Chapter 9

Two weeks later

Gabby dragged her reluctant husband through the streets of Muggle London for a much deserved shopping spree. While Harry had absolutely no desire to be gallivanting through shops and clothing, he knew he had absolutely no say in the matter. Especially since he had been an absolute nightmare to his bride over the last couple of days. After hearing the eerie words from Anderson, Harry wanted nothing more than to end the life of the man who he knew was a threat to his wife and family. Had he been alone in the prison corridor, he would have done so. Thankfully, Ron had the clarity of mind to remove Harry immediately and send for the interrogators to go back into the room to get more information from the prisoner still sporting a split lipped smile. As soon as Harry got home, he decided that he wouldn't tell Gabby anything for while. He refused to put any undue pressure or stress on her as she was only two months along in her pregnancy. He refused to jeopardize the life of his child for the sake of information. But he knew he wouldn't be able to keep the secret from her from too long. Gabby vehemently hated being out of the loop. Especially when it had to do with her.

Unfortunately, Gabby was much more intuitive than her husband gave her credit for. And she knew the moment he had returned from wherever he had gone with Ron that something was wrong. But she waited. She waited for him to say something, just as he always had. But for two weeks he remained silent. He would smile when he had to. He was attentive when necessary. But she would catch him when he thought no one was watching. And she could see he was worried. It irked her that he had yet to tell her and she was very close to sitting him in a chair to interrogate him. But she wanted him to come to her on his volition. So she continued to wait. It didn't mean that she wouldn't take advantage of the situation. Their binding ceremony was in two days and after being bombarded with minute details, she felt that she and her husband needed a day away from the magical world. And if playing dress up could distract them for awhile, then so be it.

After leaving a dress shop with several bags, Harry and Gabby ducked into an alley to shrink their bags and pocket their new belongings in Gabby's purse. Gabby clutched her husband's arm and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, handsome. I really didn't want to lugging all of that with us."

Harry gave her a small smile. "Of course, love. Where do you want to go now?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Let's just pick a direction." She looked left and then she looked right. "Pick a number. One or two?"

"Um, one?"

"Let's go right." They began to walk down the sidewalk in no particular haste. Gabby sneaked a look at Harry and saw that the worried glance had returned. She squeezed his hand and looked up at the clear sky, squinting at the bright sun. "Hey, doesn't this remind you of our first outing together?"

Harry gave her a larger smile. "Actually it does, doesn't it? Merlin, it doesn't feel like it's been two years. Time truly does move."

Gabby giggled. "I remember how much I rushed to get over to you at Piccadilly. The jerk of a boss almost made me miss you. Thank goodness you had waited for me."

Harry lifted their intertwined hands to his lips to kiss her hand. "Something told me you were special. My instincts were absolutely right."

"Oh my goodness. Remember how we stopped by that magic shop? Dear God! You must have been tickled completely by their antics."

"I was, but I remember a certain someone gushing over those cheap antics. She was quite cute about it and it intrigued me."

Gabby's eyebrows arched and she smirked. "Oh really, what actually intrigued you?"

Harry shrugged with a playful smile on his face. "Oh I don't know. Not that I knew we would venture any further but I wondered how this cute individual would react if she saw actual magic. Not that misdirection nonsense, but true honest-to-goodness magic."

"And did you ever show this cute and funny individual magic?"

"Did I say she was funny?"

"My gut is telling me was funny. And also quite intelligent."

"Your gut would be correct. But to answer your question, yes I did show her magic."

Gabby's smirk grew. "And how did she take it?" Harry had stopped abruptly, bringing Gabby back toward his chest with a snap into his embrace.

"She was utterly enchanted," he whispered into her ear. "And I became enchanted with her." Gabby's eyes warmed as she saw the love shining in her husband's eyes. The carefree look that she had been missing the last few days. She inched on her toes to reach his lips and lightly brushed hers against his.

"Sounds like a love story."

"You could say that."

Become aware of the glances they were receiving, Gabby stepped back and continue to walk down the sidewalk with Harry beside her.

"A love story, huh? Does it have an ending? Does it have a Happily Ever After too?"

Harry didn't respond immediately, causing Gabby to look behind her. Harry was staring at a shop they had just passed by. It was a children's clothing store. Gabby squealed excitedly and entered the store with a more quiet Harry behind her. Gabby immediately made her way to the infant section for boys. She rifled through the clothing, pulling a number of things and showing it to her husband. "Harry, isn't this absolutely darling? Oh my goodness, our son is going to be the best dressed child in the world."

A bit of life returned to Harry's face with a small smile. "Already you know the sex of the baby?"

Gabby grinned and continue to look through the clothing. "Of course. Ever since I was kid, I knew I was going to have three kids."

Harry's smile turned into a grin. "We are having three kids? This is the first time I'm hearing this."

"Of course sweetie. You can't possibly think we'd only have one. Our boy needs some playmates. Anyway, like I was saying, I knew I was going to have three kids. One boy and twin girls."

