Happy 2012! I'm finally getting around to posting some stories that I wrote for livejournal challenges/fests/exchanges.
This story was written as a gift for livejournal user dukebrymin as part of the Autumnfest 2011 exchange hosted at hg_seasonfest on livejournal.
Enjoy!
xoxoBeccaxoxo
Title: History
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Harry/Ginny
Genre: Romance
When: Post Deathly Hallows
Word Count: 3,355
Warnings: n/a
Summary/Notes: Harry and Ginny are expecting their first child, but the lack of knowledge about his family is bothering Harry. Ginny does everything in her power to help him learn more about his family which leads to a unexpected adventure in Godric's Hollow.
History
The Burrow was stuffed to the rafters with Weasley's gathered to celebrate Molly's birthday. Her exact age remained a mystery, though everyone knew she was in her 50s, but even her cutest grandchildren (and that meant all of them) got a Brussels sprout shoved into their hands if they dare ask how many candles would be on her cake.
Sitting on a couch with her feet resting on an ottoman, a very pregnant Ginny took in the recently expanded main floor. Her dad, brothers and Harry had nearly doubled the size of the sitting room as a gift for her mum, which had made a party this size possible. Without it, the whole family would have been forced outdoors, huddled together under the falling leaves, rather than in a house decorated in those same greens, browns, oranges, yellow and reds.
A yell caught Ginny's ear and she reached out to grab the arm of her surrogate son, five-year-old Teddy, as he tried to run past, chasing a frantic Crookshanks.
Teddy came to a dead stop and turned to look at her, smiling innocently.
"Teddy, what has Aunt Hermione said about chasing Crookshanks?" Ginny asked him, trying not to smile at the fact that his hair was a fiery red instead of the normal teal.
"Not to," he replied, looking down.
"You best listen to her then," Ginny said, firmly. "Even if Uncle Ron tells you differently."
"Ok," Teddy nodded. "Can I have a cookie?"
"How many have you had already?" Ginny asked him. He held up three fingers. "One more and then no more sweets for tonight. Understood?"
"Yes, mummy Ginny," Teddy replied before turning and heading for the table.
Ginny watched as he walked over to her mum and asked for a cookie. She groaned when she saw her mum ruffle his hair and hand him two cookies. Her mum's sweet spot for the boy was endearing except when it kept him up all night with a sugar rush.
Shaking her head, Ginny's eyes moved across the room and she frowned when she saw her husband sitting alone in a corner. He had been doing that a lot lately, especially when they were around her family.
She had first noticed it after Ron and Hermione's wedding in June. Before that, he had been his normal, cheerful self around her family, even more cheerful since they had found out about the baby. But something had changed and he wasn't himself when they were around her family.
Ginny had expressed her concern about it to Ron and Hermione at Harry's birthday party and had gotten two different responses. Ron had told her Harry was just nervous about the baby and becoming a dad while Hermione had echoed her concerns.
Neither she nor Hermione believed that Harry's change in demeanor was due to his impending fatherhood. After all, he had been like a father to Teddy since after the war and had more experience with babies than Ginny did. He had built a house for himself on Andromeda's property, shortly after the war, and had been supporting her and Teddy since then.
Then, after they had married, Ginny had moved in with him. She hadn't been entirely happy with the arrangement at the beginning, but it was nice to have someone close while Harry was away on missions. When he was gone, she spent more time at the main house than she did at their small house.
It was during a long mission in August, that Ginny put Teddy, who was sporting a head of black hair (a clear sign that he missed Harry), to bed then joined Andromeda for a cup of tea. She expressed her concern over Harry's moodiness and Andromeda told her that Harry had asked her what she was going to tell Teddy about his father's family since she didn't know much about them.
By the time he returned, a few days later, Ginny had decided enough was enough. She had suggested a walk before turning in for the night and he had accepted. They had walked awhile before she had begun the conversation.
"What is bothering you?" She had asked, coming to a stop before moving so she was facing him. "And don't say nothing, Harry, something has been bothering you for months."
