It took a good hour to get ourselves and the kids ready, and by the time all 4 children were standing in a row – Liam and Mabel both borrowing James' cloaks – it was coming up for 9:30.
Harry and Ginny had lent out their own cloaks to me and Robert, and I wondered why we didn't use cloaks in our world anymore – they were extremely comfortable, and provided a sense of security that I didn't have with a normal coat.
"Right," Harry said, glancing at Ginny, "You know the rules, James, Al, but let's go through them for Liam and Mabel, yes?"
"I know, Dad," James moaned, fidgeting wildly, "Don't run off, stay by you, and if we get lost, go to Uncle George's shop. Don't go with strangers, don't po-noke the pratsi. Can we go?"
I looked over at Robert, who seemed just as impressed as I was with the imbedded rules James had just recited.
Harry and Ginny looked satisfied, and Liam and Mabel nodded their understanding.
"Let's get going," Harry said, indicating us to follow him into a room I wasn't too familiar with. It was small, but unfurnished, and seemed out of place in the Potter's house. All that was there was a large stone fireplace, big enough for someone to stand in.
"I remember you witnessing someone coming by floo before," Harry explained, "But you've never actually travelled by it before, obviously." He turned to Oliver.
"Can you take James and Al, then come back and take Robert and Mabel?"
Oliver nodded, and scooped up Albus, taking a handful of green looking sand from a pot on the side of the fireplace.
"Go, James," Harry said, "We'll meet you there."
James looked at Liam longingly.
"I can do it by myself," he said, pushing away Oliver's outstretched hand, "I'm 5 now."
"No, you've done it once, when you weren't supposed to," Harry said, pressing the heel of his hand into his eye, "Now go with Oliver, please."
"No." James said stubbornly, crossing his arms, "I know how to do it."
"James Sirius Potter," a voice from the doorway said, and James looked over begrudgingly, "I hope you aren't giving everyone a hard time."
"Dad's not letting me floo by myself," James grumbled.
"I should hope he's not," Ginny said, "You don't want to end up somewhere you aren't supposed to, do you?"
"I won't," James whinged, "I'll say it super clear."
"James," Harry said sternly, taking his child by the wrist, "You're wasting your own and everyone else's time by complaining. You can go with Oliver, or you don't go at all, got it?"
"That's not fair!" James cried, pulling himself from Harry's hand, "I don't wanna be treated like a baby!"
Harry and Ginny sighed, and Albus giggled form Oliver's arms.
James scowled at him.
"I dunno why you're laughing, Allie, 'cause you're a baby, and have to be carried."
"Not a baby." Al shot back, wiggling frantically to be put down. Oliver was now holding onto him rather haphazardly, with one forearm wrapped underneath Al's armpits to make sure he didn't fall, and the other hand full of funny green sand.
Harry reached over and pulled Albus from Oliver's care, instead placing him on his hip, much to Al's dismay.
"James you can stay here with me," Ginny decided, taking James' hand, and striding out of the little room.
Al giggled again.
"No, Al," Harry said, "It's not funny. Behave."
Al sobered at once, and buried his head into Harry's neck.
James' cries echoed around the house, with mingled words of 'no' and 'I'll be good' and 'Liam gets to go' heard beneath them.
"And that is why I do not want children, Potter," Oliver said, eye brow raised, "Are we still going?"
Harry nodded, and Liam frowned.
"Without James?"
"I'll come and get him once we've brought you all over to George's," Harry said, instantly softening his tone when speaking to Liam, "But he needs to learn."
I was thankful that Liam was not as stubborn as myself. He goes with the flow, even if it's something he doesn't really want to do.
"So," Oliver said, "I can take two people,"
"Okay, if you and Mabel, Robert, go with Oliver now, and I'll come a moment after with the rest of you."
We all nodded.
"What exactly do I have to do?" Robert asked nervously, taking Oliver's hand, and bringing Mabel to his other side.
"Just hold on," Oliver grinned, and once Robert and Mabel had a firm grip, he dropped the powder, and bellowed, 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'.
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out, as I watched half my family get engulfed in rich green flames. Once the smoke had cleared, they were no longer there.
"And they're safe?" I asked weakly, and Harry gave a reassuring smile.
"Of course." He offered his hand, and I took it, stepping up after him into the fireplace. His hand was firm and comforting, and although I could feel the callouses and scars, there was a softness about it that made me feel safe. Liam gripped onto Harry's arm, and Al waved at him from his position in Harry's arms.
Harry did the same steps as Oliver, and soon I was the one inside the flames, and seemingly being pushed through a tight tube. In what seemed like a second, I tumbled out of something, almost crashing into a table if Robert and Oliver had not caught me.
"You alright?" Robert asked, looking a bit green himself, and I nodded, looking back to see if Liam had made it through too. He had, and was looking a bit forlorn.
