A/N: Ok, here's the first big pregnancy chapter. I won't spend too much time on it because there's lots more life in this story and it's already going to be longer than I first thought. Stupid plot bunnies! Go away!!
Enjoy!
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*Week 5*
It's been a long day, but at least it's Friday. But I have to talk to Harry about this. It needs to be done.
"Harry, we need to talk," I say as I sit on the couch with him.
He slowly puts the paper down and looks at me.
"What's that look for?" I ask.
"Because as a general rule, conversations that begin with 'we need to talk' never end well."
"Harry, don't be silly. I just wanted to talk to you about where we're moving to once the lease is up. We don't have much more time."
"Two months, I know."
"Have you thought about what I suggested?" I ask quietly.
"Yes," he replies even softer. "And I think it could be a really good idea. I'm just nervous about the idea of living there. Would that be disrespectful?"
"To live in the home your parents built for you? Merlin, Harry, no! I completely understand you fears, but don't look at it from that point of view. Look at it as a way to replace bad memories with wonderful ones," I tell him as I wrap my arms around him. "I can rock our baby in the same spot that your mother sang you to sleep. You can play on the floor with our child in the same places your father cherished his time with you. Do you understand?"
"Yes. Perhaps we'll go there tomorrow and just check the place out."
"Only if you're comfortable with it."
"No, it's time. Tomorrow morning, we'll see if I can call that place home again. Fair enough?"
"More than fair."
*The next morning*
"Are you sure you can do this?" I ask, pulling on my shoes.
"With you by my side, I can do anything," he replies.
"Ok." I grab his hand. "Let's go."
Suddenly, we're there. Godric's Hollow. It's been cleaned up a bit, but the horror remains. Harry wanders around and I follow, giving him a few steps space.
"Mione, you can walk with me. This isn't something I want to do alone," he says.
I catch up and take his hand again. I look around and see what was the living room. It seems almost cozy. Harry leads me into the dining room. Aside from the cobwebs and dust, nothing seems different. Almost as though lunch would be served soon if someone would just clean the table off. Harry waves his wand and the entire room is spotless. I can see the kitchen from here, but we don't visit. And I'm only barely able to glance at the library as Harry pulls me past.
We head upstairs, or at least, what's left. We see what appears to be a study of some sorts. I can instantly picture James sitting at the desk, Lily lovingly leaning behind him, probably trying to drag him away from his work. I can't imagine him putting up much of a fight.
From there we find the guest rooms and then the master bedroom. Everything has been knocked over, probably from whatever blasts took place the night of … well, that night. Harry waves his wand again and everything rights itself.
Across the hall is the room I've been dreading. Harry's nursery. The room that would have become his childhood sanctuary.
"Are you ok?" I ask.
He doesn't reply as he enters. He doesn't use magic in this room to fix things. Perhaps there's been too much magic as it is in here. I can only watch with tears in my eyes as he puts the crib back on its legs. The rocking chair has been blown apart, so he merely sweeps the pieces out of the way with his foot. What's left of the changing table, he sets under the other window. And the dresser, he carefully puts each drawer back in and then stands it by the doorway. The walls are still blackened, but it looks slightly better. Finally, he walks to me and clutches me tightly, tears flowing freely.
I hold him as tightly as I can as the sobs wrack his body. He's got to let this out.
As I stand there, crying with him over what was lost, I realize how much he's needed this. He's never really gotten much of a chance to mourn. It's always been about defeating Voldemort … then it was about me. This part is vital to his becoming a father, to understand why his parents did what they did.
Eventually, the sobs stop and the tears slow. "I'm so sorry, Mione," he whispers.
"Harry, it's ok. I can't even imagine how hard this is for you."
He's quiet. I know it means he's thinking.
"I want to keep the crib by that window." He points to the broken window. "That way the first rays of the sunrise can greet our baby," he says.
"Harry …" I begin.
"Hermione, this is right. This is where we need to be. I want to make amazing memories here. I want to watch our baby crawling on this floor. I want to burn dinner in that kitchen. I want Ron and Luna and everyone to visit here the way the Marauders are supposed to. This is home."
*Week 14*
"Ok, here we go," Harry says as he pushes the door open.
Almost all the Weasleys are here behind us, as are my parents, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Albus and Minerva. Everyone is here to repair and clean the house. There was more structural damage than we thought and today we're going to fix all that. Sirius has hired a construction crew to handle the really bad areas. The only request is that Harry and I get to fix the bedroom and the nursery.
First up is the master bedroom.
Harry looks around and shrinks everything in the room. He gets a box and packs it all away.
"I want these to go into a dollhouse for our little girl someday. We have our own furniture, but I can't get rid of these," he says.
"That's fine. We'll do that to the other rooms as well."
The day goes on and finally it's time for lunch (as the little one is MORE than happy to tell me).
