Ch 31 A Difficult Start to the Christmas Break
Thursday December sixteenth at dinner Harry told Ginny, "I'm having the kids come back home via the Floo tomorrow. The Autumn at Hogwarts has been uneventful, and there does not seem to be any need for Rose and Scorpius to be on the train. While sometimes prefects help to keep order on the train, there does not seem to be any need of keeping order with this group of students."
"You are still worried about an attack on the train," Ginny reflected.
"Things are too quiet," Harry sighed rubbing his forehead and fluffing his bangs to cover his scar per his old habit. "All the signs are that something big is going to happen, but we have no idea what."
"Teddy coming back is pretty big," Ginny countered.
"Yes, and so far there is no sign that The Pirate Witch Queen knows that he escaped, who he was, or that Teddy brought excellent maps of the island and much other intelligence as well. We have just had to hide any hint of that, including letting some very bad people escape so as to not hint at the maps we have."
"I asked my brother Charlie about having Ivana come back sooner," Ginny sighed, changing the subject, "but he wants no part of it. I have written to Ivana trying to prepare her for how sick her adopted father is."
"Has she written back?" Harry wondered.
"Just to thank me," Ginny replied. "She did indicate that dragon tenders do not admit it when they are hurting."
Friday December seventeenth the Hogwarts Express brought the Hogwarts students back to London. Albus, Rose, Cleo and Scorpius took the Floo in the office of the headmistress direct to twelve Grimmauld Place. Scorpius and Cleo almost immediately took the Floo to Malfoy Manor.
Harry met the train, and picked up James, Lily, and Hugo. They also picked up Ivana, Charlie's adopted daughter, along with Jane and some other students that lived in the Grimmauld Place area. Jim Snook had another Auror automobile to pick up more students. There was a large contingent of students living in the Grimmauld Place/NewBright Street area going to Hogwarts.
Once they were in the garage of Grimmauld Place, the other students scattered to their homes. Harry and the students, James, Lily, Hugo and Ivana went up the stairs from the subterranean garage into the Potter's Grimmauld Place home.
Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table, along with Minerva, Albus and Rose, and Hermione was pacing around the room. It was obvious that something was going on.
"Please sit down," Ginny informed the group.
Once they were all seated, Harry started, "Teddy is back, wounded but back." Albus and Rose knew this, but none of the other children did. Harry continued, "He is wearing an artificial leg some of the time, but he is just getting used to it. He also looks rather battered. He is in hiding at the New Burrow, and we are going to be doing spells so none of you will be able to talk about Teddy when anyone who is not in on the secret is around. No one can learn about Teddy's escape!
"To complicate matters, Victoire is pregnant with Teddy's child, and they are married and living together at the New Burrow, along with Maria Guadalupe, Pippa's child, who was fathered by Teddy when he was undercover."
"How is Victoire handling that!" Albus asked.
"Amazingly well," Ginny stated. "She knew that Maria was Teddy's baby before she was born, and has known that it was not Teddy's idea to father children with other women. We will not talk about where he was or what he had to do to survive.
"Pippa, the witch that also escaped, wants her daughter raised in a stable two parent household, and so she has given Victoire permission to adopt Maria. Marie will eventually learn that Pippa is her birth mother, but Teddy and Victoire are going to raise her."
Ginny paused, and all the children could tell that she and in fact all the adults were sorrowful and having a hard time talking about something. Finally, Ginny spoke, almost crying, "Ivana, I know we have been writing you, telling you that your Uncle Charlie has been slipping. This last week he took a major turn for the worse, and we now think Uncle Charlie is dying. We are not sure if he will make it to Christmas."
"NO!" shouted Ivana. "He was the last person left in my family! NO!" Ivana burst into tears.
"He did not seem to be in any danger until last week," Ginny continued. "We did ask Charlie last week if we should go to Hogwarts to pick you up, but he didn't want that!"
"That sounds like a dragon tender, having to be so tough all the time," Ivana sniffed. "I saw too many hurt people. My parents died, and then my uncle, and now my adopted uncle." Ivana sniffed some more. "I won't have any family left."
"You can be my sister," Lily volunteered. "I told you that when your uncle was killed and Uncle Charlie was hurt."
