Petunia was tired, and sore, and so, so happy. She woke up multiple times in the night, of course. Nurses helped her to the toilet and changed out the pads beneath her a few times. She got steadier on her feet every time she got out of bed. Although the hospital obviously had a nursery to care for the newborns overnight, Petunia had asked that she be woken up to feed Dahlia, because she'd read it was healthier. She thus added three sleep interruptions for feeding, too.
The nurse returned with Dahlia in a bassinet just as Petunia was settling into her own breakfast. "Here she is, and hungry again!" the nurse said merrily. "How are you feeling, Mrs. Dursley? Do you want to feed her now, or shall I take her back to the nursery since you've got your tray there? We can give her some formula."
"Oh, I'll take her," Petunia said instantly. She moved her tray aside and lifted her arms to take her baby. The crying wasn't loud and angry yet, just little whimpering of "I need something, Mummy."
"There you go... do you need anything, dear? Or any help with breastfeeding?"
"No, if I can't get a good latch, I'll call you. I know you're busy."
"I'll be back later, then." The nurse walked out to continue her rounds.
"Good morning, my sweet girl," Petunia murmured tenderly, gazing down at her baby. She gently unwrapped the swaddling cloth, and Dahlia's little arms sprang free, waving and reaching. Her eyes opened and closed, and Petunia glimpsed a beautiful, vibrant blue. Petunia crooned at Dahlia and rubbed her back as she got settled, before bringing down the side of her gown to expose her breast. Supporting Dahlia with her right arm, she used her left hand to guide the nipple to Dahlia's lips. Dahlia nuzzled around. Her lips pursed and then opened wide, and Petunia quickly guided her to latch. After a few quick, irregular sucks, she managed a deep pull. Petunia smiled. This was going better than it had last night... and then after a few more sucks and a swallow, Dahlia lost the latch again. Petunia laughed softly. "Don't you worry, little girl, you'll get there. Let's try again."
After a few more false starts, Dahlia finally settled in for a proper feed. Petunia was doing better this time than she had nursing Dudley the first few days. At least one of them had experience now! Nursing didn't last very long with Dahlia's tiny stomach, of course. She was done after less than twenty minutes. Petunia settled the newborn against her chest, patting her back with one hand and resuming her own breakfast with the other. The nurse came to check on her again and offered to take Dahlia back to the nursery. Petunia declined. Then the obstetrician stopped by, and then the nurse again, saying the pediatrician was on the floor and needed to examine Dahlia. Petunia reluctantly parted with her after securing the nurse's promise to bring the baby back soon. She'd read that bonding time in the first few days was very important as well, far more so than doctors had realized in previous decades. She was determined to do right by Dahlia, even if it was a little inconvenient for the nursing staff.
Vernon called to say he had gone into the office to wrap up some things but would be coming to see her soon. She took another little nap, and when she woke up, her husband was there, holding their daughter. "Good morning, Pet."
"Good morning," she yawned.
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired. Sore. As expected. The obstetrician wasn't concerned. If all continues to go well, I'll be ready to go home tomorrow. And the pediatrician was supposed to see Dahlia. Did you see and talk to them by chance?"
Vernon nodded. "Caught the man coming out of the nursery just as I got here. He said everything looks normal."
"Good. How are the boys?"
"They were asleep when I got home and still asleep when I left this morning. Sev came 'round again to watch them. And I've got everything straightened out with work so I can go home to the boys all day today and come take you home tomorrow. I have to go in the rest of the week, but with reduced hours."
"That's wonderful."
"I was going to add Sev to the guest list to visit you this morning, if that's alright with you."
"Fine by me. I don't have much of an agenda today, just eat and sleep, same as Dahlia. Maybe a wash later."
Vernon grinned. "Is she eating well?"
"Work in progress."
Vernon sighed and looked down at her. "She's just so beautiful, Pet, our little Dahlia Janine Dursley... You know, funny thing last night. I was showing the pictures to Sev, and he had asked me what we ended up naming her. Then he got this funny look on his face and said her name before I did. You didn't tell him, did you?"
"No," Petunia said raising her eyebrows.
"Just checking. He said you didn't and that he thought it was some, and I quote, 'magical weirdness' that meant he suddenly knew. Odd, though."
"Odd that he didn't know what it was, either," Petunia mused. She shrugged. "It's not like he had a big, extended family growing up. His mum was the only adult witch he knew until he went to school. He and Lily both got a bit of a culture-shock there, for all he liked to think he knew what to expect from his mum's stories. You read that conversation we had about uncannily accurate wizarding names. Maybe adult witches and wizards always have some weird, magical awareness of the children in the family."
"He's not technically in the family though, Pet."
"Well, for all intents and purposes, he is. He's around just as often as Marge, and more than your parents. Harry and Dudley both think of him as an uncle, and... honestly, I really have known him all my life. He practically lived in our house sometimes, when he and Lily were little and attached at the hip. He really is basically an adoptive brother to me. I wonder... we might even be cousins of some kind. Cokeworth isn't a big town, and most of the families are related somehow. The Evans line only moved in when the factory was built, but Mum's family lived in Cokeworth for ages. So did the Snapes. There's headstones in the cemetery for both going back to the 1700's. I obviously don't know much about wizard stuff, but I know they put a big emphasis even on distant blood relations. Remember how the wards on our house are supposed to work to protect Harry? Something about blood relation and love. Even if Sev really doesn't have any blood ties... you know how he loves Harry. And he cares about the rest of us too."
Vernon pondered this for a moment, then scooted his chair closer so he could lean in and kiss her cheek. "You're sappy when you're tired, Pet."
She grinned at him. "And you love it."
