His Boy
Chapter Forty-One: Complications
"Paddy, Paddy!" Harry tugged at Sirius's pants, climbing up to sit on the couch beside him. He pouted, pushing Sirius's newspaper out of the way and climbing into his lap without invitation. He got right up in Padfoot's face, glaring grumpily.
"What is it, Harry?" Sirius asked, a little taken aback by Harry's sudden forcefulness. He didn't usually push around like this.
"Paddy, I asked Hermione to come over Saturday, like you said, but she said no." Harry stated fiercely, looking very put out and edging on tears.
"Oh no. Did she say why?" Sirius asked, smoothing back Harry's hair and hugging him with one arm.
"She hassa stupid ballet residuum."
"A recital you mean?'
"Yeah, that." Harry nodded, heaving a great sigh and falling backwards on Sirius's lap so he was laying with his back in Sirius's lap and his head on the couch. "I never getta see her no more."
"Anymore. And yes, I understand. It has been a long while since you've been able to really see and play with Hermione. I don't think you two have really had a playdate since Christmas. Unfortunately, sometimes when our friends live a good bit away it's hard to get together with them. It's even harder when you or your friend is really busy a lot of the time, like Hermione is. She has a lot of activities she's doing."
"I don't like it." Harry kicked his socked feet in the air, lifting one to place it against Sirius's cheek. Sirius turned his head and kissed that little foot without a care for possible germs.
"Well, how about we see what time her recital is and go watch her dance in it?" Sirius suggested after watching Harry for a moment. He almost got kicked in the face as Harry sat up, his expression changing to be full of hope.
"Really!?"
"Sure! I bet she would like it if you saw her dance."
"Yay!" Harry beamed brightly, jumping up and down and dashing into the kitchen. Sirius laughed and chased after him, watching as Harry pushed a chair beneath the telephone on the wall. He picked it up and dialed Hermione's number, knowing what it was because of the list of numbers Remus had taped to the wall next to it. There were lots of numbers on it now, more so than there used to be and it had been growing all month since Remus's daycare had opened. There were now eleven children attending Sprouting Saplings. Including the original five children, there were now three babies one and under, two year old twins, the three pre-schoolers, Jessie and another kindergartener from her class, and a second grader called Gilbert who came after school. All Muggles with phones and numbers.
Harry waited as the phone rang, hoping from one foot to the other on the chair impatiently. He brightened and Sirius could hear Mrs. Granger on the other end.
"Hello, Granger residence, Jean speaking."
"Hi, it's Harry! Is Hermione there?
"She sure is, Harry. Hold on a moment and I'll get her. Hermione love… Harry on the phone for you!" There was some jostling in the back ground and Harry kept smiling.
"Hi Harry!"
"Hi Hermione!" Harry laughed happily, glad to hear her now. He missed her except for when they talked on the phone lately. She was one of his best friends after all. "My Paddy said maybe we can go to your ballet recitumm."
"Oh really!?" Hermione chirruped on the other end, sounding just as excited as Harry looked now.
"Yeah! Do you know what time you're gonna dance?"
"Hold on, I'll ask my mummy. Mummy! When's my recital?… Harry, my mummy says my recital is at three on Saturday at the Traveret Community Center and to say you can come. Yes Mummy?… She says to tell Mr. Black that you can just come, there should be more than enough seats."
"Okay." Harry smiled, turning his head to look at Padfoot. "Paddy, Hermione's mummy says her recitumm is at three on Saturday at the Tra-tra… er…"
"Traveret Community Center." Hermione provided with a laugh.
"Traveret Community Center. And we can go and there should be 'nuff seats." Harry repeated brightly, glad he had remembered it all. He sometimes had trouble remembering long sentences or words, but he was getting better and better at it. Lexie said it was because he was getting older so it was easier to remember things.
"Awesome." Sirius smiled, giving Harry a tickle. "Tell her we'll be there for sure."
