I know this chapter is short, but I didn't want to take it any further because the end is drawing near and this is as far as I wanted to go with this part of the story. Thank you for the encouraging reviews and I'm glad you like it so far!
The next morning, Christmas morning, Harry woke up before Hermione did. He laid there watching her sleep, not wanting
to go downstairs without her. She mumbled something in her sleep that he couldn't understand and rolled over so
that she was facing away from him. He slowly scooted closer to her, her back flush against his chest and he wrapped his
arm around her waist. Resting his hand on her stomach, he lay back down and closed his eyes, hoping to go back to
sleep. Laying there comfortably, he suddenly felt a quick poke under his hand and his eyes shot open. A huge smile
spread across his face as he realized he just felt his son kick. He left his hand where it was, hoping to feel it
again. Suddenly, he felt a surge of magical energy shoot from his hand up his arm and he could feel the flame inside of
him spark to life while his scar tingled. He felt Hermione's stomach become very warm, and the palm of his hand
became warm with it. He looked at Hermione's stomach and he could see a faint reddish glow emanating from it.
Hermione's eyes popped open, her body suddenly very warm. She could feel Harry laying behind her, and when she looked down she gasped in surprise. "Harry, what's going on?" she asked, fear in her voice.
"I don't know; is it hurting you at all?" he asked, still watching the faint glow which was now pulsating.
"No; I'm becoming very warm though" she said. When he looked up at her face, her cheeks were flushed and there was a light sheen of sweat on her brow. They both felt the baby kick again, and then the glow dissipated, along with the warmth they both felt. Hermione looked at him quickly and asked "do you think he's ok?"
"Yeah, I think when I put my hand on your stomach the fire in me made a connection with the baby. That was the strangest thing I have ever felt; cool, but strange" said Harry smiling. "I guess I'm bonding with him already."
The flush was very faint on Hermione's cheeks now and Harry could feel the skin on her stomach cool down. She felt a slight flutter as the baby moved, and she sighed in relief. "He's ok, he just moved" she said.
"Do you realize how magical he is going to be?" Harry asked with awe in his voice. "I wonder if I was this advanced when my Mum carried me?"
"I don't know, but with your power and my brains he has the potential to be a great wizard" said Hermione.
"If we raise him right and teach him" said Harry "which means I need to learn as much as I can about my fire ability so I can teach him to use it too." Harry leaned over and lay his head on her stomach "hi baby! I'm your daddy and I can't wait to meet you!" said Harry, talking to her stomach.
"Not anytime soon though" added Hermione, running her hand through Harry's hair. "Happy Christmas Harry" she said quietly.
"Happy Christmas Love" said Harry sitting up and kissing Hermione gently. Cupping her cheek with his hand he said "I could get used to mornings like this, it's kind of nice."
"Yes it is, but if it's ok with you, I want to open presents!" Harry laughed as she got up and put her robe on over her nightgown. He got up also and pulled a t-shirt on with his pajama pants. "Let's go open our presents!" he said and followed her out the bedroom door.
Hermione beat Harry downstairs and immediately made her way to the tree. She grabbed a present and thrust it into Harry's hands. He had torn into it and saw that she had gotten him a framed photo of them dancing at their wedding. When he pushed a button the was in the top right hand corner of the frame, it played the same song they danced to in the Room of Requirement. She had gotten their names and the date of the wedding inscribed onto the bottom of the frame. It was a magical photo that Colin Creevey had taken for them, and Harry pushed the button and watched as the two of them danced to the music in the picture.
Hermione was hard to buy for; after the extravagant jewelry she had gotten for her birthday Harry had no idea what else to get her. He was browsing through a muggle bookstore while they were Christmas shopping and found a signed first edition of Alice In Wonderland. He thought with her love of books, she would love to have that one. For laughs, he also picked up a baby name book that had over five thousand names in it. He watched as she opened the present and saw the books. Her eyes lit up when she saw the first edition; when she saw what the second book was she laughed. "We should be able to agree on one of these names" she said, showing the book to her Mum.
