After All, Harry

victoire

Ginnys head was in Harry's lap, taking a quick nap in the waiting room of the french hospital. Harry was absentmindedly playing with a strand of her hair while quietly reading over a small passage from his notes. It'd been four hours since they arrived, (Parvati went to the city and tried finding a friend in Paris after the first hour) and all Bill could tell them was to wait—Fleur was trying her best. He wasn't even allowed in the room, something about an overcrowding of doctors—even with the smallest amount of veela blood, there was a slight chance that the child, if were a female, could come out as a veela. It would be a much more difficult birth in that sense.

Harry was also keeping an eye on Teddy simultaneously, as he was in his terrible twos and finally content playing with the hospital toys provided. Andromeda had come to drop Teddy off at the Burrow and had him travel by port key with Mrs. Weasley. She had a long string of doctors appointments for the next week, and Harry was excited to have him full time.

Mrs. Weasley was anxiously knitting more and more sweaters for the baby, making flowers and pink and blue and green ones—she didn't care the gender of the baby, she made sure that they would wear it whether the infant liked it or not. Hermione was also knitting, though not as anxiously and was knitting a sweater for Fleur instead.

"Excusez-moi, monsieur," A small looking nurse tapped Bill on the shoulder, "Vous-êtes le mari?"

Bill paused for a moment, and slowly spoke in French with only a slight accent, "Oui, oui," He said quickly, once he registered the question, "Puis-je entrer?"

Fourteen year old Gabrielle Delacour and her parents were listening intently to the conversation of the two, when Bill suddenly whooped and rushed out of the room with the nurse, and the three Delacours cheered. Harry was about to ask what had happened until little Gabrielle rushed over to where Harry, Ginny and Ron were sitting, itching to sit next to Harry (she'd developed a slight crush on him, something infantile, so Harry didn't mind much. Ron thought it was hilarious, of course).

In a slightly thicker accent than Fleur's, Gabrielle quickly translated what Bill and the nurse had said, her face a bit flushed as she spoke, "Ze nurse said zat ze baby has been born!"

"What?!" Ron said, his eyes full of surprise and other mixed emotions, and he laughed.

"Yes, yes, zey are about to let us into visit!" Gabrielle was trying very hard to contain her obvious excitement around Harry, avoiding his eyes too much. Harry blinked twice to process the information he was just fed before his face broke into a smile and he quickly shook Ginny awake. 

"Wot's going on?" Ginny said groggily, blinking so her eyes would adjust to the harsh hospital lights, she playfully swatted Harry, "Why'd you wake me up, you twit?"

Harry ignored this, practically picking up Ginny to standing and hugged her tightly. "You're an aunt!"

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Victoire Delacour Weasley was born May 2nd, 2000 to two loving parents on the two year anniversary of the second Wizarding War. She was named as such, Victoire meaning victory in French, something that Fleur was very enthusiastic about. She would only speak to her baby in French, as did the rest of the Delacours—Fleur was insistent on her daughter learning french as her native tongue.

Ginny was obsessed, poking and holding and kissing her first niece, absolutely entranced—which might had to do with her heritage. Next to her parents, Ginny was probably the one who hugged and held Victoire the most. It was odd, as Ginny didn't necessarily love babies—save for Teddy. But something about this being her niece was fascinating to her. Even Mrs. Weasley didn't cry as much as Ginny did when she saw her—thought Ginny would heartily deny it if it was brought up.

"Even more powerful zan Fleur as a baby!" Mrs. Delacour declared, hours later in the elegant and rather large house of the Delacour family, "Ze veela blood in more prominent in her than it is in me!" Everyone agreed, as it seemed that no one could take their eyes off of little Victoire. She had almond shaped deep brown eyes with the thickest lashes you could see, a strong nose and thick blond hair with touches of a red hue, the little tufts making her look a couple days old.

Fleur and Bill were seen crying and laughing the whole night, taking pictures and hugging and napping and marveling at the new human that was now theirs. Bill didn't speak much that first night, but one could say it was for the catch of emotion in his throat.

Later, when Harry and Ginny were sitting at the table in one of the many living rooms, Harry smiled slightly before looking up at Ginny. It'd been lingering in his mind ever since that morning, a little buzzing and Harry would be lying if the thought didn't bring a smile to his face. Scary thoughts, far future thoughts, but hopes nonetheless.

"Gin?"

"Hmm?" She was busy looking through her thoughts and smiling as she stirred her tea, waving her wand so the milk and sugar would stir itself.

Harry twisted a ring on his pinky finger, looking at her thoughtfully, choosing his words delicately as if was trying not to startle her, "You reckon you want kids?"

Ginny's eyes snapped up, but when she looked at Harry and saw his eyes and his smile, she could feel slight excitement buzzing in the deep of her stomach, "Yeah, I do."

"Really?"

"If you're up for putting up with me as a hormonal and baby carrying mess for nine months," Ginny grinned widely, "There's no one else I'd rather do it with."

As if on cue to their conversation, Teddy screeched from the living room, "No! No! Toy!" And said toy could be heard being snatched and thrown across the room. He wasn't quite impressed with Victoire and the attention she was getting, and his bad mood from earlier only worsened. His terrible twos had only just started, and had already turned into the spark of Salazar.

"Maybe let's wait a bit, though," Ginny added quickly, as Harry sighed and got up to go and console Teddy from whatever breakdown he'd just had. Ginny snickered, thinking of the future with luirme ginger and black headed babies and toys being thrown. Except, in those thoughts, Harry was always and always in them.