A/N: Long awaited, I know, but I'm back and it will be daily updates this week. Enjoy!

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"I've arranged a meeting with Rita for today." Hermione informed Harry three days later as they sat together on the floor of the nursery. It was Sunday morning and she was finally getting around to putting together the high chair. The past few days had been busy for Harry. He had met with Dumbledore twice to discuss the Goblin situation and he had agreed with Harry and Bill's assessment of the situation and had even chuckled in approval at Hermione's solution. Hermione had owled the reporter Friday and had promised to make it worth her time to meet with them. Harry was brought out of his thoughts by Hermione's voice. "She agreed to meet with us but she'll only do the story if she gets an interview from you."

"What?" Harry was appalled at the idea. "No way! She'll twist everything I say." He angrily twisted the wrench on a nut contenting the leg of the high chair to the seat.

"Not so rough or you'll break it!" Hermione instructed and he backed off. "Hand me that piece, thanks." She fitted it together and continued. "She'll write the truth or I'll spill the beans on her but I did say she only had to be nice for a year and that was over a while ago. Too bad she didn't keep it up." She stood the frame up and inserted a support beam before screwing it into place.

"She needs to be nice about Ginny and I if we are going to adopt Nicole." Harry muttered savagely. He was not about to lose her over some stupid newspaper article. He took the tray and examined it but it appeared to be pre-assembled. "Do we need to do anything to this?" He asked Hermione.

She looked up and then at the instructions. "No. Hand me the seat cover." Harry passed her the plastic padded cover. She took and slid it over the plastic seat and secured it with the ties. "Done." She smiled at Harry. "You do know that Nicole has you wrapped around her little finger, right?"

Harry chuckled. "Absolutely and I'm not sure that I would have it any other way. Thanks for your help."

"You're welcome." She seemed to study him.

"What?" He queried.

"Nothing… it's just I don't think I ever saw you as the fathering type." She told him sheepishly. "But you're quite good at it."

"Don't act so surprised." He replied as he laughed and she laughed as well. "Actually I never thought I'd be the 'fathering type', as you put it, either. I just sort of found that I enjoy it."

"Are you and Ginny going to have a lot of kids?"

"Probably and hopefully Nicole will be the first." Harry told her as he stood up. He held a hand out and helped her to her feet. "So what happens if we don't need her to print the article?"

"You mean about the Ministry's unfair treatment of Goblins or the one about your love life?" She winked at him.

"I mean what if we don't need the Goblin article printed? Will she still print the one about Ginny and I?"

"I don't know Harry. All we can hope is that we can make Minister Davies see reason."

"Fat chance." Ron said as he came into the room. "Want me to take it down?" He indicted the high chair.

"I've got it." Harry told him as he picked it up. "What time do we meet with her and where?"

"You are meeting her for lunch in an hour at a muggle café. Hopefully you'll be safe there." Hermione told him as they made their way down to the kitchen.

"We… wait, aren't you coming?" Harry looked quickly at her.

"No. It's safer if you go by yourself in disguise." Hermione informed him calmly.

"But… but… what do I tell her about the Goblins?"

"Bill and I wrote it all out for her. You just need to answer her questions about you." She grinned at him. "You'll do fine Harry!"

"Right, I'll do fine." Harry muttered darkly. "Till she asks me about how Ginny trapped me into marriage and I have to curse her."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Harry!" Rita's voice called from across the crowded café. "How simply lovely to see you!" Harry doubted that she meant it. She had started back with her slander at the end of her yearlong probation and one of her first target had been Harry. His breakup with Lisa had been on the front page of Witch Weekly and she had reported that he was incapable of keeping a steady girlfriend. It hadn't helped matters that Lisa had given her an interview where she reinforced that viewpoint. Rita's appearance had improved considerably since he had last seen her in, what he supposed, was for the better. She at least was well kempt if still somewhat repugnant. "Come and have a seat." She smiled nastily at him and indicated the empty chair.

"How did you know it was me?" He asked. He had changed his hair to brown, his eyes to blue, and he was wearing a cap to hide the scar.

"I'm a reporter Harry; I know how to spot people." She took out a muggle tape recorder. At his questioning gaze, she laughed. "I also know how to blend in! I assume you have instructions for me?"

