July 31st, 1999
"Happy birthday, oh Chosen One!" Ron said, laughing as he hit Harry over the head with a pillow. Today was Harry's nineteenth birthday and there was to be a party at Potter Estate. It was also going to be the first time Harry had ever visited his family home. Tomorrow, he and Ron would move to the flat they had rented and Teddy would spend the night.
Harry dressed and called for Nelson, a house elf. Nelson and his wife Nia had worked for the Potter's since before Harry's grandfather was born and they had a son, Oscar. Oscar was going to marry Ophelia from Hogwarts kitchens in September.
Nelson appeared with a crack and gave a quick bow. "Is Master Harry ready to be taken to the Potter Estate?" he asked in an old voice.
"Yes, Nelson. And Miss Weasley will be coming," Harry replied.
"Excellent! If you would both just grab my hands, I can take you," the elf said.
Within a moment, the three stood outside a gate next to Oscar.
"Goodmorning, Master Harry and Miss Ginny!" Oscar said excitedly. He opened the gate and Harry and Ginny stepped into a large front yard with lots of flowers and a garden. They walked up the path to the large house.
"This is the entrance room," the elf said. Harry found himself in a small room with many pictures of Potter relatives smiling down on him. The next room was a formal dining room and to the left was a small parlor. In the back of the house there was a kitchen and the right side contained a large, empty room commonly used for parties and dances and such.
The ground floor had a large staircase in the front hallway leading up to the first floor, but there was also a set of back stairs in the kitchen. The first floor had a round central room with three branching hallways. The first hallway contained the Master suite and a study. the second hallway contained four bedrooms and two bathrooms and a nursery. The third hallway contained 3 guest rooms and a small sitting room and a family room. There was a smaller set of stairs at the end of the second hallway that led up to the third floor, which contained about 3 different bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a couple of miscellaneous rooms. One of the rooms appeared to be a music room and the other seemed to be a play room.
Harry and Ginny looked through the Master suite. There was a small sitting room with dark orange carpeting. There was also a large bathroom and a walk-in closet. The bedroom was very large and contained a bed bigger than a King size.
The children's rooms were painted all different colours and one of them was very obviously where James had stayed. Harry put a spell over that room, locking it to everyone but himself.
The houselves showed him the preparations for the party. There was a large amount of food, a large birthday cake, and several games set up outside.
At 6 o'clock that evening the guests began to arrive. First were Dennis Creevy, Hannah Abbott, and Neville Longbottom. After them was the whole Weasley clan, Charlie and little Victorie included. Right after Ron was out of sight Hermione appeared. Then came Dean, Nadia, Seamus, and Lavender.
By six thirty most of the members of the DA, including Cho Chang, had arrived. Several members of the Order and Auror trainees had also arrived. Much to Ginny's dismay, Melinda Monroe was there.
Ginny walked over to Harry, who was speaking with another trainee. He introduced her as Bernice Conrad.
"Hi, I'm so glad to meet you. Have you recieved the results of your examinations yet?" Bernice asked.
"Yes, I have. I've been admitted as a second-year Auror," Ginny replied.
"Excellent! Well, I hope to see you in November." Bernice replied, before waving goodbye.
At ten o'clock the party was ending and only the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry were left. Harry noticed that Hermione seemed to be avoiding Ron, but Harry caught her staring at him a few times.
Everyone wished Harry a happy birthday and left. Everyone except Ginny, that is. She moved closer to him and put her arms around his neck.
"Did you like your presents?" she asked.
"Very much. But I have a feeling I'll like yours the best," Harry said.
"I think you will too," and with that she kissed him, like she had kissed him a year ago. He just stood there and held her, kissing her back. She was the only girl he would ever love.
Ginny was walking around London waiting for her mother to finish her shopping in Diagon Alley. she stopped by a Muggle dress shoppe and went inside.
There was a tinkling bell and a saleslady appeared. "May I help you?" she inquired.
"No thank you, I'm just looking," Ginny said.
She walked over to a rack of sundresses, an emerald green one catching her eye. Ginny picked it up and held it against her. It seemed to be a perfect fit.
She walked over to the cashier. "30 euros," the assistant said. Ginny handed over the Muggle bank note and left with the dress.
Ginny left the shoppe and was about to enter the Leaky Cauldron when someone came up behind her and grabbed her shoulder. She tried to turn, but the arm was too tight.
"Silencio," a male voice muttered and Ginny found herself unable to scream. She threw her elbow back with all her might and ran into the Leaky Cauldron. She looked behind her, but the man had already disappeared.
Ginny sent her mother a Patronus and Apparated to the Ministry
"So what exactly happened," a law-enforcement wizard asked.
"Well, I was about to walk into the Leaky Cauldron when a man grabbed me," Ginny said, but was interrupted by the wizard asking "How did you know your attacker was male?"
"I heard their voice when they put a silencing charm on me. As I was saying, a man grabbed me and I threw my elbow back and got away."
The wizard made some notes and said, "That's all, you may go."
Ginny apparated back to the Burrow.
"I love you," George whispered.
Angelina snuggled up against him and kissed his nose. "I love you too," she said.
George sat there and held her. He was worried for her safety. Most of the Wizarding world knew they were dating and someone had already tried to attack Ginny. His mother had completely freaked out when she heard, and so had Harry. There was suspicion that Agatha Hart, the woman who had kidnapped Hermione, was also behind Ginny's attack. Many powerful witches had been kidnapped or attacked and several wizards had been killed. The Ministry suspected that Hart was targeting females, but they didn't know why.
Another mystery was her son, Adam. George was in his year and knew Adam had never been all that bright. So what was his role in all of this?
George looked down and saw Angelina asleep in his lap. He gently lifted her off his lap and kissed her forehead. He covered her with a blanket and slipped out.
Harry looked around the little flat. They already had a couch and Ron had conjured a crib for Teddy. The doorbell rang and Andromeda entered.
"Hello Harry! Teddy is very excited to be here!" she said.
Harry looked down at his 15-month old godson and smiled. Andromeda waved goodbye and left.
It wasn't the first time Harry had taken care of Teddy, but it was the first time by himself. Ron would be here and he had some experience, but two teenage guys knew very little about babies.
At dinner Harry had an easy time getting Teddy to eat some food. He put him down for sleep and fell asleep himself about an hour later.
Teddy woke up at around 3 o'clock and started crying. Harry gave him a bottle and they both went back to sleep.
The next morning Ron made breakfast. Then the three of them Apparated to the Burrow to visit the rest of the Weasley family.
At Shell Cottage, Fleur was preparing 3-month old Victorie for a visit to the Burrow. Her almost god-cousin, the 15-month old Teddy, would also be visiting.
Victorie was growing fast. She had soft blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She ate well and loved her parents. But Fleur sensed that something was wrong. She couldn't tell what. But her gut told her that this little girl was in danger.
Here's a long chapter for you! We're getting closer and closer to the planned half-way point. I hope you all are enjoying yourselves. chapter 12 might be a little late due to me trying to focus on my grades first, fanfiction after.
All reviews appreciated! To those who have reviewed, don't stop and to those who haven't, please start! Also, any discrepancies you might find, spelling errors, or Canon mistakes please alert me so I can fix them.
-Claire