Chapter 56

The image of Kingsley Shacklebolt falling through the veil continued to haunt Harry. He had barely known the man but he had seen him die. At sixteen, nearer seventeen, that was a hard thing to watch and digest. Even as he made breakfast for himself back at Privet Drive he found he could not shack the image from his head.

The Department of Mysteries ... Voldemort...

The school year had come to an end and once again he was stuck with the Dursley's for company. The Dursley's who knew nothing of who he was and nothing of his life. Nothing of what expecting.

Frustration was pumping through his veins like red hot lava. He should not have to be there after everything that had gone on. Everything that was still going on.

It was the middle of July...soon to be the end... his birthday....hers... the middle of August... the baby's...

Uncle Vernon sand Aunt Petunia looked at him funny. If he wasn't in the foulest of all moods then he seemed to be near delirium with joy. As Harry picked up his bowl of cereal, he headed up the stairs reminding himself that in a mere five days he was going to be able to go back and join the wizarding world and spend an entire, blissful month at her side.

Sleeping beauty, as he had taken to calling her after the muggle fairy tale.

Sitting on the worn mattress he sighed, and spooned up the last of his corn flakes. He would do his home work for the rest of the day; it helped take his mind off things he found. The good, as well as the bad.

He longed for Sirius, for Hermione, for Ron and for Ariana. Especially Ariana. He seemed so far from them.

But he did have a few things that helped with the enforced separation. There was one thing that helped more than anything. The scan of the baby.

The picture was as with every in the wizarding world a moving one, yet with baby scans it was different. The picture could be described as a constant ultra sound as the picture moved when the baby did, or in this case, Harry's little daughter did.

His daughter.

He had been asked on the second scan if he had wanted to know or not. Aberforth, Albus and Sirius had been there with him but had left the decision to him. He had had no idea if Ariana would have wanted it to be surprise or not, but he decided he wanted to know so he could begin to prepare himself for life with his child.

They had been told by Tusker they were having a girl.

Harry sighed in relief feeling the tension go from his muscles. The thought of them relaxed him. Soon enough he was going to be with the baby and her mother. The three of them, their very own little family. They were going to be safe when they were cocooned in each other's love.

The fact they were having a baby was not common knowledge though. In fact, only the Order and the Weasley's had been told. The professors who were not in the Order at Hogwarts had not been told, neither had the majority of Harry's dorm mates. No, she was a secret and she was going to have to remain so. After all, if Voldemort heard Harry had a child of his own, Harry was certain she and her mother were going to be as much his targets as the Boy Who Lived was himself. Lily and James had been.

No, it was much safer that the two of them were a secret.

There had already been much speculation about Ariana's abrupt disappearance from the wizarding world though. When her brothers had taken her out of school it was apparent that something was wrong to every reader of the Prophet, but when she had gone from the public eye completely it had been worse. It was made clear to the public that it was something to do with Albus and that it had to be something dark in the opinion of the Ministry. Or it had been before the events in Department of Mysteries. Fudge had loved laying into Ariana and it had infuriated Harry. It had been made worse also when the Hogshead was left in temporary care when Aberforth left to be with Ariana. Not that Aberforth cared of course.

But that had changed now. When it became obvious to the whole of the wizarding world that Voldemort had come back the press had rapidly laid off the Dumbledore's. There had been very little to do with her written lately which of course Harry was grateful for. He didn't want people talking about her when she was none of their business.

He just wanted to be with the two of them. The three of them...

And so he sat on his bed, looking up at the scan of his gorgeous little girl and shut his eyes, hoping that his love for them was going to be enough to get him through the next few days.

He had just found some peace however, when Hedwig returned. He had assumed she had been out hunting for a couple of nights, but when he looked she returned with letters on her leg.

Harry gave her a grateful look. At last, some news.

With an affectionate nip, she let him take the letters before taking off to her cage for a much needed drink.

Harry ripped open the first of the two letters.

Dear Harry,

I know this enforced separation is going to be doing your head in, but don t worry. Not long now. Just a quick note to say that everything is ok and not to worry. Pompfrey and Tusker examined Ariana today and mother and baby are still doing well.

It won't be long till your back with us,

Love Padfoot.

His words were comforting even if they did make Harry feel mad with jealousy. He wanted to be the one writing to Sirius saying all was well.

He looked at the next.

Harry,

Just got to Grimmauld Place today. Sirius has sent a letter already but forgot to mention that the bits you ordered for the nursery came yesterday. Mr Weasley brought them over! Sirius thought you would want to know. When you get here, we can start the decoration!

Can't wait for you to get here (or the baby!),

Lots of love,

Hermione .

He had a lot of good friends about him and he knew it. No one seemed more excited than Hermione though. She was going to be a doting god mother that was for sure. He wondered if Ron was going to even get a look in when it came to the child.

Of course, she was no longer the child in his head. He had finally decided on the name the night before.

There were several obvious choices. Ariana being one of them, though he didn't think she would want their baby to have her name. She would say the baby was its own person and should therefore have its own name. Kendra was another choice, but the unhappy connotations with that name seemed now to overrule the good it had done Ariana.

So then he came to Lily. He wanted to name his child after his own mother more than anything else, but of course Aberforth would think it another example of him being egotistic. Another reason he was unsuitable and unworthy of his sister's love. He didn't want to give the old man another reason to turn against him. He had quite enough of those already.

So he had decided on Lily for her second name, not her first.

Her first name was going to go along with a Dumbledore tradition. Albus, Aberforth, Ariana... Alice.

Alice Lily.

Yes, his daughter would be Alice Lily. There was only one thing that could change that. If for some strange and beautiful reason that her mother came back in time to tell him she didn't like it.

-

Aberforth found that time past slower the nearer they got to the birth. There were times when he was sitting with his sister that he thought hours must have past when only half had. And then there was days that went so fast that he could barely register them.

And here they were. A month from the birth.

He had eventually got used to the idea that there was going to be another Dumbledore soon to join their family. It didn't seem so awful now. But that didn't mean he liked the idea. It merely meant that he was going to try and get past his unhappiness for the sake of his niece.

Ariana, he had thought, always felt she could come to him. In the end he had found out that wasn't the case but the least he could do for her now was help her baby when it came into the world.

In a few days, Harry was going to be there. He had to at least be civil to him even if he did not want to be. Sirius had after all been so good about the baby and letting them have the house (even if it was now Order Headquarters as well). Still the Fidelius Charm was protecting them, and with Albus as Secret Keeper he was not worried about the three of them being safe.

All they had to do now was wait.

Going down into the kitchen intent on getting a cup of tea (with maybe something a bit stronger to lace it) he longed for the days when he had peace there. With most of the Order, the entire Weasley family and Miss Granger there, he didn't get five minutes to himself often and Mrs Blacks portrait was going off alarming worse than ever before.

Asides from that though, he suppose at times they could be rather good company (when they were less noisy). He had been alone with his sister for too long. Albus had been right when he had said to him time away from her could help. Now that his day was split up by healthy dollops of human company and conversation, things were getting easier to cope with. Or in other words, after over half a year, he had become accustom to the fact he had lost her once more.

"How is she today Mr Dumbledore?" asked Ginny as he went in.

"The same as she was yesterday," he said grumpily. Ginny shot a look of apology to Hermione who shrugged. She was beginning to get used to Aberforth. He never seemed so moody with her as he was with the others. Maybe it was because he knew how well she had got on with his sister. No, if he had a favourite of his sister's friends, then it was Miss Granger. But then, she had never disclosed to him the 'help' she had given Ariana last year.

"There'll be a big change when the baby comes though." Said Hermione who was thoroughly ready to play the part of the fairy god mother. She had thought so much about it since they had broken up from school. She knew he had found it a strain to come to terms with but she had most definitely not. After the end of the school year with what happened to Kingsley Shacklebolt it was what they all needed.

Something positive. Something innocent. Something pure.

"I think even we were able to work that one out for ourselves Hermione." Said Sirius as he came into the room. He knew he should not take it out on her but he was beginning to miss Harry more and more now. Stupid blood protection. It was cruel that he should not be there in the run up to his own child's birth.

The only blood relative he needed was there in the house. At least that was among the pros of Harry having a child so young. When she arrived, she would have Lily's blood in her veins. No more Dursleys ever again.

When Harry got there, Sirius was sure that his mood was going to improve. Until then, he also knew he could not be that shot at every one in the house. "I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to snap." He said to her much more gently.

"It's ok," she told him. She knew he was only worried. God knows they all had enough reason to be in that day and age.

"I am going to go and clear out the rest of the nursery – get it ready for Harry to decorate," he said to them, sure that his godson was going to find it quite therapeutic. He remembered he had when he had helped Lily and James do his up.

Aberforth had helped him considerably. Getting the room ready for the baby with everyone else had been a bit of a welcome break from sitting by his sister every day, in the silence.

There was not much he would not do to just have her back for a moment though. Just to hear her say his name.

'Aba.'

How he ached for her even when she was in the same room.

Still it was not long till he found himself going back up the stairs to help the rest of them get the remaining grime out of the room. All the dark objects had been removed days ago.

Part of him wondered just how much point there was to them all doing the room up. After all, not long after her birth, the baby was going to go under the guise of Sirius's daughter to Hogwarts so that she could be with her father in the term.

But it was something that they could do to keep themselves occupied.

And so as soon as they got in to the room, a bit of music was turned on and they stripped away the last of the old dingy wall paper (which was sure to be replaced with something a lot brighter), wiped down the walls and sandy the floor. They did this all the muggle way. For Sirius, it appeared to have become a labour of love more than anything else.

It was as Hermione turned down the wireless to ask if anyone wanted another coffee or tea when the door opened frantically.

It was Tusker.

"What happened?" asked Sirius and Aberforth simultaneously on the alert immediately.