"Are you alright, Liam?" I said gently, and he nodded, wide eyed as he took in the scene around him.
"I'm just going to pop back and get James," Harry said, and we gave him our acknowledgement. He disappeared with a faint swoosh.
"Daddy!" Al cried, "Where Daddy go?!"
"Oh, Al, it's alright," someone said, and I started. I didn't realise we had company. I looked over, and saw Ginny's brother getting up from a sofa, "He's just gone to get your brother."
Al sniffed, and reached out his arms to him. He pulled him close, and lifted him up.
"Hi, George," Oliver smiled, clapping him on the back, "James was being difficult."
"When is he not difficult? I'm glad there will be another set of troublemakers at Hogwarts in the not so far future." George grinned, "How are you? How's the wife?"
"She's not my wife," Oliver groaned, "I wish Ginny would stop telling everyone that."
"She's not wrong, that sister of mine," he replied, turning to me and Robert, and our two nervous looking children, "You must be the Williams. Scratch that, I know who you are; we've met. I remember you, Katie, Robert. Nice to see you. Hopefully staying with my sister and her husband hasn't been too hard. Let's just pray you haven't caught them at it."
Oliver scoffed.
"Yeah, like that's a hard thing to do."
George grinned, and turned to the doorway.
"Freddie, you have guests."
Fred Weasley – the boy with a striking complexion – hurried into the living room, and stopped short at the people waiting there.
"You're James' friend," he said, pointing at Liam, "Where is 'e?"
Liam shrugged nervously.
On cue, another swooping sound rushed into the room, and James and Harry stepped out, James sucking on what looked to be a mint.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Harry returned home to the ongoing sounds of James' protests. He brushed himself off, and strode over the back living room, where Ginny had taken James to calm down.
"Daddy," James choked, tears streaming down his face, "I wanna go with my friend."
"Oh James," Harry said, pulling his son onto his lap. Ginny sat on the other side of him, shhing and stroking James' hair, "When will you drop your stubbornness, eh?"
"Not any time soon," Ginny grimaced, bringing her other hand up to the nape of Harry's neck.
"I just wanna go and act all big, like Teddy," James sobbed, burrowing his head into Harry's chest to try and muffle his cries.
"Teddy is big, Jamie. You have so long to grow up. Don't rush it." Harry said gently, placing his hand over the one Ginny was using to soothe James.
"I wanna show Liam how big I am."
"Liam doesn't mind how big you are," Ginny told him softly, "He still had to go with an adult. We just don't want you ending up in the wrong place. It's so easy to get wrong."
"M'kay," James sniffled, lifting his head up, and looking at his parents with reproachful eyes, "I'm sorry I got angry. If I'm good, can I please still go to Diagon Alley?"
"As long as you promise to be on best behaviour," Ginny said, "It'll be busy today, so stay close to your father or Oliver."
James nodded earnestly, and hiccupped himself back to a normal composure.
"Do you want something to eat before we go?" Harry asked, straightening up, and pulling James and Ginny with him.
James thought for a moment, before his eyes lit up.
"Can I have a sweetie?" he asked excitedly.
"You can have one," Ginny grinned, "We don't want you bouncing off the walls any more than usual."
James smiled, and darted out the room.
"How did we end up with such a stubborn child?" asked Ginny, wrapped her arms around Harry, and placing her chin on his chest, her eyes in direct line to his.
"A combination of ours," Harry replied, complying with her wishes, and encasing her body in his.
"Let's just pray Lily doesn't turn out as stubborn as James." She said, snaking her arms up round his neck, and pulling his face to hers.
"What with our luck, she'll be worse," Harry replied, closing the small distance between them, and kissing her.
Ginny, in Harry's opinion, always had a knack for taking things too far. Bearing in mind he'd love to do exactly what she was planning, bar the fact it was 9:45 on a Sunday morning, and 7 people were waiting on him to bring them around Diagonalley.
"Gin," Harry groaned, pushing her wandering hand off his torso, "Don't start something you can't finish."
"Who said I wouldn't finish?" Ginny said wickedly, pulling him even closer.
"Me."
"We've done quicker, Potter," Ginny said, cupping his jaw in her hand.
"Those times I haven't had a clan of people, your sons included, waiting on me."
"Spoilsport." Ginny teased, snagging a final kiss as she drew away, "Be safe, okay?"
"I will," he said softly, "We'll be home for 1, if all goes well."
"What's your definition of well?"
"No Deatheater turns up?" Harry grinned, "But in all seriousness, I'll keep an extra eye on the boys. I'll carry Al for as much as I can."
"I love you," Ginny said, carding a hand through his hair, "Maybe I'll go visit Adalia when you're gone."
"Really?" Harry asked, surprised, and Ginny nodded.
"She probably needs someone to talk to."
"And you'd bring Lily?" Harry asked sceptically.
