Harry woke up panting, his skin drenched in a cold sweat. "Damn," he thought. "The nightmares are back again." He looked to his side to see Ginny still sleeping peacefully beside him. His thoughts drifted back to nearly two months ago, when she had told him she was expecting their first child. Since then, nightmares had been plaguing him nearly every night. It made no sense; Harry hadn't had nightmares in over a year. They had won the war and the Dark Lord was gone. The Death Eaters had turned themselves in in droves, claiming, of course, to have been under the Imperious Curse, hoping for mercy from the Aurors. His scar no longer pained him, and Harry finally felt like he was living the "normal" life he had been denied for so long.

His new life with Ginny was like a dream. They had married in June the year after the Battle of Hogwarts, once Ginny finished her last year of school, and they had moved into a small, quiet neighborhood not far from the Burrow. Harry loved their house. It resembled the house that, as a boy growing up with the Dursleys, he had always imagined his parents' house would have been like. It was in a Muggle town, so their home was lacking the eccentric, gnome-filled garden Harry had grown to love at the Burrow, but it had a nice yard, with a swing tied to a tree, and Harry looked forward to raising his and Ginny's children there.

That thought made Harry's blood run cold again, and he shifted uncomfortably in bed. He'd shared in Ginny's joy while he was with her, but while he was alone, he panicked at the thought of being a father. He had only had a loving father for a year that he couldn't even remember, and then he'd been left to the harsh hand of Uncle Vernon. But Harry knew with every part of himself that Ginny was going to be a great mother. She was so full of love and life, how could she not be? Harry smiled, and rolled over to embrace her in her sleep. He laid his hand over her abdomen, and his eyes shot open! He could swear he felt the movement of his baby inside Ginny's stomach. But no, it couldn't be; Mrs. Weasley had told them it would be a few more months before that would be possible. Still, the thought comforted Harry, and he felt his eyes closing again, and he drifted back to sleep.

He came awake hours later to soft lips kissing his cheek and a warm whisper in his ear.

"Wake up," Came Ginny's laughing voice. "You have a letter from someone." Harry grinned sleepily, his earlier nightmare all but forgotten. He reached to pull Ginny across him, but she had already danced back down the stairs to their kitchen. Harry stretched and climbed out of bed, wondering vaguely who his letter was from. It was Saturday, and he and Ginny were going to dinner at the Burrow later, where Ginny planned to tell the rest of her family about the baby. Harry grinned as he pulled a sweater over his head, laughing at the thought of how Ron would take the news. He figured he better keep his wand handy just in case Ron decided to play the role of overprotective big brother again. "Pertrificus Totalus" he muttered under his breath, and stepped out into the hall.

Harry descended the stairs to the kitchen, where the first thing he saw was their Greater Sooty Owl, Warwick, sleeping on his perch by the window. His new owl was much more independent than Hedwig had been, and would often go out hunting and not return for nights in a row. This stubborn behavior irritated Harry and made him miss the snowy owl who had been his first companion in the wizarding world. He strode to the table and took a seat next to Ginny, who was reading the Daily Prophet. Out of nowhere it seemed, Ginny produced a plate of scrambled eggs and toast and pushed it toward him, grinning.

"Good morning. Merlin's beard, Harry, do you think I'm going to disappear overnight? I woke up sweating this morning with you clinging to me, and I could barely wake you to escape! Honestly, it's Halloween already, and it still felt like July with how hot I was." She rose from the table and placed a kiss on top of his head. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat; he still hadn't told Ginny about the nightmares he had been having. It would only concern her, and he didn't want to upset her over something as silly as a bad dream.

"I just like to keep the two of you close to me," said Harry. Ginny beamed at him, and he knew she was distracted enough to no longer question his new-found need for closeness.

"Who was my letter from?" He asked her.

"Oh! You'll be surprised by this, Harry. The letter came from the postman. An actual, Muggle postman! I saw him walk up the path and slip the letter through the slot himself, no magic at all." Her childlike wonder at the world of Muggles amused Harry, but now he was very curious. Who would be sending him a letter by Muggle post?