"I don't live with you, Lily," Ivana insisted. "I like grandmother and grandfather Weasley, but they are grandparents, and I want a mother and father, and, two fathers were all right I guess, when I lived with them, but now EVERYONE who I loved will be gone."
"When are we going to see my dad?" Ivana sniffed.
"I was supposed to call after we had talked to all of you," Ginny replied. She picked up her mobile and told it, "Molly Weasley."
…
"Hello, mum. All the children are here, including Ivana, and we have talked to them about Teddy, Victoire, and Charlie. When should we come over?"
…
"Right away? Bring Ivana over right away? We will all come via the Closet, Mum."
Everyone arose, and with Harry, Ginny and Ivana going first, they went into the magical Closet and out the Closet in the New Burrow.
Harry, Ginny and Ivana went up to see Charlie as soon as they arrived. Hermione followed them upstairs. Teddy was sitting on a chair by the Closet and elevator, and told the rest of the people to meet in the kitchen.
Victoire was in the kitchen. Maria was in a high chair, playing with "O" cereal and occasionally getting one in her mouth. Victoire had some sort of confinement spell so when the little O's flew out of the confines of the chair they flew back into the table on the front of the chair. Minerva sat down between Victoria and Maria and proceeded to try and feed Maria some of the "O's."
James, Albus, Lily, Rose and Hugo sat down at the kitchen table. Teddy looked at them, and shook his head back and forth, by his whole bearing indicating that things were not good. "Grandmother and grandfather are up with Charlie, as are his brothers. We think that the only reason he has stayed alive the last week or so was to say goodbye to Ivana. It is not good."
No one knew what to say. Everyone was silent for several minutes, except for Maria who was babbling happily away, and Victoire, who was talking to her.
Harry and Ginny let Ivana lead the way to where Charlie was, sitting partly up in bed, Caroline and a healer that they did not recognize by his bedside. Charlie was gasping for breath, obviously in some agony. Ivana was startled to see Charlie's brothers, Uncles Bill, Percy, George and Ron, in the room. Ivana went over to him and held his hand.
"I'm here, Charlie," a sorrowful Ivana sobbed. She kissed him, then stood back looking at him.
Charlie looked at her, and then at Harry and Ginny.
Ginny turned to Charlie. "Harry and I will take care of Ivana, Charlie. She deserves a loving mother and father, and we will do our best. Thank you for adopting her."
Charlie looked at Ivana, and then at Ginny. He nodded, as if he was agreeing.
Ivana hugged Ginny hard. Ivana was a full head taller than Ginny, and as she cried her tears fell into Ginny's hair. She eventually turned back to Charlie. "I will be all right, Charlie," she got out through her tears. "You do not have to suffer because of me."
Charlie nodded, and took a couple of shuttered breathes, and then was still.
Ivana went back to holding on to Ginny, sobbing, almost screaming at times.
Molly and Arthur hugged, silently crying. "He is in a better place now," Molly eventually said. "We need to tell the family."
"Ginny, you take care of Ivana," Molly told her daughter. "Do not worry about anything else."
"You can come home with us tonight, if you want to," Ginny told Ivana. "You and Lily will be right next to each other, or you can stay in Lily's room if that is what you both want tonight."
Ivana looked at Charlie, absolutely still, somehow looking very dead. She went over and touched her adopted uncle, looking very lost. She hugged grandmother Molly, mumbling, "I'm sorry. I'm …" and then she sniffed, not able to get any more words out.
Ivana shyly went back to Ginny. Ginny opened her arms, and Ivana rushed back into Ginny's arms, sobbing.
"Do you want me to go downstairs and tell the people in the kitchen?" Harry asked.
"Please," Arthur replied.
Bill announced, "We," pointing to the four brothers, "need to tell our families." All four of Charlie's remaining brothers hugged their parents. Hermione also hugged Molly and Arthur. Slowly the four brothers and Hermione left.
Harry walked down from the third floor to the first, trying to compose himself as he descended the stairs. He went into the kitchen eating area, and announced, "Ivana said good bye to Charlie, and Charlie died. I think he was just holding on until Ivana could get there."
Lily stood up, and started to hyperventilate, so Harry took her into his arms, saying, "Calm down. We knew Uncle Charlie was in bad shape, and he is not in pain any more. I think what Ivana needs now is family."
