Chapter 29 – 2002
The new year began rather routine. Ron and Hermione returned from their now regular New Year's trip to Sydney and Ron was immediately plunged back into working at the Hogsmeade shop. When business was slow he also found time to work on developing a few new product ideas with George. Along with his generous salary, George granted him a 50/50 percentage on new items they developed together. He had been concerned about decreased income after leaving the Aurors, but found himself actually doing even better at the shop, and his and Hermione's savings began to grow noticeably. George was thrilled to have his brother working full time and even began whispering that they might consider opening another branch.
Hermione meanwhile returned to her schoolwork, where she had only a few more months to complete her legal training. Back at the office she was beginning to use what she had already learned to start making small changes in the procedures employed between the different departments of the DMLE. Where previously the Minister's office had been a nearly sacrosanct realm of a privileged few who were only bothered in cases of extreme importance, with Hermione's department and Kingsley's guidance, the Minister's office became much more of a support group to the rest of the Ministry. Kingsley's time was still tight, but his staff changed and grew, learning to streamline processes and assist other departments, while also knowing when something truly needed to be brought directly to the Minister. Although her department was still new and a bit of an unknown, many of the departments around the Ministry began to look to Hermione and her couple of assistants when they had coordination questions or issues. Some in the Ministry may have still harbored prejudiced feelings against a young muggleborn witch, but most everyone had come to realize just how important she was to keeping the invisible cogs of the Ministry moving together. An occasional whisper could even be heard suggesting that she was being groomed for the high office one day.
In the Auror department, Harry found himself rarely being sent out to the field anymore. He spent most of his days assisting Robards and occasionally helping with supplemental training classes for the junior Aurors. He still participated in investigations as well, but most of his skill was put to use in the office analyzing documents. His rapport with the goblins also made him the informal liaison with Gringotts. His French had improved quite a bit as well. In early January the French Bureau was investigating a rash of dangerous muggle baiting and decided to call in help. The investigation quickly picked up when one incident involved the tainting of a building's water supply with a potion that caused everyone inside to sprout feathers and start prancing like peacocks. The building housed a couple of businesses associated with the fashion industry, so it was obvious what joke was being made. The effects were easily reversed, but it meant several long days of work for healers, obliviators, and magic reversal specialists. The only bright side to the incident was that the potion used was actually quite complex, requiring a number of controlled ingredients. Marc was the one to make the recommendation and request that Harry be loaned to the department to utilize his records tracking skills. Harry received his assignment and packed quickly before heading out to watch Ginny play before he left. It turned out to be a fantastic match between the Harpies and the Kenmare Kestrals. Once it was over, he said a very thorough goodbye to Ginny and left for France.
Harry arrived in France and was greeted warmly by the department, especially Marc and Etienne. He spent a couple of days reviewing all the records of what had been transpired so far and then began to look over the short list of suspects. After nearly two weeks, the initial list was whittled down to four, while two additional suspects from out of the country had been added. Several additional incidents occurred during that time, including the tainting of a muggle hotel's linens with bulbadox powder. The quantity required to infect over 120 muggles with painful, purple boils finally gave the department their break and two individuals, brothers from the south of France, became the most likely suspects. Harry met with Gringotts, taking Marc and two other Aurors along, while he negotiated the release of records. They also visited the Gringotts branches in Milan and Athens to gather additional records. Each time, Harry took along Marc and a couple other junior Aurors from the department. The juniors remained quiet and just observed, but each visit was a training opportunity to show the advantages of dealing fairly and working with the goblins.
Another week and a half was spent buried in the paperwork, looking for the tenuous threads that would show that, what looked like standard business transactions, were actually something more. A couple of Aurors in the department scoffed a bit and were none too happy about the British intruder, but they were proved wrong when the Desroches brothers were arrested and the evidence was sufficient to keep them in custody until a trial could be held. They still had to be questioned and further investigation needed to be done to look at those colleagues they worked with, but Harry's part was complete. He had spent five weeks in France and felt that he had done good work on the investigation, as well as providing training in the new methods to a number of the young French Aurors. He arrived back at the Ministry shortly before lunch and made his way straight to Robards' office. Upon seeing him, the old Auror let out a long sigh.
"Thank Merlin AND Morgana! You're back! I swear, Tigwell is a good bloke, but he can't seem to sort things out for himself. He has to interrupt me a couple dozen times a day. I won't even tell you what your desk looks like. Anyway, enough of my troubles. I received excellent reports on your work in France and I know you've been pulling extra hours. I can take Tigwell for another half day. You go ahead and take the day early. Enjoy your weekend, because I'm throwing you back in on Monday."