They chatted a bit longer, about Dahlia, about plans for when they went home, and about the logistics of Vernon's work schedule. It would be so nice if companies would give fathers time off after a birth, Petunia lamented. And then it was time for Vernon to leave. He kissed her again and passed Dahlia to her. "Arabella doesn't get back until late, so I'll see you in the morning, Pet. And I'll call later."
"I love you."
"Love you, too."
Petunia ended up watching telly for a bit, though she mostly ignored the boring program in favor of stroking her fingers over Dahlia's soft cheeks. Around half an hour after Vernon had left, there came a soft knock on her door, and Severus let himself in. "Am I intruding?"
"No, absolutely not, come in, Sev."
He walked forwards and silently took the chair Vernon had vacated, his dark, murky green-brown eyes fixed on Dahlia.
She stared at him and grinned. "You cut your hair!" She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him with shorter hair. It had been trimmed to around two-and-a-half inches, shorter on the sides than it was on top and in back. It still looked a little greasier than would be ideal, but it did not hang so heavy and lank as it had when it was longer. It was weird to see his face without its usual stringy black frame.
He blinked, looked up at her, and smiled. "I did, though not by choice. Congratulations, Petunia. Your daughter is beautiful."
"Isn't she, though? And what do you mean 'not by choice'? Did some potion explode and burn it off or something?"
"Not quite. It was a... dueling mishap."
"That's right, your tournament last weekend. It sounded like you had fun."
"It was a rigorous experience."
"Well, the hair looks good, Sev. It was time for you to change up your style anyway. Haven't you had the same haircut since... forever?"
"Considering I have cut my own hair ever since I left Hogwarts, that shouldn't be surprising."
"And before you graduated, your mum used to just trim it back to ear level every summer when you got home," Petunia recalled. She reached out and patted his hand. "I'm sorry, Sev."
He raised his eyebrows. "For what, exactly?"
"I've been a bad friend. I should have realized what you were doing and dragged you to a barber shop long before now."
He snorted. "Your concern is noted. How are you? And how is Dahlia?"
"Fine, and fine. Would you like to hold her?"
"I..." He swallowed. "Yes, but tell me how."
"Oh, it's the same as bigger babies, you just have to support her head. Here..." She helped him arrange his suddenly much-ganglier-than-usual limbs around Dahlia and settle her against his chest. He looked down at her with an expression Petunia had never seen him wear before, a kind of excitement and maybe even joy tempered by extreme caution. He traced a pale finger along her pink cheek, then picked up her hand, which was poking out of the swaddling since she'd been handed off to yet another person. They both watched Dahlia's fingers curl around his.
"I have never seen such tiny little fingers before," Severus said.
"You should see her toes," Petunia told him. "She has the cutest little toesie-woesies."
He smirked. "The cutest of any neonatal toes in the entire world, I'm sure."
"Definitely. You'll have to take my word for it, though, since you've nothing to compare to."
"I'm sure your opinion is entirely unbiased." Dahlia yawned, and they both grinned at the way her little chin tremored. "Petunia... thank you so much for hearing me out that day I showed up at your door. It means so much to me to have... anyone in my life really, but especially the sense of family you have given me."
"You're very welcome, and I'll say thank you for knocking on my door that day, Sev. I don't know if I would have Dahlia now if you hadn't."
"No?" he asked, surprised.
She shook her head. "Vernon and I were both so stressed after Harry came to us, we stopped even thinking about another child. And I'm sure our stress was influencing Harry and Dudley too. That therapist we went to for the tantrums even said so. I don't know how we would have moved on if you hadn't come and told us the coast was clear, if we even would have figured out how to be a normal, happy family again. You might just have saved our family that day."
Severus flushed and adjusted his grip on Dahlia. "I don't know about that. I'm sure you would have managed without me. I know for a fact I would not have done well without you. I was... so empty. If I hadn't reconciled with you and met Harry, and Dudley, I would still be miserable and feeling trapped in my job, overly regretful, and bitter. And I probably would have had a mental breakdown dealing with Mother last year." He shuddered, and his eyes darkened. "Becoming Head of Slytherin this year, if I were still as I was two years ago, and even more conflicted about Mother, with no one to talk to about it... this year would have been a disaster."
"But it wasn't," Petunia pointed out gently but firmly. "Even with all the ups and downs of the student drama, it seems to me like you've done a very good job of it. I'm glad we can both agree we have changed each others' lives for the better. Now stop being gloomy and look at Dahlia's fingers again. That'll cheer you up."
He nodded sagely and obeyed. "It does, rather. Too bad I can't stay here looking at them all day."
Petunia glanced at the clock on the wall. "You have work at ten, right?"
"Yes, but I should be there earlier than that." He followed her gaze and sighed. "I should probably go."
"Thank you again for helping with the boys yesterday and this morning, Sev, and on such short notice. Vernon especially appreciated it."
He grinned crookedly. "You know I'll take any excuse to get out of work."
"You're not fooling me, Severus Snape. Gripe and complain about that school all you want, you've come to like working there."
"Think whatever you like, but you'll never get me to actually say so. Rest well, Petunia." He carefully held Dahlia out to her, and she cuddled the infant close again. Dahlia was becoming more active again. Would probably need another feed and/or a change soon.
"Have a good day, Severus. When will you have time to come visit again?"
"Probably not until the end of term, halfway through June."
"We'll see you then."
Author's note: I don't have first hand experience of what it's like to be on the maternity ward in a 1980s hospital, so forgive any inaccuracies. Obviously nowadays, it'd be more likely for baby to stay in the same room as mother at almost all times rather than go back to the nursery as default. Anyways, thanks as always for the reviews, and I'll try to get the next update out on time next Sunday - could end up delayed by work.