A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! My darlings, I so hope you enjoyed this little Marcus May treat! Now, I am off on my trip - headed to France - so I will see you all again in mid-June! In the meantime, you can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter eighteen!

October 2004

Marcus's whole family had been convinced that the newest Mrs. Flint was carrying another girl to add to the current cohort of granddaughters. In addition to Brita, Lotte, and Matilde, his sisters had each added another daughter to the brood after his and Hermione's wedding, which had taken place the year prior; Lavinia and Duncan had Iseult first, and Sabinia and Gustavo had followed shortly after with little Francisca. Then, Max and his wife had had another girl called Lena only a month before.

It seemed inevitable that the newest Flint would be a girl as well. His mother and sisters had been confident that the way she was carrying, it was undoubtedly a girl. Only his nephew Henrik seemed convinced that he would soon have a boy cousin to play with, and was only too happy to loudly announce it to whoever would listen.

It was a good thing, then, that Hermione had insisted they keep the nursery and all the gifts they received from her muggle relatives gender neutral. Because not even a day before, the newest Flint made his way into the world, screaming his little lungs out.

Marcus knew he was lucky to have made it in time for the birth. Hermione had gone into labor during a Quidditch match, and it had taken some time for the referee to approve the substitution that his coach was calling for wildly. Marcus hadn't known it was him who was being called off the pitch, but by the time it was sorted out, he knew it could only mean one thing.

Hermione was already in active labor by the time he got to St. Mungo's and was thankful to learn that his brother had gone to retrieve Jane and David so that they could be there for the birth of their first grandchild. They'd taken a long vacation to England to coincide with Hermione's due date the moment that she'd announced she was expecting.

It had taken a while, but Marcus softly supported Hermione through the whole thing, never once leaving her side, even when he was told it was not done to have the father in the birthing room. It was worth every hushed argument with the Healer to finally see his son enter the world. He was just a hair over nine pounds - declared to be the biggest baby they'd seen that month - and quite long as well. He had wispy dark hair and blue eyes, but Hermione told him that it can sometimes change as they age.

Their families had come in first to congratulate them, and Marcus thought he would relish the surprised looks on their faces when they figured out that their child was a boy. Then Hermione's friends had piled in - Harry and Ginny in particular, as well as Daphne and Neville, and Adrian and his girlfriend, Susan Bones - something Ron was still miffed about. It was nice to have so many people to share in their joy, cooing over the little boy, but eventually Marcus wanted them all out so he could have some time with his new family.

He finally got his wish, when the Healer swept in to inform them that visiting hours were over. Once they were gone, he and Hermione had selected a name - Eric Harry - and settled on a time to hold a Christening. Marcus wasn't particularly traditional, but he knew that it would make his mother happy. They had already selected Harry and Lavinia as godparents to the little tyke.

But then, Hermione had quickly fallen asleep, knowing that their son was being safely looked after by his father.

"Let's just go have a look down here, let mummy sleep a bit longer," Marcus whispered to the tiny bundle he had wrapped up in his arms, holding the child delicately to his chest. "What do you say, Eric?" he questioned, cradling the little boy's head in his large hand. He walked the short way to the window, leaving his sleeping wife, Hermione, asleep on the hospital bed.

A son. He had a son. Well, they had a son more like. It was difficult to believe.

Seeing his wife go through the intense labor to give him this precious gift was more than anything he would have imagined. He couldn't believe that it was just five years prior that he was sitting in Heidelberg and deciding that it might be nice to find a girlfriend, and now five years later, he had a wife and child. And not just any wife, but war heroine Hermione Granger. And she loved him back!

And now, they had the littlest child to round out their family. Based on how active the baby had been when Hermione was still pregnant, his boy was sure to follow in his father's footsteps and play Quidditch as well. He was looking forward to visiting Hogwarts for future matches, Eric playing for Slytherin. Or Gryffindor, he didn't mind.