Harry nodded and pulled out the thick envelope, handing it to her. "It does not get published unless we say so, got that? And you only print exactly what I tell you."

"Of course, Harry, of course." She said reassuringly but he didn't trust her answer. "Now, let's move onto the more interesting topic." She hit record on the recorder. "Tell me about your marriage Harry. Do you like being married?"

"Yes." He replied curtly. She had a way of getting on his nerves that no one else seemed to manage.

"What about your wife? What first attracted her to you?" Rita asked before taking a sip of her tea.

"My wife is wonderful. I love her very much. I was first attracted to…" Harry stopped to think. These questions seemed so normal and harmless… which means that the Rita was up to something. "I was first attracted to her because she is an amazing person."

Rita chuckled. "Well… that is certainly lovely." He could tell she was not being sincere. "What about her beauty? Isn't that what young men look for?"

Harry frowned slightly. "I think she is beautiful of course, but I wouldn't have fallen in love with her if that was all there was to her."

Rita's face frowned slightly. Apparently she had not liked his answer. He saw her spin an opulent ring on her finger before she asked the next question. "Why did you decide to marry so young?" She seemed to study her nails as if the question was irrelevant but Harry was not fooled for a second.

"We were ready to get married." He replied hoping desperately that it was the right answer.

It apparently was because Rita's frown deepened before she managed to force her face into a nearly genuine smile. "Don't be coy Harry! You are very young and you could have any witch in England. Why did you want to get married now? How are you sure that, Jenny is it?"

"Ginny." He glared at her.

"Right, Ginny." She said Ginny's name as if it were inconsequential. She was trying to get a rise out of him and it was working. Harry took a deep breath. "How did you know that Ginny was the right one?"

"First of all, I like being married. Second I don't much fancy dating a lot of girls, especially if they are only dating me because I'm Harry Potter. And third," he took another deep and calming breath. "Third, I know Ginny is the one because I am madly in love with her and I can't picture myself with anyone else." Harry gave her a huge smile that he hoped would irritate the old bat.

"How do you feel about the reports that she slipped you a love potion?" Rita asked quickly. She didn't show any emotions about his previous answers.

"Not possible." Harry answered her politely. He folded his hands on the table and sat back.

"Oh, so you think she would never do something like that?" An evil grin dominated her face.

"I know she wouldn't." Harry replied calmly. "But it wouldn't matter since no one could fool me with a love potion."

"That's quite an ego." Rita looked overjoyed at the fact that she finally had dirt on him.

"It's fact. Love potions work through controlling one's mind but I cannot be controlled. I have thrown off an Imperius Curse cast by Voldemort, himself" She gasped and Harry went on. "I would like to see anyone make a love potion that is stronger than that curse."

She seemed to have been shocked momentarily but quickly recovered. "I've heard reports that you have taken in an orphan. Care to comment?"

Harry's mind raced. How had she found out about Nicole? Did he want to comment? That was an easy answer. "No."

"Tell the readers what the little darling is like." Rita simpered as she leaned across the table, closer to him. "Everyone loves a family man, Harry."

Harry leaned in also so that they were almost nose-to-nose. "You will leave her out of it, Rita or you will be sorry." Harry whispered menacingly.

"Are you threatening me?" She asked and her face was gleeful at the thought.

"Print one word about her and I'll make Voldemort look like a kitten." He felt his anger towards her soar.

She studied him before she sat back and he slouched back in his seat, still seething. "I take it you care about her."

"Not a word." Harry replied. "That is nonnegotiable."

"Harry, you are an orphan yourself, it's only natural that you would take pity on the…"

Harry sat up straight and cut her off. "NO! You mention anything about her or my having taken her in and you are through." He met her eyes so that she knew he was serious.

"The most you could do is get me fired and sent to Azkaban for a few years for being an unregistered Animagus" She smirked as if she knew she had him.

"I didn't mean your career was over." He informed her evenly. "I meant that your life in England would be over."

"You don't have that kind of power." She seemed less sure of herself.

"Fancy a flutter on that?" Harry crossed his arms as he sat back and smiled.

"I…" She glared at him. "Fine. No mention of her." She drew a long breath. "Can I ask one more question?" He nodded tersely. "Are you worried about teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"No."

"Even though the post has not been filled by the same person for two years in a row this decade?"

