Preparation Pandemonium
"Do I have to go?" asked Harry reluctantly. "Do I absolutely have to go?"
"Yes," grinned Ginny, giving him a gentle shove out of the door. "You're forty now. Maybe it's time to finally become an adult."
"Does the Head Auror not get any leave of absence on his birthday?" Harry grumbled. "That'll have to change." He kissed his wife. "I'll see you at five."
"The day'll be over before you know it!" she called after him as he walked down the path.
Harry turned around. "Give my love to the kids," he said. "When they finally wake up!"
"If they wake up! That's what comes of having teenagers in the house," shrugged Ginny, and raised a hand to wave as Harry reached the end of the path, blew her a kiss, turned on the spot and Apparated off to work.
Ginny, alone on the path in front of their Godric's Hollow house, looked out into the fields and woods beyond. It was only half-past seven, but it was shaping up to be a beautiful day as the sun climbed ever higher into the sky. Ginny took a deep breath and wrapped her dressing-gown further around her; a moment of peace and quiet before the storm of activity she knew had to take place before five o' clock arrived.
"Right," she said to herself, clapping her hands together and turning on her heel. She marched through the kitchen like a woman on a mission, up the stairs and into her eldest son's bedroom. She knew James would be the one most difficult to wake up.
"Morning!" she said brightly, crossing to the window and pulling his curtains open with a swish. Surveying his room with her hands on her hips, Ginny saw piles of clothes thrown haphazardly across James's armchair, a waist-high stack of books which had fallen over at some point during the holiday and had not been righted, and an artistic arrangement of dirty plates and cups strewn across the floor. Alastor, the tawny owl, clicked his beak from his cage and observed the new arrival with haughty contempt.
"James," said Ginny, ignoring the mess for now. "Get up. It's your father's birthday and I need your help." The James-shaped lump of duvet on the bed groaned but did not move. "We have loads of people coming round this afternoon for the surprise party and everything has to be ready by five." James rolled over and buried further under his duvet. "Do you really want your friends to see you like this?" Nothing. "James Sirius, if you don't get up this minute, I will confiscate your wand for the rest of the summer!"
"I can't use it out of school anyway," mumbled James, without moving a muscle.
"And your broomstick," said Ginny.
"I'm up!" gasped James, sitting up abruptly.
"I knew you'd want to help," smiled Ginny, as James ran a hand through his tousled hair and yawned. "Your first job before breakfast is to clean this room up. It absolutely swallows up our crockery."
"Can I go to Clive Hopkins's party after Dad's is over? Amir is going," James asked suddenly, just as his mother was about to whisk out of the room.
Ginny stopped and turned to look at James. "Who?" she asked. "You've never mentioned him before."
"Clive Hopkins," said James. "He's just the year above me."
"No," said Ginny. "Even if I knew him, you can't go to anyone's house tonight. Dad's party will finish late."
"Mum-!" James protested. Ginny could practically see his hackles raising.
"I won't argue with you, James. I've said no. Your family need you to help out here for Dad's birthday, and that's what you're going to do." Ginny shut the door on her sixteen-year-old son's bedroom and walked across the landing.
When she opened the door, Albus looked up from the book he had been reading. Already dressed and wide awake, he was lying across his neatly-made bed with his grey cat dozily curled up on his lap. His room was fairly neat, nothing near like the state of James's. "Hi, Mum," he said.
"Morning Al," said Ginny. "Since you're up, would you mind going down and making breakfast, please? You've remembered it's Dad's birthday?"
Albus, who never forgot anything, nodded, and gently picked up the cat. Sensing she was about to get fed, she purred excitedly; Ginny smiled and went to the last of her children's bedrooms. Lily was asleep when she went in, but leapt out of bed without having to be asked.
"I'm so excited," she sang, dancing round the room.
"Careful," said Ginny, catching Brian's cage as he nearly toppled off Lily's desk. Brian was the great-grandchild of Arnold, the pygmy puff Ginny herself had owned when she was young.
"Dad's going to be so surprised," Lily said, grinning at the prospect. She gleefully rubbed her hands together.
"Well, let's just hope it's for all the right reasons," replied Ginny, handing her daughter a hairbrush. "Breakfast is in ten minutes, okay?"
"Okay!" Lily called as Ginny went back to her own room to dress.
Ten minutes later, the family congregated in the kitchen. James arrived with his arms full of plates and dishes stacked on top of each other.
"I can almost see the fungi," Albus remarked, as James dumped them in the sink and ran the hot water.
"Shut up," scowled James.
Lily, whose long red hair now less resembled an unruly nest and more of a neat ponytail, was setting the table. Ginny hunted down her to-do list, hidden under the fruit bowl, and examined it. "Uncle Ron has taken the afternoon off work to come and help us set up," she said. "Hermione, Rose and Hugo are coming early too. We have Millamant's Magic Marquees arriving at ten, the self-inflating balloons are being delivered at twelve, the caterers at three-thirty and the musicians at four."
"When are the guests arriving?" asked Lily, watching Albus try to butter toast and fry bacon at the same time.
"If all goes to plan, we'll all be in place by half-past four," said Ginny. She ran a hand through her hair. "I must be crazy. I have no idea if this is all going to work."
"'Start on the garden eight-thirty till nine,'" read Albus, leaning over to look at Ginny's schedule. "'Cake at nine-'"
"What's happening with the cake?" asked James, biting the corner off a triangle of toast.
"Granny insisted on baking it," said Ginny, only just managing to keep the sigh out of her voice. "So the kitchen will be out of bounds for most of the morning."
"She's coming here?" asked Albus, looking around the messy kitchen.
Ginny nodded. "Yes, so get eating, you lot. I did say there was a lot to do."
In her excitement, Lily swallowed a bite of bacon sandwich whole and burst into a choking, coughing fit. Albus banged her on the back until she stopped spluttering. "Sorry," she gasped, her eyes streaming.
"If only I could use my wand today," mused James. "Then I'd be a lot more help."
"No," said Ginny sharply. "For the thousandth time, I will not owl Kingsley Shacklebolt to ask that the Ministry release you from the laws of underage magic. You will not exploit Dad's name and position at the Ministry for your own gain."
"Oh, come on," said James. He considered launching into an argument but decided against this and drowned his sorrows in a glass of pumpkin juice instead.
Once breakfast was over, five minutes early according to the schedule, Ginny sent all three of her children outside into the garden to tidy it up. Lily would sweep the patio and water the plants, James would mow the rather big lawn and Albus would trim the shockingly overgrown hedges whilst Ginny herself cleaned the kitchen before the arrival of her mother. At five to nine however, when she went into the garden to check how they were all doing, James and Albus were in the middle of a fiery argument which had quickly become a shoving match. The two boys were rolling over and over on the largely-uncut lawn, wrestling with each other, as Lily danced around them, shouting at the top of her voice.
It did not take Ginny long to restore order and find out what had been the issue. James had nudged ("kicked!" shouted Albus) Albus's cat away from the fishpond and had very nicely requested that Albus keep his animal under control.
"He called her mangy, scabby vermin," Albus shouted, pointing accusingly at his older brother. "And yelled so hard, she ran away, scared." In his eyes, there was no greater crime.
"James, go indoors," said Ginny. "You can wash the windows instead. I want them sparkling."
"You can wash them by magic though," said James, but at his mother's stony glare, he obeyed. "You should be letting me go to Clive Hopkins's party if you want me to be helpful!" he called back.
"Not a chance!" said Ginny. "Lily, leave the fish alone. I'm sure they are not that traumatized and I can see a flowerbed of wilting rose bushes which have not yet been watered."
"Yoo-hoo!" someone called from beyond the kitchen.
"Granny's here!" bellowed James.
"Granny!" shouted Lily, abandoning her roses and running inside.
"Mum, you really shouldn't be Apparating alone at your age," said Ginny, once Molly Weasley had hugged, kissed and remarked on the height, weight and overall welfare of all her grandchildren. "What if something happens to you?"
"Nonsense! I feel as fit as a fiddle," smiled Molly, tying her floral, icing-sugar-dusted apron around her plump waist. "And I wouldn't very well miss the chance to bake my son's fortieth birthday cake now, would I?"
"Do you have everything you need?" Ginny asked, staring at her mother's bag, which was overflowing with baking instruments and ingredients.
"Of course, darling," said Molly. "I just need some peace," she said.
"I hate baking," Ginny admitted. "I'll gladly disappear."
The next hour bustled by quietly and without any more quarrels. Ginny took over the mowing of the lawn and supervised the eviction of a family of gnomes that Albus discovered. The garden was fairly peaceful until Ginny suddenly leapt to her feet and said "Merlin's beard!"
"What?" Lily asked, alarmed.
"I completely forgot I promised to escort Millamant's Magical Marquees here," she said. "They'll be lost somewhere in the village." Ginny ran for the house. "Behave yourselves!" she called over her shoulder. "Mum, I have to Apparate into town," she said, skidding into the kitchen and almost falling over herself in her hurry. "Will you keep an eye on the kids, especially James?"
The kitchen was a colourful whirr of magical activity; spoons stirred themselves, sugar was sieving itself and a mop was dragging itself along the floor. Molly Weasley stood in the centre of this organised chaos, holding her wand like a conductor's baton. Ginny could smell the sweetness of homemade jam simmering on the stove and see a perfectly-baked sponge cake already cooling on a rack. There were two more in the oven and the raw ingredients of one in a tin waiting to go in.
As Ginny flew down the front path where she had said goodbye to Harry only a couple of hours before, a friendly brown-eyed face appeared at the end of it.
"Hi!" said Hermione brightly, then "are you alright?"
"Going into the village. Marquees," said Ginny, in a vague attempt at an explanation. "You'll have to let yourself in, I'm afraid."
"Do you want me to do anything?" Hermione called after her.
"Ask Albus!" said Ginny, twisting on the spot and Apparating.
Hermione blinked, and pushed open the front door. "Molly!" she said, and went to hug her mother-in-law. "It smells amazing. I didn't know you were coming early."
"Ginny will be grateful for your help, I think," Molly said, with a chuckle. "She's…a little overwhelmed. Not that she'd ever admit it."
"I've been told to go to Albus for my instructions," said Hermione good-naturedly.
Molly became distracted at the ping of her timer but pointed towards the garden, and Hermione went to find her nephew, just as the magical timer began speaking in a polite voice; "Please attend to the task you needed me for. Please attend to the task-"
"Excuse me, sorry, pardon me," gabbled Ginny as she pushed her way through crowds of Muggle shoppers. She swore under her breath as she saw a large amount of colourful striped material in the town square, around which four wizards were hovering, looking perplexed and out of their depth in the sea of Muggles. When she was young, Ginny would never have gotten a stitch like the one that pierced her side, and she clutched it as she hurried up to the wizards. Middle age and children, thought Ginny with a grimace.
"I am so sorry," she gasped, but the balding wizard in charge just smiled.
"Not at all," he said, bowing slightly. "It is an honour to meet you, Mrs Potter."
"Call me Ginny," she said, shaking his hand.
"I'm Monty Millamant, and these are the boys," the wizard smiled. "And is Mr Potter at home?"
"No, he's at work," she replied. "But this is all for his fortieth birthday. We're throwing a surprise party, you see. I'm sure you'll meet Harry later."
Monty grinned so hard Ginny wondered if the smile was about to fall off his face but she was just glad they weren't put out at her being late. At least there was some perks of being married to someone as famous as Harry Potter.
Ginny, Monty, 'the boys' and the striped marquee found a quiet corner behind a restaurant where the garbage bins held court, away from the mass of shoppers. Together they Apparated onto the front path of the house and Ginny showed them round the back to the garden where the marquee was to go.
Hermione had done a fantastic job of overseeing the productivity of her nephews and niece because the garden looked great; much better than Ginny had expected.
"Just here, please," said Ginny, turning to Monty, but he was already halfway across the lawn, fawning over Hermione and asking if she would please sign her Chocolate Frog card.
Embarrassed, Hermione did so, and Monty, looking proud as punch, began to direct the construction of the marquee. James, Albus and Lily all came to watch the enormous length of material elegantly rise into the air and hang there, floating. As the marquee was only a necessary precaution in the unpredictable weather of the English summer, Monty and his team secured the striped sides to the roof so only a great colourful dome remained, floating in mid-air.
"Thank you," said Ginny. "What time will you be back to collect it in the morning?"
"Is nine o' clock alright?" asked Monty, rubbing his hands together and grinning widely. Ginny had a feeling that Monty was over the moon that the day after Harry's birthday fell on a Saturday, when Harry would not be at work and possibly hovering around. She was sure that Monty and his Chocolate Frog card would be waiting. "I can get back here easily now I know where you are."
He bowed his goodbyes, and he and 'the boys' Disapparated away. Hermione and Ginny exchanged a grin.
"He seemed a bit… keen," Hermione observed.
"Mum, Clive Hopkins's parties don't come around very often," said James, having made a beeline for his mother. "But they are legendary. I will never live down the fact I didn't go. People talk about them for months afterwards."
"All the more reason not to go," said Ginny. "Who knows what kind of unsavoury people you might meet there? You might fall into the lap of some leech like Rita Skeeter, who would squeeze every ounce of gossip out of you."
"Mum," said James, with a pained expression. "I am smarter than you give me credit for."
"Be that as it may, you're still not going."
"Amir's mum is letting him go," he muttered. James stalked away looking mutinous. Ginny sighed.
"What was that about?" asked Hermione. Ginny explained, and Hermione laughed. "I guess we have all that to come," she said.
"Speaking of which, where are Rose and Hugo? You know they're welcome round here any time."
"I know, but I thought they'd just distract Albus and Lily. I've dropped them off at my parents for a couple of hours," shrugged Hermione. "Besides, Hugo would only cause chaos and destruction."
"Especially with Lily in this excitable mood," Ginny observed, as her daughter ran in and out of the marquee. "I wish Rose would rub off on her sometimes."
"Don't be silly," said Hermione. "She's just like you were at twelve."
"I'm not sure if that's meant to be a good thing or not-"
"Isn't it a beautiful day?" said a dreamy voice from beside Ginny.
"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed in surprise. "When did you get here? I didn't even hear you!"
The fair-haired big-eyed witch gazed at her, with a faraway look on her face. "A few seconds ago," she smiled.
Luna had obviously dressed up for the occasion. Today she had donned a floaty summer dress in some kind of stripy material which had probably never been seen in England before. She was wearing a necklace made of Butterbeer corks and beetle eyes and had attached colourful streamers to her wrists which were fluttering out around her. But, oddest of all, were her homemade earrings which she had attached little orange birthday balloons to so that they bobbed just above her head.
"This is unexpected," said Ginny, blinking at the sudden and unannounced arrival. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought I'd arrive early and help," said Luna. She looked at Ginny for a moment, tilting her head to one side. "You are unsettled."
"Am I?" said Ginny.
"So what can I do?" Luna asked eagerly.
"Um-"
Ginny was saved from inventing a task she trusted Luna with by the arrival of Mrs Weasley, who ran down the path red in the face and very flustered. "It's never happened to me before! I really don't know what happened!" she cried. "I turned away for one moment-!"
"Mum, slow down, are you alright?" Ginny asked, concerned.
"Yes, yes," said Mrs Weasley distractedly. "But the cake's not. It's burnt. Badly burnt." She covered her face with her hands. "I came over very tired all of a sudden so I went to sit down for five minutes, and when I came back, the oven was at the highest temperature and the kitchen was full of smoke."
"Oh, Molly," said Hermione, putting an arm round Mrs Weasley. "Don't worry. It happens to the best of us."
Ginny, out of the corner of her eyes, saw James strolling down the garden path with his hands in his pockets. There was something about his nonchalant whistling that raised Ginny's suspicions and she took him aside immediately.
"You wouldn't dare!" she said.
"To do what?" James smiled innocently.
"You know what," said Ginny. "Where have you been?"
"In the bathroom," said James. "I didn't know it was now against the 'house rules' to take a break."
"I certainly hope you were nowhere near the kitchen. If I find out you had anything to do with sabotaging your own father's birthday cake and upsetting Granny, there will be no celebrations for your own birthday when it comes around. You will not be going to that party no matter what you say, so you might as well stop sulking."
"But Amir's mum is letting him go," James said, for the millionth time that morning.
"I am not the slightest bit interested in what Parvati does and doesn't let her son do," Ginny replied coolly. "I do not want you going to the house of someone your father and I have never met before."
"I've met him," said James.
"I'm not interested," his mother said. "Who knows what might go on there?"
"Well, not me, as I won't be there!" James snapped.
"I've had enough of this," said Ginny. "I needed your help today and for you to be mature but all you've done is act like a stroppy teenager."
"Newsflash, Mum!" James said angrily. "I am a stroppy teenager!"
"A stroppy teenager who can go to his room and stay there until he is ready to apologise."
Furious with his mother, James threw a good, old-fashioned teenage walkout. He turned and marched huffily back into the house.
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