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The Space Between | ||||||
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Category: Post-Hogwarts, Post-DH/AB, Post-DH/PM Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, General, Humor, Tragedy Warnings: Dark Fiction, Death, Disturbing Imagery, Extreme Language, Intimate Sexual Situations, Mental Abuse, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Negative Alcohol Use, Rape, Sexual Situations, Spouse/Adult/Child Abuse, Violence, Violence/Physical Abuse Rating: R Reviews: 584 Summary: Harry and Ginny's lives have finally evened out. They've faced trauma, and loss, more than most have, but they've fought hard to find a normal. If only things could stay that way... Old enemies find new ways to seek revenge. This story is the sequel to Bound. It would be extremely helpful if you read that first. Warnings are to be safe. It's probably overkill. Please message me if you have any questions or concerns. Hitcount: Story Total: 353322; Chapter Total: 2363 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: |
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“Harry?” Harry glanced up from his pile of paperwork as sleet beat down on the window in his office. It perfectly matched the dismal early March weather outside. Daniel, who was standing in his door, had told him that Betsy, the witch in charge of the weather, was mad at her husband and thus they were being subjected to the actual weather rather than a bright, sunny day. It was darker in his office than he would have liked and for a moment he had to squint to see the concern on his long-time assistant’s face. “What’s up?” “I have Philippe Alverez requesting you come to Brazil immediately.” Harry stared blankly for a long moment as his heart sped up, pounding in his ears. It could be nothing. He could need a consult. It wasn’t often that Head Aurors spoke to each other, but he and Philippe were friends. It could be… not that. Dread pooled low in his gut as he slowly put down his quill and put the stopped on his ink bottle. Caroline had just received the puppy to raise. The massive ball of fluff was named Steve and so far things were going well. But no. No, if it were the baby then it would be April. The baby wouldn’t be due until April and this was early March. His mind wanted to latch onto that but it wouldn’t stick. He grabbed his cloak and swung it on as he made his way towards the Floo. “Let Hermione know,” he told Daniel. “Also,” he stopped and turned to his assistant, who didn’t know anything about the baby or what was going on, but still knew it was something of incredible importance. “Also, send an owl to my sister-in-law, Audrey. Tell her… tell her where I’ve gone and to be ready. She’ll know what that means.” The moment he was through the Floo he knew it was serious and it was exactly what they had been fearing. Philippe was a large, powerfully built man. His skin was the color of mocha, with thick, wavy brown hair trimmed very precisely. In the last few years it had started to gray at the temples. His expression was neutral but his eyes showed Harry his concern. “Let’s go to my office,” he told Harry as he led him down the hall to his office where he shut the door and indicated Harry should sit. He didn’t go around but sat on the edge of his desk. “I tried to contact your son but he’s out of the country for a game. I didn’t want to put this off by waiting for him, not when we didn’t know for sure if it was you or your son we wanted. Yet another thing Ginny’s dream had right. James was traveling for Quidditch games. He wouldn’t be home until the end of the week. But at least it wasn’t ominous. He was safe, simply out of the country. “You were here in the summer, looking for a woman,” the other man said. It wasn’t a question. “I’m assuming you’ve found her,” Harry said quietly as he tried to order his thoughts. “You have a code in your country about sex outside marriage.” Brazil did not. Harry thought through what he might be implying. “It wasn’t… it wasn’t what you think it was. My son was drugged, as you know.” “Oh, I know exactly,” Philippe said coldly. “I need to know what you’re going to do about it. You don’t even seem surprised that I contacted you. You haven’t asked me why.” Harry closed his eyes briefly and then faced his old friend. “My wife dreamed this would happen.” He paused and pulled in a long breath. “She dreamed it years ago and a bunch of times since then. Details have fallen together just as she dreamed. If you’re