A one shot once little James is born!
"Well dad, would you like to hold your son?" The nurse asked Harry as she had just finished swaddling him.
"You have no idea how much I would like that, Doctor Wellings," Harry replied beaming and tears trickling down his cheek.
Harry took the unruly black haired baby in his arms and just when he thought he couldn't possibly get any happier, two little green emerald eyes peeled open and peered up at him. Harry thought his heart might explode, he was so happy.
"He's perfect. Absolutely perfect." Harry said as he placed him in hermione's arms. She too was radiating with happiness.
"Oh Harry, he looks just like you," hermione squealed.
"I expect great things from this young man with you two as parents. I have no doubt that he will grow into an amazing wizard, but more importantly a great man. It was an honor to go through this journey with you. I'll leave you three alone for a little bit. But I might remind you that you two have quite the crowd awaiting some very special news," the doctor said smiling.
"You are quite right doctor, but I'm afraid we might need to keep them waiting just for a little bit longer. Thanks for everything. Your words are very kind," replied Harry.
"Oh, no need to thank me. Thank you two."
And with that, the three potters were left alone.
"You know, you really should go out there and tell them. They've been waiting for hours. It's only fair," Hermione said to Harry.
"I know. But I just can't bring myself to stop looking at the both of you. I feel like if take my eyes of the two of you or even blink, then it's all going to be gone, and when I open my eyes, I'll realize it was just a dream. And I just can't bear the thought of this sight not being there when I look again."
"Harry, trust me. This is real. We're not going anywhere," hermione said reassuringly.
"You're right darling. I'm never letting go of you two. Never." And with that, Harry kissed hermione's forehead and blinked. When he opened his eyes again, he was pleased to see that everything was exactly the same. Hermione smiled at their son whose precious emerald eyes twinkled back at his adoring parents. Harry knew it wasn't a dream this time. Hermione was right. It was real and it would always be there, waiting for him.
"I love you, hermione. I love you so much. Thank you for giving me this gift. It's absolutely priceless how I feel right now"
"I love you too Harry. I'd say you're welcome, but I'd rather say thank you as well. Thank you for saving me from that troll, thank you for letting me fight by your side, thank you for letting me into your mind, and thank you for giving me your heart and for cherishing mine, and thank you most of all for our darling son."
Harry just smiled, feeling like he had the world right in his arms - sitting beside his soulmate with one arm around her and one hand on his son.
"Alright, maybe I'll go tell them all. But, I'm only bringing Ron in for now. Everybody else can wait at least another hour or so. Don't move a muscle. I'll be back before you know it. "
"Oh, I don't doubt that for a second love."
And with that, Harry practically ran to the waiting room to find the numerous friends and family that were waiting anxiously for the announcement.
"Well, we've got a very healthy baby boy! James Sirius Potter, weighing 8lbs and 4oz, with equally as untidy black hair and emerald green eyes as his father, and a little upturned nose and heart shaped cheeks like his mother!"
Everybody began cheering and yelling and some even started crying. Ron was the first to give Harry a hug.
"Congratulations, mate. I'm so so happy for you guys. I can't wait to meet him!" Ron exclaimed.
"Thanks mate! And don't you worry, hermione and I talked about it and we both decided we'd like you to be the first to see him. So don't go too far, alright"
Ron, for once, looked completely taken aback and honored.
"I don't know if I deserve that, but I'd love to be the first! I feel really honored. Thank you."
Many more hugs came towards Harry all at once. He could tell they were doing everything they could to hold back and give him and Ron their moment before completely hurling themselves at him. Molly was crying full out ugly tears, she was so overjoyed. And everyone was just so loving and so excited for the couple, Harry couldn't believe that this was how his life turned out.
"Thanks for waiting everyone, but for right now, I think we'd just like to have Ron come back and meet the baby, and then Mr. and Mrs. Granger of course, and Mr. and Mrs. Wesley, if you guys wouldn't mind. But don't worry, as soon as mummy and baby are more rested, we would be very delighted to introduce little James to the rest of you."
The crowd seemed slightly deflated at this news, but understood completely. Molly and Arthur on the hand looked even more honored and grateful than Ron.
"Oh Harry, you really want us to meet James at the same time as his real grandparents? That doesn't seem right." Mrs. Wesley confessed.
"Molly, please. I don't know how you think mr. And Mrs. Granger are any more "real grandparents" than you two are. The two of you have treated me as your son since the day I walked into the burrow at the age of 11. I know my parents would be very happy and thankful that I've had you two for parents since they couldn't do it themselves. And truly, I know you aren't my real parents, but you two have been the closest thing to parents I could have ever imagined. I'm not sure I ever fully thanked you two for inviting me into your home and family, but thank you. And, yes, to me and hermione, you two are just as "real" of grandparents to this baby as James and Lilly would have been."
Molly, if possible, was crying even harder after she heard this, and Arthur was getting teary eyed too.
