Author's Note: Enjoy some fluff, because we all absolutely need it!
Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.
Hogwarts: Assignment 8, Muggle Studies, Task #1. Sunnydale High School - Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Write about someone failing to keep a secret
Warnings: NA
Stacked with: Hogwarts; Shipping Wars; Shadows of Consequences; Cluster of Rainbows; Solemn Husbandry of Exultation
Individual Challenge(s): Black Ribbon; Black Ribbon Redux; Small Fry; Gryffindor MC (x2); Seeds; Baby Mine; Times to Come; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Secrets); Themes & Things B (Joy); Tiny Terror; True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; Real Family; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux
Representation(s): Harry, Ginny and Teddy family bonding
Bonus Challenge(s): Second Verse (Lovely Coconuts); Chorus (Mouth of Babes)
Tertiary Bonus Challenge(s): Onus, Terse
Word Count: 924
Shipping Wars
Ship (Team): Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley (Golden Lion)
List (Prompt): Fall Medium 2 (Accidental confession)
Never Trust Five-Year-Olds
"Fleur touched her belly like that when she had Dominique in there," a small little voice chimed in.
A small little voice that Ginny was not quite interested in hearing when she was sitting on the bathroom floor, leaning her forehead against the toilet's cool porcelain. She cracked her eyes open and there was Teddy, looking at her with that furrow between his eyes that she could swear he'd picked up from Harry.
"Hey, Ted," she said. Her voice sounded croaky and broken and absolutely disgusting. Props to Teddy for not running away screaming. "You should be finishing breakfast, little guy."
"I was worried about you," Teddy said.
"You're very sweet," Ginny said with a smile that clashed intensely with her stomach—which may as well have been sailing the high seas. "But don't worry about me, I'm a-okay. Where's Harry?"
"He's putting the garbage outside," Teddy said. He took a sip from the juicebox he'd brought along with him. "Should I go get him?"
"No, no," Ginny said. "You probably shouldn't tell him I'm sick either, okay?"
"One time I didn't tell Grandma that I was sick because I wanted to play with Victoire but then I gave everybody chicken pox and she said that that was a bad idea," Teddy said solemnly.
"That was a bad idea," Ginny said. Thank Merlin you could only get chickenpox once—what a chaotic week in Weasley clan history that had been. "But this isn't like chickenpox it's… it's like with Aunt Fleur, it's not contagious."
"So you're making a baby too?" Teddy asked again.
"I…" Ginny looked for something to say.
She'd really messed that one up, hadn't she?
She was sure she'd out herself to Neville or Hermione, or that Luna would somehow magically know, or maybe even Mum or Fleur who always seemed to know everything in the world. Perhaps Harry would even get on her case before she had officially hatched the perfect way of telling him—that might be expected, they did live together and the baby was making himself known every morning...
Go figure the five-year-old would be the first one to know.
"Yes," Ginny said, because what else was there to say? Kid was right. Damn those smart Lupin genes.
Teddy dropped his juice box. His jaw followed, exposing the gap where he'd been losing teeth smack in the middle of his mouth.
"You're making a baby too!" he gasped.
"Shh," she said, holding out her hands so that he came closer. "Shh, shh, shh… I am, Teddy, but it's a bit of a secret, okay?"
"But you're gonna be huge, everyone's gonna know!" Teddy said oh-so-helpfully.
"Right, you're right," Ginny said. "But… but for now it's a secret, alright? Only you and me can know because we have to find a special way to tell Harry. Do you want in on this, Ted? Do you want to help me tell him?"
That wasn't a bad idea, actually. Harry loved Teddy to the ends of the Earth—of course he did. Knowing how much he loved Teddy and how good of a father he was being and would continue to be was the one thing that had kept all of this from making Ginny dizzy. Maybe bringing Teddy into this and having him help her surprise Harry could be cute. Maybe they could give Teddy a 'World's Best Big Brother' t-shirt, that would be sweet…
"Yeah!" Teddy said. "Yeah, I want to help!"
"Okay, good," Ginny said. "Very good, very good. So you won't tell Harry what I told you until we're ready to make a big announcement, right Teddy? It's going to be a big surprise because we're keeping this a secret, yes?"
"Yeah," Teddy said. "The most secret secret."
"Yeah," Ginny agreed. She held up her hand and offered the little boy her pinky finger. "Promise?"
He hooked his tiny finger around hers.
"Yeah!" he agreed gleefully.
"Teddy," Harry's voice called from the kitchen. "Teddy, how's breakfast coming along?"
Then Harry appeared in the bathroom door behind his grandson, half dressed for work in slacks and a misbuttoned shirt. The special Auror's belt with a wand holster and his badge hung around his hips.
"Gin, everything okay?" he asked, frowning.
"Yeah," she said. "Fine, just…"
"Don't worry Harry, she's not sick, just making a baby and it's not contagious, but it's gonna be a really big surprise," Teddy said, looking up to inform his godfather.
Ginny had no reason to be surprised. Truly.
Harry did, however. His eyes popped and his hand hovered just above Teddy's shoulder, which he'd been reaching out to touch.
He looked at Ginny as if waiting for her to laugh off the cute antics of their favourite little blue-haired ankle-bitter or say something about food poisoning.
She did not.
"That… that is a really big surprise," Harry said. He patted Teddy's back before slipping past him to sit by Ginny on the bathroom floor. She sat up, leaving the cool porcelain's relief only for Harry's hands to cup her cheek.
"Really?" he asked her, the furrow between his eyes reappearing.
"You probably don't want to kiss me until I brush my teeth," Ginny said. But she smiled.
Harry's jaw dropped and then he laughed, pulling her into his arms. Ginny held on tight for a second before looking back at Teddy, who was still curiously observing the scene before him.
"You did a great job with the announcement, Ted," she said. She extended an arm. "Come here…"
Teddy joined their hug and Harry laughed some more.