AN: I really liked the idea of this fic, but I'm really not sure how well I pulled it off- it feels a bit rushed. If anyone wants to offer me constructive criticism, I may take it down, make some alterations and repost it. Any ideas?
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I would be a genius and rich. Since I am neither, it clearly does not belong to me.
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Harry adores all his children, of course he does, but it's an undeniable fact (that nevertheless he spent years trying to deny to himself) that little Albus is his favourite.
He would die for any of his kids without even thinking about it, would kill for them without so much as questioning it, but with Albus he could happily spend every waking moment in his company, never thinking of another soul. Even after he admitted this to himself, he still tried to pretend he had no idea why this was the case; it took him a good long while to come clean with himself and confess that it's no coincidence that his favourite child is the one who reminds him most of himself.
It's funny, as Harry has never considered himself an egotistical person. But the truth is, when he looks at Albus he sees himself as a child- shy, insecure, earnest, desperate to fit in but somehow doomed to always be that little bit set apart from everybody else… He even looks like Harry, almost identical except, of course, for the forehead unblemished by scars.
Still, Harry honestly believes that if he does indeed favour his son for his similarities to himself, he loves him even more for his differences to Harry. Albus is unfailingly kind and sweet and thoughtful, always placid (he has only lost his temper a handful of times in Harry's memory, incredible given who his parents are), incapable of hatred or cruelty… he's everything Harry wishes he himself could be, everything Harry wishes everyone could be, for surely that would make the world a better place.
And the thing is… Albus really needs Harry. James is confident, Lily unconcerned, but Albus, like Harry, craves love and affection, needing constant reassurance that only Harry can provide- Ginny, growing up with six older brothers, has learned to be tough, and finds her sensitive son confusing at best, unfathomable at worst. But it doesn't matter, as whenever Albus needs him, Harry is always there with hugs or reassurances or even just company.
And now Harry's little boy, his best friend, really, is leaving to go to Hogwarts. And something tells Harry, even as he frets and worries about how Albus will cope with being away from home and bigger kids and homework, what danger his son will find in that place where Harry so often came close to losing his life, that Albus will make the transition much better than he himself will.
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What are we thinking? Should I stick to puppy love?