What He Never Had

Fury

****James's POV****

James had waited, with Sirius and Dumbledore, for about six hours now. He had been warned that first pregnancies take long- but he didn't know how the time would drag. A tired looking Remus and his own parents had showed up somewhere along the time. Lily was alone. The last of her family was that horrid sister, Petunia, and she hadn't shown up yet. No! She's NOT alone, he thought vehemently to himself. She has me, and her best friend, and Sirius, and Dumbledore, and . . . Harry, too!

Harry. What had happened with the T.P. sphere? After Lily had madder her announcement, they had all rushed around the house getting her stuff together and rushing her out of the house, that they had left it on the table, and noticed upon leaving that it was gone, leaving a small pool of water. Dumbledore had given an ironic smile, and said that apparently it was a disposable T.P. Unless they got their hands on another one, they wouldn't be able to repeat the experiment again. But then again, they might not have to because they were going to have their very own Harry . . . sometime in the near future. Very near, James hoped. Lily had looked a bit disappointed at the loss of the T.P. sphere, too.

He shook his head, and decided to go see how Lily was doing. He was allowed in after all, but he had come out and slept in a chair for a couple of hours with the promise that he would be woken up if anything happened.

****Dumbledore's POV****

He watched James leave. This has certainly been an interesting day.

He turned his head to his side. Sirius has sleeping, taking about five chairs, and snoring. As Dumbledore watched, he mumbled slightly in his sleep.

"But, but, we . . . first. No- you . . ."

How amusing.

The doors opened, and a thin woman walked tentatively into the room. She held a fat baby in her arm, that if he hadn't known for sure that it was only three months old he would have taken it as being almost a year old. The baby wasn't necessarily long- just round.

"Welcome, Petunia."

He eyes flicked up. "Who are you?"

"I am known as Albus Dumbledore."

"Him? I mean you? The letter? Oh, you're the one that taught her all of that . . . "

"Hmmm? Oh, yes."

"Where is she?"

"The baby's not born yet, but you could wait. Take a seat."

Her eyes flicked to Sirius, stretched out on the seats, Dumbledore, and James's parents standing ad talking to Nadine, Lily's native Tahitian best friend from Hogwarts, quietly by the window, before talking the last available seat, over on the other side of Dumbledore. Nadine was the one who had suggested the hospital, Mystique HÃ'pital, which was actually quite close, given its name.

"Vernon doesn't know I'm here," Petunia said quietly. "I left a note."

Dumbledore nodded to show he understood. Fortunately for Petunia, they didn't have to wait long.

****Harry's POV***

He was cold again, and that sucked. He had also been fussed over a bit before being wrapped up again and handed to the large warm hands. But he was also rewarded with the beaming face of his mother, as she looked back down on him.

They were alone in the room now. He looked up at her face. Her bright green eyes looked right back into his. Long tumbles of red curls were hanging around them like a curtain. The baby Harry in him found that the most interesting aspect of his new mother. He was, however, wrapped up tightly, but warmly, in a snug blanket. His mother's skin was smooth, white, and unblemished. She looked young, like the pictures in the picture album. In fact there was this one in there that was pretty similar to . . .

Click.

His mother looked up. James was standing there, were he had been a couple minutes ago with this time with a camera. He grinned. "Can I hold him?" she smiled. "Of course, careful, there-"

He was lifted, and set against a large broad chest that was wider than he was long. He looked up. His father's light, blue-gray eyes were studying him. "Hello, there, Harry," he said softly, overcome with emotion. "I'm your Daddy . . ."

Harry snuggled deep into his blankets and his father's strong arms. His parents- his parents! He would have cried himself, but something told him that would probably ruin the moment, as they would take it he was unhappy. Wow, how many times have I wished for a moment like this? All my life, since I noticed how Dudley and the children in school were loved by their parents, and Harry didn't have any. He thought of the Mirror of Erised, and laughed. I got you, Dumbledore. You said that they would never come back, and it wasn't worth it staring at them. Here they are, right in front of me!

"Look! Look," James said excitedly. "He smiled!" he sat down on the edge of Lily's bed with Harry, and a soft hand reached up and stroked his face.

The door opened, and the footsteps of several people came into the room.

****Lily's POV****

Her baby was finally here. James was holding him. Harry was gorgeous, small little face with lots of pitch-black hair, baby fine. His eyes were huge and completely round, a perfect bright green, a color which she had only ever seen in the mirror. He was just born, was he supposed to be that alert? He gazed around the room with a knowingness that surprised her.

