They huddled around the waiting room of St. Mungos waiting for some kind of news or confirmation or death notice. Something. Fidgeting in her chair, Ginny was practically bursting with anticipation.
Ron had to grip onto the arms of his chair so he wouldn't be tempted to whack his sister over the head for her nonstop yapping. Luna grabbed his hand calmly and squeezed it in an attempt to keep him calm. Mrs. Weasley was pacing back and forth muttering some nonsense under her breath.
Lupin sat in the corner mildly amused by everyone's anxiety. He smiled softly and tiredly as Tonks came into view holding a cup of coffee for him.
"Thought this might keep you awake." She had to stifle a yawn herself as she took her seat next to him.
"How much longer do you suspect?" Tonks asked quietly. Lupin's eyes darkened as he looked up at the clock that hung on the stark white walls of the hospital.
"It has been a while since Harry went in to check on her." He seemed serious all of a sudden. "I hope everything is alright." There was concern etched onto his face and he couldn't help but scratch his face to ward off the impending sleep. They'd been there 6 hours almost. And still nothing.
"Well if this little bugger is anything like it's stubborn parents, I'd say we've still got a while yet." Tonks nodded her head and proceeded to make herself comfortable in the stiff hospital chairs.
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Inside the hospital room was an eerie sense of calm. There was no noise. No crying. No talking. No screaming. Just silence.
Harry let go of her hand to move closer to the little bundle at the edge of the bed. The doctors were still cleaning and weighing and measuring and probing the quiet little bundle. In a short instant they were done and they swaddled him and handed the little bundle to his father.
Harry stood there with the bundle in his arms, frozen. He didn't know what to do. All of the books he'd read. The research he found. None of it mattered. They didn't compare. They couldn't tell him what it was like to hold your son for the first time.
He sat shakily at the end of the bed with his son in his arms. He looked down in awe. The blue bundle was quiet and staring up in wonder. Harry was practically crying in awe at the beauty of the little boy before him. His son.A life he created with her. With Hermione. Their child.
"Beautiful, beautiful boy." Was all he could murmur as he trailed a hesitant and delicate finger down his son's rosy cheek.
"Harry…?" Hermione mumbled from somewhere above him. He startled. He almost forgot. Laughing quietly he stood to face his wife.
She sat there exhausted. Her hair wild and bushy and untamed. Her face red from overexertion. Her eyes droopy and tired. And yet she was remarkably beautiful. Harry could have sworn he'd never seen anyone as beautiful and angelic as Hermione did in that instant.
"Sorry, 'Mione." He said softly as he sat next to her on the hard hospital mattress. Awkwardly he handed her their newborn son. And almost instantly she began to cry. But she was smiling. She was relieved and happy and ecstatic.
"Oh, Harry he's beautiful." She was staring at the baby and Harry could see the love and pride shining in her eyes. The picture they made must have been perfect. The three of them huddled on the bed, hugging and sobbing and so much a family. A family. Harry was content. He hugged Hermione tightly to him.
"Thank you, Hermione. Thank you so much. You gave me a son. You gave me a family." Harry was being so sweet and vulnerable that Hermione could not hold back anymore. She fell into his arms sobbing loudly.
"I love you so much, Harry." They shared a chaste kiss before Hermione looked down at their fussy son.
"Looks like he's hungry." A nurse came in shortly and went about showing Hermione the proper way to breastfeed their son. After a few tries mother and son got the hang of it.
"Did you know, Harry, that a newborn babies vision extends as far as 6 inches? Which is incidentally the exact difference between the mother's breast and her face" Harry stared at her stupidly.
"How could you just lay there and still be so brilliant and beautiful?" He laughed quietly. "We have to name him, you know." Hermione nodded briefly as she looked down at her son and stared. After a few minutes she broke the silence.
"How about Sean?" Harry thought about it for a moment.
"I like it. A lot." He nodded to emphasize. "And how about James? For his middle name?" Hermione smiled sadly.
"Sean James Potter." Harry reached out and carefully picked up his son.
"Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Sean."
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That night, after relating the news to everyone in the waiting room and promising them that tomorrow they could see the new little addition he sent them away for much needed sleep.
He trudged back to Hermione's room and set up a few hospital chairs in an attempt to make a somewhat comfortable makeshift bed.
He tried to be as quiet as possible so he would not wake up Hermione or their son. But no such luck. He heard the tiny wails of his newborn baby from Hermione's side. Before she had time to even wake up, Harry dashed and picked up the baby gently. In an instant he stopped crying. Harry continued to whisper softly to the boy in his arms.
"Shh…You don't want to wake up you mother, do you? She's so tired." He shushed gently. The baby's wails barely a soft coo.
"You are so tiny." Harry marveled. "Gosh. I have no idea what I'm doing." He said in an exasperated tone. "I–I mean I read everything. And I mean everything. But none of it…it doesn't compare. You're hear and alive and okay. And I just don't know if I'm doing anything right. You're so small and delicate. I don't want to hurt you. You're mother is so much better at this then me."
Harry stood with his son and slowly walked around the room in an attempt to calm the baby. Or maybe just himself.
"You have no idea how happy you've made me and your mom. You couldn't be any more perfect." Cautiously Harry moved his head to place a gentle kiss on his son's forehead. "Your mom is the most amazing person I've ever meet. She's beautiful inside and out. Can you do me a favor? Could you not tire her too much? She's already gone through so much, I just can't bear the thought of her so exhausted. I know I'm rambling. But…I just need you to know that you are loved.
There are so many people that love you already. So many. There's Uncle Ron. He's so funny. You're gonna like him. Then there's Aunt Ginny. She will do anything for you. I can guarantee. Oh, and Aunt Luna. She may seem a bit…weird. But she is really nice. Hm…Then there's Uncle Lupin and Aunt Tonks. They are the nicest people you will ever meet. You can trust them with anything.
Then there are those who love you but aren't…here. I…I know my parent's and Sirius would've loved to be here. I just wish you could meet them. They would be so proud." He sounded so sad and rejected that Hermione couldn't bare the thought of keeping quiet any longer.
"Oh, Harry." She lamented. He turned suddenly and impishly. She looked him square in the eye. "They would be so proud of you. You know that." She was close to tears. His sadness, on a day of utter bliss, was not called for. He deserved to be happy just like anyone else. In an attempt to lighten the mood a little, Hermione beckoned her husband and son closer. She scooted over a bit and they huddle under the warm blankets with the newborn in the middle. Hermione looked up at Harry softly.
"You know, the name Sean is in one of my favorite songs?" Harry looked at bit surprised that she would pick a name from a song. "I forget by who but it was such a slow and soft and beautiful song." She closed her eyes in recollection. "My mom told me that when they were sure I was going to be a boy, my dad would always sing it to her when she was pregnant."
"Sing it for me." Harry pleaded as he closed his eyes, drifting in and out of sleep.
Petting her husband's untamed hair, and then tracing a pattern on her sleeping son's cheek, Hermione sang only the parts she remembered.
'Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,
Before you go to sleep,
Say a little prayer,
Every day in every way,
It's getting better and better,
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,
Darling, Darling, Darling Sean.'
When finishing the song, she sighed contentedly and laid back and promptly fell asleep next to the only boys in her life. Needless to say, they all slept soundly that night huddled together under the warm blanket and the soft glow of the moonlight.