Birthday Surprises Chapter 53
Usual disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. Please. Wish it were mine though. Ah, if only. Lolly, xxx.
The next morning, Hermione gasped in horror as she received her copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Harry, Ginny, you might want to look at this." She said, looking pale and ill. Harry took the paper from Hermione and Ginny read over his shoulder. It seemed that the Prophet had somehow found out about the triplets' mother being Ginny. Harry took a look at Ginny and saw her biting her lip.
"This isn't good, is it?" She said.
"Not particularly." Harry murmured, looking up to find everyone staring at them, including most of the staff.
"Well, this is...an interesting twist." Parvati said, raising an eyebrow.
"Harry, I think we need to talk." Sally said, appearing behind him.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Is this why you broke up with me? Because you found out that she was the mother?"
"I've known for months." Harry said, after a glance at Ginny.
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I didn't think it was any of your business, now if you'll excuse me." Harry stood up abruptly, rolling the newspaper into a ball and throwing it into the nearest bin. He walked past Sally, who looked slightly shocked, and disappeared from the Great Hall. Ginny stood up a moment later and followed.
***
"Maybe this is for the best." Ginny suggested timidly, later that night. Harry seemed to be in a rotten mood.
"Maybe, I just can't believe how everyone believes that it is their god- given right to know about every little detail of my life!"
"It's not my fault."
"I know. Sorry, I didn't mean to snap."
"This is just...brilliant." Ginny said, scuffing her foot along the floor. "Still, at least now I have a right to yell at any of your girlfriends that seem to think that they're going to play mummy." Ginny grinned. Harry chuckled despite himself as Fawkes came through the window.
"Ah, this will be my summons." Harry said, "Are you coming?"
"Sure." Ginny shrugged.
"Dobby, can you look after the triplets for a while please? I'll be in the headmaster's office if you need me, ok?"
"Yes Harry Potter, Sir, Dobby is most honoured to look after the little Potters."
"Thanks Dobby, we shouldn't be long."
***
Harry and Ginny attracted a lot of stares and whispers as they walked up to the headmaster's office - Harry rolled his eyes in boredom while Ginny giggled.
"I don't think they're too pleased." She told him.
"Who?"
"Your admirers of course." Ginny said.
"Oh. Right. Well there's not much they can do about it, is there?"
"Nope." Ginny said.
"We're here - umm...oh yeah, chocolate frogs."
"Chocolate frogs?" Ginny asked, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"The headmaster's password. Always some sort of sweet. One time I came it was cockroach cluster."
"That's weird."
"This is Dumbledore - I think that's the reason he does it. Just to be weird."
"I prefer eccentric, myself, but I suppose weird is another term that could be applied." The headmaster said thoughtfully.
"Not batty then?" Harry asked innocently. The headmaster chuckled as they walked into the office.
"That too - very good memory. I had forgotten about that."
"Forgotten about what?"
"When Fawkes arrived with the triplets on my birthday, I...umm...questioned Professor Dumbledore's sanity. Fawkes kindly told him what I had thought, and he informed me that to be headmaster, you have to be a little 'batty'." Harry explained.
"Oh. Right." Ginny said.
"So, is it true?"
"Yeah." Harry said. "We found out pretty quickly."
"May I ask how?" Harry began to explain about how they had gone about searching for the triplets' mum. He seemed quite astounded to hear that Harry and Ginny were three hundred and twenty percent compatible, but his shock didn't last long.
"How did your family take it, my dear?" He asked Ginny.
"Well, Mum and dad were secretly thrilled - Ron is over the moon, and my other brothers were all about to kill Harry for getting me pregnant. Until they heard the story, of course."
"I see. So they all knew? Good."
"Yeah, now Gred and Forge are going to do their best to try out at least a few tricks on them. Well, they were, until I put a condition on the money I gave them."
"Which was?"
"Not to use any joke product on our children."
"Ah, good thinking."
"They'd know better anyway. They've lived with me for too long to even consider trying my temper." Ginny grinned. "It's good being the youngest and only girl."
"I'm sure." Harry replied wryly.
"So, what are we to do with this revelation then?"
"What do you mean, sir?" Harry asked, looking faintly puzzled.
"Well, Miss Weasley will want to see her children, I'm sure."