asking what we’re going to do about the baby, it depends on the mother and what she wants.” Philippe cleared his throat and glanced away. “She died shortly after the baby was born.” Harry sat back in his seat as the words fell as a physical blow to his insides. He didn’t know if the woman had done what she’d done to James on purpose or if she’d been a victim in all of this, but no one deserved to die, not this way. “What… what happened? How could she die? Wasn’t she in your hospital?” “No,” Philippe said with a shake of his head. “She was a Muggle and she was in a Muggle hospital. She a note in her bag that the baby was James Potter’s son and to contact our Muggle liaison’s office in case anything happened to her. Obviously, there are a lot of James Potters in the world but Dante thought it had to be connected to you.” Harry closed his eyes and dropped his head in his hands. It was just as Ginny had dreamed! It was exactly what they’d feared. He had a grandson. “Is the baby alright?” Philippe was silent for so long, Harry finally looked up to see the strained expression he wore. “He’s sickly. He’s very early. I don’t know much about his condition, but I know the doctors weren’t hopeful. We’ve obviously transferred him to our hospital, but I haven’t heard from the Healers about his condition.” He let out a slow breath and pushed to his feet, feeling unsteady. “Let’s go see him.” “I need to know what you’re going to do.” Surprised, Harry turned to the other man. “About what?” It was Philippe’s turn to appear surprised. “About this baby. With your society–” Harry cut him off. “I’m going to take my grandson home to my son. He and his wife have already committed to raising the baby if this happened.” Genuine relief washed over the man’s face. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up.” “I understand,” Harry said, even as everything inside him screamed that he didn’t understand. He’d already lost and buried a daughter. He didn’t know how to lose a grandchild. “I need my sister-in-law here to get him transported back to England.” “If it’s possible,” Philippe said solemnly. “Let’s go speak to the Healers and then make a plan from there.” When they arrived at the hospital, Harry felt the hush of the building settle over him. Unlike St. Mungo’s, this hospital had a peaceful, contained air to it. They were greeted almost immediately by a woman Healer who introduced herself as Angelica Silva. Her English was excellent, but accented and not for the first time Harry wished he could have picked up Portuguese. He’d tried, several times, but foreign languages were not his strong suite. “We will test to see if he is your blood line, of course,” she said in a low voice as she walked briskly down the hallway. “As I understand it, you cannot have bastard magical children in your country.” “My son is married,” Harry informed her as they turned down a hallway. “He and his wife will care for the baby. There will be no legal problems.” She woman stopped and turned to him, her brown eyes full of compassion. “I do not mean to be harsh. I simply meant that if it will be a problem, we can arrange for adoption here.” “Is he doing alright?” Harry asked. Her smile was tight. “Let’s confirm the parentage, although I can already tell how this will go. Then, I shall update you on the baby’s vitals.” She pushed into a room and Harry followed in to see a cot with a nurse sitting by the bed, holding her wand over him. Harry moved, almost in a trance, to stare down at the baby who looked exactly like James and Al had as newborns, only with darker skin and this baby was very, very small. He didn’t even think the baby weighed four pounds. He was in a bubble of heat kept there by the nurse so he was dressed only in a tiny nappy. He reached out slowly towards the sleeping infant and put his hand lightly on the baby’s stomach. He felt the tiny, tiny chest rise and fall as tears began to trail down his cheeks. “Pater conceptum revelio,” Angelica said as she waved her wand over Harry’s hand and a dim light flared through Harry’s hand. Immediately he was brought back to the moment, more than twenty-five years before, when he’d knelt on the floor of the Burrow and placed his hand on Ginny’s stomach. It hadn’t been the first time he’d touched her stomach, but every other time had been because he’d hugged her from behind. This time had felt so intimate, especially right there in front of her parents. He’d been seventeen and reeling from the news of Ginny’s pregnancy with Hope and being ordered