Prove You Have A Heart

Chapter 12

By mid-March, Harry was so pregnant he couldn't see his feet while standing up, and Luna had entrusted Remus with the task of taking photographs as that belly grew. Harry was just glad she hadn't done anything really ridiculous like insist he measure every day, or make a plaster cast of it. Photos he could deal with.

With only a month and a half to go at the very most, preparation for the baby was well and truly underway. The nursery had been finished before Hogwarts started back, as his Christmas present from Luna, and it was beautiful. She'd painted forest scenery on the walls, the trees crawling with all sorts of magical creatures, including several that only Luna seemed to know about. Harry was a little bit jealous of his unborn son's new bedroom, and he knew Remus spent the pre-moon days sitting in there meditating. Maybe when the baby was older and moving into a proper bedroom, they'd keep the forest room the same for meditation, both for him and Remus. After the debacle that was Occlumency training, Harry had learned that some meditation every now and then helped him keep his magic and his Occlumency shields in check, as well as cooled his hotheadedness dramatically. Though he liked to think that the last one was just a side-effect of him growing up.

Packages were arriving almost every day for him with various baby paraphernalia; most that he'd bought himself, but a fair few were from friends. Now that he'd had a warding team come and sort out a mail redirecting ward, he felt safe to open anything that made it to him at Grimmauld; everything was from people he trusted. Still, even with the multitude of furniture and toys and clothes he'd been buying, he had what felt like a thousand more things to buy. Fleur was immeasurably helpful; with Victoire now almost eight months old, she had a wealth of experience that was far more recent than Molly Weasley's. Harry had spent several days with the Frenchwoman pouring over lists of items, checking with her whether they were actually necessary, and finding out which he wouldn't be able to live without.

Every single day his due date drew closer, and every single day Harry battled a brand new case of nervous excitement. He was both petrified and thrilled that he would soon have his baby boy in his arms instead of in his womb, though he had no idea how he'd react when it actually became reality. At least he had plenty of people around to help him when he needed it; even if his friends at Hogwarts would be there for a whole two months after his baby was born, he still had Remus and the rest of the Weasleys, as well as the Order. The old saying about it taking a village to raise a child was definitely applicable in his situation.

He smiled to himself as he and Remus walked through the quiet park together, his stomach disguised by a baggy jumper and some strategic glamour magic. He couldn't use any of the heavy-duty charms, but light ones to make the weight look a little more spread out were okay. Any muggle passing would think him overweight, but it was better than the alternative of them seeing a pregnant man. "How are you feeling, cub?" Remus asked, shoulder bumping with Harry's as they walked. "Better now you're a bit more prepared?"

"Much," Harry agreed, smiling slightly. "But there's still so much more to get! I had no idea babies needed so much stuff."

"Harry, you've already bought half the catalogue!" Remus pointed out with a chuckle, making his godson turn red. "Don't worry, Lily did the exact same thing. You're nesting, it's perfectly normal."

"I'm not a bird, Moons," the teenager grumbled, and Remus rolled his eyes.

"No, you're not, but you are an expecting father. You want everything to be perfect and ready for when your son arrives; there's nothing wrong with that." Harry couldn't help but grin, leaning into Remus' side.

"I can't believe it's only a few more weeks. Everything has gone so fast!" he mused. "Can you imagine? By the end of next month, the baby will be here."