"Hermione, my Paddy says we're gonna come!"
"Yay! Mummy! They're coming to my recital!"
…...
"Who is that handsome young man?" Lexie asked with a laugh, reaching out to straighten Harry's little golden snitch bow tie. Harry beamed, proud that she thought he looked so good. Sirius had said if they were going to the ballet then they should probably spiff themselves up a bit. Harry wore his red dress shirt and school pants and shoes with his bow tie. He was super excited to see Hermione dance, though he wasn't exactly sure what ballet dancing was except that the girls wore funny skirts for it.
"Is ballet a silly dance, Lexie?"
"Oh no, it's a very beautiful dance, Harry." Lexie smiled, handing him his coat. She and Harry were going to meet Sirius (who was putting in a little extra work this morning) and Remus (his turn to grocery shop) at the recital and then after they were all going to have dinner with the Grangers. This was the part Harry was most excited about as he would be getting to spend more time with Hermione. "You see, in a ballet they… ooooh…"
Harry blinked, watching as Lexie's face tightened in obvious pain and he frowned, eyeing her curiously. It wasn't like Lexie to pull faces like that. Had she hurt herself putting on her shoes? "Did you get a booboo, Lexie?"
"No, Harry, I'm okay. Now let's see. In a ballet they dance to lovely music and tell a story through their dancing."
"Oh! Like when Moony reads me my bedtime story?"
"Not exactly. There aren't any words. Just dancers and music to help tell the story. It's all very… ooooh." Lexie's face scrunched again and Harry's brow furrowed this time as she sat down on the floor, closing her eyes for a moment. "No no no…"
"Lexie?' Harry wasn't sure what was going on and worriedly, he sat down on the floor too, not knowing what else to do.
Lexie let out a groan and reached out a hand to pat him on the cheek. "It's okay love. It's nothing. Come on then, let's get to this…" She faltered and doubled over. "No, it's too early for… way too early…"
"Lexie?"
"Harry… I'm sorry sweetheart. We need to… oh bloody hell!" Lexie pushed up off the floor and went into the living room, making her way over to the fireplace. Harry followed, watching as she reached for the Floo powder jar that sat on the mantelpiece. It fell from her hand as she took a deep breath, looking quite pale. "Harry, I need you to be a very big boy right…. Now."
Lexie grabbed up the jar and unscrewed it, offering it to Harry. "You know how to Floo, right?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded apprehensively.
"Well, this time, you're just going to put your head in. Can you do that?"
"Sure. Paddy does that lots!" Harry nodded, having seen Sirius call his office a lot of times this way.
"That's a good boy. So, when I say so, put your head in and shout Auror Offices. Can you say… Merlin's pants…. That?"
"Auror Offices." Harry repeated with a proud smile. Of course he could say that.
"Excellent. So, you need to stick your head in, shout Auror Offices, and then ask for Sirius Black, alright? Tell him I need help."
"Okay." Harry nodded, recognizing that this must be one of those times when grown up help was needed instead of kid help. He was good at kid help, but if Lexie needed him to call Sirius, then he'd do it. He was smart enough to do so, old enough.
"One… two… three! Now!" Lexie threw some powder into the fireplace and it lit up green. Harry got down on his knees and put his head in the flames, not scared of them.
"AUROR OFFICES!" He shouted, just as he had been told. He felt his entire head spinning past fireplaces but his knees and hands stayed firmly on the floor of the living room. Wow this was weird! He giggled and coughed, getting soot in his mouth. He closed his eyes as he got dizzy and when the moving finally stopped, he found himself looking down a long hallway with shot grey paneled walls on either side, openings in them, and lots of people.