to the Ministry to answer for impregnating a girl he’d very sincerely never slept with. Molly had said the spell, this exact spell, and the light of Hope’s life had shone through so bright it was nearly blinding for him. He was going to be a father. He was a father. In that moment, he was that baby’s father and it was his job to see her through, to protect her and keep her safe. He hadn’t been able to do that. Crabbe had poisoned Ginny and Hope had died and there was nothing Harry could have done to stop it. Here he was again, with a dimmer light because he was the grandfather and not the father, but still the light of this child’s life shone through his hand and love for this baby filled him to nearly bursting. He’d known he would love his grandchild, even if the child was conceived in rape. He knew he’d never hold it against the baby. He knew a lot of things, at least in his head. But knowing and living it were two separate things. He was going to protect this child with everything he had. “Can I hold him?” “You can,” Angelica said and Harry didn’t wait. He picked up the small baby and sat in a chair, holding the child on his chest with a single hand while the nurse draped a blanket over him. The Healer pulled up a chair as Philippe hovered towards the edge of the room. “We have him stabilized and he’s breathing on his own, as you can see. He’s not as strong as we’d like, but he’s also holding his own. We would normally send him home, but we have a few concerns.” “What concerns?” Harry asked her. “The first is he has thrown up every formula we’ve tried,” the Healer explained. “He’s tolerating breastmilk and has even latched on. Our nurse here,” she said as she pointed to the woman who smiled but clearly didn’t understand what they were saying, “has a toddler who is still nursing and she suggested we try nursing. He did very well with that and we’re reasonably confident he will be able to drink a bottle with breastmilk.” “That won’t be a problem,” Harry assured her. He knew they had a donation program in England but if nothing else, Ginny could induce lactation and she could nurse the baby. “What other problems?” “He’s just over one and a half kilograms right now,” Angelica explained gently. Harry’s mental calculation put that in three-and-a-half-pound range. It didn’t even feel as though he had a baby on his chest. The child’s weight was practically nothing. He’d thought the twins were small when they were born but it was nothing compared to this little guy. He now had four grandchildren. Three girls and a boy. “He’s also generally fussy and very agitated when he’s awake,” Angelica went on. “It might be because he is so early, but I wanted to warn you. It’s too early for colic, of course, but I do expect that is coming.” Harry had dealt with colic before… no. If he was honest, he’d left Ginny to deal with the colicky James which had led to them not realizing for months that she was pregnant with Al. Well, if he and Ginny had to move in with James and Caroline, they would. He wasn’t going to do that again. “This is the note left with the woman,” Philippe said as he came forward and handed him a folded piece of lined notebook paper. It was in Portuguese but he saw three words he recognized. James Potter and Alex. “I’ll read it to you,” Philippe offered. He cleared his throat and read out, “If something happens to me, make sure my son gets to his father in England. His name is James Potter. I want my son to be named Alex.” “Alex,” Harry said slowly. He didn’t know what James and Caroline would think, but he couldn’t see denying the poor woman her one wish. “Tell me more about her.” “She was a prostitute,” Philippe told him sadly. “But she’d gone missing months back, in the summer. Two of her friends reported it to the Muggle police just before you arrived to look for her. The timing fits. She had no family that we can find so we don’t know anything else. At this point we’ve erased Alex from the Muggle system so no one will ask questions, although we don’t know if he is magical.” Harry would be able to find out from Nat, but there was time enough for that. Magical or not, he was James’ son and he would need to be protected. “Alex,” Harry said as he glanced down to the sleeping infant. “Can we get him back to England?” he asked Angelica. “Normally, I would want him to stay in Brazil for a few weeks but I understand there are major security concerns for your family and I do not want the responsibility that comes with caring for him here when he does not need to be