Chapter 8: A Time to Laugh
Harry sat on the back terrace watching the children play tag in the back garden on Saturday afternoon. Evan was chasing the girls around a cluster of tea rose bushes. Chloe would squeal with delight each time her cousin got close enough to catch her and speed off before he could. Meghan was hiding behind a statue of a stag that happened to be close to a couple other garden statues. Ronni was running around the hedge to hide from her brother. The children kept playing making sure they didn't step on any of the flowers, not that Harry would have minded.
When Harry began planning the garden, he wanted to honor those he lost that were close to him. A stag and a large dog sat next to each other. In time, a wolf would join them. They overlooked a bed of lilies. A garden fairy with hand painted green eyes sat in the center looking at the pair. Harry had debated with magical statues, but decided due to his position, he would have muggle ones. There were times he wondered if they had a little magic because it seemed that the fairy liked to flirt with the stag.
Harry felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck and lightly kiss it.
"Enjoying watching the children?" Ginny cooed in his ear. She walked around the bench he was on and sat beside him.
"Yes, I am. I have missed all of her life." Harry lamented for a moment. "But I have you both here now." He reached out and pulled her back against his chest wrapping his arms firmly around her.
Ginny looked back at her husband planting a kiss on his lips. "And we are not going anywhere."
"I have to ask about something you said this morning." He began.
"Ok, go on."
"You said that you have spent the last four years being a mother. There's nothing else that you want to do?" Harry's head rested on Ginny's shoulder as he spoke.
"No, when you made sure that I was taken care of before the war, I decided to be a mum instead of trying to find a job." She turned to look at him. "Nothing gives me as much satisfaction as watching Chloe grow up. She has been my number one priority."
"Well, if you are happy love, then I am happy. Other than my occasional duties to the Crown, I work from home. We can watch her grow up together and maybe give her some siblings." A large grin spread across his face.
Ginny's hand caressed his left thigh. "I agree there. I know that she wants a brother."
"So, you are really not opposed to more children?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Not at all. Please remember my love, I am a Weasley. We like to procreate." A wicked grin found its way to her face. "Practice does make perfect."
"And we will practice as much as possible." He whispered in her ear taking the lobe between his teeth teasing her.
"Not to change the subject, but where is Hermione living now?"
"She and the twins are living at the Burrow. Mum didn't want us to leave after the war basically. We spent the summer dealing with the pregnancies and when school started back, Dumbledore set up for us to share a suite at Hogwarts." Ginny looked at her husband knowing now why Dumbledore was so accommodating. "Hermione interned with Professor McGonagall while I completed my last year. The students and Professor Snape were directed to leave us alone for the most part. When it came time for the twins to be born, Mum came to the castle to stay with us. She was there until the end of school. Hermione and I talked about getting a place after Hogwarts, but Mum wouldn't hear it. So we have been at the Burrow ever since."
Harry took in the words and asked her a question. "How do you feel about Hermione and the twins moving here?"
"I think that it's a wonderful idea. Ronni, Evan and Chloe haven't been apart since they were born. I think that it would help all involved to keep them together."
"Ok, we can talk to her later tonight about it. The castle is big enough that she can have her library and help me with research." He smiled at his wife.
"Oh, you just want her here for her research skills." She chided him.
"Well that is a plus, but that isn't the reason and you know it." The look with the end of that statement spoke volumes.
Ginny's eyes softened. "Stop feeling guilty about Ron, but I understand." They shared another kiss.
Chloe caught sight of her parents talking together on the bench. She was very happy at finally having her father. He really seemed excited about her mum and her moving to his house. The little girl hoped that that her father would always be there. She ran to where they were on the bench.
"Hi Mummy and Daddy." Chloe leapt in to Harry and Ginny's lap. She wrapped her arms around each of their necks.
"Are you having fun playing in the garden?" Her father asked her.
"Yes. It a weally big place. Did you pwant it all?"
Harry laughed lightly. "No, Chloe. I had some help, but I see that you were playing around the statues. Do you want to know their names?"
Her eyes widened. "Thwey have names?" She jumped off her parent's laps grabbing their hands.
Harry and Ginny allowed themselves to be dragged by their daughter to the statue of the stag. Harry picked her up sitting on the statue's back.
"Yes, they have names. This big fellow is named Prongs. He is the main guardian of the garden." He looked at Ginny as a look of understanding crossed her face. Harry motioned to the large dog. "Now, you need to watch for his guy. He likes to play tricks on unsuspecting little girls. His name is Padfoot." He slid his hand into Ginny's.
"Why would Padfwoot do that?" Chloe asked innocently.
As green eyes met green eyes, Harry smiled bitter sweetly. He knew that Sirius would be ecstatic at his family. "Well, Padfoot and Prongs have been friends for a long time, but Padfoot never stopped playing pranks on people."
Ginny looked at her husband for a moment before speaking. "Chloe, Padfoot and Prongs are named for your grandfather and grand godfather. You know how Aunt Minerva can turn in to a cat?"
Chloe shook her head yes.
"Well, so could your grandfather and grand godfather. They used to be in school with Uncle Moony and would keep him company." Ginny explained.
"Chloe, would you like to meet your grandparents?" Harry asked quietly. His daughter nodded her head yes again. Harry swept her up in his arms carrying her to the dining room.
The three walked together through the house chatting about odds and ends. Different Weasley family members stopped them to ask questions, but they arrived at the dining room pretty quickly.
"Mum. Dad. are you around?" Harry asked his parent's portrait. He heard some scurrying around as they appeared.
"Yes, Harry?" James asked his son. Lily sat down in front of him.
"I wanted you to meet someone. This is Chloe. Chloe, This is your grandparents and my parents, James and Lily Potter." Harry set his daughter down and turned around a couple of the chairs from the table to face the painting. He sat down pulling Chloe in his lap. Ginny took the chair beside him.
"It's nice to meet you Chloe." Lily said smiling. "We are excited that you will be staying with us. How do you like the Keep?"
Chloe blushed softly. "It's a big pwace, but Mummy and Daddy are here. I wike it."
Her parents smiled at her comment. Ginny placed a hand on Harry's right arm.
"Chloe, later I can tell you some secrets to use on your Uncles Fred and George." James said with a hint of mischief.
"Dad!" Harry gasped. "She is only four years old. Wait a couple years before you corrupt her."
Lily raised her eyebrows at her son. "Now, Harry you know he feels that he needs to train the next generation of Marauders."
"Oh, she will have help." Ginny chuckled. "Her cousins Ronni and Evan are already playing pranks on her uncles." She tried to miss the glance between Harry and James but failed.
"Ginny, I think that you have your hands full." Lily commented thoughtfully. "Just think, seven more years and you will have owls from Hogwarts to deal with."
"Lily it was never that bad." James tried unsuccessfully to defend himself. "Ask Moony. He knows."
Chloe sat listening to the conversation between her parents and the portrait. "Uncle Moony says that Wonni and Ewan are almost as bad as the mawaders were."
"Uncle Moony?!?" James exclaimed looking at his wife quickly. "Harry, when is Remus going to come and see us?"
"Uncle Moony's coming to see us?" Chloe looked up expectantly at her father as she bounced in his lap.
"I have already invited them and they will be along in a few days. They wanted to allow us some time to get settled in." Harry explained. "Remus is Chloe's godfather. She calls him Uncle Moony."
Lily regarded her son for a moment. "What do you mean, they?"
"Remus was married to Nymphadora Tonks a few years ago. Tonks is Andromeda Black's daughter. They met through the Order." Ginny told them. "It was a nice wedding." Remembering the time they all spent at Lupin Lodge for the nuptials.
"That old dog, He married Meda's daughter." James shook his head. "Lily, remember her telling Padfoot and I off when she was head girl?"
"Yes, that was first year. You almost got the entire tower in trouble for that stunt." Ginny could hear the distain in Lily's voice.
Harry shook his head at them. He had gotten used to their baiting each other since the portrait had been hung. A big part of him would have loved to grow up with his parents, but Harry was glad he had found the portraits. It had allowed him to get to know what kind of people James and Lily Potter were.
"If you two are done reminiscing, we are having tea on the terrace. I did want to ask both of you a question though." Harry looked up at the portrait.
Lily and James looked at their son. "Go on, Harry." James said.
"I know that I hung you here for whatever reason, other than the bedrooms,' Harry looked over the top of his glasses at them. 'Would you want to be somewhere else since we don't use the dining room all the time?"
Lily brought her hand to her chin in thought. "Well, we could go into the lounge. It is the family room and the three of you will be in there more than anywhere else."
"I like that idea. Leave Grandfather and Grandmum in here so we can visit when there are guests." James spoke.
"What do you think Gin? Also, I meant to tell you if you wanted to redecorate any of the rooms, you may." He looked to his right where his wife sat.
"The house is beautiful. You did a wonderful job on it. We might want to decorate Chloe's room to suit her though. I am sure that Lily and James would be much more comfortable in the lounge."
"Ginny, if you would like, you can call us Mum and Dad as well. Lily and James or Mrs. and Mr. Potter just doesn't sound right coming from our daughter in law." She looked at the woman that had captured her son's heart.
Lily would have loved to know her in life. It took a special woman to have a Potter male fall in love and it seemed that Virginia was no exception. She looked forward to getting to know her.
"Thank you." Gin blushed lightly.
Harry looked from Ginny to his mother. "That's settled then. We will move your portrait next week. If you will excuse us, we need to get to tea."
~*~*~*~
Harry's staff had prepared the terrace for tea al fresco. The food was mostly finger food but would allow for them to get their fill until dinner later. The parents had requested that tea be filling enough for the children. They wanted to be able to enjoy a late supper as it had already been decided that everyone would stay until Sunday afternoon.
The large garden table had been set up with the many delicacies that Mrs. Weasley had spoken to the cook about. Harry had introduced the pair that morning. With the senior Weasleys moving to the Keep, he had wanted the cook and Molly to get to know one another. Harry had turned over any meal planning over to the two of them.
"I thought that we would enjoy an evening in the garden. It's a beautiful night and a little more relaxed than the formal dining room." Harry began the evening.
The family agreed with him. The large dining room was enjoyable, but the Weasleys were never a family for formality.
Harry took his wife's hand in his and spoke to the group. "After our discussion last night, I thought that we could have an evening of remembrance for Ron."
Hermione gave Harry a wary gaze. "What do you mean?"
"Well, the fun times we had back in school. I have spent the last four years remembering the end of his life, I believe it's time for me. for all of us to remember all of the good times."
The twins sat beside their wives in thought for a moment when George spoke. "I'll start. Let us go back to our seventh year. I remember not being able to play Quidditch but finally sticking it to that crow, Umbridge." Earning him a glare from his mother. "The Slytherins tried to make our youngest brother look like a fool, but our Ron kept going."
"Weasley is our King, Weasley is our King, He didn't let the Quaffle in, Weasley is our King."
George and Fred began with a flourish, the other Gryffindors that were at Hogwarts at the time joined by the second verse.
"Weasley can save anything, He never leaves a single ring, That's why Gryffindors all sing: Weasley is our King!"
The entire table was laughing at this point.
"Ron did play one hell of a final game that year. We won the Quidditch Cup." Fred commented.
Ginny looked slightly affronted. "May I remind my Quidditch obsessed brothers who caught the snitch in that game?"
"That's right! Harry was riding the pine along with us, so our darling little sister caught the snitch right from under Miss Chang's nose, if I remember correctly." George exclaimed. His sister in law Angelina was listening in on the conversation with interest.
