This story was written for IWSC.
School: Hogwarts
Year: Stand in for Year 6
Theme: Dittany (Healing/Injury): emotional healing + some physical
Special Rule: Incorporate Dittany flower meaning (Birth)
Linked: Mirroring James from Year 1, Past situations referenced from Year 5, Names consistent with Year 7
Main Prompt: Hiding/Stashing something
Additional Prompts: Trust [emotion], St Mungos [setting]
WC: 2021
/\\/
It seemed to be almost burning a hole in his pocket, a heavy weight dragging at his mind. Eyes darting around the room, Harry shifted slightly before drumming his fingers against the box concealed in his pocket, breathing out a sigh of relief at the touch. Soon. He slowly drew his legs up onto the chair, hissing at the old aches and pains that the simple movement caused and rested his head on his knees, surveying the room. The party, his birthday party, had appreciated and exhausting all at the same time, a whirlwind of friends and chosen family descending on their normal quiet home. It had been a good time, a welcome distraction from the worrying and exciting prospect of fatherhood.
Magical confetti blinked out in the corners of his vision as they vanished into nothingness, colours spiralling across the wooden floor as the breeze from the open window swirled them into flurries. The lights had been dimmed for the birthday candles and remained dark even as the sun sank slowly behind the horizon. Plates were scattered on different available surfaces, some balanced carefully on the table, while others slid out from beneath the table cloth or underneath the patchwork sofa, courtesy of the younger children away from the watchful eyes of their parents. Harry chuckled, twitching his wand as the plates soared over his head, a few suspicious sounding crashes emanating as they dropped into the sink. He winced slightly, waiting for Daphne's wave of disapproval to wash over him, an artifact from her strict upbringing.
"Daphne?" Harry called, eyes darting around their sitting room, every sense on edge for a hint of her presence but silence greeted his voice.
Panic gripped his heart, sharp talons stealing his breath, ice flooding his veins. He tried to help her be her own person, to realise she is free to step out of the gilded cage of her past and she returned the favour, stabilising and supporting him. And now she was gone. And pregnant. Harry found himself at the open backdoor, staring out into the wild, untamed mass of their back garden, creeping vines blending seamlessly into the more ornate tea roses Daphne favoured, their scent lingering in the air. Almost unbidden, memories from the war, undisturbed for several years now began to flash in front of his eyes, twisted bodies and blood staining his hands.
It hit him like a lightning bolt, a flash of inspiration. He knew where she would be. Harry stepped forward and Apparated, intense pressure robbing him of his breath, a sensation of dying all over again- and then it was over. Harry gasped, head spinning as he staggered, feet slipping on the damp grass. The cold air was a shock to his system, clearing his head as he stared down the bank, eyes locking onto the hooded figure silhouetted at the end of the dock, ripples extending across the lake as they dipped their feet into the water. Everything was still and quiet, the comforting presence of Hogwarts settling just behind him as the wards wrapped back around the grounds.
A bird's cry split the air, echoing strangely from the Forbidden Forest, as Harry slowly picked his way down the hill, arms raised as he slid the last few meters, grass shifting into gravel which crunched underfoot as he approached the dock. Reflexively, he tapped the velvet box in his pocket, some tension leaking out of his muscles at the gesture.
"I should have known you would find me," Daphne called over her shoulder, pushing down her hood as her long blonde hair fell free, shining in the rising moonlight.
"I said I would always find you," Harry replied, a grin forming at the memory.
This place was special, for the both of them, memories seeming to permeate the ground, the water, the very air around them. It had been like they were two magnets, both drawn to the same spot in this huge castle with all it's hiding places, they both claimed the same one and fought bitterly to defend it from the other. Hours had been spent here, swapping stories about their own awful childhoods, about Harry's nightmares, Daphne's fears of her sister's future. He could feel the tension leaching out him as he gazed out across the mostly still water, drawing deep calming breaths reflexively, an old habit from after the war.
"Are you going to sit or just stare all night?" Daphne asked, her voice hitching slightly at the end, the disruption in her calm tone as noticeable to Harry as if she had shouted.
"You okay?" he asked, hurrying to her side and sitting down next to her. She immediately leaned into his chest, resting her head on his shoulder as he pressed one arm around her and his hand to her swollen stomach, feeling the fluttering movements from their child.
"Not as bad as I have been," Daphne said, her attempt at a light tone ruined as she grimaced, one hand pressing into the small of her back.
"Not long now," Harry said, pressing a kiss to her shoulder, before watching her face fall.
"I don't think I can do this," she admitted suddenly, biting her lip as she stared resolutely out over the lake, drawing in a shaking breath before her icy facade dropped over her features.
"Why?" Harry asked, mind racing as he fought to keep his voice even.
The war had broken them both, compounding on previous damages lingering just under the surfaces from childhood, a perfectly matched broken pair. They had both come so far since then, and a heavy weight settled in the pit of Harry's stomach at the thought of the long road of healing still ahead of them, and how far they had already come.
Daphne sighed, the corner of her mouth twisting as she thought. "You saw my parents, you know my childhood. I know Astoria turned out well but…" she trailed off, wincing once again.
