Chapter Twenty-One – Life after Hogwarts
"Thank you!" Hermione told Harry as she hugged him tightly. "Madeline is absolutely perfect for the job I hired her for."
Harry was about to answer, but he and Hermione both turned when they heard Christine's comment as she walked into his cubicle too. "I'm telling your wife that you're hugging beautiful Witches in your cubicle, Harry. It's a good thing you've got that bed at St. Mungo's paid for – you're going to need it."
They all laughed, and Harry invited them both to sit down. "Hermione gets a pass from Ginny on that general rule," he told Christine, "and I'm glad that Madeline is working out so well, Hermione. She and Scott could use a break after everything they've been through. The only reason she got caught up in that whole mess in the first place is because they'd do whatever they had to do to take care of Candice." He smiled at the look on Christine's face.
"Hermione's looking for help in her department, and since she wasn't likely to get any staff from within the Ministry, she's looking for other options. Have you had any luck with recruiting any mothers yet?"
Hermione shook her head. "Not yet," she answered. "I think that I may have a bit of a problem convincing Witches that I someone in the Ministry really is willing to hire part-time staff, or work around what they need for taking care of their children and families."
Christine laughed. "Since every Witch working here does have to give up a lot for the job, that's not a surprise. Are you really serious about trying that?"
"Yes I am, and the more I've thought about it, the better I've liked the idea," Hermione said enthusiastically. "It's really not that far of a leap to go from loving and protecting kids to wanting to do the same for House Elves and the rest of the magical creatures we should be caring for instead of exploiting."
"I've got to head home soon, but if you've got a minute, I may have a couple of suggestions," Christine told her.
"I'm sure that Ron can wait a few minutes for me," Hermione agreed.
Christine stood up and nodded. "Good. Let's go to my cubicle, and we'll talk. Have a good night, Harry."
"You too," he answered, and smiled as he watched them leave. He'd heard jokes around the Ministry that Hermione would be the first in Ministry history to start and end her career in a department that they were sure would soon be the next career-ending position like Centaur Liason was, but he knew that she was going to do brilliantly. He got back to work on his report, and had it finished by the time Ron and Hermione stopped in to say goodbye.
"It's really great to see that smile back," Harry told Hermione. "You must have liked Christine's ideas."
"I loved them," she answered. "This is probably going to be really shocking to you guys, but Christine seems to think that if I want to hire mothers, I should actually talk with mothers who would know where I could find Witches that would be interested in the kind of work and jobs I'm offering."
"What a radical idea!" Harry teased while shooting for wide-eyed amazement. "You'll turn the Ministry on its head doing things like that."
Hermione laughed. "Says the Wizard who has such wild notions about how the Aurors should do their job. What are you and Ginny doing tonight?"
"Probably the same thing you and Ron are," he answered. "Dinner for two, and then she'll have homework to do until curfew. I'll probably do a little studying too, since I haven't done any in weeks."
"We haven't had any training in weeks either," Ron pointed out, and Harry nodded.
"True, but I'm sure Josh will have us back to that soon, regardless of what we'll be working on next after we finish with our guard duty." He grinned at Ron. "Cheer up, mate. We've got less than two more years of training to go."
"You're on the seventh book, and we've barely started the training for the fourth," Ron told him. "It's not like you need to worry about falling behind."
"I'm about finished with Interrogation basics, so I'll be starting on advanced Interrogations soon." Ron groaned and rolled his eyes; and Harry laughed. "I know it's scary, mate. I scare myself sometimes, and Hermione probably wishes I'd been interested in working like that when she was busy trying to keep us from failing everything except DADA. From what I've learned so far about interrogations, though, I'm definitely going to have some problems with that when we get to that part of our training. There are some pretty awful things that we're currently allowed to do that I'll never be a part of, and am going to try and get Emma and the Minister to ban from ever happening again."
"That bad?" Hermione asked, and Harry nodded.
"If you thought that Filch and Umbridge had bad ideas about how to punish children, they'd have both loved what Aurors have done during interrogations in the past."
They talked for a few more minutes, and then Ron and Hermione went home, and Harry dropped copies of his report off on Josh's desk, and with Emma before going home too. He got home just ahead of Ginny, and had barely started working on dinner when she walked into the kitchen, loaded down with a large stack of files and books.
"Glynnis has lost her mind," she told him as she dropped them on the table, and then went over to share a hug and kiss with him.
Harry laughed. "United is probably your biggest team rivalry right now, so I'm not surprised that she wants to win this game more than others. It's going to be interesting to see how Angelina and Alicia do playing against Oliver Wood too."
"They're actually pretty fired up about that, and having a big rivalry game is one thing, but this is way more personal, and I'm not sure that it's good for Glynnis or our team," Ginny answered. "Mom and I have had our moments, but nothing ever like Glynnis and her daughter, Wilda. Gwenog is nearly as obsessed, and I think it's because she and Wilda were close friends before she went over to United."
"So their plan is to work the team until you're all too exhausted to play a week from Saturday?" Harry surmised, and Ginny nodded.
"That'd be my guess," she agreed. "Today was really tough, and they're putting a lot of pressure on us. The only time we should have a must-win game is during the playoffs."
"Or to make the playoffs," Harry added. "Why don't you get a drink, sit down, and relax while I cook? I don't know how much extra time I'll have starting next week, but this week, I'll take care of you while you try to keep up with your homework."
That's pretty much what he did for the next six days when he wasn't busy with guard duty at work. Ginny studied every night except Friday until curfew, and ended each night with magical Jacuzzi and massage sessions that Harry was more than happy to help her out with. She took Friday night off, and they had Teddy come and stay overnight with them. The two boys went out to do things like grocery shopping on Saturday morning while Ginny needed to work, and then they all went over to Christine and Bryce's house for a going back to school party they were having for Dawn, Jeremy, and Kate so that their family and friends could have a visit with them before they went back on Wednesday. Christine had been off since finishing work on Wednesday, and wouldn't be back to work until after the kids left on the Hogwarts Express.
After the party, Harry and Ginny took Teddy home again. From there, they went out to dinner in Diagon Alley with Ron and Hermione; where they got to hear all about the Cannons' second loss of the season, though Ron assured them that it had been a much closer game than the lopsided score suggested. An evening Seeker duel followed dinner on Saturday night, and then it was back to studying for Ginny. Except for another Seeker duel on Sunday afternoon, and an hour-long visit to the Burrow, studying was all that Ginny did on Sunday until she and Harry ended their weekend with a little after-curfew play, Jacuzzi, and massage session that had them both happy, relaxed, and ready to face another busy week.
"You'll all be working on the Montague case next," Emma agreed in answer to Ron's question. "They're not on the most wanted list, but have long been suspected of being Death Eaters. We've never been able to get even a misdemeanor on them, and I'd like to see what you can all come up with. Before you start on that with everyone else, all of my Auror-trainees are going to be spending the next two weeks doing your medical training at St. Mungo's."
