Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, brilliantly created by J.K.
Rowling. Most situations are based on those created by J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Twelve: The Surprise
"I'd like to meet your kids someday," said Neville. "And yours too, of course." He directed the last part of the statement to Harry and Ginny.
"Actually," said Hermione. "Olivia is turning one next month, and we're having a small get together. We'd love it if you could come."
"That sounds nice," said Neville.
"Are you leaving tomorrow?" Hermione asked. Neville nodded.
"Maybe we could all meet for lunch before heading back?" Hermione asked.
"Sure," said Luna. "We have plenty of time."
"Great," said Hermione. "Then we'll see you tomorrow."
"I for one would love to hear more stories," Neville said. "What happened after Emma was born? How'd you adjust to being a father Ron?"
"It was pretty easy, actually," said Ron, "once I realized that Emma was going to be the one to dictate our schedule."
"What was the rest of the family doing during all of this?" Neville asked. "Fred? George? What are they up to?"
Ron was the one to answer the question. "It's always hard to get the whole family together, but the Christmas after Emma was born, somehow we all managed to be in the same place."
* * *
Mrs. Weasley was thrilled to say that her whole family would be together this Christmas: all six sons, one daughter, five wives, one husband and seven grandchildren. Mr. Weasley had spent the morning constructing an insulated tent in the backyard so that everyone would be able to fit at the dinner table, and still be warm even though the Christmas was already proving to be one of the coldest they'd seen in a while. Mrs. Weasley was puttering around the kitchen, preparing various snacks for all the different tastes that her family would bring with them, and she was also preparing the large dinner she would need for the crowd of twenty-two people who would at any minute be descending upon her house.
"Hello, mum!" came a cheerful voice behind Mrs. Weasley. She turned to see Bill standing behind her, looking very much the same, complete with the ponytail and the earring. She smiled when she saw him and hugged him.
"I didn't even hear you come in!" she said.
"I apparated into the yard," he said. "Scared dad for a moment."
Mrs. Weasley laughed. "Well, you're the first to arrive," she said. "And the one coming with the least amount of extra people."
"Mum," Bill warned.
"I didn't say anything, Bill," said Mrs. Weasley. "But would it kill you to settle down one of these days?"
"We'll see," said Bill, and something in the tone of his voice made his mother drop the subject. Bill changed the subject as well, to ensure that they didn't talk about his romantic life. "It looks really great here."
"Well, we've been remodeling," said Mrs. Weasley. The kitchen seemed more modernized and a little bit larger than Bill remembered. "Glad you like it."
"When will Ron and Hermione be arriving?" Bill asked.
"Any moment, I expect," said Mrs. Weasley. "In fact, I expect everyone at any moment."
"I want to meet this new niece of mine," said Bill. He had been often away on business and had not had the chance to acquaint himself with Emma yet.
"Oh, you'll adore her, Bill, you will," Mrs. Weasley said, ready to be the proud, bragging grandmother. "She's just started to say some words - quite early, actually. No doubt that's Hermione's influence. She's so wonderful with her - she was reading her books before Emma could even pay attention to them. Makes me wish I had had time to do that with my children."
"Mum, you did a fabulous job with all of us," Bill assured her. "And I learned to read. Real good," he teased, and Mrs. Weasley laughed.
"Hello?" came a voice from the living room.
"Hello Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called out, "I'm in the kitchen!"
Ginny appeared, closely followed by Harry and James, tottering behind. "Bill!" she exclaimed when she saw her older brother, and she ran to hug him. "It's so good to see you!"
"You too, little sis," he said, and he returned the embrace. When they parted, Bill extended a hand to Harry, and then hoisted James into the air and spun him around. Mrs. Weasley turned, horrified.
"Bill Weasley, don't you do that to that poor little boy!" she exclaimed. "He's going to get sick!"
"No he's not," said Bill. "Look at him, he's laughing." Sure enough, James was giggling as his uncle soared him through the air.
Now it was Ginny's turn to be a little concern. "All right, all right, I know he's having fun, but haven't you heard of too much of a good thing?"
Bill stopped flying James around and looked at the young boy, who smiled at his uncle. "Looks the jig is up, James-my-boy! The fun's over!" James laughed anyway, and stayed with his uncle.
In the commotion, no one heard Ron and Hermione arrive with a sleeping Emma, who was now nine months old. "What's so funny?" Ron asked from the doorway. Everyone turned and greeted them. Everyone turned to greet them, and Ron motioned to let them know Emma was sleeping.
