Disclaimer: I do not own anything that belongs to the Harry Potter World.
It would have to happen to her.
Fate just couldn't give it a rest.
Hadn't she dealt with enough?
Having faced deatheaters, seen people she love and care about die, and have thought the love of her life was dead.
Now Fate decided to bring a whole new challenge to her. That's why, on this seemly beautiful summer day, she was being pulled down the halls of St. Mungo's. Panting and clutching at her stomach as pains shot through her.
Yeah, Fate decided to be funny, today. Developed a sense of humor.
Yeah, that was why she was stuck with just Ron, teddy and Victoire as her means of getting through her pregnancy. Where was Hermione? The clever witch was somewhere else. Where was Harry? Somewhere Bloody else.
But lets rewind to a few hours ago, when Ginny Potter wasn't clutching her stomach in pain, as she prepared to become a mother for the very first time.
Six o' clock a.m.- Potter Manor:
Ginny Potter opened her eyes and blinked as she felt a shift in the bed and realized her husband was up. Stretching, her hand immediately flew to her round stomach, that protruded from the rest of her. Rolling over onto her side, she watched as her husband easily walked in the shadows of their bedroom as he opened drawers and pulled out jeans and a top. She smiled as she watched him tip-toe throughout the room, knowing that he didn't want to wake her up.
And as if he felt a presence watching him, her husband's hand immediately shifted and raked though his black messy hair that always lay untidy. He turned and glanced at the bed and spotting that she was indeed awake, gave her a half-smile as he wandered closer to the bed. His bottom half already in jeans, his top half lay bare as he leaned down and gently kissed his wife good morning. Ginny took pleasured delight at the sight of his muscular torso as he stretched and pulled a t-shirt on.
Her eyes wandering to his hip as he pulled his shirt down, a scar from a recent mission at work. His right shoulder bared another scar from when he and Ron were training new recruits and a spell got out of hand. Underneath his shirt she knew lay another scar, much like the one on his forehead, it too was from when he survived the killing curse. When he had let Voldermort kill him as a way to save everyone else. Thank God he had come back to her. The scar lay just where his heart is and the sight of it always brought a thrill of possessive pleasure throughout her body. As she knew few knew about that scar and even fewer had seen it. She let her mind wander to her weding night, when she had first seen the scar, and had pressed her lips to it over and over again. Just as she had pressed her lips to his after the Finale Battle. Making sure that he was alive, he was real, this wasn't a dream. He was here in her arms. Alive and they were in Love still.
She was drawn back into the present as she felt his fingers run across her stomach as he traced an unknown pattern. His head lowered as he kissed her belly, his eyes filled with love. The tender expression brought a burst of love to swell inside her, almost forming tears in her eyes as she looked at how happy he was. Remembering the past and now, she saw that the weight had truly lifted from him and he was able to have a normal life from then on. A normal life, he chose to have with her.
And that brought her eyes to burn once again with unshed tears. The tender expression on his face all the sudden made her want to giggle. The though of someone just looking at a regular stomach lovingly brought her to bite her lip as she felt a giggle rise in her throat. Blame Hormones. She always did. In fact for the past, not quite nine months, she had used it for almost every excuse. When she yelled. When she cried. When she tripped-over something, not being able to see her feet anymore. Burned something. Set fire to Harry's desk in the study, by complete accident...
Yeah, the joys of pregnancy.
But it really was nice. There were certain moments that just stood out. Like when she sometimes would pretend to sleep at night, when really she was watching Harry kiss her stomach and whisper to the baby inside her. The affection on his face mirrored hers. The face filled with tender joy. With happiness. With love.
Seven o'clock a.m.-Potter Manor:
Harry kissed her at the entry to the house. His lips brushed hers in a soft prodding kiss that turned her knees weak. She stared into his brilliant emerald green eyes, which didn't help the whole stay standing situation. As if he could read her mind, one of his arms drew around her to keep her balance. She huffed as she saw he was smirking down at her, but before she could respond his mouth moved across her's again more insistent as he place gently open-mouthed kisses against her lips before sealing her lips with his.
His lips were warm and inviting as she strained against him, wanting more, wanting more of him. His free hand cam up to cup her face as the kiss died down, but it still contained it's warmth, sending chills and sparks all at once down her spine. Harry place another small kiss on her mouth and chuckled quietly as she strained against him. Blame Hormones. His mouth moved down to her throat hunting along her neck until he found her pulse and lingered there, tormenting her as his tongue flickered against the vulnerable flesh. She felt his teeth gently graze the skin and she felt herself blush as she gave a pleasured moan.
