Harry puffed as he jogged down Diagon Alley, keeping a lookout for any photographers. He liked to jog early in the morning, and avoid the crowds that came to England's main wizarding shopping area. If he timed it right, he could buy some lovely fresh breakfast rolls from Hannah Abbot at the Leaky Cauldron. Thinking of them now, his mouth watered.

He saw some of the vendors began setting up for the day, but stopped in surprise at a familiar figure. " Neville?"

Neville Longbottom spun around. " What-oh, hey Harry!" The two men embraced quickly, then broke apart.

" You're out early," commented Harry, guzzling his bottle of water.

" Yeah, I-" he gestured to the shop he'd been standing in front of, 'Magical Menagerie'. " Figured it was time to replace Trevor. I'm just not sure if I want to get another toad or not."

Harry felt a pang of sympathy. He'd held off getting a new owl as long as he could, until he finally caved. He and Ginny had shopped together, and found the perfect little owl. Ginny had named him Cupid, for he would be delivering their precious letters to each other while she was away at Hogwarts for her last year. Ron had merely rolled his eyes at the ridiculous name and made Harry promise not to let Ginny name their children.

" Don't look on it as replacing, as much as honouring Trevor, by getting a new toad," said Harry, patting his back.

" Yeah, I guess," sighed Neville. Harry could see something else was troubling him, so he gestured to a nearby seat. The two sat down.

" Gran's ill," explained Neville, after Harry enquired about her. " Has been for awhile. It's just hit me, really, that when she goes, I'll be all alone."

" You'll always have us, Nev," reminded Harry. " We'll always be there for you."

" It's not the same," said Neville, looking away, " but thanks."

The two sat in silence for several seconds before Neville spoke again. " I always envied Ron with his large family, you know."

" Same," agreed Harry.

" I used to wish I had a brother. Sometimes I wanted an older one, then I'd change my mind and I'd wish for a little brother," said Neville.

" You'd have made a good big brother. Ginny told me how you looked after the firstie's that year," said Harry. There was no need to verbalise on his meaning of that year. The year that Harry was off with Hermione and Ron. The year that Death Eaters took over Hogwarts, forcing Ginny, Luna and Neville to re-form the DA. The year good finally triumphed over evil.

" Right now I could really use a big brother," sighed Neville. " There's this girl."

"Merlin, you don't need the Talk, do you?" joked Harry.

Neville chuckled. "No, although I did get that from my Gran. Luckily Seamus gave me some reading material in our fifth year that cleared up any questions I had."

Harry wondered the wisdom of sex advice from Seamus Finnegan. He knew what sort of magazines Seamus had back then, having flicked through a couple himself.

" Hey, why don't I grab some breakfast rolls from Hannah at the Leaky and we'll go back to Grimmauld Place," suggested Harry. " We can talk more, and Gin would love to see you."

" I didn't think Ginny was supposed to leave Wales during the season," said Neville, as they got up to walk to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Yeah, that was during her first year. We, erm, might have forgotten to let the family know those restrictions were lifted for her second year. Now she gets one weekend off a month," said Harry.

" And you guys want to spend it alone," smiled Neville, knowingly. " So I definitely shouldn't be coming back with you to Grimmauld Place."

" Nah, it's fine. Gin will skin me alive if I don't bring you back, and we've got the rest of the weekend together," said Harry, thinking of his gorgeous girlfriend.

" Only if you're sure," said Neville, giving Harry one last chance to change his mind.

Harry nodded, and went into the Leaky to order breakfast for three. He was out shortly after, extending Hannah's good wishes to Neville, pondering on Neville's flushed face. Companionably, the two men walked home, a warming charm on the bag of food that smelled delicious. On the way they caught up on news of their other friends.

Harry gestured for Neville to go ahead of him as they entered Grimmauld Place. Hearing noise in the kitchen, Neville headed there while Harry re-set the wards.

" Hey Ginny, I-bloody hell!" Neville quickly backed out of the kitchen with his eyes covered.

" Neville!" shrieked Ginny, covering herself as she ran upstairs.

" Erm, sorry about that," said an embarrassed Harry. " I'll just run upstairs and let Gin know what's going on. Go ahead, get started," he said, racing up the stairs.

Neville chuckled as he went into the kitchen. It looked like Ginny had things nearly ready. He made a pot of tea and let it steep; taking it to the table. He opened the bag and saw the delicious breakfast rolls, as well as his favourite cream buns. His mouth was watering.

With no sign yet of Harry or Ginny, Neville wondered what it would be like to come home and find Han-er, his dream girl waiting for him, naked.

" Morning again, Nev," said Ginny cheerfully, entering the kitchen. She was now dressed in one of Harry's Auror tee shirts, with one sleeve hanging off her shoulder. She also wore Harry's boxer shorts.