"You know, if you three wouldn't have decided to try to kill Malfoy, you could have played. I had to deal with Kirke and Sloper. At least we had a seeker worth her salt, but she was a much better chaser the next term." She gave Ginny a nod from across the table.
"Yes, I did prefer chasing to seeking." Ginny said lost in thought.
Her husband raised an eyebrow looking at her. "But what about when the Seeker sought the Chaser?"
"Well that was something completely different. Sure took you long enough though!" Her eyes filled with laughter.
Hermione bitter sweetly laughed. "Our sixth year was a lot of fun. I still remember that argument in the common room that finally had Ron ending a fight without one of us running off."
"That would be because he wouldn't allow you to run off if I remember correctly." Harry glanced at his best friend.
"You're right. He ended that fight by kissing me and it was brilliant." Hermione spoke trying not to cry.
Ginny reached across the table to take her best friend's hand. "Hermione, remember when they proposed to us and at the time we secretly thought that they were crazy?" Hermione nodded. "Well, all four of us made the right decision that night." A small smile appeared on Gin's face.
When Ron and Harry had come to the Weasleys with their plan, the older brothers were vehemently against it. The boys were only seventeen years old and not old enough to get married, much less still in their last year of Hogwarts. The pair explained their plans in detail. They had the backing of Dumbledore and their head of house.
Professor Dumbledore understood the boys reasoning for wanting to get married. The war was looming and these four teenagers were in the thick of it. Harry would have to be the one that would defeat Voldemort, but without the support of those that loved him with out reservation, Harry would be lost. Albus knew that Ron and Hermione would go to their deaths to help Harry and Ginny would never allow her love to stand alone against Tom Riddle
Hermione sighed trying to keep the tears back. "I wouldn't trade it for the world. A few months of happiness compared to what could have been are so much better." She turned to Harry taking his left hand. "I am glad that you came home. We missed you so much."
He looked from Hermione to Ginny before he answered. "Thank you for allowing me to come home. I missed you two as well."
The rest of the Weasleys had kept silent during this exchange between three people who knew what losing Ron meant more than just losing a brother or a son. Hermione had lost the love of her life and best friend. Harry lost his first friend ever and Ginny lost her brother that was also her best friend. None of them ever claimed to understand the relationship between the four of them, but knew it had kept them sane though the final two years of war.
"Other than the night we agreed to marry you two, do you remember Ron's favorite memory?" Hermione gave a coy smile.
"Ah, yes. Malfoy the amazing bouncing ferret. Barty Couch Jr. might have tried to kill me but he gave us a lasting memory." The rest of the table laughed with Harry and Hermione. "I know another one from our second year. All I have to say is Polyjuice potion."
"That took us forever to brew and stealing the boomslang from Snape. I remember it well because I was Millicent Bulstrode's cat!" Hermione lamented.
Molly had been watching them talk about their school years but had never heard this story. "You took Polyjuice and became someone's cat?"
"Yes." Harry looked at her with understanding because he knew talking about her first year was hard. "Ginny, do you mind if we talk about that year for a moment?"
"It's fine with me, since I know what this is about."
"Ok, the whole school except for a few Gryffindors thought that I was the Heir of Slytherin all because I spoke Parseltongue. Ron, Hermione and I decided we were going to ask Malfoy who the heir was since the git acted like he knew something. Hermione being the brains of the three of us decided that Polyjuice was the only way we could get him to talk.'
'I was going to be Crabbe, Ron was going to Goyle and Hermione would be Millicent, but the brilliance of our resident genius was foiled that day. She happened to grab the wrong hairs from Miss Bulstrode's cloak. It seemed that the Slytherin owned a cat that was the same hair color. We brewed the potion in Moaning Myrtle's toilet and took it over Christmas hols. After our transformations, Hermione refused to come out of the u- bend. She sends Ron and I down to the common room to talk to Malfoy.'
'Our plan was almost destroyed by a certain Gryffindor prefect who shall remain nameless except that he and his future wife had been snogging in a classroom at the time." Harry looked down the table to Percy and Penelope who blushed.
"Well this prefect caught us in the dungeons looking for the Slytherin common room. As luck would have it, Malfoy found us and drug us to where we wanted to be. Of course we learned that Malfoy was clueless and we went back to the loo where it all began. Myrtle informs us that something went wrong with Hermione's transformation. The two of us finally coax her out of the u-bend to find that she had fur, whiskers and a tail. Ron ever the tactful one says that he liked her tail."
When Harry finished his tale, the whole table lost it. George looked at his sister in law. "See, Ron even noticed your backside then." His wife Katie playfully slapped his arm.
Hermione was grinning. "Yes, he did, but Ron didn't notice I was a girl until fourth year. It took Fleur turning him down for the Yule ball and Neville to ask me as his date to notice that one."
Fleur looked at little perplexed at this. "What do you mean Hermione? I don't remember Ron asking me to the Yule Ball."
"Oh, He did." Ginny laughed. "Like many of the Hogwarts boys he was quite taken with you. I felt bad about teasing him later." She looked at her husband. "But I didn't turn down a perfectly good date with Neville so I could go with Harry."
"So I wasn't the first Weasley to fall for you?" Bill looked to his left at Fleur.
"Oui, what can I say?" She giggled.
"Yes, Lady Potter, I seem to remember you laughing at my misfortune as well." Harry mentioned to his wife.
"Don't look at me. You knew better than to ask Cho to the ball, when at the time I would have fallen all over myself to attend the ball with you. No you, my love just asked too late." Ginny shrugged. "But something good did come out of the ball, I met Michael Corner and was the first to have a boyfriend." She smirked.
"Yes, and how many years have Michael and Cho been married now?" Percy asked from his end of the table.
