breaking from his reverie and pulling his mum into the hospital room. Ginny quickly pulled away, shooting a look at the kids so James understood.
"Lina, come on, now. You've got a new cousin!" she said, coaxing the girl towards her. Jacqueline's face lit up with joy, and she pulled on little Ryan and Rebecca's hands, but they remained firmly in place.
"Fine," Lina huffed, "I'm going in." Ginny rolled her eyes, stalking toward the twins, who remained stubbornly still.
"Don't you want to see Daddy?" Ginny whispered.
"Wan' play," Ryan replied stubbornly.
"Don't you want to see the baby?" Ginny saw the twins eyes light up, before they caught themselves and stood their ground. But they were fighting a losing battle.
Ginny reached over to tickle them both, and as they convulsed into giggles Ginny scooped them into her arms and headed into Adelaide's room. She placed the twins swiftly on Al's lap before taking a seat by James next to Adelaide's bed.
A baby girl looked up at her, simply spectacular. Her eyes were a clear blue, shining from tears, but Ginny thought she saw a hint of smile. She reached toward the baby to rub his forehead, and Adelaide smiled, putting her daughter out for Ginny to hold. Ginny cradled her in her arms, as Harry pulled up a chair beside her, and reached over to wrap the girl's tiny finger's around Harry's long one.
"Wow, James," Ginny said, clearly in awe.
"We didn't know you could do this," Harry added, and James scowled as Adelaide laughed.
"Isn't she brilliant?" Teddy's voice joined the mixture, and Ginny watched him conjure a patronus, no doubt to the rest of the family.
Not two minutes later Ginny's own parents appeared, followed quickly by Victoire, Ron, Hermione, Andromeda; the whole family. They converged together into the hospital room, laughing and crying and loving the joy that new life brings.
Time was a fickle thing; each moment connected to the last, each event lead up to the present. Every single previous moment in time leads to whatever will happen next. That is why it flies so quickly; we are too busy loving the joyful moments of life.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! I know it was super fluffy and somewhat cliche, but I love how it turned out :) If you really liked it, you might enjoy some of my other Potter/Weasley-centrics as well. Written for:
Star Light, Bright challenge: nebula: write about a birth
SAT/ACT vocab challenge: converge
Weasleys, weasleys, and more weasleys! challenge: write about platonic weasley relationships
Winter Games challenge: freestyle skiing slopestyle: centers around a celebration (birth of a child)
Fanfiction terms comp: next-gen: write about a birth
Chapter Acrostics comp: Chp. 3: S: action prompt- sitting
Potter Family challenge: ginny babysits her grandkids
Feedback would be awesome! Thanks,
Lara