"I need Sirius Black!" Harry said hurriedly, but no one seemed to hear him. He repeated himself. "I need Sirius Black!" Still no one looked his way, too busy with their work to notice the head of a little boy having appeared in the fire place. Harry took a deep breath, knowing what he had to do now. "PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDYYYY! PAAAAADDY! PAAAAAAADDDDDY! PAAAAAADDDY! PAAAAA-"
"Harry?" Sirius appeared around one of the short grey walls. Upon seeing his godson's head in the fireplace he broke into a run, dashing between two witches who were looking at the fireplace in shock. "Harry, what are you doing?"
"Paddy!" Harry sighed with relief. "Paddy! Lexie needs help!"
Sirius paled. For Lexie to send Harry flooing his head to the Auror Offices during the middle of the day meant that she must really be in some sort of trouble, and it wasn't something silly either, like getting her foot caught in the toilet or something. She would wait something like that out or manage to magic herself out of it. No, this was different…
"Alright Harry. You pull your head out of the fire, I'll be there in a minute." Sirius nodded and Harry did as he was told, tugging his head back and tumbling backwards, soot in his hair.
"Paddy's coming."
"Oh thank Merlin. Good job, Harry. You wonderful little… aaaauuuugh!" Lexie doubled over again, clutching her stomach as she lay on her side on the living room floor, looking quite anguished.
Sirius appeared in the room after a moment and upon seeing Lexie curled up on the floor, fell to his knees. He brushed her hair back from her face. "What's going on?"
"The... B-baby." Lexie groaned, her face pale and sweaty. "Something isn't r-right."
"Okay... Okay... Hospital." Sirius hoisted Lexie into his arms, his eyes dashing about the room in almost a panic. They fell on Harry who was looking up at him, eyes full of fear. He didn't know what was going on. "Grab hold of my leg and don't let go, Prongslet."
Harry did as he was told, wrapping his arms tightly around his godfather's leg and sitting on his foot to have a better grip. He wrapped his legs around Sirius's ankle as well and Sirius suddenly spun on the spot without felt as though his entire body was being squashed inwards, but knew he was safe since he could still feel Sirius's leg right there. Just as he felt like his head would explode from not breathing, the world around them rematerialized, white and sterile.
"You can let go now, Harry. Stay close." Sirius stated. Harry let go of his leg and followed as they rushed down the hallway to the waiting room Harry recognized from having been to St. Mungo's several times before. This wasn't the happy waiting room though with other kids and toys. It was an adult waiting room with boring old magazines.
"Lexie? What's going on?" The woman behind the reception desk rose from her chair and rushed over.
"The baby... The baby." Was all Lexie could manage to get out.
"But you're not due for another two and a half months!" The witch stated in alarm, her eyes widening. She magicked a gurney out of thin air and Sirius set Lexie down on it. She gripped his hand, looking more scared than Harry had ever seen her. It made him scared too. What did she mean about the baby? Was something wrong with his little sister?"Paddy?" He reached up, gripping onto the end of Sirius's shirt nervously. Even his Padfoot looked scared.
"It's alright Harry." Sirius reached down to brush back his hair reassuringly. He knew he had to put on a brave face now, for Harry's sake even though at the moment he felt quite terrified. "They're gonna fix whatever is wrong, Prongslet. "
"Okay." Harry nodded, feeling a bit better now that he knew what was broken in Lexie could be made all better. They would probably be ale to go home in a few minutes...A hour passed, Sirius sitting with Harry in the waiting room. They sent a message to Remus through the Floo and he showed up not too much later.
"Harry, why don't you and I head home?" Remus suggested after getting the whole story of what was going on from Sirius. Harry frowned.
"But what about Lexie and my baby?" He asked, concerned. He didn't want to leave until Lexie was all better.
"There's nothing we can do for them right now, Harry. The Healers will take care of them. You and I will head home and see if you can go stay at the Burrow so I can come back see sit with Padfoot."
"Harry, I promise I will tell you what's going on as soon as I get some news, alright?" Sirius stated, hugging Harry tightly to him. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he knew it would be better if Harry wasn't there if there was bad news. He didn't want to break down in front of his godson. He needed to be strong for him.
