Potter Couple and the Half-Blood Prince
Chapter 1: The Other Minister
The Prime Minister of England was sitting in his office waiting for a telephone call from a President of a far-away country. He sat in his chair writing a letter to another Prime Minister in another country about some information they needed. The Prime Minister heard a cough and sighed. It was the portrait of a man above the fireplace and that picture spoke when he was supposed to be visited by someone from another Ministry.
He remembered the first time it happened about five years ago. The portrait spoke to him and asked him to wait for the arrival of a man named Cornelius Fudge. The Prime Minister accepted the visit and Fudge appeared in the fireplace of this very office. Minister Fudge was a portly man who wore a pinstriped cloak and wore a lime-green bowler hat. "I am the Minister of a community run by wizards," he told the Prime Minister who was slightly baffled by this information, "and it is my job as Minister of Magic to inform you that a powerful wizard named...I can't say the name." Fudge wrote the name down on a piece of paper and handed it to the Prime Minister who read the name aloud. "That name is feared by everyone in the Wizarding community, so we call him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who."
"Very well," said the Prime Minister. "What happened to You-Know-Who, then?"
"He was defeated by a baby named Harry Potter," Fudge said. "Apparently, You-Know-Who tried to kill him but the curse backfired and he was obliterated leaving the poor boy with a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt."
The Prime Minister was visited by Fudge a year later around Christmas saying that Harry Potter had gotten married to a Muggle girl named Hallie Parker, daughter Elizabeth James, the wedding-gown designer. The Prime Minister was surprised that marriage would happen so young, but congratulated the newlyweds and hoped that their marriage would last forever. These visits happened during the summer of every year after that and it was going to happen now. The portrait announced Fudge's arrival and the Prime Minister accepted. Fudge appeared in the fireplace, his cloak and hat drenched by water. "What happened to you, MInister Fudge?" he asked curiously.
"I was visiting Azkaban prison in the North Sea," said Fudge. "Turns out more Death Eaters, followers of the Dark Lord, have escaped and the dementors are furious." The Prime Minister asked about Harry Potter and his wife and Fudge smiled. "The good news is that Harry Potter and his wife are expecting twins any day now. The bad news is that they are targeted by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." He sighed and added, "There's not much I can do about it now since I have been sacked and replaced. I'm here to introduce you to the new Minister of Magic. He should be coming any moment."
Fudge was right. The portrait cleared his throat and said, "The new Minister of Magic would like to see you, Prime Minister. Please give your approval."
"Very well, then," said the Prime Minister, "I accept." There was a roar of green flame in the fireplace and a man with a mane of brown hair and dark eyes stepped onto the hearth. "Good afternoon, Minister. Good to meet you."
"It is good to meet you as well," said the man. "My name is Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister of Magic. Cornelius, you may leave now." Fudge nodded and Disapparated. "Now, there are a few things that we have to speak about, my friend. The first of which is the recent occurrences you Muggles have witnessed such as the bridge collapsing and the strange mist. The bridge did not collapse of its own accord nor was it an accident. Death Eaters caused this." The Prime Minister was not surprised. Death Eaters were evil and loved destruction. "The mist, however, is the cause of dementors breeding."
"I thought they didn't breed?" said the Prime Minister. "Or that's what I heard."
"Not true. Dementors do breed, but only when they absorb enough despair and fear." said Scrimgeour. "I should also tell you that the dementors of Azkaban are no longer under Ministry control. Lord Voldemort has asked them to side with him and they have. The Wizarding community is currently putting up every protection we can to ensure our safety and yours." The Prime Minister thanked him and asked if there was anything else he wished to speak about. "No, thank you. Have a nice day." Scrimgeour stepped into the fireplace and vanished in a flash of green fire leaving the Prime Minister to his thoughts.
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Harry Potter needed time to himself during Hallie's last days of her pregancy and he spent most of his time in a diner in the Underground train stations. The waitress working at the diner tried to flirt with him, but Harry didn't really notice. He was too occupied with the Daily Prophet tor really care. Today was no different. Harry sat at a table with a mug of tea reading the paper and didn't stop reading until the waitress spoke. "Harry Potter?" she said reading the headline of the front page. "Who's Harry Potter?"
"Nobody," Harry said putting his paper away. "Bit of a tosser, this paper." The waitress smiled and told him what time she got off her shift and suggested that he could tell her about Harry Potter when she had time. "Sorry, but I have things to do today." he said with a grin while showing her his wedding ring. "I'm married, you see." Disappointed, the waitress walked away. Harry stood up and went to the window and saw Albus Dumbledore standing there. H exited the diner and met up with Dumbledore. "Professor, what are you doing here? Where's Hallie?"
