Bheith Aris by Tagidi Riva
Chapter Notes: The Potterverse belongs to J.K.R but my thoughts belong to me.
When you find out you are going to be a parent, it is both the most amazing and scariest moment in your life. It is life altering and affirming thing that can ever happen to you. Here is to parents both old and new.
To my kids, biological and surrogate, love ya lots.
To Nuw, I promise you, two will be harder than one but it will be twice as worth it. To Maia, thanks for the help yet again and Moony, you are the greatest.
Wearily rising from his bed, the owner of the Bheith Aris made his way to the door. Dawn had not yet broken, but he had been expecting these guests to come early. He opened the door and escorted the lovely couple inside. He furrowed his brow and squinted at the pages flipping magically in front of him. Beckoning to a young boy who sat against the wall, he then turned to the young couple. “Mr. and Mrs. Deadalus Diggle, Ian will show you to your room.”
Both the young man and woman had stayed at the Bheith Aris before; the laidback atmosphere had again drawn them in and they felt completely at home. The young boy opened the door and motioned the couple in. He heard the woman give an audible gasp. She turned to the man and smiled; she looked around the room as if she was trying to take in every last detail. It was clear that this room had recently been modified; from the lavish draperies to the mother of pearl vanity, it was all so spectacular. The man turned and handed the boy some coins. He then glanced towards the door: taking his cue, the young boy backed out of the room, closing the door on his way out.
“I don’t remember the rooms being as nice the last time we were here.” He could still see the look of sheer surprise in her eyes.
“Well, I might have asked for a couple of things. After all, this is a very special weekend,” said the man as he walked up behind the woman and held her close to his chest.
“Harry, just getting time alone and away would have been enough,” said Ginny as she turned her head to rest on his shoulder.
“Yes, it would have, but I wanted to give you more,” said Harry as he kissed her head and took in that essence of blooming flowers that always hung close to her.
“I know I might sound as cheesy as Romilda, but Harry, you are really all I need,” said Ginny as she turned to face him.
“That is such a wonderful thing to say, Ginny. You make a very dutiful wife,” said Harry with a slight tone of mockery.
“And you, Mister Potter, make a very mischievous husband. Now let’s unpack,” said Ginny as she made her way to the bed and pulled out her wand.
The wedding of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley had been on the front page of every wizarding magazine and newspaper. After the fall of Voldemort, Harry had wanted to live a life of normality, but that had to be put on hold for a little while. There were still Death Eaters at large and the Wizarding World needed time to recuperate. Harry, along with many other members of the Order, had spent the months after the final battle rebuilding Hogwarts. He had also assisted in the capture of Bellatrix Lestrange and a small band of Death Eaters who had refused to give up hope of Voldemort’s return. When he finally returned, he wanted nothing more than to be with the woman he loved and live his life unnoticed by anyone. The prying eyes had finally started to die down now that it had been some months since their wedding. They had been living in Hogsmeade up until now. Harry had just finished auror training and would be starting work upon their return home. Ginny was now assisting Professor Flitwick in teaching Charms. She had told Harry that if she had the patience to deal with Fred and George all her life, there was nothing any first years could do that would surprise her. With start of term approaching and Harry’s job waiting, this was really their only time to get away.
“So, what do you have planned for us, love?” Ginny asked as she flicked her wand one last time and the armoire closed.
“First we will have breakfast, and then I have somewhere I am taking you,” said Harry with a grin.
“Is it somewhere I have to change clothes for?” she asked. Harry knew she was fishing for hints.
“You always look beautiful in anything you wear,” Harry said with a smirk.
“Fine, I get it. No hints. You know how I hate not knowing,” said Ginny, moving to Harry’s side and nuzzling his chest. Harry looked her square in the eyes.
“If this is the reaction I get, I might have to do it more often.” He put his hands around her back. “But I am still not telling you.” With that, he led her out of the room, downstairs, and to a table near the fire.
“I remember the last time we sat here,” said Ginny
“Me too,” said Harry.