in the hospital,” she went on. “I do know your sister-in-law, Audrey Weasley, so I will be comfortable signing him over to her care. He is not so fragile he can’t go by Floo as long as we secure him to whomever is taking him.” “I will go arrange for Healer Weasley to come to Brazil,” Philippe said as the baby began to stir. In short order he’d been changed into a clean nappy and the nurse fed him again. “Are you sure it will not be a problem to get breastmilk?” Angelica asked him. “I do not want to overstate this. He threw up everything we tried to feed him.” “We can get donated milk or my wife has successfully breastfed three children. She can have lactation induced and pump.” “Most men do not know of such things,” she said as she appraised him. Harry shrugged. He knew a lot of things. Ginny had pumped and donated milk after Hope’s death. They had witches who adopted and lactation was induced. He knew Muggles did it, as well, but the magical methods were more successful. “What else do you need from me?” “We have a lot of forms to fill out before I can release him into your care. After that, it will be up to your government as to what happens to him. I trust you to handle that.” Within the hour he and Audrey were taking the Floo back into the Auror office, which was empty thanks to Daniel. They had to travel back to the Ministry through the Floo because it was only the Ministry connected to Brazil’s Floo network, otherwise he’d have gone straight to James and Caroline’s home. He hated putting the baby through this again, as the child had woken and started to cry pitifully, but Harry, who was carrying the sleeping baby, knew it was best to get him safely home. “I’ll meet you at James’ house shortly.” “Yes, I’ll get the potion and some milk to tide us over,” Audrey told him as Harry tried to comfort the fussing baby as he threw another pinch of Floo powder into the Floo. ~*~ Caroline glanced up to the fireplace from her seat on the living room where she’d been working with Steve on sit and stay. He was coming along nicely, but of course she knew it was all down to Rufus and his magic. A moment later her father-in-law came through and the sound of the baby had Caroline’s heart stopping for a moment. It couldn’t be happening now. Not now! They had weeks yet. James wasn’t even home– her brain stopped as she realized that yes, of course it was now. Just now. Caroline rose smoothly to her feet and studied the baby in Harry’s arms. He was incredibly small. “Oh…” She took a deep breath and knew this was it. This was what they’d talked about. This was the moment. Nervous, she stepped forward as Harry handed her the baby. He was perfect. He was absolutely perfect. She didn’t even know how she knew the baby was a boy, but they’d always talked like he was and she simply knew. Slowly, she walked over to the couch with the wailing baby who wasn’t wearing any clothes and sat so she could arrange the blanket more firmly around him. “Shh,” she said in a croon. “Shh, I have you. I bet that was really scary, but I have you. You’re alright.” “I need to get Ginny and then try to track down James,” Harry said from somewhere in the room. “Will you be alright for ten minutes?” “We’re fine,” Caroline said as she studied the face of James’ miniature. She grinned down at the baby, utterly mesmerized in a way she’d never been before. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. “Shh, it’s okay.” “His name is Alex,” Harry told her and then a moment later he was gone. Rufus plodded over to her and stuck his nose next to the baby’s head until the baby’s hand came free and he grabbed a handful of the dog’s fur. Immediately the baby’s wails began to quiet and after a small hiccup, his eyes, blue but clearly destined to be brown, met hers. Love. It was instantaneous and so unbelievably overwhelming she could hardly breathe. “I don’t know how you got here, Alex,” Caroline told him as she bent her head to place a kiss on his cheek. “But I’m glad to have you here.” They’d spent a lot of time talking about it. They’d spent countless hours going over it. Caroline had promised James this was what she wanted, even though she hadn’t been prepared for it to actually happen. Alex’s hand came loose from Rufus and the crying started up again. Rufus nudged at the baby as his big, soulful eyes met Caroline’s for a brief moment. So many times she felt like the dog was trying to talk to her and this felt like that moment. It was as if the dog was saying he needed to be touching the baby. Concerned, Caroline