Weekly Drabble Challenge - A Thousand Words: Fatherhood

[mugglemathdork]

A picture is worth a thousand words ~ Proverb

You've probably heard the proverb above a million times.
Your prompt this week is the picture below and write a drabble about it. I know the challenge is called a thousand words, but remember drabbles are no more than 500 words. Period.

Picture: Fatherhood

The following form must be used when submitting your drabble responses to this post -

Name:
House:
Title:
Warnings:
Words:

Winners will be awarded 15, 10, and 5 points respectively.

All drabbles must be less than 500 words; All standard grammar rules, and MNFF submissions guidelines apply.

The challenge will be up for a week, and be closed exactly a week later (November 22nd - Yes, I know it's Thanksgiving for the Americans).

MithrilQuill and I will be judging them and posting results a couple of days later.

All questions should be referred to the Question Corner - Do not post questions here. Only drabbles!

Other than that...have fun!

~Gato Loco & Mith~

[hermybabay82]

Name: hermybabay82
House: Gryffindor
Title: Father and Son
Warnings: small descriptions of child birth
Words: 414


"James, dear, I think it's time," Lily said nervously, "you might want to send a message to Dorcas!"

James tried to put on an air of control as he sent his Patronus to Dorcas Meadows, Lily's midwife, but in truth, he was just as anxious and nervous as his wife. When Dorcas had arrived, mere minutes later, James accosted her for taking so long before quickly taking her to the bedroom.

The day moved fairly slowly from that point on with James pacing around like a madman when he wasn't checking in on Lily every five minutes. Luckily, for everyone's sake, Sirius had arrived about an hour after Dorcas and was able to somewhat calm the anxious father-to-be. Finally, when the wait was nearing it's twelfth hour, Dorcas called for him. Lily was in hard labor and the birth was very close.

After a lot of screaming, crying, and cursing-mainly at James-Dorcas cut the umbilical cord, tying it off, and wrapped up a small something in a warm, fluffy towel as she worked to clear the child's airways. A few minutes later an infants cry was heard throughout the residence as the newborn took it's first breaths of air.

"It's a boy! You've got yourselves a fine, healthy lad," Dorcas exclaimed excitedly.

James very nearly fainted from joy at this announcement as Lily cried and held their son for the first time. After reluctantly letting Dorcas take him to be cleaned James finally got his turn. Looking down into the delicate bundle of blue blankets he was in awe at the wonderment of what he and Lily had created and as the small hand of his first born son closed around his index finger, a tear came to his eye and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Looking down at the tiny bundle he saw his own features there, the shock of dark hair that was so prevelent in the Potter family and the nose that he, himself, had inherited from his mother. He also saw his wife's features as well, the green eyes that he loved so much being the most noticeable trait. It seemed so hard to believe that he had helped bring this perfect little joy into being, he had helped give him life. All at once, everything in the world seemed right to James and nothing else mattered more to him than that first moment with his son.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," he said in a dulcet tone.

[Pondering]

Name: Pondering
House: Ravenclaw
Title: Never Let Go
Warnings: None
Words: 497

Lily holds Harry in her arms and rocks him gently back and forth. Remus leans in to try and catch a whiff of the newborn baby smell, but his forehead accidentally knocks again Lily’s. “What are you doing?” she asks, sounding as if she is trying to stifle her giggles.

“He has your eyes,” Remus mentions, knowing that she has probably already been told this a thousand times before. But the emerald green eyes are the most striking thing about Lily’s little boy; the eyes make him look like a flawless meld of his parents: half Lily, half James.

Lily’s mouth twitches at the sides. “I’d never have noticed, if you hadn’t told me, Remus,” she comments dryly.

Remus says nothing, but continues to watch the perfect baby doze, quiet and content in his mother’s arms. Tentatively, he reaches out a finger to stroke Harry’s hand, but he hovers a few centimeters away, afraid of awakening the baby.

“It’s OK,” Lily says, “He’s a rather deep sleeper.”

True to Lily’s word, Harry shows no signs of noticing Remus’s contact and continues his peaceful slumber. “He’s beautiful,” Remus whispers to Lily, who laughs quietly and grins.

