Disclaimer: These are not my people…come one now…you knew that…
A/N: And now…a word to our sponsors!
Dolphingirl79: Thanks. 79? That wouldn't by chance be the year you were born, would it? I sound crazy, but I'd really like to know.
Lourdes: A stroke of genius? Now I like the storyline too, but not that much! Thank you so much for the tremendous compliments! I just hope I don't let you down now.
Julia: I don't really think Cho would be that nasty either, but then, someone has to be the bad guy now that Voldemort's dead. Since I don't like Cho, she was elected!
GPotter: Many thanks, at least six from each of Ginny's children. Of course, I won't be telling anyone how many babies she's having until she's told Harry. It just wouldn't be fair, you know?
Sarahamanda: I can't just kick Cho out of the story! She's delusional! Where would she go?
Moonstone-Mystyk: I hope I don't disappoint you too much in your waits; I can't post from home right now.
OfTheWest: No, I never did specify, but then I never decided what she was having. Just kidding! I do know what I want to happen, but sometimes the stories don't follow the path I put them on!
Jetmcn: I'm working on more chapters! I'm only human! They say patience is a virtue, you know.
Kneh13: Thank you! And don't say poor Ginny just yet. Just picture the youngest Weasley with the famous Weasley Temper mixed with the hormones of an angry pregnant woman. Maybe we should think about saying, "Poor Cho!"
Jaquelyne: Cho can't get a clue yet! When Ginny finally gets around to standing up for what she wants, I want her revenge to be well-deserved.
Morelliscupcake: Thank you. I've seen the movie, but I haven't read the whole book. Gone With The Wind was never my favorite story. To be honest, I don't like Scarlet.
CleopatraK: Thank you! I will read your story and I'll review every chapter!
Lil H: Now, you should know I can't answer your questions. I'd be giving away the whole story! I've only just thought out the details of this chapter!
Ayarwen: I can't really control the chapter length; I just stop when it seems right. And no, I don't have a Beta reader, I just write what feels right and then I go over it for spelling and grammar. Why? Do you think I need a Beta?
Chapter Four:
Just Breathe…
Nearly five months had passed since Harry and Ginny had gotten married. They barely spoke to each other in the house. It was a lovely house. Six bedrooms, two parlors, and one of the largest kitchens Ginny had ever seen in a house. Harry had hired one of the best decorators around to finish out the house whichever way would make Ginny happy.
All things considered, Ginny really couldn't complain much about Harry's treatment of her. He had hired a housekeeper so that Ginny wouldn't feel as compelled to clean the house and hurt herself in the final stages of her pregnancy. She had a cook, who let her play in the kitchen and taught her new recipes. Harry had set up interviews with Witch-Sitters so that Ginny could find a good nanny. He put her name on his vault at Gringotts, so that if she needed anything at all she would be guaranteed access to as much of his money as she wanted. The only problem was, Harry was never there.
Ginny had stopped hiding her stomach. The mediwitch told her that it was rare to be as far along as she was with as many babies as she was carrying. Ginny still hadn't mentioned to Harry that she was indeed carrying more than one baby, but how was she to tell him when he was never home?
She stared at the nursery, the only room she hadn't let the decorator do. As a matter of fact, no one had done the nursery. It was completely empty. White walls, bare floors, and no furniture. She had fantasies about telling Harry about the babies and seeing him smile in complete elation. Then they would go together and get everything needed for the nursery. Harry would start spending more time at the house and soon, he and Ginny would be good friends and able to raise their children together.
But that wasn't going to happen so long as Harry stayed at the office every night until nearly midnight and was up so often before dawn and headed back to work. Ginny never thought that she would be jealous of the Division of Aurors, but it would appear that she was. She would just have to tell Harry, when next she saw him. She couldn't wait for a perfect moment anymore.
Harry sighed as he apparated right into his bedroom. He hadn't intended to get in Ginny's way as she prepared the house for the children. At the advice of a friend, he tried to spend as much time away as he could. He thought she looked large for her seventh month, but then, he wasn't even sure what month she was. Ginny was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She had been doing marvelously well at the whole pregnancy and house building, and everything else she had taken care of. He'd noticed that the nursery was empty, but he didn't ask questions.
Part of him wanted Ginny to wait until he came home one day and then to tell him that they were having more than one baby, and that she not only wanted his help with them, but she needed him. Harry shook his head and kicked off his shoes. He was going to find Ginny and see if she would consent to having dinner with him. Since his boss had instructed him to take off for at least three days with his wife, or he was going to find himself on a forced vacation with her until after his child had been born.
With a wry grin, he opened his door and stepped into the hall. Ginny might be fine without him, but she had him for at least three days.
"Hey, Ginny?"
Ginny gave a small startled jump. What was Harry doing here at this time of the day?
"I'm in here," she called back.
Harry popped through the door and grinned. Ginny's breath caught, she hadn't had a crush on Harry in years, but this felt startlingly similar.
"What are you doing home so early?" she asked in surprise.