Ginny was the one to answer this. "They have been married for three years now. Cho just had a baby girl named Jasmine. Cho is playing reserve seeker for the Holyhead Harpies and Michael is working the Department of Magical Transportation."
"And how do you know this?" Harry raised his eyebrow at her.
"I ran into Cho at Babbling's the other day in Diagon Alley."
"Babbling's?" Harry asked confused.
Hermione answered the question. "It's a children's store in the Alley. We buy most of the kids clothes there." She watched as Harry nodded his head in understanding.
"Once everyone is moved and settled in, we can go in to London for a day of shopping. That is if you don't mind my security staff." Harry mentioned to the two women sitting at sides.
The girls agreed that would be lovely and they would make plans for later. The group began chatting about different things. The senior Weasleys discussed where they might be traveling to, the wives talked about their children and Harry and the husbands talked to the children. It was time to forget the pain of the past and move on to a better future.
~*~*~*~
Some time later George Weasley was becoming very annoyed. He had waited very patiently for Harry to keep his promise, but seeing as how he either forgot, or was simply avoiding the subject, his curiosity finally got the best of him.
"Harry mate. I think you owe us a story." George interrupted the topic at hand.
"Do I now?" Harry said, half hoping George and the other Weasleys had forgotten about that little promise. In his heart he knew that they never would. The castle itself was a constant reminder that Harry hadn't told them everything.
Harry took a final drink of his tea and set the cup down. "Without naming the person whose life I saved, I will say that he was a close relative to the Queen. The person in question had eluded their bodyguards and was out hoping to have a good time." Harry began.
Those assembled were trying to guess the identity of the person Harry had saved. "The person walked right into the middle, literally, of an arrest. Three aurors' had surrounded a group of six Death Eaters. The aurors' had the advantage until the young man walked right into the cluster of Death Eaters. All involved immediately recognized the young man as a royal and the scum decided to use him as a bargaining chip to secure their freedom."
Harry paused to break out a visual aid. He was not using the visioneer because the Queen had requested that the event be suppressed, as did the Ministry of Magic. Using chess pieces, Harry set up the figures so that the group could see the positioning of the players. Harry then explained how after analyzing the situation, and realizing that the aurors' could not be allowed to let these six villains escape he planned his next move very carefully. He knew what he must do, he only hoped that he could accomplish it without seriously injuring the young man. Harry nonchalantly circled around the group to where he was facing the young man's back. He then ran at him and disapparated when he was fifteen feet from the young man. The Death Eaters turned to see who had apparated into the situation but found no one in sight. Harry instantly apparated right behind the young man grabbed him and knocked him, and the death eater in front of him, to the ground. Harry was using his body as a shield to protect the boy should one of the Death Eaters attack the pair from behind.
The aurors' not wasting a moment, began launching stunning spells at the disoriented fiends. The death eater that Harry knocked over when he and the royal flew forward, had recovered his bearings and was reaching for his fallen wand. Harry's move was quicker. Concealed inside his coat were several small throwing blades. Faster than the death eater could move Harry drew them from their sheathes, and launched two at the man. One blade embedded itself in the man's wand hand, the other in his other forearm. The death eater screamed bloody murder as he watched large quantities of blood exit the wounds.
Harry told his family that in truth the wounds, while bloody, were no where near as serious as the pureblood wizard seemed to think they were. He was merely in shock from being impaled by two small muggle blades.
The aurors quickly convinced the last man that between the four people present he had not chance of escaping, and that should he resist he would end up worse than his bellowing companion. This was all the incentive that he needed to surrender his wand and himself into the aurors' custody. When the man was subdued the aurors' turned their attention to Harry Potter who they did not recognize due to his disguise. MI-5 arrived and took the unknown man (Harry), and the royal into custody to sort out the matter. The aurors' had no choice but to defer jurisdiction in the matter over to the muggle authorities.
Harry spent a considerable amount of time in the local jail awaiting trial. Harry could easily have apparated out of the cell but decided he would plead his case and hope that his story would be believed. In the end his case was never brought to trial. Harry was brought before the Queen to be rewarded for saving the young royal. It was when she asked who she was rewarding that Harry removed his disguise and informed her majesty exactly who he was. He needn't have bothered, his exploits were known to her by virtue of the fact that Lord Voldemort was a threat to her kingdom, and in order to maintain their autonomy the Ministry was required to keep the Prime Minister and the Royal family appraised of any situation in the wizarding world.
"The queen decided that after everything I have done in my life, that I deserved a significant reward. She gave me a title, this castle, and a job that gives me the authority to over rule most muggle and ministry law officers." Harry explained.
Fred and George immediately got a sinister glint in their eyes.
"Forget it." Harry said.
"We didn't even say anything." Fred and George replied in unison.
"The answer is no to whatever you're planning."
The Weasleys & Potters all laughed at the glum expressions on the twins faces.
"Hermione." Ginny said once she managed to catch her breath.
"Harry and I have discussed it and we'd like you to move into the castle as well. if you would like that is." Ginny informed her sister-in-law.
"It's a lovely offer but the two of you have so much catching up to do. My twins and I would.."
"You're moving in or I'm giving away all your books." Harry insisted.
Laughter again erupted because of the absolutely priceless expression on Hermione's face at the thought of losing all of her books. When she saw Harry laughing she breathed a sigh of relief and slapped his arm.
"Please 'Mione. I want you and your family here with us." Harry asked in an almost begging tone.
Hermione graciously accepted her brother-in-laws invitation.
"Welcome home Hermione Weasley." Harry said giving the girl who he considered his sister a bear like hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm happy to be home Harry." Hermione replied kissing her brother's cheek.
~ ~The End for Now ~ ~
A/N: There will be a second story arc (beginning with Ch 9). It is not written yet and I will begin writing it before the New Year. I'd like to thank Jaquelyne for all her assistance (above and beyond the call of duty).
