24 August 2024

"James Sirius Potter!" Ginny cried from the foot of the stairs. "It's nearly ten-thirty, young man! Get down here for breakfast, or you'll be sorry!"

Ginny distinctly heard her twenty-year-old son groan loudly, followed by a pronounced thud, as he finally dragged himself out of his bedclothes. At last, a few moments later, he trudged slowly into the kitchen, yawning widely and running a hand through his already disheveled hair. Despite having moved into a flat in Diagon Alley together, two summers previous, James and his cousin Freddie had an irritatingly endearing habit of dropping by their parents' houses for dinner on Friday evenings and passing out in their old bedrooms.

"'Morning, Jamie," Albus smirked at his bleary-eyed brother from his seat at the kitchen counter, where he was busying himself with a bowl of cornflakes.

James merely grunted in response. Ginny rolled her eyes.

Shaking his head at James, Albus climbed out of his seat and walked around the kitchen counter to find himself a spoon, and James—embodying laziness as only he could—decided to seize this lapse in Albus's attention as an opportunity to steal his younger brother's cornflakes.

Ginny turned away to conceal her knowing expression as Albus returned to his seat and began searching for the cornflakes that he had just wasted two minutes of his life preparing.

"Mum!" Albus complained plaintively. "James stole my cornflakes! I just wasted two minutes of my life pouring myself that cereal!"

Ginny gritted her teeth to suppress her laughter.

"James," she scolded, as sternly as she could muster, without turning around. "Give your brother his cereal back."

James heaved a loud, exaggerated sigh of frustration (for Merlin's sake, how bloody hard was it to pour cereal into a bowl?) and slouched off to fetch himself some breakfast.

Just then, Harry wandered into the kitchen, looking exceptionally smart in new robes.

"Why so dressed up?" Ginny inquired, coming around the counter and leaning up to kiss her husband's cheek.

"Meeting with Susan later," Harry told her, sitting down next to Albus and glancing around. "Where's Lils?"

"Sitting room," Ginny explained simply. "Flooing Roxy about some Charms homework."

Harry nodded, pulling forward the newspaper. Meanwhile, it appeared that James had finally managed to fetch a bowl of cereal for himself, and he proceeded to take a seat on Harry's other side. Ginny's eyes swept over the three identical tangles of black hair and seriously puckered eyebrows in front of her, and a warm feeling filled her stomach; she felt a smile spread across her face as she gazed at her husband and sons. Harry glanced up from the paper and raised an eyebrow at her expression—but before Ginny could explain, there came a loud knock from the front door.

Ginny jumped, shooting an alarmed expression at her husband. Frowning, Harry stood from the kitchen counter and hurried toward the front door. Ginny followed at his heels.

Harry had barely pulled the door open before Teddy practically fell into the foyer, clutching at Harry's robes to steady himself.

"Ted!" Harry gasped, grasping his godson's shoulders. Ginny heard a clatter from the kitchen behind her as James and Albus dropped their spoons and rushed to join their parents in the foyer. "What're you—is everything—?"

"It's a boy—it's a little boy—"

"What?" Ginny clapped a hand over her mouth. "The baby? He—he wasn't due until—"

"He's two weeks early!" Teddy cried joyously, clutching Harry's arms tightly. "But he's here—he's perfectly fine! We have a boy!"

Harry let out a strangled shout, pulling Teddy into his arms and squeezing him into a hug. Ginny felt her eyes smart as she watched them, and she beamed, pressing her lips together tightly. Just then, Lily came running in from the sitting room.

"What's going on?" she asked frantically.

"I have a son!" Teddy bellowed before Harry or Ginny could say anything, and Lily gave a squeal of delight, throwing herself into Teddy's arms.

"Come inside, come into the kitchen," Harry told Teddy happily, and everyone trooped into the kitchen, congregating around the counter. "I know it's early, but you only have your first child once—Al, grab the Firewhisky—it's on the second shelf, behind the—"

"I know where the alcohol is, Dad."

"What does he look like? Do you have pictures?" James demanded, looking ecstatic.

"He looks like his mother, thankfully," Teddy said in a rush, accepting a glass of Firewhisky from Albus. "Blond hair, perfect face—he had blue eyes when he was born, but Nan says they can change—"

"He must be beautiful," Ginny gushed, beaming at Teddy and feeling her heart melt as his glowing face beamed back at her.

"When can we meet him, Teddy?" Lily asked excitedly, her arms still tight around Teddy's waist. "Oh, I'm so glad he was born before I have to go back to school!"

