Yes, it's the sequel that absolutely no-one asked for. Which, given the number of sequels people have asked for, is a strange thing for me to be writing. But I set all this in place a while ago and I'm determined to bring it to some sort of ending. And hopefully there'll be people out there who enjoy reading this. If you're new, reading of the three previous stories is recommended.

CHAPTER ONE: A Life Full of Surprises

"I absolutely refuse to be pregnant,"Hermione Potter announced in a loud, clear voice.

Her husband Harry was sat on their bed as she paced the room. "I don't think it works like that,"he ventured. Hermione turned and gave him a glare that would probably have subdued anyone who didn't know her well enough. Harry waved his wand vaguely in her direction. "We can do the test again if you like?"

Hermione gave a deep sigh and sank onto the bed next to him. "I think we both know what it would say. How exactly did we get ourselves into this mess?"

"Well, you didn't remember who I was for the first nine months we were married. I guess we've been making up for it ever since." Harry gave a silent thanks that the door locking and silencing charms they'd cast since the children had been home for the holidays had worked.

"At our age, you'd think at least one of us would have remembered the correct contraceptive charms."

"We're only forty-two,"Harry protested. "People have children older than that."

"Harry, we've got five children between us. James is about to start his last year at Hogwarts. We're going to be nearly sixty when this one graduates. I thought we were past all this."

"Yeah, me too,"Harry admitted. "But can't we be a bit happy about it?"

Hermione met his gaze. Her eyes sparkled for a moment, a slight smile forming on her lips. "I do like the idea of having a baby with you, Harry. I'm not sure how anyone else will feel about it but…yes, it's not all bad news." She gripped his hand. "But can we keep it to ourselves for the moment?"

Harry nodded, wondering how his children would react, how her children would react…perhaps most of all, how Ron would react. Hermione's ex-husband had largely accepted that she and Harry were together but it was hard to imagine him being happy about this one. Not for the first time, he was forced to reflect on the fact that once upon a time Ron had been closer to him than anyone, a friendship that was now in the past, even if they did still manage to work together.

"We'll keep it to ourselves for the moment,"he agreed.

When they came downstairs, Harry's three children – James, Albus and Lily – were already in the kitchen. Lily waved an envelope excitedly. "We just got our Hogwarts letters. Can you get my books list sorted?"

"Sure,"Harry agreed. Not so long ago, Lily would have been desperate to go herself but this would be her fourth year at Hogwarts and the novelty had apparently worn off.

Albus was sorting through his own envelope. He took in the contents and gave a broad grin. "I'm Quidditch captain, Dad! Like you and Mum!" He broke off and looked at James guiltily, suddenly remembering that his older brother had been on the team longer than him. "Sorry."

James shrugged with feigned indifference. "It's okay. They're not going to make the beater captain, are they? You'll be good at it." He shook his own envelope and a pin dropped out.

There was silence as everyone realised what the pin was. Albus and Lily stared at James in an astonishment that was only matched by James' own. Even Hermione gave a small gasp of shock. Harry just smiled at his son, immensely proud. The death of Ginny, the children's mother, had affected them all in different ways but in James' case it had been the catalyst to him turning into a fine young man.

"Head Boy,"James said at last. "They've made me Head Boy."

Even though he enjoyed having the children around, Harry was somewhat relieved to be taking them to Kings Cross for their trip on the Hogwarts Express. The fact that Hermione was suffering from morning sickness was becoming increasingly hard to hide and he was certain the children would notice something before too long.

When the five of them arrived on the platform, they quickly caught sight of Ron Weasley with his and Hermione's son Hugo. Hugo gave Hermione a quick hug and greeting before he and Lily started chattering about what they were going to get up to that year.

"Where's Rose?"Hermione asked.

Ron gestured down the platform. Hermione followed the gesture to where her daughter was having a lengthy kiss with her boyfriend Scorpius Malfoy. Hermione smiled to herself and decided not to interrupt.

James looked around the platform for his own girlfriend, Emily Longbottom. Finally, he caught sight of her with her family. He hurried over and gave her a kiss of greeting before awkwardly turning to her older brother, his friend Martin. "Hi, mate."

Martin's eyes drifted to the pin on his friend's collar. "The rumours are true then. At least it'll annoy Brian Higgs. Who do you think Head Girl is, Angela?"

"Don't know,"James answered, thinking of how the two Gryffindor prefects from their year would react to the news. "Guess I'll find out."

Emily linked her arm with him. "Well it's well-deserved."

"Who was Head Boy the year you were Head Girl, Mum?"Lily asked.

It took a moment for Hermione to realise Lily was addressing her. She'd started calling her Mum three months previous but she still wasn't used to it. "Ritchie Coote." She looked puzzled for a moment. "No idea what happened to him."

Neville and Luna, Martin and Emily's parents, were standing by the entrance to one of the carriages. "You'd better hurry up and get on,"Neville called out. "I don't want to have to give you detention for being late." Martin grimaced. Having his father as one of his teachers had always been a disadvantage.

Lily gave Hermione and Harry a quick hug. "Bye, Mum. Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Aunt Hermione,"Albus echoed. "Dad."

James came over to give Harry a hug then made to enter the carriage with his friends. Emily stopped him. "Aren't you going the wrong way?"

James suddenly remembered he had to be in the prefect carriage, ready to chair the meeting on the train. He blushed slightly and headed off in that direction. "We'll be with you in a minute,"Albus called.

It was at that point that Martin remembered that Albus, Rose, Emily and Scorpius, the other members of the group who were in the fifth year or above, were all prefects, meaning he was the only one who would be left with the younger ones. He glanced at Hugo and sighed. "I have got to get me some less overachieving friends."