"No. I'd leave her with Mum."
"I FOUND IT!" James cried, and Harry and Ginny grinned.
"That's my cue," Harry smiled, and he left the room, bringing James across to the floo room.
"Goodbye to you too, James," Ginny called, and James smiled impishly. He ran up to her, and gave her a hug, letting her kiss him on the forehead, "Be good."
"Aren't I always?"
"You picked that up from your Daddy, James. That's his catchphrase." Ginny laughed, and Harry grinned.
"See you later, okay? I love you both."
Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder, and, with a firm grip on James, flooed to George's, where everyone was waiting for them.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"JAMES," Fred cried, and instantly James' eyes lit up.
"Freddie! Are you comin' to diagonalley too?" James asked, glancing at Harry, who was brushing off soot from his cloak.
"I dunno." Fred said, before turning to George, "Am I, Dad?"
"No. It's Saturday; we're seeing your Grandparents at 12." George replied.
"I'd rather play with James," Fred grumbled, and George grinned.
"Just don't let them hear you say that. Your cousins will be there."
"No I'm not." James said, looking at George in confusion, "I'm stayin' here."
"My other cousins," Fred explained, "From my other grandma and grandpa."
"Oh," James said, "I forgot you had two."
"Please can I go around the shops with James, Dad?" Fred pleaded, grabbing onto the hem of George's jumper, and standing on the tips of his toes.
"I wouldn't dare leave you and James together in diagonalley, even if we didn't have to be somewhere today." George said, and Harry muttered an agreement.
"Daddy," Al whimpered, stretching towards Harry from George's arms, "Daddy now."
"He's clingy, isn't he?" Oliver commented, "Always wants to be with you or Ginny."
"He's always been like that." Harry said, kissing Al's head, "At least I know he won't run off."
"I always wonder how you and Ginny created such a quiet, collected child. Son of an auror and quidditch player? My arse. You know, Harry, I think Ginny might have cheated on you with your shy doppelgänger." George said, and James broke away from his chatter with Fred.
"No, Uncle George. Daddy said he would never kiss another lady because he loves Mummy very much and it would be breaking trust." He said, looking at George sternly.
"Why do you know that?" George said, stunned.
"He told me." James said proudly.
"What conversations do you have with your children, Harry?" George blinked, and Harry gestured towards Oliver.
"You can blame him for planting the seed in James' head."
"So you're the guilty one, then." George snickered, "I bet Gin-Gin had a right old go at you."
"Not as much as I expected," Oliver grinned, "Only a minor Ginny scolding."
"We should really get going if we want to avoid the big crowds at noon." Harry said, and Oliver nodded.
"Say bye to Fred, James," Harry said, giving me and Robert the go ahead to follow Oliver.
"Bye," James said, waving to Fred, who looked sad, "I'll see you tomorrow for lunch."
"'kay." He replied, falling back against George's leg.
"Thank you, George," Harry smiled, "We'll be there tomorrow. Stay safe."
"You too, Potter."
We all trundled down a flight of stairs, and appeared at a door. It was made of red mahogany, and looked a bit out of place amongst the dark furnishings of George's home. Harry extended his wand, before stilling, and turning to my family.
"I just want to warn you, that if there do happen to be cameras or reporters to whatever, keep your head down and keep walking. Try and cover Liam and Mabel's faces as much as you can. Hopefully we won't be noticed, but…"
"He's so famous that everyone knows who he is," Oliver chuckled, "I don't think there will be a whole blown paparazzi, Harry. Maybe the odd reporter here and there, but nothing you can't shut down."
Harry tapped his wand on the door, and it opened to a quiet alley way. I could hear noise from both sides, and I carefully stepped outside.
"Stay close, James." Harry warned, and James nodded excitedly.
We took the left turning, and I blinked.
My eyes took in the sudden pop of colour, and my ears were flooded with the sound of happy children and the hooting of owls. There was no other way to describe this setting other than magical. I looked over at the rest of my family, and smiled at the awestruck looks on not only Liam and Mabel's faces, but Robert's too.
"Where to first?" Harry grinned.
"Quality Quidditch!" James cried, taking Liam's hand and trying to make his way through the cobbled street.
"James! What did I just tell you?!" Harry cried, exasperated.
"Oh yeah," James said, trailing back over, Liam hurrying behind him, looking a tad overwhelmed.
"You know what, Harry," Oliver said, "What about I take Liam and James to Qualities, and you take everyone else for a more in-depth tour."
Harry looked sceptical.
"I'm an auror too, Harry. You can trust me to look after both of them."
"What say you, Katie, Robert?" Harry asked, turning to me. We both nodded, and Harry sighed.
"You know how James is. Just please keep an eye on him." He said finally, and Robert spoke up.
"I'd like to go with Liam, if that's alright." He said, and Harry nodded.
"Of course. We'll meet back together at 12."
