hello! hope yall have been well. this is a new collection, after a lot of overthinking, to keep all my tumblr drabbles in one place. unless specified otherwise, they arent connected.

this one's is a slightly crack-y prompt about sirius delivering harry and then two decades later, being in the same improbable situation for a second time with ginny, this time delivering his namesake. it's all quite fluffy & sentimental, actually. hope yall like it! prompts are always welcome :")

"No way this is happening right now."

It was a testament to everything Sirius Orion Black had experienced in his not-very-long-but-certainly-very-adventurous life that this statement was said in the most monotonous deadpan ever.

Truly, he couldn't muster more than the barest hint of incredulity. Looking at the scene in front of him- Ginny lying back on the elevator floor, eyes closed, taking measured, deep breaths and sweat beading on her forehead- he was thrown back to a time exactly 25 years ago, with another redhead in a similar position but where neither of them were quite as calm.

"What in the name of Merlin's saggy ballsack do you mean your water broke?" Later, he would deny vehemently that his voice had reached the worryingly high pitch that he had, but in the moment it was the farthest thing from his mind.

"Exactly what it sounds like, you giant oaf," Lily shot back, fists clenched tight enough that he could see droplets of blood gathering in the crease of her palm.

"Wh- How- What do I do?" Sirius looked around the bathroom wildly, hoping to find an instruction manual labelled 'When You're Alone With Your Best Mate's Wife And Her Baby Is About To Pop Out And There's No Help Available'

Not surprisingly, there wasn't one.

What he did see, however, was his reflection in the mirror. Panic etched in every single line of his face, hair looking electrified at his rough handling of it. Behind him, Lily was sitting on the ground, face right beside the toilet bowl, holding her extended belly. He saw the tears streaking down her face, sweaty hair matted to her face.

James wasn't here. He'd only just left for his Order mission with Remus, so the mirrors were out of the question. St. Mungos wasn't secure, and it wasn't safe to leave Lily in search of someone who could do something.

It was up to him, then, to ensure their baby Prongslet came into the world healthy and safe. He took a deep breath, looked once more at the mirror- the two of them alone with no one else to rely on- and promised he'd do his best. Nothing less was acceptable.

"Alright," he said, turning to Lily and rolling up his sleeves, "Let's do this."

What followed was one of the most bizarre, traumatising experiences of his entire life. He'd seen way too much of someone who was effectively his sister-in-law than he'd ever wanted to, there was an unimaginable amount of cursing and tears—on both ends—and by the end of the night, it was a miracle neither of them had fully cracked with the amount of stress and pain and panic they were all operating under.

Of course, when the blood-covered, squalling baby had slotted perfectly in Sirius' arms sometime later, he'd forgotten all about everything that led up to that moment. The first cry that pierced the air when Harry's crown had first, er, popped out was—it had left both him and Lily speechless for a good few seconds there, looking at each other in awe of what they had managed to accomplish.

The next few days were a whirlwind after that—cleaning up, taking over baby duty so Lily could recover from the unexpected birth, waiting for James to come back safely—but nothing, not the War, not Azkaban, and not the Second War could take away from the sheer miracle of delivering your godson, someone who's effectively your child .

Until now , that is. When it seemed like some cosmic power had decided that Sirius had apparently not seen enough in life that he was to become intimately familiar with his daughter-in-law as well.

"Sirius. I hear you have unique experience in this particular field?" Ginny spoke up, remarkably calm for someone who was going through the human equivalent of being constantly stretched back and forth like a rubber band.

"The stars really did align for us," he replied, conjuring a glass of water and a wet towel, "Imagine if it was Harry, or god forbid, Ron stuck in here with you?"

The immediate look of horror on her face was enough to momentarily distract him from his labour prep (which was apparently like riding a bike, since his twenty five year old memory was certainly ingrained in his muscle memory right now)

"Alright. Cold water for the contractions, and lying on the left side is your best bet to riding out the cramps," Sirius instructed, kneeling beside her with a hand around her shoulders. He placed the towel on her forehead, rubbing his other hand in slow circles on her belly.

"Now, I'm gonna honest with you, Gin, I'm about to get in places I'm sure neither of us wish I was, but that door doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon, and if that baby is anymore similar to their father, they're gonna come out screaming and crying real soon."