He took her hand in his and entwined their fingers; they gazed into each others eyes, both deep in some flashback. In mere seconds, years’ worth of feelings and memories rushed through them. So much had happened to bring them to this point. Without even knowing, each was left with an immense feeling of gratitude. They were brought back to reality by the waiter making his way towards their table.
“Mr. and Mrs. Diggle, What can I get for you, this fine morning?” asked the waiter with a bright smile.
“I’ll have an egg in bacon nest,” said Harry as he looked from the waiter to Ginny.
“I’ll have a traditional Irish breakfast,” answered Ginny
“Someone’s hungry today,” he said with a small snicker.
“Well, I have to fill up. Who knows where we are going, and when you are going to feed me again?” she said with a twisted smile. “Harry, I have been meaning to ask you, who is Deadalus Diggle?”
“He is a wizard that I met the first time I was in the Leaky Cauldron. I had also seen him once before I even knew I was a wizard. Anyway, I was trying to think of a name that wouldn’t be noticed; it was the first thing that popped into my head.”
“Well, Mr. Diggle, Are you going to tell me what you have planned?” said Ginny as she tucked in.
“Fine, I will tell you a little, Mrs. Diggle. I figured that if we wanted to stay out of the prying eye of the wizarding press, taking a tour of some of the Muggle attractions might be best. I hope you don’t mind,” explained Harry, a slight note of expectation in his voice.
“I like the idea. Are we just going to wander around? If so, I am really glad I am having such a large breakfast.”
“No, I told you before that I really wanted to make this special. I owled Seamus and had him ask his father what was best to see around Cork. See, I can actually plan something and follow through,”
Ginny laughed heartily at the statement. They both remembered how Harry had fumbled his proposal: He had come to the Burrow to take her out and had the ring in the pocket of his cloak. Ginny had her coat on, but asked if she could borrow his gloves. He was so nervous about the evening going off without a hitch, without even a thought he agreed. The sound of an audible gasp woke him to his mistake. He had turned to see Ginny holding the ring box in her hands. He then dropped to his knee and proposed on the spot. Having meant to ask in front of the entire Weasley family and friends, they had to explain to everyone who was to be meeting them at the restaurant that he had already proposed.
“I never doubted you for a minute,” said Ginny with a sly grin.
After finishing their breakfast, they decided to start out their day in Muggle Cork. They set off to explore the hilly streets on the signpost walking tour. Meandering through the city they shifted between meaningful conversation and companionable silence. When they came to Patrick’s Hill, Ginny protested that her feet would be too tired for the rest of the walk. Harry bounded up the hill and back down while Ginny watched in admiration.
“I could do with a bit of lunch, how about you, love?” asked Harry as he reached the bottom.
“Sounds fantastic, where should we go?” said Ginny as she got up from the last stair and put her arms around Harry’s waist.
“Seamus’ dad said there are lots of places to eat around The English Market; let’s make our way over there.” Harry put his arm around Ginny and they slowly walked towards the Patrick’s Street entrance to The English Market.
Along the way, they discussed everything from the need for new bed linens to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor starting at Hogwarts this year. These were the times that Ginny remembered she had married her best friend; the fact that they could spend hours talking about nothing had always been a source of comfort for her. It made her feel just a bit more special. Harry had many close relationships, but he felt the closest to her and she cherished that. It was amazing how a day alone with your husband could remind you of just how good you had it, she thought. When they finally reached the market, the smell of food wafted through the air like a thick fog.
Harry and Ginny made their way to the first pub they could find. They picked a quiet little alcove in the corner.
“What would you like?” inquired the waitress as she stood by their table.
“I am just going to have a boxty,” said Ginny.
“I’ll have the Irish Stew, thanks,” said Harry.
The waitress made off with just a nod and left the couple to themselves.
“So, where to next? Anything planned?” asked Ginny
“I figured you might want to do a little shopping, so let’s say we go to Merchants Quay. There are some really nice shops up there,” Harry quickly added. “So I hear.”
Ginny gave him the same look Mrs. Weasley would use on Fred and George when she was trying to decide whether or not they were telling the truth.