The doctors had been a bit worried at first, when he hadn't cried, like most babies when born. He hadn't uttered a single peep since. But, as everything seemed all right, they had let him be. He was so little! And he had these soft little cheeks, and the dark, long lashes...aww!

The door opened, and in came the others, coming over to pat her shoulder, or squeeze her hand and congratulate her. Then they moved over to Harry.

"Look, Eston, it's our first grandchild!"

"Look at those eyes!"

Nadine swooped him up, and lapsed into French like she did when she was excited. "Il est adorable! Les cheveaux!"

She placed him in the next person's arms, which happened to be Dumbledore, before jumping up and giving Lily a huge hug. "Congratulations, Lily. I always knew you two were going to have cute kids- even in first year!" She laughed. "Just kidding. Maybe not that early. I did know it, however, before you did!"

They continued chatting.

****Dumbledore, again****

Dumbledore looked startled, at the baby that was suddenly deposited in his arms, before giving a big smile. "Well, Harry," he said, and then was at a loss for words. Little Harry was looking up at him in . . . recognition? He searched the old man's face if he knew exactly who he was, and wore a look of knowing amusement that annoyed Albus greatly now that it wasn't on his own face. What could the little baby possible know about him? Nothing.

The child was special. There was no doubt about that. He had overheard the nurses chatting about how the baby in room 12 of the maternity ward was strange, he hadn't cried since he was born, and had the oddest eyes. There were things that this baby would do, that Dumbledore was positive that he was here for a great occasion. The birth of one Harry Potter. Harry Potter- Hey! That had a nice ring to it . . . he passed the baby on, to Ramona Potter, who was overjoyed. She and her husband, Easton, hovered over him, and Albus turned to the bed.

Petunia stepped forward. Lily's face turned serious. "Thank you for coming Petunia, it means a lot to me."

Petunia looked down at her feet. "I . . .your welcome, little sister." She gave a little smile, and held her baby out in front of her, like an offering.

"Is this Dudley?" Lily asked, returning the smile. Petunia nodded. "He's such a lil- a, a bundle, of, a . . ." Sirius and James snickered behind their hands, but Petunia didn't notice.

"You're right!" she exclaimed. "He's so precious, so perfect . . ." she droned on for a minute. "I'll be off now, it wouldn't do for Vernon to wonder where I am, would it? Good bye, Lily." She took her baby and left. Lily took Harry again. Near the door, she gasped, and stumbled back against the wall clutching Dudley, eyes wide with terror.

Hagrid swept passed her, carrying a crate of some sort. Behind his back, petunia scampered off. "Not bothering to see if we're all right," James mumbled to Dumbledore's left. Uh, oh. Albus realized. Why would Hagrid be carrying a crate . . .?

"Lo, 'veryone!" he announced. "Lily, James, Ramona, Eston, Dumbledore, and Nadine, wasn't it? And that's little Harry!" He stetched out his hands tentatively.

"Be careful, Hagrid," Ramona intoned, "That's my grandson there."

"Aw, I wouldn't hurt the lil' tyke!" Hagrid grinned ecstatically at Harry. "Look at 'im! He's got so much 'air! And them strange eyes!" Hagrid held Harry in one hand. Harry was almost, but not quite as long as Hagrid's palm. With his hand cupped, Harry appeared to be in a big fleshy cradle.

Hagrid grinned. "'Ere, you hold him, Dumbledore." He carefully gave the little baby to Dumbledore. "I brought him a gift . . ." He gestured to the crate. Dumbledore felt a sense of foreboding . . . "I got 'ere the gentlest one in the whole litter . . ."

God bless Hagrid. But DAMN his timing! "What is in there, Hagrid?"

"Just wait an' see!" He opened the crate. Out hopped a little creature. It was pure white, so white there were little tinges of blue. It was soft looking, with many little fluffy feathers. Like a hippogriff, the feathers melted into short fur in the middle, before becoming slender panther-like legs. At the end was a long snakelike tail with a couple feathers growing on the tip. The short fur crept up the back of the head and around long predator-like eyes, before reaching a hooked hawk beak at the end of the slender head. Short curving wings lay against it's sides, and it had catlike front paws with wicked looking talons. It was one of the most beautiful creatures any of them had seen, but it had an overall predatory look, from the beak, the claws and the slitted eagle eyes.

"It's a baby Gryphon!" Hagrid announced. "I had to go all the way to the Issedonian Mountain Range, the last ones live there."

Silence.

"Er, a Gryphon? Aren't those . . . illegal?" James said finally.