As we sit, spread out around the living room eating our Chinese, lunch at first is awkward; no one really knows what to say now that Harry is in the room with them.
Finally, Remus stands.
"I just want to say what I think about today. There is nothing that makes me sadder and happier at the same time than to be standing in this house. My best friends lived here, but they died here. My best friends' son lost his parents here, but he will raise his children here. It only goes to show how life moves on and becomes beautiful even in tragedy. Harry, your father used to sit in that chair and bounce you on his knee. You thought it was the greatest game ever. And I cannot wait to see you do the same thing to your baby."
As Remus sits, Sirius stands.
"Well, now, I certainly can't let that speech go by with out adding to it! Harry, you're parents are thrilled that you and Hermione and the baby will be living here. Now, I get that from the source. I think you need to know that when you were born, your parents wanted you to have this house and live here. To be honest, I think James had an idea of a Marauder's old age home and we'd all live there together, driving our spouses nuts. But now, well, everything else is how they'd want it. A nice place to raise your children with friends and family surrounding you."
Well, now everyone's crying again. Someone has to take care of this - might as well be me.
"Ok. Today is not a day to be sad! It's a day to be happy … and to work already!" I say with a smile.
Everyone laughs, albeit a bit nervously, and finishes their lunch in a much better mood.
After another few hours, the construction wizards leave and the house is almost finished. We all gather in the living room again.
"There's nothing we can say to thank you guys for coming and helping us out. Because of you, this house will become a home again. We hope to see you all again," I say to the group.
"Especially when it's time to move!" Harry adds.
We all laugh and exchange our hugs goodbye.
Finally, it's just Harry and I standing in the living room. We decide to take a stroll through the rooms.
The living room is mostly bare of furniture since it's all now in a box as is the dining room. The kitchen looks amazing. It's a very inviting shade of baby blue and there's a country goose theme. Cute.
We head upstairs and peek into the study. Still void of furniture, but it's now done up in Gryffindor colors. Seems quite inviting. Next we peek into the three guest rooms. I sense a pattern as there is one done in blue, one in yellow and one in a very (non-Slytherin) pale green.
"Well, good thing we did our room in Gryffindor colors," I say. "Since the other three look like the other houses."
Harry laughs. "If we can't live at Hogwarts, we'll bring it to us!"
We already know what the master bedroom looks like, similar colors to the study, just not as bold.
So, we head to the nursery. We know what it looks like too, but we just want to spend time in there. The changing table, rocking chair and crib are gone. But the dresser remains. Harry said he didn't want our baby to sleep in the same crib as he did. It would be too weird for him. But since the dresser was in the best condition, we kept that. We'll get all new stuff at the shower.
I lean against Harry's chest and he wraps his arms around my belly.
"It's going to be beautiful in here," I whisper.
"Just like it was," he replies.
He kisses the back of my neck and I shudder.
"You know," he begins. "Two of the guest rooms have beds. Care to christen either of them?"
"I think I could handle that!"
And with that, Harry chases me down the hall …
*Week 16*
"Where does this box go, Hermione?" Ron asks me, holding a box marked, "Kitchen."
"Um, my guess is kitchen," I reply.
Ron's face lights up.
"There's no food in there yet," I say, killing that dream.
"Fine …" he grumbles as he carries the tiny box into the kitchen.
Being a wizarding family sure makes moving easier. All the boxes are either charmed to be light or small. Harry won't let me do too much of the moving, so I am in charge of directing traffic and watching the little ones with Fleur (who is also not allowed to help with the moving since we just found out that she's expecting too).
Upstairs, Luna, Ginny, Mum, Tonks, Molly and all the other Weasley women are decorating and getting things put away. Downstairs, Ron, Neville, Dad, Arthur, Remus, Sirius and the Weasley guys are getting things together.
"Hermione?" my father calls.
"Yes, Daddy?"
"This place really is wonderful."
"Yeah, I know. I think the little one is going to love it here." I place my hand over the growing bump of my stomach.
"Think it's almost time for lunch?. The baby sure wants pizza …"
"Is that a demand?" Dad laughs.
"More like a desperate request."
"Fair enough. Are there pizzerias in Godric's Hollow?"
"I don't know. But I sure would like Marty's pizza."
"Marty's? Like Marty's from home?"
I nod. My father sighs.
"Harry! Let's go, son! Your kid wants pizza and I don't think I can floo while holding food!"
Harry sticks his head in the door. "Pizza? Just go to the place downtown."
"Harry … the baby wants Marty's," I explain, with that innocent tone that always gets me what I'm craving.
"Marty's. Right. Ok, Richard, let's go," Harry says as grabs Dad's arm. "Anything else?" he asks.
"Nope," I reply. "I love you!"
"I love you too," he says and then Apparates out.
Poor Harry. He's really been through the ringer with cravings.