And so we set off. I gave Robert and Liam a little wave as we headed in different directions.
I was happy to walk in silence, taking in the surroundings as I followed Harry through the crowds of people. Each shop looked different from the last, and we finally stopped outside a café looking shop.
"What about an ice-cream?" Harry suggested, and Albus squealed in delight.
"Yes please!" Mabel giggled. She was completely in her element in this magical street, and was constantly pointing out something new to me.
Our group of 8 had been cut in half, and so finding a table of 4 was easy.
Albus wanted chocolate, so Mabel ordered the same.
"How'd you like it so far?" Harry grinned, handing Al a napkin to prevent him from dripping it all over his clothes.
"A lot to take in," I said, truthfully, "I can't seem to process everything I see."
"Understandable." Harry nodded, "I first came here when I was 11. I had no idea I was a wizard until then, actually. Came as a surprise, but not a terrifying shock. Imagination was rife at 11."
"How did you know you were a wizard?"
"A friend, Hagrid, came and told me. He took, although rescued would be a more suitable verb, me from my aunt and uncles, and really kept me under his wing."
"I assume by that statement that you were brought up by your aunt and uncle."
"Yes." Harry said, suddenly becoming slightly tense, "They weren't the nicest. I haven't talked to them since I was 17. My cousin, Dudley, has changed enough for us to be on Christmas card terms, and his kids have visited before, but the past hurts, and sometimes you just can't forgive people for some things."
I nodded in understanding.
Our toddlers both took an extraordinary amount of time to finish their ice-creams, and by the time they were done, a queue was already forming outside the ice-cream parlour.
"It's getting busy." Harry muttered as we stood up to leave. He lifted Al from his seat and placed him on the floor, taking his hand as we left.
We walked a little further along the street, before Harry stopped short outside a shop that read 'Flourish and Blotts.'
He had lifted a newspaper from an outside stall, and was scrutinising it.
"You're famous, Katie," Harry grimaced finally, handing me the paper.
The movement of the picture still made me uneasy.
The headline read 'YORIK FÜRSIKA SENTENCED TO LIFE IN AZKABAN.' I lowered my eyes to the picture, and to my surprise, and albeit horror, underneath the picture of what I supposed to be the criminals face, was a smaller image of me, Robert, and Ginny. A subheading beside it said 'Ginny Potter spotted with two anonymous accomplices.'
"At least it's small?" Harry said weakly, sighing, "I'm so sorry Katie, you don't deserve this. I don't know what Ginny was thinking taking you to that conference. You didn't need your faces plastered all over the most popular wizard sing newspaper."
"It's fine." I said, "It's not your fault. I can't imagine you like it any better."
"It's different when you're used to it," he said, "I don't get this rubbish anymore. Too many stupid, untrue stories about the most pointless little things."
"It's fine," I repeated, "Ginny warned us before we went."
"They're still going on about Lily too," Harry said, pointing out a side column labelled 'Is Lily Potter still well and present?', "Maybe we should send them their precious photo, so they can all stop speculating whether or not she actually exists."
A quiet murmur behind us made Harry look up from the paper sharply, looking over my shoulder.
I followed his eyes and saw two woman, maybe in their early 20's, eyeing Harry up and down.
"Excuse me sir," one of them smiled, "are you Harry Potter?"
Harry narrowed his eyes, but nodded curtly. Stepping in front of me.
"I'm a friend of your wife's. I'm sure she'd love to know you've been browsing Diagonalley with, her." She said, and Harry let out a low growl.
"You have no right to accuse me of things like that." He said lowly, "Step out of our business."
"She wouldn't have to know," the girl replied huskily, taking a step towards Harry, who stood his ground, "I'm free tonight."
"Trust me, you don't want to get any closer." Harry warned, "I'm not sure my wife would be very happy with you, either."
"Looks like you're sleeping on the sofa tonight, Harry." The girl snickered, "Of course if you've chosen to ditch Ginny, it might as well be for someone worth it."
Her friend giggled behind her.
"You both need to leave." Harry said, his voice dangerously low.
"Such a shame," she tittered, not moving, "You're wasting an opportunity."
Harry's speed with a wand never ceased to amaze me. It was out and positioned in less than a second, and the girls eyes widened.
"It was a dare," she said quickly, looking at Harry's wand in terror, "Try to chat up Harry Potter? Surely you've experienced this-"
"Leave." Harry gritted out, and the girl scrambled away, dragging her friend with her.
It was finally now that I realised how much of a formidable character Harry Potter was. He was simply so kind and witty at home, but here, he was dangerously scary.
The scene had drawn more eyes, and more and more people were pointing at Harry and me. Harry groaned, and lifted Albus into his arms. I quickly followed suit and did the same or Mabel, following him back along the street.
By only one interaction, it seemed like everyone's eyes were drawn to us, and it was only after the first camera flash that Harry muttered a swear.
