Life in the Green Eyes of a Crazy Potter

Chapter One: Everything Happens At 4am

A/N: Alright, the sequel to "The Adventure Continued" is finally here! Do you have to read the first story to understand this one? Yes and no. You would probably understand this story just fine, but on the other hand, you might like the first story ;) Well, either way, I hope you enjoy this one! It took me a few weeks to get a good plot down and I believe that I have one! Thanks for everyone who reviewed in "The Adventure Continued," I appreciate them all!

Harry Potter had apparated in front of his home in London after a very busy day at work. The day was windy and the sky looked as if it was about to rain…or did those cloaked creatures have anything to do with it? Harry focused his green eyes on a couple of black shadows floating towards him. Almost immediately, he felt his insides freeze and he ran into his house to warn his family.

"Ginny!" he called, coming into the living room. His wife was sitting on the floor with their five children surrounding her, all of them crying and holding onto each other for dear life.

The dementors followed Harry into the house and now stood between Harry and his family in the living room. Harry backed up to stand directly in front of his family. "Expelliarmus!" Harry cried, sending a red beam of light at the dementors.

However, the spell did very little to them and as they came closer, Harry could hear not only his mother's screams, but also Hermione and Ron shrieks of pain from Voldemort's curses.

"This can't be right!" Harry told himself. Thinks happy thoughts, think happy thoughts. "Expecto Patronum!"

A small cloud of white shot out of his wand, but it wasn't strong enough. He wasn't thinking any happy thoughts at all; he just wanted to protect his family. Happy thoughts…think happy thoughts…

His mother's screams and pleadings were getting louder…

Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts.

Ron's insults were getting much worse…Hermione was whimpering and begging Harry to help her…

Think happy thoughts…the day he married Ginny…when they found out they were going to be parents…when he held his oldest daughter for the first time…think happy thoughts…

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The form of his stag almost blinded Harry as it charged the dementors and the cries in his head faded away. He was going to be ok. His family was going to survive. He had done it…what was that pecking noise?

Harry jolted awake and looked around him. He was in his room, in his bed, and there were no threats of dementors—it had been a dream. Harry pulled on his glasses and read the clock next to him. Four in the morning? Who would be up at such an ungodly hour? He looked at the woman next to him and saw that she was sleeping soundly and appeared undisturbed. The pecking continued and Harry turned to look out his window. Standing on the ledge was a tawny owl that Harry recognized from Hogwarts.

Harry slowly got out of bed and opened the window. The owl fluttered inside along with a warm summer breeze and landed on Harry's desk in the corner. As the owl stretched out its left leg, Harry untied the letter and opened it slowly.

Dear Harry,

I would like to speak with you about something important. Could you please meet me in my office around 9 this morning?

Yours Truly,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress of Hogwarts

Rereading the letter, Harry's stomach twisted. Had he forgotten something? Did she find out about the dungbombs he had been letting students set off in the halls to make their crank, old caretaker, Barney, upset? Was she demoting him because he was a week late on the Hogwarts letters? Flashes of past failures filled Harry's mind and the more he thought the worse he felt.

He looked at Ginny still sleeping peacefully and wondered what she'd think. What would they do if he got fired from his position as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and Deputy Headmaster? He had to admit that he hadn't been a particularly strong Deputy these last seventeen years. Like his father, he had his humorous side and allowing students to recreate portable swamps in the corridors was one of them.

As if someone knew that Harry was awake, he heard a small cry from down the hall. Ginny stirred a bit, but continued to sleep peacefully. Harry put the note on his desk and quickly shut the door as he went out so that the crying wouldn't wake his wife up. Down the hall and three doors on the left was their youngest daughter's room. Abigail Potter was barely two and although she mostly slept through the night, she sometimes woke up when she had bad dreams.

Harry walked into the room and pulled out his wand. "Lumos," he whispered. In the glow, Abby was sitting in the middle of her bed, looking quite relieved that her father had come.

"What's wrong, Princess?" Harry asked, picking her up with one arm and holding his wand in the other.

"Badreem," the toddler told her father as she hid her face in his shoulder.

"You, too? I'm sorry, Pumpkin," Harry answered sympathetically while he rubbed her back gently. Deciding that they both probably needed a good morning snack, he carried his daughter downstairs and into the kitchen. "Well, since we're both up now, what would you like for breakfast? Sugar? Chocolate? Berty Botts Every Flavor Beans?"