"Okay." Harry nodded, looking sad. "Wait, what about Hermione's ballet recitumm? She'll be sad if we're not there."
"I'm sorry Harry. Hermione's recital would be over by the time we got there. I'm sorry."It was at this point that Harry's eyes welled with tears and he started crying. His little arms found Sirius's neck as he sobbed, unable to help it. He had been so excited to see Hermione and see her recital! And now he wouldn't get to see her or watch her dance and his Lexie and baby sister were really sick! It was too much for a four year old to handle, even if he was four and three-quarters.
Sirius held him close, kissing his cheeks and rocking him as he patted his back. "Shhh, Harry, shhhh. It's alright. I bet we can find another time for you to see Hermione and she can dance for you then."
"It's not today." Harry cried harder, his little heart so full of anguish at the moment. It was too much all at once for him to handle, and he was usually fairly good at handling things.
"Harry, I think it's time we went home now." Remus suggested again, reaching out a comforting hand. Harry shook his head, clinging onto Sirius.
"No. I want to stay."
"Alright. But only one more hour. And then we're going home." Remus stated firmly, sitting down next to Sirius and Harry who sniffled a bit. He clung onto Sirius tightly, leaning back against him and clutching both of his godfather's hands while Remus read to him quietly from one of the magazines about the best way to care for an owl.
"Mr. Black?"
Sirius perked up, lifting his head from where it was beginning to droop onto Harry's. His feet had been tapping anxiously on the flat carpeted floor. Remus stopped reading. Harry looked up at the Healer in her mint green robes.
"How are they?" Sirius asked, standing up, lifting Harry with him.
"They're fine." The Healer stated quickly. "However, Alexandria has what is called an incompetent cervix meaning her body is having trouble keeping your baby in and this started causing contractions. We've prescribed her a potion to keep her from contracting and going into premature labor that will need to be taken every eight hours on the dot without fail. She will also have to remain on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy. Now, I must warn you, that this potion is not foolproof. It only has a seventy percent chance of working beyond a total of two weeks, and that percentage dwindles with each continuous day. In all likelihood, we could be looking at ten week premature baby which could lead to all sorts of other risks simply due to the baby being underdeveloped at birth."
"Isn't there anything else that can be done?" Sirius asked, his voice cracking slightly, his brow furrowed with worry.
"Everything we can do is already being done, Mr. Black. However, premature infants are not all that uncommon, so we are well prepared for taking care of this baby when they are born. We have all sorts of special potions and enchantments." The Healer smiled. "You can go in and see Alexandria now, if you'd like."
"Yes please." Sirius nodded and he and Remus followed the Healer beyond the double doors, Sirius keeping his arms around Harry, not about to put him down. Something about having the little boy safely tucked up against his chest made him feel braver.
The room Lexie was in wasn't very far of a walk. When they got there, she was sitting up in bed, looking tearful but determined. Her head turned to the door as they entered and she immediately reached her arms out. "Sirius."
Sirius smiled and walked over, setting Harry down on the foot of the bed and bending to hug Lexie tightly. "It's going to be alright."
"I hope so." Lexie let out, her voice slightly choked. She let go of Sirius and opened her arms to Harry who crawled up the bed and into them, careful to mind her stomach like he'd had to do for the past few months. She snuggled him closed, kissing his head. "You are such a brave boy, Harry. You did just the right thing!"
"It was scary." Harry admitted, burying his face against her neck and breathing her in with relief. He had been pretty frightened, but he'd done as he was told and gotten Sirius instead of panicking, which was really something else for a kid his age.
"I'm sorry you were scared, but you did everything just right, Harry. I am so proud of you!" Lexie reassured him, smoothing back his hair and kissing both of his little cheeks.
"Is my baby okay?" Harry asked, eyeing Lexie's stomach apprehensively. He knew his little sister was in there somewhere, though he still wasn't exactly sure how she had gotten in there, just that it was a form of very special magic. Padfoot had said he would explain it to him when he was bigger.