"Why are we doing that?" Ron asked, and Emma laughed.
"In our job, basic first aid is a really good thing to know," she answered. "You, Neville, and Harry should have done that training in the first couple of months at the latest, but you were a bit too busy for that at the time, so I'll send you along with Susan and Terry for that now."
"We can do that," Ron agreed, "but I'm very sure that nobody will want me trying to heal them of anything."
Neville and Susan didn't look all that excited about this news either, and Emma smiled reassuringly. "Just do your best, like you've done with everything else," she counseled them. "I'd say that less than a quarter of the Aurors have any talent for this, and I'm certainly not one of them."
Harry wasn't worried about how he'd do with the training at St. Mungo's – he was just happy to find out that he was going to have two more weeks where he wouldn't be working seven days a week, or all day and half the night. That meant two more weeks he'd have the evenings and weekends free to spend with Ginny, and he was good with the plan.
"You're home!" Ginny said happily as she came into the kitchen and shared a long hug and kiss with Harry. "What are you working on to be able to do this?"
"Two weeks of medical training," Harry answered. "Emma told us we should have done it last year, so she's having Ron, Neville, and I do it at the same time Susan and Terry are."
Ginny laughed. "Ron must be hating that."
"He is, and Susan and Neville aren't that thrilled either, but Terry and I are doing okay. We saw Professor Lockhart when Neville and I stopped in to see his Mum and Dad at lunch time. I put the autographed pictures in the office if you want to get yours later."
"They could save a lot of money if the visitors he keeps giving those pictures to just hand them in on their way out," she suggested. "They could erase the autographs, and just keep giving them back to him."
Harry grinned at her. "Maybe you should sell them," he suggested. "I saw an advert in the Daily Prophet a few weeks ago offering them for sale at five sickles each. Apparently they're a hot collector's item."
"They wouldn't be if everyone knew what a phony he was," she countered, "and that's pretty tacky if there's someone out there going to visit him just to make money by getting him to autograph pictures for them. How are Neville's parents?"
"They're still the same as the last time we saw them, though Neville's Dad didn't come around at all, and Mrs. Longbottom only said a few things to Neville." He smiled at Ginny. "I guess his Dad told his Grandma to shut it a couple of weeks ago when she went to see them with Neville and Hannah, and said something to Hannah that he didn't like hearing."
Ginny laughed. "I know that she really does love Neville, but someone needs to tell her that a little more often. Sometimes she sounds almost as bigoted as all of the hard-line purebloods do."
"She is a bit too much like that," he agreed. "I'm glad your Mum and Dad aren't like that, or I'd have never been allowed to even date you."
"Or hang out with Ron either. I'm fairly happy about that too," she said before hugging and kissing him again.
While he worked on dinner for two, Ginny told him all about her day, and the team workouts had gotten even harder now that they were down to days away from their game against United. After having dinner and cleaning up, they went outside to have what would be a daily Seeker duel together, and then Ginny worked on her game studying, and Harry worked around the house, did a little Auror training, and took care of a little business that he occasionally had to deal with personally.
Harry was happy to spend another week taking care of Ginny so she could completely concentrate on her work, but there was a lot happening that they really didn't get involved in at all. The kids going back to school on Wednesday was a big deal, though the story that even made the Daily Prophet on Thursday morning was that Old Tom had retired; he'd sold the Leaky Cauldron; and Hannah Abbot had been hired as the new Landlady. During the last half of the week, the action around the Weasley family was with George.
He had been working non-stop during the back to school rush, and now he needed to work even harder as he moved everything out of his flat for the remodel that would be starting on Monday; moving a few things to the Burrow, since he'd be living there for the next two weeks, and helping his Hogsmeade store manager, Lisa Turpin, with getting the new store ready to open for the first Hogsmeade weekend. Ron worked with him every night, meeting Fred at the store after he'd finished at the Ministry, and had dinner with Hermione, since she was bringing work home, and staying up late doing that too. She also had a couple of meetings that she'd set up with Christine's help, and by the end of the day on Friday, she had hired two part-time employees who would be starting in her department on Monday.
The Harpies had drawn Saturday games for their two matches in August because they were one of the favorite teams with the kids who were home on summer vacations. The Saturday draw again on the first weekend in September was because of the rivalry factor with United, and even with all of the Hogwarts students back at school, the Ellis Moor stadium was sold out for the game. Harry and Teddy went out for lunch again, and went on to the stadium from there, where they picked up a program, snacks, and drinks before going to find their seats. They hadn't tried to meet up with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ahead of the game, and got to their seats about five minutes before they joined them there. Bill and Fleur were there this week; and they had some great news to share with Harry and Teddy.
"You're pregnant?" Harry asked, and then laughed, since they'd just finished answering that question. He hugged Fleur again, and then hugged Bill. "Congratulations! You're going to be amazing parents."
"Thanks, Harry," Bill said, and the bright smile on his face was all anyone needed to see to know that he was absolutely thrilled about being a father-to-be now.
"I guess Aunt Muriel will need to find something else to talk about with you this Christmas," Harry joked as he moved on to hug his parent-in-laws next. "Congratulations Grandma and Grandpa. Two engagements, a wedding, and now expecting your first grandchild – what will you do to top that?"
Mrs. Weasley laughed. "Today we're hoping to watch our daughter win the big rivalry game for the Harpies, though even if she does that, I'm going to have to go with finding out I'm to be a grandmother ahead of that for the best news of the day."
"More like of the year," Mr. Weasley suggested. "And that's saying a lot, since we're having one of those best years ever."
They all sat down, and were talking about it when something Fleur said caught Teddy's attention. "Baby? Where baby?"
"How are you going to handle that one, Uncle Harry," Bill joked, and Harry laughed.
"I'm going to hand Teddy to Mum, and hope she can save me," he answered as he did exactly that. "I will take notes for future reference, though."
There wasn't much time before the teams were called out into the stadium, but Teddy kept them entertained while they waited. Harry thought that his Mum and Fleur did a great job explaining the whole concept of being pregnant to Teddy, though he, Bill, and Mr. Weasley weren't all that helpful – especially when they'd laugh at Teddy's questions. He'd been quite worried at first, when he thought that Fleur had eaten the baby, but they'd quickly assured him that it wasn't like that at all.
"Thank-you, Mr. Announcer," Mrs. Weasley leaned close and said quietly to Harry as they all stood to cheer for the Harpies as they flew around the stadium, and he took Teddy from her. "Can't say I've ever needed to have that particular talk with any of our kids while waiting for a Quidditch match to start."
"Ginny's going to love hearing that story later," Harry predicted, and they both laughed.
