Harry Potter and the Little Pink Plus Sign

Summary – Ginny showed Harry the Muggle pregnancy test with a sigh. They hadn't been trying. And she was nervous on his reaction. Was this much too soon after the War? His face broke into a smile.

Authors Note – I think… Only two more chapters…

Dedication: I am dedicating this chapter to Lilipad3, because she commented on my obvious skillzz ;)

Chapter 18: Growing So Fast

You can learn many things from children like, for example, how much patience you have.
Franklin P. Jones

Your Baby: Month 11 Week 1 June 4, 2002
Patty Cake and Peek a Boo will help polish your baby's memory. His brain is developing rapidly and he is beginning to understand words and is speaking word-like sounds. Continue developing his language skills with conversation!

Milestone of the week: Look for your baby to stand alone for a few seconds!
Your Life: Functioning on No Sleep: Change your alarm to an extra loud or annoying setting. Move it across the room so you have to get up to turn it off. Sip coffee all morning for an extra jolt. Catch a 15 minute nap during break.

[ tip ] Switch to decaf after lunchtime! Too much caffeine will over stimulate and lead to sleeping problems

Ginny shifted uncomfortably. The grass in the front yard was scratchy in the hot June day. Ginny sat under the shady oak tree while reading a novel. In front of her on a blanket sat her baby, James, who was busy with a spread of toys in front of him.

As the afternoon lazily passed, James grew bored with the toys, all of which had been thoroughly drooled on. James scooted himself to the edge of the blanket and grabbed a fistful of grass.

"James…" Ginny warned.

The child turned towards the sound of his name and grinned a toothy smile. James's lower incisors had come in a few months ago, his upper incisors came in a few weeks ago and he was cutting in two new lower teeth currently: Which meant he liked to put things in his mouth…

James lifted the fistful of grass tauntingly. "Grass is not for eating…." Ginny scrambled out of her sitting position and pried James's fist open. And, of course, he burst into angry tears.

"James, grass is disgusting anyway. You wouldn't have liked it." Ginny sighed, replacing the grass with a teething ring.

"Dirigible Plum juice can enhance the flavor of almost anything. I can give you some." A lofty voice replied. Luna sat beside the blanket and smiled. "Hello Ginny. Hello James."

"Hello Luna…" Ginny sighed, eyeing her novel with longing. "Um, no thank you about the dirigible plum juice…"

"Little James is not so little anymore." Luna commented. James, still pouting, threw the teething ring at Ginny – which was deflected by an unspoken spell. "And what an arm he has."

"Yes I know. He loves to throw things." Ginny smiled.

"It's been so long since his birth."

Ginny's smile began to fade. Almost a whole year! And while she was happy, she was sad as well. The year had gone by much too fast. Soon he would be two… then four… then 11 and she'll be sending him off to Hogwarts! Ginny's heart thudded at the fear of being separated from her child. Her son was surely much too fragile to be alone. Perhaps they would allow her to stay for the school year?

"Ginny? Hello?" Luna waved her hand around in Ginny's face, snapping her out of her worries.

"Yes, sorry, I spaced out." Ginny blinked.

"You seem to be surrounded by wrackspurts. I can help that!" Luna began to dig through her pockets.

"No, no… Luna… I'm fine, really!" Ginny assured. Ginny sighed and looked at her book again. "How are you, Luna?"

"Oh that reminds me! I'm getting married in August!" Luna exclaimed.

"Married?" Ginny was shocked. She loved Luna dearly, but never expected her to settle down. "To who?"

"Oh, that Rolf Scamander. I met him in the Mountains of Bulgaria. It was a fun night." Luna sighed happily.

"Oh wow! I'm so happy for you!" Ginny smiled.

Luna handed her a thin sheet of paper with directions in swirly handwriting. "I hope you can come." She stood and brushed off her skirt.

"Harry and I will be sure to come."

Luna glanced at the clear sky. "I should get going home. It's going to rain." Ginny looked up… not a cloud in sight.

"Um, okay, I'll talk to you later." Ginny smiled and picked up her novel. Less than a half an hour later, a big fat rain drop splotched onto her page.

