Forever Family

Chapter 41

Publish Date: 3/16/19

May 2005

Winter turned into spring, and spring was turning into summer. James was due any day now, and the Weasleys were not wasting any time to prepare. Harry and Ginny had already packed hospital bags (under the request of Mrs. Weasley). It seemed all they had to do now was wait.

"When is James coming, Ginny?" Teddy as one morning in July, over breakfast. Ginny shrugged and answered honestly.

"Any day now, Ted. Any day now."

Harry smiled fondly. Everyone was getting excited about the baby, and he was no exception. It made him happy to see his wife and his godson so excited. Ginny was right—it was only a matter of days before he could hold his son.

"I swear, this has been the longest nine months of my life," Ginny grumbled. Teddy nodded in agreement.

"Just a few days left, Gin," Harry assured her with a smile. "I've got to go to work, but I'll see you two later, okay?"

"Bye, Harry!" Teddy gave his godfather a hug goodbye, and he and Ginny watched him leave. Ginny didn't have to go to work today, because her boss knew the baby was due very soon and had given her some time off. Ginny's eyes traveled to a frame hung on the wall, which contained her first published article. It seemed like ages ago that Ginny started writing for the Prophet, but she loved it.

"What are we doing today?" Teddy asked as he finished up breakfast.

"I'm not sure, Teddy. What do you want to do?" Ginny asked. "We could go to a Muggle park—it's a nice day out and we could have a picnic."

"Yes!" Teddy exclaimed. "Can we invite Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione?"

"They're at work right now, but we can invite Bill and Victoire, if you want."

Teddy nodded happily. With everything going on, he hadn't gotten much of a chance to see his best friend lately.

Ginny sent a letter to Bill, inviting them to a picnic. They got a response a few minutes later saying they'd be there. Together, Ginny and Teddy packed a lunch to take to the picnic.

Once they were ready to go, the Apparated to Shell Cottage.

"Hi, Ginny and Teddy," Bill grinned as they approached. "Fleur's at work right now, so it'll just be us today."

"Alright. Are we ready to go?"

"Yes! Let's just go already!" Teddy tugged on the sleeve of Ginny's shirt impatiently.

"Oh, actually, I forgot something back at home. I think we should go get it before we go to the picnic," Ginny said jokingly, smirking. Bill laughed as Teddy and Victoire groaned loudly.

"Alright, alright, we're going. Ready?" Bill asked one last time.

"Ready!"

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As it turned out, Ginny was right. It was a great day to have a picnic. The warm breeze made the green grass rustle and cooled them down as the sun shined bright overhead. Teddy and Victoire had a lot of energy, and were able to get it out by running around the park.

"Teddy, Vic! Time for lunch!" Ginny called from their little makeshift table. The kids came running back; they were starving after playing for so long.

"Mmm, this is good, Ginny," Victoire laughed. Ginny nodded in appreciation.

"So, what were you guys playing?" Bill asked in between bites of his sandwich.

"We were seeing who was the faster runner," Teddy supplied.

"Oh? And who won?"

"I did!" Victoire cheered. "But it's okay. Teddy ran really fast, too." Teddy beamed and puffed his chest at the compliment. Bill and Ginny laughed. It was amazing how kids could find joy in the simple things. 

"Well, the sooner you finish your lunch, the quicker you can get back to playing," Ginny pointed out. She laughed as the kids scarfed down the rest of their food so they could run around again.

"This is nice," Bill said. "Hey, how are things with James?"

"Oh, he wants out," Ginny laughed. "And we all want him out. It's only a matter of time, anyway." Bill nodded in understanding as the two lapsed into a comfortable silence. It was relaxing to sit there in the sun and watch the kids play. Ginny was comfortable beside her brother and near the kids, and she enjoyed the rest of the afternoon that way.

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By the time Ginny and Teddy got back from the park, Harry was already home. He greeted them at the door with a smile.

"Hey. How was your day?" he asked as he gave his wife a hug.

"It was great! Me and Vic played at the park and Ginny and Uncle Bill talked about boring adult stuff," Teddy grinned. Harry laughed and ruffled his hair. Teddy was quite amusing at times.

"Well, I'm glad you had fun, Ted. Next time, we'll make sure Uncle Ron and Aunt 'Mione can come, alright?" Ginny asked. Teddy nodded in satisfaction.

"Sounds like you two had a fun day," Harry said as he sat down at the kitchen table. Ginny nodded and sat down next to him.

"Yeah."

They were silent for a while, before Ginny felt a dragging pain in her abdomen and winced. Harry raised his eyebrows in concern.

"You alright?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just going to go upstairs and lay down for a while." Harry nodded and stood up with her. He gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Okay. Call me if you need anything."

"I will." Ginny made her way upstairs, and winced as she felt another cramp. This had been happening for a few days now, so it couldn't be that important. Right? Ginny dismissed the thought and made her way upstairs.

As she was walking upstairs, she felt something strange. Was that...urine? No, it couldn't be. That would be ridiculous. But Ginny glanced down, and sure enough, there was a wet spot on a very suspicious part of her pants. This was her first child, but Ginny had listened to enough parenting rants from her mother; she knew what this meant.

Her water had broken.

Ginny's heart starting racing. Was this it? Was she going to give birth? Finally, Ginny collected herself enough to remember that she had fought in a war against Voldemort. Surely, she could give birth to her son.

"Harry!" Ginny called. Of course, she had to let Harry know. He came running up a moment later. "The baby's coming."

A/N: Hello. Sorry for the cliffhanger but I like it there so I'm keeping it. Quick disclaimer: I don't know anything about giving birth. So I'm sorry if this was inaccurate, but that also means that the next chapter is mostly going to be after James is born. Thanks for reading! 💛
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