I recently threatened to hex him and take away all sex privileges if he didn't march straight to the kitchen and get me a glass of pumpkin juice and a slice of roast beef.
I always mean business, so Harry marched.
So, as I sit here, Ginny comes over. She glances into the big playpen where Cordy, Sophie, Charlie and Abby are sleeping, then over where Julie and Joey are playing with a puzzle.
"They're so precious," she sighs.
"What's on your mind, Gin?" I ask.
"I'm getting married in two weeks."
"I'm well aware."
"I'm terrified."
"Ginny, do not be afraid of marriage!" Fleur reassures. "Neville is such a wonderful man. You two will be very happy together."
"Fleur's right," I tell her. "Neville is perfect for you. You guys will be fine. And you'll have a house full of little ones like this!"
"Mummy! Can Joey and I have a cookie?" Julie calls.
"No, Julienne. Uncle Harry will be back with lunch soon. Don't you want pizza?" Fleur replies.
"Ok …" Julie replies, obviously disappointed.
"Jules, you will love this pizza, I promise!" I tell her as I pick up a fussy baby Charlie.
She nods and goes back to putting the puzzle together.
"You guys are such great parents, or at least will be," Ginny whines. "I'll be an awful mother."
"What gives you that impression?" I ask.
"I just know. I probably would have given Julie the cookie."
"It's instinct, Gin. You'll know what to do. I'm terrified about being a mom, but I just plan on doing what I think feels right," I tell her.
"Hermione is right," Fleur chimes in. "Being a mere is all about learning what your children want. It will come to you."
Ginny nods and then jumps as a loud crack resonates through the room.
"Chow time!" Harry calls. He and Daddy are each holding 5 pizza boxes.
"Think you got enough?" I ask as Sarah takes Charlie from me.
"Well, we've got two pregnant women here and Ron, so those five are for you guys," he says, nodding towards my father's stack of food.
"I'll take the top two!" Ron shouts, running into the room.
"Ron, I wasn't serious!" Harry replies.
"Hey! You know better than to tease me with food!"
Harry laughs and puts the stack on the table. "Ok, there are lots of options here and I don't remember which ones are which. So, grab a plate, some napkins and eat! I'm going to get some pumpkin juice too."
There's a mad rush for the food (and that's just Fleur and I). We sit and eat and just talk about everything. Soon enough, lunch is over and there's just a little bit left to do. Once all the dishes are put away, the furniture completely in place and the boxes of books in the library (I'm the only one who can put those away), it's time for everyone to go home and for us to get acquainted with our new home.
Everyone hugs and kisses us good-bye and we're left with my parents, Molly and Arthur and Sirius.
After many hugs from Molly and hearing, "if you need anything, you know where we are" three times, the Weasleys are all gone.
"You're new home is beautiful, baby doll," my father says, hugging me. Mum joins us and brings Harry into the embrace as well. He wants to cry, I can feel it, but he holds back.
After that, Sirius hugs us, congratulates us and then promises to visit. "I can never get enough of Potter Manor," he says with a laugh. He takes my parents' hands and Apparates them home.
Finally! We're home alone!
As if on cue, we both flop down onto the couch.
"Well, we're home now," Harry says.
"Yep," I reply. "Are you ok with this?"
"It's a bit late for that, isn't it?" he jokes.
"No. Not at all. If you're not happy, we'll move and -"
"Mione!" he interrupts. "I'm perfectly fine being here. I love it here. I love the thought of making all new memories here. It's almost as if this is the last way of defeating Voldemort. He always had a shadow lingering here. And now it's gone. It's just us … the three of us," he says, placing a hand on my tummy.
"And that's perfect," I whisper.
"So, what now?" he asks.
"Well, there's a slew of books in the library that needs to be put away. Care to help?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not if you want to avoid the pregnant wrath."
"Lead on, Mrs. Potter, lead on!" he says, laughing.
"I knew you'd see things my way!" I reply, laughing as well.
And as we put my huge collection of books away, I realize just how complete things have become. A full circle, if you will.
"Would it be too poetic of me to say that putting your books away with my parents' books is like combining the past with the present and future?" Harry asks.
"Not too poetic at all. It's a very nice thought," I say.
Soon, they're all together and where I want them.
"I can't wait to spend hours in here. Look at all these children's books! Our baby is going to love these!!"
Harry can only smile at me.
"I love you, Harry," I tell him.
"And I love you, Mione," he replies as he walks over to me and embraces me. "Let's go somewhere to eat and celebrate!"
"I certainly won't tell you no!" I say with a smile. I run out of the room and head upstairs. "Come on, slow poke!"
We quickly get ready and head into town to get acquainted with our new surroundings.
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A/N: Ok, I think I told some of you that you would probably know what the sex of the baby is in this chapter. I guess I was wrong. But, I can promise that you'll find out in the next chapter what the sex is. And what the baby's name will be.