Two Wizards And A Baby

Harry Potter smiled as he quietly closed the front door behind him. Slipping out of his robes and placing his briefcase in the foyer, he did a quick search of the ground floor, but found no sign of his wife. Although he’d only been gone for a few hours – the Ministry had said it was an extreme emergency – he’d missed his wife and baby terribly, and couldn’t wait to get home to them. He was reluctant to call out in case they were asleep, so he silently padded up the stairs and along the first floor.

When he got to the nursery, he stopped, the sight that beheld him taking his breath away. Hermione sat in the rocking chair, gently rocking back and forth; their son was cradled in her arms, his head tucked into the crook of her left arm. She was humming quietly as she stroked his cheek with her right hand. Harry saw that the look on her face as she nursed their baby was one of pure love. She just glowed.

James Ronald Potter had entered the world exactly one week earlier after a long and difficult labor. Hermione, however, no longer showed signs of the stress she’d been through in the last nine months. She’d suffered from terrible morning sickness that had lasted throughout the entire pregnancy. Instead of easing after the first three months, it’d only gotten worse. Hermione had been so sick by the fifth month that Harry stopped working to look after her. Still, she’d found the time to read every book published on pregnancy and child rearing, which had amused Harry no end, and they’d done the nursery together.

Harry’s heart swelled with happiness as he stood in the doorway of the room they’d spent many hours in – painting, decorating, reading and, occasionally, kissing. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt this way – like everything had finally fallen into place. He also couldn’t remember a time that he’d loved his wife more than he did at that moment, seeing her hold their son. Just then, she looked up at him and smiled.

"Look, James," she said softly, carefully sliding forward and standing up. "It’s Daddy."

Harry couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. It was the same grin that always appeared when he heard the word "Daddy" being applied to him. He still couldn’t believe that their child was finally here. He crossed the room to where his wife stood expectantly. Hermione lifted her head up to greet him with a kiss, then waited until he’d sat down in the rocking chair before carefully lowering herself down to sit on his lap. Seeing as she held James in her left arm, she turned herself to face the right, so she could put her free arm around Harry’s shoulders and move James around so they could both look at him. Harry placed his left arm around Hermione’s waist and brought his right hand up to gently run his finger down his son’s cheek. James snuffled in his sleep, then gave his parents a smile. All of a sudden, a tiny fist came up out of nowhere to wrap around Harry’s finger.

"See? He knows who his Daddy is," Hermione said, grinning at Harry, who still had his gaze fixated on James. "He’s a clever boy."

"Just like his mother," Harry replied. He looked at Hermione, and she smiled, moving her head forward to gently rest it against Harry’s. They both looked down at their baby, who still had his fist firmly wrapped around his father’s finger.

"He’s so beautiful," Hermione whispered. They had spent most of the 4 days since their arrival home from hospital just sitting like this, enjoying the tranquility of their new family life and staring at the tiny miniature of themselves who had brought so much joy into their lives. They hadn’t gotten over the novelty of looking at their son, examining his features: his soft hair that had Harry's colouring and Hermione’s thickness; his skin, which still had a tinge of pinkness to it; and his eyes, which he hadn’t opened much, but when he had, they’d seen were a deep blue. Hermione had read that they weren’t likely to stay that way – most newborns had blue eyes that eventually changed colour as they got older. Hermione secretly hoped they’d be Harry’s bright green; Harry hoped he’d have Hermione’s warm chocolate brown.

Harry lifted his finger up to stroke James’ cheek again; the fist still firmly wrapped around it.

"You’re right. He is beautiful," Harry agreed. "Just like his mother," he repeated.

Hermione looked back up at her husband again and beamed. "I love you, Harry," she said, gently running the back of her hand down his face and placing a kiss on his temple. Harry turned his gaze away from James and studied his wife.

"I love you too, Hermione. I can’t even begin to say how much. You’ve made me the happiest man alive." Hermione smiled and leaned in slightly, gently pressing her lips against his in a tender kiss. They stayed that way for a long moment, happy just to be in each other’s arms with the product of their love right there with them. When they finally separated, they both looked back at James, who slept on peacefully, unaware of just how much his parents loved him – and each other.