" Hi Ginny, good to see you," greeted Neville, as she stopped to hug him.

" Just didn't expect to see that much of me, I bet," she teased, making him flush.

" Thanks for making the tea, mate," said Harry, pouring three cups for them.

" Cream buns, yum!" said Ginny, her eyes lighting up.

" Strange, I didn't order them," said Harry, frowning. He looked at his girlfriend when she nudged his leg under the table and looked pointedly at Neville. " So Nev, this girl you mentioned..."

A sudden thought hit Ginny. " It's not Luna, is it?" she asked worriedly. For she had met Luna's boyfriend, Rolf, and thought he was perfect match for Luna.

Nev chuckled and shook his head. " No, it's not Luna. I think Rolf is the perfect guy for our Luna," he said.

Harry knew the three of them had gotten close due to that year at Hogwarts. Many times they referred to each other as our Nev, or our Luna or our Ginny. They were close like he, Ron and Hermione were. Circumstances of war had made them see and do things that only they understood. Harry and Ginny had talked about that year in great detail, but there were things that couldn't be explained if one hadn't been there to experience it.

"Where did you meet her?" asked Ginny gently. She curled her leg around Harry's under the table. He placed his free hand on her knee.

" At Hogwarts. She's not a Gryffindor," he said hurriedly. " I got to know her better that year, but it wasn't the best time to start something, was it?" he asked rhetorically.

" So what's the problem, Nev?" asked Harry, breaking off another roll for Ginny and placing it on her plate. She poured him another cup of tea, adding one sugar and stirring. She then pushed it towards him.

" I don't know how to approach her. You've seen all that crap in the papers about me and other witches. I don't want her to think I'm really like that, some sort of playboy wizard," said a frustrated Neville.

Since he'd killed Nagini during the Final Battle, and with Harry declaring himself off the market, witches flocked to Neville. Having been practically ignored by females for most of his time at Hogwarts, Neville was hating the added attention. He didn't know if any of these witches truly liked him, or were only interested in fifteen minutes of fame. So he tended to ignore them, preferring the company of trusted friends, and spending most of his time in his greenhouses.

Ginny tried not to snort into her tea, and could see Harry smother a grin behind his cup. " Nev, if she knew you at Hogwarts, she'd know you're not like that," said Ginny gently. " You're as much a playboy wizard as Harry is!"

" Hey!" protested Harry. " I'll have you know last week alone I fathered three children while having two torrid love affairs," he said, grinning.

" Only two! It must have been a quiet week for the papers," said Ginny, patting his hand. He immediately linked his fingers through hers and squeezed.

" See, that's it. I hate that they say that about you, when we all know you're so happy with Ginny. It's not right that they can say those things," protested Neville.

Ginny shrugged. " All they have to do is use the word 'alleged' and they're off the hook," she said, with a hint of bitterness.

" What if...what if she thinks I'm really like that?" asked Neville, gesturing to the paper.

" Then she's not the right girl for you," said Ginny. She let go of Harry's hand to take Neville's. " None of us who know you believe all that rubbish in the paper. If she knows you like we do, then she'll know the truth."

" What house was she in?" asked Harry, curiously.

" Hufflepuff," sighed Neville, stirring his tea.

Ginny eyed Harry and gestured to the bag from the Leaky Cauldron. " You know, Nev, if you don't know how to approach this witch, I can set you up with some lovely ladies," said Ginny, with a wink at Harry.

Harry sat back, amused. She had that look on her face when she was going to prank her brothers, or drop a bomb on them, like when she had told them she had made the Harpies team. He waited to see where she was going with this.

" There's Susan Bones, she works with Harry. Or Padma Patil is in town, oh, we should have her over for tea one night! Or..."

Neville stopped listening as Ginny named her co-Chaser for the Harpies, and Verity, who worked at WWW. Until she suddenly said-

" Of course, there's always Hannah Abbott."

Neville gulped and sat up straight. "H-Hannah? Hannah Abbott?"

Ginny nodded. " Do you remember her, Nev? She's so sweet, she works at the Leaky Cauldron. Such an excellent cook. Thanks for getting those cream buns, Harry. I love them," she said, licking her lips.

" I know, you ate mine," said Harry, dryly.

" They're my favourite," said Neville.

" Really? How interesting," said Ginny. She looked at Harry. " You didn't happen to mention that Neville was joining you for breakfast, did you?" she asked.

" As a matter of fact, I did," said Harry, surprised. " How did you know?"

Ginny wanted to roll her eyes. " We should stop by the Leaky to thank her. Oh, what a shame, we've got plans for later. Nev, perhaps you could do it for us?" she suggested.