Harry suppressed a chuckle and nodded at his boss before happily skirting out of the Ministry before anyone could stop him. When he arrived back at Grimmauld, he found the morning's Prophet and checked the Quidditch schedule. Ginny had sent it to him a week before, but he had been to entrenched in work to remember it. He saw that she had just handily won a game the previous day and didn't have another for almost a week. Grinning, he apparated to Holyhead and made his way to the Harpies' training center. The entire team was in the air and he climbed up to the viewing stands to watch. He had only been there a few minutes when Ginny suddenly braked her broom and reversed directions to fly straight at him. His wife stopped the broom mere inches from the seats and jumped off, knocking Harry back into a seat as she lay on top of him, snogging him thoroughly. Harry was momentarily shocked, but recovered and soon gave himself over to showing his wife how much he had missed her. They were only going for about a minute when a gust of air signaled the arrival of another broom. Pulling back, Harry looked over Ginny's shoulder and saw a smirking Gwenog Jones, Ginny's captain.
"Potter! What the hell kind of maneuver was that? Did you think that if you landed yourself in the hospital you'd get out of practice?"
Ginny muttered and turned to look at Gwen. Before she could say anything, Harry gently stood Ginny and himself up before deciding to turn his charm on Gwen.
"Hello Gwen. Lovely to see you. Brilliant flying you were doing out there. Really makes me miss playing. I know Ginny was a bit enthusiastic, but of course she had the broom under full control. I was never worried."
Harry flashed his smile that he had learned to use as needed. Ginny was largely immune now, but it had come in handy when questioning some witches and even some wizards. Gwen shook her head and snorted.
"Oi, really Harry, you know the charms don't work on me. You're not my type. Anyway, I suppose you came to beg for me to let your wife off early?"
Harry chuckled.
"Alright you got me. I have the rest of the day and weekend off and I'd like some time with my wife. How is Mara by the way?"
"My girlfriend is well. She understands the importance of allowing me the time I need to practice in season. Tell you what, give me another two hours with Ginny and you can take her for the weekend. Deal?"
Harry grinned.
"Thanks Gwen. A heart of gold and a brilliant flyer. You are amazing."
"Don't push it."
Ginny laughed at the two of them and then gave Harry one more good kiss before mounting her broom and resuming her practice. Harry settled back to watch, not really minding the chance. The Harpies were an amazing team and quite brilliant to watch from a fan standpoint. Combined with the added bonus of paying extra close attention to Ginny and Harry was quite content. When the team finally landed, Harry ran down the stairs and met Ginny on the pitch. She was sweaty, wind-blown, and sexy as hell. Harry needed to get her out of there. As he embraced her, Ginny pulled back.
"Love, I need to shower."
"I gave Gwen her two hours with you. We have a shower at home."
That comment brought laughs and a couple of whistles from the team. Gwen stepped over and took Ginny's broom from her.
"Go on you two! We don't need the show."
Harry gave Gwen a salute and took Ginny's hand. As soon as they were outside the pitch, he wrapped her in his arms and apparated them back to Grimmauld. As soon as they arrived, Harry began showing Ginny how much he had missed her. She chuckled and pushed him back a bit as she darted for the bathroom, pausing at the doorway to look over her shoulder and leer at him. Harry was after her immediately, shucking clothes as he went. Once they were in the bathroom, the rest of their clothes went flying as Ginny waved her wand to turn on and set the water. Just minutes after they arrived home, they were in the shower with Ginny pushed up against the tile moaning as Harry plundered her with his mouth and probed her with his dexterous fingers. She was distracted by his talents, but still managed to haphazardly pump his rock hard cock. When Harry dropped to his knees, she had to let go as she surrendered herself completely to the pleasure he was gifting her with. Her grip soon switched as her hands took hold of his wet hair. The steamy water pulsed down on them, only partially covering her increasing moans. It didn't take long before she began to tremble as Harry took hold of her thighs to hold her up as her peak hit her. With his name still echoing off the tile, Harry finished lapping her up and then stood to claim her mouth once again.
Once Ginny recovered, she pressed into him and then lifted a leg to wrap around his waist. Taking the hint, he took hold of her and lifted her into position as his engorged member seemed to instinctually find its home. As he slipped into her fantastic heat, Harry groaned. He had been away for entirely too long. He took a few moments to just enjoy the sensation of being surrounded by her once again before starting to move and set a familiar rhythm. He had wanted to take her with him once again, but his long fast caused him to lose himself all too soon as he thrust deep and hard into her, releasing fountains of seed into her willing body. Once he finished and slipped out, the lovers took a few minutes to trade small kisses and gradually recover before taking turns washing each other. When they finally stepped from the shower, they briefly dried each other and then kissed their way to back to the bedroom, where they collapsed on the bed. Briefly sated, they proceeded at a more leisurely pace, kissing and talking briefly before once again igniting each other's mutual fires as they attempted to make up for lost time. At one point they dozed before waking again to rejoin in a different series of positions as they spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening loving each other.
