A/N: Hi guys, hope everyone is doing well. I know there are still a few of you reading this so that's great. Let me know what you think.
Chapter 26
The rest of the day was spent lazing around with the team and their respective families. Storm and Hermione once again found themselves engulfed by a sea of redheads and the Griffin's to boot. Arty was sat with them around a roaring fire, the little shifter sat on her knees bouncing happily. His cheeks rosy as he giggled at her. Storm was stood behind her, watching the baby boy over her shoulder. Pulling silly faces as her dark eyes took in her son's expressions change with every laugh.
"He's getting so big now" Arty spoke as slim fingers moved to smooth down the front of his onsie, stopping to idly trace the golden snitch that was embroidered on the chest.
"He's going to be a big chappy" Storm stated, her voice thickly laced with pride. "I think he definitely took after me and dad on that one" She spoke again, her lips curving up into a smug smile.
"I think that's definitely a shifter thing" Hermione added as she leaned over to smooth the youngest Griffin's hair back out of his eyes. As he was getting older his dark curls were becoming more and more untameable.
"You're definitely right there" Arty added, flicking her eyes to watch their own father laughing loudly as he chatted to one of the chasers on the other side of the large fire. Their mother was sat quietly beside him, smiling her usual smile as she listened intently to the conversation that they were having.
"He's going to be absolutely worn out by the time we get back to the train" The brunette stated, watching as her son stopped bouncing for a moment, becoming enthralled with one of the buttons on the blonde's jacket. His chubby fingers poking at it as his dark eyes looked on in wonder for a moment.
"We brought drinks!" Came a voice pulling the focus onto a redhead approaching them, wearing her own wide smile as she levitated a tray in their direction. Ginny was heading towards them once again, Harry following close behind. He too was levitating something.
"And Harry brought snacks!" Storm piped up, her eyes moving from her son to the tray of treats the green-eyed boy had brought to bestow upon them. "What a legend!" She laughed, standing up to help them unload their haul.
"I thought Joey might want something too, so we brought some age appropriate pumpkin juice" Harry spoke again, more towards Hermione this time looking immensely proud of himself.
"That's wonderful" the brunette stated as she took the small glass from the tray, reaching round to pull the little boys Sippy cup from her beaded bag with practiced ease she popped the top off and transferred the liquids. Laughing lightly to herself as Joe all but dove from his aunties lap with a delighted screech.
"Woah mate hold your horses, she's coming" Arty stated with a laugh, luckily adept at handling the small shifter and his sudden movements.
"Can I?" Harry spoke, reaching out to take the youngest Griffin from the blonde girl.
"Be my guest" She stated as she handed the boy over, watching as the dark haired boy moved to take the now full Sippy cup from his best friend. Opting to take the seat beside her as she watched him. It turned out Harry was a natural with children, his warm nature seemed to sooth the little shifter and Joe just loved to be around him.
Hermione often thought about just how lucky they were to have people who loved the little boy and a whole host of them. Harry and Ginny often seeing them at least once a week, Arty and Storm's parents even more than that. They were all very hands on and that had pleased Hermione to no end.
"They played absolutely brilliantly, today didn't they?" Harry stated, his green eyes watching the little boy in his arms for a moment before flicking up to meet Hermione's own gaze.
"They did that's for sure, I think they both feel like they have something to prove what with being straight out of Hogwarts." Hermione spoke quietly. She knew what both Ginny and Storm were like. They were both incredibly stubborn and proud, and a loss would not be taken lightly.
"I definitely agree with you there" Harry laughed shaking his head as he did so. He secretly dreaded the eventuality of a loss. They were an amazing team but winning every single game was unheard of.
As if on cue they both looked over to see Storm, Ginny, and Arty chatting animatedly. More of the chatting being done by the former two of the three rather than the latter. Storm was doing some kind of hand gesture as if trying to show them some sort of flying manoeuvre. Ginny was nodding along, adding commentary here and there. Arty was just watching, her lips pulled up into a smirk as she moved to take a sip from her tankard.
They carried on chatting idly, enjoying the opportunity the evening had presented to them. It was incredible to be able to spend so much time with their friends and family in such a positive atmosphere. Hermione found herself hoping quietly that it did not change anytime soon. There was a lot to look forward to, but the idea of the clans being so quiet for so long lingered in the back of her mind. She knew Storm and her father were waiting for the other shoe to drop, and she did not dare question them. As the night went on those passing by became less and less, and some of the team had begun to turn in for the evening.
Joey had been struggling to keep himself awake, his dark eyes drooping as he yawned heavily. Nuzzling his head into Hermione's chest as she held him close. Storm had shrugged off her hoody and draped it over them enchanting it to keep warm.
"Storm, we should probably get moving. We need to put him to bed" Hermione spoke as the younger girl took Harry's vacated seat. The dark-haired boy having gone to chat to some of the Weasleys after passing a sleepy baby back to his mother. Storm herself looked exhausted but her lips were constantly warped into a bright smile.
"That sounds good to me" She spoke back, leaning over to brush the tip of her nose against Hermione's cheek before planting a gentle kiss there. "Hopefully, he'll sleep through the night" She added as her dark eyes took in their little boy who was still fighting to stay awake.
"Come on then" Hermione spoke again as she moved to wrap Storm's hoody further around the little boy clinging to her chest. "It's been a long day for all of us, and he still needs a quick bath" She added, leaning into Storm's side as the younger woman saddled up next to her to wrap an arm around her waist.
"That should be easy enough, it can be a quick one. I don't think he'll want to play" She stated with a small smirk, though she knew stranger things had happened. "I can't wait to get in bed" She spoke honestly as she peered down at the older woman.
"Me neither" Hermione spoke honestly, pausing as she let Storm lean forward and open to door to the train.
It was not long after they got into their little compartment that they had successfully bathed and put the little boy to bed. His dark eyes shutting as soon as his head hit the pillow. They took turns washing up themselves, and Storm found herself watching the door to the small bathroom, waiting for Hermione to return. She was not waiting long, and finally the older woman emerged ready for bed. Her hair was up off her neck in a bun, and she wore her usual flannel pyjamas. Her dark doe eyes met equally dark eyes as she smiled a small tired smile.
Storm's lips were pulled up in a cheeky grin as she shuffled over onto her side of the bed to let the bookworm in.
"What are you smirking at?" the older woman quizzed with a raised brow, pulling the thick duvet back so she could slide under it. The bed was already warm, Storm's body heat having done its usual job. Her eyes fluttering shut as she was pulled into the younger woman's embrace. Her fingers moving to trace tense muscles that lay just under Storm's jersey. Enjoying the small exhale of contentment that puffed from the shifters nose.
"I'm just happy" the taller woman muttered as she settled down finally. Her tired muscles relaxing under the older woman's soft touch.
"Me too" Hermione agreed before going quiet. She was listening to the light crackle of the quiet baby monitor, and the deep breaths of the shifter beside her.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Their weekend had gone in a flash, and soon they were back to reality. Each of the teams had played their first game during the opening weekend in Bulgaria and the rest of the games for the first part of the world cup would be played in different respective countries. For their second and third match they would be playing on their home turf. The Harpies Stadium had been chosen for them both and the English team had been more than happy with that.
For the time being, they would return to practices with their own teams with the practices for the English team being placed every other day. It would be an exhausting few months but it would definitely be worth it in the end. Storm had been welcomed back to Puddlemere United with open arms. The rest of her teammates asking so many questions about how the game had gone and what it had been like. Wood making a joke about how she would have to make sure they came top of the table.
Hermione had taken to working from home, popping into the ministry every few days for meetings in the afternoons after Storm had returned from practice to watch Joe. They had a routine that they had fallen into quite easily. It was practiced and something they found they were quite good at.
One evening Hermione had returned home quite late. The spring had started to morph itself into summer and the nights were growing increasingly longer. She had seen Storm very briefly that afternoon as they swapped in for Hermione to head off to the Ministry, and she found that she just could not wait to see the younger woman.
Before she knew it their living room had appeared in front of her, and their home was light and airy. Storm had opened all of the windows and the sound of the sloshing waves near their home assaulted her ears. The smell of saltwater soon took the place of soot as she stepped from the confines of the fireplace. Making her way quickly through the home, she set her things down on the kitchen table as she made her way towards the back door where she could hear delighted shrieks in the distance. She had noticed Storm had been working hard on helping their baby control his ability, and she used the opportunities while Hermione was at work to do it. Hermione had also noticed, that these activities absolutely wiped out their little boy and he would normally be asleep by the time she got home.
Excitement shot through to her belly as she made her way out onto the decking of their back porch, her dark doe eyes taking in the scene before here. She loved to watch her wife and son play, and they always played so hard.
Storm was waist deep in the ocean with Joey held high up in her arms. She seemed to be launching him up before catching him again with practiced ease. Each time he was released from her grasp he shrieked in delight before giggling up a storm as he was caught again. Dex was sat on the shore watching them both for a moment before seemingly sensing Hermione's presence and turning to bound up the steps to greet her.
"Hello" Hermione spoke quietly, a wide smile tugging at her lips as she reached down to scratch the top of his head. "how long have they been out there?" She spoke again, though more to herself this time. She was sure it had been for a while, as she could see shifters had their hair slicked back away from their eyes with seawater. She secretly loved when Storm had just come from a swim, her hair dripping wet, her eyes sparkling and her lips salty. She always said it helped her muscles relax from the vigorous amounts of flying that she did now split between the two teams.
In a split decision she kicked off her shoes and slipped off her tights, leaving her feet bare. Taking to the steps with haste, before padding down to the shoreline with the big black dog beside her.
"I wondered where you two were!" She called out over the sound of the waves rolling in. Watching as Storm turned to beam at her. "How long have you been out here?" she quizzed as she waded into the cold water slowly until it sloshed to just below her knees.
"Hermione!" Storm called as she turned to the sound of the familiar tones. Her lips turned up into a crooked grin as she began to wade out of the sea. "We've been out here for a while." She laughed, "He loves the water" She spoke proudly, holding the little boy to her who was trying to kick his feet in the waves.
"Just like someone else I know" Hermione quipped, and took stock of her two shifters. In that moment she watched as Joe's lips twisted and he looked almost as if someone had cloned Storm.
"we missed you" Storm spoke again, though quieter this time as she got close enough to lean down and press a tender kiss the brunette's waiting lips. A small hum of appreciation escaping from Hermione's throat as she did. Storm was careful not to get too close and wet the older woman, she had done that a few times and had been scolded. "Hi" she muttered as she pulled away, dark eyes taking in dark eyes as Hermione watched her.
Her skin prickled as the cold breeze got to her and she turned to shield the baby boy from it.
"Come on then! Lets get you dried off and ready for bed" Storm spoke to the little boy who had began whimpering as soon as the water was out of reach. His lip quivering as if he might start balling at any point.
"Has he eaten?" Hermione quizzed, an eyebrow raised as she made her way up towards the porch where she had spotted two towels laid out ready. Secretly pleased Storm had learnt her lesson after she had come home to wet footprints all over the home.
"He had some stew with mashed potato" The younger woman stated "There's some keeping warm for us in the slow cooker. I thought I'd wait for you to eat" She spoke again as she moved to wrap the little boy up in a big beach towel. Watching as he settled down into it.
"Thank you" Hermione spoke, a small smile tugging at her lips as she draped the other towel around Storm's shoulders. Using her wand to dry off her own legs before making her way into their home.
"Why don't you go get him ready for bed and put him down, and I'll get you a glass of butterbeer and we can have supper together then" The older woman spoke, reaching up to tuck a haywire piece of hair behind Storm's ear. Watching as she leant into the touch and her eyelids fluttered shut for a moment.
"I think that sounds like an awesome idea" The younger girl spoke earnestly before leaning down to place one last lingering kiss on Hermione's lips before she made her way slowly up the stairs and out of sight. Leaving the older woman to set the table, pour the drinks and set out their meals. It was nights like these that they lived for in their hectic lives. They cherished the quiet moments that they got to spend together, and that is exactly what they did that evening.