Shattered Souls • Hedric

Chapter Five

He was warm and almost pain free, that was Harry's first thought as he started to come around. Quickly he brought his hand to his chest, his empty chest. Where was she? Where was his baby, his tiny little girl? With a strangled cry he tried to sit up. His eyes flew open when he heard an answering tiny cry come from beside him. It took a few minutes for his vision to focus but when they did, he was greeted with the most outrageous sight of his grumpy potions master changing his little baby.

" Potter calm yourself. As you can see your daughter is fine,, if you can call smelling like that fine." Severus couldn't believe that everyone disappeared right when the little stink bomb went off.

Harry let his head fall back to the bed. Maybe he wasn't as pain free as he originally thought. With a trembling hand he reached out to touch his daughters hand. She was so pretty and tiny. How could she be so tiny? She was absolutely perfect. He couldn't stop drinking in the site of her in the light. It was hard to make out all of her features in the dark cell. He ran his fingers through her dark auburn hair, the perfect combination of his and Cedric's hair, with a touch of his moms red.

Sensing her father the baby turned to look at him. Harry couldn't help the tears that fell at seeing those incredible eyes. She had his eyes with flecks of Cedric's grey. Where they truly sparkling?

" She's a grounder" Harry said in a hoarse and small voice.

Severus finished dressing the baby then wrapped her in a warm blanket. As he went to pick her up she gave a cry of distress at not being able to see her daddy. Harry frantically tried to sit up, but didn't have enough strength.

" Easy Harry, give me a second and I will help prop you up." The baby was flailing her arms and legs in the blanket and Severus didn't want to drop her. Holding her with one arm he helped a struggling Harry prop himself against the headboard with pillows behind him. Reluctantly, he handed the baby over to her father. He had only managed to steal her from the twins and Bill a little while ago.

Harry gazed down at the little face that was looking back at him. She looked so much like Cedric, except her features were more delicate and softer like his. He marveled at seeing her in the tiny pink sleeper. He didn't even know they made clothes that small. He couldn't stop the violent flinch when his potion master reached down towards him to put a hat on his daughter.

" Is she ok?" Harry asked in a cracked voice. His throat was very dry and sore; it was also weak from lack of use in Azkaban. He did talk some to Fen and Bella but he would go weeks without talking.

Severus held a glass of water with a straw out to Harry. " Take small sips. To much to fast will make you sick.

Harry moaned as the fresh, clean cold water went down his throat. The water in Azkaban was dirty and a bit salty. He tried to do as the professor ordered, but it was so good that he was soon gulping. He whined when the professor took the glass away.

" Easy Harry, I will give you some more in a few minutes. Your little one is perfectly healthy. She is very small for her age but she is a fighter like her dad."

Harry smiled at the compliment. " Why does she need the hat?"

" Newborns have a hard time regulating their body temperature. We put hats on them to keep them from losing heat through their exposed head." Severus took a seat on the edge of the bed. He trusted Harry with the baby but the boy was still weak and in a lot of pain.

" Why is she so small?" Harry's voice sounded a little bit stronger after getting to drink water.

" I'm not sure but if I had to guess, it's from how you suffered in Azkaban. Not only were you tortured but you weren't getting adequate nutrition. Then you had dementors feeding from you, it's truly amazing that either of you survived. If you weren't as powerful as you are then I have no doubt you wouldn't have survived the first month." Said Severus seriously.