took the baby’s tiny fingers and put them back in Rufus’ fur. The crying stopped again. Steve, who was sitting next to them with his butt on the ground, let out a low whine. “What do you two know that I don’t?” Caroline asked the dogs. “Hmm,” she mused as she pointed Rufus down to the ground, while keeping Alex’s hand in the fur. The second Rufus was down, she propped the baby up on the big dog’s back and sat down to hold the baby steady so he wouldn’t roll off. Instantly, Alex closed his eyes and went back to sleep. She glanced from the baby to Rufus, to Steve who had nosed over to stick his head by Alex’s feet. “Okay, this isn’t normal. I know you guys have magical calming abilities, but this is weird.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she heard the sound of the Floo coming to life as Ginny spilled out, her eyes focused on Caroline. “Where–” Caroline moved her a hand a bit so Ginny could see the baby. “He stopped crying when he was touching Rufus.” Ginny moved over to the other side of the dog, skirting around Steve to kneel down. She touched the baby’s cheek and then glanced up to Caroline. No words passed between them, but they might as well have been. He’s perfect. He looks just like James. Are you ready for this? Caroline slowly slid her hand under the baby and gently brought him up to her chest, resting him against her soft sweater. When he didn’t stir or cry, she let out a slow breath and rose to sit on the couch again. Again, Rufus rose up and stuck his head near the baby. Caroline arranged the baby’s foot so it was resting on the dog’s head. “Rufus keeps doing that,” Caroline told Ginny as her mother-in-law sat next to her and ran her fingers along the back of the baby’s hand. “I don’t know why, but we’ll trust the dog,” Ginny told her. “That dog is very smart. So are you,” she said as she scratched at Steve’s ears when the pup laid his big head against her shin. “His name is Alex,” Caroline told her even though she probably already knew. “I didn’t hear more. Harry said he was going to get you and James.” “James is in Russia, right?” “Japan,” Caroline told her. “Someone should be able to find him. At least he’s safe and not dead! He’s just traveling for work.” “There is that and you can’t know how relieved I was when I realized why it was just you. Harry will deal with finding James. In the meantime, Harry told me the baby isn’t keeping down formula and will have to be breastfed. I can move in here and breastfeed him or pump and bring over the milk for you.” Caroline blinked, unsure of what she was hearing. “What?” “Audrey will be here shortly with a potion to induce lactation,” Ginny explained with a wry grin. “It’ll make it so I can produce milk again. I’ve pumped before and I know what I’m doing.” Her brain must have been zapped into mush because none of what Ginny was saying made any sense. “But–” “Sorry, everything feels rushed,” Ginny sighed as she glanced down at the baby. “The hospital in Brazil tried to feed him formula but he threw it up. A nurse there breastfed him and he kept that down. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen with wizarding children. But I’ll take care of that. I don’t want you to worry about it.” Worry about it… Caroline glanced away as her emotions turned to a jumbled mess. “What happened to the baby’s mother? Do we know?” “She died in childbirth,” Ginny explained gently. “Oh,” Caroline let out the word on a shaking breath. She closed her eyes and held the baby. She was really his mother now. She’d been preparing for it for months, but it still felt so new, and yet she loved him already, so much. But Ginny was going to feed him, not her and it felt… wrong. They must have a good reason for it, though. There must be something that made it better for Ginny to feed him. Suddenly filled with doubt, Caroline had to fight back tears as she heard Audrey’s voice float through the fire before the woman appeared. “I have the potion,” Audrey told Ginny. “I’m ready,” Ginny sighed. “This one hurts like mad, right?” “Just for about an hour as your breasts change,” Audrey said. Caroline opened her eyes and her mouth before she even knew she was going to speak. “Why can’t I take it?” She hated that she sounded insecure, weak, and pathetic. She hated it. But there was no doubt it was exactly how she sounded. “What?” Audrey stared at her curiously. “You could take it, of course, but–” Ginny held up her hand and sat down next to Caroline. She put her hand on Caroline’s knee and met her eyes. “Breastfeeding