Those of you who have read my fic Teddy will recognize a large portion of this chapter.
"Well Ted what does a big boy like you want for his birthday?" Teddy and Harry were sitting on a park bench enjoying the first weak sun of spring. Teddy's dog, Gog, was romping with a big mastiff. They were waiting for Ginny to get done with work. After Christmas she had told everybody she was not going to play quidditch and now she wrote stuff about quidditch for the newspaper.
"Well I'd like to go see Uncle Charlie and the dragons, I want a real broom, some quidditch stuff, a television, a Nintendo (Ron had gotten one for Christmas and Teddy had been fascinated), a hippograph, a flying carpet, a box of honey dukes chocolates, Uncle George's new fireworks, a wand, a cauldron, a pygmy puff and a baby."
"Whew! Hold on there! That's quite a list! You know some of those things you can't have, right?"
"But Uncle Harry you work for the ministry why can't you tell them I'm old enough for a wand? Besides if we get a little hippograph it could live in the back garden."
"I tell you what, we can talk to your grandma about going to see Uncle Charlie, the pygmy puff and the television. If you are a good boy you MIGHT get a broom. The hippograph, flying carpet, wand, cauldron and Nintendo are a no go. Uncle George will most likely see to it you have fireworks. Aunt Ginny always buys you quidditch stuff."
Harry, Ginny and Teddy had a wonderful afternoon and evening, at Grimald place. They played "world cup" with Teddy's quidditch sets. After dinner they turned off the lights and Harry acted out ghost stories. Just before bedtime Ginny pulled Teddy on to her chair for a snuggle. "Uncle Harry tells me you want a baby for your birthday."
"Uh, huh. Just like Victoire has."
"Do you understand that Dominique is her sister and that, as much as we love you, we can't give you a brother or sister, because we are not your mum and dad?"
"I understand Aunt Ginny. My mum and dad died fighting a bad guy. That scary old witch at Uncle Percy's wedding said I was a poor orphan, alone in the world." Ginny made a mental note to apologize for hitting George at her wedding. "I told her I was not a poor anything! I told her I wasn't either alone! I have grandma, I have you and Uncle Harry, I've got lots of people! She said I should feel lonely and sad! Why Aunt Ginny?"
"Teddy sometimes people don't understand love. When your mum and dad died there were a whole bunch of us who fell in love with you and decided right then and there to make sure you knew we loved you and were your family."
"I know that! Grandma calls it our heart family. Grandma says you and uncle Harry are the best parents that my mum and dad could have wished for me to have with them gone. So if you have a baby it would be just like a sister or brother to me. It would be my heart sister or brother."
Harry knelt down to look Teddy in the eyes. "Well Teddy my boy do you mind if you have to wait around three months for your heart brother?"
Harry and Ginny were snuggling in their big bed. Teddy was sleeping soundly in his room.
"Ginny you were wonderful with Teddy tonight. In fact you have always been good with him. You're a good mum already."
"Harry you're a good dad already too. Think about all the things you do for Teddy. Andromeda has it right. We are his heart parents. Remus and Tonks knew you would be a great dad and they were right."
Ginny was one of those blessed women to whom pregnancy comes easily. She felt for Audrey, who had suffered some form of morning sickness until the birth of Molly in February. The only problem she had was when summer hit. She could not keep cool enough. Harry had begun stopping by Florean Fortescue's old Ice Cream Parlor, now reopened by a niece of his, to get quarts of Ginny's current favorite, Banana which she often topped with tins of anchovies.
The baby was certainly active. Teddy and Ginny had a game they played when he visited. Ginny would lay on her back and Teddy would put one of his quidditch figures on her tummy. Soon the baby would kick the figure off. Ginny and Teddy enjoyed it but Teddy's figures soon refused to wait to be kicked and started jumping off Ginny as soon as they were put down.
Harry had fallen in to bed late after a long day of meetings a the MOM. Administrative concerns and dealing with the wizengot were the stuff of nightmares for a action type person like Harry. Deep in a dream about flying with Ginny over the Burrow's orchard she suddenly turned to him and said: "Harry wake up, I think my water just broke." As befuddled by sleep as he was it is to his credit he woke immediately. Ginny was standing beside their bed at Grimald place.
Harry felt around for his glasses. "Are you all right?"
"Yes I haven't felt any contractions yet but my water broke when I got up to go to the bathroom."
Harry was soon dressed. He helped Ginny change her gown and get her robe and slippers on. They took their time as Ginny was not having any contractions. Harry flooed over to the burrow and brought back Molly. Molly, Harry and Ginny sent patronesses and owls to the rest of the family. Then they apperated to Mungo's. Ginny was soon checked and settled in to a bed on the maternity ward. She was given a potion to stimulate her contractions. "Harry get the exploding snap cards out and let's play a few hands, I'm bored." So they did, for about an hour then….the first good contraction hit. Ginny froze in mid deal. Molly, having gone through labor six times, knew what was happening and gently took the cards from her hand before she squeezed them so hard that they exploded. Harry suddenly had a look of fear on his face. "Honey…um does it hurt?"
