Chapter 2 Telling the Family
In the early morning hours of the first day of August, Harry quietly snuck out of the house. He left Ginny sleeping peacefully upstairs in their bed. There was something Harry needed to do today before they left for the Burrow. They would announce Ginny's pregnancy to her family. He could already picture Molly's reaction and figured his ears will be ringing when they returned home later that afternoon. The other Weasleys, minus in-laws, nieces, and Arthur, Harry was dreading their reaction the most.
Sometimes Ginny's brothers forget she was married and had been happily for three years. They still thought of Ginny as they're baby sister. Harry figured their reaction would one similar to their reaction when they learned what exactly happened in Harry's flat the night before Ginny turned 18.
But those memories and thoughts left Harry's mind as he approached the village square where his parent's memorial was and turned down the lane towards the church. He could have waited until Ginny got up to do this, but he wanted to be selfish and do this alone. He came here after the war was over before he asked Ginny to marry him and the early morning before their wedding. Hermione had followed him the last time and silently witnessing Harry, telling his parents grave how much he wished they could be here to see him get married. Harry never knew Hermione followed him.
When Harry reached the church he quietly pushed open the kissing gate and entered the cemetery. The flowers on Lily's grave for Mother's day were still bright as the day Harry put them on, that time with Teddy as they stopped there before heading to the place where Andromeda had placed Remus and Tonks. Harry had offered the spot next to his parents, but the widow declined kindly, wishing to put her son in law and daughter in the same place as her husband. Harry had helped her with the expenses of burying an extra body, as she only had enough for her daughter and husband. Harry felt it was only right he cover for Remus's part.
Harry paused for a moment to look at the monument he had fixed for Sirius. If there was any person Harry missed the most, other than his parents, it was Sirius.
Knowing he didn't have much time, he sat down in front of his parent's grave.
"Mum, Dad, Ginny's pregnant. We're going to have a baby," he said, softly. He felt foolish doing this, but Hermione had told them that sometimes, it helps to talk to them. She confessed of doing the same with her own father's grave. He was diagnosed with cancer six months into planning Ron and Hermione's wedding. The cancer progressed more rapidly than the doctors anticipated and he passed away a month before Hermione's wedding.
"I wish you were here. Dad, were you scared? When Mum told you she was pregnant with me? I am. I'm scared. I'm afraid that I'll be a terrible father. I'm afraid of making a mistake."
Harry wondered briefly if he could talk to Arthur, but he knew it would be difficult to get a moment alone with his father in law unless he waited until all the kids went home.
"I better go before Gin wakes up and realizes I'm not there." Harry picked himself up from the ground, dusting the dewy grass from the butt of his jeans. He purposely put on the old ones that were ratty and worn. Harry could point out where Teddy peed on him, puked on him, and where the grass stains used to be when he played with Victoire.
"I love you, I love you both." Harry walked towards the kissing gate and stopped. Ginny stood there, leaning against a hickory tree.
"How did you know where I went?" he asked his wife as she approached.
"I followed you," she replied. "Waited until you were out the door before I followed."
Harry glanced down at Ginny, noticing she was wearing her usual jeans and T-shirt with her trainers.
She wordlessly opened her arms and motioned for him to come to her. Harry obeyed, and melted into her embrace. He leaned his head against hers, their foreheads meeting.
"Is it a bad thing to say that I'm scared?"
"No, why?" Ginny inquired.
"Because I'm scared," Harry admitted. "I'm more scared of what kind of father I'll be."
Ginny cupped Harry's head and pulled him back away from her just a few inches. "Harry, it's okay." She kissed him. "You're wonderful with Teddy and I think you'll make a wonderful father."
Harry took a deep breath, letting the tension that had been building in his shoulders go.
Ginny took Harry's hand, intertwined her fingers with his and led him back to the house.
"What do you say about stopping by the Pub for breakfast? We could get it to go?"
Harry nodded and lead Ginny led him to the pub, they frequented when they too tired to cook.
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"Are we telling the family today?" Harry asked, tying his shoes. They were getting ready to head to the Burrow for Sunday lunch.