Harry laughed. "Twins too?"

"Yes twins. Three kids, two pregnancies." She looked down at her tummy forming a slight but unnoticeable bump. "Kiddo, tell your father that mommy's right?" She put her hands around her stomach and said in a high pitched voice, "Yes, daddy. Mummy's always right. I'm gonna be a big strong boy just like you and I'm gonna protect my sisters."

Gabby giggled, still caressing her stomach. "That's right, baby," she said in her normal voice. "You are gonna be a big and powerful wizard just like your daddy." She took a glance up and saw that the worried glance had returned to Harry's face. Gabby immediately jumped to the conclusion that the worried looks had everything to do with the baby and her body couldn't stop trying to comfort him. She quickly moved into his embrace and caressed his face. "Sweetheart, what's the matter? You were smiling and laughing a few minutes ago."

Harry's head snapped attention to his wife's searching eyes. "Oh love. I'm sorry. I'm just a bit out of it. That's all."

Biting back the questions she wanted to ask, Gabby simply said, "You look worried, Harry. Is it about the baby?"

Harry ran an agitated hand through his hand. "Um, in a way. About his magic."

Gabby's eyebrows met in the middle of forehead. "What do you mean? You think he won't be like you?"

He shrugged, looking down. "It's always a possibility. It could actually be a blessing, you know? Not having to deal with my world. Maybe he'll just be, you know, normal." Harry sneaked a look at his wife, and she wore a wary smile, looking at him sympathetically.

"You're worried he's gonna be a squib?"

I'd prefer it. "I just want him to be healthy."

Gabby gave Harry a tight hug. "Oh baby, he's gonna be fine. He's Potter. Let's not go down that path of the worst possible scenarios. Our little boy is gonna be a great wizard. If his father is any indication of his greatness, then we have nothing to worry about. And so what is he's a squib? He'll still be our son. The wizarding world be damned."

A moment didn't pass before Harry grabbed his wife's face and gave her a fierce kiss. "There is no one else I would rather be with or going through this than with you."

Gabby gave him a wry smile. "You did say it was a love story. But you never answered my question. Does it end with a happily ever after?"

Harry grinned down at the small beautiful woman. "Damn sure better."

After another hour of browsing around, the couple quickly returned to the Manor to retrieve Harry's car and drove back into London to pick up Gabby's family at the airport. They arrived a few moments late but Diane, Jonathan and Charlie were all smiles when they arrive. They quickly piled their luggage into the transfigured SUV and made their way back to the Manor.

"Did you guys have a good flight?"

"It wasn't too bad," Charlie said. "Mom and Dad were out like a light and I just watched movies. I was too excited. I can't wait to meet everyone."

"Everyone is looking forward to meeting you too. The Weasleys haven't been to the Manor, save that one time for Halloween some time back," Harry said over his shoulder, keeping his eyes on the road. "We figured we'd get the familial meeting done first since the next two days are going to be quite hectic."

Gabby looked back at her family. "So, just a quick couple of things. This is the first time you guys are going to be at the Manor so yes it's magical. We have elves for servants-"

"Elves?" Jonathan asked, a bit high pitched.

"Yes, daddy. Elves. Please do use them. They absolutely love company and do enjoy their work. If you want anything, just call for Baley, our major domo. She'll be able to help you." Gabby tapped her chin. "Oh yes, the pictures move. So don't be alarmed by that."

"Do they talk too?" Diane joked.

"Only if you want to talk to them." Harry answered quite seriously. "For the most part, they just observe everything." By the blank looks on their face, Gabby could tell that they thought she was joking. She inwardly shrugged. They'll learn soon enough.

"Sweetheart, am I missing anything?"

"The gardens are at your disposal. It's quite lovely at this time. I wouldn't go too far out though, the gardens tend to change about and you could get lost. Also, avoid anything that a man named George offers you. He's a bit of prankster and loves to experiment on others."

Gabby snapped her fingers. "That's right. I almost forgot about George. Avoid anything with the name Canary. He got me once with that. I had feathers for an entire day and I had to call out of sick from work."

"Wait, you had feathers?" Charlie exclaimed. "What color?"

Gabby made a face. "I just told you I sprouted feathers and your first question to me is what color they were?"

"Well, I mean, let's say I do want to try this canary thing. I want to know what color feathers I get."

"Charlie, don't you dare," Diane barked. "The last thing we need is for you to ruin any pictures because you had to be curious about feather colors." As Charlie and Diane argued about the finer points of trying on feathers, Harry arrived at the Manor. After telling them to leave their belongings in the car, Harry and Gabby gave her family a quick tour of the Manor's main floor.

As they pass by the sitting room, Gabby quietly said to Harry, "You know we should've brought them upstairs to meet everyone first."

"Hmm, you're right."

"What are you guys whispering about?" Charlie said loudly.

Gabby, rolling her eyes, said, "We were figuring out where to take you first. Come on, let's go the library. There are some people we want you to meet."