Ginny, who could breathe again as the contraction was over, smiled and said; "Not too bad, it's OK that one just surprised me." For the next hour or so Ginny continued to put on a brave face. She kept reassuring Harry that Labor wasn't all that bad. Then she what is called transition. A women's body, muggle or witch, then begins the hardest work of giving birth. Harry had been coaching Ginny through the contractions, using the breathing techniques they had learned at childbirth class. Unfortunately for him he had been leaning over her when the first hard contraction pushed the baby's head lower, and Ginny's pelvic bones were forced apart. Ginny had reached up and grabbed both of Harry's ears and pulled. Naturally after the contraction she realized what she had done and apologized.
Harry, having learned. Did not lean over her again. Soon the med witch said it was time for Ginny to push. Harry climbed up behind her on the bed so she could lean against him and push. An hour later Ginny was exhausted and in a lot of pain. Another contraction hit. "OK Ginny take a deep breath and push, 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10, good another breath and push 1..2..3..4.…." Harry didn't get any further as Ginny reached behind her and grabbed a handfuls of Harry's hair and pulled…..hard.
As soon as she could get her breathe she said: "I TELL YOU WHAT YOU TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND GO F&$K YOURSELF!" Harry was stunned by this creature that had replaced his wife. Molly, on the other hand knew exactly what to say and do.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley Potter! Let go of Harry's hair this instant! Now I know your tired and I know it hurts but the only way it will stop hurting is for you to push that baby out! Now PUSH! ONE…TWO…THREE…FOUR….FIVE…." The baby's head popped out. The med witch said; "OK just pant I need to clean out the baby's nose and mouth. OK Ginny push him out the rest of the way." With one more push James Sirius Potter was born. He came in to the world announcing his existence at the top of his lungs.
Harry gingerly climbed off of the bed to go see his new son. After James had been checked over and wrapped in a warm blanket the med witch gave him to Harry to take to Ginny. "Honey, here's our little boy. He's perfect. I'm so proud of you! You did a great job!" Harry laid James in Ginny's arms. Molly helped Ginny begin to breast feed James.
Ginny looked down at her son and up at her husband. "Oh Harry he is perfect! I'm so sorry about pulling your hair."
"It's OK, I just think I'll get a hair cut before we have another one!" Harry said with a cheeky grin. When James had nursed his fill Harry joined the rest of the family in the waiting room. "James Sirius Potter is a fine healthy boy! He would like to meet the rest of his family now. The med witch said two at a time and just 5 minutes, to keep from tiring him and his mum. James requested that Teddy and Arthur be his first visitors."
Teddy came shyly in to Ginny's room holding tight to Arthur's hand. "Teddy Remus Lupin I'd like to introduce you to your heart brother, James Sirius Potter." Ginny patted the bed beside her and Arthur lifted Teddy up and on to the bed. Ginny laid James in Teddy's arms after carefully arraigning pillows to support them both. Arthur caught the look of awe on Teddy's face as he gazed down at James' little face. Just as Arthur snapped a picture of the two boys James opened his eyes and seemed to lock on to Teddy's face with his gaze.
"Hi James. I'm Teddy your heart brother. I'm going to teach you all sorts of things, like how to fly on a broom, how to find sea shells, the rules of quidditch and how great your mum and dad are! I'm going to protect you and love you!" Ginny smiled through tears and looked to heaven. She mouthed thank you Remus and Tonks. Teddy reluctantly gave up James to his Grandpa and he took the picture of Arthur and James.
When they had returned to the waiting room to let Andromeda and Charlie visit, Harry held out a package to Teddy. "Little man Ginny, James and I have a gift for you to celebrate James' birthday." Teddy pulled out a bright turquoise t-shirt that had "I'm the big brother." printed on the front in purple letters. Teddy immediately put it on and morphed his hair to match.
It was much latter and Ginny was resting. James was sleeping quietly in his bassinet and Harry was stretched out on a cot. "Harry wait until you see the picture of Teddy and James. James opened his eyes just as dad took it and I swear he studied Teddy's face. Some how I just feel they are connected in a deeper way than we can understand." As James grew his best friend was his cousin Freddy, but he and Teddy shared something more than friendship. Teddy was who James went to in times of trouble and time of happiness. Their's was a bound deep and true, a bond of brothers. But that is another story…..
Ginny, Harry and James were sleeping in the Hospital room. Three shimmering beings were watching.
"Congratulations Grandma and Grandpa!" said Fred Weasley "He's a fine looking boy! Harry's so proud he about to pop his buttons! I think I'll go tell Sirius to come get a peek at the baby!" And he melted away.
James and Lily leaned over the sleeping baby. "Oh James they named him after you and Sirius!"
"Two of the marauders!" James laughed! "What were they thinking! I bet they have their hands full!"
Lilt playfully hit James. "You mean you hope they have their hands full! You want you grandson to be just like you!"
At Andromeda and Teddy's cottage all was quiet. Teddy had went to bed with his new t-shirt on. Andromeda figured it would be a week or so before he would let her wash it. She was proud of how Harry and Ginny had introduced Teddy and James. Instead of feeling left out Teddyknew hewas a part of a real family.
Two simmering beings were watching Teddy sleep. "Remus we WERE right to name Harry as Teddy's godfather. He and Ginny love Teddy so much."