Sometime between six and seven, Ginny called for Kreacher and requested dinner trays. The elf advised that the others were home, but Harry and Ginny decided to keep to themselves for Harry's first night back. Kreacher delivered heavily laden trays of food that they both consumed heartily, eating in the nude and feeding each other bites as they went. Once their stomachs were satisfied, they returned to their previous activities, alternating lovemaking and napping throughout the night. When they finally woke the next morning, it was nearly ten when they were finally cleaned up and headed downstairs to greet the rest of the house. Hermione, Ron and Angie were eating brunch and smirked at them as they entered.
"I heard you were home Harry. Nice of you to finally join the rest of us. Although I suppose Ginny gets first dibs. Did you two get any sleep?"
Harry yawned and waved off Angie's comments as he accepted a plate of food from Kreacher. The friends spent the next hour catching up, with everyone interested in the investigation that Harry had participated in. He gave them what details he could, which was actually a fair bit since many of the incidents had been reported widely in the French media. Everyone was astounded and disgusted at what had transpired and they all spent a good bit of time discussing the fact that, despite winning the war, there was still a huge prejudice in most countries against muggles.
While Harry and Hermione would have continued to delve deeper into the issue and discuss how to make changes internally in the Ministry to begin adjusting attitudes, they were interrupted when Angie changed the subject to Neville and Hannah's wedding. Hannah had insisted that she wanted it on Valentine's Day, which was the following Thursday. Given that it was a work day for everyone, she had decided on an evening ceremony with a full dinner following. Harry was glad that he was home in time for the wedding, although he had planned on taking a night off and floo'ing from France if it had been necessary. He wondered how all the planning was going.
"So, how is Neville holding up? Does Hannah have all her planning done? I imagine Tony's been busy."
"Oh yes, I saw him in Diagon not long ago with a list that had to be a full meter of parchment. Ooh, you should probably owl Hannah and let her know you're back. The rest of the wedding party had their final robe fittings last week. I'm sure she'll want you to get yours soon."
Harry nodded and suppressed a groan. He hated getting new robes, even if he wasn't paying for them, but Hannah had decided on Hufflepuff yellow with accents of Gryffindor scarlet. All of the Gryffindors in Neville's year were designated groomsmen and would wear scarlet robes with yellow accents, while Hannah's four bridesmaids would wear yellow dresses with scarlet accents. Harry personally wasn't fond of the combination, but he was a minor player. Neville made no complaints, so he kept his mouth shut. As he finished brunch, the conversation continued, discussing details that Hannah had divulged about the wedding. While everyone talked, Harry wrote a quick note to Hannah to let her know he was home and then sent it off with Rex. Before the owl could even return, the back door alarm sounded to announce someone was arriving. Since the apparition wards were only open to an allowed group of friends, everyone stayed where they were and shouted for whoever it was to find them in the kitchen. Seconds later, Hannah bounded in with Neville right behind her.
"Harry! Welcome home! Thanks for the owl. Have the others told you about the plans? We're almost there. Just a few things to do. First, you need your final robe fitting. Can you go this afternoon?"
Harry was still catching up with Hannah's rapid fire delivery when Ginny smirked at him.
"Looks like I won't have you all to myself this weekend."
"Oh sorry Ginny, it won't take him long. So you're home for the entire weekend?"
"Yes Hannah. And I understand he needs the fitting, no worries."
Neville placed a calming hand on Hannah's arm and the two of them sat down, pouring glasses of juice and joining the rest of their friends in conversation. A while later they excused themselves and Harry and Ginny went to get his fitting done. Before they left, Rex returned and Harry sent him on with a brief letter to Susan, checking in on the Prophet. He had kept in touch while in France, but the paper was running smoothly so he hadn't done anything beyond basic correspondence. Once they arrived in Diagon, the fitting only took a few minutes since Harry hadn't experienced any growth spurts in the previous two months. Ginny had a couple of quick errands and then they headed back to Grimmauld, ready for more time together.