"Let's find the others and go." Harry suggested, and I nodded.
I could hear more frequent pops now, and Harry's footsteps quickened.
It just so happened that we met Oliver and the others halfway down.
"What's going on?" Robert asked anxiously, taking Mabel from me, and taking my hand tightly, "I heard someone yell James' name."
"We've been spotted," Harry said quietly, "I want to get us all home as quick-"
"Potter! What are you doing out in Diagonalley today?" A man with a large top hat said, and Harry pulled James into his grasp.
Slowly but surely, the news that Harry Potter was in town spread around the street, and soon we were stuck in a barrel of flashing lights and yelling people, asking for autographs, or pictures, and asking obscure questions.
The mob of people seemed to be closing in, and I felt suffocated amongst it all. Robert squeezed my hand, and I held it tightly back, begging him not to let go. Even James was looking overwhelmed, his hands wrapped over Harry's arm. Oliver waved his wand, and 3 large hats appeared in front of him.
"Put them on the kids," he said, placing one on James' head. It successfully concealed his face from view. Albus was already hidden, as he was buried in Harry's shoulder, his hands over his ears, "They can still see, don't worry."
I gave one to Liam, who put it on nervously. I nodded to Oliver thankfully.
Oliver tried to escort us all through the crowd, but the horde of people was just too strong.
"That's it." Harry said furiously, waving his wand. A huge purple light rang out underneath him, and travelled under everyone's feet, making the ground shake. He brought the wand down, and as he did so, the ground roared and trembled. However, the patch we were standing on seemed completely still. The crowd looked at Harry with wide eyes, and the flashes stopped abruptly.
"I request that you all leave us alone. We want to leave, and can't do so with you lot obstructing the way." He growled, and the crowd was silent, staring at Harry warily, "Thank you."
The street was in stark contrast as to what it was when we arrived. Every eye was on us. Even people in shops had put down what they were looking at to stare at us. Harry held a tight grip on Albus, whilst Oliver had a hand on James' shoulder. We made our way down the alley, and Harry opened the mahogany door.
It was 12:00, and so the house was empty, but once the door was shut tightly, James tore off his hat.
"Why they gotta do that?" He grumbled, "It's scary."
"You aren't one for public announcements, Harry," Oliver said, following Harry up the stairs.
"No one else would have done it," Harry muttered, "I'm sorry, Al."
It was only now that I realised that tears were streaming down Al's face. He was silently crying as he clung onto Harry's neck.
"We're going home now, okay?"
Harry offered his hand to me, and I took it, bringing Liam with me as we stepped into the fireplace in George's living room.
"The Hollies" Harry said, and I felt the unfamiliar tightness of travelling through the green flames.
Harry steadied me as I fell out the other end, safely in Harry's living room.
"You alright?" He asked, and I nodded. A moment later, Oliver, Robert, Mabel and James appeared.
The house was quiet as we walked through, James and Liam clambering up the stairs, apparently still having enough energy to play.
"Gin?" Harry called, but there was no reply.
"She must have gone out." Shrugged Oliver, glancing at Harry, "Did she tell you where?"
Harry looked at him, "She went to see Adalia, I think."
"Oh," Oliver replied softly, looking down, "Where's Lily?"
"Probably with Molly. I don't think Ginny would have brought her to St Mungos."
We all plonked onto the sofas and chairs, Mabel curling into Robert's side, and I rested my head on Robert's shoulder.
"I thought you were working today, Olly?" Harry said suddenly, and Oliver shook his head.
"Starcoff said I was excused. Don't know why."
"Have you spoken to Proudfoot since you lashed out on him?"
"Hell no." Oliver frowned, "Kick him off the team, please. Do us all a favour."
"I reckon he'd say the same about you."
"You can't honestly say you enjoy working with him."
"No," Harry admitted, "But he's damn good at his job. It'd be stupid to kick him off. He can retire when he wants to."
"Soon, I hope." Oliver grumbled, crossing his legs and leaning back, "I don't want to ever have to work on the field for a long time."
"Is fieldwork a frequent part of it?" Robert asked, but both Harry and Oliver shook their heads.
"We very rarely have to do fieldwork. It's mostly investigations nowadays." Harry explained, "I thought I had gotten out of it when I was promoted, but nope, still very much going out on the front line."
"What got you into the job in the first place?" I asked curiously.
"My innate desire to fight evil," Harry sighed, cradling Al, "I've always had a knack for getting into trouble."
"You don't say," another voice said, and Ginny appeared, glancing at her watch, "You're all home a little early. I wanted to be here when you arrived."
"We only got back 10 minutes ago." Harry said, moving over to let her slider next to him, "Where's Lils?"
"I went upstairs before I came here," Ginny said, before noticing Al, who still had red streaks down his face, "Albus, what's wrong, baby?