They all waved and watched Ginny as she flew past them before landing on the pitch, and when the game got started, Harry forgot about pretty much everything else except watching Ginny, the game, and taking care of anything Teddy needed. He knew how hard the Harpies had worked for the past two weeks, and they were playing a great game, but United was playing even better. Wilda Griffiths was putting on a real show, and had her team in the lead early, and kept them there. Both Keepers were playing great too, but Oliver Wood was playing just a bit better than Trish Murray was. He hadn't wanted to miss a minute of the game, but when Teddy needed a diaper change, Harry had taken him to the washroom to deal with that, and they'd barely gotten back to their seats when Ginny finally managed to put a brilliant move on the United Seeker.
The score was ninety for United to just forty for the Harpies when, at the two hour and twenty-six minute mark, Ginny tried something that she and Harry had been working on, and took a near vertical angle toward the snitch, while the United player dove in from the side, like Seekers normally did when attempting a snitch catch that was only about twenty feet above the pitch. Harry could see Mrs. Weasley out of the corner of his eye as he watched Ginny; and she looked about ready to scream. He was on his feet, though, and cheering before she did her one-eighty flip, caught the snitch on the way past as she slowed to a stop at about six feet off the ground, and then shot straight back up again; holding the snitch tightly in her hand and smiling brilliantly as she flew past her open-mouthed, incredulous opponent.
"I need to sit down," Mrs. Weasley told them, and Harry laughed.
"You are," he pointed out helpfully, and then leaned over to hug her. "Sorry about that. Next time we'll warn you ahead of time about the moves we're working on."
"I'd appreciated that a lot, but I'm not sure that know about that ahead of time would have helped," she answered. "She was brilliant, though, wasn't she?"
"Yes she was," Harry agreed.
They weren't in any hurry, especially since Teddy had just been changed, so they all sat down to wait until the first wave of spectators left the stadium. That gave Harry a chance to watch the Harpies and United teams while they did their post-game interviews out around the pitch. Ginny was getting a lot of press attention, and he loved watching her as she animatedly talked with the reporters about the game; the fire and excitement still shining brightly in her eyes and face. It looked like Oliver Wood was being teased by his teammates and some of the reporters after Alicia and Angelina both had hugs for him after the game, though he looked quite happy too despite the loss. One thing that really stood out to Harry was how Glynnis and Gwenog interacted – or more accurately, didn't – with Wilda Griffiths. He'd seen both Witches shake hands with, and congratulate the United Coach and the other players, but they both ignored Wilda completely. For her part, Wilda didn't attempt to talk with them, or show anything on her face other than obvious disappointment over losing the match, but Harry could see the hurt there, and felt sorry for all three women.
"Do you feel up to going out to dinner, Fleur?" Harry asked as they got ready to leave. "Ginny and I are going to be at a little team get together that Gwenog is having later, but if you'd like, we could see who's available to join us at the Leaky, and you and Bill can pass on the good news."
"That sounds wonderful, Harry," she agreed, and Bill nodded.
"Okay. While we're waiting for Ginny to finish work, Teddy and I can go see if George, Ron, and Hermione can come, if the rest of you can take care of any other invitations. Have your parents found out yet? Maybe they could join us too."
"We were going to send an Owl Post, but I don't see how they could come on such short notice," Fleur answered, and Harry grinned at her.
"Can I borrow this, Teddy?" he asked, and Teddy happily handed him the game program he was holding. Harry took out his wand and after a moment, handed the program to Fleur, then looked at his watch.
"We should be able to get out of here in ten minutes, and that portkey will take you, and anyone else touching it, to your Mom and Dad's place in fifteen minutes starting – now." He grinned at the look on her face. "Will that work for you? Thirty minutes after you get there, it'll bring you back. I can make another one after dinner if your parents need one, or whenever they want to go back home."
"Thank-you," Fleur said happily, and stopping to hug him before they all kept moving.
"Just don't tell Percy on me," Harry joked. "I really should only do things like that for official Auror business."
"We won't say a word," Mrs. Weasley promised.
They split up when they got outside of the stadium, and Bill's parents went with Bill and Fleur when they left for France. Harry and Teddy stopped at George's store first, and then Hermione's place, and they'd all been happy to accept the dinner invitation. Ginny met up with them by shortly after five, and they wandered around Diagon Alley until a quarter to six before going to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry took Teddy to change him while Ginny sat down with Ron and Hermione, who'd been the first to get there. By the time Harry got back, Bill, Fleur, and all of their parents were there, and it was clear that Fleur's parents were just as excited about the news as Arthur and Molly were.
"Thanks for letting me find out this way," Ginny whispered after she'd stepped back and made way for other members of their family to congratulate Bill and Fleur. Harry hugged her, and leaned close to share a short, soft kiss.
"You're welcome. Thanks to Teddy, by the time their baby is born, we'll be fully-trained, and ready to be his or her aunt and uncle."
"And he'll keep us two years ahead for every stage after that," she added.
"I wonder if your little niece or nephew is a late birthday present for you?" Harry joked, and Ginny laughed.
"I guess that's possible," she agreed. "You probably don't really want to ask for the details on that, though." Harry blushed and they both laughed. "It's so cute when you do that."
"Glad I can entertain you," Harry said, and Ginny laughed again and kissed him again.
Percy and Audrey weren't able to come, so once George got there after closing the store, they had twelve for dinner, including Teddy, and sat at two tables that they pushed together. Fleur and Mrs. Weasley told everyone about their little pre-game chat with Teddy as part of the dinner entertainment; and their conversation covered everything from babies to Quidditch. The Delacours had decided to come spend the weekend with Bill and Fleur, so Harry made them another portkey that would work for late Sunday afternoon, and then, after taking care of their bill with Hannah, he and Ginny dropped Teddy off with Andromeda, and then went home to get ready for their evening out at Gwenog Jones' house.
"Suddenly, I don't feel well," Harry told Ginny when she came into the office, where he'd been working on a couple of things while waiting for her to finish getting ready. She looked gorgeous, and he was thinking that keeping her here at home would be a lot more fun than going out for a few hours.
"Nice try, and thank-you," Ginny said before leaning over to hug and kiss him. She glanced at what he was working on, laughed, and kissed him again. "Why didn't you tell me about buying the Leaky?" she asked, and Harry grinned at her.
"You had enough on your mind over the last few weeks," he answered. "When you've got time, you're welcome to look it over, but it was a good deal, and it'll turn a nice little profit every year."
Ginny laughed again. "And help Hannah out with a nice little raise, and a flat that's included as part of the pay. How convenient." She kissed him one more time. "I love you. Let's get going, or we'll be late."
"Old Tom didn't leave that flat in very good shape," Harry told her, "but we'll get it fixed up. Being Landlady is going to be a tough job, but our property manager told me that Hannah was really happy, and she certainly looked happy tonight."
"She is," Ginny agreed, "and I think she'll do a great job too."
When they got to Gwenog's house, it looked like about half of the guests were there, including Angelina and Alicia, and after being welcomed by Gwenog and getting drinks, Harry and Ginny talked with them for a few minutes while Gwenog was busy welcoming other guests.