Harry sat on the back terrace watching the children play tag in the back garden on Saturday afternoon. Evan was chasing the girls around a cluster of tea rose bushes. Chloe would squeal with delight each time her cousin got close enough to catch her and speed off before he could. Meghan was hiding behind a statue of a stag that happened to be close to a couple other garden statues. Ronni was running around the hedge to hide from her brother. The children kept playing making sure they didn't step on any of the flowers, not that Harry would have minded.
When Harry began planning the garden, he wanted to honor those he lost that were close to him. A stag and a large dog sat next to each other. In time, a wolf would join them. They overlooked a bed of lilies. A garden fairy with hand painted green eyes sat in the center looking at the pair. Harry had debated with magical statues, but decided due to his position, he would have muggle ones. There were times he wondered if they had a little magic because it seemed that the fairy liked to flirt with the stag.
Harry felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck and lightly kiss it.
"Enjoying watching the children?" Ginny cooed in his ear. She walked around the bench he was on and sat beside him.
"Yes, I am. I have missed all of her life." Harry lamented for a moment. "But I have you both here now." He reached out and pulled her back against his chest wrapping his arms firmly around her.
Ginny looked back at her husband planting a kiss on his lips. "And we are not going anywhere."
"I have to ask about something you said this morning." He began.
"Ok, go on."
"You said that you have spent the last four years being a mother. There's nothing else that you want to do?" Harry's head rested on Ginny's shoulder as he spoke.
"No, when you made sure that I was taken care of before the war, I decided to be a mum instead of trying to find a job." She turned to look at him. "Nothing gives me as much satisfaction as watching Chloe grow up. She has been my number one priority."
"Well, if you are happy love, then I am happy. Other than my occasional duties to the Crown, I work from home. We can watch her grow up together and maybe give her some siblings." A large grin spread across his face.
Ginny's hand caressed his left thigh. "I agree there. I know that she wants a brother."
"So, you are really not opposed to more children?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Not at all. Please remember my love, I am a Weasley. We like to procreate." A wicked grin found its way to her face. "Practice does make perfect."
"And we will practice as much as possible." He whispered in her ear taking the lobe between his teeth teasing her.
"Not to change the subject, but where is Hermione living now?"
"She and the twins are living at the Burrow. Mum didn't want us to leave after the war basically. We spent the summer dealing with the pregnancies and when school started back, Dumbledore set up for us to share a suite at Hogwarts." Ginny looked at her husband knowing now why Dumbledore was so accommodating. "Hermione interned with Professor McGonagall while I completed my last year. The students and Professor Snape were directed to leave us alone for the most part. When it came time for the twins to be born, Mum came to the castle to stay with us. She was there until the end of school. Hermione and I talked about getting a place after Hogwarts, but Mum wouldn't hear it. So we have been at the Burrow ever since."
Harry took in the words and asked her a question. "How do you feel about Hermione and the twins moving here?"
"I think that it's a wonderful idea. Ronni, Evan and Chloe haven't been apart since they were born. I think that it would help all involved to keep them together."
"Ok, we can talk to her later tonight about it. The castle is big enough that she can have her library and help me with research." He smiled at his wife.
"Oh, you just want her here for her research skills." She chided him.
"Well that is a plus, but that isn't the reason and you know it." The look with the end of that statement spoke volumes.
Ginny's eyes softened. "Stop feeling guilty about Ron, but I understand." They shared another kiss.
Chloe caught sight of her parents talking together on the bench. She was very happy at finally having her father. He really seemed excited about her mum and her moving to his house. The little girl hoped that that her father would always be there. She ran to where they were on the bench.
"Hi Mummy and Daddy." Chloe leapt in to Harry and Ginny's lap. She wrapped her arms around each of their necks.
"Are you having fun playing in the garden?" Her father asked her.
"Yes. It a weally big place. Did you pwant it all?"
Harry laughed lightly. "No, Chloe. I had some help, but I see that you were playing around the statues. Do you want to know their names?"
Her eyes widened. "Thwey have names?" She jumped off her parent's laps grabbing their hands.
Harry and Ginny allowed themselves to be dragged by their daughter to the statue of the stag. Harry picked her up sitting on the statue's back.
"Yes, they have names. This big fellow is named Prongs. He is the main guardian of the garden." He looked at Ginny as a look of understanding crossed her face. Harry motioned to the large dog. "Now, you need to watch for his guy. He likes to play tricks on unsuspecting little girls. His name is Padfoot." He slid his hand into Ginny's.
"Why would Padfwoot do that?" Chloe asked innocently.
As green eyes met green eyes, Harry smiled bitter sweetly. He knew that Sirius would be ecstatic at his family. "Well, Padfoot and Prongs have been friends for a long time, but Padfoot never stopped playing pranks on people."
Ginny looked at her husband for a moment before speaking. "Chloe, Padfoot and Prongs are named for your grandfather and grand godfather. You know how Aunt Minerva can turn in to a cat?"
Chloe shook her head yes.
"Well, so could your grandfather and grand godfather. They used to be in school with Uncle Moony and would keep him company." Ginny explained.
"Chloe, would you like to meet your grandparents?" Harry asked quietly. His daughter nodded her head yes again. Harry swept her up in his arms carrying her to the dining room.
The three walked together through the house chatting about odds and ends. Different Weasley family members stopped them to ask questions, but they arrived at the dining room pretty quickly.
"Mum. Dad. are you around?" Harry asked his parent's portrait. He heard some scurrying around as they appeared.
"Yes, Harry?" James asked his son. Lily sat down in front of him.
"I wanted you to meet someone. This is Chloe. Chloe, This is your grandparents and my parents, James and Lily Potter." Harry set his daughter down and turned around a couple of the chairs from the table to face the painting. He sat down pulling Chloe in his lap. Ginny took the chair beside him.