"You can all come around to see him soon, I promise," Teddy laughed. "Nan, Bill, and Fleur are at Grimmauld Place with him now. I should get back over there, too, or Victoire will have my head—"

"One more drink!" Albus cried, grinning as he shoved a fresh glass of Firewhisky at Teddy. Teddy laughed again and shook his head, but accepted it nonetheless.

"I can't believe it," Teddy said, his eyes shining as he looked around at them all. "I can't believe it—I have a family!"

"You've always had a family, Ted," James insisted, but Harry gave Teddy a beaming smile and pulled his godson into his arms again, cupping his head. Ginny felt tears rise to her eyes before she could stop them, and she hastily blinked them back.

"Victoire's all right, then?" Albus asked, as he handed everyone—except Lily, much to her displeasure—a fresh glass of Firewhisky.

"Oh, yes, she's brilliant—just brilliant," Teddy raved. "I couldn't believe her—she was so incredible."

Lily tried to sneakily nudge the Firewhisky bottle away from Albus and toward her, but James snatched it up without missing a beat, pushing a glass of orange juice towards Lily instead. She scowled at him.

"Well, it's your toast to make, Ted," Harry said, clapping Teddy's shoulder with a smile.

"Right, right," Teddy held up his glass, positively flushed with pride as he looked around at all of them. "To Remus Harry Lupin—destined for greatness!"

"To Remus!" they all echoed, but Ginny had eyes for no one except her husband, whose face had gone blank at the name. Immediately, he turned and met Ginny's gaze, his eyes bright, and she reached out and squeezed his shoulder rightly.

"I should get back—really, I can't have another," Teddy insisted, shaking his head at the new glass of Firewhisky Albus had poured for him. "I'm so glad I got to see you all—so glad you were all here—"

"We're glad, too. Go home to your wife and son," Ginny said warmly, giving Teddy a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Let us know when things have calmed down, and we'll come say hello."

"I will, I will," Teddy promised, giving Albus and Lily final hugs. "I can't wait for you all to meet him—I know you'll love him as much as I do." He turned to James, beaming. "Walk me out, James? I have a question for you."

James blinked, looking surprised, but he followed Teddy back to the foyer. Ginny felt her smile grow wider. Leaving Lily and Albus at the counter, where they were now loudly debating whether the baby was their niece or their cousin, Ginny walked over to join her husband by the kitchen sink, where he had moved to stand with his back to the room. She slipped her arm around his waist, and he immediately squeezed her hand, leaning his head down to rest against hers.

"Everything all right?" she asked him quietly.

There were several beats of silence. Then—

"He sounded just like Remus," he said hoarsely.

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut, tightening her arms around her husband. Harry turned in her arms so that he was facing her. And at last, Ginny saw the tears on his cheeks—and she knew that only the fact that his children were too occupied to notice, that only Ginny was there to see them, could have made her husband feel safe enough to reveal them. She smiled through her own tears, reaching up and gently wiping his tear tracks away with her sleeve. Harry gazed at her, his expression filled with a level of warmth and adoration that Ginny knew she would never be able to put into words.

"He looked like…like something's been healed inside him," Harry told her softly.

Ginny reached up and rested her hand on Harry's cheek, and he closed his eyes.

"He looks like you did when James was born," she whispered. "Because he's finally got his Lupin family back—just like we got our Potter one."

Harry nodded, swallowing heavily. Then, suddenly, he reached out and drew her into his arms again, squeezing her tightly against him.

"Say hello to Remus Harry Lupin's new godfather!"

Ginny pulled away from Harry, looking up to see James grinning delightedly at them from the kitchen doorway. There was a split-second of silence, as they all gazed at him in amazement. Then, Albus and Lily let out shouts of joy, running forward and practically leaping on James. Ginny looked up at Harry, and he beamed down at her.

"You know what this means, don't you, James?" Harry asked seriously.

James pulled away from his siblings to frown at his father.

"Time to show your godson you're responsible," Harry grinned. "No more sleeping in your parents' house till noon, no more whining about doing your own laundry."

"No more stealing your brother's cereal," Ginny added.

"No more messing up your hair because you think it looks cool," Lily chimed in, smirking.

"No more—"

But Albus wasn't able to say his piece because James had already tackled him into a headlock, cackling. Lily shrieked with laughter, throwing her arms around both her brothers. Ginny laughed, squeezing Harry's hand. He squeezed hers back.