"Where can I put her?" Hermione asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Anywhere you like dear," Mrs. Weasley said, "though Ginny's old room is closest."
Hermione nodded and made for the stairs. "Oh no you don't!" Bill exclaimed. "I haven't waited nine months to see my niece for nothing."
"Of course," said Hermione, smiling at her brother-in-law. She turned Emma around. "I'm sure she'll be happy to talk to you when she wakes up."
"I look forward to it," said Bill, and he stroked the baby's cheek. "She's beautiful."
"Only because she looks like her mum," Ron said, with a loving glance in Hermione's direction.
"Thank you, Bill," she said. "Let me just put her down, and I'll come down and we can catch up." She headed up the stairs.
* * *
When Hermione came back down, there was more commotion in the kitchen. Fred and Angelina, who had just celebrated five years of marriage, had arrived. With them were their two children, two year old Stacey, and just three-month-old Brian. They seemed to have come with George and Katie, married two years, who had their eight-month-old son Matthew with them. Mr. Weasley had also come in and was greeting his entire family. "Ron's told me that Emma's upstairs," he said after he hugged Hermione. "I'll have to catch her later."
"She shouldn't sleep too much longer," Hermione said. "But she was up early today so she took her nap a little earlier than usual."
"So when's dinner?" George asked his mother.
"Not yet, George, not yet," she said, and she was beaming. "Besides Percy and Charlie aren't here yet."
"Speak of the devil," said Fred, and Percy walked into the room, followed by six-year-old Phillip and three-year-old Peter. Penelope was at the end of the line, and the family was immediately swept up in the greetings. Phil walked around showing off his father's old prefect badge, and many of the family were surprised that Percy had actually let him wear it. Fred and George were still positive that Percy framed the badge and polished it every night, reminiscing about his Hogwarts days as he did so.
"Where do you suppose Charlie and Dawn are?" Bill asked Ron and Harry casually, though they could see that he was slightly agitated.
"What's the matter with you?" Ron asked.
"What?" Bill asked, trying to sound nonchalant. "Nothings the matter with me. What's the matter with you?"
Ron didn't answer, but raised his eyebrows at Harry. "Ron," Hermione said, "I hear Emma. I'm going to go get her."
"I'll do it," Ron said, and he moved to the stairs before Hermione could get to them. He returned a few minutes later, carrying the baby, to find that Charlie and longtime love and wife of one year, Dawn, had arrived.
"Hey Ron!" Charlie said happily when he saw his brother. "And hello Emma!" Emma smiled at her uncle, but reached her arms out for Hermione, standing next to Charlie. She took the baby from Ron.
"Hi sweetie," she said as the baby nuzzled into her shoulder.
"Well, looks like everyone is here," came Bill's voice, and Ron turned to see that his older brother was standing behind him.
"What's going on with you?" he asked again. Bill smiled and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Okay, I'll tell you," he said. He raised his voice. "I need everybody's attention!" The whole family turned to him, but there was still the murmur of children's voices in the air. "I have to make an announcement!" A silence came over the room as the children realized someone was talking. Even Emma and James quieted down.
"What is it, Bill?" asked Mrs. Weasley. She added hopefully, "Have you met someone?"
"Well, actually, I have," said Bill, and Mrs. Weasley's smile grew. "But it's more than that. I got married." A silence filled the air.
"WHAT?!" came Fred's voice suddenly, and everyone laughed as the tension broke.
Mrs. Weasley, however, was not satisfied. "What do you MEAN you got married?"
Bill looked at his mother, "I got married. I met a girl, we got married."
"Without telling me first?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Mum, it all happened rather quickly," he said.
"Who did you marry?" Ginny asked. The room got quiet again as everyone realized they had left out the very important question.
"Yeah, Bill," said George. "Who did you marry?"
"She should be here any moment," said Bill. "I'd like to wait until then." The family waited, and moments later a woman apparated into the room, and Bill walked over to her immediately. He kissed her, then put his arm around her, and looked at his gathered family members. "Everyone, I think you remember Fleur Delacoeur. Well, Fleur Weasley now."
* * *
"Is that the girl from Beauxbatons?" Neville asked in disbelief. "The veela girl?"
"The very same," said Ron.
"Didn't they date back then?" Luna asked.
"Not really," said Ginny. "He liked her, she liked him, but they never seemed to get their act together. Then they ran into each other recently and got married within two weeks. I suppose it's similar to your story - except they were never actually together in the first place."
"Uh-oh," said Harry.
"What?" said Ginny. She noticed that he was looking at the entrance to the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione were looking in the same direction. Ginny followed their gaze and saw, across the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy.
