Albus Severus Potter: Birth Story (Discontinued)

Present But Not There

As January turned into February, and the temporarily named Albus Severus Potter was due in the all too nearby April, Ginny did her utmost into putting the whole name situation firmly behind them and continued into the new month with the outlook that they would cross that bridge when they got to it. Although she didn't really see Harry's reasoning for sentiment as extreme as a name, she could very clearly see where the thought was coming from. He was grateful and felt indebted to the men. Ginny respected that so she put it behind her for the meantime.

Besides, she was too excited and far too hormonal to focus on something as trivial as a name choice for a baby that wasn't even born yet. She had far too much on her mind. The Quidditch season was well underway again after the break during the holidays, meaning Ginny was trying to stay up to date with her column for the Daily Prophet. She was juggling maintaining the quality in writing needed for that and the duties required in being a mother to Teddy and James.

What was even more stressful was that she wasn't feeling her incoming son inside of her. 

All throughout her pregnancy with James, she felt the boy almost each and every day. He was a lively fetus and that liveliness translated into baby he was and the young boy he was becoming. However, this situation and liveliness had a chasm between the current situation with the tentatively named Albus.

No matter what techniques Ginny used, she couldn't feel the baby. In spite of Padma insisting that it was different from magical babies in comparison to those of Muggles, that magical babies often were detected less during pregnancy. So, even though Ginny was assured that she had no cause to worry, she still worried like crazy and did her utmost to not take that stress out on others. However, to limited success.

"But Padma told you it was normal," Harry assured Ginny soothingly one afternoon. He was feeding James from the boy's highchair whilst Ginny paced around the room anxiously, one hand over her stomach and the other wiping sweat off her forehead.

"Yes, she said its normal, but its not normal for me. I could feel James all the time last time but this time . . . it's like he's not even there, I don't understand it,"

Ginny's voice drifted off which made Harry walk over to her and put his arm around her. Ginny resisted from his hold but when Harry pulled her back she stopped fighting his embrace and just stood there as Harry wrapped his arms around her.

Kissing his wife on the cheek, Harry said: "Stress is the last thing the baby needs right now, he's shy. That's all, we just need to give him a bit of time and then he'll let you know that he's there,"

"It's just that James wasn't--" Ginny spluttered, feeling overcome by her hormones and worry. She let out a deep breath and tried to relax as Harry planted another kiss, on the top of her head this time. 

"Albus isn't going to be like James," Harry told her. Ginny winced at how casually Harry was using the name but tried to not let it get to her at that point in time. She had bigger issues to worry about. At the end of the day, the health and wellbeing of her son were far more important than something as trivial as a name. 

As Ginny tried to rid herself of those thoughts, Harry let go of her and jerked his head towards James, who was making quite a mess of the mashed up potatoes that his father had been feeding him. It seemed like without help James was able to get the food everywhere except in his mouth. 

"I'm not sure anybody can be like James," Harry chuckled and made his way over to his son to clean him up. "But that's what's exciting? Isn't it? Maybe you should try and see this as a positive that it's different from James. It'd be boring if it was the exact same,"

Ginny shook her head, but not at Harry's words. It was more at her own thoughts circulating through her brain. Harry was right. Every person she had consulted in, from the Padma, to other healers, her mother, Fleur to Hermione, had insisted that she shouldn't worry as it was normal. But Ginny's troubled adolescence made her worry frequently. For instance, in her fifth year in school, in her eyes, everything was perfect. She was with the boy of her dreams in the form of Harry and it seemed that nothing would ever be able to separate them. Then, all of a sudden, it was ripped away from her. 

She was afraid of losing what she held dear. As it had happened all too many times and she knew the feeling all too well. Therefore, naturally, she was going to fret. That was expected of her and normal. She just had to remind herself that she didn't have to lose anything anymore and that waiting for it to happen was going to be detrimental to the journey.

"Yeah," Ginny cracked a smile at him. "It would. I'm sorry, I'm just afraid that something . . . anything could go wrong and I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to him," She placed her hand on her stomach again signalling to Harry that she was talking about the baby.

"He's going to be so lucky to have you," Harry assured her with a small smile. "We all are,"

"And I'm lucky to have you all, too," mumbled Ginny sheepishly. She walked over to James and Harry and crouched down ever so slightly so as to be on the same level as her son. She tickled his chin before scrunching her nose due to tickling an immense about of saliva and drool that had fallen down from his mouth. "And the new baby is going to be lucky to have you too, Jamie, are you excited?"

"No!"

"Wrong answer,"

"Yes!"

"That's my boy," 

Ginny stood up and kissed Harry on the lips. She felt reassured in their presence that even though the tentatively named Albus Severus Potter wasn't active within her stomach, he was indeed present within their company. They just didn't see it yet but Ginny felt certain that once they did, everything would be even more perfect than it already felt. She just hoped it lasted because if her past was anything to go by, the most precious things in life were ripped away from her right when she wasn't expecting it.