Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm sorry it took me a while to update - a lot of bad real life stuff has been going on, so I don't know if I'll really be able to update this on a schedule. However, writing relaxes me, so I am going to try to do at least weekly chapters. Thank you to everyone who reviewed - harrypottergleek0227, Counting Airplanes, Cartman1701, sparklesistah137, TheUnforgiven135,orbitbystarlight,IFlipForHarryPotter, and GetMoMoney-333. The reviews make my day and really encourage me to keep writing! Also, thanks to everyone who added this story to their favorites or alerts! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!
Arriving home from an evening of laughter, good food, and numerous champagne (and in Ginny's case, sparkling cider) toasts, Harry was on cloud nine. As he and Ginny got ready for bed, a wide grin remained a permanent fixture on his face, and the spring in his step was evident. He was so ecstatic about the surprise news that he had failed to notice his wife deflating throughout the night. In sharp contrast to his own mood, she began to retreat further and further into herself, and as they prepared to go to sleep, her usually-fiery eyes had lost their luster and she hunched over as she walked. While Harry bounced around the room, occasionally muttering things like "A new baby!" or "I'm going to be a dad again!", she crawled into her comfiest pajamas and laid down, curling into a little ball under the covers. At last, as her oblivious husband also slipped into bed, he noticed that she was not ecstatic like he was. Scooting over to her side of the bed, he wrapped his arms around her, and noticed her body shaking with silent sobs.
"Ginny? What's wrong, darling? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Harry asked, beginning to get very concerned.
"I'm just scared," Ginny said, turning towards him. "And I'm a little bit sad."
"But why, Gin? This is exciting! A new baby, a new chapter of our lives!" Harry said, confused.
"Harry, this baby won't even know our other children! We always planned on three, close together in age so they could be friends as well as siblings. This baby will be over 12 years younger than our youngest child! That's a bigger difference than me and Bill! And Bill was more of an uncle to me than a brother. This baby will be growing up alone. I just can't imagine it," Ginny said, tears still falling down her cheeks. "I suppose I'm excited, but it just doesn't seem real yet. I already love this baby, and I feel bad that we are bringing it into the world under these conditions. I don't want this baby to know that it was an accident, but how will it seem, with the age difference? And James, and Al, and Lily – Harry, they're going to think we're replacing them!"
"Stop right there, Ginny," Harry said, looking her straight in the eyes and wiping away her tears. "This baby is not an accident. It may be a surprise, but it is not an accident, nor is it a replacement of our older children. Everything happens for a reason; obviously we are being blessed with a fourth child for a reason. Look, I know we weren't expecting this, and it still feels a little surreal to you – me too. But at this point we just have to accept it and start getting excited. I thought you were excited! What was going on tonight, Gin? You seemed so happy, but then we got home and it was like a sudden shift in your mood."
"Hormones, darling!" Ginny said, for the first time beginning to smile and look more like her usual self. "Don't you remember what I'm like when I'm pregnant?" She grinned at Harry's expression.
"Don't I!" Harry said, grimacing a bit. She slapped him on the arm in mock annoyance, and he gave her a playful wounded look.
"No, but really, Harry, I was trying to be excited because I knew you were and so were my parents. I've been apprehensive and a little upset about this since I first started suspecting it, but I was trying to put on a happy face," Ginny said, still looking a little bit sad.
"Ginny," Harry sighed, "You should have just told me how you were feeling. I could have helped you! And now we've spent an entire day at your parents' house sharing the news and making toasts and – Merlin, I am such a git."
"You're not a git, Harry," Ginny said, laughing a little bit. "And I am excited. I'm just nervous because it was so unexpected. But at this point, we just have to make the best of it. And I know this baby will be loved no matter what circumstances it comes into this world under."
"Of course it will, Ginny. Just wait and see. This is going to be one of the best things that has ever happened to us!" Harry said. "Now, can we finally go to sleep?"
"Yes, Harry. Goodnight, dear," Ginny said, closing her eyes.
"Goodnight, Gin," Harry said softly. "I love you."
"Love you too," Ginny said sleepily, falling into dreams.
Awakening the next morning, Ginny turned towards Harry, yawning a sleepy "Good morning," but pausing when she noticed that he wasn't in bed. Hearing the clanking of pots and pans, presumably from the kitchen below, she smiled. I have the best husband in the world, she thought to herself, pulling on a robe and heading downstairs.
"Good morning, Harry," Ginny said, smiling widely as she walked into the kitchen. Her husband was at the stove in the midst of an elaborate breakfast creation, complete with a splotch of some kind of batter on his cheek. He turned towards her, looking startled and suddenly crestfallen.
"What's wrong, dear?" Ginny asked, noticing the disappointed look on his face.
"I was trying to surprise you with breakfast in bed," Harry said. "You never let me spoil you during your other pregnancies. You've always been so independent, Ginny." Noticing the look on his wife's face, he quickly added, "Of course, that's one of the things I love most about you, but just want you to rest during this pregnancy."
"I will gladly let you wait on me, Harry," Ginny said. "Now you finish up. I'm going to head back up to bed to read the Daily Prophet. And then I'll call St. Mungo's to try and make an appointment with Healer Bones. It's so strange to be doing all this again."