“I think so too,” she says, “but I’m a little biased.”

“You know what?” Remus replies, “I think I may be becoming a little biased myself.”

Lily watches Remus, a thoughtful look forming on her face. “You know, Remus, I think you’d make a good father one day.”

Remus freezes, hoping that Lily cannot hear his heart hammering painfully in his chest. “What makes you say that?” he asks cautiously.

“You just…” Lily trails off, shrugging.

“Just what?”

“You just looked so peaceful. So happy.”

Remus looks at Harry again, who is still sleeping silently. What could he tell her? That he’d never be able to be a father, because of who he is? Because of what he is? That he could never trust someone like himself in the care of a small child? Lily wouldn’t stand for it, to listen to him speak about himself like this, but he didn’t want Lily to tell him that placate him with meaningless words, to tell him that he was special when he obviously wasn’t. So he comes up with the next best alternative and lies through his teeth. “I don’t know,” he says warily, “I’m not sure if I really want children.”

Lily raises an eyebrow. For a moment, Remus thinks she is going to let the subject drop. But she doesn’t. “You…don’t want this?” she asks.

More than anything in the world. But he can’t have what he wants. He’s never been able to have what he wants.

“You’re special, Remus,” Lily reminds him. Remus shakes his head mutely, trying to ignore Lily’s words. But Lily just smiles and points at Harry. “Harry thinks you’re special.”

Remus looks down to see Harry’s fingers gripping his hand tightly; holding on so firmly that he thinks that Harry will never ever let him go.

--Tash

[butter_beer_drinker]

Name: butter_beer_drinker
House:Gryffindor
Title:Questions and Answers
Warnings:None
Words:353

Pacing outside the door to the room I have been pushed from, a thousand different questions race through my mind. Me, a father, how can that be? My family says that I can barely take care of myself, how can I possibly care for another person? Will I be able to live up to the expectations? What if I hold him wrong? What if it’s a girl? Oh that is too scary to think about, girls are fragile but then again little girls think that their daddy’s are Prince Charming, I can be Prince Charming, maybe. What will I do when she is sick or hurt? Will I be able to scare away the monsters? How will we afford all the things a baby needs? What if I am a horrible dad and my child hates me? Will he be athletic or bookish? What will I do if he won’t stop crying?

There’s crying in the other room, not my wife, a tiny wail. My heart starts to race and my palms are sweating. It’s real; I’m a father, a responsible adult. The door opens and I am invited in. There it is, in my wife’s arms, wrapped in a soft green blanket with little yellow ducks on it. I sit on the bed and kiss my wife; she folds back the blanket and my heart stops when she tells me it’s a girl. I gently touch the small thatch of black hair on her head. Her skin is pink and so soft. Her tiny little fingers are curled in a ball next to her cheek, as I slide my finger across her knuckles her hand pops open and she grasps my finger.

Her milky blue eyes open slowly and she looks at me. I can feel a tear slid down my cheek, as I am overwhelmed with emotions. All of my doubts and fears vanish the instant my wife places the tiny bundle in my arms. I am no longer a boy or a young man or just a husband, I am the monster slayer, I am Prince Charming, I am daddy.

[mrsmcclnt]

Name: mrsmcclnt
House: Slytherin
Title: What’s In A Name
Word Count: 328
Warnings: None.

He moved quietly as he picked up his son out of his basinet. He had waited a long time to do this since everyone in his family were in and out of the maternity ward, goggling at the newest edition.

Now, at last, he was alone with him - father and son.

He looked over to his wife to see that she was still sleeping. So he sat in the near by chair to have a private conversation with the boy.

He marveled at his little features. He counted his fingers and toes, then checked his eyes to make sure everything was in working order. He gently rubbed his hair, smiling at the family’s trademark color.

“Yeh, you’ll be a smart little prankster. You won’t get into trouble since you’ll know how not to get caught,” he whispered.

As he smiled into the boy’s eyes, the joy he had felt was subsiding with lament. As much as could share his happiness with his family, there was one in particular that he wished could join in the festivities.