"If I'd known you were coming alone, I'd have invited George and Lee," Ginny told them. "Lee asked me about going partying with the Harpies when we went out to dinner after the season opener."
Alicia laughed. "Is Jordan still trying to get Angelina to go out with him?"
"That's exactly what we wanted to know," Ginny answered; laughing too. "He said he's conceded defeat, but thought that partying with the Harpies would be fun." She laughed again. "He seems to be afraid that all of the good Witches will be gone before he can get George to start going out again."
"George will start going out again when he's ready," Angelina said somberly. "If you see Lee pushing him too hard, hit him with that bat-bogey hex of yours, Ginny."
"It's been quite a while, Angelina," Alicia told her gently; putting a comforting hand on her arm. Angelina shook her head and looked away.
"For some of us, it's like it was yesterday still." Ginny handed Harry her drink, and she hugged Angelina for a long minute. "I'm sorry, Ginny," she whispered. "I know he was your brother too, but…"
Ginny nodded. "I know, and you're right about George. He'll come around when he's ready."
Alicia grinned at her. "Funny you should put it quite like that, Ginny."
"You're as bad as Lee," Angelina accused, but she and Ginny both laughed anyway. "Maybe the two of you should take your own advice and go out."
"He's cute, has a successful WWN show, and was always a lot of fun at school," Alicia told her. "I could do a lot worse that Lee Jordan."
"I thought that maybe you were sweet on Oliver Wood," Harry told her. "He seemed to like the hugs that you and Angelina had for him after the game."
Alicia shook her head. "Don't you keep your husband up to date on all of the gossip?" she asked Ginny before looking back at Harry. "Oliver's been stepping out with Katie Bell for months now; and I'll bet they're married by sometime next year."
"Ginny tries to keep me up to date, but I miss these little details sometimes when I'm stuck working a lot of late nights. Good for them, and I'm sure they'll be very happy together." He smiled at Ginny. "Don't tell Ron about that, or he'll be badgering the Healer who's training us for that antidote all next week."
"What antidote?" Alicia asked, and Ginny answered.
"He thinks that marriage might be contagious, and after finding out that Percy and Audrey got engaged, told us he should go get an antidote before it's too late for him."
They all laughed. "It's already too late for him," Angelina suggested. "It's just a matter of how long it will take before he figures that out."
"With Ron, that could be a long time," Ginny told them.
The three girls moved on to talk mostly about Quidditch, and Harry wasn't really all that surprised to find out that was what most of the guests wanted to talk about. There were only a handful of guys there, and Harry spent some time talking with them, or he and Ginny talked with the other couples. Gwenog mingled with all of her guests, while others, like Glynnis, spent most of the evening in one place, and let the other guests stop by to visit with them. Ginny had been pulled away to talk with a group of girls that included Dana, Alicia, and Angelina, and Harry ended up sitting down next to Glynnis while he waited for her.
"Would you mind if I ask you something about your daughter?" Harry asked her quietly so he wouldn't be overheard. Glynnis tensed, but as she looked at the soft compassion in his eyes, she found herself nodding for him to go ahead.
"Does it really matter that much that she plays for United instead of for the Harpies?"
"She betrayed us – betrayed me!" Glynnis whispered back fiercely.
"She loves you," Harry countered. "Maybe Wilda totally botched things, and maybe you both did – I don't know what happened, and I suspect that until you talk to each other, neither will either of you, but I saw her out there today, and I know what I saw in her eyes."
"And what did you see, Mr. Potter?" she asked so softly that he could barely hear.
"Harry, please; and I saw loss, pain, sadness, and so much love there that it broke my hear to see it. I'd give nearly anything to have even an hour with my Mum again, Glynnis, and that's what I saw in your daughter's eyes. Forgiveness is really such a simple thing, and yet could bring both of you a lifetime of happiness instead of what you have now." He reached out, covered her hand with his, and squeezed gently. She looked into his eyes, and he was smiling.
"Yes, that's exactly what I saw," he leaned closer and whispered. He squeezed her hand again, and stood up. "Can I get you a refill?" he asked conversationally, and Glynnis handed him her glass.
"Yes – thank you. Let's make it a double."
By the time Harry delivered Glynnis' drink to her, Ginny caught up with him again, and they stayed together for the rest of the evening. They stayed until shortly after midnight, and were soon home and in bed, where they didn't get around to their second favorite thing to do there until they were finished spending some quality time on their most favorite bedroom activity.
With no work-related homework for either of them, and since Harry had taken care of the house and yard work on Saturday morning, they took Sunday off and played all day. After sleeping in, they had brunch out in the back yard, went out to the pitch for a Seeker duel, and then went out for the afternoon. They did a little shopping, went for a walk on the beach, and had dinner at a café before going home for the night.
"Dawn sent this with our morning Owl Post," Christine told Harry as she handed him the letter on Monday morning. He'd stopped in there to do a little work before meeting up with the other trainees at St. Mungo's. "I imagine it has something to do with the news she had for us that she made the Ravenclaw team on Saturday."
"Good for her!" Harry said enthusiastically. "That's probably bad for Gryffindor this year, though, so maybe I shouldn't be so happy about this."
Christine laughed. "Maybe, but since I'm a Ravenclaw too, I don't have a problem with it – though I'll have to worry all year about my baby getting hurt."
"No more than I'm sure she worries about you working here," he pointed out. "Compared to my Quidditch career there, hers should be a breeze."
"If she could win three Quidditch Cups like your teams did, she'd probably think that was a fair trade. I've got to get to work. Have fun with your training, and I'll see you around."
By the time that Harry and Christine were wrapping up their little chat, Hermione was getting to work, and she smiled as she walked into her office. She'd made quite a few changes to it in the last five weeks, and that progress had really picked up since Madeline started working for her two weeks ago. She'd made the office four times bigger than it had been, and all of the furniture, while still ancient, was repaired, cleaned, polished, and looked great. She and Madeline had all of the files organized and neatly stored in cabinets, and there were now two neat rows of cubicles for the staff that Hermione hoped to have in the future.
"Well, we'll soon have twice the staff we had last week," she told herself. "In about a half hour, so I'd better get ready for them."
Madeline was in to work fifteen minutes early, and after checking in with Hermione, she went to her cubicle, which was next to her boss's, and got started. While they did have two more employees starting today, Hermione only had Rachel Aubrey coming in for the morning. She had been one of the two women that Christine had recommended, and helped her talk into coming to work in the new department. Her husband had been one of the Aurors killed in the same botched raid that Madeline had been injured in, and was having a tough go of it trying to raise and eight-year old girl and six-year old boy on her own.
Hermione had hired her to work mornings in the House Elf Relocation Office; and Lenore Cresswell was going to share that job with her, and work the afternoon shift. Both women were friends of Christine's, and it had been her vote of confidence in the young Witch they'd agreed to come work for that had been what had convinced them to accept the offers.