“As a woman, I would never turn down the opportunity to shop.” Her face softened to a smile.
Harry hoped that he hadn’t blown the only real surprise he had planned. Even though he was sure Ginny had caught his mistake, she had let it slide. Having enlisted Hermione’s help to find a gift, Harry needed just to pick it up. Harry noticed a far off look in Ginny’s eyes; his first thought was that she was trying to figure out what was he was up to. Realizing Harry was staring at her; Ginny looked at him and gave him a sideways smile. It always seemed to make Harry laugh and would stop him from whatever thought he was brooding over.
“Not fair,” said Harry just as their food arrived.
“Oh, love, it is all too fair. If you can look at me with those piercing green eyes, than I am allowed to innocently smile at you,” said Ginny.
“Oh yes, that was just an innocent smile.” Harry laughed and finally started his stew.
After lunch, they very slowly made their way to Merchant Quay. Ginny had decided that she wanted to buy something for her mother; she had only recently begun to realize how amazing of a woman she was. Harry took one look at the window of the Laura Ashley store and knew now would be a perfect time to get away.
“Just looking at the window, I feel a need to find some men and talk about manly things,” said Harry as he puffed up his chest and tried to be macho.
“Off with you then,” Ginny laughed as she shooed him away and entered the store.
When Ginny entered the store she browsed a bit until something caught he eye. It was something Laura Ashley was known for, Mother and Daughter dresses. She eyed them keenly and thought fondly of the Weasley sweaters. She had been thinking about her family a lot lately. The close knit relationship they had with each other was truly something special. She might have had teenage issues with her parents but they were all out of love. Her brothers might be hugely overprotective but that again was out of love. She loved Harry, always had and always would, she dreamed of nothing more than starting a family with him. Unconsciously rubbing her belly, she looked up and glanced around to see if anyone had seen her. She had used their weekend away to spring a surprise on her loving husband. She left Laura Ashley with a couple of items and made her way to a store several buildings down. There she was struck by inspiration as to how she was going to spring her surprise. Having set in her mind how tonight would go, she left the store with a smile on her face.
Harry, meanwhile, didn’t need to go far to get to his intended destination. Hermione had not only helped Harry with the decision of what to get, but also in finding a store that carried it.
Harry had visited the store a week earlier just to make sure it would be perfect. Upon entering the store, the owner waved Harry to the side counter and left his employee to deal with the client.
“Nice to see you again, Mister Potter,” said the short and jovial man
“Mr. McKittrick, thank you so much for all your help.”
“It has been a pleasure, Mr. Potter, and thank you from saving me a chinwag with Mrs. O’Neill. So when are you going to bring your lovely gingernut in here?” asked Mr. Mc Kittrick
“I will try after I give her the gift, but definitely before we leave Cork.” said Harry as he fished his wallet out of his pants.
“Right then, One hundred, forty one euros.” With only a short pause, McKittrick continued, “The inscription is right on the inside, just like you wanted.”
The store owner handed Harry a small box. Harry spent a little while talking with Mr. McKittrick so he could give Ginny time to shop; he also wanted to make sure it looked like he had been roaming around for a while. With their final goodbye, Harry thanked the man again and made his way back towards Ginny with a smile on his face. Wishing he could blame it only on gender, Harry was horrible at picking out gifts. He had always managed to get Ginny something that she liked, but it was usually due to her prodding or Hermione’s help. It wasn’t for lack of love or even knowledge; he might have known what she wanted, but it wasn’t perfect enough. He always wanted to make sure that the gift sent the right message about how he felt about her. This time he knew it did. Just as he rounded the corner, Harry saw Ginny coming out of a store.
“So, anything left to buy in those stores?” asked Harry as he flagged down Ginny
“Plenty. I only bought a couple of things and one is for Mum. I got her this lovely Irish Cosy Wrap and wait until you see what I got Hermione....” Harry laughed at Ginny’s enthusiasm.
“You are on what Aunt Petunia’s shows used to call a shopping high.”
“Well, Husband, are you going to offer to carry these or not?” said Ginny with a smirk.