"Yeah, but I can just go to Harry's room for that." Ginny said.
"Yeah, and steal my bed." Harry muttered. Ginny blushed and elbowed him.
"Harry!"
"What? He probably knew anyway, didn't you Sir?"
"Umm...well..."
"How do you do that?" Harry asked, looking intensely curious. Ginny was staring between the pair of them - they were like family, she decided, the way they bickered.
"You may find out one day, if you keep asking." The headmaster replied with a wink.
"Thanks." Harry said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Professor Dumbledore always seems to know everything the moment it happens." Harry explained, seeing Ginny's rather confused look.
"In fact, you were quite slow to find out that Ginny was the triplets' mum."
"Well, I...had my suspicions."
"I knew it." Harry said, shaking his head.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Ginny asked.
"They were only suspicions. Though when you were glaring daggers at miss Patil, I thought that it was likely that I was right. I was waiting for confirmation." He shot a look at Harry, who shrugged.
"We forgot. Anyway, Remus could've told you."
"He did, but that is quite beside the point." Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Did he tell you that he's going to be godfather? Well, one of them?"
"Naturally. He was really quite chuffed about it."
"Good. Well is there anything else?" Harry asked. Ginny thought that he sounded quite rude, but the headmaster seemed well acquainted with Harry's rather abrupt manner.
"Oh, and Harry? The memorial was very touching, I thought."
"Thanks. Let's just hope we don't need many more of them."
"Indeed." Dumbledore said.
***
Albus watched as Harry and Ginny walked out in the middle of a lively discussion. He sighed, looking at the picture of Harry with the triplets that the Nurse had given him. He could easily remember when Harry was that size, and James and Lily came into Hogwarts to show their perfect child off. Albus had thought he would never be more proud than he had been that day - it seemed that Harry had been proving his wrong ever since. No longer a child, Harry had grown into his powers, and was living up to his hero status. Now he had children of his own, and despite everything, seemed quite content. Albus smiled, wondering how long it would be before Harry started to wonder just why his headmaster seemed to follow his every single move. Maybe he already had, but he had never asked about it, or even hinted that he knew. Albus knew that he would need to tell him soon, but he was slightly wary of the young man's reaction to the bombshell that he could drop.
***
"I never knew that you and Professor Dumbledore were that close." Ginny remarked as they walked back to the dorms.
"I guess I never really noticed - he's like...I don't know, he's always been there, y'know?"
"I guess. You know that you're probably the only one who bickers with him."
"God, how boring that must be." Harry grinned. "Only kidding - no, he's just...I don't really know, he's always been the one that listened to everything that I said, been there when I had a problem - well, except fifth year, but that was...well, justifiable."
"Oh."
"I bet I'm one of the few who have ever had the nerve to trash his office, as well."
"You didn't?"
"Oh I did, it was quite annoying really, all he did was watch me. The man is impossible to rile."
"Maybe you just can't rile him - why were you destroying his office in the first place?"
"Well, Sirius had just died, and I really wasn't in the best of moods." Harry said with a small smile.
"I needed to lash out at something. I was so angry. I guess it was a good thing that I destroyed Professor Dumbledore's office, because if I hadn't, I would've destroyed Malfoy's face or something the next time I saw him."
"Oh."
"It hurt so much." Harry said, almost dreamily. "I wanted to shut everything out, to close myself off. Dumbledore said that this was my greatest strength, and I just lost it. As far as I was concerned, if part of being human was dealing with that horrific pain, then I didn't want to be human." Harry had stopped talking abruptly, staring down at the floor. "That's the one time in my life that I was seriously considering just...giving up and dying."
"What made you decide not to?"
"Dumbledore." Harry said, "He told me about the prophecy."
"Right. Well that's...strange."
"I suppose." Harry shrugged. He looked at Ginny peculiarly for a moment before shaking his head.
"C'mon, let's go and see how our children are."
"Sounds like a good idea." Ginny said.
***
Over the next few days, Harry became more and more aware of the headmaster watching him closely. He had noticed before that the headmaster had always paid attention to him perhaps more than he did to, say, Neville. Now it seemed that the headmaster was watching his every smallest move. It was a little unnerving, especially as Harry couldn't think of any reason for the extra interest.