is… it’s a very intimate act. It would be difficult for you, given your past. You might feel… it might make you…” Then it dawned on her. Her father. Her father who had molested her. Her father who had been ruining her life for longer than she could remember. “But he has nothing to do with Alex!” Caroline protested as she glanced between the two older women. “I’m… I’m…” she felt the tears as they began to slide down her cheeks. “I’m going to be his mother. I mean, I am his mother now that his is dead.” “Yes, but–” She cut Ginny off. “I’m supposed to feed him and care for him.” “You can feed him with a bottle, though,” Audrey pointed out gently as she moved to sit on Caroline’s other side. “You don’t have to do everything yourself. We’re going to be helping you along the way. You’ve had a rough road and you’re doing so well, Caroline. We don’t want this to be a setback.” “He isn’t a setback,” Caroline protested as more tears flooded down her cheeks. Audrey looked as though she wanted to say something but Ginny shook her head. Her mother-in-law put her arm around Caroline’s shoulder and gently hugged her before conjuring a cloth to wipe Caroline’s face. “If you want to do this, you will do this. I didn’t think you’d want to and I didn’t want you to feel pressured. This is your choice because it’s your body.” “I want to take it,” Caroline said again as she felt herself beginning to calm. “I have to get the birth control potion for you,” Audrey explained slowly. Caroline opened her mouth to protest they didn’t need it, but decided she didn’t need to say it. “Okay.” “Okay,” Audrey repeated as she stood. “You have to take the birth control potion first and then five minutes after you can take the other. I’ll be back shortly.” “I’m so proud of you,” Ginny said as she pressed a kiss to Caroline’s temple. “This should be a horribly stressful situation for anyone.” She didn’t know how to explain to Ginny what she wanted to say, but she knew she could say it even if she felt stupid about it. “I… it felt like you were saying I wasn’t his mother.” “Never!” Ginny promised earnestly. “I can see that love already. I just wanted to spare you trauma. I know you and James aren’t sharing a room yet, so I didn’t know how you would feel about this.” She felt… right. It felt good. It felt good all the way up until her breasts started to grow from the lactation potion. “Holy crap this hurts,” Caroline said as she walked through the room while Ginny held the baby. She pressed her hands firmly into her chest as she felt them growing. “Oh, wow.” Steve, after a nudging from Rufus, ambled over to her and followed at her heels. “It’ll be bad for an hour,” Audrey said again. “Drink some water. You’re going to need it. If he’s awake and ready to nurse before then, I have a bottle of milk from the donations.” “I’m going to need new bras.” She glanced over at the baby. “He needs clothes.” “We’ll deal with all of that once you get him nursing and Harry is back with James,” Ginny assured her. “I’ll get everything you need once they’re here.” Caroline thought Alex might have woken sooner if Rufus hadn’t been glued to his side the entire time. As it was, he slept past the hour by twenty minutes before Audrey said he had to be awakened to eat. “Go get a button up shirt and take off your bra,” Audrey told her. Caroline didn’t own a button up shirt, but James had several soft, flannel ones he never wore. She was all too ready to get out of her bra, though. The thing was cutting off her circulation. “Okay,” Caroline called out as she ran back down the stairs and sat on the couch, taking the pillow Ginny handed her. Alex was wailing in Audrey’s arms, but the moment he was on her chest, he moved to latch on as though he’d been doing it for months rather than a day. It hurt a lot. It hurt a whole lot. Caroline sucked in a breath and gripped Ginny’s fingers so tightly she thought she might break them. “Let’s make sure he’s correctly latched,” Ginny told her as she and Audrey worked to make sure Alex’s mouth was open wider which did help lessen the pain. “You’re doing great,” Ginny told her. “I have milk leaking out of my other breast,” Caroline said dryly and then laughed when Ginny handed her a rag. “That’s it?” “That’s it,” Ginny smiled. “I’ll get nursing bras and pads as soon as I can along with all the things you need for a baby.” “Okay,” Caroline said with a slow breath out. “You can go now if you want. Audrey, you’re staying, right?” “I am staying,” Audrey assured her. “I have to make sure this