Abby giggled as Harry sat her down on the counter and she watched him search through the fridge. Although Harry loved all five of his children, he had a special place for Abby in his heart. Unlike her two older sisters and two older brothers, Abigail was the only one that had black hair and green eyes like her father and her face reminded Harry of Ginny's toddler pictures when she was this age. The other four had a much different combination of their genes.

Harry pulled out a carton of milk and some bread. "I guess this will have to do," Harry told her as began to toast the bread over the stove's open fire.

"Harry Potter, what are you doing?"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin and even Abigail looked a bit surprised as she had been watching her father very intently. "Ginny, what are you doing out of bed?" Harry asked his wife who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen with her arms folded.

"What, am I one of the kids now? I heard noises and saw a light down here," Ginny answered. "I came to see who it was."

Harry smiled impishly and held up a piece of brown toast. "It's only me, Sweetie. You can go back to bed. I'm just making Abby and myself some breakfast since neither of us can sleep."

"What if I can't sleep either now?" Ginny answered, pulling open the refrigerator door.

Harry gave her a question look. "At four in the morning?"

"Then what are you doing up?"

"Would you like some toast?"

Ginny shrugged and held out the note that McGonagall had sent Harry. "Then what's this?"

Harry tried to look innocent as he scorched a piece of toast. "Oh, that came for me this morning. It's urgent," said Harry lamely.

"Apparently so if she had to send this at four in the morning," Ginny countered, raising an eye-brow.

"Well, you know, four is the morning hour now. McGonagall sends letters, I get woken up, and Abby has a bad dream," Harry added.

At hearing her baby girl's name, Ginny walked over the counter where her daughter sat and picked her up. "Did my pumpkin have a bad dream?" Ginny asked, cuddling her daughter.

Abby nodded and pointed at Harry. "Toast!" she cried.

Harry looked down at the piece of toast which suddenly caught fire. Pulling out his wand, he froze the flame, but it also froze the entire piece of toast that he had been trying to cook. Throwing it away, he grabbed another piece.

"I'm going to take her back to bed, Harry," Ginny told him, heading towards the doorway.

"Why is that?" Harry asked, now carefully watching the bread. "I was making her toast."

"Making her toast or burning it? You have your fun in the kitchen, but little girls still need sleep," his redheaded wife said over her shoulder. Harry heard her footsteps going up the stairs and the door to Abby's room creak open.

After Harry spread jam on the couple of pieces of toast, he sat down at the dining room table. Yesterday's Daily Prophet was lying in the middle of the table, but Harry had already read through it. There wasn't much to interest him—a few Quidditch match announcements, a horrible hex hitting a muggle, and Mundungus Fletcher getting arrested…again.

"So what does McGonagall want, Harry?" Ginny reappeared without the youngest Potter and sat across from Harry at the kitchen table.

Harry shrugged and felt his cheeks glow red. "I don't know, Gin," he answered honestly, but with a hint of guilt.

Ginny caught the hint and looked at him sternly. "What have you done this time, Harry?"

"What?" Harry looked up at his wife. "She's probably angry that I didn't send off the Hogwarts letters until yesterday…"

Ginny rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, letting her brilliant red hair flow freely behind her. "And she thought you were responsible enough to be the Deputy," she teased playfully.

Harry laughed and gulped down his glass of milk. "I am responsible…that just doesn't mean that I'm on time."

"Responsibility is being on time!"

"Well, then I'm irresponsible. Hogwarts has an irresponsible teacher for a Deputy Headmaster! Besides, why didn't you take the job when you had the chance? McGonagall would have chosen you," said Harry.

"With six kids to raise, being a teacher is out of the question! It will be years before I will be able to go back to work again," Ginny added, though with no real regret.

"Six?" Harry said in astonishment. "You're exaggerating-we don't have that many!"

Ginny smiled mysteriously. "Oh, you haven't met our newest member, have you?" Ginny said, rubbing her stomach. "I only found out yesterday," she answered his puzzled look. "It's already been a month. We should probably be more careful next time."

Harry grinned nervously. "Why should we be careful? It's no use! We'll just make it an even seven and then we'll be done for."

Ginny giggled and grabbed a piece of toast before standing up and stretching. "It's fine with me, but you'll be paying for it. Someone will have to change all the diapers." Ginny winked at her husband before climbing up the stairs and out of Harry's sight.

Harry was still mulling over the news between sips of milk. He had a horrible dream about dementors, McGonagall had an urgent message for him, and Ginny announces that their population was increasing again…Why does everything have to happen at four in the morning?