"I've manages to do things that no one else has before. I think I'll survive."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Should we both go?" Ginny asked nervously. "I'm involved in this too."

"I suppose. I dunno if she'd be too keen on not having one of us with her." Harry replied as he looked over the letter from Lansing that had come by brown owl the next morning. "He says he has information about her and to come this morning if we're available." Mrs. Weasley had tried to take Nicole down to breakfast for them earlier but the baby had screamed for her 'Mumma' so Ginny had gone down and let Harry dress before they switched. Ginny explained that she was probably feeling insecure because of her mother's death.

"Maybe we should all go." Ginny said.

"Bring Nicole with us?" Harry hadn't thought of that.

"I think we should. You can Apparate with her and I'll Floo." Ginny told him as she turned to look at Nicole who was playing on the floor of her room. "Let me put her shoes on, grab a few toys and we'll leave."

They walked down to the kitchen and Ginny Flooed to the Ministry while Harry held on to Nicole and Apparated to the lobby. They checked in quickly with Eric the security guard before heading to the lifts. Ginny pressed the up button and they entered when a lift arrived. "Level Two." Harry told her and she pushed the button. Harry glanced nervously at the woman who had entered with them but she appeared to be engrossed in the Daily Prophet.

"Dada." Nicole told him before she giggled.

Harry smiled at her. "Yes princess?"

Ginny groaned but smiled as she shook her head. "You're going to spoil her."

Nicole kissed his cheek before resting her head against his shoulder, one finger in her mouth. Harry smiled down at his wife. "I can't help it." He leaned down and kissed Ginny tenderly.

The woman glanced up and smiled at them before turning back to her paper. Harry was grateful that she had not seemed to recognize him. The lift arrived at Level Two and they all exited. Harry directed Ginny towards the office near the Auror Headquarters. He had not noticed it the first time he had been here but he also had not been paying that close attention. They entered a small office that smelled of new paint and found Lansing sitting at a desk. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Potter! I see you have Nicole with you. Please, close the door and have a seat." He seemed faintly on edge.

"Nicole is not really comfortable with anyone but us yet so we decided to bring her along." Harry informed him as they took a seat. Nicole squirmed in his lap to look at the man but hid her face again. Harry absentmindedly ran a hand up and down her back to comfort her and Ginny reached a hand over and rested it lightly on his leg.

Lansing seemed to relax. "I have information about her family and I'm afraid it isn't entirely good. I did not find any relatives in England although I did manage to locate a second cousin in Germany who informed me that she would take Nicole if there was no one else would wanted her but she would not travel to England to get her." He studied Harry and Ginny in turn. "I am afraid that it would be nearly impossible to get her to Germany safely at this time and the cousin did not seem too happy about having to take her. Do you want to adopt her?"

Harry froze although Nicole did not. She moved out of his embrace and climbed off of his lap to dig in the bag of toys that Ginny had brought with them. "That's it?" Harry asked the man incredulously. Harry felt Ginny's hand tighten on his thigh.

"You will have to sign some forms but yes, she'll be Nicole Potter." Mr. Lansing's smile was obviously relieved.

Ginny let out a sigh of relief. "That is wonderful. Do you know when her birthday is?"

Lansing checked his notes. "Nicole Alice Cannon was born on March fourth."

"Alice… that's nice." Ginny looked at Harry before looking back at Lansing. "Can we make her name Nicole Alice Cannon Potter? I don't want her to lose her heritage."

"I agree." Harry said. "We don't want her to forget her parents."

"That will be fine. I've take the liberty of clearing out the few possessions that Mrs. Cannon had in their flat. There were some clothes, toys and lots of photo albums. I am sure Nicole will want those later." He indicated a large trunk that was on the floor in the corner of his small office.

"That's great, thank you Mr. Lansing. We were really worried that we wouldn't be able to adopt her." Harry told as he looked down lovingly at his daughter. She was looking at a book with different types of owls in it.

"We wanted this to work out. As I told you last week Mr. Potter, we have not had a child with no family willing to take them. I am not looking forward to when it does happen."

Harry looked up at the man sharply. "You expect there to be orphans?"

He sighed. "I am afraid it is inevitable. I have found a nice muggle orphanage but it is still not as good as placing the children with a family."