baby feeds well for at least two feedings. If he’s not doing well, we have to move him to St. Mungo’s.” “I’ll go now, then,” Ginny told them. They sat in silence as the baby nursed for nearly five minutes before the Floo came to life again and Caroline glanced up, expecting it to be Ginny back to ask a question. Instead, it was her husband who looked wild-eyed and a little frantic as he stumbled into the room. He moved to her, moved to the baby who was still feeding and fell to his knees as his fingers trailed along the baby’s cheek. Caroline then realized that James was seeing her practically naked breast for the first time. But it didn’t feel… scary. It didn’t feel weird or awkward. Okay, it felt weird for a moment, but it was gone as she watched his handsome face study the baby. “You’re… you’re feeding him?” James asked, finally turning to look at her. “I’m his mother and it’s my job,” Caroline explained quietly. He grinned as he boosted up to kiss her. “‘Course it is,” then he placed a gentle kiss on the baby’s cheek. “Where’s your dad?” Caroline asked James. “I’m over here, giving you privacy,” Harry told her from off towards the dining room. James glanced to his father and then back to Caroline. She watched Audrey walk out of the room and strike up a conversation with Harry. “Should I give you privacy too?” James asked her quietly as he kept his gaze fixed on her face. “This is… uhm…” “No,” she shook her head slowly and reached out her fingers to brush along the stubble on his chin. “He’s your son, you’re his father.” His expression relaxed as he went back to studying the baby’s face. “He really does look just like me, only darker complexion. Alex, huh?” “I heard about Alex’s mother.” Genuine pain flicked across James’ face. “I can’t believe she died having him. I feel so weird about this. Dad said it was something called a pulmonary embolism or something. I thought we’d hear she didn’t want him. I dunno how to feel about this.” “We find out what we can about her so we can tell him.” “What do we tell him?” James questioned, yet again. They hadn’t yet come up with a good solution. “When he’s old enough we tell him some of the truth,” Caroline said slowly. “Then when he’s grown, we can tell him the full truth. We don’t want to lie to him. For now, we don’t have to tell him anything.” “The papers are going to want to know.” She knew it and knew it was going to be hurtful if they found out the truth. “Harry?” “Yes?” he called from the other room. “What do we have to tell the papers?” There was a long pause before Harry said, “We have to tell them that you two welcomed a son very early and give his weight and we ask for the public’s good thoughts on the baby’s health.” It was the truth, Caroline realized. “Alright, that’s what we say. No one has seen much of me. They won’t know the difference.” “Alright,” James agreed. ~*~ His mother had come back loaded down with clothes for the baby and for Caroline and then had his father haul all the baby stuff from their house over to James’ place. “We’ll set it up in Caroline’s room, I guess,” James said as he looked to his wife for confirmation before he moved to cot in at her nod. She looked good in her new sleep shirt which was bigger than anything she’d been wearing before. “Come try this in bed,” Ginny told her as she handed her a U-shaped pillow. James put the cot down and picked up Steve to put him onto the bed so he could get closer to the baby. They could get Rufus on the bed, but the dog was so huge he took up all the room and Alex was still refusing to calm without one of the dogs nearby. They’d had to dress him in an outfit without feet so his bare foot could be in the dog’s fur. “There is something to that,” Harry said as he studied them. “Out, Harry,” Ginny pointed. “The baby needs to feed again.” “Right, sorry,” he said as he turned to the door. “I’m going to go fetch Nat.” Since James had been thinking along those lines, he didn’t comment. A look from his wife, aunt, and mother said they both agreed. “He’s used to Victoire nursing in front of him,” Ginny apologized to Caroline. Caroline’s face was flushed several shades of scarlet. “I… I need to get used to it first and then I think it’ll be okay.” “Of course, whatever you need,” Ginny said as she helped Alex get latched. James watched and was absolutely fascinated by the whole process. He felt so unbelievably in love with Caroline and he already loved his son, no their son to distraction. He pulled a pillow over next to her and sat with her, holding his