Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.
Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. It also has blood and self-injury for ritual purposes. As a final note: it does has a brief mistaken belief that an infant will be harmed. Feel free to back out if need be.
Author's Note: This is Take Two of this fic because I forgot to save the first one and my computer restarted unexpectedly. So let this be your reminder to save & save often, peoples. As a general reminder: check my FFN profile before leaving a review about something you dislike (including length or inclusion in a collection).
Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts 2.0 (T03); RAVEN (2024); MC4A (Su-Yr7)
Individual Challenges: Rite Stuff; Tinker; Red Instead; Condiment Shelf; Xs & Os (Y); Stuffed (Y); Feather Head; Flashers (Y); Iron Thorns; Polygon (Y); Royal; Ginger; Blood; Hogwarts MC [x3]; No School MC; Magical MC [x6]; Old Shoes; Sandbox (Y); Crossing Over; Animated; Binger; Cinematic; Gamer; Graphic; Reader; Small Fry; Dreamers [x3]; Nonhuman MC; Shifter MC [x2]; Medic MC; Ethnic & Present [x4]; Neurodivergent [x3]; Rian-Russo Inversion [x4]; In a Flash (Y); Bucket Listing (Y); The Story Goes On (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon; Outer Limit; Two Cakes (Y); Fuzzy Socks; Claimed; Ship Sails; Bi Bi Bi; Lovely Triangle; Zed Era; Finders; Hold the Mayo; Rainbow Connection
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Assignment: Term 03-06
Subject [Task (Prompt)]: Calligraphy [Task#2 (importance played on a birth certificate)]
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Gather [Bonus 5 (Blood Hunter)](Blood Magic); Case [Grindylow](Sharing a Bed/"See the Trouble with Me" - Barry White); Web (Harry & Lily/James)[Extra STR 23 (Kissing Someone's Forehead)]; Library [Breaking Dawn](Parent & Child)
RAVEN Challenges: A&B [16](Cutting); Traits [06](Beautiful); Colors [02](Amethyst); Items [06](Blanket); Set [63](Night)
Other MC4A Challenges: Ship (Iron Buck; Iron Petal; Thorns)[5E (College/University)]; Chim [Bobby](Protection; "Carry On My Wayward Son" - Kansas; Race Bent); Hunt [Su WD (Hindu)]; Fire [Monster Maker]; Garden [Seeds (Blanket; Cutting/Slicing; Injury)]
Representation(s): Black Lily Evans Potter/Desi James Potter/Tony Stark; ADHD James Potter; Healer Ted Tonks; Moxie the Medical Elf; Cambridge AU; Blood Magic; Hogwarts Song Prompt
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: For the Vine; Lovely Coconuts; Creature Feature; Wind Beneath; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Mother Hen; Nightingale; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Brooms Only; Three's Company); Chorus (Wabi Sabi; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn); Demo 1p (Esbat; Lettuce Hold Hands); Demo 2p (Getting On; Strange Potatoes) [x4]
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terse; Tether); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK (Poppy; Tansy; Yarrow); FR (Satisfaction; Gestation); O3 (Oath); Once (Moses Supposes; Santa Fe); CM (Yogin); War (Obstruction; Sanctuary; Ennui); TY (Kulonbozo; Enfant)
Space Address (Prompt): SpB 4D (Bench); TrB 4E (After Action Healing); SuB 2A (Sacrifice); AU 5B (Race Bent); CM 2C (Bedroom);
Word Count: 730 words
(^^)
Born of Love
(^^)
The birthing suite at Ashborn was much like the ones available at St. Mungo's Hospital in London. From Lily's understanding, this was supposed to be an impressive achievement. Having the family estate's birthing suite be designed the same way as the most updated hospital in the magical British Isles showed just how modern and progressive the Potter family was. The catch was that magical society, particularly in the British Isles, lagged behind their muggle counterparts significantly.
Thus Lily's muggle-raised eyes saw all of the carpeting and tapestries along the walls as hiding places for dust and germs. Likewise, all hand-carved hardwood making up the antique furniture just looked like dust-catchers. It was hard to imagine that anti-dust and sanitizing charms would be up to the task of actually cleaning the beautiful room.
But as much as she longed for an actually modern place to have her baby, it wasn't as if she had any choice. The little one was disrupting her magic in increasingly obvious ways. No amount of modern medicine would help prevent her from setting the delivery personnel on fire when she went to push. The wards on the room at Ashborn would.
Delivering in the magical world also meant having a paternity potion on hand so that they would know immediately if they needed to take extra action to ensure that the baby would be the Potter heir. Thankfully, the use of a paternity potion was standard enough that the healer attending the birth didn't even blink when James had announced their intention to use one. They didn't even have to come up with a reason for it that would divert attention from the possibility of James not being the father.
Ted's eyes still widened in surprise when James responded by pulling out a small dagger to the warning orange that the potion turned when his house elf assistant had added the baby's blood to it. Only Lily grabbing his arm kept him from attempting to interfere. His eyes had moved over her face, obviously searching for something. Whatever it was, he must have found because he took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he turned back to watch.
"By blood," James intoned as he cut a small slice into the pad of his thumb. Setting aside the dagger, he grabbed the still wailing newborn by the ankle of the foot the house elf had nicked for the necessary blood sample. James pressed his bleeding thumb to the wound. "By blood and by love, I claim this child as my own. By blood and by love, I bestow upon this child all the rights and protections of the Potter bloodline. By blood and by love, I declare this child to be the heir to all my titles and worldly possessions. This I declare; This I will."
A ribbon of crimson magic wrapped around the pair where their wounds were pressed together. Like a wily snake, it continued to coil around each of their forms. Then it explored into a burst of amethyst sparks that dissipated harmlessly into the air. James grinned, his white teeth standing out against the rich sienna of his face, as he wrapped the woad-dyed blanket loosely around the squirming baby and tucked the neon purple stuffed dragon that had been a gift from Remus in honor of Lily's animagus form into it. Then he carried the precious bundle over to where Lily was resting on the bed.
"Lily, light of my life," James said as he settled the most beautiful thing she had ever seen against her chest, "I present our son: Haridard James Potter."
Her heart ached at the faint traces of Tony she could see in the dark tan face poking out of the pale blue blanket. Maybe after they had managed to get free of the war once more, they would be able to go after their missing love. Maybe Tony would be able to know his son. Maybe they could finally be the family they had dreamed of being. Lily pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead.
But for certain, Lily and James were both make sure that their son would never doubt that he had been born of love. And in the morning when they could introduce him to his uncles (off dealing with Remus' furry little problem), they will make sure of the same thing.