Usual disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue. Please. Wish it were mine though. Ah, if only. Lolly, xxx.
The next morning, Hermione gasped in horror as she received her copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Harry, Ginny, you might want to look at this." She said, looking pale and ill. Harry took the paper from Hermione and Ginny read over his shoulder. It seemed that the Prophet had somehow found out about the triplets' mother being Ginny. Harry took a look at Ginny and saw her biting her lip.
"This isn't good, is it?" She said.
"Not particularly." Harry murmured, looking up to find everyone staring at them, including most of the staff.
"Well, this is...an interesting twist." Parvati said, raising an eyebrow.
"Harry, I think we need to talk." Sally said, appearing behind him.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Is this why you broke up with me? Because you found out that she was the mother?"
"I've known for months." Harry said, after a glance at Ginny.
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I didn't think it was any of your business, now if you'll excuse me." Harry stood up abruptly, rolling the newspaper into a ball and throwing it into the nearest bin. He walked past Sally, who looked slightly shocked, and disappeared from the Great Hall. Ginny stood up a moment later and followed.
***
"Maybe this is for the best." Ginny suggested timidly, later that night. Harry seemed to be in a rotten mood.
"Maybe, I just can't believe how everyone believes that it is their god- given right to know about every little detail of my life!"
"It's not my fault."
"I know. Sorry, I didn't mean to snap."
"This is just...brilliant." Ginny said, scuffing her foot along the floor. "Still, at least now I have a right to yell at any of your girlfriends that seem to think that they're going to play mummy." Ginny grinned. Harry chuckled despite himself as Fawkes came through the window.
"Ah, this will be my summons." Harry said, "Are you coming?"
"Sure." Ginny shrugged.
"Dobby, can you look after the triplets for a while please? I'll be in the headmaster's office if you need me, ok?"
"Yes Harry Potter, Sir, Dobby is most honoured to look after the little Potters."
"Thanks Dobby, we shouldn't be long."
***
Harry and Ginny attracted a lot of stares and whispers as they walked up to the headmaster's office - Harry rolled his eyes in boredom while Ginny giggled.
"I don't think they're too pleased." She told him.
"Who?"
"Your admirers of course." Ginny said.
"Oh. Right. Well there's not much they can do about it, is there?"
"Nope." Ginny said.
"We're here - umm...oh yeah, chocolate frogs."
"Chocolate frogs?" Ginny asked, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"The headmaster's password. Always some sort of sweet. One time I came it was cockroach cluster."
"That's weird."
"This is Dumbledore - I think that's the reason he does it. Just to be weird."
"I prefer eccentric, myself, but I suppose weird is another term that could be applied." The headmaster said thoughtfully.
"Not batty then?" Harry asked innocently. The headmaster chuckled as they walked into the office.
"That too - very good memory. I had forgotten about that."
"Forgotten about what?"
"When Fawkes arrived with the triplets on my birthday, I...umm...questioned Professor Dumbledore's sanity. Fawkes kindly told him what I had thought, and he informed me that to be headmaster, you have to be a little 'batty'." Harry explained.
"Oh. Right." Ginny said.
"So, is it true?"
"Yeah." Harry said. "We found out pretty quickly."
"May I ask how?" Harry began to explain about how they had gone about searching for the triplets' mum. He seemed quite astounded to hear that Harry and Ginny were three hundred and twenty percent compatible, but his shock didn't last long.
"How did your family take it, my dear?" He asked Ginny.
"Well, Mum and dad were secretly thrilled - Ron is over the moon, and my other brothers were all about to kill Harry for getting me pregnant. Until they heard the story, of course."
"I see. So they all knew? Good."
"Yeah, now Gred and Forge are going to do their best to try out at least a few tricks on them. Well, they were, until I put a condition on the money I gave them."
"Which was?"
"Not to use any joke product on our children."
"Ah, good thinking."
"They'd know better anyway. They've lived with me for too long to even consider trying my temper." Ginny grinned. "It's good being the youngest and only girl."
"I'm sure." Harry replied wryly.
"So, what are we to do with this revelation then?"
"What do you mean, sir?" Harry asked, looking faintly puzzled.
"Well, Miss Weasley will want to see her children, I'm sure."