"May she live with us?" Lily wondered. "She needs a mother and father and a loving sister, and … poor Ivana!"
"Yes, if she wants to," Harry told his daughter.
Lily sat back down, looking very sad, slowly getting control of her emotions.
After a little over half an hour Molly and Arthur came into the kitchen, followed by Ivana who was holding Ginny's hand. As soon as Lily saw Ivana she arose and ran over to her, and the two witches hugged, tears close to the surface.
"When your other uncle was killed I told you I would be your sister," Lily insisted. "Daddy has told me how horrible it was in the house of Mr. Dursley's parents. It is not going to be like that with us! Please be my sister!"
Ivana nodded yes.
Molly looked at the small crowd assembled. "Are you all staying for dinner?" she wondered.
Berry, the Elf who most often helped Molly with cooking, was almost immediately at Molly's side, not with the normal crack, but just quietly appearing in the room.
"We cook. We eat," the Elf suggested. "Good for the body, good for the soul."
Victoire arose rather naturally to help, shooing anyone else away from the cooking area. Watching them it was obvious that Molly, Berry and Victoire were sharing the duties in the kitchen, and that no other help was needed or appreciated.
Harry picked up Maria and started to walk back and forth with her as the toddler slowly fell asleep. He then handed Maria to Teddy, who lovingly held his daughter.
Hermione told Ginny, "It feels like I ought to be doing something."
"Let mum cook," Ginny told her sister-in-law. "She needs to do that for the family right now.
"When your father died mum told me that at times like this it is more important to just be there than to do anything."
"Is Ivana sleeping with me tonight?" Lily wondered.
"My room was right next to Charlie's." Ivana muttered. "I'm not sure I want to sleep there. I will go out the door and see the room where he died and…" Ivana looked lost.
"Do you want to move your things to our spare room tonight?" Ginny wondered.
"Can I do that, but sleep in Lily's bedroom tonight?" Ivana wondered.
"I have a second bed that we can put in the room," Lily volunteered.
"I can help you move your things," Rose added. "I'm pretty good at moving and decorating rooms."
"Give us about an hour for dinner to be ready," Victoire told the crowd.
Rose told the group, "We have this," as she, Ivana and Lily went up to Ivana's bedroom. Hermione went with them to legally shrink the items that needed to be moved.
Hugo looked at the people left in the kitchen, and whispered to his father, "Uncle Charlie just died, and grandmother is cooking?"
"It is one way she demonstrates that she loves us," Ron told his son.
"What can we talk about?" Hugo wondered. "Just Uncle Charlie or other things?"
"What do you want to talk about?" Ron asked.
"Am I working at the store this Christmas? I don't know if I can even talk about anything other than Uncle Charlie, like it is, like I don't know what to say or do."
"Yes, Hugo, you will be working at the store if you want to. I don't know when they plan to hold a funeral, but other staff will tend the store when the family buries Uncle Charlie. And yes, times like this are awkward. No one knows quite what to say. I remember when Grandfather Granger died. Conversations were sometimes awkward then, but you get through it."
Caroline Fawcett, the lead healer who had been living with them and taking care of Charlie, came into the kitchen and said something to Arthur. Arthur spoke to Molly, and left with Caroline.
Teddy put a sleeping Maria in the cot with wheels that was in the kitchen. The two wizards quietly talked and waited. Minerva had found a couple of dolls from the toy box Molly had in the kitchen and was contentedly playing by herself.
After dinner Lily, Ivana and Rose accompanied Harry, Ginny and Albus back to Twelve Grimmauld Place. Hermione went with them to help unshrink Ivana's possessions, and then went home to be with Ron and Hugo.
The girls stayed up quite late arranging Ivana's things, talking, just being teen-age girls. Ginny looked in on them a couple of times, but did nothing to suggest it was time for bed. Eventually she called Hermione and told her, "I'm not sure when Rose will be home. I'm not even sure if she isn't going to end up spending the night. Don't worry about the girls. I think this is what all of them, especially Ivana, needs."
Saturday morning Teddy and Victoire came downstairs for breakfast, and found Molly holding Teddy's daughter Maria and talking to 'Pippa.' Molly and Pippa had very solemn faces.