Ginny closed her eyes in defeat, as if she'd been hoping he'd give her some good news, but only took a single second before opening them back up with renewed determination.

"I guess we should've known the Potter genes would've been strong in this one," she joked weakly. Sirius only squeezed her shoulders and leaned down to press a kiss against her brow.

"You'll be alright, you're already doing so well," he said, "Lily was calling me a demented son of a bitch by this stage."

Her mouth popped open in shock.

"That's not to say she was completely wrong, mind," he continued with a wink, "But I wasn't the one who knocked her up, you know? I had no idea why I was subjected to that abuse."

"Easy, visible target?" Ginny guessed, before her face scrunched up as another wave of contractions hit.

"That's the one," Sirius replied, trying to keep conversation going, knowing this was about to get a whole lot worse before it got better.

Half an hour later, the elevator still didn't seem like it would open anytime soon, Sirius was still unwilling to use a lot of magic around the unborn baby, and he once again cursed himself for leaving his mirror at home for the day. It was supposed to be a routine shoppin g trip—Ginny didn't want to give up on their monthly ritual just because she was big enough to pop a house—and no one had expected her labor to start almost a month before her due date, nor that they would get stuck in the elevator at the shopping complex.

Truly, a comedy of errors. Another eerie similarity.

Ginny was, by this point, gritting her teeth hard enough to crack, and her contractions weren't very far apart, signalling the main event was about to start soon enough.

Sirius had done his best, sparingly using his wand to conjure the absolute necessities like a blanket, water, and some pillows, figuring he could at least make things as comfortable as possible.

"I know you know this, but you've gotta push, okay?" he instructed, pressing down on her belly in a downward direction to match his words, "It's gonna feel like nothing's happening, and you might want to pass out but do not give into that urge. It's the devil whispering in your ear."

"The only devil here is this little shit in my body who couldn't wait for his turn."

"I'm sure you'll change your mind when you see the cute little newborn with a shock of black hair."

"And how are you so sure it'll be black? I'll have you know Weasley genes are stupid dominant." Another contraction, a slight moan escaping her this time.

"Yes, but you've seen the Potter stubbornness, haven't you? Bet you five galleons the kid takes after his paternal line," Sirius challenged, keeping one eye on Ginny's face to check for discomfort.

Truth be told, he was amazed at how in-control she was, barely showing any of the pain she must be feeling.

"Done," she managed to get out before yelping suddenly, "I think- that's it, that felt different, Sirius, that's —"

"Okay, okay, okay, you got this, honey," he settled himself between her legs, taking a deep breath, and proceeded to perfectly execute the second ever impromptu-floor-delivery of his life.

"You Potters truly are the bane of my existence."

"And yet, here you are, sticking around us, so what does it say about you, hm?" Sirius was glad to see that the absolute wild ride of the past few hours hadn't taken away from his kid's sass levels. Tears in his eyes, glasses sliding down his face, and shirt inside out but still talked smack as good as he got.

Sirius had won the bet. The—as of yet unnamed—baby had come out with a healthy head of black hair, as had his father, and grandfather, and many great-grandfathers before him. Ginny was an absolute trooper during the entire thing, barely making a sound and dealing with the entire thing with all the grace of a lady. (Sirius recalled Lily's experience fondly in that moment. His right hand had three separate fractures from how hard she'd clenched his hand)

Compared to his first time, this one was almost like a dream. Aside from the distinctly surreal experience of childbirth in a broken down muggle elevator, the entire process had been smooth as butter, and it hadn't taken the baby long at all to enter the world. The lift had opened up a few minutes after the entire ordeal, and the look of blank shock on the employees' face was one Sirius knew he'd cherish for eternity. In between fumbling apologies and red faces, they'd offered everything from a ride to the hospital to a lifetime discount on their products .

They'd denied the ride, but Ginny—in all her postpartum glory—had jumped on the discount offer.

'It's the least they could do, really' she'd remarked offhandedly when they'd gotten out.

They'd made a comical picture, entering with shopping bags and exiting with a brand spankin' new baby, red faced and still slightly covered in various fluids.

Oh well, experiences were worth their weight in gold…or something, wasn't it?

"So, have you decided on what you're naming the sprog, then?" Sirius directed the question both at Harry, who was looking down at his kid nestled in his arms with literal heart eyes—not that Sirius could blame him, he had some idea of what he was feeling right now—and Ginny, who was looking tired but no less joyful for it, leaning back against the headboard.

"Well, to be honest, the two of us knew what we were naming the kid a while ago," Ginny revealed after sharing a look with her husband.

"That—scares me, I'm not gonna lie," Sirius faked a shudder, "It's not gonna be something like- Bartholomew or Wilkieor—"

He was cut off by Ginny pretending to retch into her hand, " Great Merlin , Sirius, do you think we're monsters ?"

"Well, you did name that one pygmy puff Pigwidgeon," he reminded her with a laugh.

"Yes and I was literally twel—"

"Okay, alright, you two can we go back to the issue at hand?" Harry, who frankly both of them had forgotten was there, cut in with a sigh.

"Er, yeah, the baby's name," Sirius held his hands out towards his godson, smiling when his unspoken request was obliged and the familiar weight was placed in his arms.

God. The déjà vu was strong in this one, he thought, as he looked at his— dare he say it —grandchild. Because Harry was his kid, his child , was he not? Hadn't he been from the first moment he'd laid eyes on him in that cramped bathroom floor? Hell, even before that, when James had told him they were having a baby and can Sirius please be the godfather, I don't trust anyone else to do this job, Padfoot?

And now his Harry, his baby , had a baby of his own.

Godric, but he felt old, thinking of how fast the time flew—from being able to fit Harry into the crook of his arm, to doing the same for his child now. It was such a humbling moment—Sirius had never once imagined his life taking the direction it did, hell- he'd figured he'd go out in a blaze of glory somewhere in his twenties.

To be able to have a life , filled with laughter and love and happiness, when so many others didn't—it was a privilege and a gift. He wasn't sure which deity he'd pleased, but he fervently thanked whoever was listening— thanked James —for giving him all that he had.

"James Sirius."

Sirius didn't hear it at first, focused as he was on the baby and his own spiralling thoughts. It took another couple tries before sound permeated through his brain, and even then he didn't fully comprehend what he was hearing.

"Huh?" he blinked.

"James. Sirius." Harry enunciated carefully, looking at him with a strange look on his face.

"I- I don't- wha-?" Sirius stuttered. Surely, he didn't mean—?

"The kid. My kid. Your grandson," Harry pointed towards said baby, as if there was any way Sirius wouldn't know whom he was talking about , "James Sirius."

Sirius immediately turned towards Ginny, needing to know this wasn't a- a joke or something (never mind that Harry wouldn't ever do that), but the question died on his lips at the look on her face. She was looking at the three of them with the softest expression, a gentle smile on her face, and Sirius just knew .

He opened his mouth again, to say something- anything , but to his horror, the only thing that escaped was a trembling puff of air. He was- Sirius didn't cry often, he could count on one hand how many times he had in his entire life- but this was—what else could he do but sob?

"Dad was…I love him, you know that, but you're also the only father I've ever known ," he heard Harry stand beside him, wrap an arm around his waist, "Both for me and Gin, you've been there for us through everything , and being named after you—we hope he grows to realise what a privilege it is that he has you in his life, the way we do."

And Sirius couldn't control himself at that, he didn't think anyone could. With a strangled cry, he dipped his head until it was tucked right against the baby— James Sirius '—blanket letting the thick material soak his tears.

Harry kept talking through it, one hand rubbing his back in soothing circles, "We've had the name in mind for months now, but with the way he made his entrance in the world, and how things came almost full circle, it feels even more fitting now."

"Morgana damn you Potters," Sirius muttered when he finally came up for air, "Do you know your father ambushed me with being your godfather the same way?"

"It's a foolproof way—I certainly don't blame him," Harry stuck his tongue out. He could hear Ginny laughing at their antics in the background.

"Well," Sirius took a deep breath, "I hope you know I'm going to be spoiling the ever-

loving- shit out of this precious child. More than I ever spoilt you ."

"I don't think that's physically possible, Siri," Harry's tone was deeply sceptical, the critic.

"Just you watch me, Potter. I'm gonna make you eat your words." The challenging words were undercut by the kiss he pressed almost immediately to both his kid and his grandkid's cheek.

James Sirius.

God, but what a day.