A splash further off in the lake caught Harry's attention, small waves impacting against the dock, wood creaking. His heartbeat quickened, a dull roar in his ears, every muscle tense and prepared for an attack. But no, he had moved past from this, Daphne needed him now, had trust in him to be there for her in her darkest moments.
"But what, love?" he questioned.
She turned her face to him, moonlight revealing the dark purple circles under her red-rimmed eyes, the smudges of mascara at the corners, unshed tears glistening and threatening to spill.
"What if I act like they did? What if I'm just as cold, as distant, as-"
"Stop." Harry held both her hands tightly in his, feeling the cold bite into him. How long had she been out here? When had she snuck away from the party without him noticing?
"I trust you," Harry said, eyes locked on hers, "I trust that you will make the right choices with our child, I trust that you will continue to be the amazing woman I know and love, and I trust you will allow me to help you, as you helped me through all of these years."
Daphne smiled a trembling smile, tears spilling down her cheeks in a rare moment of vulnerability. She began to speak, but the words shifted into a groan, Daphne leaning forward, teeth bared. Her magic reacted, lashing out like a wounded beast at anything in her way, namely Harry and the lake.
"Daph?" Harry called over the roar of the water, cupping her chin and raising her face towards his, eyes wide.
"The baby's coming," she hissed, yanking in sharp, quick breaths, brows furrowed, "Has been all day. Happy birthday, love."
Harry could only stare at her, thoughts slipping out of his mind as soon as they had formed.
"The baby," he repeated dumbly before comprehension dawned, "Now?"
"Shield," Daphne hissed, and Harry complied, old soldier instincts that had never quite left him holding true as the lake exploded once more.
"We need to get to St Mungos," Harry said, smoothing her hair back from her face, her eyes squeezed shut.
"I trust you," she said, a wry smile twisting her lips as she slowly got to her feet, Harry supporting her. Harry focused all of his being onto the small reception area they had been shown what felt like half a lifetime ago, tightened his grip on Daphne and Apparated.
/\\/
Pain lanced up Harry's arm, Daphne's fingernails stabbing into his palm like talons drawing blood.
"Soon, love, soon," Harry promised through gritted teeth, pushing back Daphne's sweat soaked hair.
"You–you said that the last time," Daphne said with a laugh, eyes fixed resolutely on the plain white ceiling.
"Well, your husband's not wrong," the medi-witch at the foot of the bed said, eyes crinkling as she grinned behind her surgical mask.
Daphne's gaze shifted to Harry's, eyebrows raised in solidarity before her gaze shot back to the ceiling, magic redirected through the wards on the bed, another contraction passing through her. Harry's free hand slipped, habitually tapping against the box in his pocket. Soon. He glanced up and caught the medi-witch looking at him with a knowing look on her face before her attention was rediverted once more.
"Okay, okay, one more big push, some more discomfort thanks to those helpful spells, and you should be meeting your new baby," the medi-witch said, bassinet floating over from the stand, knitted Weasley blanket cushioning the inside.
Daphne's hand refastened onto Harry's, nails like warning pinpricks against the flesh of his palm, and she nodded once, gaze dropping down towards the medi-witch before she turned to Harry.
"Our child's nearly here," she whispered with a small grin.
"You'll be an amazing mum," Harry said, gritting his teeth as he braced for Daphne to dig her nails into his hand once more.
She promptly complied, every muscle tensed-
A loud cry split the air, Daphne collapsing, almost boneless, onto the mattress, gasping for air. Everything else stopped as Harry turned to look at the small, red-faced, screaming baby the medi-witch was cradling as the rest of the diagnostic spells whirred away. The entire universe had ground to a halt, earth ceasing its rotation, cloud's freezing in the sky, nothing else mattered outside this room. With practiced ease, the medi-witch wrapped up the baby and placed him in Harry's arms.
"You have a beautiful, healthy baby boy," she said, another wide grin on her face, "I'll give you two some privacy while I go get the paperwork."
She winked at the stunned Harry and darted off out the door, shutting it behind her with a click. Silence followed, broken by the occasional soft hiccup from the baby in Harry's arms. Harry gazed down at his son, soft black hair smoothed down onto his scalp, face scrunched up.
"He's beautiful Daph," Harry breathed, his heart swelling with the rush of love and affection he felt for them both, "Marry me?"
Daphne blinked, her exhausted brain visibly ticking over his words, brow furrowing as she thought. Her eyes widened as comprehension dawned, tears gathering in her eyes.
"Yes!" Daphne said, one of the biggest smiles Harry had ever seen stretching across her face. Sweat soaked and exhausted, eyes bloodshot and hair tangled, she had never looked more beautiful at that moment, love shining out of her face.
It was almost a relief to slip the small, velvet ring box from its hiding place in his pocket, the baby remaining calm and content in Harry's arms, softly burbling to himself. It was a perfect fit, the small jewel sparkling in the hospital lights.
"I love you," Daphne said, a small twitch of her wand healing the small cuts on Harry's hands from her own nails, warmth sliding across his face as she targeted his injuries caused by her previous magical outbursts.
"I love you both so much," she said, patting the mattress next to her for Harry to lay down, pulling back the blanket to trace a single finger down the baby's nose.
"Hello, Sothis Regulus Potter. Happy birthday to you."