The most touching gift came from Remus. It was for both of them; when they opened it they saw a bunch of baby clothes for their son.
"Thank-you so much Remus" said Hermione, leaning over to give him a quick hug.
"You're welcome. Those have a special significance by the way" he said, smiling bright eyed at them.
"What do you mean?" asked Harry, confused.
"They were yours Harry" Lupin said. "I found them in your Mum and Dad's vault. When Sirius died, I was next in line to keep the key until you were of age. When I heard your news, I went looking for them so I could give them to you today. All it took was a good 'scourgify' spell and they were as good as new!" After explaining all of this, he handed Harry a key and said "that's the vault key. It was overlooked when the will was read, then when I opened a letter that Sirius had left for me, it was in it."
"Oh Harry, you wore these when you were a baby!" said Hermione, looking at every little outfit that was in the box. When she looked at Harry, he had a sad look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"I always miss them the most around Christmas time. Seeing my old clothes just re-enforces the fact that they're not around to see their first grandson born" said Harry, picking up one of the outfits and looking at how small it was. "It is kind of neat that he'll wear the same clothes I did."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for my present to put a damper on the festivities" said Lupin. "I know your parents would want you to have them; since their not here to pass them on, I did it for them."
"No, Remus, there's nothing to be sorry about. This is great and you're right, they probably would have given them to us it they were still here. Thanks for going to all the trouble" said Harry, smiling at him. "Was I really this small?"
"You were a little baby, but you were always well behaved" replied Remus.
They spent the rest of the day opening presents, snacking, playing games and eating a huge Christmas dinner. The day seemed to fly by and soon it was time for Remus to leave. Harry was glad he spent the holiday with them; Remus was becoming more and more like a father to Harry. Of course he would never replace his biological father or Sirius, but Remus was here for him now when he needed him the most. Remus knew nothing of marriage or babies, but he was willing to support Harry and help in any way that he could. He was fond of Hermione also and knew that she would stand by Harry no matter what plus keep him in line. Harry had confided in Remus what had happened that morning with him and the baby; he listened as Harry told him about the glow around Hermione's stomach and about the surge of magic he felt when he put his hand there. Remus was to meet with Dumbledore the next day, and he said he would inform the Headmaster of the incident. Lupin thought maybe he would have some idea of what transpired. He told Harry he would owl him with any news. They had said their goodbyes and Remus was gone once again.
After Christmas Day, the days seemed to fly by without any more incidents. Harry and Hermione enjoyed their time together and spent time with her parents, mending fences. Before they knew it, it was the night before they had to go back to Hogwarts. Harry hadn't heard from Remus since Christmas Day, so he figured what had happened was nothing to be worried about. He and Hermione were upstairs packing their trunks so they would be ready to go in the morning. Harry was putting his clothes in his trunk when he heard a tapping on their bedroom window. Harry opened it and in flew Hedwig. "Hey girl! What are you doing here?" he asked, then noticed the note tied to her leg. Carefully untying it, he unrolled it as Hedwig perched on the back of the chair that was in their room. "Harry and Hermione" he read out loud "after dinner tomorrow night you need to go see Dumbledore in his office. He needs to speak with you about what happened Christmas Day; there has been a development. ~Remus~"
Hermione looked at Harry and asked "do you think it's anything serious?"
"No, if it was I'm sure we would have heard from Dumbledore himself before this" said Harry, trying to reassure her and himself at the same time.
They met up with Ron and Ginny on the Hogwarts Express and talked about their holidays. Hermione fell asleep halfway through the trip, so Ron set up his Wizards Chess board and challenged Harry to a game. Soon they were making their way off of the train and into the Thestral drawn carriages. They made their way to the Great Hall for dinner and Harry kept wondering what their meeting with Dumbledore was all about. When dinner was done, Harry grabbed Hermione's hand and told Ron they would see him later. They walked up to the stone gargoyle and Harry said the password. When it moved aside, they stepped onto the winding stairs and rode them to the office door. When Harry knocked, Dumbledore immediately told them to come in. When they walked in, they saw Remus standing there with Dumbledore and...Snape? Harry looked at Remus questioningly, but turned his attention to the Headmaster when he told them to take a seat. He was getting a bad feeling, seeing Snape in the room.