James stood with one hand on the coffee table. He let go and wobbled for a few seconds before placing his hand back on the table.

"He'll be walking soon." Ginny sighed while hugging her knees to her chest.

"That day will be the death of us." Harry laughed.

"I wish I could go back to when he was so little and innocent." Ginny pouted. "Just to hold him. He used to be so snuggly and now he's all squirmy."

"He's growing up." Harry sighed.

"Soon he won't need us!" Ginny frowned.

"He'll always need us. Always." Harry sighed. He could think of five instances in the last month when he wished his parents were alive simply to offer advice.

"Mama!" James shouted.

"Yes baby?" Ginny climbed off the couch and sat down by James. He plopped his little butt on the floor and held up his hands. "Patty cake?"

James squealed. And they played Patty Cake and Peek a Boo and they practiced their walking and crawling. They made animal noises and took silly pictures. And Ginny couldn't help but pray that these moments never end.

Your Baby: Month 11 Week 3 June 19, 2002
Introduce your baby to "please", "Thank you" and helping out. He won't be able to understand exactly what clean up time is yet, but he will be thrilled to help pick up. To him, Life is just a game!

Milestone of the week: Look for your baby to say another word beside "mama" and "Dada"
Your Life: Thumb-Suckers: If your baby is a big thumb sucker, you shouldn't fret. Thumb-sucking is a built in soothing mechanism. You shouldn't worry about dental damage until age 4 or 5, when permanent teeth appear.

[ tip ] Never leave your child unattended with a container of water. Babies can drown in less than an inch of water.

Another hot day. Chalk littered the cement of the Potter's drive way. Fleur sat fanning herself. Victoire kicked the ball across the yard and Teddy caught it. "You're out Vicky! The rules say so!"

Ginny sat near James keeping a close eye on the child. James was intently amused by the newest game Ginny taught him: Water painting. He dipped a paint brush into a pail of water and giggled as the liquid 'changed' the cement a darker color.

Fred was 14 months now and was on the move. Dominique was 8 months and was just beginning to crawl and scoot around. It may be hot and stuffy out, but this household was busy.

Fred was talking a bit and, as usual, loved to get into trouble.

Angelina was babbling in Ginny's ear. "… George had stubbed his toe and swore. The first thing Fred did was imitate him and swore as well. I'm afraid to take him in public now. I can just see him swearing and I'll be glared at for being a 'bad parent'"

"James hasn't been talking much. I'm worried." Ginny sighed.

"Hmm. Have you held conversations with him?"

"Of course." Ginny picked up some pink chalk and doodled a heart. "He babbles to me all day and I always respond."

"Babies develop differently. He'll speak eventually." Angelina sighed. "Fred throws a temper tantrum about every little thing! He is pushing my every last buttons."

"It's so hot out. I'm exhausted." Ginny sighed.

Yes. This is what mothers do. They sit around and worry and complain about their children and lives and husbands. It's really quite fun.

"Angelina… What did you do when Fred turned one?" Ginny bit her thumbnail. She didn't know what this bothered her so much, but she feared leaving her child so much!

"I baked a cake, bought a gift and showered him with kisses." Angelina smiled. "Why?"

"I'm scared… I don't want to let him grow up." Ginny sighed. "I used to be so excited to watch him grow and develop, but now I am so scared!"

"Gin… He's turning one, not 18. He still falls on his ass after taking a few wobbly steps. He's not going anywhere."

"I know." Ginny sighed. "Time just moved too fast."

"Oh believe me, when that child starts walking, getting into stuff, eating like a pig, peeing on the seat… time won't move quickly enough!" Angelina laughed.

"I'm the only Weasley girl… Believe me, I'm used to it." Ginny smiled.

Angelina laughed. "At least we have magic."

Ginny watched James as he splashed the water and attempted to eat green chalk. She smiled to herself and took the chalk away before his mouth turned colors. Angelina and Harry were both right… James will always need her… and he wasn't going anywhere.

I feel bad. It has been months since my last update! And this is a short-ish chapter. :( I apologize fully. Especially to icarlyFTW77 who is my biggest fan! Lol