Disclaimer: The only thing I can lay claim to here is the plot. Everything else is courtesy of the beautiful and wise JK Rowling. ::deep sweeping bow:: Thank you, milady, for the wonderful playground you've created for us. Ok, ok, I realize there's about a snowball's chance in Hades of her actually reading this. But, on the off-chance she ever does, it couldn't hurt to propitiate her for the goddess she is.

Time to catch up:

Molly sat watching and listening to Harry telling about his time in the States, enjoying hearing it all. What she enjoyed even more was seeing how close he and Ginny had become. The two had been the best of friends for a long time now, ever since Ron and Hermione had finally acknowledged their own feelings. It was obvious that now, Harry and Ginny were much more than friends. Molly saw a host of things the couple probably didn't even realize they were doing. They almost always seemed to be touching, whether it was their hads coming together, Harry's hand on her shoulder, Ginny's hand on his leg. They finished each other's sentences, constantly looked at each other, seemed to know what each other was thinking. It was completely unconcsious, from what she could tell. It should have been uncomfortable, for a mother to witness such intimacy between her daughter and a man, but it wasn't. Rather, it felt right, as if this is what should have been, all along.

"Mum? Are you alright?" This had come from Harry. She was still getting used to him actually calling her that, and it was enough to bring her from her reverie.

"I'm fine, Harry dear. I was just thinking about something."

"Ok. Only, it seemed like you were somewhere else for a bit." He gave her a look of concern, then continued at her nod. "Anyway, Ginny decides to buy this adorable little girl an ice cream. Her mum comes to sit by me, and we start talking. It turns out, " pausing for a sip of tea, "she was a relative of the Dursleys."

There were sounds of disbelief from the Weasleys that hadn't been there. Ron's jaw dropped and he asked, "You didn't hex her right there?" This was followed by a swift kick from Hermione. "Ron!"

"No I didn't. She was really nice, and apparently, her parents brought their family over here when she was a child, while on holiday. She couldn't stand them. She said that, if it weren't for the fact that she'd been raised in a muggle neighborhood, that 'family' would have been enough to make her believe all the rubbish about half-blood, pure-blood, all of that."

"Sounds like she got a pretty accurate picture of them, mate." Ron turned to Hermione, putting his arm around her. "You know that I never believed any of that rot about blood, even before I met you." He kissed his girlfriend, briefly but tenderly. "But, I'll tell you something. If they had been the first muggles I'd ever met, I might have rethought that." He considered a moment. "In their own way, they're as bad as the Malfoys. They're about identical to 'em, just at opposite ends of it."

"Hermione?" Harry had to ask, "Where's Ron? You know the bloke, one of my best friends, red hair, emotional maturity of a teaspoon, not a big thinker, freckles?"

They all laughed at this, even Ron, though he protested that he was right there. Hermione replied, "Well, he's come along a bit. He's at least up to par with a soup ladle by now." The laughter only increased at this, with Ron rolling his eyes at having his own words tossed right back at him.

"Well, it was right after this that the most embarassing moment of the trip happened." Harry shook his head and shot his girlfriend a look. "I think it only appropriate that the one who started the whole thing explain from here."

A blush came up on Ginny's cheeks, and Hermione thought she might have an idea of what was coming. She had been along on that abortive trip to Diagon Alley, when Harry had escaped from his admirers, barely clothed.

"Fine then." She gave Harry a mock glare and a shove against his shoulder. "Well, it turns out that Anne, the woman we met, was a member of a " Her cheeks grew redder than banked coals, then. "She mentioned that a friend had bought her a membership, and a subscription."

At this, Hermione laughed outright. "A what? There's a magazine?" Ron and Molly were baffled by this, so she explained what a subscription was. They burst out in gales of laughter, amazed to discover that the club had become such an elaborate thing.

"Well, I'm glad you're all enjoying this so much." He said, just a little grumpily. "Anyway, it was the day after that, that we decided it was time to come home. We had a great time over there and all, but we just couldn't stay away from here. Nobody we could find cooks anywhere near as well as you, Mum." He chuckled, shaking his head a little. "I just couldn't subject the woman I love to my cooking one more day."

Ginny put her arm back around him and said, "You did just fine, love. Ever hear me complain about it?"

"Nope. You were just glad not to have to do the cooking yourself."

