Chapter 1 Life As We Know It

Ginny attempted for the third time to button her pants with no success. She stood up and yanked them off and threw them on the bed with the rest of her pants she had discarded. She picked up her last pair of jeans.

"Last pair, this had better work!" She muttered quietly to herself. She slid them on and as with the others, she couldn't get them buttoned. She waved her wand at the pile of pants on the bed and they went back into the closet.

She heaved a sigh as she bent to pick up her shoes and stomped downstairs.

"Am getting I fat?" She asked Harry as she entered the kitchen.

"Is this one of those questions where either way I answer I'll be sleeping on the couch?" He asked, hovering a spatula over a frying pan with eggs. In the three years, they were married, Harry slept on the couch once and that was because he fell asleep there and Ginny didn't have the heart to wake him. He told her the next morning to not let or make him sleep on the couch again.

He had woken up with a stiff neck and sweet talked Ginny to give him a neck massage before he left for work.

"No. I want to know," Ginny answered.

"No," Harry turned some of the sausages and scooped some eggs on a plate. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I can't button my pants!" Ginny exclaimed.

That stopped Harry in his tracks. He looked at Ginny, scanning her body. He did notice that her jeans were a little tight. But he didn't want to be hexed this early in the day.

"Maybe those are too small?" He suggested.

Ginny sighed and stomped into Harry's home office and opened the drawer she knew had Muggle pens, paper clips, and other Muggle office supplies. She sorted through the pile of rubber bands and found a thick one. She threaded it through the buttonhole, looping the ends together and pulling the one end over the button.

Ginny trekked back into the kitchen and sat down, digging into her breakfast. She added second and then third helpings of eggs and sausage. She then helped herself to a whole banana, something she shares with Harry, either by passing it back and forth until it was gone or breaking it in half

"Hungry are we?" Harry asked, with a bemused expression on his face, indicating to Ginny's rapidly clearing plate.

Ginny looked up at Harry, confused. "Yeah, why?"

"Just never seen you eat that much for breakfast," Harry mused.

Ginny finished her breakfast and started cleaning the kitchen. It was a routine that they started early in their marriage when one cooked, the other cleaned up.

"Gin, I could get that," Harry told her around a mouthful of eggs and sausage.

"I know," Ginny sighed. She began washing dishes the Muggle way. Harry was instantly alarmed.

"Um Gin, is everything okay?" he asked, hesitantly.

Ginny took her hands out of the soapy water, flinging suds and water all over the counter and cabinets. "Yes, everything is fine," she snapped. She picked up the dish towel, dried her hand and then threw down the towel on the counter. She stomped to the scullery where she left her shoes and slipped them on. She returned to the kitchen and growled, "I'm going to work. I'll see you later."

She walked over to Harry, kissed his forehead and headed to the floo. Her bag, purse, and jacket were in the armchair near the floo. She picked them up and called "Love you. See later."

She didn't wait for a response and called "The Daily Prophet!" and she was gone.

Harry shook his head and headed to clean up the mess in the kitchen and finish the dishes. "It's that time of the month again," he muttered.

Only he didn't realize there was something missing on the calendar that was tacked on the wall beside the push pin board and the pad with the self-inking quills.

Something very important.

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Ginny decided it was necessary to go and buy new jeans during her lunch break. The rubber band was holding up, but she knew it would last all day.

She worked all morning on her latest article on marriage and playing professional Quidditch. With the Quidditch season about to begin, she would be interviewing, watching practices and going to the games.

"How's the article coming Ginny?"

Ginny looked up and found Eleanor, the Quidditch editor standing in front of her desk.

"Great," Ginny answered. "I think it will be ready for Monday's issue."

"Perfect," Eleanor replied.

Ginny smiled as she read over her article. She was working on the section where she discussed ways of communication and how she and Harry communicated when she was still playing professional Quidditch.

In the offseason of Quidditch, Ginny wrote articles about topics relating to Quidditch and playing professionally. She began to branch out in her writing when she discovered how much she enjoyed it. Harry was supportive of her decision to write about their marriage and how it related to Quidditch, as long as he got to read it before it was published.

"Are you taking it home when you're done?" Raven asked. Raven was another Quidditch correspondent who worked with Ginny.

"Yes, I want to make sure Harry's happy with it before it's published," Ginny intoned.

Ginny worked on the article for another ten minutes before she got up and headed to Eleanor's office.

"Do you mind if I run out for a little bit?" she asked.

"When will you be back?" Eleanor countered.