"The baby's distressed. We don't know why but it is best we get her out of there as soon as we can."

-

Harry had been quite calm until twenty minutes passed with Alice making practically no movement at all. He was beginning to get rather worried. Even when she had been sleeping she had not been so still.

He sat in his room trying to think of what to do. Write to Sirius? That was most definitely an option, though it would take too long though. But he was there and Sirius was already with Tusker. If anything was really wrong then he was sure to know before Harry did.

He had begun to pace when he heard a commotion down stairs. It sounded as if the door had been blown off its hinges.

He was on his guard most of the time these days and so automatically, he grabbed his wand from the bed as he moved towards the door. He was sure if the explosion had been that loud, then it was not going to be anything to do with the muggle world.

Creeping out on to the landing, he heard voices.

"I have to see Harry! Now!"

Before Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia or Dudley had time to protest he was down the stairs. The well known voice of Remus Lupin was laced with concern.

As he came into view, the werewolf glanced over him.

"You have to come now. It's the baby." He told him.

Harry bounded up the stairs to get his things. He had known something was wrong with her, he had known it!

"What baby?" he heard Uncle Vernon ask. But neither wizard cared to explain. They had to get back to Headquarters as soon as they could. Harry was not going to miss the birth of his little daughter.

-

As soon as he got to the living room of Grimmauld place Harry found he was swiftly encased in his god fathers loving embrace. It was quite obvious that the caesarean, which had in the end been a necessary procedure, was not yet over. Neither mother nor daughter was out of danger.

Hermione looked as if she had been crying. This was not how it was meant to be.

Alice was meant to have stayed put for another month.

"Why can nothing ever just go as it is suppose to?" he naively asked the elder marauder who held on to Harry more firmly.

Looking about the room, he also noted that the two Dumbledore brothers were there. They looked as if they were two lions who had been caged. They were desperate to get into the room as well, just like him, but Harry didn't doubt that the baby was not at the fore front of their minds. No, all they wanted was confirmation that there sister was ok or as well as she could be. Her well being was the most important thing to them.

Oh, how he wanted to hold her. Ariana... his beautiful loving Ariana. He shut his eyes as he remembered how she had looked that night when they had made their child. She had been so beautiful. Beyond beautiful. And then in the morning she had been so sweet. She was just lovely. But at times it seemed as she had been a dream now. She had been his dream.

It had dawned on him that the worse might come. It could happen. But if he could only have one then he did not know who he would choose. They both meant the world to him. They were his world. Impossible as it was, there were three halves to his whole. Thankfully that choice was not going to fall to his lot. No, the only thing that could decided that was fate.

Please.... let them be ok...please...

The tension had never been so great and Harry found he was suffocating. There was nothing he could do for her. There was no way that this time, when he really needed too, that he could play the hero. Just when his girls needed him the most.

Memories of their time together pervaded his mind.

He remembered the way the snow had settled on her hair.

The way that she had worn her dresses proudly, even when others had mocked her.

But most if all he remembered the way she had loved him. Every day. He never felt as if she had taken what the two of them shared for granted. He hoped he had done the same thing for her.

A cry from the next room interrupted his thoughts. A very little cry. The cry of a newborn baby. Specifically, the cry of his newborn baby.

He raised his head and looked about at the others. Through sheer relief, Lupin, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, Mrs Weasley and Albus had begun to cry. Aberforth still looked too concerned and as he met Harry's eyes they knew what the other was thinking...

The baby it seemed was out of danger, but what of her mother?

The two minutes in which the nurses checked the child before bringing her out to meant her father seemed to last a life time. It was in the end Madame Pompfrey who opened the door and brought the bundle of pink blankets out to him.

"She's early, and therefore a bit on the small side Mr. Potter. But there is no doubt in my mind that she is going to be ok. Congratulations, you have a baby girl."

And in that single moment when he took his child in his arms for the first time it was as if nothing else mattered. For a split second, not even Ariana mattered. Because here she was. After months of waiting and anticipation, baby Alice Lily was in his arms. She was ok. She was his. They were family, father and daughter together at last.

Bending down, he dropped both an emotional tear and a loving kiss into her mass of black baby hair. It was fluffy.

Harry could hardly control his emotions. He felt as if he was going to burst with pride. He wanted to show everyone in the world how clever he was. He had helped make this little girl. This beautiful little girl. She was half his. It was as if he was the first man to ever father a child. He just felt ecstatic.

She opened her little eyes, and his wish was fulfilled. There they were. Ariana's beautiful, sparkling blue eyes. So like her mothers...

Ariana....

"Is she ok?" he asked nodding towards the door.

"Miss Dumbledore is as well as can be expected. The caesarean was an ordeal, but there is no reason why she should not make a complete recovery."

"And is she awake?" he begged to know. Was she there? After eight months had she come back to him with her daughter?

Slowly and sadly, the nurse shook her head.

The intense sadness he felt that the love of his life had not returned with their child was mixed with the absolute joy that being a father had given him.

All Harry could do then was cry.

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