Molly, Ron and Hermione laughed at the playful arguing the two were doing. Ron turned to Hermione and shook his head, saying, "They've stolen our act, Hermione. They do this bickering thing better than we do, and they're probably more fun to watch."

Harry smirked. "Actually Ron, when you two weren't driving the whole of the tower barmy, you were pretty entertaining."

Molly pointed to the stack of parcels on the end of the table and asked, "What are those, dear?"

"Oh, just a few things I found over there, that I thought you might like." He got up and handed packages around. Ginny was surprised to recieve one, as he'd never mentioned having any other gifts for her. When he sat back down, he leaned over to Molly, and said in a quiet voice, "I haven't forgotten you. Your gift is on it's way. I'll be picking it up in Diagon Alley in a few days."

"Harry, didn't have to get me anything. The only gift I need is seeing you and my little girl happy. You two deserve happiness, if anybody does."

"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. After all you've done for me, taken me in, made me a part of a real family, taught me what love really is, I can never repay all that." Seeing that she was about to protest, he raised a hand to stay her. "I'm not going to try, either. It's just something we found while we were over there, that I thought you might be able to use." He paused, just for a moment. "Besides, you've always said that I'm a part of this family. Well, every so often, I'm going to feel the urge to buy my family a gift or two. It's not like I can't afford it, so I won't resist that urge." He grinned slyly. "I've discovered recently that it can be quite fun to follow the occasional will o'the wisp, every once in a while, when the world doesn't need saving."

Molly was flabbergasted. She'd known that Harry had changed recently, but was amazed at the extent of the change. He was actually teasing her, and joking about what he had done. He was confident, relaxed, and in quite a bit better shape, physically, than he had been in all the time she'd known him. She reflected that it would be a rather said day for single witches all over, when they discovered he was now taken, smitten with her daughter. No, not smitten. Full on, bum over teakettle, in love with Ginny.

Hermione was busily paging through her book, eager to read about all the historical sites in the book. She put it down for just a moment, to pull Harry up and wrap him in a hug. "Thank you so much! I love it. You know, we've missed you here. We were worried about you. After everything that's gone on the past few years, it's so good to see you happy."

Harry hugged her back, saying "I should be the one thanking you. You stuck by me all this time, no matter how difficult I made things. I was a right prat, at times. Too many of 'em, really. You and Ron never let me push you away. Ginny, either." He held her far enough away to look her in the eyes. "I've always been proud to consider you my sister. We may not be blood, but I love you like you were my sister." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and released her.

"I think, if you three will excuse me, I'm going to go outside for a bit. There's something I've been wanting to do, again." He kissed Ginny briefly, and disappeared upstairs, only to reappear a moment later, with his trusty Firebolt. "I'll be back in, in a little while." and headed outside. One of the world's most powerful wizards mounted his broom just outside the door, and shot into the sky, reveling in the freedom and joy that flying would always hold for him.

Ginny was looking through the photos from the trip. The rest had come over to sit around her, to take a look at them. When she got to the final few, Molly asked, "Who's the couple, dear?"

Ginny told them the story she had dragged out of him, about the young couple in the jewelry store, and what he had done for them. "You wouldn't believe what it took to get him to tell me about that. I think the reason he did that was because their story reminded him of you and Dad, Mum. That couple was trying to start out with very little, and he wanted to see that they got a proper start."

Molly had to go find a tissue after this. She looked fondly out toward the backyard. "Every time I think we've seen every side to that boy, he surprises me again." She swiped at her eyes and blew her nose. "It's incredible, really. With the upbringing he had, and the way he still turned out."

Her daughter nodded, looking thoughtful. "I think it all comes down to his upbringing, Mum. He had such a bad childhood that he's determined to see that nobody else has to go through what he did." She cocked her head at her mum. "Remember why I went over there in the first place?"

The older woman nodded. Hermione, meanwhile, said "I know you went over there to help out with something, but not any of the details."

Ginny filled them in, relating the story of little Jeanne Cooper. She told them about the parents' accident, and what had happened afterwards, including what he had done, to make sure the family was taken care of. "I think he just wanted to make sure they wouldn't have to worry about the medical bills, or the time the parents would be out of work." After reflecting a moment, she continued. "It just worried him. Maybe it hit him like that because he had been told by the Dursleys that his parents were killed in a car crash. I don't know. It was like he saw something that needed to be done, and he did it." She shrugged, and said with a smile, "It's what he does. What he's always done really."