"An hour in half," Ginny replied, hoping it would be plenty of time to find some jeans and to get some lunch. She might get lunch for her and Harry and surprise him at the office. She has done that many times, knowing Harry sometimes worked through lunch, resulting in him starving by the time he got home.

"Okay, are you off looking for Harry's birthday present?"

The words Harry and birthday hit Ginny like a tidal wave. Glanced at the calendar and saw that it was July 28th. Harry's birthday was on Saturday. She had remembered his birthday, but because they were celebrating it on Sunday with the Weasleys. But due to her busy schedule, he had forgotten to get him anything.

"Yes," she answered. "I know what I'm getting so I shouldn't be long."

"Okay, we'll see you back here at about one, then," Eleanor said.

Ginny glanced at the clock, seeing it was 11:30. She immediately headed to the floos on the fifth floor where the Quidditch department was held and flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and headed out to Muggle London.

Ginny trekked down the street of Muggle London to her favorite shop. When she reached the shop, opened the door and stepped inside. She headed straight to the jeans, locating her favorite jeans and found her size.

She took the pair from the pile and flagged down a sales girl. Experience told her that she would need to try them on.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

"Yes?"

"Can I get a dressing room?" Ginny asked. She decided to try them on just to be sure.

"Yes, follow me." The sales girl headed to the dressing room and unlocked the middle one.

"Here, you go. I'll leave this one unlocked if you need to change sizes."

Ginny entered the dressing room, shutting the door behind her. She slipped off her jeans and put on the new ones. To her horror, like the ones she put on that morning, she couldn't button these. She felt tears forming in her eyes and dug in her purse for a tissue.

She wiped her eyes and headed back to the rack where she found the jeans. She picked up the pair that was the next size and headed back to the dressing room, as calmly as she could. Had she gained weight? What was going on?

She pushed down the small ones and pulled on the new pair. To her relief, she was able to button this. She returned the other pair to the rack and carried her old pair to the counter.

"May I wear these out?" Ginny asked, pinching the new jeans with her thumb and index finger.

"Sure, sweetie." After Ginny paid for the jeans, she walked to an alley and disapparated to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Hello Hannah," She greeted the former Hufflepuff.

"What can I get for you Ginny?" she asked.

"I'll have the Chicken Parmesan sandwich with fries," Ginny stated, looking over the menu and then at her watch. It would be almost time for Harry's lunch break. Maybe she could take him lunch and apologize for snapping at him that morning.

"And the chicken and chips meal. This will be to go Hannah."

Hannah rang up Ginny's lunch order, and then ten minutes later, she handed the redhead the bag of food.

"Thanks, Hannah. Tell Neville I said hello."

"I will," the former Hufflepuff returned. "Tell Harry hello for me."

Ginny walked to the floo and called "Ministry of Magic."

She disappeared in a puff of smoke and then tumbled out of the floo and into the Atrium. Through Harry's connections, she was able to get a security pass card that would allow her to enter the Atrium and not go through security every time. It was the only perk of being married to the Boy Who Lived that she liked.

She walked to the lifts and rode to Level Two and headed straight to Auror Headquarters. She apologized when her bag hit someone as she weaved her way to Harry's office.

His door was open and he was at his desk. He looked up at her when she knocked, eyeing the bag she had in her hand.

"Please tell me that's lunch?" He asked, pointing to it with the quill in his hand.

"And hello to you too" Ginny laughed.

"I heard what's on the menu down in the canteen. I knew that I would need to…" he trailed off when he noticed Ginny was wearing different jeans and her old ones were in her bag.

"Did you buy new jeans?" he asked.

"Yes," Ginny replied, taking out the container with Harry's lunch and handed it to him. Harry summoned two bottles of waters from the break room next door.

"What's wrong with your…" Ginny cut him off.

"Something happened to my old ones. They don't fit!" She growled.

To keep him from being hexed, Harry didn't finish his sentence. If he showed up to the afternoon meeting with Kingsley with bats flying around his head (and he has), the minister would have laughed, impressed with Ginny's handy work.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you this morning," Ginny began. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

Harry broke apart a piece of chicken, he looked up at his wife, smiling softly.

"It's okay, you don't need to apologize," he told her.

They ate lunch, talking about the plans Molly had for Harry's birthday dinner that Sunday and what Ginny had planned to fix for the dinner date she planned with Ron and Hermione. Harry told Ginny that Andromeda had stopped by from a Gringotts visit to ask if they could take Teddy next weekend and he said sure. Ginny made a few suggestions on things they could do with Teddy while Andromeda was off visiting a friend whose husband had just passed.

