believing (until the end)

Neville and Hannah were almost the last two to visit Albus. It had dragged on until the evening, as Ginny needed time to rest between the visitors, and as the effect of the painkillers waned over time, it didn't make things any easier for her either.

Teddy and Andromeda had come after the Weasleys. Harry's godson was looking forward to the baby. He was almost eight years old, and he could understand what having a godsibling means better, and the concern that had sometimes arisen while Ginny was pregnant with James, that Harry and Ginny might not love him anymore, was not there this time. He was totally fascinated by Albus and had looked at him for minutes without saying anything.

After that, it was Neville and Hannah's turn to meet the newest Potter.

"We wanted to ask you something else, Nev," Ginny said, as she watched her best friend holding her son from the bed. "We wanted to ask if you want to be Albus' godfather?"

Neville looked up and stared at Ginny. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Harry replied with a smile.

"Of course you do, don't you, Neville?" Hannah said laughing.

"Of course!" he replied immediately. “I really didn’t expect it."

Ginny laughed. “Why not? You're my best friend, Nev."

"Wow, that's- I really don't kown what to say!"

Harry patted him on the shoulder with one hand. “You just can’t favor Al later when he’s in Hogwarts."

"Merlin Harry, let him grow out of his diapers before you mention him in connection with Hogwarts," Neville laughed.

~

The next morning began for Ginny with probably the worst pain she had ever experienced, but that was not all. In addition, she lay as upright as possible in bed and was instructed by the healer Wilson to try to get up.

“First of all, we try to have you sit on the edge of the bed. Once you've done that, further instructions follow. The important thing is that you are aware that it will hurt, and that is part of it. But if the pain is so unbearable that you feel like you're going unconscious, please let us know and we'll stop this right away."

Ginny rolled up, as Wilson had told her, to her left side and drew in the air sharply. The scar on her lower abdomen burned and her hip hurt from the movement. Her thigh muscles also protested – she felt as if she had been hit by a bludger. But she clenched her teeth and slowly tried to sit. She was a professional Quidditch player and had fought in a war, damn it, she wouldn't let the complications of childbirth hit her now.

"Very good!" healer Wilson praised her. “Come on, just a little more. Perfect!"

She sat on the edge of the bed, clawing her fingers into the mattress as she took a deep breath through her nose. A hand rested on her right upper arm and she opened her eyes and discovered Harry smiling encouragingly at her.

“Now try to get up. Hold on to Miss Gilbert and your husband and put your feet on the floor and then slowly push yourself up."

To her left, the midwitch, Annie Gilbert, smiled at her and held out her arm. To her right, Harry did the same.

“I’m here, Gin. You can do it," her husband assured her in a low voice.

Ginny nodded and reached for the arms that were held against her. She slipped slightly forward and stepped up with her feet on the ground. She was slightly dizzy and slowly became nauseated. Her body kept protesting – she would much rather have gone to bed and never got up again. Instead, she slowly pushed herself up.

“Ahhh!” The first sound quietly left her throat and tears burned in her eyes. She clung tighter to Miss Gilbert and Harry and tried to push herself up further.

Finally, she stood with wobbly knees. But she could not stand it for long, and she gave in to the pain and let herself fall back on the bed. Tears ran down her cheeks as Harry and Gilbert helped her to lie down again.

“You did beautifully!” the elderly nurse assured her, smiling broadly at her.

“That’s right. We may try again later today, depending on how you feel. If not, tomorrow is another day." With one last smile in their direction, Wilson and Gilbert left the room.

Harry, meanwhile, did not hesitate for long and lay down next to Ginny in bed, gently pulling her towards him. As soon as her head lay on his chest, her mute tears turned into sobs.

"I-it hurts so m-much!" she cried, clawing at her husband. “I-I wanted to be strong, but I can’t do that!”

Harry looked at her helplessly. He would have loved to have taken away her pain. It was one thing to see her suffer so much during giving birth, but that was later rewarded with a healthy baby - at least for James. Albus was healthy as well, but now Ginny was struggling with a completely different kind of pain.

“Hey love, you’re strong! You are so incredibly strong and brave and wonderful! I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now and I would do anything to take your pain. But you're so incredibly brave and you're doing so well," he encouraged her, running a hand through her hair.

“I want s-simply that t-this is all over!”

Harry sighed. “Me too, Gin. Me too."

“Is this the punishment for playing Quidditch for so long? Because I played in the World Cup until a few weeks ago? Can I really just be a mum or successful in my Quidditch career?"

Harry's heart broke again, if possible. "No, Gin! I forbid you to waste even a thought on it!" he answered, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of his hand. “Remember how you used to forbid me to think I deserved everything that happened to me until I was 17? Just like you can't blame yourself for what's happening to you. You heard the healers, it had nothing to do with you playing Quidditch while you were pregnant. It might as well have happened if you'd just been lying around. You're a brilliant Quidditch player and the best mother I could wish for my kids. You've shown so many girls and women that women can be successful in their careers and wonderful mothers at the same time. You handled James so perfectly, and so will you with Al."

Ginny looked at him with puffy eyes.

“First of all, the most important thing is for you to fully recover, to be able to walk again. And then, with Josh's help, you can start training again and then get back to quidditch. You just have to give it time," he continued. “And that was a small step forward today."

“Who knows if I can return to Quidditch at all. What if it takes so long for my spot to be filled by someone else then?" Ginny asked sneezing.

Harry snorted. “Gwenog is not crazy. And it's almost eight months until the season starts again." He pressed his nose lovingly against hers. "Listen to me, Gin. Let's focus on the here and now. I am there for you, and no matter how slow things go, and no matter what the future looks like, I will always be with you and support you."

Ginny smiled timidly at her husband with tearful eyes. How did she deserve that man?

~

"Hey!"

"Hey Luna!" Harry got up from Ginny's bed when he saw his wife's best friend. He walked up to her and hugged her.

"Ginny's asleep?" she asked, pointing to the bed.

Harry nodded. “She just fell asleep."

"I'm sorry I didn't make it until now, but I had to wait for the portkey," said Luna, walking towards the bed.

“Thank you for being here. I'm sure Ginny will be happy when she wakes up. She could use some distraction."

Shortly after Ginny woke up for the first time, Harry thought she needed a distraction and contacted Luna. If anyone could cheer his wife up and change her mind, it was one of her best friends. It had taken a while for everything to be sorted out and Luna could come back to England as she was away again for a few days, but in the end it worked out and Harry was more than happy about it.

Luna nodded approvingly and smiled at Harry with her typical dreamy smile. “Now go Harry, James will be glad to see you."

~

"Harry, I'm glad you made it," cried Molly as her son-in-law stepped out of the chimney of the Burrow.

It was Sunday, which meant that the whole family – except Ginny – were gathered there.

Harry could just hug Molly for a few seconds when he heard a very familiar "Daddy!" and James ran up to him.

He squatted and held his arms open for his son. As soon as James got to him, he wrapped his arms around him. Harry raised James on his arm and followed Molly into the kitchen, where he was flooded with questions about Ginny from his family.

Molly, who was just as anxious to know how her daughter was doing, did not take part in the questioning, but told Harry to sit down and set him a plate of syrup cake. With a wave of her wand, she conjured up a bottle of milk for James and handed it to Harry.

Meanwhile, everyone was talking to Harry, who didn't know where to start. He concentrated first on giving James his bottle so he could drink before trying to filter out his family's questions.

"Now, everybody, be quiet!" said Molly in a loud voice, whereupon everyone looked at her. “Let poor Harry eat first."

"It's all right, Molly," he assured his mother-in-law. He sighed. “I would be lying if I said Ginny was fine. She's really not feeling well, but we've been expecting that."

"Has she tried to get up yet?" asked Hermione, who had Rose on her lap.

Harry nodded. “She sat upright on the edge of the bed and got up with the help of me and a nurse, but she could only stand for a few seconds because the pain was so severe. Maybe we'll try again tonight."

"Luna's with her right now, isn't she?" asked George.

"Yes, she's with Ginny while I'm here. Ginny was asleep when I left."

Harry spent a few more hours in the presence of his son and his family. It was hard for James to let his father go again, which broke Harry's heart, but he promised him that he would come back the next day and take him to the hospital so he could see his mummy.

"Are you sure, Harry, that James can come to the hospital tomorrow?" Molly asked her son-in-law as Arthur put James up to bed. With a move of her wand, she wrapped Harry's food for Ginny.

“Yes, this is the best thing for everyone. Ginny misses James and it will do her good to spend time with him. The same goes for him. Besides, I think James is a good distraction for her at the moment and she needs it," he replied.

Molly smiled. "When did you grown up so fast, Harry? Seems to me like it was yesterday that you and Ron got into trouble again and again."

"Two kids contributed to maturing a bit," said Harry laughing. “One day I was just a normal twenty-three-year-old and the next day I was a father."

"You're a fine young man, Harry!"