When they arrived home, the MacMillans had just arrived. Hugs were traded and then Ginny promptly confiscated baby Andrew. Harry watched her for a minute, marveling at how natural she seemed with him. She would be a great mother and he was ready whenever she was, but he knew she wanted to play for a couple of years first. Tearing himself away from the beautiful sight, Harry focused on Susan as they began to discuss the Prophet. The MacMillans stayed for an hour or so, catching up with their friends. Susan had a couple of new hires to confirm with Harry, but everything else was moving smoothly. Harry was more than pleased with the paper and the level of reporting it now featured. Combined with that, it was also turning out to be a very wise investment. Once their friends left, Harry and Ginny curled up on the couch together to read before dinner.
The rest of the weekend passed too quickly and soon Monday arrived, delivering Harry and Ginny back at their jobs. Harry spent Monday reviewing what he had missed with Tigwell and then spent the rest of the week trying to keep up with the current and clean up what was left from when he was gone. Mid-week found him and the rest of his friends all accompanying Neville around a number of stops for his stag night. Thursday morning he dragged into the office a few minutes late with the help of potions. Despite the wedding that was due to happen, it was still Valentine's Day, so he made a couple of quick stops at lunch.
That evening he left the office promptly and apparated straight to Longbottom manor for the wedding. The families were both well connected and the expected guest list was close to three hundred. Hannah's aunt and uncle doted on their niece and spared nothing when it came to providing her with her perfect day. It was a crisp February evening, but the warming charms inside the tent that had been set up for the ceremony ensured that everyone remained comfortable. The ceremony began promptly at 6:30 and was a standard wizarding rite. Hannah was beautiful and Neville grinned the entire time. Harry wasn't much for all the pomp, but he was glad to see his friends happy. The ceremony was followed by a full dinner and dancing late into the night. The bride and groom left shortly before midnight and the Potters were home not long after.
With the wedding over, there were no major events due for a while and life settled down into the usual daily routine for all the friends. Thursday night dinners were still held at Grimmauld, with a cycling mix of the friends putting in appearances at the old house as schedules allowed. Luna and Alicia were seen less frequently than the others, but would stop in whenever they were in country. Alicia still technically lived at Grimmauld and kept one closet in her bedroom as long term storage, but she usually only made it back to London once a month to attend to Ministry business for the ambassador.
The month of February was almost expired when a patronus landed in front of Ginny in the library of Grimmauld Place on the 27th. The swan spoke just a few words: 'Baby coming, St. Mungo's'. Ginny recognized the swan and immediately went running to the library for Hermione and then to the basement gym for Harry and Ron. Minutes later, the foursome were in the lobby of St. Mungo's and being directed upstairs to the labor and delivery department. Ernie and Susan were already there and soon the other friends started arriving. As the crowd swelled, a healer came to check on who they were visiting and went to inform Cho and Wes. A few minutes later, Wes appeared. He wore a concerned but happy look as he greeted them all.
"Hi everyone. Wow, I hadn't expected all of you to show up. Thanks. Cho is doing well. She's fairly far along. She insisted the backache she had all day was nothing, but she's actually been in labor for hours. The healers don't think it will take long. Cho's mum is with her as well, so the room is full. I'll keep you updated."
With that, the anxious father-to-be left and everyone settled in for the wait. They didn't have long when, a bit over two hours later, a beaming new father appeared.
"She's here! As beautiful as her mum and weighing in at 3.7 kilos. Her name is Cara Chang Larson. Cho did fantastic."
A cheer went up around the room as those closest to Wes gave him back slaps and hugs. He left with assurances that everyone would get a turn to visit 'his ladies'. A couple of minutes later, a junior healer arrived to begin escorting the friends back in groups of two. Each person took a minute to congratulate Cho and admire the baby before leaving to make room for the next group. Around ten in the evening, everyone said their final goodbyes and headed their separate directions.
After the excitement of the new arrival, the months of March and April sped by. All of the businesses were going well and everyone was staying busy. Ginny's season only had a few more weeks and the Harpies were likely to go to the playoffs once again. She had only been playing a couple of years and was the youngest on the team, but she had quickly made a name for herself and was beginning to receive several substantial endorsement offers. Although everyone was busy, they continued to gather for their regular Thursday dinners. One Thursday in late April, the usually quiet Mike Corner made an unexpected announcement. He tapped his glass briefly to get everyone's attention and then looked around the table before turning to smile lovingly at Tony.
"Everyone we have an announcement! As you all know, Tony and I have been together for four years now. Our partnership has not always been well received, but we are grateful that our closest friends have always embraced us. While we have personally committed our lives to each other, we've been talking about how to make our union legally binding. As you know, the wizarding community doesn't acknowledge same sex partnerships. Although they do readily allow certain families to secure multiple wives to produce heirs…"
"bloody hypocrites" someone muttered from the right side of the table before Mike continued.