"I don't have a history," he had told her, after several minutes. "I don't have anything to share with the baby. There is a rich history with the Weasley's, but I don't know anything about the Potters."
"Don't have a history?" Ginny had repeated. "Harry, you have lots of history! You're a descendent of Ignotus Peverell. Your parents -"
"Were killed by Voldemort. Voldemort tried to kill me several times. My whole life, everything I have ever known has been about what Voldemort has done to me," he had cut her off. "I want to know what my grandparents looked like. I want to know the stories that were told at family gatherings. I want to know if there was a crazy Aunt Muriel in my family."
When Harry left for his next mission, Ginny had turned to Hermione for help. Her sister-in-law had helped her find everything she needed in the ministry's library to find information about the Potter family. She was able to trace the Potter's back four generations and even managed to trace the trees of families that married into the Potters, but she knew names wouldn't be enough. Neither would articles from old newspapers or passages in books.
Harry wanted more. He wanted photographs, stories and memories.
An idea so crazy that it just might be plausible came to her the night Harry returned from that mission. She had fed him and sent him to bed then settled into a rocking chair to work on the blanket she was making for the baby when the idea came to her. She knew that she would have to jump through a lot of hoops to make it possible, but she would do anything to help him.
Being Ginny Weasley Potter had its perks and one of them was being able to see Kingsley, Minister Shacklebolt to most people, without an appointment. She had explained the situation to him and he had promised to do everything in his power to make it happen; for he, too, had noticed that his top auror was distracted.
Ginny moved her hand to the pocket in her maternity jeans where Kingsley's letter rested, telling her that everything had been arranged. Now was as good a time as any to let Harry know what she had done.
She lowered her feet to the floor then scooted herself to the edge of the couch, but before she had a chance to lift herself, Bill and Charlie appeared at her side and helped her to her feet.
"Thanks," she smiled at her brothers. She waddled into the kitchen and pulled her mum aside. "Do you mind watching Teddy for awhile?"
"Are you ok?" Came her mum's frantic reply. "Is it the baby? Are you in -"
"I'm fine, mum, promise," Ginny smiled. "I just need to get Harry out of here for awhile. He's looking depressed."
"Alright, but don't be too long," her mum replied. "It's cold out there."
"We'll bundle up tight," Ginny assured her before heading towards Harry. "Want to get out of here?"
Harry looked up at her, surprised, but then he nodded. He stood up then led her to where their coats hung on a wall of coat hangers. He helped her put her coat on before putting his own on.
"Where are we going?" He asked as they stepped out into the cool fall air.
"For a walk," Ginny replied, leading him away from the house. "I needed some fresh air."
They walked in silence until they reached the middle of the orchard and she came to a stop.
"I did something, Harry," she said, turning to face him. She told him about the research she had done and what she had found. "But it wasn't enough, but then I had an idea, so I went to see Kingsley." She pulled out the letter from Kingsley. "I got this letter from him this morning." She handed the letter to him. "Read it out loud."
He gave her a strange look as he took the letter then cleared his throat and started to read:
Dear Ginny,
I hope this letter finds you, Harry and the baby well.
I've finally heard from Ian Gabamioin about Godric's Hollow, and he has agreed to adjust the wards to grant you and Harry entrance to the Potters' property there. He said you and Harry can come whenever to spend some time in the houses so you can collect family artifacts.
Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for your family.
Sincerely,
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Minister for Magic
"Godric's Hollow," Harry repeated. "Entrance to the Potters' property? Family artifacts?"
"The night your parents were killed and you were removed was the last time anyone was in the house," Ginny told him. "A wizard by the name of Ian Gabamio set the wards upon your parents' house to protect it and make it a monument to them. He is the wizard we are going to see. The ministry, of course, added to the wards that were put on the house, but Kingsley has had them modified so we can enter those wards, but now we need Ian to allow us in as well."
"When?" Harry asked. "When can we go?"
"In the morning," Ginny replied. "First thing."
They returned to the party for a short while before they used the floo network to get themselves home. Ginny went straight to their house while Harry flooed to the main house to drop Teddy off with his grandmother. Then he walked down the short lane to their house.