"Just get excited about it, Gin. It's going to be great! Now, you go rest, and I'll be up with your breakfast shortly," Harry said, shooing her out of the kitchen. She walked back up the stairs, a hand on her slightly-protruding belly, thinking ruefully about what she would look like in 7 months' time. I'll be as big as a house! I never thought I'd be going through this again. Still, we'll just make the best of it. And it'll be nice to be waited on hand and foot! Harry has no idea what he's in for.
A few days later, Ginny sat in the waiting room of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, waiting to be called in for her appointment and watching people in various states of distress running through the rooms. How on earth could he have gotten a tea cup stuck in his ear? Ginny wondered to herself as one pained man ran up to the witch at the front desk. Suddenly, Harry sat down in the seat next to her, interrupting her thoughts with a quick kiss.
"Hey, Gin, sorry I'm late. Bit of trouble at work. Have you been waiting long?" he asked, putting an arm around her.
"Not too long, I've only been here about fifteen minutes. They should call me for my appointment soon, it was an eleven o'clock," Ginny said, leaning her head on his shoulder. He pulled her closer to him, and after a few moments, they noticed a trainee healer walking briskly towards them.
"Mrs. Potter?" the young girl asked. "Healer Bones will see you now, if you'll follow me." Harry and Ginny both rose and followed the girl to the maternity wing of the hospital, where they entered a cheery yellow room with comfortable chairs and various potions and other medical supplies littered about. The girl ushered them in and then left, telling them "Healer Bones will be with you shortly!" Ginny looked around the room, reminiscing about the first three times she had been in the same position. Healer Susan Bones, who had been in Harry's year at Hogwarts, had been her Mediwitch for all of her pregnancies, and this room held many happy memories for the Potter family. Harry seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he said,
"D'you remember the first time we were in here, when we found out about James? And that he was a boy?"
"Of course I do. This room has been an important place for us," Ginny said, smiling at him and taking his hand. "Mind you, this will be the last time we are in here. No more babies after this one!"
"Alright, no more babies," Harry laughed. "Or maybe just one more?"
"Not a chance, you nutter! Five children? Three has been hard up to this point. We can't handle five with our jobs and everything else in our lives. Never mind seven like my parents! I don't know how on earth they did it all," Ginny said.
"That's certainly true," Harry agreed. "I have always been slightly in awe of your mother."
"In some way, I think everyone is," Ginny laughed. "She is definitely an amazing woman." Just then, the door opened and Healer Bones walked in.
"Hello, Potters! Nice to see you! Although I never expected to see you two in here again!" Healer Bones said, striding across the room to shake Harry and Ginny's hands.
"Well, we weren't expecting to be in here again either, Healer Bones, but I guess life had some surprises in store," Harry laughed, getting up to give her a quick hug.
"So, you're pregnant again, Ginny?" the Healer asked, eyeing the slight bulge of her belly.
"Well, I took one of those Muggle pregnancy tests, and it said I was. I feel like it too – I've had some morning sickness, fatigue, cravings, missed my period, and I seem to be showing a little bit already," Ginny said.
"Yes, I noticed that you are showing a bit – how far along did you think you were?" Healer Bones asked.
"Well, by my estimates, I'd say about eight weeks," Ginny said.
"Alright, well, we need to confirm that, and also confirm the pregnancy, so if you could just stand up for a moment, I'll check on that." As Ginny stood up, the Healer took out her wand and waved it around Ginny's stomach, where a blue plus sign appeared.
"Okay, so you are definitely pregnant, and now we just need to confirm how far along you are." The Healer put her wand down and picked up a large, odd-looking camera and motioned for Harry, who had been hanging back by the chairs, to come over to her. "Now, you'll both remember this part – it's always exciting to get the first glimpse of your child. So, I just need to take a picture of your stomach with this camera, Ginny, and we can develop it right here so you both can see the baby." She placed the camera right in front of Ginny's stomach and took two shots from different angles. As she walked over to the developing potion in the corner, she called over her shoulder, "Now, please decide if you want to know the gender of the baby or not, because I can tell you once we develop the picture."
"I don't want to know!" Ginny said to Harry right away. "We found out for the other three, let's keep this one a surprise."
"Whatever you want to do, dear," Harry said. "I'm happy either way."
"Oh, you're such a wonderful husband Harry," Ginny said, grabbing his hand again. "Are you sure you don't mind? You've never loved surprises."
"Ginny, if it's what you want to do, then it's fine with me," Harry said. They both sat back down and looked over to the corner, where Healer Bones was almost finished developing the pictures. Ginny leaned into Harry, and he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
"I can't wait to see our baby," Harry whispered to his wife. "I love him or her so much already." Healer Bones began to walk towards them with the pictures.
"Now, they're still drying so-" Suddenly, she looked down at the pictures, and gasped. "Well, isn't this a surprise!"
A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger guys! Next chapter should be up within the week though. I hope you enjoyed this one - please leave me any feedback, thoughts, or ideas in a review; I might use what you suggest! Also, if you go to my profile, there is a poll up about what gender you think the baby should be (boy, girl, twin boys, twin girls, mixed twins), so please vote if you are interested! Thanks again for reading! -Lily