Harry sighed, turning his head.
"I should have listened to my wife." He hummed. Ginny narrowed her eyes.
"Sorry, Harry, I didn't quite catch that. Something about not listening to your wife?"
"I should have listened to you, Ginny," he said, looking at her solemnly, "It was going so well, until some flirty girls decided to draw attention to us. We accumulated quite the crowd."
Ginny pursed her lips, and took Albus from Harry.
"Well, let's hope that the boys had fun before you were mobbed." She said, and Harry nodded.
"That quidditch shop is extraordinary!," Robert said enthusiastically, "I didn't realise you could get different models of brooms! It's like cars, I guess."
Ginny grinned.
"Maybe not just the kids that had a good time."
"Flashy lights." Al sniffed, rubbing his eyes, "nonus, Daddy."
Harry smiled, and waved his wand, a large silvery stag erupting out the tip.
"I still don't get why yours is so big." Oliver huffed, "I've tried for years and years, and yet it's still small and relatively dim."
"They get brighter once you have kids," Harry said fondly, smiling as Al tried to touch the stag, "Did you go to the hospital, Gin?"
Ginny nodded, mimicking me, and resting her head on Harry's shoulder, staring over at Oliver, who looked expectantly at her.
"Well?" He asked, and Ginny blinked.
"Well what?" Ginny replied.
"How was she? Was her Dad there?"
"She seemed fine," Ginny said, sighing, "but it's obvious she misses you, Olly."
"I can't when her father doesn't want me to." Oliver huffed, "Did the doctors say when she was going to be discharged?"
"Monday," Ginny said, "And her Dad left. She said he wasn't coming back until the summer."
"Really?" Oliver asked hopefully, and Ginny nodded, "I'll go see her this evening, then."
"Did you take Lily?" Harry asked, and again, Ginny nodded. He seemed surprised, "I thought you wanted to leave her with your Mum."
"I was going to," Ginny said, "But it seemed easier to bring her."
"Hope you had a quieter time than us," Harry muttered, resting his head a top of hers, "But the kids seemed to have had a good time."
"I suppose Liam and James are upstairs," Ginny asked, and Robert nodded.
"They didn't even stop to take their cloaks off," he grinned.
"We should do something today," I suggested, "It seems to nice of a day to spend it indoors."
"Agreed," Harry said, "We could go down to the park? Let the kids let off some steam."
"Sure," Robert said, "I'm up for anything."
"Is the case completely over?" I asked Harry and Oliver, but they both shook their heads slightly, glancing at eachother.
"We've caught the main suspect, and his immediate associates, but there's one person still out there, who backed out of the mission not too long ago. We closed the main case, of course, but we opened up a new one to find and arrest this man."
"But nothing on the front line, hmm?" Ginny said, and Harry lifted his head.
"Hard to tell until we find more clues." He sighed, "Nothing huge scale, I promise."
"Let's hope you keep that promise," Ginny said quietly, tucking her legs underneath her as she got more comfortable against her husband.
We chatted some more, and had a bite to eat, before we set off down the hill, parading the children off the road.
Oliver had decided not to accompany us to the park, as he wanted to 'complete my report before Starcoff has my head.'
The walk was about 30 minutes, but the sun was shining, and it didn't feel that long at all. Lily was securely in her pram, a blanket protecting her from the harsh light as we trundled our way down to the park. Harry and Ginny were holding hands, with their other hands occupied with Al and Lily's pram. They were walking a little ahead of us, speaking not quite loud enough for us to hear.
"We really need to start looking at houses," Robert said, his hand squeezing mine, "I don't want to impose on the Potter's for too long."
"Apparently Sarah said it was really hard to find one," I said, "That the only ones for sale are down Layters Lane."
"I don't want to buy a house from Knox Nightingale." Robert said firmly, and I nodded agreement.
"Neither, but I don't suppose you know of any alternatives?"
"No," Robert said, shaking his head, "And we're in no position to build from scratch."
"That would take too long." I agreed.
"Surely there's a house for sale near here," Robert persisted, "We can always go to the realtors today to see."
"If you're up for it," I shrugged, "I'm sure the Potter's won't mind."
"What, we'd leave the kids? We can bring them along so Harry and Ginny don't have to look after all 5." Robert said, but I shook my head.
"I wasn't going to leave them here. We can go after, meet the Potter's back home." I explained, and he 'ah'ed in response.
"Mabel don't walk in the road," I called, noticing Mabel walking dangerously close to the edge of the pavement, her feet occasionally airborne as she missed the curb. Her timing couldn't have been worse as she span around at the sound of my voice. A large truck was zipping past, and knocked her balance.
I shrieked in terror, Robert yelling identically, but Harry had already whipped out a hand, and pulled her towards him just before she could fall.
"Be careful, Mabel," Harry warned, making sure I had ahold of her before letting her go himself.
