Harry Potter was an Only Child
By Siriusly Amused
Author's Note: I just want to say a big congrats to JK Rowling. Anywho, I'm going to do the comments differently in this chapter because I'm tired of writing them in conversational tones.
Dementist: I'm glad you like the story. I got the idea for this fic months ago when I was watching "The Butterfly Effect" . The Voldemort in this fic is slightly (more) insane due to being locked up for 15 years with no one to really talk to. Stuff like that does things to the mind.
Sara: I liked the babysitting scene too.
Kari: "Beauty and the Beast" is their favorite film because the beast reminds them of their daddy. And I like the fact that I made Harry an Occlumens in this fic too. Makes him seem cool--for now.
Skyshifter: You're welcome.
Secretly Smiling: I'm glad you like James.
MissBlueAngel: I'm updating, I'm updating. Keep yer shirt on.
Eve West: -hands you a hair pin so you and the lamp can escape-
Max Krugman: Thank you.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
Chapter Nine
Extraordinary Girl
"Harry!"
Harry Potter lazily opened his eyes. His bedroom was gray with the approaching dawn and his right arm, that was positioned next to his head on his pillow, was slightly cold with the April morning temperature. He was on his stomach and drowsy from his night that was full of dreams. He was up to June of his sixth year.
"Harry!"
"Wha?" Harry hoarsely mumbled into his pillow. He had grown accustomed to sleeping in late. James burst into the room and pulled back Harry's sheets.
"Get up, son!" he exclaimed, throwing clothes at Harry. "Your mum is having the baby!"
"That's nice," Harry murmured sleepily. "Wait, what?" he asked afterwards, sitting up.
"We're having the baby!" James exclaimed again, smiling.
"Having the baby? Having the baby!? I'll get the hot water!" Harry shot out of bed just to be pushed back down by James who gave him an awkward look.
"You're getting dressed," James informed, raising an eyebrow. "And what's this about hot water? We're going to the hospital like normal people do!"
"Hospital, yes, we have babies in hospitals nowadays!" Harry mumbled, pulling on his jeans clumsily.
James continued to look worried at Harry as the teenager put on mismatched socks. The older man then walked out of Harry's room, cursing Snape once again as Harry shoved his feet into his shoes and grabbed a shirt. His parents were already outside as he stumbled through the front door, pulling his shirt on over his head. He got tangled, however, and stumbled over to the car blindly.
"Harry, love, calm down," Lily instructed, tugging Harry's shirt down as she had done when Harry was little and new at dressing himself.
"Mum! Mum are you alright?" Harry asked as his head broke free from the tangled mess that it was in and he could see his mother standing in front of him and his father loading the suitcase in the boot of the car. "Do you need anything?"
"No thank you, Harry, I have everything," Lily stated, getting into the car as James held the door open for her. Harry scrambled into the backseat and sat in the middle so that he could lean forward and stick his head between his parents in the front seat. Ten minutes later, they were on the motorway, heading toward the hospital.
"Are you alright, Mum? Do you need to prop your feet up? What about breathing? Shouldn't you be breathing? Hee, Hee, Hoo. Hee, Hee, Hoo."
"Harry, mate, shut up!" James exclaimed from behind the wheel, pushing Harry's head away from the front seat.
"Oh, great, James! Scare the baby! Make it question what kind of family it's coming into."
"I think I will, thanks," James replied.
"Hee, Hee, Hoo," Harry continued and the car was in a furry of words as they pulled into the hospital.
Harry wanted to be in the delivery room. He really did. He didn't know why he wanted to be in the delivery room because he agreed with Aiden that his own birth was disgusting, but Harry really did want to be in the delivery room for this one. James and Lily had other plans though. They might have let him in if he weren't so hyper and didn't insist upon being Lily's breathing coach. Instead, Harry was forced to stay in the waiting room where he paced back and forth throughout the day. James came out to check on Harry every now and then. By noon Harry was forbidden to get any caffeine.
Finally, a little before 6:30 PM, James sauntered out into the waiting room, sweat dripping down his forehead and a massive smile on his face. Harry ran toward him expectantly.
"Go say hello to your new sister," James told him, placing his hands upon Harry's shoulders.
"Sister," Harry whispered before side-stepping James and running down the corridor and into his mother's room. Lily looked exhausted, pale, and definitely sweaty, but she also looked happier than Harry had seen her in a long time. She had the air of someone who had just done something brilliant and in her arms was a pink bundle.
"Harry, sweetheart," Lily greeted upon Harry's entrance.
Harry smiled meekly at his mother and slowly came forward, his emerald eyes fixated upon the bundle in her arms. As he came closer, he saw a small, scrunched up face and a mass of black hair.
"Harry, I would like you to meet Ashley Marissa," Lily introduced, pulling back the pink blanket a bit so that Harry could get a better look. "Ashley, this is your big brother, Harry," she continued. "He's going to love and protect you."
Harry offered a finger to the infant who curled her whole hand around it. James entered the room, smiled at his children and wife and sat down at a nearby table with a bit of parchment.
"Would you like to hold her, Harry?" Lily asked, gazing up at her son.
Harry watched in amazement as Lily placed the bundle in his arms and instructed how to hold her. Lily settled back against her pillows and watched contently as Harry cooed at Ashley and took her for a walk around the room. Harry paused by the table and read what James was writing over his shoulder. It was a letter to Gwen and Aiden, telling them of the birth. It stated the time of birth, weight, hair color, eye color, even skin color of the baby, but not name or gender. Harry made a mental note to send a proper letter to them later.
Soon after James finished his letter (he went into detail that he and Lily were fine and Harry was wearing mismatched socks ((he then added two paragraphs here, cursing Snape))) he got up and went to the window where a stork awaited.
"A stork?" Harry asked his father, raising an eyebrow. The stork took wing and James came forward and gently took Ashley from Harry's arms.
"Only way to announce a birth," James commented, going over to sit by the bed and coo at his daughter.
Harry rolled his eyes and went to the table, taking some spare parchment and a quill to write to his siblings. The letter came easily.
Dear Gwen and Aiden,
I'm assuming that you two would have opened Dad's letter first (seeing as he just had to send it with a stork, I'm sure the Great Hall is in a riot). I'm also assuming that you two spent a good part of ten minutes cursing said Dad after you read the letter and realized that he did not mention the gender or name of our newest little sibling. I thought about not telling you as well, but I'm not that evil…
It's a girl and her name is Ashley Marissa Potter. I think I'll call her Ashes. She's so cute that I just have to nickname her. Plus, I'm hyper, even though I wasn't allowed to have caffeine today. THEY MADE ME WAIT IN THE WAITING ROOM ALL DAY!
Anyway, I better wrap this up before I become completely mental. Gwen, say hi to Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Nick for me. And Aiden, give Malfoy hell for me.
Love from,
A Very Proud Big Brother (aka Harry)
P.S. Dad's singing Kumbiya for some reason.
Harry folded the letter up and put it in his pocket, making a mental note to send it as soon as he got home. He then got up from the table and went to join his parents and sister, momentarily forgetting that he would be leaving them in less than a month.
End Author's Note: Ashley was the hardest Potter sibling to name (for me). When I was plotting this story and making up the characters, Gwen came first and was very easy to name. Nick was next but he was quite hard to name--for awhile, he was going to be named Frey but Nicholas sounded more dignified. Then came Aiden and he was easy too (though he was almost Adrian). But I sat and thought about what to name this baby for a good few days. It was Kari who actually picked Ashley, and Marissa was one of the names I was thinking about before the Ashley name came up. It has a nice ring to it anyway.