"It's nice to meet you Chloe." Lily said smiling. "We are excited that you will be staying with us. How do you like the Keep?"
Chloe blushed softly. "It's a big pwace, but Mummy and Daddy are here. I wike it."
Her parents smiled at her comment. Ginny placed a hand on Harry's right arm.
"Chloe, later I can tell you some secrets to use on your Uncles Fred and George." James said with a hint of mischief.
"Dad!" Harry gasped. "She is only four years old. Wait a couple years before you corrupt her."
Lily raised her eyebrows at her son. "Now, Harry you know he feels that he needs to train the next generation of Marauders."
"Oh, she will have help." Ginny chuckled. "Her cousins Ronni and Evan are already playing pranks on her uncles." She tried to miss the glance between Harry and James but failed.
"Ginny, I think that you have your hands full." Lily commented thoughtfully. "Just think, seven more years and you will have owls from Hogwarts to deal with."
"Lily it was never that bad." James tried unsuccessfully to defend himself. "Ask Moony. He knows."
Chloe sat listening to the conversation between her parents and the portrait. "Uncle Moony says that Wonni and Ewan are almost as bad as the mawaders were."
"Uncle Moony?!?" James exclaimed looking at his wife quickly. "Harry, when is Remus going to come and see us?"
"Uncle Moony's coming to see us?" Chloe looked up expectantly at her father as she bounced in his lap.
"I have already invited them and they will be along in a few days. They wanted to allow us some time to get settled in." Harry explained. "Remus is Chloe's godfather. She calls him Uncle Moony."
Lily regarded her son for a moment. "What do you mean, they?"
"Remus was married to Nymphadora Tonks a few years ago. Tonks is Andromeda Black's daughter. They met through the Order." Ginny told them. "It was a nice wedding." Remembering the time they all spent at Lupin Lodge for the nuptials.
"That old dog, He married Meda's daughter." James shook his head. "Lily, remember her telling Padfoot and I off when she was head girl?"
"Yes, that was first year. You almost got the entire tower in trouble for that stunt." Ginny could hear the distain in Lily's voice.
Harry shook his head at them. He had gotten used to their baiting each other since the portrait had been hung. A big part of him would have loved to grow up with his parents, but Harry was glad he had found the portraits. It had allowed him to get to know what kind of people James and Lily Potter were.
"If you two are done reminiscing, we are having tea on the terrace. I did want to ask both of you a question though." Harry looked up at the portrait.
Lily and James looked at their son. "Go on, Harry." James said.
"I know that I hung you here for whatever reason, other than the bedrooms,' Harry looked over the top of his glasses at them. 'Would you want to be somewhere else since we don't use the dining room all the time?"
Lily brought her hand to her chin in thought. "Well, we could go into the lounge. It is the family room and the three of you will be in there more than anywhere else."
"I like that idea. Leave Grandfather and Grandmum in here so we can visit when there are guests." James spoke.
"What do you think Gin? Also, I meant to tell you if you wanted to redecorate any of the rooms, you may." He looked to his right where his wife sat.
"The house is beautiful. You did a wonderful job on it. We might want to decorate Chloe's room to suit her though. I am sure that Lily and James would be much more comfortable in the lounge."
"Ginny, if you would like, you can call us Mum and Dad as well. Lily and James or Mrs. and Mr. Potter just doesn't sound right coming from our daughter in law." She looked at the woman that had captured her son's heart.
Lily would have loved to know her in life. It took a special woman to have a Potter male fall in love and it seemed that Virginia was no exception. She looked forward to getting to know her.
"Thank you." Gin blushed lightly.
Harry looked from Ginny to his mother. "That's settled then. We will move your portrait next week. If you will excuse us, we need to get to tea."
~*~*~*~
Harry's staff had prepared the terrace for tea al fresco. The food was mostly finger food but would allow for them to get their fill until dinner later. The parents had requested that tea be filling enough for the children. They wanted to be able to enjoy a late supper as it had already been decided that everyone would stay until Sunday afternoon.
The large garden table had been set up with the many delicacies that Mrs. Weasley had spoken to the cook about. Harry had introduced the pair that morning. With the senior Weasleys moving to the Keep, he had wanted the cook and Molly to get to know one another. Harry had turned over any meal planning over to the two of them.
"I thought that we would enjoy an evening in the garden. It's a beautiful night and a little more relaxed than the formal dining room." Harry began the evening.
The family agreed with him. The large dining room was enjoyable, but the Weasleys were never a family for formality.
Harry took his wife's hand in his and spoke to the group. "After our discussion last night, I thought that we could have an evening of remembrance for Ron."
Hermione gave Harry a wary gaze. "What do you mean?"
"Well, the fun times we had back in school. I have spent the last four years remembering the end of his life, I believe it's time for me. for all of us to remember all of the good times."
The twins sat beside their wives in thought for a moment when George spoke. "I'll start. Let us go back to our seventh year. I remember not being able to play Quidditch but finally sticking it to that crow, Umbridge." Earning him a glare from his mother. "The Slytherins tried to make our youngest brother look like a fool, but our Ron kept going."
"Weasley is our King, Weasley is our King, He didn't let the Quaffle in, Weasley is our King."
George and Fred began with a flourish, the other Gryffindors that were at Hogwarts at the time joined by the second verse.
"Weasley can save anything, He never leaves a single ring, That's why Gryffindors all sing: Weasley is our King!"
The entire table was laughing at this point.
"Ron did play one hell of a final game that year. We won the Quidditch Cup." Fred commented.
Ginny looked slightly affronted. "May I remind my Quidditch obsessed brothers who caught the snitch in that game?"
"That's right! Harry was riding the pine along with us, so our darling little sister caught the snitch right from under Miss Chang's nose, if I remember correctly." George exclaimed. His sister in law Angelina was listening in on the conversation with interest.
