The door clicked shut behind Anthony, and Harry turned to Ginny, a grin on his face. "No room?" he asked. "Ginny, we have nothing but room! Even with all the extras."

She gave him an answering grin. "I was surprised…" she muttered defensively. Then she turned back to the children on her doormat. "Anyway, um…So." She glanced at Harry, then back to the new kids. "I'll go and get the rest of the kids and we'll all meet in the den." She turned from the awkward situation with relief.

Reentering Albus's bedroom, she saw for a split second that most of the kids were in the same spots she had left them in. Then chaos hit.

"What happened?"

"Who was at the door?"

"Is everything ok?"

"What's going on?"

"QUIET!" Ginny shouted. Silence reigned. "There is nothing wrong. Just something… new. And unexpected. But I won't tell you just what until everyone's together. Now go to the den, and just wait there, please." She saw that each brother/sister pair stayed close together. The kids were clearly still scared. "Lucy, Lysander, come with me. We have to find Molly and Lorcan."

Lucy clutched her hand tightly to Ginny's as they walked down the hall. Lysander spoke up, trotting along behind. "Do you think they're with James, Ginny? Do you? Doing almost-first-year stuff again?"

Ginny smiled. "Yes, Lysander, I do." Sure enough, when she opened the door to James's room, three 11 years olds spun around with guilty expressions. Allowing them to believe, for the moment, that they were in trouble, she merely said, "Go to the den. Sit with your siblings." The three scampered out, and she let Lucy and Lysander go with them.

Ginny made her way back to the main floor and then to the door leading to the basement. She was certain she knew exactly what she'd find downstairs: 13-year old Frank, eldest of the Longbottom children, gaping while Teddy Lupin, fresh from his last year at Hogwarts, regaled some astounding, completely false, feat of bravery. It was exactly as she had thought and she had just enough time to hear that the story involved four angry centaurs and a manticore before she sent them to the den with the others. Snorting, she followed down the hallway.

She stopped inside the doorway to the den, looking at the many children strewn about the couches and rugs, and listening to the many conversations. Albus was begging James to tell him what had gone on in his bedroom, pointing out that he, Albus, would be going to Hogwarts in another year, after all. Lily was being asked repeatedly how it felt to be 8 years old at last, seeing as it was after midnight, and thus officially her birthday. Teddy had taken up his storytelling again, and Hugo, Lorcan, Lysander, and Colin had joined Frank in listening avidly.

Harry entered and the room fell silent, but he did not bring the new Potters in. Instead, he walked to a spot in front of the fireplace where everyone could see him and cleared his throat. "During the war," he began, and with this introduction, the room tensed palpably. Teddy's head jerked, and he stared at Harry as avidly as Frank had just been staring at him. Harry continued. "During the war, the Death Eaters rounded up every muggle-born witch and wizard they could find, including their children. They were taken to Death Eater run camps, camps of cruelty and evil, where the muggle-borns, especially the kids, were treated very harshly. In the years after the war, the Order was able to find most of these camps, but one, that we knew of, remained hidden. That last camp has been found. There were kids at the camp. The Ministry has asked that wizarding families take in some of these kids as their own children. They have no parents, no last name, and no knowledge of a life without violence. All of your families will be receiving new additions within the week." He looked at the door he had come through, behind which, Ginny knew, the four children waited. "I'd like you all to meet the four newest members of the Potter family."

While the four trooped in, Ginny sneaked a glance at her own children. James's face held an expression of intense shock, and Lily was squeezing Rose's hand. When she looked to Albus, she found him looking directly back at her. She nodded, and he swallowed and looked back to the fireplace.

Harry nodded at the oldest girl, as though prompting her. She gave a tiny nod and looked up, about to speak. A gasp ran through the crowded room as they saw her bright green eyes. Glances and whispers flew. Harry cleared his throat and nodded again at the girl. She swallowed, shifted the toddler in her arms, and then spoke.

"My name is Delia. Delia Potter." She said this very defensively. "I'm 14 and my birthday is March 28. This," she indicated the baby, "is Geoffrey, he turned 2 on his birthday, March 24." She looked at the next oldest boy, as though expecting him to speak, but he shook his head, gave her a wild-eyed look, and she spoke for him. "The boy with the brown hair is Curtiss, he's 13, and the one with blonde hair is Dion, he's 9." This litany having been finished, she looked expectantly out at the room. There was an uncomfortably long silence. Delia glanced at Harry, silently asking for help, but he didn't know what to do either. Ginny decided to take charge. She stepped into the firelight.

"I'm Ginny, Delia, and." She stopped, unsure if this was the right thing to say, then plowed on. "I suppose I'm your mum now." The two boys' faces looked at her with a pleading expression. She gave them a small smile before continuing. "It's not usually this crowded at our house, but today is my daughter Lily's birthday. Lily."

Ginny gave her a hard look until she stood up, still holding tight to Rose's hand, and said softly, "I'm Lily, and I'm 8 today." She sat back down quickly.

Ginny gave a glare in the direction of her two boys, and they stood up, James acting as spokesperson for the both of them.

"I'm James, and this is Albus. I'm gonna be a first year in September, and he will be next September. I'm your brother now!" James ran to the front of the room and shook hands first with Dion, then with Curtiss, still talking rapidly. "She said your name was Curtiss, right? And you're gonna be in third year! I always wished I had an older brother, and now I do! Well," he amended hastily, with a glance at the back of the room," I had Teddy (Teddy Lupin, he's over there, he's my dad's godson, and he's lived with us forever), but he's too much older. You're only 2 years older than me! This is gonna be great!"

"James." Ginny spoke his name lightly, but he flushed and sat down nevertheless. Then she turned back to the front of the room. "I'm sure you are all tired, but I hope you don't mind sleeping bags, because with all these people that's all there's really room for. Delia, you can join all the girls in Lily's room, and go ahead and take Geoffrey with you, because we haven't got a crib and I don't think I trust my boys with a baby. Just make him up a bed of blankets on the floor right next to you."

"Come on, we'll show you where it is," said Susan, and all the girls filed out of the room. Both Hugo and Colin were looking like they very much wanted to run out of the room as well, and Curtiss and Dion, she saw, were looking just as scared with their sister gone.

"Dion." The little boy's head swung around to stare at her, his eyes huge. She smiled at him. "You're lucky it's Lily's birthday, because we have two boys over that are just your same age. This is Colin Longbottom, and this is Lysander Scamander. Boys, can you show Dion to Al's room?" Lysander and Colin looked at each other, then looked to Albus. He motioned them forward, and Lysander took Dion's hand and led him out of the room. Albus mumbled something to Hugo, and they left, with Colin following behind.

At this point Curtiss's fear-filled eyes took up his entire face, and Ginny reflected that she probably shouldn't have left him for last. Before she could speak, however, he seemed to come to a drastic decision of his own. "I can sleep anywhere!" he shouted. "Wherever there's room, really, I…" he trailed off. Ginny shook her head sympathetically, but firmly.

"No, Curtiss, not anywhere. You will sleep with these older three in James's room. You're the same age as Frank here, and Lorcan and James are two years younger than you."

James led the four out of the room, followed by Teddy, who went to his own basement bedroom by himself.

Ginny felt Harry's arms snake around her waist, and his head on her shoulder, whispering in her ear. "You were great, Gin. You're a great mum with your own kids, and you'll be great with these ones. I know it. We'll make it work.