"Indeed. Well, Tony and I have been researching what we can do. We've decided to have a commitment ceremony in which we will each take magical oaths and create an alliance between ourselves. We're going to use similar oaths as those that houses use to form alliances. It won't be acknowledged by the Ministry, but combined with changes to our wills, it will give us a legal bond to accompany our emotional commitment."
"It also allows me to finally put my skills to personal use for our ceremony."
Tony's comments brought laughs from around the table as he leaned over to give his love a quick kiss. Surprisingly, it was Ron who spoke up first.
"Well congratulations guys! I'm glad you found a way to do this. About time actually."
Everyone else agreed and then Neville offered up a hearty toast to his friends that was followed by the arrival of several large dessert tarts. As dessert finished, another tapping on a glass drew everyone's attention. This time it was Alex, Vati's husband.
"I wanted to give the guys time to make their announcement, but now I have one of my own. I'm happy to announce that we're expecting!"
The cheers began again, only to be interrupted when Robert stood up at the table. He was holding Padma's hand and smiling down at her.
"We also are happy to announce that we're expecting as well."
More cheers were broken by Ginny's loud questioning.
"Really? Both of you? When are you due?"
"Just after the new year. We're two days apart."
Vati's statement brought looks of surprise and Padma laughed.
"Don't look so surprised everyone. Our cycles are only a day apart. Have been since we were thirteen."
"Too much information!" Ron bellowed.
Hermione swatted her husband as everyone laughed and once again toasted a happy announcement. As dinner wrapped up, a few of the friends had to leave right away, while others stayed for a while longer.
The month of April dissolved into May and official invitations arrived at Grimmauld for Mike and Tony's commitment ceremony on June 1st. They'd rented a dance hall in Llewelyn Square, not far from their home. The ceremony was set for noon with a buffet luncheon following. Tony was busy with his own preparations, while also juggling several upcoming weddings. Mike meanwhile was working with a potions master at the office to obtain his next level of expertise, while also studying for the Ministry Potions Master exam. While both of them were exceedingly busy, in the occasional spare hours they had, the two men began to work on small projects to renovate the second floor of their house. The goal was to finish the place gradually, one floor at a time, and the success of both their careers was providing the funds needed to continue the long process.
As May marched on, Ginny's last match of the regular season loomed. Unless the Harpies failed spectacularly, they were guaranteed a slot in the British league championships. The final game was against Ballycastle, a decent enough team, but one that wasn't expected to challenge the Harpies. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all attended the game, but it ended up being a bit of a letdown when it only lasted 22 minutes. The Harpies ended up winning 180-20 and breezed on into the finals. While Harry was happy for Ginny and the team, it meant she had another three weeks of near constant practices and games. The league bracket included eight teams and the championship would take seven games to decide. On the 29th, the Harpies took a hard fought victory over Puddlemere and then had four days off while the other games of the first round were played. After the first round, the eight teams would be narrowed to four. Then the second round would narrow the four down to the two that would play for the final on June 8th. In between, Gwen ran near constant practices. While Ginny understood the importance of the practices, she was not going to miss Mike and Tony's ceremony. When she pulled her captain aside to ask for the day off, she received a surprise.
"Hey Gwen! Before we hit the showers, I have a favor to ask."
"A favor? Okay, let's hear it."
"I know we have a game on the third and we'll be practicing on the 1st, but I need to take off about 10:30. My friends are having a commitment ceremony."
Gwen chuckled and smirked at Ginny.
"Alright, I guess I can allow that. Oh, by the way, I'll see you there."
"What?"
"I guess you didn't know. Tony is my first cousin on my mother's side."
"No I didn't know. So has Tony's family finally decided to accept the partnership?"
"Some of them. A few of the older set are too stubborn, but his parents and little sister will be there, as well as some of the more distant relations."
"Well I'm glad. Honestly, Mike and Tony are a better couple than a lot I know. Not that I need to tell you that. Anyway, thanks."
With that settled, Ginny refocused on her practice. The Harpies were in fine shape and personally she didn't think she had ever been more fit. Harry might miss her during her long hours of practice, but he didn't complain about the effect it had on her body. Except for the night when she had climaxed so hard while he went down on her that he had gotten his head painfully locked between her thighs. He was nearly purple when she finally released him. She shivered from the memory and then quickly forced herself back to focusing on tightening her turns through one of the more complex maneuvers.
Soon June arrived, with the first day designated for Mike and Tony's ceremony. The Harpies held practice from seven to ten and then Ginny headed home to shower and change into a new dress from the twins' shop. She and Hermione took longer than their husbands and found Harry and Ron entrenched in a chess match by the time they made it downstairs. Ron cast a stasis charm on the board and then the two couples stepped out to the garden and apparated to Wales.