In a voice clearly practiced he answered “Yes, dear.”
They made their way back to the Bheith Aris and put their stuff back in their room;
Ginny went to freshen up before dinner. Harry had dinner brought up to their room because he had wanted to give her his gift in private. Ginny walked in to see the last flick of a wand as someone exited the room. Harry was already sitting at a table set simply but elegantly. He stood up and pulled out her seat for her.
“What a brilliant surprise, Harry!” she said as she pulled the napkin off the table and put it in her lap.
“I’m glad you like it. I wanted some privacy tonight so I could give you something. I know you caught my little slip earlier so I will start there: I came to Cork last week to get something for you. In Ireland there is a ring called a Claddagh ring. I would bore you with some of the facts that Hermione gave me, but I can’t seem to remember them right now. I can tell you it symbolizes love, loyalty and friendship. You have always given me all of those and I wanted to show my appreciation for that,” Harry explained.
He took the box from in his pocket and gave it to Ginny. Inside the box was a gold ring, with two hands clasping a heart with a crown resting on it. The heart was green onyx (which Ginny thought matched Harry’s eyes perfectly). On the inside of the band, the words “love loyalty and friendship” were inscribed. Harry stood up and walked around the table. He took the ring from the box and put it on her left hand and faced the heart inward.
“When it is on your left hand and the heart is facing inward, it means you are taken,” said Harry, then he lightly kissed her hand.
“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried,” said Ginny as she rose from the table and kissed Harry lightly on the mouth.
“Now, let’s eat so we can go to sleep,” Harry said lazily
“Oh, you really want to sleep tonight?” said Ginny in a voice that denoted that it would be the last thing he would be doing that night.
“Have I mentioned that I love you?” said Harry with a smile.
“I love you too.” Ginny couldn’t have been happier at that moment and she had yet to give Harry his surprise.
She wanted to wait for just the right moment and thought it might actually be coming soon. All during dinner, they reminisced about their lives together; from their first meeting to drunken wedding toasts that rambled on and on, it was all discussed and laughed over. After they were done, the table magically disappeared and Ginny went over to the bags from shopping.
“I wanted to show you what I bought today,” said Ginny as she reached in the bag
“You have my undivided attention.” Harry plopped himself across the bed.
“First, here is Mum’s gift.”
“It’s just lovely,” Harry said with a snicker.
“I think you will like what I got my dad,”
“Oh, I am sure I will love it, dear,” said Harry stifling a laugh
Ginny reached into the bag and pulled out what looked like a tool belt. Harry had seen one on the plumber that had come to fix the Dursley’s sink. Across the front it had printed “Grandpa’s Tool of The Trade”. In one pocket was a diaper, in the other some wipes and ointments. The third pocket had a pair of goggles hanging out of it. Ginny smiled expectantly at Harry.
“That is great, Ginny, but I thought Fred and Angelina’s youngest just got out of diapers.”
Ginny looked towards the ceiling and said, “Are you really that daft?”
“I think I should get kudos for remembering a conversation you had with Angelina three weeks ago,” said Harry looking slightly confused.
“Ok, I see this isn’t going to be easy. Fine, I bought a shirt for myself.” Ginny reached in the bag and pulled out a shirt. It was at tee shirt that was black with white writing on the front. The printed words read “Mummy +Daddy = Me”.
Harry stared for a moment, sat up, and started rambling, “Are you ... Wait, are you sure?”
“Yes, Harry, I am quite sure. I went to Madam Pomfrey when I was at the school last week. I knew I could trust her.”
Harry stood up and put his arms around Ginny. He kept repeating almost inaudibly, “We’re going to have a baby.”
Ginny smiled and said, “Yes, Harry, we are.”
They spent the next half hour discussing plans and Ginny answered as many of Harry’s questions as she could. Knowing she was hiring a newlywed, Headmistress McGonagall had made provisions for such an issue and seen to it that there was a Maternity Clause in the contract. Ginny had also asked Madam Pomfrey to take care of her until she needed to go to St. Mungo’s. Ginny laughed when Harry asked about diaper changing and if there were any spells for that. Ginny told him to expect a tutorial from Mrs. Weasley the moment she heard the good news.