son’s hand as the baby ate. “It’s a magic all its own,” Ginny told him, beaming at him. “It was the same way for your dad. He loved to watch you nurse.” James’ grin felt a mile wide before his face fell. “How can I be this happy and sad all at once? I didn’t want her to be dead.” “I didn’t either,” Caroline agreed. Ginny took her hand and placed it on his, giving it a squeeze. “It’s life. It’s good and bad. You can’t just live in the bad. Whatever happened, I don’t think this woman meant to hurt you. I think she was a pawn in this. We will mourn her for Alex’s sake and for our own.” By the time Nat arrived, James was walking the fussing baby who didn’t want to burp and didn’t want to calm. “Hi, Nat,” Caroline waved from the bed as the baby cried. Nat pushed her strawberry blonde hair back behind her ears and moved over to James. “He’s… tiny and I need to hold him.” “Alright,” James said as he handed him to her. Nat sat down on the floor with the baby on her lap. Rufus started over to her but Nat shook her head. “No, your magic will get in the way, Rufus, and I don’t want to get this on you,” she told the dog, not even looking up as she placed a hand on the squalling baby’s belly. Rufus lay down, almost nodding as Harry came into the room and James sat on the floor next to his brother’s best friend. “What’s up?” “He’s… I dunno how to describe it,” Nat said as she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. A moment later a brown substance oozed out of practically everywhere and soaked through the fresh clothes, nappy and down onto Nat’s jeans. “Oh,” James blinked, having never seen a baby poo that much in one sitting. But then he realized it was continuing. “Bottle, Audrey!” Ginny called as she began to wave her wand and siphon up the liquid from the baby before depositing it into a bottle Audrey had conjured. It took a full minute before Nat opened her eyes. “We both need a change,” she said as she began to pull off the clearly ruined outfit the baby had been wearing. “I don’t think you should save this. Burn it.” “I will,” Ginny said as she took the outfit. “We should bathe him now.” Alex had stopped crying. “What was that?” Caroline asked in horror. “It was something blocking his essence,” Nat told her. “I don’t know how to explain it better than that. It was throughout his whole body. I would have said he wasn’t magical before now. He didn’t have that spark, but I see it now. I see the light of the magic now that whatever that was is gone.” They all stared at each other, horrified. “He’s not crying,” Caroline said on a sob. “He was in pain,” she murmured as she knelt down and took up the naked baby in her arms. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” she whispered as she kissed his downy head. “I’m so sorry you were hurting.” “The dogs knew,” Audrey reminded them. “They knew.” “Yeah, their magic was reaching out to him, trying to comfort him,” Nat said as she stood and glanced down at her ruined jeans. “Well, it looks like I crapped myself.” She laughed and shook her head. “Worth it. He’s adorable and I’m glad he’s here safely. I was sorry to hear about his mother, but I know she’ll be happy you two are raising him. You should have her body moved here, Mr. Potter, so I can check her.” “That’s a good idea,” Harry agreed. “I’ll clear this up enough for you to get back into school,” Ginny said as she waved her wand over it. “We don’t need more of it. I’d take your own advice and burn these. I’ll get you more jeans and have them delivered.” “Thanks, Mrs. Potter,” Nat said as the woman hugged her. “Thank you for helping my grandson!” “Absolutely, any time,” Nat told her as the two of them walked out of the room. “Let’s give them a minute,” Audrey said to Harry. James scooted over behind Caroline and pulled her back against his chest while she held the calm baby who stared up at them with his big eyes. “My wife and son.” “What if Nat hadn’t been here?” “But she was.” “But what if she hadn’t?” Caroline asked. He didn’t know. He didn’t even want to think about it. “I have the bath drawn for him,” Ginny told them from the doorway, “And I burned that outfit already. Harry is taking Nat back to school. Let’s try to get him settled again.” “Do you have to go back to Japan?” “I get paternity leave for two weeks,” James told her as they bathed the baby. “I just need to tell my boss.” “I’ll stay tonight if you want,” Ginny told them. “Yes,” James and Caroline both said at the exact same moment. |
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