The hall where the ceremony and party were being held was in a stately old Tudor building with elaborate moldings and fantastic light fixtures. One room had been arranged with curved rows of chairs for the ceremony, while a room across the hall was opened wider to allow for both lunch and dancing. Mike and Tony were mingling, greeting guests as they arrived. Each wore similar robes in slightly different shades of blue with bronze fittings, highlighting their Ravenclaw allegiance. The hall had been decorated simply in off white and bronze accents, making it feel neutral and elegant. The ceremony with the alliance vows went quite quickly and was presided over by Minerva. Although it had no legal standing with the Ministry, she was thrilled to be asked to administer the vows. At the end, they traded simple gold bands and kissed thoroughly as their 130 guests cheered madly. All of the DA was in attendance, including Luna, who had left Rolf in India and traveled home via a multi-stage portkey just for the occasion. The party afterward was the real celebration and lasted through the entire afternoon with plentiful food, wine and music. At the end, Mike and Tony said goodbye to each guest as they left and then went for a long weekend hiking in Snowdonia.
A week later, most of Ginny's friends and family gathered for the British Quidditch Championship. The match was between the Harpies and the Tutshill Tornadoes. The two teams were well matched and played for nearly five hours, see-sawing back and forth on points. Both teams were tiring and second string players were brought in to play for brief periods to give the first string players a rest. When the snitch was finally spotted, it was a mad race between the two seekers who darted from one end of the pitch to the other, into the stands and back out again until finally sailing up high above the Harpies' hoops, where the Tutshill seeker made the final catch and ended the game. The final score was 660-530, making it the highest scoring game the league had seen in five years. Everyone was disappointed at the loss, but Ginny had proven herself once again, scoring a total of 220 points, the most of the five chasers who played during the game. When she finally exited the changing rooms, Harry was waiting to take her in his arms. Everyone went to the Leaky for a simple meal and then Ginny insisted Harry take her home early since she was exhausted.
With Ginny's season done, she settled back into life at Grimmauld. Harry was still mainly working in the office and was able to set long, but regular hours that permitted them time together. During the days, she helped her brothers at one of the shops, or occasionally stopped by Vati and Padma's store and helped there. Both of them were showing small baby bumps and complaining that their clothes were starting to no longer fit. As they developed, the sisters began drawing up plans for a maternity wear line. Historically a pregnant witch would just buy simple robes with an expansion charm and use them throughout her pregnancy. Neither of the sisters was fond of these completely unflattering robes and set about creating flowing dresses that cinched or released to allow for expanding waistlines. In addition, they designed flattering trousers with expansion charms and blouses that allowed room for growing busts. The first pieces for the new line were sent for manufacture at the end of June and would be available for sale in mid-August. Cho made a visit to the shop one day to look at some of the new summer items and Padma proudly showed off the new designs. Cho was enthusiastic and complementary, but wished they would have started the designs about a year earlier.
One day in mid-July, Vati was working in the shop and was feeling quite tired. In addition, she had some mild back pain and Padma immediately sent her home to rest. When Alex arrived home, he was concerned, but Vati insisted all was fine. They ate a simple dinner and spent a quiet night at home in their flat before heading to bed early. Unfortunately, Vati had a hard time getting comfortable and her tossing and turning kept her husband awake. Sometime around one in the morning, she got up to use the loo and suddenly doubled over in pain. Alex waved the lamps on and rushed to his wife's side. Much to his horror, he saw blood pooling on the floor as Vati cried in pain. He quickly gathered her in his arms and floo'd to St. Mungo's. Several healers took Vati from him and rushed her to an exam room. As he followed, he shot off a quick patronus to Robert and Padma. Fifteen minutes after the patronus landed, they were at the hospital and were pointed to a waiting room. Alex was with Vati, so they had nothing else to do but pace. About a half hour later Alex showed up in the waiting room and the look on his face was devastating. Padma cared about the baby, but at that moment was more concerned about her sister.
"Alex? What happened? Is Vati okay? What about the baby?"
"Vati will be alright. They saved her. She's on a blood replenishing potion infusion. The healers tried, but we lost her. Our daughter is gone. Something happened with the placenta. They…they said it was spon…spontaneous…unpredictable."