Ron looked at Hermione with a half-smirk on his face. "You remember, love. That whole 'saving people thing' he had. Still has it, I guess."

"Ron Weasley, you know I apologized to him for that..." She stopped dead in her tracks, dropping her head a moment. "Oh, Merlin. I've done it again. Why do I always fall for it, when I know you're egging me on, on purpose?"

"Dunno, love. All I know is I enjoy it."

Molly and Ginny laughed, then turned to each other. Molly asked "Why don't we go outside for a bit? Grab a couple of glasses and the pitcher of pumpkin juice, and we'll wait for Harry to get done with his flying. He'll be up there a while, and you know how thirsty he is when he comes back down."

They all trooped outside, to enjoy the cool weather. Hermione was engrossed in her book, enjoying reading about all of the historical sites in the States. She was finding the muggle ones to be as fascinating as the magical ones. There were a lot more of each than she had ever realized. Apparently, the native peoples had mastered a much more powerful type of magic, much earlier than most other people knew.

Ron flipped through his book on Quadpot, muttering under his breath, "Bonkers, absolute nutters..." as he watched some of the moves pulled off by the players in there. He went inside for a moment, for some parchment and a quill, and started taking notes. Some of those moves could probably work for some of the players on his team. After the first few practices, the coach had seen how well Ron was able to plan strategies. Some of them had worked quite well in practice, so they were always pressing him now for more new ideas. It looked to be a good season for the Cannons.

Ginny asked, "Are the Twins coming for dinner tonight? Or has the sun started setting in the east, now?"

Molly laughed and said, "Do you have to ask? They'll be here in an hour or so. They go to the Ministry every night about six, and collect your father. He spends enough time in that office as it is. He doesn't need to spend the night, too. If somebody didn't drag him out of there, he probably would." She shook her head. "You know, I knew when we got married that he was hard working, but never thought I'd have to compete with a job as mistress." She looked up at the sky, shading her eyes. "Call him down, won't you? He's going to want to clean upm a bit before dinner, and get settled back into his room. Come to think of it though, I have a feeling sleeping arrangements will probably change soon enough." She laughed aloud at the shocked look and blush on her daughter's face. "I may not be your age, child, but I still remember what it was like to be young and in love. As long as you keep up those spells, until you two decide to make it legal, I won't interfere. Now, get him down here, so we can get started on getting ready for dinner, and have it ready when your father gets home."

Later, while the family was gathering around the tables outside, Harry caught Fred's eye and told him "We need to talk later. I have a couple of ideas I wanted to run past you." Fred nodded at him in agreement. The ideas that the silent partner came up with were almost always good ones, so he was intrigued. Both twins were gratified to see the changes in him, as well as in their sister. They had been astounded earlier, when they had arrived to see Harry teasing both Ginny and their mum. That was something they would never have expected to see before. In all but name, he was truly a member of the family, if he could be that easy and open with them. He shook his head in amazement and took a seat.

The whole family was gathered round tonight, and the Twins had even brought their girlfriends, Katie and Alicia, along. Harry had been informed by Bill that there was actually a betting pool open on which of the twins would propose first. Besides their stores, the two girls were one of the few things the family had ever seen them really serious about. They actually seemed to fawn over the two pretty witches, and everybody was convinced that this, at least, was not for show. Everybody finally had a seat at the tables when Arthur stood up, a glass in his hand.

"This is the first time in a long while, that we've had a chance to have everybody here at one time. Before we all tuck in, I'd just like to say a couple of things. First of all, to Harry, I'd like to say that I'm glad to see that you and Ginny make each other happy. Molly and I may not be your parents by blood, but we both feel as if you are our seventh son, and we wish the both of you all the happiness in the world. I know that you haven't proposed yet," with a questioning look at the couple, he received a quick shake of the head. "But we know that you two will be together a long time. It might be a bit premature, or late depending on how you look at it, but welcome to the family.

"The second thing I want to say is to our newly engaged couple, Ron and Hermione. Congratulations to you both. Hermione, I'd like to say the same to you as I did to Harry. Welcome to the family. You, like him, have always been considered a part of this family, and always will be. To commemorate this happy occasion, I'd like to restart a tradition that a friend of our family has actually been carrying on with, for a number of years now. Harry and Ginny were the ones who reminded me of it, with the stories about their trip across the pond."