Chapter Twelve: The Surprise
"I'd like to meet your kids someday," said Neville. "And yours too, of course." He directed the last part of the statement to Harry and Ginny.
"Actually," said Hermione. "Olivia is turning one next month, and we're having a small get together. We'd love it if you could come."
"That sounds nice," said Neville.
"Are you leaving tomorrow?" Hermione asked. Neville nodded.
"Maybe we could all meet for lunch before heading back?" Hermione asked.
"Sure," said Luna. "We have plenty of time."
"Great," said Hermione. "Then we'll see you tomorrow."
"I for one would love to hear more stories," Neville said. "What happened after Emma was born? How'd you adjust to being a father Ron?"
"It was pretty easy, actually," said Ron, "once I realized that Emma was going to be the one to dictate our schedule."
"What was the rest of the family doing during all of this?" Neville asked. "Fred? George? What are they up to?"
Ron was the one to answer the question. "It's always hard to get the whole family together, but the Christmas after Emma was born, somehow we all managed to be in the same place."
* * *
Mrs. Weasley was thrilled to say that her whole family would be together this Christmas: all six sons, one daughter, five wives, one husband and seven grandchildren. Mr. Weasley had spent the morning constructing an insulated tent in the backyard so that everyone would be able to fit at the dinner table, and still be warm even though the Christmas was already proving to be one of the coldest they'd seen in a while. Mrs. Weasley was puttering around the kitchen, preparing various snacks for all the different tastes that her family would bring with them, and she was also preparing the large dinner she would need for the crowd of twenty-two people who would at any minute be descending upon her house.
"Hello, mum!" came a cheerful voice behind Mrs. Weasley. She turned to see Bill standing behind her, looking very much the same, complete with the ponytail and the earring. She smiled when she saw him and hugged him.
"I didn't even hear you come in!" she said.
"I apparated into the yard," he said. "Scared dad for a moment."
Mrs. Weasley laughed. "Well, you're the first to arrive," she said. "And the one coming with the least amount of extra people."
"Mum," Bill warned.
"I didn't say anything, Bill," said Mrs. Weasley. "But would it kill you to settle down one of these days?"
"We'll see," said Bill, and something in the tone of his voice made his mother drop the subject. Bill changed the subject as well, to ensure that they didn't talk about his romantic life. "It looks really great here."
"Well, we've been remodeling," said Mrs. Weasley. The kitchen seemed more modernized and a little bit larger than Bill remembered. "Glad you like it."
"When will Ron and Hermione be arriving?" Bill asked.
"Any moment, I expect," said Mrs. Weasley. "In fact, I expect everyone at any moment."
"I want to meet this new niece of mine," said Bill. He had been often away on business and had not had the chance to acquaint himself with Emma yet.
"Oh, you'll adore her, Bill, you will," Mrs. Weasley said, ready to be the proud, bragging grandmother. "She's just started to say some words - quite early, actually. No doubt that's Hermione's influence. She's so wonderful with her - she was reading her books before Emma could even pay attention to them. Makes me wish I had had time to do that with my children."
"Mum, you did a fabulous job with all of us," Bill assured her. "And I learned to read. Real good," he teased, and Mrs. Weasley laughed.
"Hello?" came a voice from the living room.
"Hello Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called out, "I'm in the kitchen!"
Ginny appeared, closely followed by Harry and James, tottering behind. "Bill!" she exclaimed when she saw her older brother, and she ran to hug him. "It's so good to see you!"
"You too, little sis," he said, and he returned the embrace. When they parted, Bill extended a hand to Harry, and then hoisted James into the air and spun him around. Mrs. Weasley turned, horrified.
"Bill Weasley, don't you do that to that poor little boy!" she exclaimed. "He's going to get sick!"
"No he's not," said Bill. "Look at him, he's laughing." Sure enough, James was giggling as his uncle soared him through the air.
Now it was Ginny's turn to be a little concern. "All right, all right, I know he's having fun, but haven't you heard of too much of a good thing?"
Bill stopped flying James around and looked at the young boy, who smiled at his uncle. "Looks the jig is up, James-my-boy! The fun's over!" James laughed anyway, and stayed with his uncle.
In the commotion, no one heard Ron and Hermione arrive with a sleeping Emma, who was now nine months old. "What's so funny?" Ron asked from the doorway. Everyone turned and greeted them. Everyone turned to greet them, and Ron motioned to let them know Emma was sleeping.
"Where can I put her?" Hermione asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Anywhere you like dear," Mrs. Weasley said, "though Ginny's old room is closest."
