A/N: Written for the All I Want for Christmas Challenge at the review lounge.
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.
All I Want for Christmas
"Well, Lils, it's December already. What'd you say you wanted for Christmas?"
"To go to Hogwarts, a million racing brooms, and a baby sister." A little girl sits on her bed with her father next to her.
"Oh Lily, you know Mum and I can't buy you those things. James barely started at Hogwarts, so you have a few years left!"
"What about racing brooms? Mum had tons of them in her closet. I found them! Can't you give me a few?" Her voice begins to sound whiny, and she knows it, but she doesn't seem to care.
"Lily, you're only six! The Ministry would kill us if you started riding around on a broomstick all over the place. It's a new precaution, sweetie. They don't let little girls like you fly on brooms way up were its hard to see what you are doing. I'm sorry." He shakes his head at her and grins at her pout.
"But, Daddy!" Her eyes get wide a fill with tears.
"No, not the puppy dog eyes, Lily!" He shudders and turns away a bit, making her smile in spite of herself.
"Well, that still leaves a baby sister! Couldn't you buy me one? Please?"
"Getting a baby is a complicated process. It takes months, honey, for you to get a baby. No where near in time for Christmas!" He blushes, wondering if he'd have to have any uncomfortable conversations ten years too early.
"But—"
He cuts her off gently. "Maybe. Lily, what do you want for Christmas that's material?"
"That's what?" She furrows her brow in confusion.
"Something we can buy at the store. Like a dolly."
"Hmm…A lot of Bertie Bots Every Flavored Beans, of course." She grins devilishly.
"Come on, let's go to the kitchen. Daddy wants to write all this down." He picks her up and sets her on his shoulders.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Gin?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Lily wants a baby for Christmas."
"Oh, really. And?"
"Well, I sort of told her maybe …" The same man stands sheepishly next to his wife, who is lying in bed.
"Oh, Merlin, Harry! How is that going to happen?" She jumps up, laughter in her eyes but anger on her face.
"I'm sorry, Ginny. I just—"
"Lost your head? Why in Merlin's name would you look at her when she really wants something? You are so soft!" She sounds stern, but she is smiling.
"Hey, it's not my fault, she inherited your smile!"
"Smooth, baby, smooth."
He laughs and kisses her. "So, what'll we do?"
"Borrow a baby?"
"You are getting more ridiculous the older you get, sweetie."
"Is that an insult?"
"Perhaps," he teases. "No, it is an endearing quality of yours which I fell in love with."
"Ugh, Harry." She pauses, looking thoughtful. "But you did say maybe, right?"
"You can't break the kid's heart, Ginny!"
"Sucker."
"And proud of it."
"Fine. But how do we get a baby daughter in the first place? I mean, I'm not pregnant, and definitely not going to get pregnant in time for Christmas."
"How should I know?"
"You know, I lived with a ton more brothers than she did, and look at me now!"
"You are crazy and a boy at heart."
"How rude."
"One of my better graces."
"Oh, shut it, you git," she slaps his leg lightly.
"So, how do we—"
"We forget about it. For now." She begins kissing him, and his protesting look melts away, much to her satisfaction.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"How is my baby sister coming along?"
"Lily, honey, Daddy—" Ginny begins, smiling encouragingly at her husband.
"Wants to speak to James now, bye!"
He breezes from the room with a salute, earning a giggle from his daughter and a glare from his wife.
"Okay, then, Mummy needs to talk to Lily. Here, sit on my lap. I'm sorry, Lils, but I'm not having a baby. You aren't getting a baby sister."
Lily's eyes fill with tears. "But I want one!"
"I'm sorry, but we can't get you one."
"Buy me one."
"I'm sorry, Lily, no baby for you."
She runs, sobbing, from the room, shouting, "Daddy!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"What did you tell her, now?"
"No."
"Yeah, right."
Ginny is sitting in a chair near the fire, reading. Though conversing with her husband, she is mostly ignoring him, and doesn't look up from her book.
"I told her I'd get her a baby." Harry muttered, looking at his hands. Would his plan work on his wife?
"Oh yeah?"
"I have a plan."
"Tell me. It better be good, or you get the couch tonight."
She looks up, and her body is rigid, her voice a tad frosty, but she has a faint smile on her lips.
"Right-O, Captain." He salutes and tells her everything.
That night, he slept in the bed.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"It's Christmas, it's Christmas!" Red headed Lily appears in her brothers' room at five-thirty. James is already awake.
"Yes, Flower Power, it is!"
"Ja-ames! Don't call me that."
A groggy Albus Severus sits up on one elbow. "Hey, Lily. Come here." He grabs her and gives her a hug. She smiles.
"And though it may be Christmas, it is also five-thirty AM," he whispers gently. "So go back to bed."
She and James both sigh and droop visibly. Albus, sweet and mild-mannered that his is, is rather the leader of the siblings, though James tries not to show it. He is the oldest, after all, and even though he isn't quite the leader, he still holds power. Maybe too much power.
"Oh, fine, you two, sort the presents. We all know you love to!"
"Only if you come, too, Al." Lily tugs on his hand, and he stands up.
"But I get to sleep!" he warns, smiling.
The six, eight, and eleven year olds tip-toe down the stairs quietly.
Albus lies on the couch and watches the activity around him. James is grabbing his presents and mounting them in a growing pile. Lily is watching his progress with saucer-shaped eyes. Finally, she grabs Albus's presents and balances them.
"What about yours, Flower Power?" asked James. He earns himself a glare.
"Don't call me that!" she shouts angrily. "And anyway, Al goes first. He's bigger than me."
"And older," muttered James, but he didn't want to set the girl off by disagreeing (she was prone to start a tantrum when wrong), so he smiled.
Both brothers doted on the girl, so they did what she did for most of the next four hours. Growing tired, Lily finally drops off to sleep.
"Nighty-night, mate," Albus whispers to his brother. Shutting off the lights, the three are all soon peacefully asleep.
At nine forty-five, exactly fifteen minutes after the siblings fell asleep, Ginny and Harry walk down the stairs. Ginny purses her lips and shakes her head. "They must've been up early," she whispers, indicating the presents stacked haphazardly near James. Soon, though, she is smiling and cooking a scrumptious brunch for the small family. Harry sneaks over to his daughter, seizes her, and begins tickling her mercilessly until she wakes, laughing and gasping for him to stop.
As soon as she wakes, the older boys do, too. "Mmm, that smells wonderful, Mum!" calls James, sniffing the air.
"Can we open presents, now?" Lily begs, her lower lip sticking out.
"After brunch, dearest."
"Fine, Daddy," Lily gives an audible, pouty sigh.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Brunch came and went, with lots of "Yum, Mum, how'd you make this?" and exclamations of what each child wanted most.
"I want my baby sister, NOW!"
"Darling, what do you want her to look like? Her hair color, I mean."
Ginny earns a quizzical look from her sons, who know better than to think their Mum is having a baby.
"Hm. Blonde. Like Auntie Fleur's."
"That may be difficult to pull off…" mutters Harry. He, too, gets questioned by his eldest's eyes.
Before everyone is done, Harry excuses himself. "Things to do, last minute," he explains. Ginny smiles warmly. 'Plan in action!' she thinks happily. Flashing her husband an enthusiastic wink, she tells the children one of her Mum's old faerie tales to keep them entertained.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
No more than ten minutes later, Harry comes back, holding a box.
"Lils, open this last," he instructs, grinning.
"It's my baby sister, right?"
"You'll see," he says mysteriously, flashing his wife a secretive smile. "James first."
They go in age order. Pretty soon, James has a few large presents, ranging from a broomstick ("You're a first year, so it's for next year," Harry explains.) to a bewitched radio that plays only Christmas songs.
Albus has a few small presents, like new robes (that can switch from formal to regular any time he wants) and an Ancient Runes book, something Al is fascinated with. Though he isn't at Hogwarts yet, he is what Uncle Ron categorized as 'an over-achiever'. When James had come from school with loads of stories and told them about Ancient Runes, Albus already loved the idea, and begged for a book on it.
Lily has dozens of little presents. A doll lies next to her and she is passing around her first box of Every Flavored Beans.
Enough wrapping paper to line the whole house lays around the three of them, and they are laughing and cheering over what they have gotten.
Lily seems to remember something, and shouts, "My sister!"
With an inward sigh, due to nerves, Harry grasps what appears to be a huge wooden crate with holes in it. Previously it had been sitting next to Harry, occasionally jabbing him in the back.
Lily shrieks in excitement. Ripping the top from the box, she gasps loudly. Her new baby sister has long silvery blonde hair (it doesn't seem to be the natural hair color, but Lily doesn't notice), and big brown eyes. She is very small.
"Oh, she's adorable! What'll we name her?"
"She's yours to name, Lils."
"Then her name is…Madden. What a beautiful name! And no, James, that is not a boy name. It's both. I know because I was reading Grandma Molly's Baby Name Book."
"Did you know that Madden means 'little dog'?" asks Ginny, who had coincidentally also read the book.
"It's perfect!"
"What d'you say, Lily?" asks James, beating everyone else to the chase.
"Thanks, Mum and Daddy. This is the best present ever."
"I'm so glad you like it," says Harry sincerely. His rigid back has relaxed, and the worry in his eyes is gone. His daughter likes it!
"I'm sure a puppy wasn't what you had in mind, right, Lils?" Ginny asks with a smile. She, too, is relieved. They didn't need a baby girl. She was just glad something else took the place of it.
Lily shakes her head, but looks adoringly at the small addition to the family.
A/N: WOAH A DOG!! Right? Or was I really obvious? Was it really stupid? Actually, I already know the answer to the last one. Oh, well, at least I got it done…review please; I want to know your reaction. And thanks SOOOO much to Time Vortex, who supplied both a pick-me-up and a critical editor's eye.