Pippa looked at the couple, and asked, "Could you take care of Maria. I just cannot take care of a toddler, and Maria is getting active, and it is just too much. Especially when Caroline and I get another job it will just be too much to take a toddler along."
"Is she still nursing?" Victoire asked.
"I can nurse her, but we are trying to wean her," Pippa replied. "She is just not that eager to be weaned yet. She is only nine months old, and most Magi nurse their children for at least a year."
"I know I can get some potions and spells so I could nurse her, even now when I am pregnant," Victoire replied. "I just hate to take Maria away from you."
"I want Maria to have a mother and a father, and if she stays with me that is going to be hard," Pippa replied, the tears flowing freely now. "Besides, Charlie has died, and Caroline and I need to find another job, and I just cannot see taking Maria with me, and I hate to leave her, but I think that is best for her.
"Caroline and I are going to try and find a job we can do together, maybe taking care of someone else or a couple where you need two people. We want to stay together. I am going to miss Maria, and I intend to visit. I do want her to know I gave birth to her, but Victoire you and Teddy can be much better parents to her than I ever could."
Pippa was crying, but you could see she was also determined.
"Don't either of you want to marry?" Victoire wondered.
Pippa became very embarrassed. "Maybe. To each other."
"Oh," an embarrassed Victoire replied, suddenly understanding the situation. "Sorry if I embarrassed you."
Pippa just shrugged.
"Do you want me to adopt Maria?" Victoire wondered.
"Teddy is already listed as her father, although the records are sealed," Pippa told Victoire. "I would like it if you could be her legal guardian but I am acknowledged as her birth mother."
"Thank you, Pippa," Victoire replied. "This has to be hard for you. I will do everything I can to be the best mother I can be for Maria, and I will always let her know that you only allowed us to raise her because you wanted the best for her, because you loved her so very much."
"Come upstairs with me," Pippa told Victoire. "Maria is sleeping, but we can take all her things down to your quarters."
Teddy stood up, went over to Pippa on his crutches, and opened his arms. Pippa looked, and shook her head 'no.' Teddy nodded his head in understanding. "I will leave you and Victoire to handle this," Teddy told Pippa as he sat down.
Victoire stood up, the two witches looked at each other, hugged, and left, both of them obviously holding back tears.
Mid-morning Narcissa came through the Floo with Scorpius and Cleopatra. Molly and Arthur were in the kitchen talking. Albus was waiting as well, but no one else was around.
"How are you this morning?" Narcissa wondered.
"Charlie died last night," Molly replied. "I've been better, although we could see it coming. He is not in pain, so that is good."
"I'm so sorry," Narcissa told her friend. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Not right now," Molly replied. "I will let you know when we are going to be having Charlie's funeral. Probably Monday or Tuesday."
"Where is Rose?" Scorpius wondered.
"Probably sleeping with Lily and Ivana," Albus replied. "Ivana is going to be living with us, and Lily is going to be her sister. Lily, Rose and Ivana stayed up moving Ivana to the other bedroom next to Lily. Dad told me not to wake them. Mum just woke up, but she said that when she went to bed the three girls were still talking."
"Don't you dare try to wake up Rose," Cleo insisted.
The girls finally woke up and came down to the kitchen of twelve Grimmauld Place the middle of the afternoon. Scorpius and Cleo ate with the combined Potter and Granger-Weasley families that evening, and then all four girls disappeared into the bedrooms of Lily and Ivana.
"Girl talk," Albus told Scorpius as he watched Rose disappearing along with Lily, Cleo and Ivana. "Best to stay away."
There were a very limited number of healers who knew about Teddy and Victoire. One of them knew which potions and spells to use so Victoire could nurse Maria, and so it would not interfere with Victoire's pregnancy. By Saturday evening Victoire was wearing a Mother Minerva's nursing bra, giving Maria Pippa's milk, but she could feel her breasts getting started with the business of making milk.
Victoire and Pippa had moved Maria Guadalupe Lupin to the nursery, so Teddy and Victoire appropriated another bedroom right next to the nursery for Maria to move to when their baby was born.
Sunday Morning Victoire awoke to a little squeak from the nursery. 'Mother's ears' is what her mother and grandmother Molly called them, the way you awoke when you heard a baby cry. Teddy was sleeping peacefully, something he did not always do. Teddy's sleep was fitful enough from nightmares that when Teddy was sleeping she did not want to awaken him. She quickly left their bed, went into the nursery, and closed the door.