Hermione nodded and made for the stairs. "Oh no you don't!" Bill exclaimed. "I haven't waited nine months to see my niece for nothing."
"Of course," said Hermione, smiling at her brother-in-law. She turned Emma around. "I'm sure she'll be happy to talk to you when she wakes up."
"I look forward to it," said Bill, and he stroked the baby's cheek. "She's beautiful."
"Only because she looks like her mum," Ron said, with a loving glance in Hermione's direction.
"Thank you, Bill," she said. "Let me just put her down, and I'll come down and we can catch up." She headed up the stairs.
* * *
When Hermione came back down, there was more commotion in the kitchen. Fred and Angelina, who had just celebrated five years of marriage, had arrived. With them were their two children, two year old Stacey, and just three-month-old Brian. They seemed to have come with George and Katie, married two years, who had their eight-month-old son Matthew with them. Mr. Weasley had also come in and was greeting his entire family. "Ron's told me that Emma's upstairs," he said after he hugged Hermione. "I'll have to catch her later."
"She shouldn't sleep too much longer," Hermione said. "But she was up early today so she took her nap a little earlier than usual."
"So when's dinner?" George asked his mother.
"Not yet, George, not yet," she said, and she was beaming. "Besides Percy and Charlie aren't here yet."
"Speak of the devil," said Fred, and Percy walked into the room, followed by six-year-old Phillip and three-year-old Peter. Penelope was at the end of the line, and the family was immediately swept up in the greetings. Phil walked around showing off his father's old prefect badge, and many of the family were surprised that Percy had actually let him wear it. Fred and George were still positive that Percy framed the badge and polished it every night, reminiscing about his Hogwarts days as he did so.
"Where do you suppose Charlie and Dawn are?" Bill asked Ron and Harry casually, though they could see that he was slightly agitated.
"What's the matter with you?" Ron asked.
"What?" Bill asked, trying to sound nonchalant. "Nothings the matter with me. What's the matter with you?"
Ron didn't answer, but raised his eyebrows at Harry. "Ron," Hermione said, "I hear Emma. I'm going to go get her."
"I'll do it," Ron said, and he moved to the stairs before Hermione could get to them. He returned a few minutes later, carrying the baby, to find that Charlie and longtime love and wife of one year, Dawn, had arrived.
"Hey Ron!" Charlie said happily when he saw his brother. "And hello Emma!" Emma smiled at her uncle, but reached her arms out for Hermione, standing next to Charlie. She took the baby from Ron.
"Hi sweetie," she said as the baby nuzzled into her shoulder.
"Well, looks like everyone is here," came Bill's voice, and Ron turned to see that his older brother was standing behind him.
"What's going on with you?" he asked again. Bill smiled and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Okay, I'll tell you," he said. He raised his voice. "I need everybody's attention!" The whole family turned to him, but there was still the murmur of children's voices in the air. "I have to make an announcement!" A silence came over the room as the children realized someone was talking. Even Emma and James quieted down.
"What is it, Bill?" asked Mrs. Weasley. She added hopefully, "Have you met someone?"
"Well, actually, I have," said Bill, and Mrs. Weasley's smile grew. "But it's more than that. I got married." A silence filled the air.
"WHAT?!" came Fred's voice suddenly, and everyone laughed as the tension broke.
Mrs. Weasley, however, was not satisfied. "What do you MEAN you got married?"
Bill looked at his mother, "I got married. I met a girl, we got married."
"Without telling me first?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Mum, it all happened rather quickly," he said.
"Who did you marry?" Ginny asked. The room got quiet again as everyone realized they had left out the very important question.
"Yeah, Bill," said George. "Who did you marry?"
"She should be here any moment," said Bill. "I'd like to wait until then." The family waited, and moments later a woman apparated into the room, and Bill walked over to her immediately. He kissed her, then put his arm around her, and looked at his gathered family members. "Everyone, I think you remember Fleur Delacoeur. Well, Fleur Weasley now."
* * *
"Is that the girl from Beauxbatons?" Neville asked in disbelief. "The veela girl?"
"The very same," said Ron.
"Didn't they date back then?" Luna asked.
"Not really," said Ginny. "He liked her, she liked him, but they never seemed to get their act together. Then they ran into each other recently and got married within two weeks. I suppose it's similar to your story - except they were never actually together in the first place."
"Uh-oh," said Harry.
"What?" said Ginny. She noticed that he was looking at the entrance to the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione were looking in the same direction. Ginny followed their gaze and saw, across the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy.