Nine Months
Month 2-April
The magical alarm clock went off at exactly 8:30, screaming bloody murder for a moment before a hand clamped down on it and promptly shut it quiet; Hermione sat up on bed, turned visibly green, put her hand over her mouth and crawled over her husband in her haste to reach the bathroom.
Harry sighed; ever since two weeks prior Hermione had started being hit with morning sickness and she always fled at the mere mention of breakfast. Unfortunately, the medi-witch had been unable to provide anything helpful and had tried-unsuccessfully-to reassure them by saying that it would most likely stop by the end of the first trimester.
Hermione wobbled out of the bathroom a few minutes later, looking pale and queasy as she settled back in Harry's arms.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked her gently, his voice filled with concern as he stroked her hair at length. She let out a groan that was muffled against his neck before leaning back and shaking her head weakly. Harry frowned. "Perhaps it would be better if we stayed home today then..."
The withering look she sent him made him wince in spite of her sickness.
"Harry Potter, you're not getting off lunch with my parents today."
Harry sighed, defeated. "Okay, then… you go get a shower, I'll have breakfast ready f-"
He was cut off by Hermione jumping out of his lap and running at top speed towards the bathroom, from where the sound of gagging soon rose.
***
The summer after he started dating Hermione he'd received an unexpected invitation to spend the rest of the holidays at the Granger's and Harry, eager to leave the hell that was his relatives' house and spend some time with his girlfriend, had been elated.
He'd been so naïve.
A red-faced Hermione had apologized profusely upon his arrival, saying that she'd had nothing to do with it and that she'd make it up to him somehow, but he hadn't understood what she was talking about until 'The Examination' had begun; he'd barely even crossed the threshold when her father started looking him up and down with mistrust (and just a touch of mania), after which he'd proceeded to corner him in the kitchen while he interrogated him and warned him not to ever hurt his little girl. He'd had nightmares for weeks after that.
Even now two years into their marriage he still watched him like a hawk, and every time something big happened like, say, getting Hermione pregnant, he always found a reason for him to want to leave her or hurt her, so when she'd told him they were having lunch with the in-laws that afternoon to celebrate the upcoming of baby Potter he was terrified.
His imagination had run wild with images of his impending doom, all of which started with Harry running from Mr. Granger holding a drill.
It wasn't that he didn't like Hermione's dad; on the contrary, Ted Granger was a great person, but he didn't want to volunteer himself for another night of non-stop torture any time soon; Hermione was his only child, so Harry supposed it was only natural for him to be protective of her, but there was something to say about protective parents: be very afraid of them.
"Come on in, son, I won't bite."
Harry's terror increased just a tad, but he followed Hermione's father into the living room nonetheless; Caroline had grabbed her daughter the minute she was in and started fussing all over her as they busied themselves in the kitchen, (though Harry wondered what was the point since Hermione couldn't even boil water the muggle way without starting a fire) and he found himself feeling helpless (and unprotected) without her presence in the room.
"So, how's everything?" asked Mr. Granger, leaning back on his seat and fixing him with his brown gaze.
Harry shifted a little, still standing and oddly reminded of his own wife's eyes. "It's, er… great, Ted…"
Mr. Granger smiled dryly, clearly amused with his son-in-law's discomfort.
"How's Hermione been?"
Harry's eyes widened and he began to sweat.
"S-she's fine, sir… wonderful, if I might say so."
The corners of Ted's mouth twitched as he tried to keep a straight face.
"Yeah, because we wouldn't want her to be unhappy in any way now, would we?"
"O-of course not, sir..."
He couldn't hold it any longer and burst out laughing, moving to clap a slack-jawed Harry on the back.
"Don't worry, son, I'm not going to throttle you, you've done nothing wrong." Harry visibly relaxed, but the guarded look stayed put, and Ted noticed. "I've really let you have it, haven't I?" he asked and Harry nodded uncertainly. "Sit down, son..." Harry did so immediately, wondering what was going on, and Ted took a deep breath.
"When Hermione was-" he began, then stopped, uncertain; he glanced at Harry, who was looking more curious by the second, and sighed. "Hermione's always been very insecure; I know you think she's the exact opposite, that she even brags a lot, but-"
"I know."
Ted blinked. "Excuse me?"
Harry sighed, looking grim, and leaned forward on his elbows. "My wife isn't perfect and she has many faults; I recognize and love each and all of them, but…" he paused, looking at his father in-law. "I worry about her…"
"How so?" the older man asked softly.
Harry ran a hand through his hair. "She doesn't think she's worthy of me." he said bitterly, his eyes on the rug by his feet. "She never says anything, yet she doesn't have to; I've told her a million times and ways that I love her more than life itself, but deep down, I know she's afraid I'm gonna change my mind and find someone better than her." he snorted. "As if that was even possible."
Silence stretched for a minute, and then Ted shifted on his seat.
"You know, Harry, when Hermione first got her Hogwarts letter, I didn't want to let her go. Her mother thought it was a smashing idea, but I was afraid she was gonna get hurt... see, she was never very popular when she was little, and more than once did she come to me crying because the other kids would make fun of her; I used to be so mad…" he shrugged. "You can't blame me for being protective of her, but she'll always be my little girl. And then… then she came back home for the summer that year, and she was so happy…" he looked up at Harry, whose eyes were wet. "You make her happy, Harry, and that just about sums up what I always wanted for my daughter's life. Thank you…"
Harry shook his head, clearing his throat, for it had gone suddenly dry.
"No…" he said hoarsely. "No, Ted, thank you…"
The two men looked at each other, and at that moment an invisible bond formed between them, the one bond between father and son that had been missing for the whole of Harry´s orphan life, and that he was most eager to explore.
To be continued…
A/N: Okay, so there wasn't much H/Hr here, but I wanted to have this little talk, to show exactly how Harry will behave later, as a father, and those who have read Here We Go Around Again will understand why (ah, this story can be found at Fanfiction.net). I promise there will be tons of fun and fluff in the following chapters-which I hope will come sooner than this. Next month we're dealing with baby shopping with Ginny, Luna and ***sniggers*** Ron.