“I wish you were here,” he muttered as he looked to the stars out the window. “We’ve done everything together. We’ve planned everything together. Even this! I don’t even have a name for him yet, and we said we would do that too when we got married…together.”

He cradled his son closely as he slowly, quietly, began to let out his grief.

I miss you.

Wave after wave of emotions seized him as he felt himself reliving the loss of his best friend. Yet, as his tears fell, he felt a slight squeeze in his hands. As he looked down, he saw his son’s little hand gripping his finger. When he looked to him, he saw something familiar smiling back.

And that’s when he realized that they were still doing this… together.

An idea suddenly occurred to him that brought him some comfort and healing,
“Fred. I’ll name you Fred.”

[Heather25x]

Name: Heather25x
House: Hufflepuff
Title: The Thousand Word Picture.
Warnings: None.
Words: 341

Harry sat on his bed in his dormitory, looking through his scrapbook of his family for the hundredth time. He turned the thick pages, trying not to bend them, gazing at each one, drinking them in.

But just as he reached the last few pages of the book, where he usually closed the book, he saw a few more photos on pages he had always thought were blank.

He looked down at all the pictures, suddenly feeling excited, but one picture jumped out at him from all the rest.

He stared down at it, slightly surprised. It was James, he knew immediately. And he noticed that the little messy-haired baby must be him. They were holding hands – well, Harry’s tiny hand was gripping James’ finger, making them both laugh.

Harry started as he heard Ron’s voice. ‘Harry?’ he called. Harry opened the curtains around his bed, wiping his eyes. ‘Yeah, I’m over here.’

Ron walked across the empty dormitory and sat on Harry’s bed, looking at his scrapbook. Ron was looking at the new picture with nearly as much interest as Harry had been. ‘Is that the scrapbook of your parents that Hagrid gave you?’ He asked. Harry nodded, looking at the picture again. It always felt strange to see himself in contact with his father. He had never remembered his father, and it seemed so surreal to see proof that he had ever known his father.

Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but neither of them said anything. The picture said it all for them. Ron looked at the picture, studying it. Harry glanced at his friends’ face and saw the same surprised look Harry was wearing. Ron had never known Harry as a boy with parents. It must seem strange to him, to suddenly see baby Harry, holding his Dad’s hand.

But still, neither of them said anything to disturb the thought-filled silence. Neither of them said anything about what they were feeling or thinking. They didn’t need to. The picture said every word for them.

[phily]

Name: Phily
House: Hufflepuff
Title: Without a single word
Warnings: None.
Words: 477

I’ve sort of linked in the picture and the idea of a picture being worth a thousand words- I hope that’s okay!

There was a soft knock on the door, and a slow click of the handle. Harry entered through it and into Teddy’s orange bedecked bedroom (he had taken after Ron in his love of the Chudley Cannons.)

“Seventh in the league at the moment, aren’t they?” asked Harry. He nodded towards the giant poster of the team on the wall opposite which seemed to be the feature of his Godson’s room.

“Yep,” Teddy replied, quietly. Harry noticed that a tiny smile had crept onto the ten-year-old’s face, however.

“Good,” Harry said. “Good.”

He had visited Teddy’s room many times before, but not so much recently. It was always bright and colourful; but today, Teddy didn’t seem as vibrant as usual.

“Anything you want to er… talk about?” enquired Harry. Although a Godfather, Harry still wasn’t quite certain of how he could best help in these kinds of situations.

Luckily though, Teddy didn’t need any more asking than that. He turned to face Harry and Harry took a seat next to him on the orange covered bed.

“It’s just that I’ve been thinking about my parents today, you see,” started Teddy. “I do think about them all the time, but, Harry, I don’t know how to think of them.”

“How to think of them?” Harry repeated, a little bewildered.

“Yes. I don’t know what to think except that it would be different if they were here. I just don’t know in what way it would be different…” He trailed off.

“I think I know what you mean, Teddy. In fact, I definitely know what you mean.” Harry paused. “Wait here; I’ll be right back.”

