When Harry closed his eyes at night, it finally was not nightmares that he saw. But rather, reflections of everything in his life that he'd done right... Every moment that had led him to where he was right then, tangled up in bed with the woman he loved, with two little but warm bodies pressed to his either side. And laying across his chest, flesh to flesh, was the sweetest baby to grace this planet. At least, she was quite sweet when she slept. She was but two weeks old and though two brother's had come before her, Harry was quite certain he'd forgotten that they came so small. His daughter, his precious little Lily Luna, someone so unfathomably special to him. Of course, all of his children meant the world to him, his two sons were more important to him than he could truly put to words... But to have a little girl to hold and call his own? It meant everything to him.
And even now, he could see that she would be her mother's shadow, her mother's copy. As much as James looked like him, Lily looked like Ginny; the only one of their children to have inherited the Weasley genes, Lily was every inch her mother's child with the lightest dusting of freckles across her pale cheeks. When her eyes opened they were of the deepest brown, eyes that seemed to look at you with the intensity of the sun. Only a few weeks old and she certainly had proven that as it was with her mother, size meant nothing when it came to true strength. Harry chuckled, recalling just earlier that afternoon when the shrieks the baby had let out had almost shook the house, shrieks that had sent both boys running to their room.
"What's so funny?"
Ginny's tired vocals drew him back to the moment and he turned, one hand cradling Lily, the other reaching out to ghost across the curved spine of Albus beside him. "I was just thinking that maybe we're crazy for doing this again." He gestured down at the baby asleep on his chest, a grin falling into place on his lips. "You couldn't have had yours first, eh?" It was Ginny's turn to chuckle, sitting up on an elbow, reaching out to run her fingertips through Lily's downy red hair. "Even James wasn't as tempermental as her." Their first born had certainly inherited his mother's temper, but even he had been easy compared to Lily.
"It's only fair, you've got two." Despite the darkness, he caught the glimmer of her smile, brown eyes dancing as she reached out her hand to brush a lock of hair from James' forehead. It was true, both of their son's looked more like him than they did Ginny. Though Albus favored her a bit, James was his twin down to the way his hair stuck up at the back of his head. "Mum swears she didn't sleep laying down for weeks because she could never put me down." Ginny's vocals were hushed, her words bringing another chuckle from his lips. He could then imagine his mother in law juggling a wailing Ginny all while chasing six additional boys around and suddenly his sleepless nights seemed a whole lot simpler. "I can take her," their eyes met and Harry gave his head a little shake, indicating that he was fine as he was. The soft, warm weight of his sleeping daughter on his chest, of both his boys on his either side, it was the only kind of comfort he needed these days. It was all he ever needed ever.
Truthfully, Harry hadn't thought he'd ever have a moment such as this one. He recalled back to when he had been nothing more than a frightened teen, hurtling head first into a war that had taken almost everything from him. Back then he hadn't even expected to make it past seventeen, let alone to twenty-four. Back then he hadn't thought he'd grow into a man with a family of his own, to hold children of his own born to him by the woman he loved. Back then, he had lived day to day, hanging onto any shred of hope he could grasp, praying that he and those he loved would make it to the next day. Now he lived a (mostly) peaceful life, one with Ginny and their kids, and suddenly the only thing he had to worry about was if they were safe and warm.
"I've been waiting for one like you." He admitted a moment later, his voice bringing her attention back to his face. Her eyes widened slightly, then her features softened as a smile curved on her lips. "Now our family is complete." Ginny gave a single, almost tearful nod before she leaned over Albus to press her lips to his. "I love you," he whispered, reaching up with his one free hand to cup the back of her head, bringing her forehead down to meet his. "All of you."
A few minutes later, Harry remained there in bed with his family, listening closely to the sounds of their breathing. Against his chest, Lily stirred and he glanced down at her, fully prepared for an earth shattering shriek... But it did not come. Rather, the baby shifted and her little hand caught Harry by the finger, clutching with what little strength she had. A smile tugged on his lips before he finally (and very carefully) reached over James to slip the sleeping Lily into her cradle. And then he settled back against his pillows, tucked carefully between his son's sleeping frames. Over Albus' head, he reached for Ginny, unsurprised to already feel her hand grasping for his.
It was as he had said, their family was complete. There wasn't anything more he could have asked for in this life. It was perfect, every single moment of it.