"Good morning, Rachel," Hermione said as she stood up to welcome the other Witch as she walked into the office. "Come on in. How are you this morning? Did everything go alright with the kids this morning?"
"I'm fine, Ms. Granger, and they were a bit out of sorts about me leaving them this morning, but they'll get used to it," Rachel answered.
"Hermione, please, unless we have official company," Hermione told her. "We're not going to be hung up on titles and rank in this office." Madeline had come out of her cubicle to greet and meet Rachel too; and Hermione smiled at her. "Rachel, this is Madeline Starkey. She's our office assistant, and a whiz at organizing and keeping track of files. Madeline, this is Rachel Aubrey." She stopped and her smile faded, which had both women looking at her in concern. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I honestly hadn't thought about the fact that you have a sad connection with each other. Rachel's husband was killed in the raid you were injured in, Madeline."
"You were there?" Rachel exclaimed; stepping back from Madeline in shock. Hermione quickly put a comforting hand on her arm; and Madeline's face had paled at the sound of anger and vehemence in the other Witch's voice.
"She was a servant caught in the crossfire, and a victim, Rachel, and her testimony helped put the Wizards and Witches who did kill your husband away. Madeline nearly died too; and it was months before she fully recovered. Once you've met her husband, Scott, and their little girl, Candice, I'm sure you'll understand why she did whatever she had to do after getting caught up in the trouble when that group of Death Eaters took over the house where she'd been working."
Rachel took a deep breath, and relaxed slowly. "I'm sorry, Madeline. It wasn't fair for me to jump to any conclusions." She held out her hand. "Can we start over? Hi, I'm Rachel Aubrey. It's nice to meet you."
Madeline smiled and shook her hand. "Thank you; and it's nice to meet you too."
Hermione inwardly sighed with relief. "Let's get you set up with a cubicle, and then we'll get started," she told Rachel. "We've started working on the backlog of relocations, but we still have a long way to go before we'll be caught up."
"I would have thought there would be a lineup of families willing to take on house elves," Rachel told her in surprise, and Hermione nodded.
"There are," she agreed, "but we're doing things a bit different now, and are going to make sure that the House Elves get placed in homes where they'll be taken care of too, so every family interested in getting a placement is going to be evaluated first."
"I'd guess that isn't popular."
Hermione laughed. "No, it isn't, but that is how it's going to be as long as I have anything to say about it, and doing this is just the start of what we're going to do here for the elves."
Hermione was fired up all day as she worked with Rachel; and then with Lenore in the afternoon. At the Harpies' training pitch, Ginny was having a great day too, and that had started out with a pair of hugs from Glynnis and Gwenog. Apparently, they'd had a long talk together after everyone else had left the party on Saturday night, and on Sunday, Gwenog had gone along with Glynnis, and they'd taken the first step to patch things up with Wilda. The hugs, she was told, were to be passed on to Harry; which the two women had decided she could take care of much more effectively than they could. That had been all that Glynnis had stopped in for before going on to the office, and Gwenog was all business again by the time that the rest of the team arrived. They'd be playing the Bats a week from Tuesday, and with only six training days to get ready for that game, she had them working hard all day, and loaded down with study material for the night.
Ginny spent some quality time right after work passing on those hugs, and quite a bit more, to Harry. That put a delay on his dinner plans with her, and though he certainly didn't have a problem with that, they did have to rush through their meal once it was ready, and then he had to hurry to meet up with Ron. While their girls were both busy with homework, Ron and Harry were going to the Cannons-Falcons game. The game lasted for less than an hour and a half, but Harry was gone for nearly four hours, after Ron had needed to go out and celebrate his team's first win of the season, after Galvin Gudgeon managed another improbable, lucky catch to give the Cannons a one-sixty to one-thirty win in what had been on the way to being another blowout loss. Even the Cannons' manager, Ragmar Dorkins, had collapsed in shock over the unexpected win.
"They won?" Ginny said in surprise when Harry walked into their bedroom. She was sitting in bed, propped up with pillows, and had books and rolls of parchment scattered around her.
"It wasn't looking good for them, but Gudgeon basically ran into the snitch, and then managed to make the catch. I'm sure he didn't even see it until after it hit him – in the face. He was sporting quite the black eye by the time we left the stadium."
"Ron must have been beside himself," Ginny suggested. "When was the last time they had a win this early in the season, let alone against the Falcons? I'm surprised he let you come home so early."
Harry laughed as he sat on the bed next to her. "The game ended two hours ago," he advised her before leaning close to kiss her for a long moment. "I'm sure he told me to the minute how long it's been since the Cannons were one and two to start a season, but you're breathtakingly beautiful, and I'm not really at all interested in talking about the Cannons, or Quidditch, right now."
The magic of love, some quality Jacuzzi and play time, and another amazing massage had all helped to make for a brilliant end to their day, and with Harry taking care of her every morning and evening while she mostly needed to work, the rest of the week was just as great for both of them. Harry, Ron, and the other trainees finished their training at St. Mungo's, and while there wasn't any kind of test to pass or fail, only two out of five of them had any real skill for first aid by the time they were done.
Ginny needed to spend most of the weekend working again, and the only breaks she took were to spend part of Saturday afternoon playing with Harry and Teddy, having dinner with them, and with her Mum and Dad, and having a Seeker duel with Harry each day to help get ready for the game on Tuesday. Whenever she was busy studying, Harry worked around the house and yard, had a grocery run to make on Saturday morning, and spent a couple of hours on Sunday helping Neville out with some heavy magical lifting that needed to be done in Hannah's flat at the Leaky Cauldron. For the rest of the day on Sunday, he alternated between doing a little studying in Advanced Interrogations and taking care of his wife.
By Monday morning, Harry found out that his reprieve was over, and when they had their meeting with Nathan, Josh, and the rest of their team, he and Ron were advised that they were going to be back on night-shift surveillance again. The meeting had lasted about an hour, and Harry, Ron, Neville, and Susan were brought up to speed on what everyone else had been doing so far, and what they'd all be doing in the coming weeks. When it was over, Ron followed Harry to his cubicle and flopped into a chair.
"You did say you wanted more excitement than guard duty or first aid training," Harry reminded him.
"True, but doing that on days would have been better. From what they've told us about the estate, there's not going to be much excitement for us."
Harry grinned at him. "You want excitement? Okay. Hermione's birthday is this coming Sunday. Are you ready?"
"What!" Ron exclaimed, sitting up, and Harry laughed.
"I did tell you a few weeks ago that I'd remind you with a week left, and you were apparently right that you'd forget by now. The good news is that you've got days off while she's working, and still have time to get ready to do something nice for her." Ron had wanted to talk about that for a while, but it wasn't long before they both left for home, needing to get some sleep before they'd need to get started on their first night shift.
"We knew that it wouldn't last," Harry told Ginny as he held her close. She'd woken him up with an amazing kiss after getting home from work on Monday, and had known why he was home, sleeping, instead of at work.