"Naw, looked in all th' books. Not illegal, just rare, and secretive, and most of them are wild and hard to catch. This ones mother is bonded with a human, they do that sometimes. I got her because I'm part of the 'Against Prejudicing of Strange Creatures club', and he trusts me. I told 'im I'd get 'er a nice home, ai'nt she wonderful!?"

"Ahhhh!" Ramona Potter shrieked. The little Gryphon had jumped on her, and was attempting to remove her gold watch. Eston wrestled it off, but the Gryphon had the expensive watch, and he wasn't giving it up.

"Oh, yea, there is that. They like gold, and I wouldn't advise havin' 'im around any horses, either."

"That thing is not coming near my grandson!" Ramona started toward the bed, but it was too late. The Gryphon was sniffing at Harry. It delicately laid the gold bracelet at the bedside, and sat down.

"She's 'armless!" Hagrid said stubbornly. "An' look! She seems to have taken to 'Arry!"

Lily drew back. "What if it hurts my baby? Look at those talons! Aren't Gryphons dangerous! I'm not letting him stay."

Hagrid looked crestfallen. "But-"

"No buts, Hagrid," James told him firmly.

"Come on." Hagrid beckoned to the little Gryphon. She stayed. He walked over and gently picked her up. He carried her back and started to lower into the crate-

"CCRRAAKKKNNNN!" The little Gryphon howled, clawed at Hagrid, and promptly disappeared under the bed.

Oh just great. And animals aren't allowed in the Maternity Ward-

"Was that an ANIMAL I just heard?" A large severe looking nurse stood in the doorway. "It explicitly states in rule twenty three that no inhuman creatures, or hybrids of any kind are allowed, including elves, pixies . . ."

"No animal," Dumbledore interrupted smoothly. "That was me. Hagrid here-" he motioned to the large man, "Stepped on my foot is all."

She turned her gaze to Hagrid, who had to stoop so his head wouldn't hit the ceiling. "Ah, I see," she said understandingly. "From now on, please try to keep the noise lever down, people are sleeping, and we wouldn't want to wake the babies up."

"And you . . ." She turned to Hagrid. "I beg you to be more careful in the future, what if this man had been holding a baby? He might have dropped-"

Harry gurgled, making his first sound ever. Every one in the room turned around to look. The nurse looked over.

"Congratulations," she told Lily, "You have a beautiful baby." And she disappeared through the door.

Hagrid winced. "Thank ye, Harry." He bent down. "Now fer little Fury, 'ere."

"Fury?" Lily raised her eyebrows. "You wanted to give my infant an animal called-" she stopped in mid sentence. Her eyes unfocused, and she started Humming intently. Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"Hmmmm, ahhhhhh, ohhhhhh, ahhhhhh," Lily sung softly. She stopped for a second, and then continued in a singsong voice. "Someone' going to diiiiieeee, someone is dying, someone is dying . . ." pause. "And someone is . . .dead."

It was quiet in the room, and everybody looked at each other. Then voices from outside broke the silence.

"NOOO! NOT MONICA! NOT MY MONICA! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD! CAN"T YOU DO SOMETHING!?"

"No one can revive the dead, honey."

"NOOOOOOO! MONICA! SHE"S TOO YOUNG! TOO YOUNG! NOT HER AND THE BABY! NOOOOOOO!"

The same nurse appeared in the door. "Excuse me. Visiting hours are over. All but the mother and child must leave. Please remove yourself immediately." She was gone.

"What just happened?" James asked, gripping Lily's shoulder. She blinked. "I . . . I don't know. It was like; I had to get it out. Just say it, so everyone would know. And I got an image, an image of a hand and a paintbrush, and a painting. There was a signature on the bottom. I couldn't read it. It was . . .Monica Wager, or something like that."

"Maybe you have some seeing ability, like your great aunt," Dumbledore said softly. That would be interesting . . .

"It's never happened before," Lily told him solemnly.

"Oh! Please, write a prophecy on the side of a mountain and dedicate it to me! Please, please, please! Maybe they'll built a Quidditch stadium out of it, and they can do the world cup in there and everybody will say, 'Look, Sirius Black! Wha-"

"WHAT did I say? Please remove yourself immediately!" The severe nurse was back.

Grumbling, and promising to return as soon as possible, the crowd left the room, and the Maternity Ward. They headed over to the Public Apparating Room and Floo Network Fire. Just as James picked up the first pinch, someone came stumbling out of the huge fireplace.

Seeing James, the person have him an enthusiastic half hug, resulting in James dropping the Floo powder all over himself.

