This is written for What'dIMiss for the Monthly One Shot Exchange (HarryLuna, Book, Romance)
Also written for the Once Upon A Time Competition (Emma Swan - write about a Gryffindor)
Full House
Harry squinted at the calendar. That didn't seem to be right. He normally had the kids the week before they went back to Hogwarts. Ginny would take them to the station. That had been the case for… the last three years.
He turned to Luna. She sat in an armchair, smiling serenely at her rather large belly. "Did you notice the kids are coming the week they go back to school?"
Luna's eyes drifted up to him, but her smile remained. "Yes, I did notice that. In fact, I spoke to Ginny about it and we rearranged some times. That way we can have all five of them here at the same time. It'll be the last chance we get before the new baby is born."
Harry stared at her, and then back at the calendar. "Right. And you were going to inform me of this when?"
"I was intending for it to be a surprise." Luna lifted her pregnant self from the armchair and waddled over to him. She was due to give birth in five weeks. Harry noted that at this stage she was a lot more peaceful about the idea than Ginny had been at thirty-five weeks on all three occasions.
"It's just…" Harry indicated the calendar again. "My work schedule is -"
"All sorted," Luna assured him. "Ron fixed it for you."
"I see." He looked once again to make sure he hadn't seen or heard wrong and nodded. "So the kids come in three weeks instead of two?"
"Correct. It'll be wonderful, won't it?"
Harry nodded. Yeah, it would be good, actually. He just hadn't expected it. Ever since he and Ginny had separated three years ago, their scheduling had been on point. Over summer, their three children would spend time between both places. When both of them had fallen into new relationships and remarried, that hadn't changed. Harry had just assumed that would never change for as long as they were at Hogwarts.
"So, Lorcan and Lysander will be staying for the remainder of the holidays then?"
Luna nodded. "Unfortunately Rolf will be out of the country until November. But, it's okay. He took them last holidays to the North Pole, so they're fine." She smiled up at Harry, her blonde hair falling over her face. He returned it, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"The question now is, what do we do for the last week? The house will get rather busy and noisy."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much," Luna assured him. "They're all old enough to occupy themselves now, aren't they?"
"True," Harry agreed. He grinned. The more he thought about it, the more he actually liked the idea. His three children and two step children all under the same roof for a whole week. What a lovely treat that would be.
...
Harry's excitement quickly waned the moment they entered the house. Ginny, appearing flustered, yelled at James and Albus for holding up the walkway as they struggled with each other to be the first one in. Then Lily shouted at her brothers for stepping on her toes and threw the book she'd been reading at them.
Teenagers, Harry thought with an internal grin. Teenagers…
"I've already told you, you're welcome to use the Floo," Harry said as Ginny came through the front door of Grimmauld Place.
She waved him away. "If I did that, they'd end up somewhere else out of sheer distraction." She offered half a smile. "I don't mind driving, truthfully. It's good practice."
Harry laughed. Driving was never something Ginny had managed to acquaint herself with: she'd been rather moody for weeks after Ron had managed to achieve his driver's license before her.
"Bugger off with that dumb book, Lily!" James shouted as the three of them stormed back downstairs after dumping their trunks in their rooms. "Honestly, get your nose out of it."
Ginny looked back at Harry and nodded. "Well, good luck," she said, not sounding at all remorseful that she was giving the last week of spending time with her children up. "They've been a handful."
"You mean, more than they usually are?" Harry asked.
"Much more." She turned to leave, but in that moment, Luna also appeared in the hall.
"Hello, Ginny," she said kindly.
"Oh, hello, Luna." Ginny's eyes flicked to Luna's belly and she smiled. "Only two weeks away now, isn't it?"
"Yes."
Shouts now came from the kitchen. "I can't say I envy either of you on the days you have all six in the house. I wish you luck." Ginny smiled between them.
"You can't stay?" Luna asked.
"No, I have work. Maybe another time."
"Of course," Luna said.
Ginny smiled again and left, leaving Harry and Luna alone in the hall, accompanied only by the shouts of the three Potter children.
"You know," Harry said, "I think I sometimes like it better when they're at school."
…
Dinner that evening proved to be an enjoyable mess. James and Albus - as per usual - fought for the sake of fighting, while Lily kept quietly to herself. Lorcan and Lysander - the most sensible of the lot - ate in silence, though their amusement at their step-siblings was evident.
Of the two, Lorcan was the more outspoken one and after finishing his last bite, he got to his feet and declared he'd be beginning a game of Exploding Snap - to which Harry's children responded with enthusiasm. They bustled from the kitchen, leaving Harry and Luna to deal with the mess.
Harry stared at the empty table and shrugged. "Well, we tried."
"Oh, I think it's lovely that they all get along so well," Luna stated.
Harry rubbed his neck. "This is going to be a long week, isn't it?"
"It's going to be a fun week."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive, Harry." Luna smiled at him. "I wonder who'll win this time?"
It took Harry a moment to realise she was talking about the Exploding Snap game. He laughed. "Lily tends to get the better of her brothers in this," he told her fondly. "Though, Lorcan and Lysander -"
"Aren't really accustomed to the game," Luna finished. "So, Lily?"
Harry shrugged. "Let's say Lily."
Bouts of laughter trickled into the dining room. Harry was relieved to hear they were all getting along for once.
"You know," Luna said after a moment, "I do hope our baby is a girl. It'll be nice to have a daughter. A sister for Lily."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, it would." He smiled fondly. "I remember when we found out Lily was a girl… there was a lot of relief."
Luna used her wand to clear the plates from the table and then stood up - awkwardly. "Should we go and supervise?"
A loud explosion sounded from the living room and Harry nodded. "I think it's best," he said. "Before someone ends up hurt."
…
The final week at the Potters' was havoc. Harry, who until now, had considered himself quite apt at managing his children, stared into the living room at a complete loss for words. Clothes were strewn in places he didn't know clothes could get; owl and rat droppings scattered the floor. Torn and ill-treated books were piled high on the coffee table, the couch, and even the window sill. This had not been what it had been like four years ago. Not that he remembered.
It was safe to say that he had never been more grateful for September the first to arrive.
"James, that's my book!" Lily whined, chasing her brother into the living room, jumping up to try and take the book from his hands.
"Oh, sorry, Lily," James said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Here." He made to give it back, but then tossed it to Albus who'd just entered the room, standing next to Harry.
Lysander and Lorcan followed, wheeling their trunks into the living room, though if fifteen minutes ago was anything to go by, they would not have a nice tidy trunk either.
"You're mean!" Lily scolded, jabbing Albus with the tip of her wand, red sparks flying from them.
Albus yelped and dropped the book. Lily grabbed it and tossed it into her open trunk.
There was a ruckus after that as all five children attempted to pack, grabbing and fighting over who owned what. Lily, Harry was pleased to see, had the better of the four boys, and was the first ready.
Luna appeared beside Harry, smiling. "Oh, how lovely. They're all ready."
Harry looked at her, eyes wide. "You weren't here two seconds ago."
Luna appeared not to have heard him, instead looking at the five teenagers and rubbing her hand absently over her belly. "So, shall we go to King's Cross then?"
A chorus of yeses sounded around the living room and they piled into the narrow hall, dragging their trunks behind them.
The car ride was even worse, and Harry vowed that perhaps - and especially when the baby was born - they arranged it so that the kids were here on separate occasions. Luna assured him it had been lovely, but he'd never seen more elusive teenagers in his life, only appearing for food and when there was an argument to be had.
As he drove to the station, he nodded to himself. He'd talk to Ginny as soon as they were off. That way they could arrange the first holidays now.
Once at the station, the kids piled out of the car, sparking strange looks from passersby who could not fathom how so many people could fit in such a small space. Harry hurried them along before they called the police.
Even a simple walk to the barrier was enough for James and Albus to get into an argument (over what, Harry didn't know) and they had to stop to resolve it. What should have taken them no more than ten minutes to get from the car to the platform turned into a twenty minute escapade.
After finally getting through, Ginny greeted them all with huge smiles. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."
The kids ran off to find good spots on the train, and Harry stared at her, sparking a wide grin from his ex-wife. "I told you when I dropped them off," she laughed. "I said, 'good luck'."
Harry opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again. She seemed to understand.
After putting their trunks on the train, the five of them returned. They now all wore smiles and were laughing and chatting with one another. Harry rubbed his face, thinking of the new baby and how lucky it might just be to grow up away from their older siblings.
"See you Mum! See you Dad! Bye Luna!" James waved to them all - hugs had been long abandoned when it was no longer cool to do so. The ritual was repeated with the other four and soon they were boarding the train, disappearing into the compartments where Harry couldn't see them.
"So…" Ginny said, looking at Harry and Luna with an amused smile. "How was it?"
"Absolute hell," Harry groaned.
"Oh, it was lovely," Luna replied at the same time.
"I mean, I love them all dearly, but… all five of them together is a nightmare."
"Three is bad enough," Ginny agreed. "We weren't that bad, were we?"
"Well, it depends," Luna began. "At least they aren't looking for danger."
Harry nodded. "This is true." He smiled at her and then at the steaming train. "Well, I doubt they're going to make an appearance again, so why don't you and I enjoy a coffee somewhere?"
"Sounds lovely." Luna returned his smile. "It might be our last one before the baby arrives."
They farewelled Ginny - who wished them luck for the next few months - and then left the platform just as the train began to roll away. Harry couldn't help but turn his head and take one last look before exiting through the barrier.
"You know," he said, "I think we might try to do this every year. It was nice having them."
Even Luna seemed surprised by his statement, but her surprise was quickly replaced with a fresh smile. "It was wonderful," she agreed. "And next year, it will be even more wonderful."
Suddenly, Harry couldn't wait for next week. Six kids would be wonderful.
Er, I know I used the romance genre lightly, but I hope you appreciated this. This fits in with my side head canon (away from my main) where Harry and Luna fit into it. I have some other stories in this little universe floating around in my profile for anyone interested. I do the canon thing mostly, but have a soft spot for Harry and Luna too.
Thank you to Amber for beta-ing for me! Bless her. All the love to you Amber :D