Neither of them slept well that night. Ginny could tell that Harry was too keyed up to sleep. She could only imagine the scenarios that were running through his head over what they might find in his parents' house, and she hoped he wouldn't be disappointed. She, on the other hand, wanted to sleep, but her body ached and the baby appeared to have hiccups.
They were both up and dressed by the time the sun rose the next morning. They each had a slice of toast before he took her hand and they apparated out of their home and into Godric's Hollow. The town's streets were empty, save for a couple shopkeepers heading to their establishments.
Hand-in-hand they walked towards the Potter house and found a middle aged wizard standing in front of the wreckage.
"Ian? Ian Gabamio?" Ginny asked.
The wizard turned to look at them and smiled. "I had a feeling you would be here early this morning," he replied. "I just finished amending the wards to grant you access to the house. But please, don't try to bring anyone else in. It won't work."
"Thank you," Ginny said.
After Ian walked away, Ginny became aware of how silent Harry had become. She turned to him and squeezed his hand. "Are you ready?"
"N- not yet," he told her.
They stood in silence for several minutes before he continued, "Today is the twenty-second anniversary of their murder."
"And your survival," Ginny added. "And I, for one, am quite happy you survived."
That earned her a small smile.
"Ok, I'm ready," he said a few minutes later.
He led her through the gate and down the grass covered walkway. They entered the house and, save for the dust that had collected, the sitting room look liked the owners had just up and left.
"Wait a second," he said, stopping her from going farther into the house. He raised his wand and muttered a spell that she knew would strengthen the house so they wouldn't be in danger. "Ok. Now we can look around."
Tears came to Ginny's eyes as she looked around the sitting room and saw all of the possessions that had been left.
"My toy broom!" Harry's exclamation drew her attention away from an empty frame. He was kneeling down in front of a toy box filled with wizarding and muggle baby toys.
"We'll take this home for the baby," she heard the emotion in his voice and knew he was fighting back tears.
"Yes, we -" The words died on her lips as a contraction surged through her body. She clenched her eyes closed and bit down hard on her lip.
"Ginny!" She felt him grab onto her, then utter a cleansing spell before lowering her into an armchair.
Once the pain eased, Ginny opened her eyes and met his worried ones.
"I'm ok, honest," she said, though she knew it was a lie. "You look around, I'll stay here." He opened his mouth to argue. "I'm fine, Harry. Honestly."
She knew he didn't believe her and he stayed in the room with her, collecting things and putting them in a box he came across. But after fifteen minutes, his curiosity got the better of him and he left the room.
And it was not a moment too soon, because a second contraction hit her harder than the first just after he had disappeared. She bit down on her lip again. Her sister-in-law Audrey was a Healer and had warned her that she might experience false labor pains, and, even if these contractions were actually the real thing, it would be a long time before the baby would be born. They'd have enough time to get home alert and Audrey that she was in labor.
Or at least that was what she had been told about first pregnancies.
But by the time Harry returned to the room nearly an hour later, Ginny knew this wasn't going to be the long, slow labor that her mum had told her to expect. She let out a cry as another contraction hit and heard everything that Harry was carrying hit the ground before she felt him by her side.
"The baby," she gasped. "It's coming."
"It is?"
"Yes," she managed, after the contraction ended.
She knew some medical training was required to become an auror and that Harry had planned to help her deliver the baby at home, but she also knew that he had been planning on Audrey doing a lot of the work since she was trained.
"Your contractions are too close for you to apparate," he said. "But I can go get -"
"You are not leaving me!" Ginny exclaimed, grabbing the collar of his shirt.
"Who's there?" An aged voice called. "James? Lily?"
Ginny and Harry's heads snapped to the frame that Ginny had noticed earlier, but instead of being empty, there was now an old wizard looking at them.
"I'm Harry, Lily and James' son," he said. "This is my wife Ginny. Who are you?"
"Henry James," the wizard spoke. "Your father was my grandson."
Ginny racked her brain, trying to remember why she knew that name. Then it hit her. "You were a Healer!"