"You know, if you three wouldn't have decided to try to kill Malfoy, you could have played. I had to deal with Kirke and Sloper. At least we had a seeker worth her salt, but she was a much better chaser the next term." She gave Ginny a nod from across the table.
"Yes, I did prefer chasing to seeking." Ginny said lost in thought.
Her husband raised an eyebrow looking at her. "But what about when the Seeker sought the Chaser?"
"Well that was something completely different. Sure took you long enough though!" Her eyes filled with laughter.
Hermione bitter sweetly laughed. "Our sixth year was a lot of fun. I still remember that argument in the common room that finally had Ron ending a fight without one of us running off."
"That would be because he wouldn't allow you to run off if I remember correctly." Harry glanced at his best friend.
"You're right. He ended that fight by kissing me and it was brilliant." Hermione spoke trying not to cry.
Ginny reached across the table to take her best friend's hand. "Hermione, remember when they proposed to us and at the time we secretly thought that they were crazy?" Hermione nodded. "Well, all four of us made the right decision that night." A small smile appeared on Gin's face.
When Ron and Harry had come to the Weasleys with their plan, the older brothers were vehemently against it. The boys were only seventeen years old and not old enough to get married, much less still in their last year of Hogwarts. The pair explained their plans in detail. They had the backing of Dumbledore and their head of house.
Professor Dumbledore understood the boys reasoning for wanting to get married. The war was looming and these four teenagers were in the thick of it. Harry would have to be the one that would defeat Voldemort, but without the support of those that loved him with out reservation, Harry would be lost. Albus knew that Ron and Hermione would go to their deaths to help Harry and Ginny would never allow her love to stand alone against Tom Riddle
Hermione sighed trying to keep the tears back. "I wouldn't trade it for the world. A few months of happiness compared to what could have been are so much better." She turned to Harry taking his left hand. "I am glad that you came home. We missed you so much."
He looked from Hermione to Ginny before he answered. "Thank you for allowing me to come home. I missed you two as well."
The rest of the Weasleys had kept silent during this exchange between three people who knew what losing Ron meant more than just losing a brother or a son. Hermione had lost the love of her life and best friend. Harry lost his first friend ever and Ginny lost her brother that was also her best friend. None of them ever claimed to understand the relationship between the four of them, but knew it had kept them sane though the final two years of war.
"Other than the night we agreed to marry you two, do you remember Ron's favorite memory?" Hermione gave a coy smile.
"Ah, yes. Malfoy the amazing bouncing ferret. Barty Couch Jr. might have tried to kill me but he gave us a lasting memory." The rest of the table laughed with Harry and Hermione. "I know another one from our second year. All I have to say is Polyjuice potion."
"That took us forever to brew and stealing the boomslang from Snape. I remember it well because I was Millicent Bulstrode's cat!" Hermione lamented.
Molly had been watching them talk about their school years but had never heard this story. "You took Polyjuice and became someone's cat?"
"Yes." Harry looked at her with understanding because he knew talking about her first year was hard. "Ginny, do you mind if we talk about that year for a moment?"
"It's fine with me, since I know what this is about."
"Ok, the whole school except for a few Gryffindors thought that I was the Heir of Slytherin all because I spoke Parseltongue. Ron, Hermione and I decided we were going to ask Malfoy who the heir was since the git acted like he knew something. Hermione being the brains of the three of us decided that Polyjuice was the only way we could get him to talk.'
'I was going to be Crabbe, Ron was going to Goyle and Hermione would be Millicent, but the brilliance of our resident genius was foiled that day. She happened to grab the wrong hairs from Miss Bulstrode's cloak. It seemed that the Slytherin owned a cat that was the same hair color. We brewed the potion in Moaning Myrtle's toilet and took it over Christmas hols. After our transformations, Hermione refused to come out of the u- bend. She sends Ron and I down to the common room to talk to Malfoy.'
'Our plan was almost destroyed by a certain Gryffindor prefect who shall remain nameless except that he and his future wife had been snogging in a classroom at the time." Harry looked down the table to Percy and Penelope who blushed.
"Well this prefect caught us in the dungeons looking for the Slytherin common room. As luck would have it, Malfoy found us and drug us to where we wanted to be. Of course we learned that Malfoy was clueless and we went back to the loo where it all began. Myrtle informs us that something went wrong with Hermione's transformation. The two of us finally coax her out of the u-bend to find that she had fur, whiskers and a tail. Ron ever the tactful one says that he liked her tail."
When Harry finished his tale, the whole table lost it. George looked at his sister in law. "See, Ron even noticed your backside then." His wife Katie playfully slapped his arm.
Hermione was grinning. "Yes, he did, but Ron didn't notice I was a girl until fourth year. It took Fleur turning him down for the Yule ball and Neville to ask me as his date to notice that one."
Fleur looked at little perplexed at this. "What do you mean Hermione? I don't remember Ron asking me to the Yule Ball."
"Oh, He did." Ginny laughed. "Like many of the Hogwarts boys he was quite taken with you. I felt bad about teasing him later." She looked at her husband. "But I didn't turn down a perfectly good date with Neville so I could go with Harry."
"So I wasn't the first Weasley to fall for you?" Bill looked to his left at Fleur.
"Oui, what can I say?" She giggled.
"Yes, Lady Potter, I seem to remember you laughing at my misfortune as well." Harry mentioned to his wife.
"Don't look at me. You knew better than to ask Cho to the ball, when at the time I would have fallen all over myself to attend the ball with you. No you, my love just asked too late." Ginny shrugged. "But something good did come out of the ball, I met Michael Corner and was the first to have a boyfriend." She smirked.
"Yes, and how many years have Michael and Cho been married now?" Percy asked from his end of the table.