Maria was a little wet, and wanted to nurse, so she changed her. She exposed her breasts and used the lotion she needed to put on to toughen her breasts. and put Maria on a breast. She had not counted on having the first baby she nursed being old enough for teeth. She was told that she should put the lotion on both breasts before starting to nurse, because a baby was not going to want to wait when she was switching sides. No way to do this and be modest. Everybody would be able to see the oversized milk machines.
She was used to people staring. The stared at her because she was too big on top. They stared at her father because of his scarred face. They stared at her mother and sister and brother because they were unearthly beautiful. Victoire sighed. Nothing about her mother or sister was too big or too small. Dominique was thinner than her mother, but objectively they both had 'ideal' shapes. Louis was handsome in a comfortable way, not too anything in his shape either.
They stared at Uncle Harry because of the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. If he was wearing a bathing costume the big scar on his chest was very visible, and there were plenty of other scars. Aunt Ginny was stared at because she was unsteady on her feet. If she wore anything with a plunging neckline you could see the start of a scar on her breast. She had scars on her knees from the Muggle artificial knee, and on her arm from learning how to heal Sectumsempra cuts.
They could stare all they wanted at her; she was going to feed babies!
Victoire always knew she wanted to be a mother, and she loved seeing other women nurse their babies. Between that, being pregnant, and the spells that would start her milk early, it hurt. Not agony, but not all the blissful pleasant feeling that she was anticipating. The pleasant feelings were not absent, but they were shared with the practical problems of getting started with this older baby.
Teddy's baby. Maria was going to be her baby, because Pippa was … It really was love, giving up a baby because you couldn't raise it in a loving …
Victoire had a hard time understand just how wounded Pippa was, or Teddy. Well, her job was to heal Teddy, and not Pippa. She just needed to love Teddy, and Maria, and the new baby growing in her.
It was better when the baby was latched on and feeding, and you could usually relax.
Magical healing was different than Muggle healing. They were just beginning to understand the biology, but it relied more on the body's natural ability to heal, and making the body's natural ability to heal work better. They caught all the normal Muggle diseases but they didn't seem to make Magi very sick. The body was not designed to live in a germ free environment. The potions you took when you were nursing just enhanced the natural advantages of mother's milk, plus enhanced the pleasure you received from nursing.
Victoire looked down at Maria, and the tears started to flow. Maria was the product of the horrible things Teddy had to do when he was undercover. She was not sure how and why Pippa was wounded, but Pippa trusted Victoire more than herself to be a good mother. It was not Maria's fault. She was a baby that deserved a loving mother and father, and she would grow up in a loving family.
Being Teddy's wife was just going to be harder than she had anticipated. "For better or for worse, in sickness as well as in health." She said the wedding vows knowing full well that it was not always going to be easy.
Sunday morning when the family assembled for breakfast Maria was in a cot next to Victoire. Shortly after breakfast had started Maria began to fuss. Teddy quickly changed her nappies, and gave Maria to Victoire, who unselfconsciously opened her blouse and bra, put lotion on both breasts and began to nurse the baby.
The males all tried to discreetly look somewhere else when Victoire exposed her breasts, but witches almost always nursed their babies, and no one was shocked. Most of the couples had been at the beach house in France that Bill and Fleur now owned along with Fleur's parents, and most of the women went topless when they were on the beach in France.
"Victoire is going to adopt Maria so she is raised with a mother and a father," Teddy explained, smiling at the Madonna like vision of his wife nursing the baby. "Pippa thinks Maria is going to be better off with us than with her."
Molly looked at Arthur, nodding her head, and Arthur started, "Caroline and Pippa are going to find another job, another person or couple to take care of."
Arthur then asked, "We have talked about burying Charlie tomorrow afternoon. We still have a few things to arrange, but Molly and I want to make sure it is acceptable for all of you."
Harry added, "I'm dealing with a couple of security issues, but so far Monday afternoon is better for the Aurors and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
All of the people agreed that sometime Monday afternoon could work for them.
The table broke up into whispered conversations, and before they left all of the family members hugged Molly and Arthur. Everyone tried to console Ivana as well. The next weeks were going to be hard.
2021