Title: Their Child
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Edited: September 7th, 2010.

The celebration was over now, and the initial shock had long since faded away. Harry finally found realization sinking in- he would be a father soon, his wife was pregnant. He found himself imagining the sounds of children racing around the Potter Manor, smiling up at him, having two caring and loving parents doting on them…

They weren't sure of the gender yet because Ginny, taken by Hermione's talks of how some muggles waited till the child was born to know the gender, wasn't even sure if she wanted to know before the birth. Soon the talks of colours for the baby's room had been forgotten for a more important subject- the baby's name.

'A name…'

Harry found himself smiling bitterly. He wanted to give his child a thousand names to commemorate all those who had died valiantly in the war, for all of those who had inspired him… to all his friends he fought with and for… and the family he never really got to know. He wanted to give his child a name that was powerful, that once belonged to the brave, the brilliant and the believers… and at the same time he wanted to give his child a name that could be forged and created by his child, not figments of another time.

He found himself remembering the war and those who sacrificed everything to save their young- his own parents included. He promised himself to do the same, should the time ever come, to stand in front of his wife and his child and shield them away from the cold and uncaring world that lay in ruins around them. For a moment he found himself thinking of a prayer, a quiet plea- to whatever higher power might exist- to protect his child in the event he could not. To stop dark lords from creeping up behind them in the shadows, to vanquish dark spirits, and to obliterate lunatics who sought to harm them.

'I don't want my child to grow up in a war…' Harry thought desperately, 'I've done so much to stop Voldemort and his death eaters, just please let this peace hold…'

He wondered if Ron ever paced his bedroom much like he was doing now when Hermione announced she was pregnant, or if his father even had- each wishing for their children to have the best life, to be sheltered from all the problems that had affected their own lives.

The world had quickly become a dark place, or perhaps it always had been. Harry only wished that he could stop his child from seeing all the terrors in the world that he had seen in his short years. He was only supposed to have just become an adult, but he felt as old as Albus right now. His youth, which he had spent trying to save everyone, was quickly replaced with the bitterness and nostalgia of adulthood.

"Harry!" He heard his wife, Ginny, call from downstairs. "We've got dinner with my parents soon, remember? Mum wants to help me pick out some things for the nursery!"

"Coming, Gin!" He answered.

He was smiling now, his thoughts filled with visions of him, Gin and their child. He wouldn't be the only one looking out for this child he remembered. Nor would Ron be the only one looking out for his and Hermione's child. He remembered the Courage of Gryffindor, the Brilliance of Ravenclaw, the Loyalty of Hufflepuff, and the Ambition of Slytherin. There was good in this world, a good he had once fought for, and a good he would try his best to surround his own child with.

'We'll stop you from falling down,' Harry thought finally. 'And we'll protect you from as much as we can. I'm a part of a family now, one that cares, and you will be too once you're born… You'll never have to be afraid… because we'll be there for you.'

Harry headed out with his wife that night; they were joined by Molly and Arthur at a lovely muggle restaurant (the former of whom was delighted by all the strange contraptions). Not surprisingly, the subject of names came up quickly.

"I was thinking Jack for a boy, and Jill for a girl." Harry said simply, not expecting the three purebloods to get the muggle storybook reference.

The three redheads were confused, thinking for sure Harry would suggest Lily or James, or the name of one of the many other fallen.

But Harry smiled and added, "I think our child should start off without the expectations of their namesake."

Sometime later Ginny had twins, a boy and a girl, Jack and Jill. They grew up in peaceful times and were always embarrassed by their father's overbearing paranoia for their wellbeing, but they were safe, and in Harry's mind that was all that truly mattered.

And so, Jack and Jill snuck on a broom-
to catch a snitch or two.
Jack fell off, and Jill soon after,
but Harry caught them both,
to which there was much laughter.**

The End

Notes: I'm aware that while Ginny and Harry did have three children, they were not named Jack or Jill, but I felt that it fit much better with my story :D.

**The poem at the end was inspired by John Newbery's: Mother Goose's Melody (approximately published in 1760).

Also, I did use 'their child' throughout the story because at that point they were unaware that they would have twins.

This is a bit off from what I normally write, as I prefer to stick with either tragedy or humour, so feedback is much appreciated. I was listening to 'Elephants' by Racheal Yamagata on repeat while writing this so if you notice that this isn't written with a very light atmosphere to it you know why :).