Attendance was mandatory and anyone who missed would have the wrath of Molly Weasley to deal with. Harry, himself had only missed a handful of these lunches due to illness or work. If he was sick, Molly would send a plate of food by Arthur or Ron to Harry and Ginny. Ginny never left Harry when he was sick, remaining by his side throughout the whole sickness.
"Yes," Ginny answered. "Mum will be suspicious anyway. Besides, she would probably be guessing it already."
She slipped on her sandals and headed downside to retrieve the dessert she made. She made an apple tart, one of Harry's favorites, other than treacle tart.
Harry came downstairs, with Ginny's purse in his hand.
"Ready?" she asked.
"I'm ready," Harry replied and they headed out the back door after Harry checked the front door. He locked the back door and straightened the wards he had around the property. Ginny stood next to the garage waiting. When Harry had the house secure, he joined Ginny and they apparated to the Burrow.
"Uncle Harry!" came the excited call from a little girl. Ginny smiled as Victoire, Dominique, and Molly all made a run for their favorite uncle. The two younger girls were the first to reach him and giggled when he pulled them both into his arms.
"Hello Molly, hello Dominique, and hello Victoire," Harry greeted his nieces. He put the girls down and let them drag him into the house where Molly was putting the finishing touches to lunch.
"Hello Harry, dear. I see the girls found you." She smiled as the girls giggled and then ran off, upstairs to the bathroom to wash their hands, Audrey and Fleur following them.
Ginny sat her dish down on the table and began to Molly transport things to the table as Angelina waddled into the dining area of the kitchen.
"How are you?" Ginny asked her pregnant sister in law.
"Ready for this baby to come," Angelina replied.
"How's George? Harry said he seemed to be anxious when he was here." Ginny sat down in the chair next to Angelina. The two former Quidditch players often found themselves sitting together at the table with Harry and George on either beside them or across the table from them.
"I think he's ready for the baby to come," Angelina answered. "He's afraid that he'll miss something or the birth entirely."
Molly sat down the roast in the middle of the table, setting the carving knife near Arthur's plate.
"Looks good Molly," Audrey commented, carrying Little Molly into the kitchen. "Who do you want your chair next to, love? Beside Mummy or Daddy?" she asked her daughter.
"Granddad," the little girl squealed. Audrey shook her head as she placed Molly's booster seat in the chair next to Arthur. Charlie usually sat in the seat, but wouldn't mind letting his niece sit beside her grandfather.
Fleur came downstairs with Dominique and Victoire, followed by Bill, who had been upstairs fixing a squeaking closet door.
"Lunch is ready!" Molly called as Charlie was walking by his mother. He paused for a second to kiss his mother's cheek before he realized there was a little girl sitting in his seat.
"Who's in my seat?" he asked, in his playful voice. Molly giggled as Charlie tickled the back of her neck, causing the giggles to increase in volume.
In the midst of the chaos, no one noticed Harry and Ginny standing in the corner, talking in hush tones.
"When should we announce our news? Right now, before dessert or after dessert?" Ginny whispered.
"After dessert, everyone is still at the table," Harry replied.
They quickly took their places at the table as the family began their different conversations. Fleur was telling the women about her and Bill's weekend away in Paris while her family spent time with their girls.
"Have you been Ginny?" Fleur asked.
"Paris? Yes, Harry surprised me with a ten day holiday to Paris before I started with the Harpies. We've been back a few times for long weekends and our first anniversary. It's where I would have gone for our honeymoon, but the islands of Hawaii was amazing."
The men were talking about the upcoming Quidditch match between Appleby Arrows and Puddlemere United.
"Ginny's got tickets for that match right?" Ron asked.
"She did," Harry intoned. "But just me and she could get in the press box."
"Wait, how did you get a pass?" George asked.
"Ginny's connections," Harry explained. "Plus Aurors are usually present in different areas of the stadium for security. The press box is one of them and I volunteered for the press box."
"Was that what that meeting was about that I missed due to that raid?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, Robards said that you all will be updated, but since you were sent home from St. Mungo's, you were never told."
As the dinner plates were exchanged for dessert, Ginny decided that now would be a good time as any.
"If I may have everyone's attention, Harry and I have an announcement."
Like a flash, Molly was sitting in her chair on the other side of Arthur. She had been beginning to wash dishes when Ginny called everyone's attention.
Ginny reached for Harry's hand, who gave it a gentle squeeze. "As of yesterday, Mum and Dad, it looks like you're getting another grandchild." Gasps around the table. "I'm pregnant.
There was a slight pause until…
Molly shrieked. Unfortunately, she was next to Arthur's ear. He took it in stride as this was the fourth time she had done this. He was positive she would shriek like this at each announcement of an incoming grandchild.
Immediately, she got up and engulfed Ginny in a gentle hug, all the while stammering, "My baby is going to have a baby."
Arthur embraced Harry in a fatherly hug, followed by Bill. Molly had let go of Ginny and walked into Arthur's arms, muttering about 'more grandbabies.'
After more hugs and congrats were exchanged, the family settled into dessert, discussing everything baby.
"Welcome to the club," Angelina said to Ginny once all the men moved to the sitting room and the kids wandered upstairs to play. Harry and Hermione took Arthur on a trip to Muggle London and showed him some of the Muggle shops. Molly accompanied them on the second trip when they went to a Muggle toy store to shop for toys to keep at the Burrow for the grandchildren.
"What does Toys R Us mean?" Arthur had asked.
"It's the name of the store," Hermione explained and shared that some of her favorite memories were coming into the store with her parents.
"Thanks," Ginny replied, taking a drink of tea.
"Have you been to a healer yet?" Fleur asked, sitting down in George's vacant seat.
"I haven't yet."
Angelina summoned her purse from the living room, smiling slightly when she heard George call "hit the deck" accompany by the sound of Charlie and Ron hitting the floor and Harry call, "Good grief, what does she keep in that thing," and the bag land on the table in front of its owner.
Angelina unzipped her purse and began to dig around inside and finally found what she was looking for.
"Here it is." She handed the card to Ginny. "Shanti Willis, she's really good. She'll be delivering our baby."
Molly sat down in her chair. "Is she the same healer who delivered," she counted in her head. "All of the kids, except for Teddy?"
"Yes," Fleur assured her mother in law while Audrey was telling Ginny a little about the healer before she made the appointment.
"I'll call her in the morning," Ginny informed the women and then picked up her wand to summon her purse. Before she could say the spell, Harry came tumbling in the kitchen in a haste to get Ginny her purse before she summoned.
"Here, I don't need to be whacked with another purse today," he muttered and returned to the sitting room.
Angelina, Ginny, Fleur, and Hermione all looked at each other before they burst into laughter.
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Harry returned to the sitting room after bringing Ginny her purse. He had seen her pick up her wand from the doorway since he was headed to the kitchen to check on Ginny.
Arthur smiled as George said, "Welcome to the club, and may Merlin have mercy on your soul."
Harry looked from Arthur to Bill to Percy and then to George. "Is it that bad?" he asked.
Arthur answered the question first. "The next couple of months are going to the wildest ride of your life."
"But then it might be worse for you because you live with Ginny," Bill interjected. "I know Ginny is not one of those girls who cry a lot, but pregnancy makes women an emotional mess. She'll cry for no reason at all or over something that we might find crazy. There's no point in asking why. She wouldn't know why she is and that will only make her cry more.
Harry gulped. He imagined what Ginny was like during her time of the month. Moody, cranky, and nearly bite his head off over every little thing. Plus when she was armed with a wand….. Harry shuddered at the thought.
He could only imagine what the next several months would be like.
"Morning sickness is what some liar called it," Bill said. Percy looked at his brother and asked why.
"Because Fleur had it morning, noon and night."
"Audrey never had morning sickness, she seemed to be hungry all the time." Percy paused for a second to take a drink of Firewhiskey. Arthur had summoned the bottle and some glasses. It was like a family tradition that when someone announced they were expecting, while the women gathered and sipped tea while sharing their pregnancy stories with the expecting mother, the men would gather and share tips to the expecting father on how to help the pregnant mother….and survive the nine months leading up to the birth.
"Angelina is in what they call 'nesting'. She cleaned the entire house from top to bottom, the Muggle way."
"What is nesting?" Harry asked.