"Hogwarts is going to have it's hands full you you lot," he said to Eric, who was staring vaguely at him. "You and all your cousins, there in one year. Lena and Fran and Issy. You will have to look after them. And you'll be friends with James Potter and Gareth Longbottom. You will have so much fun there, but you will have to work to keep your marks up, or your mummy wouldn't like that?"

"What wouldn't I like?" Hermione asked quietly from the bed where she was resting, woken up from her brief nap.

Marcus turned and walked the short distance to her. He sat down on the bed next to her, before passing the little bundle to Hermione's waiting arms. "I was just telling Eric all the things he would get up to at Hogwarts with Jamie and Gareth, and how he will have to look after his cousins," Marcus explained with a smirk. "He's going to play Quidditch - but I've told him he must keep his marks up or you will be disappointed in him."

Hermione brought a finger up to one chubby little cheek, rubbing it back and forth over the little baby hairs. "I just want him to try his best," Hermione said looking at him with eyes full of love. "If he does his best, I will not be disappointed." She knew it was true - not everyone could be quite as serious about school as she was, but she just wanted the best possible outcome for her son. Besides, he was barely even a day old...all discussion of marks was nearly a decade away.

"I don't know what I'd do if he didn't like Quidditch," Marcus told her honestly, though Hermione was quite positive that it was impossible any child of Marcus Flint wouldn't enjoy the sport, even just a little.

"Well, he was nearly born at a Quidditch match, so, we will always have that," Hermione teased, still embarrassed that she'd gone into labor at Marcus's game. Ginny had warned her that walking up all those stairs was likely to get things moving, but Hermione had been too stubborn, wanting to support Marcus who was receiving an award for playing his 200th match with Falmouth. "I just realized...I never even asked, did Falmouth win the game?"

Marcus snorted at her. "I don't think there is a game I could have cared about less, not when this little fellow was making his appearance finally," he said. "But, Potter did update me before he left. The lads were able to pull out a win at the last minute. I'll have to write Jones a thank you or something," he explained running his hand through his hair. Jones had stepped in as his substitute.

"I'm sure he was just happy enough to get some real playing time," Hermione said with a grin. "I'm sure he'll be begging you to spend as much time off with Eric as you are willing to take."

Eric, perhaps sensing that he was being talked about, looked as if he were about to cry, but a few gentle rocks from his mummy had him quieting down once again. Hermione grinned at the little boy, before turning to look at her husband.

"You know, when I helped you out with Gemma Rowle, I never expected that this is where we would end up," she revealed. "You just looked so helpless there at Honeyduke's, and even though you were big and seemed scary, it just seemed like the right thing to do. But, then you proved yourself to be so thoughtful, sending me that toffee. I never forgot that."

Marcus flushed from her compliments. "Well, it only seemed right after you helped me. She probably wouldn't have given me a second look if I'd gotten her a chocolate frog."

"No, it was just so sweet. I was having a terrible day, seeing everyone so surrounded by love and romance and the toffee made it feel like...someone actually cared about me," Hermione said, looking down at the baby in her arms. "And you've given me more and more gifts through the years that continue to show how considerate you are. But...I think that Eric just might be the best gift you've gotten me."

He did laugh at that. "Hermione, you are the one who gave me Eric. Did you already forget all that hard work you did bringing him into this world? Not to mention the nine months before it," he chuckled. "My work was really quite limited."

Hermione shook her head, looking between her newborn son and her husband adoringly. "Still, I wouldn't have him if it wasn't for you. I feel so incredibly lucky," she shared honestly.

"I feel so lucky, too," Marcus said with a dazed look on his face. "I get to play my dream job, my dream girl is my wife, and now I've got the family to round it all out. I wouldn't change anything, Hermione. I love you."

"I love you," she said, blinking back tears. Yes, she might not have ever expected to end up with Marcus Flint of all people, but that didn't mean that it didn't feel right. She was sure a lot of people didn't understand their relationship, but she didn't need them too. She knew that they shared a certain romance and that was all that mattered to her.

Fin.