And all too soon he was pulling away gently kissing her once more and pulling on his cloak. And then he was placing a kiss on her forehead and smiling down at her as he reminded her that her niece, godson and brother were coming over soon, and she continued watching him as walked out onto the lawn and disappeared with an audible crack as he apparated to work.
Eight o'clock a.m.-Potter Manor:
Ginny opened the door to her brother, as her niece and godson ran into the house with barely an hello, before they were racing up the steps to the second floor calling not-it to each other.
Ron brushed his red hair away from his eyes and he peered at his glowing sister that stood in the doorway. She looked happy and relaxed even as two kids set about unsupervised throughout her home. She was definitely ready for motherhood, and by the looks of her stomach motherhood was ready for her, too.
Ginny opened the door wider as her brother entered her home, all the while muttering about not being able to apparate to her house with younger children. Ginny, glad to see her brother, told him to shut-up, his house is next door, only separated by a small lake/pond, whatever the hell you want to call the medium sized body -of-water between her land and his. Again Hormones. They can get you really worked up. Then again, Ron could get her worked up when she wasn't pregnant.
Ron ruefully grinned at her as he made his way to the living room and propped his feet up on the coffee-table, as his sister rolled her eyes at him, not bothering to yell at him to get his feet off the table. They both knew he would put his feet back on the table no matter what.
She knew it had been a bad idea to get houses this close together, but who was she to break up "The Golden Trio." Besides, Hermione, her now sister-in-law, was a person she loved dearly as her one of her best friends. Though, she bet even Hermione and Harry's patience was tested every time she and Ron had a screaming match from their respected windows, with only a body of water to separate them from wringing each other's neck.
Yeah, having family close by can drive you Bonkers. Correction it will drive you utterly Bonkers. And Ron and Hermione weren't even her whole family. She had so much family, that they would probably eventually take over the whole wizarding-world. Seriously, we must hold close to every job out there, in our world. It was easy to spot one of us, Red hair, or if you saw silvery-blonde hair. I mean we didn't really have any normal sounding hair color names in our family.
Anywho, as I was saying Relatives make you go crazy, especially my Relatives.
You know like on day I just want to relax with my husband...alone.
You light some candles, fill the bath-tub, and your relaxing with your hubby when...the door-bell rings. And it's someone needing sugar, advise, a book to read, someone to vent to because there fighting with their husband or wife. When all I want to do is slam the door in their faces and go back upstairs where my husband and relaxing, Hott bath is waiting for me.
Is that too much to ask?
Eight' Thirty a.m.-Potter Manor:
Teddy and Victoire raced between rooms as they smiled and laughed, happily playing in their own little world. Where only they existed. One following the other in a game of catch. One always being the chaser and the other the chased.
Ron was now reading the Daily Prophet, his legs still propped up as he rested against the sofa, a cushion pillowing his head. His eyes followed both the stories in the paper and the two kids in the room. His muscles relaxed but she could tell he was ready to jump up if anyone needed him.
Ginny stood next to the stove in the kitchen, making double-chocolate-cookies, the ones she had begun to crave just this past hour. Her fingers tapped a rhythm against the counter as she waited for the oven beeper to go off. Wondering what drove her to make the cookies the muggle-way. Bloody Hormones.
Eight' Forty-Five-Potter Manor:
Waiting for cookies. And waiting and waiting and waiting. Where is that damn beep of the timer? That's when she decided to grab some cold milk out of the fridge but as her hand reached for the door, she looked down to the floor. Realization dawning on her as she realized that her water had just broke. That's when Ginny yelled for Ron, really she should have used better choice words when she told him. She yelled that the water broke and she was in the kitchen. Ron told me to have Harry fix it later. That's when Ginny exploded.
"Not the water from the fridge, you idiot."
"What water," was his stupid reply.
"My water as in my body as in my baby is freaking coming, you jack-arse!"
So by then Victoire and Teddy had stopped playing and had come into the kitchen to see why the adults were flinging curses at each other, ones that they hadn't heard since Uncle George banged his toe on a chair. HeHe. Yeah, Good Times. Gooood Times.
So after watching us bicker for awhile, Teddy, bless him, flooed Hermione to tell her what was happening and to collect Harry. Meanwhile Victoire had slapped Ron and told him to get me to a doctor already, because her new cousin is coming and he really didn't want Uncle Harry killing him if anything happened to me.