"Well Harry, Hermione I know you're wondering why I asked the two of you here tonight. When I was informed of what happened on Christmas morning, at first it didn't seem like anything too significant. Obviously, you are connected to your son through the fire magic you both possess. But then Professor Snape came to me that night with some surprising information. Now Harry, when you had your hand on your wife's stomach what exactly happened?" Dumbledore asked.
Looking confused, Harry explained "my palm and her stomach started growing really warm right after the baby kicked; it was the first time I had felt him do that. I could feel it all the way up my arm and I felt my scar tingle. Then all of a sudden there was a reddish glow all around her stomach and my hand." Harry saw the three adults in the room exchange a significant look and continued "Hermione woke up and said her body was really warm. The baby kicked again and it just seemed to break whatever connection we had. We knew he was ok because a few minutes after it had stopped, Hermione felt him move. Has something happened Sir?"
Snape stepped up with his ever present animosity and said "yes, Potter something happened. About the same time you say this happened, Voldemort was in his private chambers. Two death eaters outside his door heard him scream and when they ran into the room he was curled into a ball on the floor, unconscious. I haven't been able to revive him yet."
Harry and Hermione were shocked to say the least. "Do you mean when I felt my scar tingle, something happened through the connection I have to Voldemort that caused this?" asked Harry.
"Yes Harry that is what we believe. He could have been trying to tap into your mind at the exact time that this happened and with your fire magic combined with the baby's, it somehow affected him. We are not sure; what we are sure of is that he knows of your impending fatherhood" Dumbledore said, with a grim look on his face.
Harry looked from him to Remus and then settled his gaze on Snape. "And how did he find out?" he asked, trying to keep the accusing tone out of his voice.
"What are you implying Potter, that I told him?" sneered Snape condescendingly. "I have better things to do. It was announced at our meeting the night before the...attack on him. Supposedly Draco overhead two teachers discussing your situation in the hall and reported it to his father."
Harry looked at Dumbledore, who was sitting behind his desk with his hands steepled together. "Of course Lucius ran to his 'Master' with that bit of information" said Harry angrily. "I bet he was highly rewarded for it too."
"We don't know" said Remus sympathetically "since their 'Master' is out of commission right now, there hasn't been any activity. Merlin knows they can't think for themselves; Voldemort's like their puppet master." Snape shot a very nasty look at Remus at this comment, but Remus just ignored him.
"Hermione" said Dumbledore, averting their attention back to him "were there any adverse effects on you after this event took place Christmas morning? Were you in any pain?"
"No Sir, everything has been the same since it happened. I've been feeling fine and I've felt the baby move twice since then" answered Hermione.
"We may want to try to find some book on fire magic. I doubt there are many at all, but any information would be helpful right now" said Dumbledore. "Hermione, since you can't do any of the practical work in classes why don't you use that time to go to the library to do the research? As for Voldemort, I fear all we can do for now is wait to see if or when he recovers."
"You will keep us informed, won't you Sir?" asked Harry.
"Yes Harry, I learned my lesson after last year's events. I will notify you when I receive any new information. You should return to your quarters so you can get some sleep. Classes resume tomorrow, and I wouldn't want you nodding off in the middle of your lessons" joked Dumbledore, trying to lighten the mood a little.
Snape just grunted at this and Remus chuckled. Harry and Hermione smiled and nodded while getting up out of their seats. Making their way to the door, they said their goodbyes to Remus and asked him to come see them again soon. They made their way back down the staircase and as they were walking down the hall Hermione asked "what do you make of all this Harry?"
"I don't know what to think right now. One thing is for sure" Harry said, stopping and looking at her with a very serious look on his face "when Voldemort wakes up, I guarantee you the first thing he will do is come after you and the baby."
"Well then, we'll just have to be ready for him" Hermione said, squeezing his hand in reassurance as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room.