"I know, but it's not going to be quite the same playing tomorrow night without you there."
"Neville can still go, since he and Josh are on days, and maybe Hermione can use my ticket, unless you've got someone else you'd like to give it to instead."
"I'll ask her, but I still wish you could be there." She hugged and kissed him again, and Harry smiled when she leaned back again.
"The night games may be out for a while, but it does mean that I'll still be able to go to your Saturday games," he pointed out. "The Arrows game a week from Saturday will probably be a much better match too."
Ginny sighed, and stood up. "Well, hopefully you won't have to miss too many games. Do you want to sleep for a while longer? I can work for a while, and we can eat later if you'd like." She laughed breathlessly when Harry reached out, pulled her back into bed with him, and kissed her rather soundly. "Or not, she managed to say with a laugh before he kissed her again, and they made another amazing, happy memory together.
Five hours later, Harry and Ron were sitting outside of the Hogs Head Inn in Hogsmeade. Their assignment was to follow the Montagues, and stake out their estate through the night when they were at home. The couple, who were just a few years younger than Ron's parents, had been nice enough to discuss where they were going as they left their well-protected estate, so Harry and Ron had been able to follow them, and were now deciding whether Harry should go in and take a look around, or go in together in disguise.
"I think we should go in together," Ron told him. "It'd look suspicious if I go in alone while you use your cloak, and it won't be all that easy for you to move around in there without being bumped in to."
"Maybe Aberforth's cleaned the place up a bit," Harry suggested, and Ron laughed.
"The Montagues are there," he pointed out. "I'll wager it's exactly the same; or a bit worse for wear."
They took care of their disguises, and then went into the tavern, which, as Ron had guessed, was just as dirty as ever, and the few patrons there were barely more than indistinct shadows. Ron led the way to a table; and they ordered drinks from Aberforth. It was hard for Harry to look into those blue eyes that were so much like his brother's had been and pretend that he didn't recognize him, but he must have pulled it off. Aberforth did keep a suspicious eye on them the entire time they were there, since they were complete strangers, but Harry was sure that everyone else there was doing the same thing.
"Maybe I was wrong," Ron said in a low, hushed voice as he picked up the dirty glass and forced himself to take a drink from it. There were a couple of Wizards at the table next to them, and while Harry had known what Ron had meant, he took that opening to begin fabricating a conversation.
"Probably were," he agreed, "but he had it coming to him anyway, it's over and done with, and there's nothing you can do to change that."
As they went along with that, Ron was having fun, but Harry kept most of his attention on their targets. They were on the other side of the small room, and he couldn't hear their conversation, but once he'd located them, he was able to watch them. The couple was alone when he and Ron sat down, but they were eventually joined by three young Wizards who Harry did know. Their own son was first to arrive, and then Gregory Goyle joined them. They only had to wait a few more minutes before the last member of their group came into the bar, and Colby Warrington quickly made his way to their table, and sat down with them.
Harry smiled at that. Until he'd read the suspect file on him, he hadn't even known Warrington's first name, since he'd either been referred to by his last name at school, or called 'C' by his mates. He was three years older than Harry, Ron, and Gregory, and looked as thuggish and mean as Goyle and Montague did. He and Ron stayed and watched them surreptitiously while having two drinks, but decided that it was time to go after that, even though the Montagues, Goyle, and Warrington were still there.
"So what have we learned tonight, other than to avoid drinking at the Hogs Head if at all possible?" Ron asked.
"Nothing," Harry answered, "though the fact that they were meeting their son and two of his buddies here instead of just doing that at home is interesting."
"That is strange," Ron conceded. "Especially since they'd have a lot more privacy behind their Estate defenses. There must be some reason for it."
Harry nodded. "I'm sure there is. We know they weren't at the top of Riddle's gang, but they must be two of the smarter ones to keep from getting caught so far. Even the Malfoys couldn't manage that, even if they were able to weasel their way out of any prison time."
"Maybe we should hire Draco and see if he can ferret the truth out for us," Ron said with a snort, "and I'd say it was their money as much as their pathetic claims to the Wizengamot that kept them out of Azkaban."
"They haven't gotten off completely, mate," Harry told him. "Their old buddies are dead or in prison; all of those families consider them traitors now; and I'm fairly sure that nobody on our side is showing them any love either."
"That's because you're the only one of us who'd even think about forgiving them, and even you're probably not quite ready for that yet."
"I won't be inviting Draco to a Harpies game anytime soon, no," Harry agreed. "Since we're just sitting here and waiting anyway, why don't you go pick something up for us to eat? If I'm not here when you get back, I'll meet you back at the stakeout spot we set up at the Estate."
"That works for me," Ron agreed. "Maybe some food will help with diluting the sludge we drank in there."
Ron didn't miss a thing while he was gone, and they'd finished eating by the time that the Montagues left the Hogs Head. They waited until after the three younger men left the Inn too over the next fifteen minutes, and then went back to what ended up being a very quiet, boring stakeout for the rest of the night.
Josh and Neville were working the day shift stakeout and tracking with Reggie and Dan so that they could follow as many leads that came up during the day as they could. The only exception to their new schedule was going to be on Wednesday mornings, since Emma had instructed them to get back to their scheduled training so they wouldn't fall behind. On Tuesday, Harry had slept all day after getting home. Ginny had already left for work by then, though with a night game, the Harpies would only be doing a light workout, and then would be working on their game plan for the afternoon. They were able to have dinner together, and then she was off to the Yorkshire stadium, and he went into Auror Headquarters to meet up with Ron, get the shift change update from Neville, and get over to the Montague Estate.
"Couldn't you lie to us and say it was a lousy game?" Ron complained, and Neville laughed.
"I could, but I'm sure that Harry would rather hear that his wife played a brilliant match; which she definitely did."
"What was the score?" Harry asked.
"Two-forty to thirty," Neville answered. "I haven't really been that much of a Quidditch fan, but if all of Ginny's games are going to be like the first one you got me tickets for, and the one last night, I could get to like the sport a lot."
"I knew we should have skipped work last night," Ron groused. "We missed the game, and all the Montagues did was stay in all night anyway, where we can't find out anything."
"I'll see what I can do about making your life more interesting," Josh told Ron as he walked into the room. "Let's start by finding out who did – or didn't – get ready for today's lesson."
Ron was soon reminded of the fact that 'skimming through' the chapters wasn't enough to keep up with the practical lessons, though he did still manage to muddle through. By the time they were finished, though, he and Harry were both ready to just go home and get some sleep. When Ginny got home from work, she let Harry sleep, and only woke him up with enough time to get ready for work and have dinner with her while she told him all about her game against the Bats.