Ginny finished her lunch, wiping the sauce from her hands before she cleaned up her mess.

"How was your sandwich?" Harry asked, taking a drink of water.

"Good, I think I'll order it again. You might like it too Mr. Picky Eater."

The one thing Ginny learned when Harry and her started dating was that Harry could be a picky eater. He rarely tried anything new and different and would only eat broccoli if it was smothered with some kind of sauce. But luckily for Ginny, Harry let her spread her wings when it came to cooking and would now try something new.

"I'll try it sometime," Harry promised.

Ginny looked at the clock on the wall above her old Holyhead Harpies poster and gasped at the time.

"I gotta go, I have that interview with Gwenog at two." It was now one fifteen. Harry walked her to the floos.

"Thanks for lunch, honey," Harry said, sincerely

"You're welcome, it's your turn now," She whispered against his lips before she kissed him. They often took turns surprising the other with lunch at their place of work. Harry liked visiting Ginny in the Quidditch office at the Prophet but didn't hang around long since he was sometimes the only man in a room full of women.

"Be careful," he murmured against her lips.

"I always am, you be safe."

Harry snorted, "Aren't I always."

"Don't have the time for that," Ginny murmured.

"See you at home." Harry kissed her bye and watched as she flooed back to the Prophet office.

"I wish my wife did that," Matthews commented as Harry passed his desk.

"Mark, your wife has brought you lunch many times, and so as your mother," Harry reminded him.

That stopped any further discussion. Harry returned to his office, collected his jacket and the stack of files on his desk with some ink, a few quills, a notepad, and his bag, and left his office.

He stopped by his secretary's desk. "Maisy, I have that meeting with Kingsley this afternoon, I won't be back in the office until tomorrow. Take the rest of the day off after you finish your work."

"Thank you, Harry," Maisy replied.

Harry headed to the lifts and to Kingsley's office.

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Ginny stumbled out of the floo later that evening. Since Gwenog was the last interview of the day and the veteran Quidditch player didn't have plans, they decided to have dinner at the restaurant they were meeting at. Harry had sent word that the meeting with Kingsley turned into a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister and that he would be running late.

Ginny accepted Gwenog's invitation and enjoyed spending the evening, catching up with Gwenog and some of her former teammates.

The sitting room was empty, so Ginny went into the kitchen. It was still clean from breakfast that morning with the addition of Molly's freshly made scones. Harry must have stopped at the Burrow.

Ginny approached the basket and selected a scone, breaking it in half. She got out the strawberry jam and spread some on the scone.

When she finished her snack, she headed to Harry's home office. It was empty.

She headed upstairs to their bedroom, wondering if Harry was up there. As she approached the door to their bedroom, she listened for any sound that would tell her Harry was in there.

She opened the door and sighed. Harry wasn't in their bedroom or the bathroom.

She walked to the window and gazed out on the side of the house. She could Harry's parent's house from that window or rather what was Harry's parent's house.

She nearly jumped when she felt arms wrap around her from behind.

"When did you get home?" Ginny asked.

"Five, I stopped by the Burrow to retrieve Teddy's stuffed wolf and Molly talked me into staying for dinner. George and Angelina were there."

"How does she seem to be doing?"

"Good, George on the other hand….." Harry trailed off. Ginny turned and looked up at her husband.

Angelina was pregnant with her and George's first child. Molly was overjoyed at the fact of more grandchildren, having to hound her childless children to give her more grandbabies.

"He seems to be tense."

Ginny turned around to face Harry, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"He's nervous because of what happened to Lee's wife. She's had three miscarriages. George is afraid that something could happen to the baby or to Angelina. If I was pregnant would you be worried?" Ginny asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I would be."

Ginny knew Harry's desire in life was to have a family. He told her that he sometimes wished that someone would take him away from his relatives. When he realized that wasn't going to happen, he hoped that someday he would have a family. Although at the time, Voldemort was at large and wanted Harry dead. After he was defeated the first thing Harry did was rekindle with Ginny, after talking with Dumbledore's portrait and returning the Elder Wand.

"How about a movie and some popcorn?" Ginny asked, suddenly in the mood for a movie night.

"Okay, The Princess Bride?" Harry asked.

Ginny smiled and replied, "I was thinking of When Harry Met Sally."

"Okay, I'll make the popcorn."

Together, they headed downstairs to the family room where the TV was set up. On the nights when they didn't have Teddy or any company, Harry and Ginny lounged on the couch and watched TV, sometimes a movie if the mood struck.