He turned away from the table slightly, and pointed his wand to an area a little way from the table, and a huge fireplace appeared. It was made of brick, six feet high, five across, and four deep, made of bricks. The back of it had a parabolic curve to it, designed to capture anything thrown into it. Arthur turned to Harry and asked him, "Harry, would you do me the honor of breaking it in?"

The young wizard stood, with his own glass in his hand and said, "Yes, thank you," pausing for just a moment, "Dad." The tops of Arthur's face tinged, just a bit, at what he considered to be a compliment.

"Ron, 'Mione, along with everybody else here, I've known you two a long time, and in that time, you've been the best friends I could have ever had. You've been there for me, through everything. The Stone, the Chamber, the Tournament, the Ministry, Cho, " everybody laughed at this, even Ginny. "You two have stuck by me, through the absolute worst times anybody could ever have had, but we've had some fun along the way, too. I don't know how many times I don't think I would've found the strength to continue, without the support you've given me. Of course, the number of times I, along with everyone else in the school, were driven to madness by listening to your arguing are equally limitless." The whole group was laughing now at the looks on the couple's faces at this. "Somehow though, all this bickering has seemed to get you together, and that's all to the good. What I'd like to do now is to propose a toast to my favorite couple. It seems somehow appropriate."

He walked over to a point across from the fireplace, drained his glass, and said in a clear strong voice, "To bickering!" and flung it past the hearth. The glass was sooned joined by a veritable hailstorm of other glasses, as everybody present echoed the toast.

Once the toast was completed, everybody dug into the platters on the tale. There was roast beef with thick brown gravy, roasted chicked, broiled potatoes, vegetables of all types, homemade breads, and just about anything else you could imagine. When Molly put out a spread, it was usually memorable, and this was no exception. The conversation flew around the table, everybody asking about the trip, and the sights they had seen. At one point, Harry summoned the photos from the house.

"You know, New York is a huge city. The wizarding population is absolutely enormous. While I was there, I wanted to send some letters, so I stopped at the Owl Post. That place is gigantic. I don't think I've ever seen that many owls in one location before." He passed around the pictures of the building, holding one back. "What really brought it home to me, though, was seeing the local delivery area. I'd never really thought I'd see this many small owls in all my life, much less in one room." He tossed the last picture into the air, casting a spell as he did so. The photo of the local delivery room, with it's thousands of Scope's owls expanded, until it was ten feet across, showing all of them in their glory. The entire group gasped, but loudest of all was Ron. Harry laughed and said, "I thought you might be able to appreciate that one in particular, Ron."

Ron shot him a look of disgust. "Gee, thanks, mate. I really needed to see that. As if one little fluttering annoying bugger isn't bad enough."

The conversation moved on to other topics, as the meal progressed. Arthur leaned over to him and said, "We really do need to schedule the ceremony for you."

Harry asked, "Ceremony? What do you mean?" Then he answered his own question. "Oh, the Order of Merlin, eh?" Arthur nodded, and Harry said, "Well, if we have to do it, let's get it done as soon as possible. I'll drop by the Ministry in the morning, and we'll work it out then. There's something I've been meaning to ask you about anyway, and we can get them both done at the same time."

A while later, the young wizard caught himself yawning, and decided it was time to head in. He stood and said. "Well, everybody, it's been brilliant, but it's been a very long day for the two of us. I don't know about Ginny, but I think I'll turn in." She stood to join him, and they started to go inside. Before they went in, he turned to George and said, "I'll stop in at your shop tomorrow, after I finish at the Ministry." The twin nodded and waved Harry on his way. "See you tomorrow, mate."

Molly and Arthur followed the young couple into the house. "Harry, there's something we wanted to show you. We said that we consider you family, and we do. If you've ever needed proof of that, it's over here by the front door." Harry was curious, and followed the older couple. What he saw was the family clock, that gave the status of all the members of the family. Molly pointed toward the clock, and said, "Acclaro." At this, a new hand appeared on the clock, with his picture on it. It almost overwhelmed him. A tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek. "Thank you, Mum, Dad." He hugged them both, and he and Ginny walked upstairs, to enjoy their first night back home, in the Burrow.

That night, Harry was just grateful that silencing, as well as locking spells, could be so effective.

A/N: Just a quick note, to thank all my faithful reviewers, once again, for their kind comments. The feedback I'm gotten on this story has been incredible. I just hope you continue to enjoy it, as I enjoy writing it.