"It occurs around the fifth month of pregnancy, but it seems that since Angelina is approaching delivery, it's occurring a second time." Percy paused for a second to sip on some Firewhiskey before he recited, "Nesting is the uncontrollable urge to clean house. It's brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby. It might include wrapping up old projects and organizing your life to make the transition into parenthood as smooth as it could be."
"And don't bother helping because she'll go right behind you and clean again," Bill added.
"One more thing," Arthur interjected. "She'll ask you if she's fat. There is no right or wrong answer for that question, son. If you say no, she'll say you're lying, and if you say yes, she'll call you an…" Arthur trailed off, looking at Bill, Percy, and George. "Help me out here, boys."
"An insensitive bum?" Harry asked.
"Or worse," George added.
The talk continued until Hermione came in and asked Ron if he was ready to go.
"We're having dinner with Mum tonight," Hermione reminded her husband.
"How is she?" Molly asked.
"She's doing all right. Dad's birthday is coming up and she seems to improve each year as far as the depression is concerned."
"Why don't you bring her with you next week?" Molly suggested, although it more than a demand than a suggestion.
"I'll have to see what her plans are. She usually has brunch with friends on Sunday and then tea with us in the afternoon after we leave here."
Molly nodded and began to load up plates of leftovers for Ron and Hermione.
"I'll ask her about coming sometime," Hermione assured her mother in law.
Ginny was the next to enter the sitting room. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.
"Are you?" he countered.
"I thought since I don't have an article to write and you don't have any paperwork, that we'll watch a movie tonight?" Ginny looked at her husband, with a movie already in mind.
"Okay," Harry agreed. He hugged Molly as they headed to the floo where they flooed home to Godric's Hollow.
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"What is this movie called again?" Harry asked, carrying a bowl of popcorn into the living room where they sat up the TV.
"Bridget Jones's Diary," Ginny answered. "Raven recommended it. This and the sequel."
Harry looked at his wife, his cheeks filled with popcorn. "There's a sequel."
"Don't talk with your mouth full," she reprimanded. "Yes, it's Bridget Jones's Diary: Edge of Reason."
"Are we watching both?" Harry asked, handing her a bottle of apple juice.
"Not tonight."
As the movie played on the screen, Ginny snuggled against Harry and smiled as he cuddled her to him.
After the movie was over, Ginny took the bowl back to the kitchen and tossed the empty apple juice bottles into the trash can. She added the juice to the running shopping list and returned to the living room.
Harry had turned off the TV and the DVD player and returned the DVD to the shelf. He headed into his office and collected the files lying on his desk and returned them to his work bag.
Then a thought came to him. Should he tell his work colleagues? Or Just Robards?
A part of Harry didn't want to tell anyone outside of the family just yet. They didn't know how far along Ginny was yet.
He heard Ginny tell the women that she was calling a healer in the morning and that Angelina recommended her own healer. A part of Harry felt sorry for the healer since she had already dealt with three Weasley fathers and no doubt she'll have them all (except for Charlie).
Harry asked George, Bill, and Percy what they thought of the healer. All three had nothing but good things to say about Healer Willis. Harry vaguely remembered the blonde headed healer when he was at St. Mungo's with the family awaiting the arrival of Victoire, Dominique, and Molly.
The sound of the shower brought his attention upstairs. He smiled and headed upstairs to join his wife.
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Harry entered the Auror office the next morning after dropping Ginny off at the Prophet office. He greeted his co-workers and dropped his bag off in his office before heading into the conference room.
"Hey mate," Ron greeted. "How's Ginny?"
"She's okay," Harry answered, making himself his third cup of tea. "She wasn't as sick this morning and managed to eat some toast and a banana. She took a bag full of snacks with her from the pantry this morning. I have a feeling I'll be heading to the store sometime this week."
"Are you telling…."Ron trailed off and motioned around the room at the other Aurors.
"I guess I could since Andrews all but shouted it when his wife was expecting."
"Who's expecting?" The question brought Harry's attention to Jacobson, one of the Senior Aurors. He liked Harry and knew that he was Robard's first choice for Head Auror when he retired in two years.
Everyone in the conference room turned to Harry.
"I guess I should tell you then. Ginny's pregnant."
There was a slight pause before everyone exploded with congratulations and good wishes for the expectant parents.
After the morning briefing, Harry approached the head Auror. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, my office." Harry followed Robards to his office. It was only a few doors down from Harry's own office and the same size. "What do you need to talk about?" Robards asked.
"Well, sir. My wife and I found out that she's pregnant," Harry began.
"Congratulations. I assume that you're requesting to be homebound during her pregnancy?" Robards guessed.
"Yes, if that's…" Robards raised a hand. Harry stopped talking.
"I understand. I asked for the same thing when my wife was pregnant with our first child. She's married now with a daughter of her own."
"Thanks for understanding, sir," Harry said, sincerely and feeling relieved.
"When is she due?"
Harry paused, thinking of when Ginny might be due. "We don't know yet. She hasn't been to a Healer, yet. She found out by taking a Muggle pregnancy test."
"When is her appointment?" Robards inquired. "If you don't know when you find out, let me know and you have the morning or afternoon off to accompany her. Also, when you find out the due date. I don't know if you know this, but we do have a policy regarding maternity and paternity leaves."
"We do?" Harry asked.
"Yes, paternity is usually six weeks, starting a week before the due date. Extensions are allowed if there are complications or for other reasons we'll discuss when we discuss your leave."
"Thank you, sir." Harry left the head Aurors office and headed to his office.
They told the family, his work colleagues, Ginny will be telling her work colleagues and then it will be telling the various friends.
Then it hit Harry. They still have to tell Teddy!
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Ginny scanned the bookshelf, looking at the books about pregnancy. There were a lot of options and Ginny was starting to feel overwhelmed.
"What do you recommend?" Ginny asked Hermione, as she picked up a book that caught her attention.
"This one for you." Hermione handed Ginny the book she was looking at.
"What to Expect When You're Expecting," Ginny read. "Okay."
Hermione looked over the shelf and then she found the second book she was looking for. "And this one, my cousin swears by both of them." Ginny picked up the book Pregnancy for Dummies.
"Alright, we're done," Ginny decided and headed back to the children's section where Harry was trying to find something for Teddy to help explain Ginny's pregnancy.
"If I may make a suggestion," Hermione began, having started scanning the shelf herself. "Get a book about being a big brother."
Harry picked up one that said, "I'm Going to Be a Big Brother." While Hermione and Ginny looked over the books about a new baby and about big brothers, Harry read over the book he selected.
"I think I found one," he told Hermione and Ginny.
"Okay, so we're ready to check out," Ginny said, taking the book Harry handed her. As they headed to check out, Hermione asked Ginny when her appointment with Shanti was.
"Next week."
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Ginny entered the Prophet office early on Wednesday morning. She decided to come into the office and work because working at home currently could be distracting. Currently, all the living room furniture was moved to different parts of the house. They were finally painting the living room.
Last night, Ginny had declared that she couldn't take the white walls anymore. The choice of paint wasn't much of a major change. The color they chose was a beige shade, reminding Ginny the color of porridge.
Arthur agreed to come over and supervise the painting since both Harry and Ginny had to work.
No one messed with Ginny, especially when she was with child.
"Good morning, Ginny," Eleanor greeted.
Raven and Grace, Ginny's fellow correspondents waved from their desk.
"Good morning," Ginny greeted. "While we're all here I have some news."
That stopped the three women and they all at Ginny. "What?" Grace asked.
"Last week, Harry and I found out that we're going have a baby," Ginny said with a smile.
The excited squeals filled the room and they all hugged Ginny while saying their congratulations.
When the excitement died down, Raven asked, "How's Harry handling all of this?"
"He's happy. I don't think I've seen him this excited about something since our wedding."
"How's Teddy handling the new?" Grace inquired. She had seen Harry and Teddy at a few games, most of them Ginny's when she was still playing with the Harpies.
"We haven't told him yet. But we are this weekend. He's staying with us."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
Ginny started working on her article about women's place in Quidditch. Gwenog had provided helpful information for the article and Ginny was grateful.
As she worked on the article, she thought over how she and Harry would be telling Teddy about the baby.
Coming up in the next chapter: Telling Teddy, The first appointment with Shanti and telling the friends. Plus, Ginny grosses Harry out with her cravings.