He had re-entered the room within a few minutes. Kneeling down next to Teddy- whose legs were swinging over the side of his bed- Harry produced a scrap of paper. It was crinkled and a little faded, but the people in the photo were clearly distinguishable as Remus Lupin and James Potter.

James was holding a bundle of blankets (known to be Harry as a baby) close to his chest, and Remus could be seen leaning over Harry. The baby’s tiny hand protruded from the blankets as they watched the photo’s movement. Remus reached out his own hand and closed it softly around the small wriggling fingers of the infant.

Teddy had become so immersed in the photo that his nose grew closer and closer to the paper. Harry watched over, smiling.

As the photo’s occupants continued to coo over baby Harry, the adult Harry reached out towards Teddy. It felt a very natural action- as if the paternal side of Harry had taken over suddenly. Slowly, his hand covered Teddy’s which lay resting by his side. Squeezing it lightly, Harry knew that this photo could explain everything which Teddy could have asked of him. The picture could clarify everything without a single word.

Phily

[x_GinnyPotter_x]

Name: x_GinnyPotter_x
House: Gryffindor
Title: A Daughter
Warnings: none
Words: 495

Arthur paced back and forth outside the door. One might think that after six children, a man wouldn’t be so anxious about childbirth. But for Arthur, it was the same every single time; he would pace anxiously while his wife went through the pains of labor in the room next to him, listening intently for the familiar sound of a baby’s cry. The twins had been twice as worrisome – double the chance for something to go wrong, double the time to pace fervently outside that door.

He paused, suddenly hearing that familiar sound; the cry of his new-born child. The Healer stuck her head outside the door and told him he could come in. Taking a deep breath so he wouldn’t look so anxious in front of his wife, Arthur entered the room. Molly looked just the same as she always did after labor – tired, sweaty, and exhausted, but all the more beautiful with the joy of giving life to a child reflecting in her eyes. The moment he looked at her, however, Arthur saw something different in his wife’s eyes. She looked more thrilled than she had ever been after delivering (which was saying something, because Molly adored each of her children with a love only a mother could know). The Healer turned to him and answered the question that had been on his tongue: “Congratulations, it’s a girl!”

Arthur was stunned, and Molly beamed. She loved each of her sons but had always dreamed of a daughter, and now she had one. Arthur was so taken aback he was speechless as the Healer placed the tiny bundle in Molly’s arms. There hadn’t been a female Weasley in generations, and yet there she was, lying in her adoring mother’s arms. Wrapping an arm around his wife, Arthur smiled brightly at her before looking at the child in her arms.

The face was unmistakably a girl’s, though the tuft of familiar red hair was the same as each of her brother’s. Molly gently passed the baby to Arthur, who held her in amazement. He had hardly even thought about what would happen if he had a daughter – with six sons already, it was hard to imagine anything else.

The baby had stopped crying now, but fidgeted restlessly at the change of position. Arthur gently stroked her cheek with his finger. Merlin, she was so tiny! He was almost afraid he would break her; she seemed so fragile and delicate. The baby stopped squirming and moved her tiny hand up to the larger finger on her cheek, grasping it firmly. Arthur was amazed at her grip – it was stronger than any of the boy’s had been. At this thought he smiled, knowing that however delicate this little girl seemed, she was still a Weasley. Looking up at Molly, he saw she had tears in her eyes. “Ginerva,” she said, looking at the baby girl in her husband's arms.

“Ginerva,” Arthur echoed, smiling down at his daughter.

[apollo13]

Name: apollo13
House: Slytherin
Title: The most beautiful thing in the world.
Warnings: None
Words: 488 <---- I know, close, huh?

The sound of a baby’s wail echoed through the house, the seven hour labour finally over.
Andromeda took the baby, immediately wrapping it in a blanket.

“It’s a boy!” she said, hurriedly checking everything was okay.

“A boy? A boy? Did you hear that, Dora?” Remus breathed excitedly. He was sitting beside the bed, his wife gazing happily, exhaustedly, up at him.

“Come and cut your son’s umbilical cord, Remus,” said Andromeda.