"Yeah, but I can just go to Harry's room for that." Ginny said.
"Yeah, and steal my bed." Harry muttered. Ginny blushed and elbowed him.
"Harry!"
"What? He probably knew anyway, didn't you Sir?"
"Umm...well..."
"How do you do that?" Harry asked, looking intensely curious. Ginny was staring between the pair of them - they were like family, she decided, the way they bickered.
"You may find out one day, if you keep asking." The headmaster replied with a wink.
"Thanks." Harry said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Professor Dumbledore always seems to know everything the moment it happens." Harry explained, seeing Ginny's rather confused look.
"In fact, you were quite slow to find out that Ginny was the triplets' mum."
"Well, I...had my suspicions."
"I knew it." Harry said, shaking his head.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Ginny asked.
"They were only suspicions. Though when you were glaring daggers at miss Patil, I thought that it was likely that I was right. I was waiting for confirmation." He shot a look at Harry, who shrugged.
"We forgot. Anyway, Remus could've told you."
"He did, but that is quite beside the point." Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Did he tell you that he's going to be godfather? Well, one of them?"
"Naturally. He was really quite chuffed about it."
"Good. Well is there anything else?" Harry asked. Ginny thought that he sounded quite rude, but the headmaster seemed well acquainted with Harry's rather abrupt manner.
"Oh, and Harry? The memorial was very touching, I thought."
"Thanks. Let's just hope we don't need many more of them."
"Indeed." Dumbledore said.
***
Albus watched as Harry and Ginny walked out in the middle of a lively discussion. He sighed, looking at the picture of Harry with the triplets that the Nurse had given him. He could easily remember when Harry was that size, and James and Lily came into Hogwarts to show their perfect child off. Albus had thought he would never be more proud than he had been that day - it seemed that Harry had been proving his wrong ever since. No longer a child, Harry had grown into his powers, and was living up to his hero status. Now he had children of his own, and despite everything, seemed quite content. Albus smiled, wondering how long it would be before Harry started to wonder just why his headmaster seemed to follow his every single move. Maybe he already had, but he had never asked about it, or even hinted that he knew. Albus knew that he would need to tell him soon, but he was slightly wary of the young man's reaction to the bombshell that he could drop.
***
"I never knew that you and Professor Dumbledore were that close." Ginny remarked as they walked back to the dorms.
"I guess I never really noticed - he's like...I don't know, he's always been there, y'know?"
"I guess. You know that you're probably the only one who bickers with him."
"God, how boring that must be." Harry grinned. "Only kidding - no, he's just...I don't really know, he's always been the one that listened to everything that I said, been there when I had a problem - well, except fifth year, but that was...well, justifiable."
"Oh."
"I bet I'm one of the few who have ever had the nerve to trash his office, as well."
"You didn't?"
"Oh I did, it was quite annoying really, all he did was watch me. The man is impossible to rile."
"Maybe you just can't rile him - why were you destroying his office in the first place?"
"Well, Sirius had just died, and I really wasn't in the best of moods." Harry said with a small smile.
"I needed to lash out at something. I was so angry. I guess it was a good thing that I destroyed Professor Dumbledore's office, because if I hadn't, I would've destroyed Malfoy's face or something the next time I saw him."
"Oh."
"It hurt so much." Harry said, almost dreamily. "I wanted to shut everything out, to close myself off. Dumbledore said that this was my greatest strength, and I just lost it. As far as I was concerned, if part of being human was dealing with that horrific pain, then I didn't want to be human." Harry had stopped talking abruptly, staring down at the floor. "That's the one time in my life that I was seriously considering just...giving up and dying."
"What made you decide not to?"
"Dumbledore." Harry said, "He told me about the prophecy."
"Right. Well that's...strange."
"I suppose." Harry shrugged. He looked at Ginny peculiarly for a moment before shaking his head.
"C'mon, let's go and see how our children are."
"Sounds like a good idea." Ginny said.
***
Over the next few days, Harry became more and more aware of the headmaster watching him closely. He had noticed before that the headmaster had always paid attention to him perhaps more than he did to, say, Neville. Now it seemed that the headmaster was watching his every smallest move. It was a little unnerving, especially as Harry couldn't think of any reason for the extra interest.