Alex was in tears again and Robert wanted to comfort the cousin who was more like a brother, but Padma needed him more as he wrapped his wife in his arms. He was concerned for her and their own child. Certainly the stress wasn't good for them. After a few minutes, Padma collected herself and Alex took them back to see Vati. She looked ashen and was still silently crying as her sister ran to her bed and they embraced for a long time. Eventually a healer came around and gave Vati a calming draught to let her sleep. The healer also issued orders to the other obviously pregnant witch and sent her home to rest. Padma didn't want to, but Vati insisted. Once she was home, Robert massaged her feet until she relaxed enough to doze off. Sleep for himself would be more elusive.
Padma and Robert took up the responsibility of informing all their friends what had happened. Vati insisted she didn't want visitors, but cards and a veritable greenhouse of flowers arrived for her. She spent three days in the hospital before being sent home with orders to rest for another week. Katie was the first to come by and visit, with others following in subsequent days. The pain of the loss gradually settled as Vati healed and was able to return to the shop. It was still difficult to watch her sister's pregnancy progress, but the healers had assured her that there was no lasting damage and she would be able to try again.
July also saw Hermione completing her legal studies at Oxford and receiving a wizarding law degree. Kingsley celebrated by promoting her to assistant deputy of the DMLE legal department. The position had been vacated a month previously and interviews had supposedly been ongoing. In reality, Kingsley was simply biding his time. Meanwhile, her former assistant in the legal inter-departmental group took over her position heading it and a surprise new hire, Daphne Greengrass, joined the group in a junior position. Hermione wasn't very familiar with the Daphne, except knowing she was a Slytherin. As far as Hermione knew, she hadn't been directly involved with Malfoy's inner circle. She was certainly pureblood to the core, but Hermione decided to give her a chance. The new position was challenging and stimulating for Hermione as she got to experience some of the practical applications of her studies. At not quite 23, her quick ascension within the Ministry had more than a few tongues wagging, although those who worked directly with her knew that she had earned her status.
Three weeks after her miscarriage, Vati finally summoned the will to attend her first Thursday night dinner since it had happened. She was concerned about how her friends would treat her. As difficult as it was, she wanted to move on and she didn't want to be treated special because of her tragedy. Her fears were relieved when everyone welcomed her enthusiastically with hugs before settling down to dinner and acting like they always had. Cho was there with baby Cara and Vati took the little girl tentatively. She had a shock of unruly black hair and bright blue eyes set in a porcelain complexion. Vati marveled over her perfection and held the baby most of the night. Others thought about trying for a turn, but desisted when they saw the peaceful look that had come over their friend. Instead, Andrew and Robbie were more than happy to be passed among the group with everyone exclaiming over how fast they were growing and a couple teasing Susan on when she was going to start germinating again.
Soon the unusually hot August gave way to a cooler fall as the rains started again. With the change in weather, George started to think about the holidays, which were the busiest time of year for his business. Both the Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade shops were doing well and his account at Gringotts was swelling nicely. He still missed Fred every day, but had finally reached a point in life where he could say that he was well and truly happy. A large part of that happiness was due to Angie. She had stuck by him through his darkest times and he had come to rely on her steady spirit and common sense to counsel him. She had become a regular guest at the flat that he and Lee shared, and he finally convinced her that summer to move in permanently. In actuality, she only had one trunk to transfer as most everything else of hers was already there. She and Lee got along well and the large flat allowed everyone to have their own space, including whoever the witch of the month was that Lee brought home.
With his personal life going so well and more money than he knew what to do with, George's thoughts once again focused on expanding his business. He had been entertaining the idea for several months, looking at a number of magical communities such as Puddlemere and Godric's Hollow. In the end he decided to hop the channel and open a small branch in the magic quarter of Dublin. Seamus' uncle was back at his pub, but Seamus continued working part time to help and had also taken to carrying a few of the most popular Wheeze's items and selling them from a side room of the Gallopin' Goblin. The side room sales had continued steadily for more than a year and Seamus assured George that there was a lot of interest in additional products. With this encouragement, George made a trip to Dublin in mid-September to start looking at potential properties. He ended up staying five days and secured the lease on a building on Killfanie Street, a half block from the pub. George was surprised to find out that the building was owned by a cousin of Seamus', until Seamus informed him that the large extended Finnegan clan owned much of the street. George drew up initial plans for the store and then hired Seamus as the general manager. With all the work that setting up the shop would require, Seamus had to quit his part time work with his uncle, but he was glad to have a new direction.