"Oh, well," Harry faltered, his smile slipping a little. "I don't mean to interrupt anything, but I'm instructed to spend time with my wife for three days. I know you're probably busy, but if you can spare a few minutes for me…"
Ginny giggled, "Harry, I'm not busy at all! You've hired people to do everything for me. The only thing left to do is the nursery, and before I do that, I need to talk to you."
Harry nearly passed out. Ginny was saying all the right things.
"What did you want to talk about?"
She bit her lip, and Harry fought the impulse to hug her. He had never felt so protective of anyone, and he was sure it was because she was carrying his child.
Ginny took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not having a single baby."
It came out in a rush of breath, and Harry blinked twice before it sank in. She was obviously pregnant, so when she said she wasn't having a single baby, which had to mean she was having…
"Twins?" he choked out.
Ginny grimaced and shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut as tightly as possible. "No, triplets."
Harry didn't blink, he didn't even breathe. Triplets? Was that possible? There had only been the one time, just one time, and he had been drunk…no. Giving himself a mental slap Harry swore silently. It didn't matter that he had been drunk, and it didn't matter how many times people slept together. It was equally possible every time a woman got pregnant for her to have multiple children. Especially if there was a family history of multiple births, and there was in Ginny's family. Besides, three babies. Harry did want a large family, he had since he was ten and met Ron and his family and realized just what he'd lost when his own parents had been killed.
"Harry," Ginny was murmuring. "I'm so sorry, I meant to tell you. I was just so scared that you wouldn't want three, and with you being gone so much…"
"Not want them?" Harry echoed. "Of course I want them. I've wanted a large family ever since I met yours. As, for me being gone, well, I was just trying to stay out of your way. I was told that's what you wanted."
"Who told you that?" she laughed.
"Cho."
Ginny stared at him in shock. "Cho?"
"I know she made a scene at our reception, but she's apologized and been trying to help me get ready for the baby…er… babies."
She seethed with anger, but she couldn't let it show. Cho wasn't trying to help Harry; she was trying to seduce him! But she couldn't tell Harry that, could she?
"I wish you hadn't listened, then," Ginny said quietly. "I really needed you here. I need your input for the nursery."
Stop, she chided herself. You're going to drive him back to the office and back to her.
"I wish you had told me, Gin," he said, taking her hands. "I would have done anything you wanted. I meant it when I said I wanted you to be happy."
He wants you to be happy because you're a nice kid, and he's best friends with your brother, and you're the mother of his children. He is not now, nor will he ever be in love with you. And who wants him to be? When did I ever say I wanted Harry to be in love with me? I'm certainly not in love with him.
"So, tomorrow, you'll help me pick out some baby things for the nursery?"
"Anything you want."
Later, as Harry and Ginny sat beside a roaring green fire, discussing the few good times they had had in school, before the defeat of Voldemort, a chime echoed throughout the house.
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"That's the doorbell," Ginny answered, heaving herself to her feet.
"I can get it," he offered.
She shook her head. "No, I need to move. I'm getting so fat."
"You're not fat!" he exclaimed.
Laughing, Ginny managed a stately waddle toward the door. She opened the door to find Cho Chang standing there with a twisted sneer on her face.
"Ah, graceful as always. May I ask why Harry is living in this little hovel and not in the mansion he and his status demands?" the statuesque Asian woman asked pointedly.
"Harry and I like our house, Cho," Ginny replied weakly. She really wasn't feeling up to dealing with Cho. ""Is there a reason you've graced us with your presence? I trust you don't want to talk to me, Harry's in here."
"You are just huge," Cho observed. "You know, high class women shouldn't get too large when they're pregnant."
Ginny opened the door to the back parlor as Cho continued irritably.
"And you! Well, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were pregnant before your marriage, as large as you are."
"Well," Harry's voice filled the room, "one might think that, if they weren't aware that Ginny's having triplets."
Momentarily caught unaware, Cho glared at Ginny.
"How nice," she growled. "I guess you'll be an even bigger happier family!"
Ginny closed her eyes. "I'm going to bed. I plan on spending all day shopping tomorrow, and hopefully, you'll still be going with me, Harry."
Harry started to stop Ginny, but he looked at her tired face. "I'll just see what's going on, and then I'll head to bed too."
He was terribly confused. Cho had never come to the house before. Ginny was acting strangely. Even he had been feeling strange when he was with her earlier, talking about the children.
"What's going on, Cho? Why'd you come by so late?"
"Oh, Harry, I went by the ministry for our usual after dinner drink, and I was told that you were taking a few days with Ginny."
Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at the fire. "Finite Incantatem. She is my wife, Cho. It would look odd if I took off a few days to spend time with someone else."
"I just wanted to make sure that everyone was okay. If Ginny is having triplets, then she'd better be careful. You know, they say that multiple births are prone to come early, especially if the mother exerts herself too much. I'd start making doubly sure that Ginny doesn't do too much."
Harry frowned with his back turned. How would they explain it if the babies came earlier, but were farther along developmentally than they should be? And how was he going to keep Ginny safe?