"Is this that movie you watched with the Harpies?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it is, it's also the movie I watched with Hermione and Luna when we were living in the flat and I had them over for a girl's night in and you went out with the boys. Remember, you came home with a stomach ache and I stayed up with you."

"Don't remind me," Harry deadpanned. "And when was this? I've come home with a stomach ache many times."

"Before we got married. I just moved into your flat, so this would have been." Ginny trailed off as her mind went back. "November 2000?"

Harry didn't reply but pressed the button to play the DVD and the movie began.

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Ginny woke up the next morning, feeling a little nauseous. She sat up in her bed and walked into the bathroom. The scent of Harry's body wash hit her like a tidal wave and soon she was throwing up, heaving over the toilet. She rinsed her mouth and headed downstairs.

Upon entering the kitchen he noticed that Harry wasn't home. She walked to the refrigerator and opened the door, selecting the orange juice. She then popped some bread into the toaster and glanced at the calendar, Harry's birthday was in two days and she needed to get a present. She then realized that something was missing from the calendar.

She paled when she didn't see the small red X for July. She plucked the calendar from the wall and flipped through, starting in January. She always marked when her monthly visitor came. Harry joked that it gave him some fair warning.

She flipped back to May. There was an X in May, but no X in June or July.

Breakfast forgotten, she walked to the flooed and called, "Ron and Hermione's". Ginny peeked in and seen the neat and organized sitting room.

"Hermione! HERMIONE!" Ginny shouted.

The bushy-headed witch ran into the sitting room and found Ginny's head sticking out of the floo.

"What it is? Did something happen? Are the boys okay? Is Ron hurt? Is Harry…?" Ginny cut off Hermione.

"No, come over please." The tone of Ginny's voice sent fear through her veins.

"Okay, give me a minute," Hermione soothed. Ginny moved out of the way. In two minutes, Hermione came tumbling out of the floo.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"I'm late," Ginny blurted.

"You're late for what? Oh," Hermione realized what Ginny was meaning. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I don't want to go to St. Mungo's. So what do you think I should do?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny, if you're worried about the media finding out and announcing it before you could tell the family or Harry, remember that Harry's threaten to sue them and it's worked so far. Nothing has been published about you and Harry in a long time," she reminded the young witch.

Harry's threat of a lawsuit was what stopped the Prophet and the media from publishing anything about the Boy Who Saved the Wizarding World. It came after an untrue article about Harry and Ginny's marriage was published.

The publisher of the Prophet and Witch Weekly were introduced to the Chosen One's temper and agreed to no longer publish anything without consent.

"I have an idea," Hermione stated. "We'll go to Muggle London."

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"I have to do what?" Ginny exclaimed. She and Hermione had just returned to Harry and Ginny's and were sitting in their bedroom.

"Pee on the stick," Hermione read from the box. Ginny took it from Hermione and stomped into the bathroom. When she returned five minutes later, she said they had to wait until the timer went off.

The idea of having a baby brought a smile to Ginny's face. She thought over a conversation that she and Harry had before they were married.

"Do you want to have kids someday?" Ginny asked while they rocked in the hammock

"Yes, Ginny. I do. Maybe, three or four?" Harry looked at Ginny's face, trying to find.

Ginny smiled and nodded. "Okay".

Ginny recalled when Victoire, Dominique, and Molly were born. When she passed them to Harry, he was like a child on Christmas morning. Now, that they were older, Ginny knew when they were at the Burrow and she was looking for Harry, he was with the kids.

There was no doubt in her mind that Harry would make a wonderful father.

She began to think of ways to tell Harry if the test was positive, but if it was negative.

"If it's negative, I'm not telling him," she whispered. Hermione squeezed her hand, comfortingly.

Then the timer dinged. Ginny took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door and picked up the stick.

"Oh my," Ginny breathed.

"What?" Hermione shrieked, "What is it?"

Ginny looked up at Hermione, her face breaking into a huge smile and said the two words that send Hermione into a squeal.

"I'm pregnant."

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When Hermione went home, Ginny started making plans on telling Harry she was pregnant. She decided to tell him that night at dinner and wrap the pregnancy test in a small box.

She then set about fixing a combination of their favorite things. Oven roasted chicken for her, twice mashed potatoes for him, steamed tomatoes for both of them and carrots. For dessert, Harry's most favorite, treacle tart.

She headed into their dining room, the one room in the house they had yet to use. With a wave of her wand, the table was clean and the room was refreshed. She lit some candles and set the table. She waved her wand over the food and headed upstairs to get ready.