" Plans? What plans? I thought we were going to...erm, never mind," said Harry. "Hey, you could ask Hannah to help you pick out a new animal."

Ginny perked up as her boyfriend got up to speed. " Oh yes, particularly if you want another toad. Hannah had a toad long before she came to Hogwarts, but she chose to bring a cat. She was heartbroken when Cody died. It took her a long time to get another one," she confided.

Harry spluttered. " She had a toad named Cody?"

"It's a good name for a toad," said Neville, almost defensively.

"She named her new one Brodie," said Ginny. " I like it!"

" This from a witch who named the family owl, Pigwidgeon," chuckled Harry.

"You know what, I think I may swing past the Leaky and thank Hannah for the buns," said Neville, "and ask her about her toad. What have I got to lose?"

Ginny stood and kissed his cheek. "Good luck," she said. "Let me know how it goes."

Neville offered to help them tidy up from breakfast, but they told him to forget it. Harry walked him to the door to open, then re-set, the wards.

"Don't be too long, Harry," said Ginny, in a sultry voice as she headed upstairs.

Harry gulped as he watched her go. Neville had to cough to remind him he was there. Sheepishly, Harry followed him to the door.

"Thanks for today, Harry. It really helped," said Neville.

"Really? We really didn't do anything," said Harry, puzzled.

Neville smiled. "Just seeing the two of you together helped. Gives me hope, you know."

"Well, I'm glad we helped," said Harry, "and I hope it all works out with Hannah."

"Thanks, Harry," said Neville, preparing to leave.

"Hey Nev," called Harry. "About that brother thing. I-er, I'm here, if you ever need to talk."

Neville smiled and nodded. "Thanks...little brother."

Harry's jaw dropped open.

"What?" asked Neville, smirking. "I am a day older than you."

Harry threw back his head and laughed. "I guess you are... big brother!"

Neville nodded and walked away, whistling. Harry watched him go before setting the wards. Still smiling, he walked down the hall and prepared to head upstairs.

"That was sweet," said Ginny, who'd been sitting halfway up the stairs, listening.

"He's gone to talk to Hannah," said Harry.

"Not that, you and Nev. Big brother, little brother," she teased gently.

Harry smiled softly. "How lucky am I, to have so many brilliant brothers."

"Well, I know you're about to get lucky," grinned Ginny.

"This day keeps getting better and better," smirked Harry, running up the stairs. He tickled her, making her cry out and run to their bedroom, with Harry close behind her.

"I do need to work off that cream bun," she said, winking at him.

Harry coughed.

"Okay, those cream buns," pouted Ginny.

Harry sighed. "We may have to be here all day."

"You make it sound like a chore," said Ginny, laughing as she playfully slapped him.

"Remember those plans I mentioned," she said, as he tossed off his tee shirt.

"Yeah, I didn't know we had plans, apart from spending the day here," said Harry, stripping Ginny of her tee shirt. Well actually, his tee shirt.

"How would you feel about dinner at the Leaky tonight?" asked Ginny, lifting her bottom so Harry could take off her boxers. Well actually, his boxers.

"Checking up on them, Gin?" chuckled Harry, removing his sweat pants and underwear. She nodded.

"Plus I owe you a cream bun," said Ginny, running her hands over his body as he lay on top of her.

"I thought we were staying low key while you were here," said Harry, kissing under her ear and down her neck.

"We could use glamours, or go in disguise," said Ginny, excitedly. She had helped Harry practice his glamour charms months ago for an Auror training exercise, and they'd had a lot of fun.

"All that for a cream bun?" asked Harry, nuzzling the top of her breast.

"No, for your big brother," said Ginny, running her fingers through her hair. "He might need us."

"He'll be fine. Hannah's obviously keen, judging by the cream buns," grinned Harry.

"She's liked him for ages," agreed Ginny. "I think they'd make a good match."

"Good enough for your Nev," teased Harry.

Ginny nodded. "Luna agrees too."

"Did Luna and Neville have this discussion about me, for you?" asked Harry, amused.

"Probably," shrugged Ginny. "It's what we do. If it counts for anything, you got my vote," she teased.

"Thank Merlin!" sighed Harry, pretending to be worried.

Ginny prodded him in his ribs, making him wince. "Hey!"

"Prat," she scolded gently. " You know, if this works out between them, we can say they were brought together by a cream bun," laughed Ginny.

"And a toad named Cody," agreed Harry.

"Brodie," corrected Ginny.

"Whatever," cried Harry, rolling over onto her. "It's a ridiculous name."

"You just have no imagination when it comes to names," huffed Ginny.

"I'm still naming our kids," grinned Harry.

"I can't wait to see what you come up with," giggled Ginny.

Well, we know what Harry came up with, don't we? Wink wink!