Chapter One- 27th March 1960
"Breathe darling; it's okay. He's coming" the man looked down at his wife, holding her hand tightly as she tried to breathe through the pain. After all this time, they were finally having a child and he was getting his wish of a son. An heir to the Potter fortune, but more importantly, an extra beacon for his love.
He'd known that it would be a struggle to reproduce, especially given his wife's age. But he'd waited his whole life for her, and now that he'd seen the light, he was going to life his life to the fullest. So now, he was holding on dearly to the love of his life, in order to bring his second love into the world.
"Here we go Mr. and Mrs. Potter, one more push and we should be able to welcome your son into the world."
He couldn't help but smile as his wife screamed in pain; he didn't want her to be in pain, but he couldn't help but look forward to seeing his son.
A scream pierced the air, and his eyes turned to look at his son. Messy tufts of ebony hair was tousled on his head, and his skin still had the blue tinge of birth. But he was beautiful, truly a miracle. He bent down and kissed his wife's forehead, gazing into his son's eyes as he nestled against his wife's chest.
"We did it love," he murmured "We're finally a family"
His wife chuckled, and he felt his heart brim with joy. This was really happening.
He hadn't noticed the mid-witch leave the room, as his eyes were stuck on his family. Nothing could tear him away from his son, especially when his faint eyelashes fluttered against his skin and he began to open his eyes.
A crack of apparition interrupted him, and he looked up to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway- sorting hat in hand.
"Can't we wait Albus, we haven't seen his eyes yet." His wife begged, her voice tremoring with anguish of the situation. But he'd known this was coming, they'd all known it was coming- it had been this way since the founders had implemented the soul bonds at Hogwarts.
"You'll see his eyes when his soul-mate unblinds him" Albus placated, striding forward determinedly to place to weathered hat on his son's head. It was so large that it swallowed the baby's head, the hat instead resting on his shoulders. "I'm sure you remember the period of your unblinding- and I'm sure you felt nothing but joy"
Looking down at his wife's eyes, he remembered when he couldn't see her. Knowing her only by her name and remembering the Hufflepuff Yellow blindfold covering her beautiful brown eyes. Though, he hadn't known she was beautiful at the time. He'd known her by her smell and the sound of her laugh; he'd known her by her quick wit and encyclopedic knowledge of the care of magical creature's syllabus. She was beautiful, and when they'd unblinded one another on their first date it had been the most magical moment of their lives.
He nodded at Dumbledore, knowing that he'd had such luck with his wife- there was nothing to say that his son wouldn't have the same experience with his beloved. He held tighter onto his wife's hand as the sorting hat thought about their son. Would he be kind and caring like his mother? Or brave and brawny like his father? Would he be too trusting and end up in Hufflepuff or too reckless and end up in Gryffindor? Or maybe he would adopt his mother's mother's intelligence and end up in Ravenclaw. There were so many possibilities for the young Potter heir.
"Gryffindor!" the hat chorused, and Albus chuckled from the bedside, removing the hat from the infants head.
"It's no surprise that he ends up there with such a strong line of Gryffindor's in his heritage." Albus paused, sending a wry smile to the pair. He couldn't be comforted, because he was scared… scared of the power that Albus was about to display.
"It is with my power as Headmaster of Hogwarts and a first class Order of Merlin that I place this blindfold on young" Albus paused, the crimson blindfold hovering above his son's eyes, looking back to the parents to get a name.
He turned instantly to his wife, giving her all the power to name their firstborn. She was the one who carried him through hardships of pregnancy. She would be the one to care for him whilst he was at work. She was his mother, and she deserved to name their miracle baby boy.
"James Richard" she said with a smile, her free hand caressing her son's face. "James after the hero of our time James Bond, and Richard after you, my love"
Edward leant down and kissed his wife, leaning his head against her to watch the blindfold seal closed against his young son's head.
"It is with my power, as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry and a first class Order of Merlin that I place this blindfold on young James Richard Potter and it is with my magic as a wizard that I bind it to his soul. May my magic be broken only when the one true soul-mate of James Richard comes to him, and removes it with their own hands. May the magic of the universe guide James Richard through his journey, allowing him to become his true self in the mighty house of Gryffindor and may he live to the fullest of his potential."
The spell had produced a faint white glow around the infant's blindfold, and Edward watched as it shrunk to fit around his son's eyes. It was complete now, his son was a true wizard bound to the soul laws that were implemented by the greatest wizards of the modern era.
"Welcome to the world, James Potter" Edward said with a smile, patting his son's blindfold. This was the beginning of his life as a parent, and he was going to make it count.