"Well son, that was very kind of you to say. Thank you. We'd be honored to be James' other set of grandparents," Arthur responded.
"Good. I'm very glad that's settled then. Ron, shall we?"
"Yeah mate. Let's go. I can't wait to see a mini Harry and hermione!"
"Well, you two sure did take your sweet time getting in here. (Though, there was not even the slightest hint of annoyance in hermione's voice as she said that.) Hello Ronald! Would you like to meet your godson?"
"Hey mione. Yeah, I think I'd like that very much," said Ron.
As Ron took James from hermione's arms, Harry spotted a tear welling in ron's right eye.
"Wow. He's perfect you guys. Really, he seems much too cute to have you guys as his parents," Ron laughed a little at this joke, but then his face got more serious and his voice got scratcher.
"Who would have thought back when we were stuffing our faces with chocolate frogs, mixing polyjuice potions to turn into Crabbe and Goyle, and sneaking through hogwarts with the mauraders and map and an invisibility cloak that you two would be married and have a kid and I'd be married to looney lovegood."
"I know. It's crazy how things change. And it's amazing how you ever thought life was good before this." said Hermione.
"And who would have thought we'd even be alive to think about bringing a baby into this world when we were hunting horcruxes and fighting Voldemort. I mean, every day we woke up, we thought it would be the last. And yet, by some miracle, we're standing here. The three of us - happy, married, and crying because we never knew we could love this much until you looked into these shining green eyes."
At this point, Ron was really losing it, and so was hermione. Harry was doing everything he could not to cry again. He felt like one of them needed to hold it together. But it was becoming increasingly harder as he reflected on all the things they overcame to get to this point - all the sacrfices, all the heart ache (and scar and physical aches), all the people who died, all the times they escaped death by the thinnest hairs, and all the times they fought Voldemort and the evil he had created. They had defied all the odds to be in that room, and for all the times Harry had thanked his lucky stars, he never thanked them as much or as powerfully as he did right then.
"Little James, you have the two best parents in the whole entire world. They saved the entire wizarding world together, with me of course, but more on that later. You'll probably hear so many stories about how great your parents are, and especially your dad is. In fact, I'm almost positive you'll try to magically take your ears off you'll have heard so many. You might even succed with all the magic you'll have inside of you. But don't worry, as your godfather, I promise to never let you do that. Because uncle Ron knows, you need to look your best if you expect to ever get a date, and trust me, not having ears will make your unruly balck hair stand out even more, and that is something you most definitely do not want."
Hermione and Harry laughed at this, but were touched all the same by ron's words.
"I love you James. And I love you two too. You guys will make the best parents. And I'm so grateful to be named his godfather. I'll protect him and love him as if he was my own."
"We know, Ron. Why do you think we chose you? We wouldn't trust our son with anybody else more than you. And even though Luna isn't in here, we know she'll make a great godmother to him. We love you guys." Harry told him and hermione nodded.
"That's really sweet. Thank you. Here, you two should take him back now. I've had him far longer than I should have. I'm really happy for you guys. Really, really happy."
With that, Ron hugged Harry, and Harry hugged Ron back; the two of them were trying to act tough but were failing miserably as they were both terribly sappy and crying more than James. Ron hugged hermione goodbye on his way out and kissed her cheek.
The grandparents visited next and were equally sappy messes. But Harry and hermione didn't care. After all, they were the most sappy of anyone.
As the two sat alone staring peacefully at their son cradled in their arms, Harry thought back to those dark days and how far they had come.
"You know, for so many years, most of my life actually, I couldn't think about more than one year ahead. There was a stretch when I didn't even think further than a day. I only thought about the present, because I never knew if I had one more year, one more day, or more minute. I always felt like today would be the day I died, or you died, or Ron died and it would all be over. My life would end so what would be the point fantasizing about a day that might, and most likely, would never happen. But then, once Voldemort was gone, I could start thinking about the future for real. I could see myself in one year, in ten years, in fifty years, because he was dead. We had finally killed him and I could finally envision what my life would be like without him in it. And this is what I saw. A family. And I can't believe it's really true. I can't believe this is my reality now and that I have our whole lives ahead of us to experience with you. I get to think about the first time he'll use magic, the first time we watch him go to platform 9 and 3/4, and the first time we get a call that he's been a troublemaker. I get to think about it all, with no fear of the future, because we killed him, together. And that just makes me so so happy, hermione."
"I know exactly what you mean Harry. I feel so lucky that we get to watch every minute of his life. And even though we would sacrifice ourselves in a second to save him, just like your parents did with you, I'm so glad that we don't have to. And I wish they could be here to meet him and watch you be a dad, but I know they are in our hearts and watching over us right now. And I know they are so, so proud of you Harry. I'm so thankful that we never gave up the fight. I would do it all over again if I had to. Because this - you and this baby and our family being able to live in peace and safety- made it all worth it. I wouldn't trade this for the world." Hermione replied.
"Me either mione. You two are my world."
And in that moment, everything was right, and just, and good.