Ginny was the one to answer this. "They have been married for three years now. Cho just had a baby girl named Jasmine. Cho is playing reserve seeker for the Holyhead Harpies and Michael is working the Department of Magical Transportation."
"And how do you know this?" Harry raised his eyebrow at her.
"I ran into Cho at Babbling's the other day in Diagon Alley."
"Babbling's?" Harry asked confused.
Hermione answered the question. "It's a children's store in the Alley. We buy most of the kids clothes there." She watched as Harry nodded his head in understanding.
"Once everyone is moved and settled in, we can go in to London for a day of shopping. That is if you don't mind my security staff." Harry mentioned to the two women sitting at sides.
The girls agreed that would be lovely and they would make plans for later. The group began chatting about different things. The senior Weasleys discussed where they might be traveling to, the wives talked about their children and Harry and the husbands talked to the children. It was time to forget the pain of the past and move on to a better future.
~*~*~*~
Some time later George Weasley was becoming very annoyed. He had waited very patiently for Harry to keep his promise, but seeing as how he either forgot, or was simply avoiding the subject, his curiosity finally got the best of him.
"Harry mate. I think you owe us a story." George interrupted the topic at hand.
"Do I now?" Harry said, half hoping George and the other Weasleys had forgotten about that little promise. In his heart he knew that they never would. The castle itself was a constant reminder that Harry hadn't told them everything.
Harry took a final drink of his tea and set the cup down. "Without naming the person whose life I saved, I will say that he was a close relative to the Queen. The person in question had eluded their bodyguards and was out hoping to have a good time." Harry began.
Those assembled were trying to guess the identity of the person Harry had saved. "The person walked right into the middle, literally, of an arrest. Three aurors' had surrounded a group of six Death Eaters. The aurors' had the advantage until the young man walked right into the cluster of Death Eaters. All involved immediately recognized the young man as a royal and the scum decided to use him as a bargaining chip to secure their freedom."
Harry paused to break out a visual aid. He was not using the visioneer because the Queen had requested that the event be suppressed, as did the Ministry of Magic. Using chess pieces, Harry set up the figures so that the group could see the positioning of the players. Harry then explained how after analyzing the situation, and realizing that the aurors' could not be allowed to let these six villains escape he planned his next move very carefully. He knew what he must do, he only hoped that he could accomplish it without seriously injuring the young man. Harry nonchalantly circled around the group to where he was facing the young man's back. He then ran at him and disapparated when he was fifteen feet from the young man. The Death Eaters turned to see who had apparated into the situation but found no one in sight. Harry instantly apparated right behind the young man grabbed him and knocked him, and the death eater in front of him, to the ground. Harry was using his body as a shield to protect the boy should one of the Death Eaters attack the pair from behind.
The aurors' not wasting a moment, began launching stunning spells at the disoriented fiends. The death eater that Harry knocked over when he and the royal flew forward, had recovered his bearings and was reaching for his fallen wand. Harry's move was quicker. Concealed inside his coat were several small throwing blades. Faster than the death eater could move Harry drew them from their sheathes, and launched two at the man. One blade embedded itself in the man's wand hand, the other in his other forearm. The death eater screamed bloody murder as he watched large quantities of blood exit the wounds.
Harry told his family that in truth the wounds, while bloody, were no where near as serious as the pureblood wizard seemed to think they were. He was merely in shock from being impaled by two small muggle blades.
The aurors quickly convinced the last man that between the four people present he had not chance of escaping, and that should he resist he would end up worse than his bellowing companion. This was all the incentive that he needed to surrender his wand and himself into the aurors' custody. When the man was subdued the aurors' turned their attention to Harry Potter who they did not recognize due to his disguise. MI-5 arrived and took the unknown man (Harry), and the royal into custody to sort out the matter. The aurors' had no choice but to defer jurisdiction in the matter over to the muggle authorities.
Harry spent a considerable amount of time in the local jail awaiting trial. Harry could easily have apparated out of the cell but decided he would plead his case and hope that his story would be believed. In the end his case was never brought to trial. Harry was brought before the Queen to be rewarded for saving the young royal. It was when she asked who she was rewarding that Harry removed his disguise and informed her majesty exactly who he was. He needn't have bothered, his exploits were known to her by virtue of the fact that Lord Voldemort was a threat to her kingdom, and in order to maintain their autonomy the Ministry was required to keep the Prime Minister and the Royal family appraised of any situation in the wizarding world.
"The queen decided that after everything I have done in my life, that I deserved a significant reward. She gave me a title, this castle, and a job that gives me the authority to over rule most muggle and ministry law officers." Harry explained.
Fred and George immediately got a sinister glint in their eyes.
"Forget it." Harry said.
"We didn't even say anything." Fred and George replied in unison.
"The answer is no to whatever you're planning."
The Weasleys & Potters all laughed at the glum expressions on the twins faces.
"Hermione." Ginny said once she managed to catch her breath.
"Harry and I have discussed it and we'd like you to move into the castle as well. if you would like that is." Ginny informed her sister-in-law.
"It's a lovely offer but the two of you have so much catching up to do. My twins and I would.."
"You're moving in or I'm giving away all your books." Harry insisted.
Laughter again erupted because of the absolutely priceless expression on Hermione's face at the thought of losing all of her books. When she saw Harry laughing she breathed a sigh of relief and slapped his arm.
"Please 'Mione. I want you and your family here with us." Harry asked in an almost begging tone.
Hermione graciously accepted her brother-in-laws invitation.
"Welcome home Hermione Weasley." Harry said giving the girl who he considered his sister a bear like hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm happy to be home Harry." Hermione replied kissing her brother's cheek.
~ ~The End for Now ~ ~
A/N: There will be a second story arc (beginning with Ch 9). It is not written yet and I will begin writing it before the New Year. I'd like to thank Jaquelyne for all her assistance (above and beyond the call of duty).