They quickly climbed to the stairs and walked down the corridor towards the library, passing the familial portraits.

"Man you weren't kidding about the moving pictures, baby girl. This is wild," Jonathan said quietly, not wanting the pictures to hear him.

"I didn't realize anyone else was here, Gabby. I thought the Weasleys weren't coming for another hour or so."

Gabby shook her head and opened the double door with a flourish. "They aren't here yet. We were talking about my in-laws." Harry led them to the middle of the floor and pointed to the either end of the library. "Diane and Jonathan, I'd like you to meet my parents Lily and James and my grandparents Fleamont and Euphemia Potter." The Peters stood flabbergasted as the portraits came alive and smiled down at them.

"Diane! Jonathan! We have heard so much from you from Gabby. It feels as though we've know each other forever," Lily said jovially.

James grinned, mirroring the same grin his son had. "Did you guys have a safe flight?"

Jonathan robotically nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"Oh thank Merlin." They turned to face Mrs. Potter. "When Gabby explained how you were traveling over here, I truly feared for your safety. Those air-panes seem quite unsafe."

"It's airplanes, Grandma," Harry corrected.

Mr. Potter huffed. "She's right, grandson. Perhaps we could set up Portkeys for their returns?"

Charlie's look of shock melted into a look of wonder. "I'm talking to pictures. And they are talking back." Everyone began to laugh which allowed Diane and Jonathan to relax and speak to their in-laws in a more relaxed manner. They would've continued to talk if Baley had not appeared and interrupted. The sudden pop had scared Diane causing her to shriek and the Peters men to stare with comically wide eyes.

"Mistress, the bags have been placed into their rooms. And the Weasleys will be here in 30 minutes."

"Thank you Baley. Degs? Pebby?"

Another two elves popped into the library with a deep bow. "Yes, Mistress?"

"Deg, can you take my parents to their room so that they can fresh up? Pebby, you take my brother to his room." Gabby turned her attention to her family. "Degs and Pebby will be available to you if you need anything. Don't hesitate in asking. Especially if you get lost. God knows I did my first time here." The elves bowed again and led them out. As they exited, Gabby could hear Charlie ask, "Pebby, will you come at anytime of the night? I might get hungry later on after dinner."

Rolling her eyes mirthfully, Gabby looked back her husband who had a serene look on his face. "What is it?"

He shrugged. "I love it when you take charge. I don't have to do anything." She giggled. "Whatever, mister. Why don't you get ready too while Baley and I check on dinner?"

Harry nodded, waved at his parents and grandparents as he walked out the door. Gabby waited for several minutes before telling Baley to continue on with preparations without her. After the elf popped, Gabby turned to her in-laws. "I wanted to ask you all a question."

"Go on, dear. " Mrs. Potter said.

"Harry has been quite distracted and I really didn't want to say anything about it but I wasn't sure who else I could talk to."

"You know you could always talk to us, Gabby," James said quietly. "What's on your mind?"

Gabby took in a deep breath. "Is there anyway to determine whether we will have squibs?"

Several moments of silence. "Gabby, are you pregnant?" Lily asked tentatively.

"Yes, but please pretend you don't know yet. I made Harry promise not to say anything until I was further along in my pregnancy," Gabby tried to say but the portraits' shouts of joy could not be contained.

"I'm a grandfather! I'm a grandfather!" James exclaimed.

"I'm a great-grandfather!" Mr. Potter shouted.

Lily wiped away her tears. "Oh my dear. I don't think I been this happy since Harry's been born." Gabby couldn't help but smile and feel her eyes begin to water. "I'm very happy too Lily. But I'm concerned for Harry. I think he's worried about the baby and whether he'll be a squib." She looked down, studying her hands. "I know I bring my limitations in this but our baby boy should be fine, right? I mean yes we first want a health baby. But I know that people are already expecting so much from Harry and his progeny. I don't want to add more problems because I'm a Muggle."

All four adults looked at her sympathetically. "Gabby," Mrs. Potter started, "I'm sorry about there is no way to determine that. We will have to wait until the baby is a few years older to determine whether he's a squib. But let me tell you, regardless of whether he is a wizard or not, he will be the Potter heir. And there is already much responsibility with that. Which perhaps that's what Harry is most concerned about. That this child will have to shoulder what his father has. You know how much Harry detests those rings."

Gabby could only nod.

"Perhaps, he is simply being thoughtful of what kind of future the baby will have. I know I worried about everything when it came to James since we had him so late in life."

"I know I worried about Harry due to the time we having him," James chimed in. "Harry is probably is just worried about what kind of world the baby will grow up in. I think every father thinks about that and how he can protect his family."

Gabby nodded again. "That makes sense. I guess mothers aren't the only ones who worry." She glanced down at her watch. "Oh my, I'm running late. Thank you everyone. Remember, Harry is supposed to tell you. Pretend that you're surprised or he will be very cross with me."

"You have our promise, sweetheart." Lily said. "And Gabby?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything."