Forever Family

Chapter 43

Publish Date: 3/24/19

The Potters had settled into a routine within the first few days of properly caring for James. After some time to rest and recover from the actual birth, Harry and Ginny had started to raise James. They were loving it—loving him—but parenting was hard. Very hard.

"Here, Gin, I'll take him. You go get some rest," Harry said one night as Ginny finished up feeding James. She nodded and gave Harry a quick kiss before heading straight to bed.

This routine started when Harry and Ginny realized that, with James crying throughout the night, they would not be getting much sleep. The new parents alternated which one would take their son for the few hours of the night when he was awake.

Harry settled down on the couch with James on his lap. The moment he was able to properly meet James, he knew he loved him. Parenting was hard, but it was so worth it. However, he still couldn't wrap his head around how the Weasleys managed to have seven children.

Looking down at James, Harry saw that he was peacefully sleeping. This rare opportunity was a chance to get some sleep, Harry decided. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off before James would inevitably start crying.

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"How did James sleep last night?" Ginny asked as she made herself some coffee before work.

"Pretty well, actually. Are your parents coming over today?" Harry asked. Ginny's parents had offered to take care of James and Teddy while they were at work. The Potters had offered to take the kids to the Burrow, but Mr. and Mrs. Weasley insisted on coming to them.

"Yeah, I think so." Ginny took a sip of her coffee. "I'm so glad they're helping us. I'm ready to get back to work." Ginny, though she didn't expect it to happen, loved her job writing for the sports section of the Daily Prophet.

"I need to get back to work, too."

A knock on the door startled them from their thoughts. Harry opened it to reveal the Weasleys.

"Good morning, Harry!" Mr. Weasley smiled cheerfully. "Can we come in?"

"Yes, of course. Gin, your parents are here!" Harry called as he let them in.

Ginny greeted her parents a moment later. "Hey, Mum and Dad," she smiled. "Thanks so much for doing this, Harry and I really appreciate it."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, dear," Mrs. Weasley smiled at her daughter. "It will be nice to spend some time with our grandkids—we miss having kids around."

"Grandma Molly! Grandpa Arthur!" Teddy came running into the room at the sound of his grandparents' voices.

"Teddy!" Mrs. Weasley smiled and extended her arms as Teddy gave her a hug. "How are you? Are you having fun with James?"

"Good! James mostly just sits around and cries, but Harry and Ginny told me that I can play with him soon!" Teddy grinned, his hair going from its normal turquoise to an excited purple as he spoke.

"That's great!"

"Where is James?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"He's in his room right now," Ginny said. "I'll go get him." A moment later, Ginny appeared, holding a sleepy James in her arms.

She gave James to her father to hold. He gently bounced James in the air and watched as he giggled. Harry smiled fondly at the interaction between his father-in-law and his son. Watching Ginny's parents take care of his kids, he knew they were going to be just fine.

"Alright, we'd better get going," Harry said. "Thanks again for all your help."

"Of course, dear, we're happy to do it," Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"Have a good day!" Ginny waved goodbye as she and Harry walked out the door. The others bid them goodbye.

"What are we going to do today, Grandma Molly?" Teddy asked as they sat down on the couch in the living room.

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "We have to stay here, though, because Harry and Ginny don't want James going anywhere without them knowing."

"Oh. Can you read me a story?" Teddy asked as he picked up The Tales of Beedle the Bard that was laying discarded on the kitchen table from the night before.

"I sure can. Let's get your grandpa and James in here, and then we can start," Mrs. Weasley replied. A moment later, Mr. Weasley brought James into the living room so they could begin the story. Once everyone was settled on the couch, she began to read.

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The day had passed rather quickly. A lot of it was spent reading books and playing with toys, and both Teddy and James had a lot of fun. Harry and Ginny were supposed to return home any minute now, and the Weasleys were helping Teddy clean up.

"They'll be home very soon, Teddy," Mr. Weasley assured him. And sure enough, Harry and Ginny walked in a moment later, with Ron and Hermione trailing behind them.

"We invited Ron and Hermione over for dinner after Harry saw them at work," Ginny explained. "You two are welcome to stay, Mum and Dad."

"Oh, we wouldn't want to impose..." Mrs. Weasley began. Harry stopped her and shook his head.

"No, you wouldn't be imposing. It's the least we can do after you took care of the kids all day." Harry invited them to sit down, and they did. "How were the kids, anyway?"

"They were wonderful," Mrs. Weasley smiled.

Once everyone had gotten settled at the table and had food on their plate, conversation started to flow.

"How's everything going with James?" Hermione asked.

"He's great, but exhausting," Ginny shrugged. She took a few bites of her food and continued. "It was nice going back to work today, though."

"I can imagine," said Hermione, who loved her work.

"Anything new going on at work?" Ginny asked everyone.

"Not really, no," Ron replied through a mouthful of food. Hermione lightly smacked his arm. Ron swallowed before continuing. "Sorry, 'Mione. Anyway, nothing interesting is actually happening now, which is pretty surprising."

"Yeah, the Auror Office is typically pretty busy."

"Why do we always have to talk about adult stuff?" Teddy grumbled.

"Sorry, Ted," Ron grinned in amusement. "How was your day?"

Teddy beamed as he launched into a very detailed description of his entire day. The adults watched in amusement.

"That sounds like a very fun day, Teddy," Harry nodded as his godson finished up the story.

"It was!"

Dinner winded down and people started to leave. The Potters said goodbye to their family before sitting down on the couch to relax. It seemed that between work and parenting, Harry and Ginny hardly had any time to relax anymore.

Although taking care of James was hard work, Harry loved his family more than anything. And he also knew that he wouldn't trade it for the world.

A/N: Hi guys! I'm on spring break right now, so I'll get some chapters out in the next few days. Thanks for reading! 💛
Words: 1,113