"Your darling wife is at the Burrow waiting for you." Dumbledore said with a smile. "I must say you have been reckless this summer. I would have thought you would be more careful."
"I like trains," Harry said somewhat defensively. "They keep my mind off things." Dumbledore smiled and asked him to take his arm. Harry barely gripped the headmster's right arm when the headmaster twisted and Harry saw only darkness and felt as if he were pressed on all sides by invisble bands. This sensation made it hard to breathe, but he gulped in lungfuls of air when the feeling subsided. "I just Apparated, didn't I, sir?" he choked.
"Yes, and quite successfully, I might add," said Dumbledore. "Most people vomit on their first time." Harry muttered about how he understood why they would do so and Dumbledore laughed. "Hallie did the same when she went with me by Side-Along Apparition. Of course, I think her reaction was more to do with her pregnancy than with the Apparition, but she gave the right reaction all the same." He and Harry walked along a road which Harry asked about. "This is the charming town of Budleigh Babberton. A colleague of mine lives here." They stopped in front of a house and Dumbledore said to Harry, "You are wondering, I am sure, why I brought you here, Am I right?"
Harry looked the headmaster in the eye and answered, "Actually, Professor, after all these years, I just sort of go with it." Dumbledore chuckled and looked at the house whose front door was hanging off its hinges and suggested they keep their wands out. Together, they drew their wands, lit them and entered the house...
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Hallie Potter, wife of Harry Potter, slept soundly on the sofa in the Burrow's sitting room while Ginny Weasley mended her textbooks with Spellotape. They both heard a noise and Hallie sat up. "What was that?" she asked. Ginny shrugged. "Aunt Molly!" Molly Weasley peered over the railing and asked what was wrong. "Is Harry here?"
"Harry? Harry who?" said Molly confused. Hallie glared at her and she realized what the fifteen-year-old meant. "Oh, that Harry. i would know if your husband was in my house, wouldn't I?" Ron appeared and asked if he heard Harry's name. "Hallie was wondering if Harry is in the house. Is he in your room?"
"No," said Ron shaking his head. "I'd know if my best friend was in my room, wouldn't I?" Hallie sighed. "Don't worry, cousin, he'll be here."
"I know, but I want him here before the twins are born which could be any day now." Hallie said as she lay on the sofa again. Ginny nearly screamed as Harry walked into the house, the bottoms of his pant legs wet from landing in the pond. "Harry! Oh, thank God you're okay! Where did Dumbledore take you?" Sitting down and holding her, Harry told Hallie about his meeting with Horace Slughorn. "Wow! Grandfather told us about him. He used to be a very good teacher and the Head of Slytherin House when he taught at Hogwarts."
"I know," said Harry. "He showed me some pictures on his mantle. Your parents are in one of them along with my mum." Hallie rubbed his back; she knew how much talking about his parents hurt him. "One thing I didn't know was that your grandfather was a member of the Order of Phoenix when Voldemort was first at full power."
Hallie nodded. "Yeah, Dad told me that Grandfather worked with the original Order, but didn't go into much detail." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Harry, I wanted to talk to you about something." Harry told her to tell him whatever was on her mind and assured her that he would support her fully. "I want to get my hair cut like I had it when we first met."
"Brilliant!" Harry said happily. "When did you think about this?" Hallie shrugged. "Well, when do you plan on getting this done?" She shrugged again. "All right. Well, I'm going to try and get some sleep, okay? You go ahead and rest here. I'll be up in Ron's room if you need me." On his way out of the sitting room he muttered to Molly, "Keep an eye on her and tell me if something happens." Molly nodded and bade him good-night.
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Harry barely slept for three hours when he felt his wife shake him. "What's going on?" he said groggily.
"Harry," she whispered, "It's time." Harry closed his eyes to go to sleep again but snapped them open when her words were processed into his brain. "The twins are coming now."
Harry held Hallie's hand while Arthur covered her body with a sheet and asked her to open her legs so he could deliver the baby. "Please promise me you won't break my hand," he whispered to her. She tried to answer him but couldn't because she had to push the babies out of her. "Come on, honey, you can do it!" he encouraged Hallie. "Just push!" She glared at him and he shut up.
"Push, Hallie," said Arthur. Hallie gave a push and screamed just as her father came in. "Hello, Nick. You're just in time to see your grandchildren being born."
"Oh boy," said Nick while taking out a video camera. "Got to get this on video." Hallie let out a blood-curdling scream as the first of the twins came out moments later. "Hal, it's a girl! You have a daughter!"