For the rest of the week, and through the weekend, Harry mostly concentrated on work, and except for Sunday, he slept during the days when he wasn't either on their stakeout, or working in the office before and after each shift. Ginny was busy too, and on top of all of her work with the Harpies, she even spent a lot of Saturday helping George out at his store in Diagon Alley while Harry was sleeping anyway. She was putting in a shift there so that he could be in Hogsmeade for the grand opening of the store there. Ron had gone with him, and though he'd worked all night on Friday, he hadn't wanted to miss George's big day, and Lisa Turpin had been glad to have both Wizards there to help her, since their opening day was a monster hit with the Hogwarts students.
"Good morning – or night," Ginny told him as she woke him up after getting home.
"How was your day in the world of wheezes?" he asked as he reached for his glasses and put them on.
"We had fun," Ginny answered, and laughed when Arnold purred happily as she set him down on the bed. "I think Arnold liked hanging out with some of the other pygmy puffs."
"Are you sure that's Arnold? I can't tell them apart."
Ginny laughed again. "I can, and that's definitely Arnold. Maybe it's because I grew up with twins in the family. George told me to tell you 'thanks'. I guess the grand opening was a huge hit with the Hogwarts students."
"That's good. Hopefully these weekends will make up for when they're slower the rest of the time."
"I doubt Lisa will have many slow days," Ginny disagreed. "George has moved some of their mail order business up there, since he's got more than he can keep up with at the main store. Now he's started advertising that's targeted toward students at other schools like Beauxbatons so he can expand that part of the business."
"Maybe Fleur can help him make some French wheezes," Harry joked, and laughed at the look in Ginny's eyes. "He already has?"
She nodded. "Yes, and they sent a test box to Gabrielle to pass around at school."
"When did he have time to do that with everything else he's got going on?" Harry asked. "I thought that you and I worked hard, but he's going all of the time."
"He does get some sleep, but we both know that this is just how he's dealing with everything, and if it works for him, I'm okay with that for now."
"We should have him over for dinner sometime soon once he gets settled in his flat again. You could get him to help out with our Seeker duels by playing Beater against both of us too."
Ginny hugged and kissed him. "That's a great idea," she agreed. "I'll ask him and see what we can work out."
They ended up getting to ask George about that on Sunday. Ron had barely been able to stay awake on Saturday night after only getting about two hours of sleep, and when Harry had found out that he'd promised to help George with moving his things back into his flat, he'd told Ron to go home; take his girlfriend out for a birthday breakfast, and then get some sleep before he'd need to be up for the lunch he and Ginny were putting on for Hermione at their house. George had been happy to trade Ron's help for Harry and Ginny's – especially since they were much better at actually getting the work done, and keeping everything neat and clean in the process.
Harry went home by shortly after eleven so he could get started on making lunch for everyone who'd be coming over to celebrate Hermione's twentieth, and Ginny and George finished up a last bit of work before joining him there, and helping him with setting up the tables he'd conjured in the back yard, and then welcoming Hermione, Ron, their parents, and the rest of their guests.
"Happy Birthday," he told Hermione as she and Ginny came into the kitchen. "Are you having a good day so far?" She hugged him and kissed his cheek before answering.
"Yes I am, and I'll guess that's because you reminded Ron about it with enough time for him to get ready."
"It may have come up in conversation – a couple of time," Harry agreed. "Did he manage to stay awake until you finished having breakfast? He wasn't in very good shape when we finished work this morning."
"He did, but crashed as soon as he got home, and you look ready to have a nap about now too."
"I'll get to that after lunch," he promised. "Ginny and I had fun helping George this morning, and his place looks great now."
"That's what he was just telling us outside," Hermione said with a nod. "Maybe Ron and I will stop in and see it before he goes to get more sleep, and I go over to Mum and Dad's place."
"Hermione just came in to say hi," Ginny advised him. "What can I do to help next?"
Harry waved toward a basket of buns and tray of meats and cheeses. "They're ready to go out, and I'll have the hot dishes ready in about ten minutes. Everything else is already out there, except for the cake and ice cream for dessert."
Ginny leaned close and kissed him, and then she took the basket and tray with her, and followed Hermione outside again. When everyone was there, they sat down to eat, wrapping that up an hour later with the cake and ice cream. Hermione opened her presents after that, and then it was time for everyone to head out again, mostly because everyone knew that Harry really needed to get some sleep before work. After seeing their guests off, Ginny wouldn't even let Harry help with the cleanup, and instead sent him straight off to bed while she took care of that, and then spent the rest of her day studying for her upcoming game against the Arrows.
She let him sleep through until he absolutely had to get up, and they had a light dinner together before sharing a long hug and kiss goodbye. The last full week of September was busy, but mostly uneventful. The only time that Harry and Ginny got to spend together was for a few hours around dinnertime. They had three short Seeker duels to work on Ginny's game, and help her get ready for Saturday, but other than that, it was all work, all week for both of them.
Emma had an update meeting with Harry, Ron, and everyone else except Dan and Neville, who were continuing the stakeout while their partners attended the meeting. They were coming up on two weeks for the surveillance, and a month on the case, and it was time to review where they stood.
"I want to keep the surveillance going, even though we're not getting any results yet," she advised them, and smiled when Ron groaned. "The good news, though, is that we're not going to have all of you working seven days a week indefinitely. We'll keep the current stakeout teams through the weekend, but on Monday, I'll get three other teams up to speed on the case, and put them on the surveillance for a two week run. We'll switch back and forth if needed, or until we get other leads."
"I can't believe I'm actually thinking about volunteering, but getting Susan learning how to do surveillances would be a good idea," Christine told her. "Any chance we could get days; and maybe team up with Rick and Terry, instead of doing nights?"
Emma laughed. "There'd be a really good chance," she agreed. "We'll talk about that later with Rick and Terry. Let's go through everything we've got so far, and let Ron and Harry get out of her and get some sleep before they have to be back at it again tonight."
Harry hadn't gotten to sleep until after noon on Friday, and the night shift had been long and drawn out. He'd been able to have breakfast with Ginny on Saturday morning before she left for the team warm-up and meeting, and then slept until noon. That gave him enough time to have a wake-up shower, get dressed, and go pick up Teddy before going to the Bodmin Moors Stadium. They had time to pick up programs, snacks, and drinks, and had about ten minutes left before game time when they reached their seats. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already there; and Harry was a bit surprised to find out that Percy had gotten the time off and come to the game with Audrey.
"Mum and Dad gave us the game schedule, and we set this up over a month ago," Percy explained as Harry shook his hand. "Minister Shacklebolt is taking the afternoon off, and he's here somewhere too, though we haven't seen him yet."
"I'm glad you could come," Harry told him. "Hopefully we'll be in for another good game today."
Audrey wasn't a hugs and kisses kind of person in public any more that Percy was, so Harry shook her hand too, and then hugged his parents. They all sat down and talked together while they waited for the Arrows and Harpies to be called into the stadium, and then were on their feet to cheer Ginny on when she flew around with her team; her smile as bright and happy as it was at the start of every game.
