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Severus groaned as he woke up. He was always mildly grumpy upon waking, but he quickly realized that Remus wasn’t beside and that made him a little grumpier as he liked to wake up in the arms of Remus. It took him a few minutes before he realized that he could smell a full English breakfast cooking. Severus quickly got out of bed and changed into proper clothes. As he walked down the corridor, he stopped to pop his head into a bedroom door.
This room was their future baby’s nursery.
Severus and Remus had been trying for four years to have a baby using a surrogate and their surrogate was finally a few weeks away from having their baby. Severus had a chill down his back when he thought about the scan in a few days when he would see his child.
Severus, even eight years ago, would never have believed that he would get this excited over a baby.
After the war, a muggleborn who had studied psychology and had started up a clinic in the wizarding world, became an instant success as everybody needed it after the war. The counselor had personally helped Severus work through everything from his childhood trauma to the trauma of being a death eater.
One day, Severus decided to confront Remus about his feelings over everything and they both started being friends. Of course, eventually they had both begun to develop romantic feelings for each other, but to protect their friendship they kept quiet.
Not long after, the two of them were going to the seaside for the weekend and booked a single room with two beds. It had been a shock when they arrived at their rooms and it was a room with a single queen bed. With the resort full for the weekend, they had decided to share the bed. Because of their mutual feelings for each other, it didn’t take long before they confessed their feelings and snogged one another as the thought of sharing the bed without sharing their feelings was too hard to handle.
And now here they were, about to have a child together.
Severus closed the door and went down the stairs. He wrapped his arm around Remus’ waist and kissed his lips.
“Hi, how are you?” Severus asked Remus.
“Excellent,” Remus said.
“You were not in bed when I woke up.”
“The floo was going off and I got up to take the call. Then I thought I would start on breakfast since Harry and his family are coming in two hours and we want to have had breakfast and give each other presents by then.”
“What was the call about?”
Remus gave Severus a blindingly happy smile. “Samantha has gone into labor and Daniel will let us know when she is about to give birth.”
Samantha was their surrogate, and they had agreed in the surrogacy order that Samantha could have privacy for most of the birth and they would go to see the child born. Severus felt himself get a little bit more excited for the day. It very well could be the day their child was born!
Severus helped Remus with breakfast and they sat down for a nice Christmas day breakfast, afterwards they sat down together to share presents.
Severus was nervous as his present was a big one. Remus went first and gave him a rare potions book found at a second hand store, a book Severus had been looking for about potions used in child rearing.
Severus then took a steadying breath and got on the floor and knelt on one knee.
“Will you marry me?” Severus asked Remus, simple but heartfelt.
“Yes!” Remus cried to Severus as the ring was put on his finger and Severus allowed Remus to place the matching ring that had been in his pocket on his finger.
They then kissed as they pulled back Severus saw a big grin on Remus’ face.
Severus felt giddy with excitement and joy when they went into the kitchen to make lunch. Christmas lunch was always small as they would typically go to the Weasleys for dinner and so it was always some quiche and salad.
Ginny and Harry would bring the desert. This year though, Severus and Remus would not be going to the Weasleys for dinner as they were now on baby watch.
They started to make the two quiches, any extra would be for dinner tonight. When that was in the oven, they then made the salad that would go with quiches. Just then they heard the floo go off and Harry briskly walked ou, holding a two year old James. Every time Severus saw James, he looked more and more like Ginny with red hair and freckles spotted on his face.
Severus was surprised as always when James came straight up to him and jumped for a hug. It had taken a lot of counseling for him to realize that a child should not be blamed for the father’s misdeeds and just because they look like their father does not mean they are like their father. Which, as he considered it, he would not want his child blamed for the things that he did as a death eater.
Ginny came through the fire next, her stomach was bulging as she was due in less than two months with another baby boy. Severus went over and hugged her. There was a round of Merry Christmas as they went to sit in the lounge room to share presents while the quiche was baking.
“YOUR ENGAGED!?” shouted Ginny when she was the first to notice the matching rings on Severus and Remus’ fingers.
“Yes, this morning,” Severus replied calmly.
“Congratulations,” Harry said with a wide smile.
They all sat on the sofas as they gave out presents. Severus and Remus had given James a little levitating ball set to use with his baby broom; it was meant to assist with coordination on the broom. They had found Ginny a biography by a famous woman quidditch player and had gotten Harry a complete guide to defensive spells. Severus and Remus thanked the Potter’s for the gifts they got them and soon enough the quiches were cooked and they were sitting outside under a warming charm, eating their lunch.
“Hey, Ginny, can you send our best wishes to your mum and dad. We aren’t going to make it to Christmas dinner tonight,” Remus said to Ginny.
“Oh, no, really? Why?” Ginny asked.
“Because our surrogate went into labor and so we have to wait for news as the baby might be born today,” Remus explained.
Both Harry and Ginny were truly excited about that news, they both had broad smiles on their faces.
“How is the new job going, Ginny?” Severus asked Ginny, too excited and nervous to discuss his child much.
Ginny had recently started working as a quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet. She had originally gone back as a starter on the Holyhead Harpies, after James was born, but now that she is pregnant with her second child, she had decided that it would be much more difficult to play quidditch professionally. With two children, she thought it would be easier on them all to take a different job, though still within the sport that she loved.
“Great,” Ginny said happily. “I only have to go into the office one day a week, so James goes to mums that day. And if I need to type on the other days, I work while James is having a nap. The other day I took James and Harry with me to a game that I was reporting on and James had a ball, he demanded Harry take him on his broom the next morning and wouldn’t come in until lunch.”
Severus and Remus laughed when James began babbling about flying in his toddler-language.
After lunch, Harry brought out the pavlova they had brought for lunch. The pavlova was covered in cream strawberries, kiwi fruit and blueberries. They all enjoyed the pavlova, especially James, who was a sticky mess afterward.
Eventually, Harry, Ginny and James had to leave at two o’clock so that James could have a nap. Soon Remus and Severus found themselves cuddled on the couch watching Love Actually, as had become their yearly tradition. Just as the credits were showing, the floo went off once more and Daniel’s head appeared.
“She is almost ready to give birth, time for you guys to come!” he cried.
The two men quickly grabbed the bag which contained things for the baby; a floo-safe baby carrier, nappies, and clothes were just some of the many things they had purchased for their child. They then went to the labor and delivery ward through the floo, the only floor connected to the floo network.
***
An hour later, Severus and Remus were seated on a bed in the baby’s room holding their newborn son, John. Severus stared at the infant’s face, drinking in every perfect detail, in awe that their baby was truly there. “I cannot believe that you here, son,” Severus whispered tenderly. “You are so lovely and beloved, John. We have a bassinet in our room ready for you,” Severus told him. Severus just stared at his son with tears in his eyes and couldn’t wait to start the next chapter of his life with his beautiful fiancé and gorgeous son. The End