A/N: A one-shot based during when Ginny's pregnant with Lily.
Credits to my best friend, autumnangel on one direction fanfiction . com (without the spaces), for the awesome image.
Enjoy. :)
"Boys, I have something very important to tell you," Ginny told the boys, as they ate their dinner.
Albus gurgled, spitting food on her in the process. Ginny made a face before wiping it off.
"Food fight!" James yelled, throwing a spoon full of mashed potatoes straight at Ginny's face. It landed on her cheek with a splat. James froze seeing the look on his mother's face.
Ginny closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying hard to control her temper and not yell at James. He's only four, she told herself.
Unfortunately, Albus was still too little to understand his mother's facial expressions. He giggled and threw some of his own dinner at her, which landed in her red hair.
Calm down, Ginny. They're only boys.
"Mummy, are you very angry?" James asked, in a tiny voice.
Ginny stopped wiping the food off, and turned to look at him. He widened his hazel eyes in the perfect look of innocence that she found too hard to resist most of the time.
"No, it's alright. But don't do it again," she smiled at him, all traces of anger vanishing at the doe-eyed look he was giving her.
She fed them in silence for a few minutes, before starting again. "Boys, I was going to tell you something. As you know we're having another baby."
"Yes, Mummy," James nodded happily.
"Well, the Healers have just told me today, and it's going to be a girl!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly. She beamed at the boys, only to be met by two blank faces. "Aren't you happy," she prodded, hoping for a better response.
Albus waved his arms about happily, his mother's excitement catching up with him.
"A girl?" James said, horrified.
"What's wrong with a girl," Ginny asked, amused.
"It's- It's- It's a girl! Girls are no fun. They don't even know any good games!" James protested. "Can't you tell the Healer you changed your mind? Tell him we want a boy!"
"We can't change our mind, Jamie. There are no choices. You have to take what you get. Besides, a little girl won't be too bad. She'll be cute and pretty, and you can take care of her," Ginny explained gently.
"Really?"
"Yes," she said, hoping this would convince James that a girl wouldn't be as bad as he thought.
"But I don't want her to be cute and pretty!" Ginny felt like smacking her head on the table. "If she's cuter than me, then you'll love her more!" James protested, pouting.
Ginny laughed at his ridiculous statement. "Jamie, I'll always love you as much as I loved you when you were born. How much I love Albus or our new baby girl won't affect how much I love you, because you'll always have a special place in my heart."
James nodded at her in understanding. "But Mummy, how many special places do you have in your heart? There's one for me, Al, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione," James counted, "So many people! How do you fit them all in?" he asked, curiously.
"Oh, Jamie," Ginny laughed. "There's a lot of space, trust me. Don't you love a lot of people too? And when someone new comes in your life, your heart just makes more room for them. Do you understand now?"
"I think so," he answered. "Is that Daddy?" he perked up, as he heard the front door opening.
"Ginny, boys - I'm home," Harry called.
"Daddy!" James ran to greet him. Albus struggled to get out of his high-chair, as Ginny undid the straps.
"Hello, Harry," she said, handing Albus over to him.
"Daddy, Mummy just told us something very exciting!" James told him.
Harry looked at Ginny, "Oh, really? She didn't happen to tell you the baby's gender, did she?" he smirked.
"Daddy, how did you know?" James cried, disappointed that his surprise had been ruined.
"Well, I know that she had her Healer's appointment. And I just had a gut feeling she'd tell you first, just like she did when she was pregnant with Al. Seems like I've taken a second place," Harry joked, pretending to be wounded at his demotion. Ginny laughed at his antics, causing Albus to giggle too, even though he didn't quite understand what was happening.
"But Mummy said her heart's big enough to have a special place for everyone. Why did you have to take second place?" James frowned.
"I still love Daddy as much as I loved him when you two weren't there, Jamie. I just have more people to share secrets with, so I can't always tell him first," Ginny explained.
"So is anyone going to tell me the big news?" Harry asked, as he tickled Albus.
James gave Ginny a questioning glance. "Go ahead," she smiled, answering his unspoken question.
He grinned. "It's going to be a cute and pretty girl that I'll have to take care of," he burst out, unable to contain himself any longer.
"Really?" Harry turned to Ginny in shock. She nodded happily in confirmation. Harry burst out laughing in giddy joy. "This is great!" he exclaimed, before stopping abruptly. Ginny threw him a worried look. "But she'll grow up," Harry whispered.
"Yes, she will. All babies grow up, Harry," Ginny said slowly. "And don't start thinking about how you'll have to keep her away from boys. That's too far away," she looked at him sternly.
"It's just around the corner, if you think about it," Harry protested.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "She's not even born yet. Now I'm going and putting Al to sleep. James, come up in half an hour, alright?" she said, getting up to take Albus upstairs.
"Okay, Mummy."
"Daddy, why are you so worried?" James asked, after Ginny had left.
Harry looked over at his eldest son. "James, I am going to tell you something very important. Listen to me carefully."
James puffed his chest out, feeling very grown up and important. This was the second time today he was hearing something important from one of his parents. "Of course, Daddy."
"Now, James, when our little girl is born, she's going to need someone to watch over her and shield her from harm. Now, as her father, I'll obviously always be there for her, and make sure that anyone who hurts her gets punished properly. But as her older brothers, you and Al will need to help protect her too. In fact, once she's old enough to go to Hogwarts, you and Al will have to make sure she's happy and no one dares to hurt her in any way. I won't be there, so it will be your responsibility to take care of her," Harry told his son seriously.