"Yes, I was," Henry nodded. "I have a painting in St. -"
Another contraction hit then, cutting the old wizard off completely.
"Grandfather Henry," she heard Harry say once the contraction had ended, "can you go to your painting at St. Mungos and tell Healer Audrey Weasley that Ginny is in labor at my parents' home in Godric's Hollow?"
"Certainly," Henry nodded before walking out of his frame.
Ginny retreated into herself as her body continued to prepare itself for the birth of her and Harry's baby. She felt Harry lift her skirt to her waist and she could hear Harry's great-grandfather talking, but she couldn't make out what he was saying or Harry's replies. Contractions continued to surge through her body.
Then there was a new voice and it told her to push.
Ginny gathered all her strength and pushed until she couldn't anymore. She collapsed against the chair, but forced herself to push again when the three voices all encouraged her to push again.
"I see the head! I see the head!" She felt Harry press his lips to her forehead. "You're doing great, Gin. Keep pushing!"
She pushed and pushed until a baby's cries filled the sitting room.
"It's a boy, Ginny," Harry told her, his green eyes meeting her brown ones. "A beautiful boy."
Seconds later, he placed their baby boy on her chest so she could see him.
"He's beautiful," she whispered.
"And appears to be healthy."
Ginny looked over and saw her sister-in-law smiling.
"How did you get in the house?" She asked.
"Wards don't keep Healers out if there is an emergency," Audrey informed her. "Your mum wanted to come in, too, but couldn't get past the wards."
"Mum is here?" Ginny asked.
"The whole family is waiting outside for you three," Audrey smiled. "Mum and dad brought the new flying car so they can take you home." She turned to Harry. "In my bag you will find a diaper and clothes for the baby. You can give him a bath once you get home."
Ginny felt a sense of loss as Harry picked the baby up and carried him across the room.
"Let's get you cleaned up, mummy," Audrey smiled. She cast a few cleansing charms then stepped back. "That will have to do for now. You can shower when you feel ready to."
Fifteen minutes later, they left the house with Audrey carrying the baby and Harry carrying Ginny. Just as Audrey had told them, the whole Weasley family (and some curious bystanders) were waiting just outside the fence for them.
"Let them into the car," Ginny heard her mum say. "You can all come and visit them tomorrow. And not all at once. I will put a schedule together for you all."
Harry set Ginny down in the back of the car then climbed in next to her and took the baby once Audrey had handed him over.
"Everybody ready?" Her dad asked from the drivers' seat.
Harry and Ginny nodded.
"Alright then, here we go," her dad said. He started the car then slowly lifted it into the air.
Next to him, Ginny saw her mum holding on tightly to her the handles on her purse. Normally, she frowned upon flying the car, but in situations like this, she kept her mouth shut and allowed it.
Andromeda and Teddy were waiting for them when they got home. Ginny smiled at Harry's reluctance to let her mum take the baby so he could carry her into the house. He finally handed the baby over then carried her into the house and laid her down on their bed.
It wasn't until the late afternoon that Ginny and Harry got a minute together while the baby slept, his belly full, squeaky clean and dressed in a cute pair of pajamas. Ginny, too, had eaten and showered. She had even gotten a nap during the afternoon, which had given Harry the chance to return to his parents' house and get all their belongings. He had shrunk everything and put them in a couple boxes that now sat in the room that would be the baby's when he was old enough.
"Grandpa Henry reckons we should name the baby James," Harry told her. "And says we should paint our sitting room, says he doesn't like the color that's on the wall."
"James what?" Ginny asked, looking at him, ignoring the comment about Grandpa Henry's paint preference.
"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "You decide."
"Well, Teddy's middle name is Remus," Ginny said. "And we've got James, so why don't we call him James Sirius."
"James Sirius," Harry repeated with a smile. "I like that."
They were quiet for several minutes and just as she began to think he had fallen asleep, he spoke, "Thank you for today, Ginny. Thank you for bringing our baby into the world and thank you for helping me find my history."
"You're welcome," she smiled. "I love you, Harry."
"I love you, too," he replied. "And I love you, too, James Sirius Potter."