So with my clever, best friend finding my husband and then flooing to St. Mungos. We prepared to head off as well.
Having being threatened by a five-year-old, Ron moved faster. Still, he clumsily hit walls, chairs and knocked things over as he grabbed my things. Meanwhile, Teddy was packing my now done cookies into a small plastic bag for me to eat later. Victoire was flooing her Grandma Molly, to tell her what was happening and to alert the rest of the family. Which could take awhile.
My capable duo then sat with me on the kitchen floor where I was currently clutching my stomach as pain swept through me at given moments. I watched slightly awed and slightly scared as my five-year-old niece barked out orders like a drill sergeant.
"Get her a glass of water, Teddy."
"Move it, Uncle Ron!"
"Bottled water, Lupin!"
"Uncle Ron!"
"Breathe deep, slow breaths, Aunt Ginny."
"Pour it in a glass with a straw, Teddy."
"Uncle Ron, Move it! Were not waiting for Christmas to come, this baby is coming now!"
"Relax and keep breathing, you'll do fine."
"Uncle Ron!"
And that's how, at nine o'clock a.m.: Ginny found herself in front of a pretty young blonde receptionist, who snapped her gum every minute, her eyes glued on her magazine. Eventually, as another pain gripped me, reaching over, my hands pulled the receptionist closer by the collar of her shirt, speaking with chilling calmness.
"I'm about to give birth, any minute, you either give me a room or else this baby is being born in this waiting-room."
"I'm sorry, but the rooms-"
"Listen, I'm Ginny Potter, I'm about to have my first child, I'm nervous, scared and excited and in pain!"
"I Know, Listen, Wait you Mrs. Potter?"
"Yeah, You know Harry Potter's wife, married to the guy who saved all your arses!"
That got people moving.
Ah, The power of being the Head Auror's and savior of the Wizarding World's wife.
The Influence.
That's when by Nine' Forty-Five a.m., I lay gripping the hand of my five-year-old niece, as she coached me through the pain.
Her encouragements were wonderful.
"Come on, you can do it!"
"Go, Aunt Ginny, Go!"
"Your having a baby, your going to be a mother!"
"You'll be thin again!"
By the time Harry arrived, I was about five-minutes away from giving birth. Ron, Hermione and the rest of my family were already huddled in the waiting room waiting for the sound of a new-born's cries.
Teddy was just outside the door, having dragged a far too excited-looking Victoire out with him.
Gripping Harry's hand, I gave him a look that clearly said, "Only for you would I endure this pain." His answering grin spoke clearly, too, "I'd only want you to endure me a baby."
And five-pain-filled-wonderful-minutes-later, Ginny Potter lay holding her newborn son in her arms. His warm hazel-brown eyes sparkled up at her as she looked down at him with complete Joy, happiness...Love. A feeling like no other wishing through her. Our son. Her's and Harry's son, their son.
We decided to name him James Sirius Potter because you clearly could not have one name without the other. He'll be a marauding terror in the Halls Of Hogwarts. She could feel it. Merlin, help them all. He would be just like his namesakes.
And in the end she made another choice, as well.
Really, she thinks Harry only allowed it because he was happy to have a son now. And he was down-right-happy, that his hand had not been broken by my squeezing during the labor.
But Hey, as she had endured the whole labor, That's right she did, she should be the one to decide this finale thing for the beginning of her Son's life.
That's how Ginny ended up choosing Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley as the GodParents.
Close enough in age to watch over him and help advise and guide him through life when in his teenage years he'll avoid his parents but go to others for advise.
Yes, she could trust those two to guide her Son in Life.
Her calm and cool drill sergeants in her time of need.
And as later the next day she stood watching Harry talk softly to James, she felt feelings all wash over-her. So as they kissed his forehead and gently lowered him into his new crib, she thought inexplicably of the mother-in-law she never got to meet. Maybe someday they would meet, when she was in Heaven, too. But for now she wondered if she too stood somewhere above looking down on her son and grandson. "We'll watch over them, together," Ginny whispered to her surroundings, knowing in her heart that somewhere Lily Potter was smiling down at her, her head nodding in agreement with her daughter-in-law.
Later, Ginny Potter
curled up next to her husband in their bed. Snuggling against his warmth as he draped an arm over her protectively, her son not far away, she listened to the steady-beat of her husband's heart that lay where she rested her head. Feeling him, Listening to him. Breathing. Alive and Well. This was Home, Ginny realized, this was Love. Only you, Harry Potter, who gave me a new Family to Love as well, could give me this.