"James! Am I late?"

"Samantha! So you got my owl! Weren't you in New York, with that Jerry what-sis guy?"

"Oh, we broke up." She shrugged.

So, that's what had become of Samantha Potter. Albus hadn't seen her since her seventh year, though she had always been around. She had always been two years younger than James, and loved nothing more then to run up to James spontaneously, embarrassing him by giving him a bug hug and girly kiss on the cheek. She had always been a mischievous little flirt.

"So, what happened?"

"And, we have a new generation of Potters! Your nephew, Harry Potter, was just born about an hour ago. Visiting hour are over, and they kicked us out."

"Oh." She frowned, looking disappointed.

"But, we're all going over to my house, to talk. Why don't you stay with me, and we'll go back tomorrow?"

"Perfect!" She grinned. Picking some Floo Powder off James' shirt, she threw it in the fire and shouted, "The Potter Mansion!", before jumping in. the others followed.

Once they were all over there James opened his mouth. "Lets-"

"No! No! No!" A woman ran into the room. "Go back, go back!"

"WHAT?" James blinked. "Hey, what the hell are you doing in my house?"

"I'm Camellia Chant."

"Camellia Chant?" Sirius jumped over. "Could I ask you one small favor . . ."

"No time! Lily's in trouble!"

"Lily's in trouble?" James gasped, understanding. "Everybody back!"

He turned around and scrabbled on the mantelpiece for the porcelain vase of Floo, managing to drop it on the brick and break it into a million pieces, sending up a cloud of Floo Powder. It drifted through the room, and everybody coughed. The fire, however, turned green.

"Mystique HÃ'pital!" James shouted. Samantha grabbed the back of his shirt, and Hagrid grabbed her arm. Ever other single person managed to get a hold on Hagrid, somewhere or another, and they all got pulled through the fireplace together, landing in a jumbled heap on the other side.

"A-HEM!" someone cleared their throat. They winced and looked up. The severe looking nurse was looking down on them, severely. "Visiting hours are OVER! And it states explicitly in rule three of the Floo Network registration contract that only ONE person my enter or depart from the designated fireplace . . ."

"No time!" Camellia repeated urgently.

"Lily's in trouble!" James jumped up and the others followed. Hagrid casually picked up the nurse and placed her to the side. They ran past, the Nurse followed.

". . .and the key word in that paragraph is ONE! The other key word is OVER! The next key word is LEAVE! And the last key word, and it shall be the last for I am running out of key words, there aren't many, because if there were, the words that were key words wouldn't be key anymore, is IMMEDIATELY!"

They found room '12, Potter' and opened it.

The scene that greeted them was thus: The window on the far side was broken shards of glass littered the floor. On the bed, Lily was ' obviously 'petrificus totalus'ed in the middle of springing up. Harry was awake, green eyes wide. He opened his mouth and WAILED. It was the loudest, shrieking noise they had ever heard, there was anger in it, and fear too. For on the floor was a black robed man, masked, being torn to shreds by . . .

"Fury!" Hagrid exclaimed, "We forgot her!" No one could hear him, because they had their hands pressed over their ears, eyes squeezed shut and teeth gritted from the volume and the pain involved with Harry's scream. But they remembered, with Lily's premonition and Monica's death they had forgotten all about the little ferocious Gryphon under the bed.

Then the screaming stopped, and Fury stepped back from her victim, who was bleeding from multiple cuts to the chest. He was also unconscious. Apparently, he had been too preoccupied with his hands to shut his ears. Fury jumped back, and then leaved up into Harry's little plastic crib (one of the hospital ones, with the see-through sides, that's how they could see him before). She snuggled down by Harry's side, who twined his little fingers into her fur, and they fell abruptly fell asleep together.

Five Aurors burst into the room, on e of the nurses had flooed over to the Ministry Headquarters and gotten them. One of them stopped by Lily. "Finite Incantatem!" She sagged down gratefully.

One of the Aurors pulled off the mask of the unconscious Deatheater.

"It's Nott!" he exclaimed. The Deatheater was levitated away, and the Aurors set about asking questions and putting everything right.

Lily looked over the hubbub and locked eyes with Albus. Her gaze swept over the others. Then she looked at her son, sleeping with the soft little animal, with talons now curled in and soft feathers puffed up all over the place, who had just saved his life.

"Looks as if Fury's bonded with Harry!" Hagrid commented.

Lily nodded. She sighed, and tucked the chain of a golden medallion under her shirt where the gold seeking animal would never find it.

"Looks like Fury's staying."