"That was a great goal," Mrs. Weasley said enthusiastically after she sat down again between Harry and Teddy, and Mr. Weasley. "Valmai, Angelina, and Alicia are all playing great today."
Harry nodded. "They really are," he agreed, "and they've got the Arrows defense all messed up right now too."
Mrs. Weasley laughed. "I'd say that has as much to do with Gwenog and Lysa as it has to do with our Chasers. "It's really hard to concentrate on the quaffle when you've got bludgers coming at your head every time you look around."
"That doesn't seem to be bothering Ginny at all – or anyone else on our team," Mr. Weasley pointed out. "The Arrows Beaters are playing pretty well too."
The whole Arrows team was actually playing a good match, but the Harpies were putting on a clinic at every position, and really playing as a team. They'd jumped out to a quick lead, but then the Arrows tightened up their defense, and the fans for both teams had a lot to cheer about. For the first time since becoming a starting Chaser, Angelina was outscoring Valmai, and Alicia was happy to be making plays for both of her fellow Chasers, though she only scored two goals herself.
"Come on Harpies!" Mr. Weasley urged their team. "One more goal to be one-fifty ahead!"
Harry had been thinking the same thing, and apparently, so were their Chasers, who were forming up for another offensive attack; and the Arrows' Seeker, who spotted the snitch, wheeled around, and dove toward where it was speeding along about fifteen feet above the heads of the fans behind the Harpies' goals. While he'd gone low, Ginny had gone high, and on a much different attack angle. The Chasers were all but forgotten as nearly everyone in the stadium got to their feet, and were cheering their favorite team's Seekers on.
"What's she doing?" Mr. Weasley asked absently as they all watched, and Harry laughed.
"I'll guess that she's trying out some applied Arithmancy that she and Hermione have been working on," he answered, and then laughed again when he caught Percy's startled look before he laughed too.
They didn't have long to wait before finding out that was exactly what she'd been doing, and the Arrow's Seeker, who'd been reaching out for the snitch, and looking jubilant, suddenly found himself grasping at Ginny's broomtail as she blasted past him, and spun away from the Witches and Wizards below them, who all ducked as she blew by less than three feet above their heads.
"Oh dear!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, and Harry turned his attention back to the Arrows' Seeker. He'd been watching Ginny, and didn't see the man crash into the stands, but the sound of it was echoing across the stadium by the time he looked back.
There was so much going on then that it was hard to keep up. Angelina had scored another goal, but it was disallowed after determining that it happened just a fraction of a second after Ginny's catch. As soon as she heard the crash, Ginny had immediately flown back, landed, and done what she could to help out the Arrows' Seeker and the spectators who'd been injured. The rest of the players had landed on the pitch, and the team of Medi-Witches and Wizards hurried over to help treat the injured too.
"He should have paid attention to what he was doing instead of looking back around at Ginny," Mr. Weasley told them after they'd sat down to wait for the crowd to thin out and the commotion to die down. "Hopefully they'll all be okay."
"It looks like they're just treating the injuries here," Mrs. Weasley pointed out. She smiled and nodded toward Ginny. "I'd say that hugs are working fairly well to treat that little girl too."
"And earning Ginny another fan for life," Percy added.
"Probably more than one," Mrs. Weasley agreed. "When we get out of here, do you want us to take Teddy home for you?" she asked Harry. "You should try and get a bit more sleep before work tonight, even if it'll really just be a nap at this point."
Harry nodded. "That'd be great, Mum. Thank you."
When the worst of the rush was over, they made their way out of the stadium; stopping long enough to get Teddy changed, and then Harry apparated home. Percy and Audrey had plans for dinner; and Harry would find out later that Ginny's Mum and Dad ended up going out for dinner with Andromeda and Teddy. Ginny had woken him up in time to get ready and have dinner with her, and then he was sent off to work with a hug, kiss before going to meet up with Ron at Auror Headquarters. They had another quiet night on their stakeout, and on Sunday, after having breakfast, Harry had a very playful cuddle buddy in bed with him for a couple of hours before she let him get to sleep until later in the afternoon. He woke up in time to help with making dinner for three, and had everything ready by the time George got there after closing the store.
"This is way better than what we were having at my flat tonight," George told Harry and Ginny as they sat down to have dinner together. "If you always do meals like this, invite me over any time."
Ginny laughed. "We don't, but will invite you over more often – especially if you can help me with my training."
"Compared to training every day with Gwenog and Lysa, I don't see how I can help you much," George countered. "They're one of the best Beater pairs in the league, if not the best."
"They are, but when the team trains, they're working with all of us, while you'll just have two targets. Harry and I work on a trying a lot of different things; and you could really help us to make sure I don't try anything that's going to get me hurt with a bludger counter-attack."
"Do any of the other girls put so much work into their games at night and on the weekends?" he asked, and Ginny nodded.
"We've all got homework nearly all of the time, except for the Sunday after a Saturday game. I know that Gwenog does extra training at home, and Angelina and Alicia practice together too."
"And I thought that I was a workaholic," George joked.
"You are," Ginny advised him with a laugh. "We're both just lucky to have really brilliant, fun jobs."
"What about Harry and Ron's job?" George asked, and Ginny laughed again.
"They're not as lucky as we are," she answered. "Being really good at what they're doing doesn't make it fun, but somebody's got to take it on, and they're exactly the right Wizards for the job."
"Considering the fact that they quite possibly broke more rules that Fred and I did while we were all at Hogwarts, it's actually pretty ironic that they're both Auror-trainees now," George joked. "Since Ron keeps me updated on all of their work, though, why don't you tell me about your game yesterday? I've heard from a few customers that it was really great."
Ginny was happy to do that, and entertained her husband and brother for the hour they spent having dinner. They cleaned up together, and then went out to the Quidditch pitch, and played until Harry needed to head out for work, while Ginny talked George into staying for a drink and chat with just the two of them.
The Montagues had been out when Harry and Ron took over the stakeout, and they'd taken over from Josh and Neville at the house they were visiting. They'd been able to follow them to a second stop, but lost them when they apparated away from that building, but hadn't returned home until an hour after Harry and Ron took up the surveillance outside of their estate.
Once the Montagues were back, and as the hours dragged by, Harry had time to think about everything that had happened over the weekend, and what he and Ginny had to look forward to as September came to a close, and they moved into October. The first was getting the day off on Monday, and the next two weekends off too while he and Ron worked the research end of their case. The Harpies had three games coming up in October, including one on his mother-in-law's birthday. Hallowe'en was still five weeks away, but was a big day in the Wizarding World, even if it wasn't exactly the happiest of days for him. Since he didn't really want to go there, he turned his thoughts toward Ginny, and about their rather brilliant morning play time.
"You've been quiet a while," Ron said in a near whisper that broke the night's silence. "What's on your mind?"
Harry turned and grinned at him. "Nothing you'd want to know about."
Ron groaned, and shook his head. "Stop grinning like that – you're scaring the children."