"We owe you," Robert breathed, still looking panic stricken, "That's the second time you've saved one of our kids around cars."
"Luckily my reaction times are up to scratch," Harry grimaced, looking over to Liam and James, who had stopped, looking at us expectantly.
"Thank you," I said, and he nodded.
"Glad my services are of use."
We continued walking, this time making sure Mabel was walking on the inside of us. She did tend to dawdle, and didn't pay attention to the path ahead of her, often times bumping into bins or lampposts. She was honestly in a world of her own.
We got to the park a few minutes later, and I gave Liam and Mabel the go ahead to play in the playground. They tore off, James not far behind, and began clambering on the apparatus.
All the benches were taken, so we had to resort to standing as we watched over the kids.
"Don't you want to play, Al?" Ginny asked, but Albus shook his head.
"Scary."
"Give it a go," Harry suggested, bending down to Al's level, "You won't know if it's scary if you haven't tried it."
"No." Albus said stubbornly, and Harry sighed, looking down, and then back up at his son.
"You really want to stay here with the grownups? We talk about boring things, I promise."
Al gave this some thought, but shook his head, plonking himself down onto the floor, looking longingly at the children playing.
"What about if I go with you?" Harry suggested, and Al's eyes lit up.
"Otay," he said, using Harry's bent knees to help himself stand, and pulling Harry to his feet, taking his hand, and pulling him to the gate.
"I know he wants to," Ginny said, "He just doesn't have the confidence of James."
"Has he had a bad experience or something?" Robert asked, but Ginny shook her head firmly, leaning on the bars to the park, and watching as Harry encouraged Al to climb the climbing frame.
"No," she said audibly, "He's just, different, I guess. Good to have one quiet child, at least."
"We thought we were doing something wrong when Mabel came out all flames," I grinned, "After Liam, having such a loud baby was quiet the shock."
"Having James as your first child must have been really hard," Robert grinned sympathetically, and Ginny grimaced.
"It was alright until he got to around 6 months, but then he started crawling, and we couldn't keep a track of him anywhere. He was such a smily baby, though. Everyone he met, he just had the biggest smile on his face. Of course being the first Potter born since Harry, he was showing up to all sorts of conferences and parties. I think that must have had a part in his social skills. We were young, and didn't really know what we were doing, but James' presence really clicked, as soon as he was born."
"Was it a big phenomenon, when was was born?" I asked, "My mum was saying how you're the equivalent of the royal family in the wizarding world."
"I suppose some people would think that," Ginny sighed, "But I certainly feel, normal. If by big phenomenon you mean he was on the front page before everyone even knew his name, then yes. Harry and I didn't really know how to approach it, what with James being our first. We knew we wanted to have some privacy, but we didn't estimate how pushy and nosy the press were. We couldn't take him anywhere in public without someone harassing us to see him."
"You're lucky not everyone's a wizard," Robert said, and I nodded in agreement.
"We moved here, as it was the least densely populated in terms of wizards," Ginny said, "Less people to notice us."
"After today, I see why you'd want to," I said, and she frowned.
"I'm sorry. How bad was it?"
"It seemed like the whole street had their eyes on us," Robert shuddered, "Oliver gave us these weird hats to put on the kids, so at least we had the comfort of knowing they were hidden."
"How'd you get out?" Ginny asked curiously, "Harry never usually addresses the public. Most of the time he just barges through. But what with so many of you being there, I thought…"
"He said something about letting us leave. It went dead quiet. You could hear a pin drop." Robert said, and Ginny sighed.
"We were in the paper too," I commented lightly, and both Ginny and Robert stared at me.
"Well," Robert said, "That's one thing to cross off the bucket list."
"I only suppose it was from yesterday?" Ginny asked, and I nodded.
"I'm surprised Harry's not in a worse mood." She said, looking back over to her husband, who was striding back over to us, a hand running through his hair.
"What?" He said, at the sight of us all looking at him, "What have I done now?"
"Nothing," Ginny said, returning to her spot of leaning over the railings, her chin in hand.
Harry raised an eyebrow, and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, and resting his chin on her head.
"You're looking distant, Ginny," he said quietly, but not quiet enough for us not to hear. I pretended to be watching Liam and Mabel, who were playing happily. Al had joined Mabel, and she was egging him to go down the slide.
"I'm tired," I heard Ginny sigh, "Lily's sleep schedule is unbearable, Harry."
"I know," Harry mumbled, and I really had to strain my ears to hear, "I'll do tonight's awakenings, I promise. I'm back to work on Monday, but I'll try and get off early, alright?"
"I just hope she gets better soon," Ginny replied, "And your work starts slowing down. James was so excited for you to pick him up from school everyday, and it feels like you've only done 2 or 3."
"I'm trying, Ginny," Harry said, clearly a little hurt, "You act like I don't want to."
