Chapter 57

Having settled down into a chair, Harry only took his eyes off of his child to see Aberforth abandon the room in order to reach his sister side. He didn't think he had even stopped to take a glance of his new niece.

The others certainly did.

Albus Dumbledore had not felt this happy for a long time. If Aberforth was with Ariana, he told himself, then she was going to be ok. Crouching down in front of Harry and the blanket, with the flexibility of a much younger man, he looked into the blanket. He had not seen such a little one in quite some time. And she was part of his family. She was his flesh and blood, and while he had been aghast when he had learned she was on her way he felt nothing but joy now she was here.

"You have been blessed Harry." he told him though he knew Harry did not need to be told that. It was written all over him that he knew this was the biggest blessing he had ever had. Perhaps the only.

Harry nodded but it was clear he was torn. He didn't wasn't to have to share this moment with all of them. He only wanted to share it with Ariana and that was what his eyes were screaming.

Sirius took the seat by his side and put his arm about Harry. He supposed, to all intents and purposes, this made him a grandfather. Granddad Sirius.

He liked that.

Despite the fact that she had her mother's eyes, he could see Harry in the baby quite easily, and so he could also see James and Lily.

"Oh Harry," he sighed with joy.

"Sirius, I have to go and see Ariana, can you take her?" he said motioning to give him the blankets, giving Alice another kiss before he let her go. He decided to break the trance quickly that he was in with his child. He didn't want to, but he had to check on Ariana. He had to see her mother, check she was ok.

Albus and him made for the door at the same time and arrived just as Tusker let Aberforth sit by Ariana and instantly he took her hand.

"How is she?" asked Harry desperately. He didn't think he had ever wanted her back quite as much as he did in that moment. She should be awake and she should be there to hold her daughter. Alice should be in her mother's loving arms by now.

"She is ok." Aberforth replied in a monotone voice.

But how could that be when she was clearly not alright. She might have no idea she had even been pregnant, let alone did they know if she realised she had had a baby.

"I thought – the baby... it would bring her back to me." Harry said as he felt his throat getting together and tighter. Why hadn't she awoken?

"We all did," mourned Aberforth as he looked at the boy who he supposed he had to count among his family now. That had been his hope as well. More than anything else.

Aberforth had thought if she had had a daughter then the issues she had with her own mother might for a time at least before forgotten. If she knew she could put it behind her and focus on what had to be the most important thing now.

"I love her." Crocked out Harry. It was said more to Aberforth than to anyone else. He had to know that. This new baby. It could be a new start for them all - he hated how the old man and he were always at one another throats. They were quite possibly the two people who loved her most in the world and so they should be working together. Not trying to tear one another apart by playing 'I-love-Ariana-the-most'. It was time to put the past behind them, for both the girls sakes.

"I know you do." it was time that he accepted that as fact.

Harry, with tears dropping on to his checks all the time, went over to the body of the sleeping Ariana and kissed her forehead. He could feel her breathing on his face as leant down. She was still there. She wasn't really gone from him. She would not be forever.

He had to believe that she was going to come back to him now more than ever before. He didn't know when it was going to be but it was going to happen.

"Thank you." He whispered to her gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. "She is so lovely – in fact, she is just like her mum." He said as he saw a tear drop on to her cheek. He wiped it away. It looked as if she had been crying and he couldn't stand the thought of it. He wished her brothers would buggar off and give the two of them a moment. But neither would take the hint and he decided he would return to her when they were gone. There was so much he wanted to say to her. They had so many plans to make. "Sweetheart, she is wonderful and I'll keep her safe until you are back with us I promise."

With that, and with great effort, he left her side. He had to get back to his daughter.

-

Sirius had to say he was delighted when he heard the name that Harry had picked for his child. Not only did it pay homage to both sides of her family, it also truly fitted her.

She looked like an Alice Lily.

As they sat in the living room, Harry had a fire whiskey with Sirius (to wet the baby's head) and watched as Hermione and Ron doted over their god child. Somehow even though she had been born far too early it felt right that she should have come.

Now he had a whole six weeks with her before her went to school.

"I can't really believe she's here yet." He said to his godfather. There was so much to take in.

"I know. Neither can I. But you will, after a good few sleepless nights." Sirius teased him. "You're not alone in this though Harry. We are all going to be with you and little Alice all the way." He said to him.

Harry nodded gratefully.

"Harry... she so beautiful." said Hermione as she brought his daughter back to him and he gratefully took her back into his arms.

"I know. She is the spitting image of her mother." he said as he looked down on her. She was going to be a constant reminder of everything he was fighting for. This was why Voldemort had to die. So that she could grow up in peace.

It was at that moment though she begun to cry.

"What did I do?" he questioned the others, panicked.

"Nothing. She wants her bottle most likely. Are you hungry baby?" asked Hermione. "I'll go get it, Mrs Weasley said she was making some formula up for her."

As she left the room it dawned on him. He had no idea what he was doing, and he was without Ariana in all of this.

"Sirius until she gets back I am a single dad, aren't I?" he asked. And while he refused to believe that she was never going to come back to him after all they had been through together, there was a very real possibility that Alice might grow up not knowing what a wonderful person her mother was.

