Hero of the Story || James Potter x Hermione Granger Fanfiction

53 | oh god, i'm so tired of being afraid

Chapter warning: Smut lol.

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xxxxxiii.

oh god, i'm so tired of being afraid

(Six by Sleeping at Last)

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January 31, 1981

"Is this really necessary, James?"

She huffed when James pushed her down onto the couch and deposited Harry on her lap. Warily, she watched as he quickly clambered onto the opposite side of the couch and tinkered with the Wizard camera, peeking at the lens and adjusting it as needed until he was satisfied.

"James..."

"Yes, it is necessary," he firmly replied, a tone of finality in his voice. "Ever since Harry was born, we haven't had a decent family portrait, Hermione. It is Pureblood tradition to hire an official photographer to get the family's picture taken once a new heir is born, but seeing how everything's fucked up right now, we really can't afford to do that now, can we?"

"Language," she hissed, immediately covering both of Harry's ears with her hands. "You know that Harry still hasn't said his first word!"

The corner of James' lips lifted into a small, apologetic smile. "Sorry, old habit," he said as he sauntered towards the couch and plopped down beside Hermione. "I'm trying my best."

"I'm going to hex you if Harry's first word is a curse word," she glowered, prompting him to widely grin. She then wildly gestured at the camera and added, "And I think this is still unnecessary, James."

"It's tradition," he insisted again.

Hermione sighed and frowned at the camera. They'd been cooped inside the house for a month and Hermione was starting to think James had already gone barmy. James Potter was an active, adventurous wizard. Of course he'd be the first one to grow restless, as he's forced to hide himself inside the house without anywhere else to go.

"Hermione," he placated, "come on. Show a big smile. You don't want Harry to see your ridiculous frown on our first family picture, do you now?"

"This is ridiculous," she petulantly said. Plastering a smile on her face was ridiculous, especially considering their situation right now. Taking a photograph seemed a tad silly to the brunette.

James ducked his head and peered down at her, an understanding smile on his face. "Show that pretty smile of yours, love," he cajoled. "For Harry." He reached forward and lightly pinched Harry's cheek, who fussed on Hermione's lap and tried to shy away from his father's touch.

Hermione's eyes softened as she gazed down at Harry. At six months, he'd gained a few pounds. Her son still exhausted his parents, discovering new places with his recently acquired skill – crawling. It was terribly early for him to start crawling, although the baby books she'd slaved over during her pregnancy reassured her that some babies would start to crawl much earlier than others. James once pointed out that Harry had her genes; of course, he'd start acquiring skills that would be deemed a little advanced for his age.

"Hermione?"

She shook her head and sighed, glancing back at James. "I still think this is ridiculous," she muttered. "But..." She fondly looked at the gurgling baby on her lap and smiled. "For Harry."

"There it is," James said, breaking into a huge grin. He pulled out his wand, gave it a tiny wave, and the camera produced a soft 'click'. "The camera will flash on the count of 'five'."