8"It's a boy," the Healer declares with a smile.
"A boy," Harry repeats as he looks lovingly at his wife. He kisses Ginny soundly on the mouth and says, "I love you."
"I love you too," she responds with a large smile as she beams.
Leaning over, Harry places a kiss on her belly and whispers, "I love you too, buddy."
Laying James down in his cot, Harry gently places a blanket over the sleeping baby. With a smile on his face, Harry stands there watching his new son sleeping. Lightly placing a kiss on his forehead Harry whispers, "I love you, James" before settling himself into the rocking chair beside the cot. Rocking slowly, Harry is lulled to sleep by his son's even breaths.
"Daddy! Daddy! You home!" James screams as Harry floos into the sitting room.
"Hey, buddy," Harry says as he picks up James. "How was your day today? Were you good for mummy?"
Nodding his head emphatically James replies, "Uh-huh. I good listener and helper. And I drawed a picture for you, daddy."
"You did? Can I see it?"
James scrambles out of Harry's arms and races to the other room to retrieve his picture. Harry laughs quietly to himself at his son's boundless energy and walks over to the couch to give Ginny a kiss.
"Hi, love. I missed you."
"Missed you, too," Ginny responds as James catapults himself onto the couch between his parents.
"Here, daddy," he says as he thrusts his picture into Harry's hands.
"He's been waiting all day to give that to you," Ginny tells her husband with a smile.
"Has he? What did you draw, James?" he asks as he moves James onto his lap.
"Dats me and dats you daddy," he says as he points to the two different scribbles on the paper.
"And what's that?" Harry asks as he points to a big squiggly blob between the two scribbles representing himself and James.
"Dats a heart. 'Cause I wuv you, daddy," James says.
Snuggling his son closer to his body Harry says, "I love you too, James."
"Okay. You have everything, James?"
"Yes, dad."
"Trunk?"
"Yes."
"Books?"
"Yes."
"Owl?"
"Seriously, dad?"
Looking up at his son's face Harry smiles sheepishly, "Right. Of course. Well, if we have everything I guess it's time to get to the train station."
Grabbing James's trunk, Harry carries it out to the car and places it in the boot. James passes his owl to his dad and Harry secures it into the backseat. Double checking to make sure they have everything, Harry walks around inside the house one more time before telling everyone to get into the car.
"Are you ready, James?" Harry asks as the small family makes its way across King's Cross Station with James's belongings piled onto the trolley.
"Yeah, I think so," James answers as he looks around the bustling station and the wall between platforms nine and ten. Noticing his son's hesitancy to enter Platform 9 ¾, Harry grabs James's hand and gives it a squeeze. "Will you walk through with me, dad?" James asks quietly.
"Of course," Harry replies.
Both gripping the trolley, Harry and James run toward the wall between platforms nine and ten and find themselves going through the brick wall. Harry watches as James looks around Platform 9 ¾ with wide eyes as he takes in the bustling station. Once his son has gotten over the initial shock of the platform, Harry helps him load the trunk and owl onto the Hogwarts Express.
Hearing the warning whistle Harry looks at James and says, "It's time for you to go, buddy. Say bye to mum."
Harry watches Ginny and James hug and hears his wife whisper encouraging words to their son before letting him go. James turns to Harry with fear and excitement showing on his face. Reaching out his arms, Harry pulls James into his embrace.
"You're going to be fine, buddy. I promise. Just be yourself and have fun."
James nods his head and tries to hide his sniffling. Harry squeezes him a little tighter and strokes his hair before whispering, "I love you, buddy. I'm going to miss you so much."
"I love you too, dad."
Harry gives James's head a quick kiss and then lets him go. With a gentle nudge from Harry, James moves towards the train and boards the Hogwarts Express. Harry watches as his son settles down by the window and waves good-bye to him.
"Gin, have you gotten a letter from James recently?" Harry asks as he prepares for bed.
"I think I got one last week. Why?"
"Oh. I haven't heard from him in awhile. Did he say anything?"
"No. Just the usual update about schoolwork." Noticing her husband's hunched shoulders, Ginny walks over to Harry and hugs him from behind. "He's just busy, sweetheart."
"I know," Harry sighs. "It's just that he doesn't talk to me anymore. He used to send me letters all the time and now I'm lucky if I get a line in the letters he writes to you."
Kissing her husband's shoulder Ginny responds, "He's a teenager now. He doesn't want to speak to anyone. I'm sure you remember how you were when you were his age."
"Yeah, I guess I do." Turning his head sideways to face his wife Harry says, "So don't worry, huh?"
"No, don't worry. You know he loves you and he knows you love him. It's just teen angst."
Standing on his toes to search over everyone else's heads, Harry spots James. He shouts, "James!" and waves his hands excitedly. James makes his way over to his parents, swerving around all the people milling about.
"There's the graduate," Harry says as James draws closer.
Ginny flings her arms around her son and pulls him into an embrace. Giving his mum one last squeeze, James lets go of her and takes a step back. Turning to the young woman standing behind them, James reaches out his hand for her to grasp. Before he is able to grab her hand, Harry pulls James into a hug.
"I'm so proud of you, son. I love you so much."
James quickly pulls out of his father's embrace and looking a bit red in the face says, "Thanks, dad."
Turning again to the brunette behind him, James takes her hand in his and pulls her to his side. Clearing his throat James says, "Mum, dad. I want you to meet someone. This is my fiancée."
Ginny, being the first to recover from the shock, says, "Congratulations."
Still staring in confusion at his son, Harry receives an elbow to the gut from his wife and blinks rapidly.
"Yes, congratulations. I apologize for the shocked looks. My wife and I didn't even know James had a girlfriend, let alone a serious girlfriend."
Turing to look at his son Harry meets James's eyes, confusion and sadness swirling around in the emeralds.
James looks back and forth between his parents before saying, "We're going to grab my stuff from backstage and then we'll meet up for dinner, okay?"
"Of course, love," Ginny replies.
Watching his son and his future daughter-in-law walk back towards the stage, Harry realizes he didn't tell them which restaurant to go to. Explaining to his wife where he is going, Harry heads backstage to catch James. Hearing his son's voice, Harry moves closer to the open door at the end of the hall. Stretching his arm towards the door to make himself known, Harry stops when he hears what his son is saying.
"—rents are so embarrassing."
"No they're not."
"That's because you don't live with them. They are so annoying."
"I'm sure that's not true. Your dad seems cool."
Scoffing James replies, "He's definitely not cool."
"Fine, not cool. But definitely sweet. He still tells you he loves you. I wish my parents would say that to me."
"I'm an adult. It's embarrassing when he tells me that. I wish he'd stop. I'm not a baby anymore."
Not able to bear it anymore, Harry quietly steps back and then approaches the door again using loud steps so that the young couple will hear him. Knocking on the door before opening it wider, Harry walks in and is unable to look his son in the eyes.
"I wanted to let you know our reservations are for the new restaurant in Diagon Alley. At six. Your mother and I will see the two of you then."
Harry turns to exit the room when James calls him.
"Dad. Thanks for letting us know," he says with a smile. When his father's eyes meet his own, James sees the sadness present in them once again; however, the sadness is now joined with hurt. That's when James realizes his dad heard everything he said. Without another word, Harry turns once again and walks away.
"James, there's been an accident. You need to come to St. Mungo's."
James stares at his mother's Patronus as it slowly dissipates in front of him. Shaking himself out of his stupor, James jumps up and floos over to the wizarding hospital. Not knowing where to go, he approaches the main desk, "My name is James Potter. My mum told me to come here. Do you know where she is? Her name is Ginny Potter."
The Welcome Witch looks up at him and gives him a small smile. "Your mother is on the fourth floor with your father. Just take the elevator up and make a right."
Nodding to himself, James walks over to the elevators and starts jabbing the up button until the elevator doors open. Entering the elevator, James once again begins forcefully hitting the button for the fourth floor. When the doors open, James stumbles out and turns in a circle, forgetting in which direction he will find his mother.
"James!" a familiar voice shouts from down the hall.
Turning, James sees his mum and races towards her.
"Mum, what happened? Where's dad?"
As he nears his mother he notices the tear tracks on her face. Grabbing her arms he says, "Mum. Is dad okay? He's not…" Unable to finish the thought, James looks into his mother's eyes imploringly.
"He's fine. He was hit by a nasty hex on a raid, but the healers said they expect a full recovery. They gave him a draught to keep him asleep until he is all healed."
Letting out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding, James hugs his mother.
"Can I see him?"
"Of course, darling."
Taking a deep breath, James pushes open the door to the hospital room and walks over to his father's bed. James looks over to the bed and sees his father lying there, motionless, except for the slight movement of his chest as he breathes. Upon seeing his father, James lets out the breath he was holding and walks towards his dad. James shakily sits down in the chair beside the bed and grabs onto Harry's hand.
"You scared me, dad. I didn't know what happened and then I saw mum crying and I just—" James swallows the lump in his throat before continuing, "You scared me."
Moving the chair closer James whispers, "I love you, dad. I know I haven't said it in awhile, but I do." Bending closer to his dad James again whispers, "I love you." No longer able to hold the pain in, James holds onto his father's sleeping form and begins crying in earnest. Between the sobs, muffled "I love you's" can be heard echoing around the hospital room.
"It's a boy," the Healer declares with a smile.
"A boy," James repeats as he looks lovingly at his wife. He kisses his wife soundly on the mouth and says, "I love you."
"I love you too," she responds with a large smile as she beams.
Leaning over, James places a kiss on her belly and whispers, "I love you too, buddy. And I'm going to tell you every day."