"Not while I am here you're not."

The two set about trying to comfort the crying baby, knowing that they were going to be two of the most important people in her little life. Harry seemed to be discovering new things about her all the time already. Her finger nails were so small, her eyes so bright...

Was this what Lily and James had thought when they had first held him close?

Was it the same from every parent?

"You are going to get through this. I promise you."

In no time at all it seemed Hermione had come back with the bottle of formulised milk and Harry had settled into the arm chair. His small daughter now had a baby grow on and as she drunk her small hand settled on top of her fathers. In truth she was a complete and utter darling.

Protecting her seemed to have given life a new meaning in the hour she had been alive. He had someone to fight for now.

And so as she drifted off to sleep, unaware that her mother was so absent in mind from her baby, the baby felt warm and content in her father's love. Alice was for now completely dependent on Harry.

-

By that evening magic had been enlisted to get the nursery up to scratch. It had been a nice idea to do it by hand but now she had come, it had to be ready for her, not that Sirius was even sure she was going to be in there a lot. Harry had said that they were to put her crib in his room. After all, it was going to be him doing the night feeds. She might as well sleep by him.

The summer promised nothing if it was not going to be a trying one.

Harry had been so sure that he was going to see Ariana awake. He couldn't get his head round it. They had a child of their own now. She had to forgive herself for what she had done to her mother and allow herself to be part of her new family.

Until she did that, they were not going to be complete as a unit.

He would spend his days between the two of them. It was all he could do. Ariana and Alice both needed him.

-

Albus Dumbledore was as ever, a man with a lot on his mind. For the first time ever, he found that what went on in the Order now affected his family in a very real way. Ari's well being had always been a completely different matter to the Order of the Phoenix and would have remained so, had it not been for her involvement with a certain Chosen One. As he considered all he knew or all he thought he knew about Voldemort, and how they were going to rid the wizarding world of him forever... he realised he had to make a choice.

The Horcruxs. If that was what Tom, had done to himself... If Harry himself did hold the last part of Voldemort... Then would he condemn his niece's father to death?

Harry James Potter was part of his family now. If anything happened to that boy then it was most likely neither Ari and little Alice would forgive him.

But if it was the only way? Could he allow his sister to be happy and sacrifice the rest of wizarding world? He didn't know..

Having returned to Hogwarts castle, he tried to figure out what was the right thing for do. What really would bring about the greater good?

The words that had haunted him his whole life seemed to fight the situation he was in. Aberforth could look after the two girls if the worst came to the worst, he mused. But then...

He felt as if he had taken so much from her already.

The fate of the wizarding world...

He thought of what Snape had been reporting of late. There was no doubt in his mind that things were going to take a much darker turns soon. Draco Malfoy had been given a mission.

They fact was he was once again facing the devastating choice between his family and what he thought was the right thing to do.

He didn't know where to turn.

-

Aberforth had not left his sisters sides since he had been let back into the room after the birth. She seemed as she had been – no change. The birth had not affected her condition at all. Not in the slightest.

What Harry had said had had an effect on him though. He had been sure she was coming back to him. He was desperate for her back. Well, he had always been told he had underestimated Potters love for her. Now, on this day, the day of the birth of his niece he was forced to accept it.

Getting up slowing from his chair, he brush back his sister's hair from her face tenderly and kissed her forehead before leaving the room. It was time he met his niece.

Walking downstairs, he found that the proud godfather of his niece had her in his arms while Harry looked on with a smile on his face. Ron Weasley he supposed was not the greatest brain of his age but he was a good lad with what Aberforth would call a sturdy head on his shoulders. He was a good role model. Not the best, but a good one. He was sure Ron had the best of intentions.

When Harry saw that he had come into the room, he tensed a little. He didn't think that he was ever going to get used to him or be comfortable in his presence, but they had called a truce.

"Can I met my niece please Harry?" he asked, the gruff voice laced with thick and pure emotion.

Gently, Harry nodded, and tenderly he took the girl from her godfather who arms she had been sleeping in.

"Of course you can," he said to him as he looked down on her, enjoying every second he had her in his own arms. The affection, love and pride he felt for his daughter radiated down on her as he admired her. He didn't think that he would tire of looking at her. Ever. "Alice, I want you to met your Uncle. This is Uncle Aberforth." He explained.

Aberforth had almost feared her when he had seen her at first - when he had really looked at her. He supposed due to her early birth she was smaller than a lot of babies were, but truly, she just seemed tiny. He had a sudden urge in his heart to protect this child. She was a part of him.

As she was transferred into his arms though she opened her eyes. He had not been expecting to see Ariana looking back at him. The comparison was uncanny. Oh yes, there was no doubting the fact that this child was indeed a Dumbledore.

She looked at him intently as if she knew him and was trying to place him. But, of course, there was a chance she did know him already. It had been him by his sister side all the way through the pregnancy. He had been the one talking to the two of them. Telling the two of them they were loved, commenting on the news or reading a book out loud. She knew his voice. She knew him.