Soon September waned and October began to draw to a close as Samhain approached. In France, Alicia and Blaise were preparing for the annual Samhain Fete that was held at the Bureau for all the department heads, ambassadors and high ranking officials. The two of them had been together for a couple of years and truly serious for about a year. Blaise had given up any pretense and taken a flat in Paris, from where he handled many of his family's business dealings on the continent. The evening would have been boring to some, but Alicia and Blaise both thrived in the political atmosphere. The British ambassador actually sat through most of the evening, more than happy to let his beautiful and capable assistant make the necessary rounds. Light, jazzy music played and those who weren't mingling took their social skills to the dance floor. Alicia gave her boyfriend the first dance and then made herself available to all the other eager, elder statesmen in the room. Halfway through the evening, the music changed to a waltz and Blaise maneuvered back and took Alicia in his arms. As they twirled about the dance floor, he figured it was time and stopped dancing as he dropped to his knees and looked up at a startled Alicia. Seeing what was happening, the band quieted so only a faint background violin could be heard as all the other dancers stepped back to smile at the young couple and hear what Blaise had to say.
"Alicia Gwyneth Spinnet, you've turned my life upside down over the last couple of years and challenged everything I thought I knew. I can't imagine not having you in my life. I'd probably die of boredom, so will you marry me so we can keep this craziness going?"
Alicia nodded and yanked him off the floor before proceeding to snog him for a couple of minutes while their audience cheered. When she finally released him, Blaise produced a large diamond ring and slid it on her finger. With that done, they kissed briefly and then were handed champagne flutes. Turning, Alicia smiled when she saw the ambassador grinning and holding up his glass. He toasted them in both French and English, and then the band started to play again. Blaise took Alicia back to the dance floor and didn't share her again that evening. An hour later they were finally able to excuse themselves as they said their final goodbyes and headed back to Alicia's flat.
As soon as they landed, Blaise's fine robes and Alicia's dress went flying as the two tried to make a mad dash for the bedroom. Alicia kicked off one of her heels and then almost fell as the other wouldn't come off. Blaise meanwhile had managed to unbutton his trousers and caught her before she fell, holding her tight as his mouth claimed her. Reaching down, he ripped off her fragile knickers and pushed her against a wall as she wrapped her legs around him. Shifting slightly, Blaise lined up his massively thick cock and slid into her quickly as she let out a loud moan. Soon he was pounding her as she begged and encouraged him. Their first celebratory round lasted only a couple of minutes before both cried out as they peaked together. Their shouts were met by a banging on the floor above them as they realized they hadn't taken time to silence. Grinning, Blaise carried his fiancé on into her bedroom, where he laid her down and stood, leering over her.
"Fuck Blaise that was bloody perfect. I could do that every day."
"Is that a challenge? We do have the rest of our lives. A good eighty years hopefully at a minimum."
Alicia smiled at him and pulled him down for a good snog before separating briefly to stare into his chocolate eyes.
"You think we will be up for that in eighty years?"
"I plan on it. For now though, I am up, quite literally, for anything else you have in mind."
Alicia smiled and pulled him back down as he easily slid back into her heat. The rest of the night was spent with rounds of passionate lovemaking interspersed with brief periods of rest and sated murmurings issued in each other's arms. They both had to work the following morning and just barely managed, thanks to liberal doses of pepper-up potion.
Across the water, as the month of November progressed, the Dublin branch of Wheezes was nearing completion. Finally, on a blustery Saturday at the end of the month, it was time for the grand opening. All of the Weasleys were in attendance, as well as most of George's friends and a fair number of the extended Finnegan clan. George took out full page ads in the Prophet and the Leprechaun, and enticed customers with the promise of free canary creams to the first one hundred visitors. When the ceremonial ribbon severing was complete and the store was actually open, almost three times that number actually poured into the shop. Friends who had come to celebrate soon found themselves being drafted to do any number of odd jobs. Seamus knew he was going to need more employees and had a help wanted sign posted prominently in the front window. By the end of the day he had hired an additional three employees and the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Dublin branch was well on its way to success. Over the next month, the holidays would challenge the new store to keep up and Seamus managed to meet almost all of the demand. He had never worked harder in his life, but he also had never enjoyed work as much before.
As the holidays approached and the year began to draw to a close, all of the tight group of friends met for their annual pre-Christmas party on the 22nd at Grimmauld. All of the babies were in attendance, and Padma's nearly nine month bulge promised that there would soon be more little ones to be passed and cuddled. The year had seen milestones, heartbreak, and success. Through it all though the one constant that remained was friendship.
AN: I am once again faced with deciding how to divide my chapters. I've reverted to the idea of using one chapter to cover a year, as here it seemed to fit. I want to cover the major points to fill in the interlude, while not boring everyone with the mundane happenings of life after the war. In the future I may even compress more, but it depends on how the events settle out. I hope you are enjoying this story. If you are looking for other long stories, I have a community called Epic Sagas that features some of the best ones I've found. Recently the ever-talented Sarcastrow has joined me in administering that community and has added to it as well.