James's smile vanished. "But I don't know how to take care of anyone," he said nervously, hoping his father wouldn't decide that someone else could do a better job looking after his baby sister.
"That's not a problem. I'll teach you. We have time right now. The first thing you need to know, James, is that boys should stay away from her. You need to scare them away, so that they don't mess around with her or break her heart," Harry said grimly.
"But why would anyone break her heart? She'll be so pretty and nice!" James asked shocked, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Exactly. When you grow a little older, you'll understand better," Harry explained. "Teenage boys like playing around with pretty girls. Our little girl will always be too good for them, so we'll need to test them properly before letting them anywhere near her. We'll talk about this in more detail when she's going off to Hogwarts. You'll be in your fifth year, so you'll understand what I mean."
James nodded seriously. He may not have understood everything his father had just told him, but he had learnt the basic lesson: to keep boys away from his baby sister. "Do I have to keep our cousins away from her too?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Harry laughed. "No, they're family. In fact, I think I'll be having a talk with all the boys in the family."
"So we'll have lots of people protecting my little sister. I won't have to do all the work alone," James sighed in relief.
Harry was about to voice his agreement, when they a slight cough in the background.
Ginny looked at the clock. It was almost forty minutes since she had left Harry and James downstairs, and James still hadn't come upstairs for bedtime.
She tucked in the sleeping Albus, before walking downstairs to investigate on the two boys.
"...protecting my little sister. I won't have ...all the work alone," she heard James saying.
Ginny shook her head. Typical Harry. Their baby girl wasn't even born yet, and he had already gathered an assistant for protecting her. More like suffocating her, Ginny thought with a small snort.
She walked into the room, coughing lightly to catch their attention. Harry whipped around, a guilty look on his face that just screamed caught! while James beamed at her happily.
"What are you two boys talking about," she asked, giving Harry a knowing look.
"We're deciding how to protect the baby girl," James spilled, oblivious to his mother's displeasure.
"Harry Potter," Ginny said, a warning note present in her voice. "You better not become one of those overprotective fathers."
"Ginny, I can't help it," he protested.
"No, I will not tolerate it. I spent my whole life surrounded by six overprotective brothers, and my daughter will not suffer the same fate. You can give her boyfriends a hard time, but don't put chains on her. And that too, before she's even born!" she said angrily, the hormones making her more emotional than she normally would have been.
"Alright," Harry grumbled, agreeing reluctantly.
"Now, Jamie, it's time to go to sleep," Ginny said, leading him upstairs.
After putting James to bed, Ginny walked into their room.
She looked at Harry sitting on the bed, gazing out of the window thoughtfully.
"Are you scared," she asked him softly. Despite her gentle tone, he still jumped, not expecting the interruption.
"Yes. This is worse than when you were expecting James and Al combined. She's going to be my little girl. She's going to need me much more than the boys ever will. I need to make sure she's well protected, you know," he said fervently.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Honestly, it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. I'll be there too. I'll give her advice, and help her differentiate between the good ones and the ones who only want to play with her." Harry brightened up at that. "Either way, Harry, I think you'll be a very good father for a little girl. You're protective in just the right amounts. And I think you'll accept her choice, when the time comes."
Harry beamed at her. "You think so? I mean, this is so different from when you were expecting James or Albus. This time, I know that eventually she'll rely on some other man, and I'll have to take a back seat."
"Oh, Harry. Need I remind you again? That's all very far away at the moment. Don't worry yourself from now."
Harry murmured in agreement. A thoughtful silence ensued.
"I'm going to spoil her a lot, you know. I just know I won't be able to resist. You'll have to stop me," he said, after a while.
Ginny laughed. "I know. She'll be Daddy's little girl through and through."
"What if -" Harry swallowed thickly. "What if, she has your red hair and my eyes?"
"She'll be a very pretty girl then."
"She'll look exactly like my mum."
There was a pause. "I didn't think of that," Ginny said quietly. She flipped onto her stomach to look at Harry properly. "Do you think that would upset you?"
Harry laughed. "Merlin, no! I hope she looks like my mother. From what I've heard, she was a very beautiful woman - both on the inside and outside."
Ginny smiled. "I hope she's like your mum too."
"Boys, meet your little sister," Harry introduced, sitting down so the two boys could have a closer look.
"Wow, she's so pretty," James breathed.
"Pwetty," Albus agreed, enthusiastically.
"What's her name?" James asked, eyes still trained onto his baby sister.
"Lily. Lily Luna Potter," Harry answered with a smile.
"She's named after Grandma?" James questioned.
"Yes. Because your grandmother was a very good person, with a beautiful soul," Harry said, blinking back a few happy tears. "Now, would you like to go see Mummy?"
Both the boys jumped up excitedly at that. Harry laughed as he led them into the room, where Ginny was to stay for the next three days.
And although Harry was still anxious about the perverted boys that he would have to beat up to protect his little girl, he kept reminding himself that it was very far away. For now.
I know Lily Luna doesn't have Harry's eyes, but I think it would be nice if she does. That's why I didn't specify the eye colour in the last part. You can take it as you like.
Reviews are greatly appreciated. :)
-Sana