I apologize, but there won't be any review responses for the previous chapter. This has been an incredibly hectic week and I'm lucky to even get this post off. Hopefully next weekend will be better.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Surprise

On the day Harry and Ginny were expected to return, everyone was gathered at Grimmauld Place, waiting nervously.

And by everyone, Rosie thought, she meant every person in Harry and Ginny's life.

The entire Weasley family was there, including a new addition in the form of a stunningly beautiful, exceedingly French half-veela who had managed to attach herself to Bill Weasley over the summer.

Rosie tried not to laugh at the way the oldest Weasley son preened under her attention. In the seven years of his attending school and dating young witches, she'd never seen the man so smitten as he was now.

The Granger girl was there as well, and spent much of breakfast telling the youngest Weasley male how to eat. Rosie knew the dynamic well—in fact it reminded her great deal of how Celene Elders trained Xenophilius Lovegood for their last two years of Hogwarts, until she thought he was sufficiently trained to be a good husband.

She doubted either of the teens saw it, but she caught Molly looking at them once in a while with a mother's gleam in her eye. Then she would meet Rosie's stare, blush, and look away.

Rosie sighed. Molly did not like her, and resented the fact that a former prostitute and barmaid was now the Lady Black, managing a household and estate larger than anything the last ten generations of Weasleys had seen combined. She most especially did not like the fact that Rosie helped Harry and Ginny the previous year with their sex problems, and had a role in the young couple's lives.

Fortunately, Sirius and Remus were there as well, bantering like the life-long friends they were. The banter between them and the Weasley twins was sufficient to keep Molly's thoughts off Harry and Ginny's new godmother.

Although Dumbledore was still meeting with Minister Bones over the devastating spate of attacks all summer, Professor McGonagall was there, along with Poppy Pomfrey.

Rose and Poppy's eyes met briefly and the two women smiled warmly. Diametrically opposed in philosophy and experience, their mutual concern over Harry and Ginny helped them form an unusual bond of friendship anyway. The mediwitch planned to stay only long enough to give Harry and Ginny a cursory inspection to ensure they were healthy.

They ate a brunch together, filling the house with laughter and family talk. It was only partly forced, since the Weasley's were a rambunctious group no matter what the circumstances. However, a shadow of fear hung over everyone. If Voldemort had the gall to attack and come close to killing the Minister of Magic herself, who was truly safe?

All conversation stopped when a chime ward announced visitors. Sirius was first up, running toward the door like a mere boy. The others stood and left the kitchen to see if it was Harry and Ginny.

Instead, it was Dumbledore and, surprisingly, the Minister of Magic. Amelia smiled warmly at Sirius as she and her niece stepped in after the headmaster. "I hope you don't mind," she said. "Susan wanted to see them and, well, I thought it would be nice for her to be in a proper house with friends and family. It'll be a month or two before Bones Manor is rebuilt."

"You're both welcome," Sirius said with unusual grace. Rose knew it was because Amelia was one of the only people in the ministry that her husband absolutely respected. In terms of his animagus form, which really did have an impact on his personality, Amelia Bones was the alpha of his pack, and he would follow her to hell and back if she asked. Moreover, it was not a romantic relationship in the least. Sirius viewed Amelia as an alpha male in a woman's body.

Rosie cheered him on every step he took with Amelia. She too admired their minister, and stepped forward in the role of hostess just as Andy Tonks had instructed. "We're honored to see you, Minister. Little Susie, not so little any more, are we?"

Susan blushed prettily. "Are Harry and Ginny here yet?"

"Not yet, lass. But we have a nice brunch buffet in the dining room if you'd care to join us. You as well, headmaster."

"Thank you, Madam Black," Dumbledore said. "That would be lovely."

With the introduction of the three new people, conversation turned somewhat more serious. The situation was unusual in that the two most powerful people in wizarding Britain were eating a casual brunch with an auror captain, his wife, a ministry department head, and a horde of children who were all a little older and wiser than they should have been.

In the months following Voldemort's raid on Azkaban, the dementors attacked five locations around the country. Fortunately, the MoM and Scotland Yard established rapid reaction groups and were able to intercede quickly before too many casualties occurred. The obliviator squads were on the verge of complete exhaustion, but so far they were able to maintain the secrecy statutes. If the statutes were broken, then there would be international repercussions and penalties assessed against Magical Britain from the ICW.

The attack on Bones Manor was huge news, but the fact that Amelia and Susan survived the attack made it seem more a victory than a loss. At least, that's how the MoM was spinning it.

"The giants in the West Country were the biggest surprise," Amelia admitted. "We're not sure how he was able to bring them down from the reservation in Iceland so fast, but he unleashed three of the beasts."

Sirius, who was there, nodded. "On the other hand, we learned that in some cases muggle weapons can hurt giants better than magic."

"I hadn't heard about this," Arthur, the consummate muggle-lover, said. "What happened?"

"The PM has created a rapid reaction force of squibs in the army to assist us whenever trouble bleeds outside magical areas," Amelia explained. "This is supplementing the Scotland Yard group. When we identified the threat as giants, the MOD dispatched a pair of…what were they, Sirius?"

"Apache attack helicopters," Sirius said. "Dobby, can you bring me the muggle model?"

Dobby appeared a moment later with an intricate die-cast model of the attack ship. Sirius handed it over to a fascinated Arthur. "The thing is as loud as you can imagine, but it flies like a giant flying carpet filled to the brim with muggle weapons. It had this cannon at the front that shoots bullets this wide around." The space between his index finger and thumb was almost two inches. "And it shoots out hundreds of them in a second. I mean, sure, giants have thick skin, but after the first few shots, the bullets were starting to hurt the beasts."

"Then they shot their missiles," Amelia said.

Sirius's eyes glazed. "They were things of beauty."

"Between our two forces were able to kill the giants before the civilians experienced any casualties," Amelia said with a touch of pride. "But the risk remains."

"Now that he and his foremost supporters have been identified, and his supporters assets seized, he has become much more aggressive," Dumbledore sad. "And yet there is also a touch of desperation in his actions. Normally he is a meticulous planner. It is a testament to your work, Amelia, that he has yet to wholly succeed in any one of his attacks."

"I do appreciate your help with pushing the funding through," Amelia said.

Dumbledore shrugged. "The least I can do, my dear."

Everyone sat up when they heard the front door open and then close. An instant later Dobby appeared, trembling and bouncing on his feet. "Mister Harry Potter is here! Mister Harry Potter is here!" He disappeared a moment later.

Rosie watched as her husband jumped to his feet, only to be bowled over by Molly Weasley. Rosie knew the initial rush would be bad and so stayed right where she was. She noted most of the others did as well.

They all appeared to be ready to wait, until they heard Molly scream, followed by the dull thud of a body falling on the floor.

"Oh dear," Arthur said. "Better go see what the fuss is abou…." He stopped and stared slack-jawed. Rosie turned and half rose to her feet.

Harry and Ginny stood before them, taller and more tanned than any two months could account for. In fact, they looked closer to sixteen and fifteen than their actual years of fifteen and fourteen. But the true shock, and the obvious source of Molly's fainting spell, was the bundle cradled in Ginny's arms.

The young couple looked nervously at Arthur Weasley. With understated determination, Ginny said, "Daddy, would you like to meet your grandson?"

Arthur Weasley pushed himself slowly to his feet and wove his way through his stunned family until he stood before them. As he approached, he noticed each still had the heterochromia that had marked them from the beginning of their extended summer vacation. He also noticed that each of them had grown. Harry was now only a few inches shorter than Arthur himself, and Ginny appeared to have added two inches as well.

His mind continued to pick out details of his daughter and her husband until at last he could avoid it no longer, and he looked down at the baby in her arms. He felt a sudden, indefinable rush of emotions as Ginny handed the bundle over.

"How?" he asked as he stared down at the perfect child. "It's only been two months."

"A time room," Harry explained. "It made time pass a lot faster for us than the rest of the world. We spent a week in there for every day in the rest of the world. Fortunately, it was a big room and we had other things to keep us busy."

"When did you…"

Ginny looked down at the baby with a smile. "He saved us, Daddy. Little James Orion Potter saved our lives."

"I don't…"

"Arthur," Dumbledore said from the chair he had yet to rise from, "what was happening to Harry and Ginny earlier this summer was a result of their bond being damaged by Harry's death. With the creation of new life, and the merging of their soul energy to create a new soul, they have mended that damage. Giving birth to that child quite literally saved their bond, and hence their lives."

Arthur stared at the headmaster. "Did you know this was going to happen?"

"I had a strong suspicion. I will speak with them further, but I suspect they are under oaths not to discuss their recent experiences except to a select few."

Harry nodded.

Arthur looked back down to examine the baby. It was obviously still only a few days old, but even so he had a shock full of black hair just like his father, but with an occasional red highlight that hinted he still carried the Weasley's red hair in his blood.

The baby opened its eyes briefly, and Arthur sucked in a breath. They were not the blue of a newborn. They were heterochromic just like his parents.

"We think that will fade as he gets older," Ginny said quickly. "They look that way because of us and the…well, the magic around his birth."

"He is magical," Arthur said, just looking at the child. "How much did he weigh?"

"Six pounds," Ginny said. "Are you…are you mad?"

Arthur looked up, stunned. "Why would I be mad? My beautiful daughter has given me a beautiful, handsome grandson." His voice actually cracked. "How could I be mad?"

"Least you didn't faint," Harry muttered.

"I'm saving that for later," Arthur said, pleased to see his quip got them both to smile. "I see that you're speaking better as well."

Harry looked his father in law in the eye and nodded. "Everything has stabilized. There won't be any more changes. We…we received a lot of help this summer from a couple that went through the same thing. They taught us a lot about what we can expect."

Arthur watched as the young man's attention shifted to Dumbledore. "Thank you for contacting them for us."

"I felt I had no choice but to try," the old wizard said. "I owe you too much."

Arthur saw his wife enter. Her hair was mussed and she still had a glassy-eyed look. Sirius, bless his soul, was holding her arm. She walked stiffly to stand beside her husband. "Molly," he said, "I'm very pleased to introduce you to our grandson, James Orion Potter. He may very well be the most beautiful baby I have ever seen—and I've seen my share."

"May I hold him?" Molly asked.

"I'd love you to," Ginny said.

Molly looked her daughter in the eyes, and the two Weasley women just stared at each other for moment before Arthur handed the baby over. Molly took the newborn with a sure, practiced hand, bouncing it as it made an upset little gurgle.

"He was six pounds," Arthur said.

"So small?" Molly asked. "Ginny was over seven pounds. Bill was nine."

Ginny winced. "He was big enough, thank you."

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle. "He's perfect, Ginny." He leaned down to hug her, and was gratified to feel her hug him back firmly.

"Are you kids hungry?" Rosie finally asked.

"Ohhh, yes!" Ginny said, showing the first flash of spirit since their return. Her eyes saw the pile of eggs and bacon; almost upon her first look Harry was fetching a pair of plates. The twins quickly gave up their seats and were rewarded with a smile as Harry piled on a huge amount of food on one plate, then a normal serving in the other.

He sat before the normal serving, while Ginny came around and laid into her pile almost like Ron.

Her brothers watched her eat with wide eyes, until they heard their father chuckling. "Get used to it, boys. Witch's milk is not quite like a muggle woman's. It is infused with magic as well as nutrients. And for that, Ginny is going to have a hefty appetite for quite a while."

Across from Ron, Hermione watched with the same dazed expression as the others, until she blinked. "What was that about witch's milk? I've never heard that."

"That's because Hogwarts doesn't teach you about it until your fifth year," Rosie said.

Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Yes, it's true. As a fifth year, you'll be attending a seminar about the differences between muggle women and witches."

"There can't be that many differences," Hermione said. "My mother is muggle, but I'm a witch. Obviously I'm healthy."

"It's magic, Miss Granger," Pomfrey said. "It infuses every part of your body. For instance, when you marry a wizard, should you choose to do so, your menses will shift to increase the odds of fertility on your wedding night as a result of your wedding bond. This has been exhaustively observed and confirmed. Additionally, you will experience a lessening of magical power during pregnancy, but will become virtually immune from all known magical or muggle illnesses as your magic shifts from outward focus to inner protection."

"And labor is a pain," Ginny muttered between bites.

"It always is," Hermione said.

"Accidental magic between mum and child," Harry explained.

By then Molly had taken her seat and was cooing at the baby, thoroughly lost in grandmum land. However, Arthur heard the last and looked up in surprise. "The baby was giving off accidental magic? So young?"

"He absorbed some of ours in the womb," Harry said. "When he was being born, he unleashed it. Ginny about screamed when he turned me into an emu."

"Thank Merlin they changed you back so fast," Ginny muttered. "I couldn't take anything for the pain because of the magic. And it took a week."

This brought Molly out of her daze. "You were in labor for a week?"

"I was still a little young to have a baby," Ginny admitted with a sad smile. "But I'm glad we did. The…the compulsions stopped as soon as we got pregnant. In fact, everything changed when we got pregnant."

"We don't have to touch at night any more," Harry explained. "The bond has fully stabilized. The pain is finally gone."

That seemed to be her cue; Pomfrey stood and started running diagnostic spells over the two of them. "You still share a common soul," she noted. "However, it is…a very powerful soul. And completely untainted or unharmed." She then looked at them physically. "And my scans do confirm you are older than you should be by nine months."

She walked over to the baby and ran a few spells on it. "And little James here is as perfectly healthy a babe as I've ever seen."

"Poppy," Dumbledore said, "if Mr. and Mrs. Potter do not object, could you run a core test on the child?"

"He's top percentile," Harry said.

Poppy looked from Harry to Dumbledore, and then performed the test. None there could decipher the strange colors save Poppy herself. She straightened with pursed lips. "He's more than top percentile, Mr. Potter. As far as I know he is the top, period. His core is the largest infant magical core every recorded in England, unless one came in the past two years I didn't know about."

"That's from us again," Ginny said. "There was a lot of magic going on around us."

"Yes, that might do it. The two of you are…well, let's say that you have a great deal of potential."

"You have no idea," Dumbledore said, though softly enough only Arthur could hear him.

Molly finally looked up from the baby, misty-eyed. "Ginny, Harry, he's absolutely beautiful. I… I do think you were young for this, but I understand. It was so bad this summer, and if bringing this beautiful boy into the world helped you, then that makes us doubly blessed."

She then pointedly turned to a blushing Bill and an obviously fascinated Fleur Delacour. "And he had better not be the only grandchild I have."

Fleur blinked, while Bill blushed again.

Ron, however, completely missed the gaze. "Blimey, mum, I'm only fifteen."

Laughter broke the moment as Ron realized he was not the target of the statement.

That evening, Hermione wandered Grimauld Place quietly. She was staying the night since they were going to all go together to do their shopping together the next day.

Seeing Harry and Ginny holding the baby brought up a host of very strange and foreign emotions within Hermione. One she did recognize was jealously, but she couldn't figure out who she was jealous of.

She was passing by the parlor when she heard a happy gurgle. She stuck her head in to make sure it was not coming from Harry and Ginny, and thankfully found the couple curled up next to each other. Ginny's shirt was pulled up and she was feeding the baby.

Both must have sensed her, since she didn't actually make a sound. "You can come in," Harry said softly, so as not to disturb the baby.

Hermione walked in, uncertain she should be there, but drawn by the sight of the baby latched onto Ginny's breast. Cautiously, she sat on the other side of the couch next to Ginny. The only light was magical lamp, and the flickering fireplace.

Almost of its own accord, her hand reached out to feel the silky black hair. The baby jerked back to reveal Ginny's nipple with a pearl of milk hanging from it. "Ohh, I'm sorry," Hermione whispered.

Ginny shrugged her shoulder, passing her nipple across the baby's lips. It immediately latched back on, reaching a hand blindly to rest against the pale, vein-filled skin.

Hermione could barely understand the moisture in her eyes. "It's so beautiful," she said. She was not talking about just James; but about the sight of watching him feed.

"We want you to be his godmother, if you're willing," Harry said.

The moisture welled into true tears that she wiped away with a sniff. "I would be honored," she said. "I…what does it feel like, Ginny?"

Ginny looked back with relaxed, half-lidded eyes. "When he latches on properly, it feels like magic," she said. She sounded almost…dopey. As if… "It's like a potion almost. I can feel him pulling on my milk and magic at the same time. And it feels so wonderful. When I'm feeding him, I don't worry about anything. Nothing matters but Harry and James."

Hermione was going to mention the effect of oxytocin, but then thought better of it. For once, she realized this was not a time for rational explanations. It was true, genuine magic like she had never seen before; the magic that came from a mother to her child. So she simply sat with her closest friends and stared at the miracle before her.

The baby abruptly let off the breast.

"He's finally full," Ginny smiled. She took a small napkin, wiped herself and then adjusted her shirt. "Would you like to burp him?"

"I…how?"

Harry handed her a small towel. "Put that over your shoulder. Make sure to cradle his head—he still doesn't have a lot of neck strength yet."

Hermione watched how Ginny cradled the child and did the same. She was surprised at how very small and light the baby was. He looked up at her with his strangely mismatched eyes that were just like his parents, and grinned.

"He's smiling at me!" Hermione said.

"I think he has…" Ginny stopped when they heard a squish-squirt.

"Ahhh…." Hermione started to get worried, but then heard Harry chuckle.

"You know what the best thing about magic is I've ever seen?"

"What?" Hermione asked, on the verge of panic.

"Vanishing diapers. He's had that same diaper on all day. We'll wash it tomorrow, but it vanishes everything. They sell them in Diagon Alley."

"Like Huggies only better," Hermione said. With Ginny's prompting she gently placed the baby on her shoulder and patted his back.

Not much later, he burped and then stopped moving. "Is he…"

"He's asleep," Harry said. He stood and then gently took the baby from Hermione's shoulder. He disappeared from the parlor, leaving the two witches alone.

"He's so beautiful," Hermione said.

Ginny nodded, and then leaned over until she hugged Hermione. The older girl was surprised at first, but returned it soon enough. "Are you…is everything okay now?"

Ginny leaned back and nodded, and then wiped her eyes. "He's going to be our only one, Hermione. At least this century."

Hermione blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Something we learned. Something we had to do to survive. We made our own philosopher's stone. We used my placenta, our blood, and some blood from James's foot. And when the stone was complete, Harry and I both became infertile until we die and are reborn again. Then we'll have to have another child, and make another stone."

Hermione stared at her friend for the longest time before she said, "You were with Nicholas Flamel, weren't you?"

"He and Perenelle have five stones. In six and a half centuries, they managed to have only seven children through seven deaths, and only created stones for the last five. The stones are fused with our blood and magic. The stone cements the bonds of blood and magic we share. When Harry dies, the stone will help either revive his old body or create a new one for him, and the same when I die. But then the stone will crack, and we'll become fertile again. But the compulsion will also begin again until I'm pregnant. It'll happen every time. It was worse for us this time, though, because I was on a birth control potion and charms."

Hermione was doing her very best to process what she was hearing. "Ginny, does this mean…does this mean you and Harry are immortal?"

"I don't know if we'll live forever, but it means that neither of us can die as long as the other survives. Only if we both die at the same time would we truly die."

"That's…that's remarkable."

Hermione almost jumped when Harry sat right beside her, and then relaxed when he placed an arm around her shoulder. For one brief, split second she let herself imagine his arms being her place. She then viciously bit the surge of emotion down. Still, he continued to hug her, and she felt a second pair of arms around her as Ginny also hugged her too.

"We're telling you, and you alone," Harry said. "Not Ron, not our families. Dumbledore already knows. We had permission to tell one friend we both trust in case we ever need help, and that's you. You are our best friend. We love you so much, Hermione, that we don't want to ever not have you in our lives. You won't just be James's godmother, you're going to be his aunt. His big sister. Just like you'll be our sister. We're telling you because we trust you more than any other person in the world."

The compliment and trust was enough to make Hermione tear up again. "I love you too," she said softly.