Birthday Surprises Chapter 32

Usual disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. Please. Wish it were mine though. Ah, if only. Lolly, xxx.

Once again, thank you to all of those who reviewed - I couldn't help but giggle at some of them. Honestly, I am not evil, although I do enjoy writing cliff hangers - evil would be making you wait several days, when the story is already written. Oh, and Naomi, the count is now 30 - 6 in favour of H/G. Tee hee. Enjoy the next chapter.

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"Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley - three hundred and twenty percent." Hermione read.

"Redheads." Remus muttered. Harry stared between the cradle and Ginny.

"How likely is it that there's someone else that I'm as compatible with?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"Next to nil." Hermione replied.

"Oh hell." Ron muttered. "I might be an Uncle."

"Thanks for that Ron!" Ginny snapped, getting up and leaving the room. Hermione got up to follow her.

"Just leave her - she needs some time to think about this alone." Harry said.

"How do you know?" Ron asked peevishly.

"Because I've been there. Finding out that there's a strong possibility that you've got children is a little bit of a shock."

"Right."

"I told you - redheads." Remus said.

"Yeah, I know already!" Harry muttered. He went over the crib and picked up one Andrew.

"Ron, Hermione, why don't we go down and see if Molly needs any help with the dinner."

"But..."

"Yes, that's a good idea." Hermione said, overriding Ron's protests. They left Harry alone to mull over the fact that he and Ginny Weasley were more compatible than his own parents.

***

"Can I come in?" Ginny asked. Harry turned around in surprise.

"Sure." He said. He was standing beside the cot, and Ginny came to stand at his side.

"What do you think? Am I a suitable mother?"

"They could have a lot worse." Harry said.

"You mean they could have a Slytherin mother." Ginny said, her voice sharp.

"No, I didn't mean that. Please don't yell at me. I just meant that you're one of my best friends - at least we get along pretty well together."

"Yeah, but what happens from here?"

"I have no idea. You might not be their mother - I mean, the Ministry might not have thought about testing our compatibility. But we need to be sure."

"Yeah. Now that we have a candidate, maybe there's a test at St Mungo's."

"We can check it out. Do you want to be their mother?"

"I...well, they're certainly sweet. I just don't know whether I'm ready to be a mother."

"No. Well, whatever happens, they can stay in my dorm at Hogwarts - is that ok?"

"Yeah. It makes sense. Although if I am their mother, I can come and visit, right?"

"Of course. I might even let you steal my baby girl."

"Oh, what a mess." Ginny said, tears falling from her eyes.

"Hey, it's ok. Please don't cry. I can't deal with crying females that are older than Leah." Harry said, putting his arms around her. Ginny put her head on his shoulder.

"You're doing an ok job." She sniffed.

"Thanks. Now please cheer up."

"Ok. Yeah, you're right. It is a right royal mess though, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah."

"If anyone could have been the mother, who would you have wanted it to be?"

"I honestly don't know. But I am pretty pleased that it's you. We should tell Tonks you know."

"Yeah, it would be a good idea." Ginny agreed, looking into the cot. "They're so adorable." She murmured. "Can I hold one of them?"

"Don't be ridiculous - you don't have to ask. Even if you aren't their mother."

"Oh. Ok." Ginny picked up Sam, who looked at her for a moment before starting to whimper.

"Hey, hush little man. This might be your mummy. We're working on it." Harry whispered, looking over Ginny's shoulder at the young boy.

"If I am their mother, do I qualify for a monitor?"

"If you want one." Harry shrugged. Sam had stopped whimpering, and was getting used to this strange person that was holding him. "There you go." Harry said, grinning at Ginny.

"This is incredible."

"Yup."

"Ok, you can go and see your brother and sister. Your daddy and I need to talk." Ginny told Sam as she placed him back into the cot. Harry tucked the covers back around them before sitting down on his bed and searching through the bedside drawer. He pulled out his family book as Ginny sat down next to him.

"What are you doing?"

"I wanted to see if any of my family knew anything about spells to find out for sure if you're their mother."

"What do you mean?"

"This is the Potter Book of Shadows." Harry said, running the athame over the page. Ginny stared as writing appeared all over the page.

"This is so amazing!" She said in awe. "Can I read some?"

"Sure." Harry said. They started at the beginning of the book, reading the first entry, which was by Leah Potter.

"Hey, you named Leah after someone - did you know?"

"Not until now." Harry said. They read in silence for a few minutes, reading about the life of one of Harry's family. She spoke about Hogwarts, saying that she was a Gryffindor. Both Harry and Ginny drank in the information, and had read through almost all of Leah's life before looking up.

"Does your entire family have a problem with Dark Wizards?" Ginny asked.

"Apparently." Harry replied - it seemed that Leah's father, Garrett, was away fighting some Dark Wizard - Leah never mentioned who. They read on until the writing changed - this time it was Orion Potter, Leah's eldest son, who was writing. "Harry! Ginny! Come and get some dinner!" Molly yelled up the stairs. Ginny's eyes snapped up, looking slightly worried.

"Harry! We never told mum!" She said.

"Ah. Maybe we should do that."

"It might be a good idea, considering she is my mother. Possibly a grandmother."

"Umm...any idea how we're going to tell her?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Well we'll figure something out." Harry assured her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.