After a quick shower and shaving her legs, she slipped into one of the dresses Harry loved on her. It was a rosy red and hugged her curves. She slipped on the matching shoes and pulled her hair up in a bun.

She quickly put on some blush and lipstick and sprayed some perfume on herself.

Just as she reached the last step, there was a loud POP! outside. Harry entered the house a moment later, stopping when he saw his wife.

"Hello, sweetheart," Ginny greeted, kissing her husband hello.

"Hi, babe, what's the occasion?" he asked.

"Can a wife get dressed up for her husband? Come on dinners ready."

Harry inhaled and could smell the chicken and the treacle tart. He dropped his bag in the armchair in his home office and slung his cloak on the banister of the stairs. He stopped into the main floor bathroom and washed his hands.

When he entered the kitchen, he asked, "Are we eating in the dining room?"

"Yes."

Harry stopped when he entered the dining room. "Okay, what's going on?"

"I figured we could celebrate your birthday a little early," Ginny explained, hoping that everything went to plan.

"Okay," Harry agreed and sat down at his place at the table. Because the table itself was long and big, Ginny chose to sit in the chair beside Harry, instead of the chair on the other end of the table.

In between bites, they talked about their day, Ginny apologized one more time for snapping at Harry that morning and Harry said it was fine.

Ginny sipped on the sparkling white grape juice. Then Harry noticed it when he took a drink.

"Gin, what's this?"

"Its sparkling white grape juice," she explained. She handed him the box with a smile and said, "Happy Birthday, honey."

Harry took the box and untied the ribbon so he could open the box. Once the ribbon was out of the way, Ginny started to feel nervous. She pictured Harry's reaction and they were starting to turn into the worst case scenario.

While Ginny, know Harry wanted to start a family, she didn't know how bad Harry wanted a child. Sure, he had Teddy, but it wasn't the same.

Harry lifted the lid off the box and froze. There, resting on a cloth was the positive pregnancy test. Gently, Harry picked it up, staring at the stick in his hand.

"Ginny, what is this?" Harry asked.

"It's a pregnancy test," Ginny explained. "The plus sign means positive."

Harry turned to his wife, his heart pounding wildly as if it was going to break his ribcage. "P P Positive," Harry stuttered.

Ginny smiled and said, "Harry, I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant," Harry repeated.

Ginny nodded with a smile on her face. She watched as Harry's face went from confusion and shocked to happy in a matter of seconds.

"We're going to have a baby," he whispered.

Ginny nodded, smiling so big her cheeks were burning. "We're having a baby, Harry."

Suddenly Ginny found her in Harry's arms, being twirled around before she felt her feet hit the floor gently.

"I'm going to be a father," Harry murmured. Ginny was surprised to see tear spring up in Harry's eyes.

"Are you happy?" Ginny asked.

Harry looked down at his wife and said, "Ginny, I'm happy. Very, very happy." He pulled her close and hugged her tightly. She felt a few tears hit her hair when he pressed a kiss to her head.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome."

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"When are we telling the family?" Harry asked that night when they were in bed.

"My family, we could tell them Sunday. Friends, we'll tell them after we told the family. I can hear Mum's squealing already."

Harry wrapped an arm around his wife as she snuggled against his side, her arm wrapped around his stomach and her head on his chest.

"What about work?"

"I write about Quidditch. I'll just not do the broom testing and stay in the safety area of the stadium when I go to watch practice," Ginny assured her already worried husband.

Harry nodded silently, kissing her head. He couldn't believe that he was going to be a father. But then Harry realized that one, pregnancy was nine months and that Ginny would be extra moody at times. Two, he was going to be a father, will he be a good father? And three, his parents wouldn't be here to see their grandchild. They weren't here to see him grow up, and yet he wished they were.

"What are you thinking about Harry?" Ginny asked, her finger making circles on Harry's belly.

"Nothing," he replied too quickly.

Ginny looked up at her husband, knowing he was probably thinking about the baby growing inside her and what kind of a father he would be.

"Go to sleep, Harry. We'll talk in the morning." With that Ginny kissed him goodnight and turned over, and soon was fast asleep. Her soft Weasley snores filling the room.

Harry, however, was suddenly wide awake. He laid on his back, gazing at the ceiling and thinking about how much his life had changed. He dreamed of having children with Ginny and now, that dream was coming true. Images of a little girl with Ginny's red hair and his green eyes were his last thoughts before he went to sleep.