Maybe Next Time

Chapter Seven

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with this story for so long! I hate to say this, but this is the last chapter, then I will be posting the epilogue! I've already started a sequel to this story, and when I post the epilogue I'll tell you what it's titled. Hope you enjoy!

"This is all your fault, Potter!" Ginny screamed, squeezing his hand so hard Harry was sure the circulation was gone.

"I'm sorry," Harry told her.

"I refuse to do this again!" She shrieked.

"Okay," Harry soothed.

Ginny breathed heavily. Why did she do this? Why did they have children? They weren't worth it! Nothing was worth this! Nothing!

"Just agree with everything she says, Potter, and you'll be fine," Draco whispered in Harry's ear.

"Thanks," Harry whispered back.

oOo

Harry was expecting labour to take a long time. He was used to it. James took around twenty hours, and Albus took nearly twenty-four hours once Ginny's water had broken, but Lily took longer than even he had expected – she was born approximately thirty-six hours after Ginny's water broke. But after a long, long wait, Ginny and Harry were gifted with a beautiful, healthy little girl.

"It's a girl!" Draco exclaimed, suctioning out her nose.

Once Lily was cleaned and wrapped in a pink blanket, she was placed in Ginny's arms.

"Oh," Ginny's voice choked. "Oh, my. She's so precious."

"She's beautiful," Harry couldn't help but be amazed.

"Our baby girl," Ginny whispered. "We've been waiting for you. Oh, Harry," she faced her husband, tears dripping down her cheeks. "Can you believe it? We made her."

"Now, she was born two weeks early, a little premature and smaller than the average newborn, but she is healthy and will grow stronger with time. She is exactly seven pounds, five ounces." Draco informed them.

Suddenly the door swung open and Teddy ran in, followed by James and Albus.

"Aunt Hermione sent us in here!" Teddy shook Harry's arm. "I want to see her, Harry!"

"Hermione's here?" Draco said quietly.

"Alright, calm down," Harry told them, smiling. He picked Albus up and held his on his hip. James and Teddy climbed up on the bed next to Ginny.

"This is Lily, your baby sister." Ginny smiled as she watched her sons say hello to Lily.

"She's pink," Albus pointed at Lily.

"She's a girl," Teddy told him.

"Oh," Albus cocked his head, staring at her. "That makes sense."

"She's small," James touched her nose.

"She's just a baby, hon," Ginny told him. He nodded.
"Can we bring Aunt Hermione and Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill and Uncle George and"-

"Yes, people can come in now," Draco said, to spare himself from hearing Teddy talk for so long.

Teddy jumped off the bed and returned quickly with Fleur, Bill, Victoire, Dominique, and Louis.

"Oh, Gin, she's precious," Bill stroked his sister's hair. She smiled at him.

"She eez so perfect, you are so lucky," Fleur hugged Ginny. "May I hold her?"

"Of course!" Ginny handed Lily to sister-in-law, who cradled her and cooed meaningless words to her.

"See? She's my baby," Teddy told Vic proudly.

"You're lucky, you've got a pretty baby," she said wistfully.

"But Dommie was pretty," Ginny said playfully. Victoire shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess," Victoire contemplated.

"Hey!" Dominique snapped.

"My baby," Albus said, crossing his arms, looking at Fleur. "She's my baby."

"Oh, I know, Albus, you lucky boy." Fleur looked amused, handing Lily back to Ginny. "We must head home now, Louis eez very tired. But congratulations! We are so happy for you!"

"Thank you! Goodbye!"

"Bye, Vicky." Teddy waved and couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

Once they had left, Hermione rushed in.

"Oh! Ginny! Congratulations! You too, Harry, of course, and you are some very lucky boys, aren't you? Oh, she is beautiful! Look, she already has a little bit of red hair, and – Draco?" Hermione had noticed Draco loitering in the corner of the hospital room. Draco turned red. Ginny and Harry exchanged looks.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione's cheek flushed scarlet. She looked down at her toes.

"I work here, I'm a Healer." Hermione's head snapped up.
"Really?" Hermione asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah."

Teddy tugged on Hermione's coat sleeve. "Auntie Hermione, is that your boyfriend?"

"What? No, of course not, Teddy," Hermione stumbled, and turned even redder. Draco smirked.

"Well, er, I'm going to go back out now." Draco's expression seem to make her even more flustered. "Congratulations, your daughter is absolutely beautiful!" She hugged Harry and Ginny, kissed Teddy, James, and Albus, shot one last glance at Malfoy, and then stalked out of the room.

"I, er, have some reports to type up," Draco said immediately, and then nearly ran out of the room.

"What was that all about?" Ginny tilted her head up at Harry. He kissed her.

"I don't know, but it was strange."

Teddy, James, and Albus clambered onto the hospital bed, Albus in Harry's arm, James and Teddy snuggled on each side of Ginny and Lily.

"I wanted a girl so bad," Teddy told Ginny. "I waited for years for her. She's better than I thought she would be."

"Oh, I know, honey," Ginny replied. "I know."

Ginny looked around the hospital room. There was Lily, soft brown eyes wide open, squirming and yawning. Teddy, hair pink with happiness, (he reminded Ginny of Tonks in that way), joking with James and Lily's hand around his finger. James was cuddling up to Ginny, with Harry's hand on his shoulder. Harry was holding Albus on his hip, looking lovingly at his beautiful wife, sons, and daughter. Ginny almost felt overwhelmed with love.

oOo

They were able to leave the hospital with Lily a little while later. When the newborn was bundled up and in Ginny's arms, they exited room #137 and began the descent to the fireplaces, to Floo back to Potter Manor, when they passed an empty hospital room.
"Stop here, I want to check the diaper bag to make sure I have everything." Ginny told them, and they stopped in the empty room, only to find it occupied by a couple locked in a passionate embrace.
"Oh," Ginny was surprised. Harry whisked the boys into the hall, when the couple broke apart.

"Hermione?" Ginny's jaw dropped.

She flushed, horribly embarrassed. "Merlin! Ginny!" She turned to the man next to her.

"Draco, you promised no one would see us!"
Draco?
He blushed slightly. "I just promised this room wouldn't be occupied, love."

Love?!

Ginny rummaged through the diaper bag, holding Lily tightly in her arm.

"Well. Er. Alright. We're going to go home. Okay. Goodbye." Ginny couldn't find words.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ginny," Hermione was obviously flustered, she kept touching her face and fixing her hair.

Ginny scurried out of the room. "You won't believe it!"
"What was it?" Harry asked.

"It was Hermione and Draco!"

He was silent for a moment. "You're joking."

"No, I'm serious! Hermione and Malfoy!"

"Well, this is strange. I can't get that out of my head now!" Harry groaned, shifting Albus to his other arm and tugging on James' hand.

"Mum, can I hold Lily?" James pouted.

"No, darling, she's too little for you to hold," Ginny told him. He stuck out his lower lip.

"That's okay, James, you can wait. She's gonna be your baby sister forever!" Teddy comforted him.

"Until we have another one," Harry winked at Ginny.
"Yeah, as if," Ginny groaned, looking down at her baby daughter.

"I want another girl!" Teddy exclaimed excitedly.

"No way. Girls are gross. Let's have four more boys, then we can have a Quidditch team!" James shot back.
"Sorry, guys, this isn't your decision," Harry laughed. James pouted.

"Let's just go home." Ginny then said, smiling at her family. They weren't perfect, but they were hers.