Ginny sighed again, and twisted around, so she was facing Harry. His arms were still on the railings, so she looked a little trapped, his body looming over hers.
"Let's just try and return to normal," She told him, and I could practically predict Harry's reply before he said it.
"That's what I'm trying to do," Harry replied, sounding a bit frustrated now, "As soon as Colebat is located and locked up, I'm done, alright? I'm free to do whatever."
Ginny averted her eyes, but Harry lifted her chin up to face him. She didn't protest.
"I love you, Ginny. It's my job. I'm not satisfied unless I'm the one locking these people up. You know that."
"I know," Ginny said, placing a hand on top of his, "I guess this is what I get for marrying the noblest wizard alive." She laughed weakly, and Harry smiled.
"I thought you knew what you signed up for?" He said, leaning forward, and capturing her lips in his.
I turned away, to give them a bit of privacy, even though they were showing obscene amounts of PDA, with no shame to boot.
"Each to their own," Robert muttered from beside me, and I hummed my agreement. There was one thing you couldn't fault about Harry and Ginny, and it was how madly in love they were with each-other.
A cry blew its way over to us, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harry and Ginny simultaneously groan.
"C'mere, Al," Harry called, reaching over the railings. Al, however, was sitting on the floor, refusing to move. James was looking at him in bemusement, before he strode over, and pretty much dragged Albus to their father. Harry reached over, and with impressive ease, pulled Albus into his arms.
"What happened?" He asked, and Al buried his head in the familiar spot in Harry's shoulder.
Ginny blew out a breath, and looked over at James.
"Did you see what happened?" She asked, and he shrugged, "James."
"He just fell off the end of the slide. He's being a baby about it." James said.
"You pus'ed me!" Al said, his voice muffled against the fabric.
Harry and Ginny both shot daggers at James, who had the decency to look ashamed.
"I thought maybe he wanted to go faster. Didn't know he would cry."
"Just leave him be, James," Harry said in exasperation, "There are so many things to play on here, why pick on Al?"
"He wasn't going down, and there was a queue," James said defensively, "It was Liam's turn, but Al wasn't moving."
"You know Al takes a bit of time to get used to these things," Ginny said, "You know your brother, James."
"Well maybe he needs to grow up a bit." James snapped, lifting his chin, and striding to the other end of the playground.
Harry and Ginny shared surprised looks.
"He's going to be one hell of a stroppy teenager," Robert commented, and Ginny groaned.
"Don't we know it. Good to know he has 8 years until then."
"How old is Teddy, again?" I asked, forgetting if the boy was a teenager yet.
"Teddy's 11," Harry said, "But he won't give us any trouble. He likes to keep to his own. He's an easy book to read, Teddy is. You can tell what he's feeling by his hair colour."
"What, he just dyes it when he feels sad or something?" Robert asked, looking unsure.
"No, he's a metamorphmagus," Harry smiled, but Robert and I gave him a quizzical look.
"He can change his appearance at will," Ginny said explained, and Robert blinked.
"How come you all can't be one?"
"They're born, not made, and very rare, at that." Harry said, "To try and achieve the same affects, you have to do some tricky spell work that most wizards can't be bothered to do."
"Now that's something I'd like to see," Robert said, impressed.
Al's eyes popped up from Harry's shoulder, and he looked over at the playground.
Harry noticed, and adjusted him so he could see better.
"Want to go back?"
Al shook his head, and buried his head back down again.
"How come he never clings to you, Ginny?" I wondered. It wasn't the first time I wondered why Harry always seemed to be holding Albus.
"He's not usually like this, to be fair," Harry said, looking down at the little boy, "I guess it's something to do with me being away."
"No, he's usually pretty split in who he clings onto," Ginny said, "But he misses Harry when he's not here, and I think he thinks that if he holds tight enough, Harry won't go."
Harry's eyes darkened.
"I won't go again, Al," Harry said softly, "You missed me, huh?"
Al nodded his head, and clung tighter onto Harry.
"This is why I don't want you doing any vigorous field work anymore, Harry," Ginny sighed, "You didn't see them when you were away. They miss you so much."
"I miss them too," Harry retorted quietly, "It's the only thing that keeps me going when I'm out there for days at a time."
"You ever thought about quitting your job for something more low-key?" Robert asked, and Harry sighed.
"I could never." He said sadly, "I won't rest until I know my children can grow up in a world where nothing threatens them. I don't want anyone other than myself in charge of that."
"I think the world feels safer with you as Head Auror, too."
A/N: Hi, readers. Just wanted to let you know that I am very much still here, and writing away. I wrote this chapter at the beginning of June, but never got round to posting it. I'm working on a new series of shorts, which follow on from this story, but want to wait until this particular story is complete, so hopefully I'll get to this soon!
As always, thank you SO much for reading, and any advice and/or ideas are greatly appreciated!
Hal x