"Yes, just fine." Lexie nodded, reaching up a sleeve to rub at his slightly runny nose.
"Then why're you sick?"
"You know how butterbeer bottles have corks on top to keep the butterbeer in?"
"Yeah." Harry nodded.
"Well, my baby cork is broken, but the baby isn't finished growing big enough yet, so it can't come out yet."
"Ooooh. Can you get a new baby cork?" Harry asked curiously, looking around as though trying to find a new cork. Perhaps it had to be a bigger cork than a butterbeer cork?
"Nope, I have a special potion instead and I have to stay in bed until after the baby is born."
"Yucky." Harry made a face. He hated taking potions and staying in bed and Lexie had to do both! Boy, he sure was glad he wasn't the one having a baby.
"Yeah, yuck! But it helps keep the baby in so it can keep growing until it's strong enough to come out and be with us." Sirius explained with a slight laugh, ruffling Harry's hair.
Harry pondered this over and then rested his hand on Lexie's protruding stomach. He placed his cheek down on it, listening for a moment before turning his face and pressing his lips against it. "Hey you baby, can you hear me!? You gotta stay in Lexie's tummy okay? Oh!" His head shot up from her stomach in surprise, eyes wide, patting at his cheek. "I got punched! My baby punched me!"
This was two much for the three adults. They burst out in laughter, unable to hold it in at Harry's antics. Despite the trying situation, his presence seemed to make things more bearable at the moment. A child's view on the world was such a precious thing.
"Hey you baby! You don't hit, Paddy says so! No hands, just hugs!"
…...
"So you're not mad?" Harry asked, speaking into the phone receiver the next morning. Sirius was still at the hospital, so he and Remus were working on making a breakfast for him and Lexie when they got home. Remus had suggested they call Hermione to let her know why they hadn't been at her recital. Harry had been quite worried that his friend wouldn't be very pleased with him.
"Oh, Harry. Babies are more important than ballet recitals." Hermione scoffed, as though this were common knowledge among their peer group. She had, of course, quite a different view on the world than your average five year old. "I'm not good at dancing anyway. I knocked over all the other girls on the stage, plush the scenery. Daddy said it looked like a set of frilly dominoes."
"Wow! I wanna do that, dominoes is fun!" Harry laughed gleefully, jumping up and down on the chair. Remus turned to look at him, curious as to what they were talking about. He smiled a little, returning to chopping up peppers. He knew spells for chopping, but wasn't so sure he wanted knives running rampant in a kitchen with a little boy in it at the moment.
"Harry, don't goof around on the chair, you'll fall."
"It was not fun! I'm still embarrassed, and Mummy says I still have to go to ballet because it'll help me learn to be graceful." Hermione pouted, sounding quite put out about having to keep doing ballet even though she'd basically ruined the recital single handedly. "I knew I should have just been a tree. Tress don't do a lot of moving, you know, so they don't knock over everyone else."
"We could both be trees. Trees are fun!" Harry pondered, thinking about how much he loved his tree house and the swing hanging below it. Oh boy was it fun to play out there when the weather was nice enough to do so.
"Yeah! Two trees with squiggly leaves!"
"Harry, careful on that chair." Remus warned again.
"Squiggly leaves, two trees, squiggly leaves, two trees!" Harry laughed, dancing about on the chair more, either ignoring or not hearing Remus. He lost his balance and went tumbling, the chair turning sideways as he hit the floor at a very awkward angle, his arm twisting beneath him harshly, the phone landing on his head as it fell and then bounced upwards, it's cord holding it higher than it could really stretch.
Remus dropped his knife, hearing the crash and a rather loud cracking noise. He dashed over as Harry began to wail as he'd never heard him wail before. It was a sort of howling wail, loud and pained. "Harry!"
Harry rocked slightly back and forth, clutching his arm to his chest as though he were cradling something delicate. Remus got down on his knees and, as Harry continued to cry, moved the arm cradling his other arm away so he could get a better look at the one that had obviously been hurt.
