A Family Tradition

Chapter 3

Little James the Stud

"That was quick," said Hermione, amazed that they had come back so quickly.

"Well it was quite a fight prying James away from all the cooing and sighing nurses blocking our path," said Harry, smiling and looking down at James.

"Oh, I'm sure it broke your heart. Harry can I hold James? I haven't held him for two whole hours," Hermione said, making a puppy dog face.

"Oh, of course," said Harry, and handed James very carefully to Hermione.

"You know, I bet James just has that effect on women, rather like his Uncle Sirius here," said Sirius, smirking at his own remark.

"And what effect is that, may I ask, besides tapping into their maternal instincts because he's a sweet new baby?" asked Hermione, now feeding James a bottle. Hermione had thoroughly read every book regarding pregnancy she could get her hands on; and had debated with herself (and anyone else who would listen) about the relative merits of bottle or breast feeding. After carefully listing the advantages and downfalls of the two, she had finally decided that breast feeding just wasn't her thing.

"I understand the whole baby, maternal thing, but you also can't deny that a lot of women just can't handle all of this at once," stated Sirius rather flatteringly pointing at himself.

"Oh, is that so, my Auror/ James Bond-like friend?" inquired Remus, now fiddling with the present again and trying to straighten the bow.

"Sirius, you're over forty: I think the whole 'I'm a stud thing' is getting old, and besides James isn't even a day old. As much as I'd like to think that he'll be successful with women someday, at the moment he can't even say 'stud'," Harry protested, a rather odd expression on his face.

"He will be Harry, trust me," responded Sirius slyly, "And so what if I'm over forty? All that Auror training keeps you young, Harry," At this, Sirius winked.

"Sirius, I'm having some serious déjà vu," interrupted Remus, looking very dazed and a little confused.

Hermione finally stopped focusing on James. " Are you okay Remus? Would you like a drink of water or perhaps to sit down?" she suggested, looking concerned.

"Yes, perhaps a seat would help," replied Remus, sinking into one of the hospital's cushy blue armchairs.

"I think we should stop talking about my son's sex-appeal now. I think it's making Remus ill; and I know that it's making me uncomfortable. You know it really is a far cry from subjects such as nappies and such, don't you think?" asked, Harry glaring at Sirius slightly as everyone else nodded.

"Oh, Sirius, Remus!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed to break the silence. "How could I have been so stupid? You didn't have to bring James anything," she continued, eyeing the giant present that was now sitting on top of a cabinet.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot," said Sirius, looking over at the gift, "would you like to open it now that James is here?"

"No, I think we should wait until Ron and Lavender get here," replied Harry before Hermione could answer; and then saw a Christmas gleam in her eye and a frown that made him add, "They should be here soon though," in a very reassuring manner.

"Well, thank you for the present in advance, you two," said Hermione, holding James and burping him now that he had finished his small bottle of milk.

"Oh, you're welcome, he'll love it!" chorused Remus and Sirius.

Then Sirius mumbled something toward Harry that distinctly sounded like 'party pooper'.

"By the way Moony what caused your déjà vu a while ago?" asked Sirius, staring at Remus with a strange look in his eyes.

"Oh, Padfoot, you can't honestly sit there and tell me that you haven't a clue of what I was talking about?" scoffed Remus, trying to laugh rather than cry at whatever he had remembered. "Just give Harry one hard look and tell me whom you really see," he ordered, noticeably emphasising the 'really'.

However, Sirius had apparently taken no notice of this; as all he said was, "Well I see my Godson, Harry James Potter, standing at six feet and one inch, weighing about thirteen stones, assistant head of my department at the Ministry. Anything else I should be seeing?" Sirius chuckled as Harry smiled slightly at his Godfather's description.

"I swear that you're even thicker than I thought you were, Sirius. Really, look hard, who else comes to mind; standing there with that new-father grin?" Remus asked quite seriously as the room went completely silent. Sirius' face fell to the floor; but his heart fell to the basement.

Hermione broke the silence after a few minutes that had only been disturbed by everyone's slow and steady breathing. "Harry, would you take James darling? I think I should go and owl my parents to let them know we'll come see them as soon as we can, since no Muggles are allowed in St. Mungo's," she said, kissing Harry and then James on their foreheads.

"Do hurry though, James is already starting to squirm watching you leave," said Harry, feeling James move as he tried to lean towards the door.

"Sure thing love, bye." Hermione left as the silence set in once more.

"Moony, could you Summon one of those chairs for me?" asked Sirius, looking as though he might collapse at any given time.

"Of course Padfoot," answered Remus quietly as he got out his wand and whispered "Accio chair." A chair flew in from the hallway.

"Well," said Harry after a few moments; dying to know about the day that he was born, yet afraid to ask. " I'd really love to hear why you two look like you might pass out right now." Harry tried to sound gentle and mature, rather than like an anxious child, as he sat on Hermione's bed still holding James. If Harry hadn't known better, he could have sworn that James looked as if he was taking an interest in the conversation.

"It's just you really have no idea, now that I come to think of it. Just how much you look like your father, Big James did, when you were born," Sirius said, smiling softly. " It's really bringing back some memories for Moony and I. Oh, and do you mind if I refer to your father as Big James and your son Little James? Because this is really rather confusing for me," asked Sirius.

"No, of course not. That's actually quite a good idea, Sirius," replied Harry, trying to lighten the tone of the conversation a little. He smiled and cooed to Little James to ask if he liked his new title. Little James just gurgled in response.

"Oh, and I understand that this brings back memories, " Harry, now feeling brave, decided it was now or never, "But could you tell me what the day I was born was really like?" Harry hoped desperately for a story or answer of some sort.

"Well," said Remus, literally beating Sirius to the words, "When we arrived, we passed your father as he ran up and down the halls telling anyone who'd listen about his wonderful new son, Harry. The same Harry that he told them would be going to Hogwarts, be a star Quidditch player, and anything else he could think of that you might do." Remus stopped and flashed Harry what Harry knew was a genuine smile. "We went in and found you and your mother both asleep with you in her arms." At this point Remus sighed and took a moment to collect himself. "By the time we left, we had stayed for three hours, discussed how old you were going to be when James would teach you how to fly, and decided that Sirius would be your Godfather. Have you picked a Godfather or mother for James, or is he not having one?" finished Remus, relieved to have got through his story without any tears.