"I...have...one...more...Dad..." Hallie said through clenched teeth. "Can you...do me a favor...and shut up?" Nick laughed and watched as the other baby came out. She let go of Harry's hand and started to pant. "You okay, babe?" Harry just whimpered holding his hand. "Did I break anything?"
"Maybe a few fingers," Harry said clearly in pain. "Nothing we can't fix." He went through his copy of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 5 and found a spell to mend small bones. Harry pointed his wand at his broken fingers, muttered, "Episkey!" and felt his fingers mend. "There. No harm done."
"Give me a moment get Minister Scrimgeour to fill out the birth certificates." said Arthur and he went to the fireplace and returned moments later with the new Minster of Magic. "Minster, this is Harry Potter and his wife." The Minister shook hands with both of them and brought out two birth certificates. "Now, what are you going to name your daughters?"
Harry and Hallie talked about the names in whispers and, once they came to a conclusion, Harry looked at the Minster. "Lucy Rose Potter and Isabella Marie Potter." he said confidently. "Those will be their names." Scrimgeour muttered the names to the floating quill and it scribbled the names on the certificates, then the Minister tapped the two bits of parchment with his wand and the fronts of the parchment flashed with a bright light. "What was that?"
The Minister glanced at them and said, "I placed a Permanant Ink Charm on them so that the ink will never fade." Harry nodded as the Minister gave them a quick smile, congratulated them and went to the fireplace. "A reporter and photographer from the Daily Prophet will be here in an hour to interview you about your newborn children and they will be in the morning edition tomorrow." Harry, rolling his eyes, nodded and the Minister shook his hand. "Congratulations, Harry Potter, and good luck."
"Thank you, Minister," said Harry as Scrimgeour vanished into the fireplace with a roar of green flame. "Well, that's nice of him. We get interviewed by the Prophet today and our interview and the kids' pictures will be in the morning issue tomorrow." Hallie grimaced but said she was happy. "I'm just happy the kids are out."
"Who's the godfather?" asked Ron. Harry smiled and said he'd tell the reporter today when they asked. "Good idea. Can't wait to read tomorrow's issue." Harry clapped him on the back and went upstairs to prepare for his interview while Hallie asked Hermione and Ginny to look for something she could wear.
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The reporter and photographer came exactly when Scrimgeour said they would. At first, Harry was expecting Rita Skeeter, the reporter who gave him hell in his fourth year during the Triwizard Tournament, but it was a wizard wearing robes of scarlet and holding a black notebook and a black quill. "Hello, Mr. Potter," he said in a very enthusiastic tone while shaking his hand. "And Mrs. Potter as well? Excellent. My name is Darius Maddock, Daily Prophet reporter." Harry greeted him and they sat down. "I was most excited when Minister Scrimgeour asked me to interview you today."
"I bet," said Harry smiling. "My wife and I are more than happy to answer any questions on and off the record." Maddock smiled and opened his notebook. "So, fire away."
"Very well," said Maddock. "Mr. Potter, how does it feel being a father at the age of sixteen?"
Harry gave this some thought and said after a few moments, "I never thought it would happen this soon, but seeing as I'm only a year away from being seventeen, I think it's amazing. I wouldn't have it any other way." Maddock's quill scribbled Harry's answer. "Is that a Quick-Quotes Quill, Mr. Maddock?"
"No, it is not. It is a quill that writes down the exact answers the one being interviewed gives," said Maddock. "Mrs. Potter, who did you choose the godmother to be?" he asked Hallie.
Hallie's eyes lit up at the question and said, "I chose Hannah Abbott as godmother and my twin sister Annie as aunt."
"Very good," said Maddock smiling as his quill scribbled the information. "Mr. Potter, have you chosen the godfather?" Harry nodded and told him who the godfather was. "Hmm...good choice, I suppose. Are you sure that's who you want as your godfather?"
"Yes, I think he'll be a very good candidate." Harry explained. "I trust him with my daughters' life in case something happens to us...but only after this war is over, of course." Maddock's quill wrote his answer down.
"All right, I think that's enough questions," said Maddock. "Time for photographs. If I could have each of you hold a baby, we'll do a family photo with the four of you, then we'll do a full family photo and then individual pictures of the babies."
The photo shoot took about an hour and Harry sighed in relief when the interview was over and shut the door. "That was hectic," he said wiping his brow. I suppose we better get some sleep tonight. We have a huge day ahead of us tomorrow and I want to be well-rested so we can go through my birthday dinner and then get ready for our trip to Diagon Alley later. Hallie smiled, kissed him and took the girls to bed. Harry followed her and fell asleep quickly with her by his side. All was well in the Burrow that day and Harry was proud to be a father of twin baby girls.