Deciding they were both knackered, they got changed and slipped into bed. Harry automatically put his hand on Ginny’s stomach. Ginny gave soft laugh and said, “You won’t feel anything for a while, love.”
“I know, Ginny. I am just so happy. You know, you and your family are the only family I have ever really known. But for me to be a father is something I have always wanted. Ginny, I am going to have my own family. You and this baby are my family. You don’t know how happy you have made me. Anything and everything right or wrong in my life before now makes it worth it for this,” said Harry as he wiped a tear from Ginny’s eye.
“You’ll make a wonderful father, Harry, and that was truly lovely what you said,” whispered Ginny. A whisper was all she could eek out. The pure happiness she felt sat in a tangible lump at the back of her throat.
“Just remember I said it later when I say something stupid, which we know will happen.”
“Deal,” said Ginny as she nuzzled into Harry’s chest.
Several hours later Harry woke up and glanced at the beautiful face of his wife lying next to him. He knew that it was probably only early morning but he was not tired. His newly awakened mind was racing with a thousand thoughts. Ginny really had answered a lot for him last night but he still had so many questions. Odd thoughts like how his child would look mingled with the worry of the job he was about to undertake. There was only one thing that Harry was sure of; he wanted to be a good father. Not really remembering his own father, he tried to think of what a good father was. As he thought of all the father figures in his life, from Mr. Weasley to Sirius and finally to Dumbledore, he realized that he had a decent picture of what a father should be. A father needed to be a little bit of everything. Harry was never one to be truly introspective but one other thought had been mulling in his brain. He would be responsible for this child. It was obvious that he had always felt protective of Ginny, but deep down he knew she could take care of herself. This child would depend on him to take care of it. He knew Ginny would be a wonderful mother and any worry he had was unfounded, but this was a life changing occurrence. Remembering some of Fred’s comments during Angelina’s last pregnancy, and how they were received, Harry realized that he would have to choose his words wisely. As Ginny turned over and unconsciously searched for his warmth, he moved closer to her and soon dozed off thinking about unruly-haired red-heads with green eyes.
Harry and Ginny barely left the room for the rest of the weekend. They did, however, make it back to see Mr. McKittrick as Harry had promised. As they packed up to leave for home, Harry looked around the room. Ginny smiled as she caught him taking it all in.
“Trying to remember if you left anything?” asked Ginny
“No, I want to remember everything so when I have to tell the story to our little one, I get all the details right,” said Harry with a smile.
“Oh, I am not worried, even if you can’t tell it well, I can. I have learned from a master.”
“Yeah, Fred can tell whoppers like no one can,” laughed Harry.
“You know very well I meant my Mum,” said Ginny.
“You know even if I did leave something here, I wouldn’t care, because I always leave with more than I came with.” Harry looked at Ginny and pulled her into an embrace.
“When did you get so profound?” asked Ginny
“No idea, I think maybe it is just the realization that I have received the two greatest gifts of my life here and I feel like I should acknowledge that,” said Harry
“Wow, tell your husband you’re pregnant and boom, instant maturity,”
“I think you should share this information with Hermione. It would save her so many fights with Ron,” laughed Harry.
“Yeah, let them get through the wedding first, my love.” Ginny looked at Harry and slowly rose to her toes. She slowly kissed his nose and gently brushed his mouth with her lips before pressing down firmly. As she pulled away she whispered, “So who shall we tell first?”
“I say if we value our lives, we go with your mum.”
“Agreed, we will go to the Burrow. Thank you so much for this weekend, Harry. I don’t think I could have wanted or needed anything more,” said Ginny.
“No thanks needed,” said Harry as he opened the door and they made there way to the stairs.
Having settled up earlier, they waved goodbye to the owner. With a knowing smile he said, “Come back any time, Mr. and Mrs. Diggle.”
As they made their way out the door the last thing heard was, “Do you think three is too early to teach them to play Quidditch?” followed by uproarious female laughter.