Birthday Surprises Chapter 28
Usual disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. Please. Wish it were mine though. Ah, if only… Lolly, xxx.
Harry was surprised to see Hermione, Ginny and Professor Dumbledore all come back through the fireplace a few moments later. Hermione and Ginny looked slightly angry, while Professor Dumbledore looked upset.
"Would someone mind telling me what's going on?" He asked, his voice calm and quiet. Losing his temper would achieve nothing, he knew.
"Professor Dumbledore needs to tell you something." Hermione said. "He'll explain what I found when I looked for the spells cast in the last year."
"Well?" Harry asked, looking up at Professor Dumbledore as Hermione stormed up the stairs. Ginny sat down next to him, pulling her knees up to her chin.
"While you were in the hospital wing, the minister for magic came to see me. They had decided that resting the world's hopes on you was too much of a gamble, so they had the idea of having a back up. They thought that your children would have the same ability to get rid of Voldemort. They took some DNA while you were unconscious."
"The triplets?" Harry asked.
"Yes."
"This was all some Ministry plan?" Harry asked, in a forced calm voice.
"I'm afraid so. They were delighted when it turned out that you had produced triplets. But the triplets don't have the ability. Their plan went down the drain."
"Let me get this right, they took a part of me, presumably some from someone else as well, and created children - just so that they had a back up in case I failed?"
"Yes."
"And what? Their sole purpose would have been to get rid of Voldemort?"
"Something like that."
"They didn't think for a moment that they were creating lives - real people - just to achieve what they wanted? Without a second thought for either my children or me? What about their mother? Does she know?" Harry was on his feet, glaring angrily at the headmaster. How could he have let something like this happen?
"No - I don't even know who she is."
"Then how in the world……?"
"Tonks carried them."
"TONKS?!" Harry and Ginny chorused.
"Indeed."
"But the children aren't….…she's not their mother?"
"No. She volunteered to carry them though."
"This is mad." Harry muttered. "Completely unbelievable. Do I have any right to know who their mother is? Come to think of it, was anyone going to tell me?"
"Yes, eventually you would have been told, but I hadn't planned on you finding out quite so soon."
"Why not? It would be one more reason for me to stay rather than go chasing Voldemort." Harry had given up all pretence of being calm now, and was yelling. Hearing the noise, Ron, Molly and Remus had come in, and were all staring at the headmaster.
"Harry…"
"Can I find out who their mother is? Doesn't she have the right to know?"
"I……I shall make enquiries for you, but I can't promise anything." Harry nodded sharply, hearing the triplets crying.
"If you'll excuse me, I have to go and see to my children." With that, he left the room.
In his room, Harry found Hermione lying on his bed asleep, looking as if she'd been crying. Harry quickly tended to the triplets before they woke her, still shocked at the revelation.
"I'm your daddy." He murmured. Hermione opened her eyes, sitting up quickly. "Are you all right?" Harry asked in concern.
"I'm fine - just a little shocked. You?"
"Honestly? I have no idea how I'm supposed to feel - I mean, I love them, but I know nothing about being a father. I have no idea who their mother is, although I do know that Tonks carried them."
"Do you want to know who their mother is?"
"Yeah - I mean, surely she has as much right as I do to know that she has children. I'll tell you one thing though - I'm never going to work for the Ministry. How could anyone be so inhuman? And they're supposed to be the good guys."
"Do you resent them?"
"The Ministry? Yeah. It's not the babies fault that they're all idiots."
"Mr Weasley works for the Ministry."
"Yeah, but he's not at the top - he had nothing to do with this. I'll bet it was all Cornelius Fudge's idea - we can't trust Harry Potter, but we'll give him children so that there's a back up, and to hell with the consequences."
"Do you mind being a father?"
"It wasn't exactly how I imagined, you know. Three kids just popping out of nowhere. I thought that kids would come way into the future - with someone that I know. Not like this."
"Maybe you do know the mother - we can find out. Professor Dumbledore said that the Ministry did a test to see whom you were compatible with. They chose her to be the mother. The only thing is that we don't know whether she's still at school."
"Can we try? I mean, it's got to be worth a try. I can't see any resemblance to anyone but me in them, can you?"
"Well, we'll figure that out when we've got a list of potential mothers, ok?"
"Yeah, ok then." Harry said. He turned his attention back to his children. He felt a rush of love for them immediately - he had been afraid to name that emotion before now, not knowing what was happening after the summer, but now he knew. They were his children and there was no way that anyone would take them off him.
"I'll leave you to it." Hermione said understandingly.
