Chapter 4:

Hermione arrived back at the Potter's home at Godricks Hollow ten minutes after she'd left. Her trusted beaded bag hanging at her side containing enough clothes for all of them and books to keep her children entertained for the week they'd be in 1995.

She took the stairs at a run and flew into Ginny and Harry at the top of the stairs as they came out of the study. She opened her beaded bag and held it open for Harry and Ginny to both put their bags into it so as they minimised the amount of things they were carrying through time.

"Ready?" She asked her brother in law. Harry nodded and wrapped the chain of the last remaining time turner in his possession around the three of them.

"I've left a note on the bed." Ginny added quickly before Harry could spin the dial. "It's in case this doesn't go according to plan and we don't end up back at this exact time, it's addressed to Teddy. He's visiting day after next and if we aren't back then he can alert everyone."

Hermione nodded in approval, "I've done the same. Addressed to Molly and Arthur, they're coming for Rose's birthday presents tomorrow night."

The adults lapsed into silence, all three of them watched as Hermione took the time turner off Harry and muttered and incantation under her breath.

"Think of the kids." She instructed them, "Just them."

And without another sound all three of them disappeared from the landing of the Potters home just as their family had done less than an hour before them.

…

The three of them arrived at Grimmuand Place without the bang that had happened to the two previous groups of time travellers. All of them stumbled as they tried to regain their bearings. Harry surveyed the hallway of the home with disgust.

"Just as depressing as I remember." He said looking at the troll umbrella stand that was on its side, suggesting that Tonks was here. Ginny too seemed to have noticed it as her eyes welled with tears.

"We should have brought Teddy." She sighed, sweeping her hair up into a ponytail, it was August in 1995 and despite the cooling charms that had been placed on the house Ginny could still remember vividly the heat in the kitchen, which is where she assumed they were heading, after all, all important Order meetings take place in the Kitchen.

Harry visibly blanched as he battled with what he wanted to do and what he couldn't do, in this situation both of them were the same thing. Ginny saved him the trouble of answering as she quickly added.

"I know we can't. Our kids have probably screwed it up enough I just feel like if its already messed up we should have included Teddy."

"Are we ready?" Hermione asked them already eager to go retrieve her family, the anger that she had felt previously had stopped now and had been replaced by an urge to feel her family in her arms.

Harry and Ginny both nodded as they followed the fair-haired witch down the stairs to the kitchen trying to make as little noise as possible, however there was no need as there was already enough noise coming from the kitchen to mask their steps. Hermione stepped up the pace as she heard Ron's voice.

"… She's going to be annoyed with you two."

Hermione could only guess that he was talking about her and as they reached the doorway of the Kitchen she couldn't help but say.

"Actually Ronald." She saw his head snap up and literally felt the room hold their breath, "I'm not annoyed with anybody, I'm just glad you're ok."

She couldn't hold back any longer as she felt herself surge forward and wrap her arms around Rose and Hugo. She breathed them in for a second before kissing her husband, not paying attention to the people in the room with her, most of who were looking on in mild relief that she and Ron had finally got over themselves and realised how much they loved each other. She broke apart from Ron and kissed Rose and Hugo's foreheads before stepping back and surveying them all for injuries.

"What the hell were you two thinking?" She reprimanded. But the smile on her face and the fact that she hugged them again took away from the warning. She smiled at Ron over the kids heads before sitting down on the chair that Hugo had vacated and pulling him onto her lap.

"How did it happen?" She asked, addressing her husband mainly. She needed a distraction from looking at the people in the room with them and getting the full story out of her family seemed like the easiest way to go.

"Not a clue." Ron said.

He heard someone in the room snort in disbelief. "Typical. Ron's older but apparently still as clueless."

Ron tactfully chose to ignore this comment as he continued explaining. "I followed them up the stairs and as I was about to go into our room I saw that the office door was open."

Hermione pulled a face, "That was me. I realised after you'd gone up that I'd forgot to lock it."

"Doesn't matter now." He reassured her. "Anyway, I saw my two adorable children holding a time turner but it was broke and the sand had started to glitter so I grabbed them and went with them."

Hermione turned her attention to Rose and Hugo. "Where was the time turner and how did you break it."

Rose took over from her father. "Hugo and I went upstairs and we saw that your office was open. I went in to look at the books and Hugo followed me in."

Hugo sensed that it was his turn to come clean, "I saw it on the shelf above your desk so I climbed onto the chair to get it. I fell off the chair and the time turner smashed. That was when dad came in."

"It was a good job your dad did come in, I can't imagine what you would have done if you were alone." Hermione said hugging her children again. "But you are SO grounded, and I'm banning TV for the next month."

There were sounds of protest, but the two Weasley children accepted their punishment and hugged their mother back twice as hard.

...

Harry watched as Hermione surged forward and then turned his attention to picking his children out of people. He saw Ginny move from behind him as she spotted Al and James, (a lot easier than Lily, who blended in with the redheads) Harry watched as she pulled them both into a hug and felt Lily bound into his side. He picked her up and held her closely paying no attention to her constant apologies.

"I'm so glad you're ok Lils." He whispered to her as he approached his boys.

Albus broke free of his mother's bone shattering hug to go to his father James following just behind him. Ginny pulled Lily out of his arms and hugged her as he wrapped his arms around his boys.

"Merlin…" He breathed out. "You two are going to drive me to an early grave."

Albus laughed as he tightened his grasp on his father.

"Sorry." He said, although the overall sound was muffled by his father's jacket.

He felt his dad laugh slightly before he said, "You are in for a whole worlds worth of trouble when your mother stops crying."

This fact alone was enough to have James reposition himself slightly so as he was partially hidden behind his father, as if Harry was enough of a human shield to deflect what his mother was about to do.

…

The family reunions continued regardless of the silence that had fallen over the room since the arrival of the three adults. Everybody's eyes flitting from person to person as they watched the families reunite.

Harry and Hermione and were looking at their older counterparts with shock as they hugged their children; things had just got a lot more real. Both Ron and Hermione had turned all shades of red as soon as they had watched themselves lock into a rather passionate lip lock. The whole situation had just got a little bit more real.

It was Molly Weasley who broke the silence as she finally got a look at the red head as she put Lily down on the floor she'd dived straight in and buried her face in her children's shoulders so nobody had gotten a good enough look at her.

"Ginny?!" She said. A smile threatening to overtake her face as she realised that she was right about the parentage of Harry's children. The older Ginny looked up at her mother and gave her a watery smile.

"Hi mom." She said locking eyes with her younger self before wiping her eyes and placing her hands on her hips and turning to face her children, all of whom had made their way back to their father and positioned themselves around him in fear of their mothers outburst. Harry sensed the outburst and rushed to stop it.

"Gin I know you're mad and that they do need to be punished. But is now really the time or the place?" He asked her weakly. Ginny looked at her husband and nodded.

"Yes it is the time and the place because if I don't do it now then they aren't going to get told off till we get home and I feel that it will have more affect if it's done here." She justified herself before taking a breath and starting.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU ALL THINKING?" She screeched. The people in the room who weren't used to this kind of volume coming from Ginny openly winced and younger Ginny was slowly becoming a shade of red that matched her house colours.

"Breaking into the office I can't believe you'd be so stupid. What were you even looking for?" She asked them but held a hand up to silence Albus when he opened his mouth to answer.

"No you can explain yourselves after. Did you even think about what you were doing the danger you could have put yourselves in. You could have been killed if you'd have gone to the wrong time. Or tortured." She continued, her voice had taken on a more disapproving tone now and her anger seemed to be melting away. Her children had the decency to look ashamed and at this Harry felt the need to step in. He placed his children in front of him and knelt down on the floor so as he could look them in the eye, it was a trick he had perfected when they were little.

"You need to understand that your actions have consequences." He told them quietly. All three of them nodded and he turned his attention to Albus, knowing that he was his best chance at getting the full story. "What happened?"

Albus looked towards his siblings, they both nodded at him. "We broke into your office." He started quietly. At this point Ginny had conjured up a chair and had sat down next to her niece and nephew feeling oddly tired.

"It was my idea; I wanted to know more about the war. I was fed up of being in the dark. Lily was searching the drawers and she found the time turner. She showed it to James…" Albus trailed off not wanting to get his older brother in trouble.

"I pocketed it." James took over. "Teased Lily when she asked me to give it back…" James trailed off as well as he looked at his sister who had stepped forward to take over.

"Jamie made me angry and I couldn't control my magic. I made the necklace fly out of his pocket and it smashed." She told her dad, her bottom lip was wobbling.

Harry looked at his kids, they all looked sorry enough and he realised that they didn't mean to do it. In a warped way it was partially his fault. If he hadn't have told Albus 'no' when he had asked about the war they might not be in this mess.

"So it looks like we're all to blame." He told them. "But… You are all so grounded when we get back and you can help around the house here until we leave. Now come give me a hug because I swear to God I have never been more scared in my life."

His kids grinned as they attacked their father. James looked over to his mother expecting her to still be mad but he saw her asleep, her head on her brothers shoulder.

"Nice that this whole incident hasn't interrupted moms sleeping schedule." He quipped.

The room turned to look at older Ginny but her husband didn't seem shocked. "I slipped her a calming draught before we got here." He admitted, the room sat in stunned silence until older Ron started laughing hysterically.

"Mate," He said between laughs. "What the hell were you thinking?" The Order watched as older Harry released his kids, who went back to their meals, and approached his wife. He reached a hand into the top of her jeans, produced her wand and tossed it to Hermione.

"Keep that will you." He said. "I didn't really think this through very much and I just realised all that anger has just been multiplied by ten and is directed at me." He shot a look to his children. "The things I do for you three."