"What's going on in here!?" Sirius dashed into the room looking pale. He knew Harry never screamed or wailed like that… not even that time he'd accidentally broken a glass and thought he was going to get in big trouble. Nor the time he'd accidentally peed himself and thought Sirius was going to give him away. Wow, that had been a long time ago.
Remus reached out a hand to feel Harry's arm but the little boy shrieked like a banshee, turning his body away. "He fell off the chair. Harry, didn't I tell you not to goof around on the chair? Sirius, I think he's gone and broken his arms. I heard something crack."
"Merlin's pants!" Sirius reached out to Harry who whimpered, still bawling, but no longer howling, and looking quite pale in the face. "Harry, you've got to let us see your arm."
"What in the name of Dumbledore's beard are you boys doing?" Lexie asked, pushing through the swinging kitchen door , hands on her hips, belly protruding.
"You're supposed to be resting!" Sirius stated at once. "We've got this under control, you go and…"
"It certainly doesn't sound under control." Lexie shook her head and moved to get down on her knees, reaching for Harry's right arm. He whimpered, turning his body away in fear. It hurt sooo bad, he didn't want anyone to touch it. "Oh dear, shush now. That looks like a fractured wrist. Sirius, get me my wand, it's on the coffee table."
"Yes, dear." Sirius nodded and dashed to the living room. He retrieved Lexie's wand and returned, handing it to her.
"Now Harry, this is going to feel weird for a moment, but I promise it'll make everything all better, alright?"
Harry nodded, still sniffling and whimpering, unable to control himself as the tears kept falling. He didn't want it to hurt anymore.
Lexie pointed her wand at his arm. "Episky."
Harry felt a strange warmth envelope his arm, a shifting inside it, oh that burned! He let out another wail, and then, as though nothing had happened to it, his bones shifted back into place and sealed themselves back together. The pain suddenly lifted. Harry stopped crying, blinking, his eyes wide. He lifted his arm, looking at it in shock. He gave it a wave through the air and then burst out laughing. The pain was all gone!
"Lucky to have a Healer in the house." Remus laughed.
"Very lucky indeed." Sirius smiled, kissing Lexie on the cheek and lifting Harry from the floor. "All better, Prongslet?"
"Mhm!" Harry nodded, hugging Sirius around the neck, glad for the comfort of being held after his ordeal. It sure had been an interesting couple of days. "Thank you, Muma-Lexie."
Lexie's eyes watered and she reached out, hugging Harry the best she could without taking him from Sirius and with her rather large baby belly in the way. She rubbed her sleeve on his face, drying tears and boogers. "You're always welcome, Harry."
"Yes, Lexie, thank you." Sirius smiled, kissing her full on the lips now. Harry made a gagging noise and Remus laughed. What a typical four year old. "Now I believe it's time for ladies and little men to rest, per Healer's orders."
"Oh hush you." But Lexie laughed and she left the room to go lay down with Harry and Sirius following after her.
Remus picked up the chair and grabbed up the phone that was still dangling from the receiver. "Hello? Hermione are you still there?"
"It is rude to hang up without notice." Hermione stated quickly. "Is Harry okay? Did he fall? There was just a bunch of noise and crying."
"Yes, but he's fine. Just a little booboo."
"Oh okay. Is he coming back?"
"Is it alright if he calls you back later?"
"Yes. It's raining so we won't be going to the park later."
"Alright then. Talk to you later, Hermione."
"Good bye."
Okay, so I really do like this chapter and the way it came out. It's a little crazy! Hmm, I guess this baby thing is going to be a little more dramatic than expected. And oh gosh, Harry! He really did warn you not to play on that chair. I hope you enjoyed it as well! Please let me know what you thought if you'd like to, I always love hearing from you guys and really appreciate it!
Late alligators,
Love,
S.Q.O.