Remus clumsily stood from the chair and walked, in a daze, to the foot of the bed. Your son. A boy. My son. Andromeda clasped the cord in two places and Remus, shakily taking a pair of surgical scissors from her, cut the cord between Andromeda’s hands. Andromeda instantly leant over the baby, so that Remus could no longer see him. Filling with dread, Remus exclaimed in a shaky voice, “what’s wrong? Is something wrong? Is he okay?”

“What? What’s happened?” he heard his wife ask fearfully.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Andromeda said soothingly, and she picked up the baby, and placed him gently in Remus’ arms. Remus half laughed, a wide smile of wonder spreading over his face. Holding the baby carefully, as though he were made of glass, Remus slowly brought his son over to his wife, who had feebly pushed herself up to lean against the head board. He placed the child in his wife’s arms, who looked at the baby with more tenderness and love in her expression than Remus had ever seen.

Remus sat in the chair by the bed once again, desperately trying to pull it even closer. He soon settled, and stroked the baby’s soft hair with gentle fingers. He caught sight of the baby’s tiny fat fist, opening and closing as he cried, and Remus touched it. The small hand clasped his index finger with surprising tightness and strength.

“Merlin, how could I ever have wanted to leave you?” he asked his son quietly, so quietly that his wife did not hear. Inside, he screamed his thanks to Harry; Harry, that boy who was so like his father, who had yelled some sense into him, who Remus had attacked…

“Can we call him Ted, after my Dad?” Tonks asked suddenly. Remus saw, out of the corner of his eye, Andromeda’s face light up.

“Yeah. That’s a good name. Suits him.” There was a brief, hesitant pause. “Can we make Harry Godfather? Please?”

“Well, of course,” said Tonks, as if she had been thinking of nothing else. “There’s no one better.” She looked down at her still crying child, and quietly unbuttoned her gown, guiding the child to her breast. Ted immediately began to feed, and Remus smiled even wider.

“Merlin, that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. He felt as if nothing could make him happier. Everything was bright and beautiful in the world, and the war was a million miles away, if even there at all.

~Evie

[h_vic]

Name: h_vic
House: Hufflepuff
Title: The Right Words
Warnings: Gratuitous use of the word ‘trollop’!
Words: 373

Lucius Malfoy pasted a ridiculously false smile onto his face as he stared repulsed at the grizzling, blanket-wrapped bundle in his arms. The smile was for Narcissa’s benefit – she had handed him his son so proudly. But the child was ugly! There was no other way to put it and no way around it. His face was wrinkled, misshapen and beet-red. Narcissa though seemed not to have noticed as she cooed over him. Lucius wondered idly whether the strain of childbirth had weakened her mind.

Lucius found that he was entirely at a loss as to what he was expected to say. No amount of training in the etiquette of a gentleman had ever prepared him for this moment. He stared at the child again, who had now opened his eyes to reveal their steely hue.

That was something at least, Lucius decided. It meant the child was most likely his. Narcissa hadn’t been playing away, or, if she had, she’d been careful enough that he hadn’t been cuckolded.

That hardly seemed the thing to say though – “Congratulations, darling, he has my eyes, so I won’t have to set you aside for being an unfaithful trollop!” No, that certainly wouldn’t suffice.

He supposed the accepted route would be to say that the child was ‘beautiful’, but Lucius wasn’t sure that he could utter that with a straight face. ‘A fine heir’ perhaps? Or maybe he ought to compliment Narcissa? Although she looked little better than the child in truth. Perhaps he should suggest that she had done well in giving him a strong son?

He knew that the silence was beginning to stretch too long now as Narcissa continued to stare at him expectantly. Lucius moved to readjust the blanket around the baby’s face to buy himself time and his finger brushed the baby’s tiny palm.

It happened so suddenly that Lucius did not expect it and his cold heart was utterly unguarded as the child’s fist closed around his finger. Lucius’ smile suddenly widened, finally becoming genuine, and he raised his matching grey eyes to meet Narcissa’s eager gaze.

“He’s perfect,” Lucius said, the words tumbling unbidden from his lips before they had even had time to form properly in his mind.