New Beginnings

Harry stood still out side the large glass window, just staring at all the infants in their little plastic bassinets. Some were squirming, other howling and others were quiet and sleeping, oblivious to the world around them. His eyes fell on the little one in the second row, just to the right of center. Baby Girl Potter Shimmered to life above her every time a medi-witch checked on her.

"First time, then?" he heard from beside him.

"Yeah," he answered absent-mindedly, not looking at the visitor who was invading his thoughts.

"Third time for me. Little one, right there." Harry followed the finger to the little boy, front row center who was currently red in the face. "They all look like that. How anyone who has more than one at once tells them apart is beyond me," he said, giving his head a little shake. A young witch held the little boy up to the window and the other father turned to leave. "Well, that's my cue then. Good luck," he said as he headed into the nursery.

"Yeah, good luck," Harry added as he turned back to his little bundle. He had been invited in, but had declined, unsure exactly as to how to proceed. He had been assured by many that as soon as he got the baby in his arms, something would click, he'd figure it out and know, but he wasn't convinced.

"You should have called sooner!" Harry turned to see who was yelling out to him.

"Hey Ron," he said.

"Nick insisted on coming along, stubborn git," Ron said as he picked his own son up so he could look in the window.

"Lots-a babies," the toddler commented as he looked in.

"It happened kind of fast," he admitted, and he wasn't sure who had been more shocked by the whole thing; him or Hermione.

"Well, with your kid, I wouldn't have been surprised. Both of you are far too impulsive for your own good." Harry laughed at the idea of Hermione being impulsive. "Got a name?"

"We can't even agree on a room colour," he admitted with a shake of his head a little smile.

"Traditionally, one goes for pink." Both men made a face at the thought of having to spend endless nights staring at pink walls.

"Yellow is good too," Harry said.

"It is," Ron agreed. "Gone in yet?" Harry shook his head. "She won't break. He didn't break," Ron said, commenting on all the times he had placed his son in Harry's care.

"He was also three months old the first time you let me have him." Ron shrugged.

"Go on, get it over with," Ron said, giving him a shrug. "We'll go check on Hermione."

"Yeah!" Nick agreed, having grown bored with the babies. The two made sure Harry was over the threshold of the nursery before scampering off down the hallway. Harry muttered a bitter thanks to Ron as he shuffled in, coming to a stop next to his little pink bundle.

"Finally came in?" an older medi-wizard asked. "Shouldn't have indulged if you weren't ready to deal," he said.

"I'm ready now," he said, a little insulted by the comment and unable to back away from a challenge. The medi-wizard shook his head and went off to find a witch to handle the situation. The medi-witch moved about, conjuring a chair for him and getting him settled before she handed him the little bundle.

"Hand under bottom and head," she reminded him quietly before leaving the two to their own devices. He let out a deep breath after she had left and took a moment to get a good look at her. All the fingers and toes were there. No distinguishing birth marks. Nothing all that remarkable about her at all. Just like any other baby he'd ever seen. He wondered why the fact that she was his changed everything. He had known she was coming for 7 months, he had read almost as much as Hermione had and he was sure he was more ready than she was for this.

"So, this is you," he said quietly. "I swear we'll find you a name soon," he assured her. She gave a yawn and snuggled a little more into the blankets and he decided that she was satisfied with his answers. For now. "I'll warn you now, that I have no idea, what so ever, what I'm doing and I'm bound to goof it up."

Baby girl Potter didn't seem to care about that either.

"As long as you're okay with that, I think we'll be okay. And I think you're okay with that right now," he told her as he dropped off into silence.

"Would you like to take her to your wife? She should be up soon," the medi-witch suggested after a while. He nodded and headed off back to their room. He realized along the way that the world was suddenly a very big place again. In fact, he hadn't thought of the world as this big since he was about 16 and had the weight of it resting on his shoulders.

"See, not breakable," Ron said when he saw him come into the room. Nick cast a passing glance at the baby before going back to his toys.

"Maybe I'm not trying hard enough," he said with a small smile, handing the baby to Hermione.

"Lots of time yet, mate," Ron said with a smile. "I mean, there's still the matters of her learning to walk, run, fly a broom, curse the Slytherins . . . " The three adults laughed for a moment. "Oh yeah, mum sends her love and suggests Madeline. She says she always like Madeline and was rather disappointed when Ginny didn't look like a Madeline." Harry and Hermione chuckled, but he made a mental note to remember that name, he liked the way it sounded.

"And your dad?" Hermione asked.

"Wants to know what how a non-magical mobile distracts a baby," Ron said with a shake of his head. "Mom says that means congratulations."
***
"I like Madeline," Harry commented quietly as he settled himself next to Hermione in the bed after Ron and Nick had left. She looked from the baby to him.

"Call her Maddie?" He agreed and so did she. "She's perfect," she commented again.

"She is," he agreed.

"What is it?"

"I feel rather helpless, truth be told," he told her. "And I don't think I've felt this way since we were 16."

"She's just a baby, it doesn't matter if you're not perfect."

"I know. But she's depending on me for everything. What if I can't give her everything?"

"Of course you can't," she said, sounding as if that was the silliest thing she had ever heard. "But you'll make a good stab at it and I'll nag at you for spoiling her. It's simply the way the world works," she said with a little shrug. "You two survived a few hours on your own this afternoon."

"Most of that spent with me standing outside, looking in," he muttered. Hermione glanced at him curiously. She had known him for years and years now and had very rarely ever seen him hesitate before jumping into a new situation.

"But it went well after that?" He nodded.

"She slept, I rambled on."

"So you're well practiced for those 3 am hallway walks then?" she asked with a smile.

"Oh yes, I await them with bated breath," he answered with a smile, brushing some of the fine hairs off the baby's forehead.

"You'll do just fine. We've had enough new beginnings together, what's one more?" she asked with a yawn as he took the baby from her.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "What's one more adventure for old times sake?"