"Hello baby Alice." Instantly one of her podgy hands was raised towards him. Though she was not strong enough yet to bring it up to him, what she had done had confirmed to him everything he had already known about his little one. She knew him, the same way he knew her. Because this was his sister's daughter and he knew her mother by heart, just as well as he knew her by sight. Settling down in an arm chair that was near the fireplace, he realised that while he adored holding this little one close to him, it hurt.

She was another piece of Ariana that he could not make sense of. He could not converse with this child. It gave him no answers as to why his sister had done what she had. He had hoped for answers when he held her. He got none. Swiftly, he grazed his lips gently over her brow. He had to treat her as her own person. Not merely as an extension of her beloved mother.

"Welcome to the family, little one." He said to her. He did not cry, and he would not here. Later perhaps, but not now. "She is a fine girl Harry Potter. You watch out for her," he told him.

The threat that was unsaid hung in the air. If he did not treat the girl right, then he was going to have him to answer too.

Harry nodded. He had every intention of treating her right.

Alice Lily over the next few days was the centre point and focus of life at Grimmauld Place. The little girl was surrounded with warmth and love. Whether it was because they were her family (her father, granddad, uncles and godparents) or whether they thought she was just 'so cute' (like Tonks), there was always someone wanting to cuddle her. Harry found he had to take her up to 'their' room to have a little time out with his daughter. Either that or there favourite hide out was Ariana's room.

As he watched Ariana sleep there was guilt and an overwhelming sadness that took over him. There was no what he could live as he had been again, as a zombie. Breathing, but not living. No Alice took away not only the choice, but the chance of that. He delighted in every move she made and every changing expression on her tiny face. But the fact that Ariana was not there to see it killed him inside. He felt guilty that he was with her and she was not. And what a mother he thought she would make. She would be kind and gentle, and she would dote on their daughter.

Spoil her in fact - and she had Aberforth and Sirius for. But Harry was sure she was missing her mother's love. She had not heard her voice. Not once when she had been with child had she been able to rub her hand lovingly over the bump that had been Alice. But they had been together. One for near an entire nine months. That had to secure some sort of bond didn't it?

All babies experience the warmth of mother, didn't they? Even if Lily had not brought him up, when he had been born she had been there to hold him tight and tell him how much he meant to her.

She had had the opportunity that had been robbed of both of Ari.

And so in the middle of the night he headed down to the kitchen with his screaming daughter in his arms. He didn't know whether it was a bottle or her mother she was crying for as he thought it quite likely she was going to be grieving for the women who should be there, who should be so omnipresent in her life.

"Ok, it's ok my darling." He muttered as he held the newborn to his chest and begun to heat the bottle, the muggle way. He was going to be so glad when he came of age. It was going to make parenthood so much easier!

Sirius, as good as his word, came down to join them when he heard Alice crying.

"How long do you think it is going to be before she goes through the night?" he asked his godfather.

"It could be a while yet Harry. You were seven months before James and Lily had a decent night's sleep." he informed him.

"I bet I did their heads in didn't I?"

"No, I think in truth they liked it once you had settled and were having your bottle," he said as he reached for Alice's and checked it temperatures. "There is something about being up in the middle of the night with a content but awake baby...some very special moments."

"Do you speak from experience?"

"Only once or twice." He said but he nodded.

The fact that Sirius had been there from the off for him was meaning more and more to Harry as he got older. James and Lily had made the best decision of there lives when they had chosen him to be his godfather and he was eternally grateful for their decision now.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Sirius watched with great love as Harry soothed Alice, who soon stopped crying and looked up at him with her bright eyes.

"Seems like someone is a bit of a daddy's girl." Teased Sirius.

"I hope so." Harry whispered.

-

Harry's summer was one of trial and error more than anything. Getting it right, and then wrong, then slowly figuring out what Alice liked and did not like, how she wanted to be rocked and not patted.

He watched her grow in that first month with such love and just a tinge of pain; for he was sure she looked like her mother just a little bit more with every passing day.

It was not just her he had to focus on though. It was his studies. Having got his results only to find he had nearly out shone even Hermione in the NEWTS (though not quite) he had to keep it up. When he got out of school he wanted to get the best job to provide Ariana and Alice with the best home he could. His parent's fortune would not last long supporting the three of them. He didn't want them to stay at Grimmauld Place forever either. They should have their own place. It was strange that even then he thought of mother and daughter as a package. You could not have one without the other. Even though he had not heard her voice in over eight months (nearing nine) there was not an hour of the day when she was not in his head.

And so that was how Harry Potter found himself in the living room of Grimmauld Place, his charms text books out in front of him studying with Ron, Hermione and Ginny. In the middle of the group on the floor, on her blanket Alice enjoyed kicking her legs about and successfully distracting her godmother from her work.

Hermione, who was usually so focused, could not take her eyes of the girl.

Ron, however, noted Harry was quiet. He had been out that day and he had returned only a couple of hours before. He had been out with Alice's doting uncle Albus.

"So this Slughorn..." said Ron thinking on what he had already told him about where they had gone. "What do you think he is going to be like at teaching Defence?"

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "But let's face it; he cannot be worse than Umbridge, can he?"

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