Harry felt Ginny take his hand and her grip was tense. "If you have any other children with no family, contact us first before you send them to an orphanage." Harry heard the steel in her voice and smiled at her. She was truly amazing. He had been wary of any child growing up without a family and she had supported what he had been thinking.

"You cannot possibly take on every child that might be orphaned." Mr. Lansing said incredulously. "Some of them may only be a few years younger than yourselves."

"My parents would take them if Harry and I could not." Ginny informed him confidently. "She has already raised seven children and she would love to have a few more." She turned to Harry and grinned. "I am just hopeful that it will not be necessary."

He seemed to consider them for a moment. "Thank you. I will be sure to contact you if we have any more children in need of a home. I also hope that it will not be needed."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Welcome to the family, Nicole Alice Conner Potter!" Mr. Weasley toasted that evening, holding up his glass of pumpkin juice. Nicole was sitting in her high chair along the middle of the table. She giggled and threw a green bean at Ron who grunted in surprise when it hit his cheek.

"I've wanted to do that a few times." George told her seriously. She looked at her new uncle and smiled.

"Don't you go telling her things like that!" Mrs. Weasley admonished.

Ginny looked at Nicole. "No throwing food love."

She shook her head seriously. "Noooo." She giggled and then threw a green bean at George, which hit him square in the face before she turned a questioning face to her mother.

Ginny had barely controlled her laughter but the rest of the table had burst out laughing. "No… throwing food at anyone." Ginny finally managed to say.

Fred finally managed to calm himself enough to speak. "She's a true Weasley."

Remus spoke with a sparkle in his eyes. "I'm afraid that she is also a Potter. James would have been showing her how to throw food long ago."

Ginny gave her daughter a kiss. "Well she'll be great at controlling all of our other children, right Bill?" She looked at her eldest brother who had started laughing.

"I hardly did any controlling." Bill informed her with a grin. "I did try, as the eldest, but Fred and George gave us a run for our money as soon as they learned to crawl and Ginny had us neatly under her thumb before she was two."

"Ah yes," Mr. Weasley chortled. "It was quite the sight to see six boys stop everything they were doing to cheer her up when she cried as a baby."

"I remember when she lost this doll… it was a fairy, I think." Ron said in mirth. "Ginny would not stop screaming about it when we couldn't find it. Finally it was located without its wings out by the paddock and Ginny got so angry that she turned our skin green." Harry was laughing at the image of all the boys completely green.

"We learned early," Fred told Harry with a wink. "Not to mess with our baby sister."

Ginny's face was tinged pink but she had a wicked grin on her face. "A lesson that has served you well."

"I hate to interrupt." Dumbledore said from the door of the kitchen, a grave expression on his face. "But I have urgent news and we have called an Order meeting to begin as soon as everyone has arrived."

Everyone stopped laughing and got up to clear the table. Harry picked up Nicole while kissing her cheek. "Come on princess. Let's got get you ready for bed." He walked over to the door, gazing at Dumbledore as they passed. The Headmaster gave nothing away but Harry saw the concern in his eyes.

When Nicole was asleep Harry and Ginny walked back down to the kitchen, hand in hand. He could feel the tension in her grip and knew that she was apprehensive about what else could have gone wrong. When they had seated themselves together Dumbledore spoke. "I have called you all here tonight because I have met with Minister Davies and with the head Goblin at Gringotts. I am afraid that the news is not good."

"What is it Albus?" McGonagall asked him softly.

Dumbledore sighed. "The Minister feels that if the Goblins were involved in the attack that they need to be punished accordingly. He will not grant leniency in order to avoid further conflict. He would only concede to lessen their sentence to a large fine if they pledged their alliance to the Ministry."

The room was silent for several seconds. "Will he try and arrest them if the Ministry receives proof that they are guilty?" Bill finally asked.

"Yes, that is his plan." Dumbledore answered seriously.

"What an idiot." Hermione blurted out. "Wizards have fought many wars with Goblins and they have proven to be a more than capable adversary!" Harry could see that she was fuming. "Now he wants to start a war with them when we are stuck in the middle of fighting Voldemort?" She crossed her arms and let out an angry breath. "He is a moron." Ron put a comforting arm around her but Harry saw him whisper something to her that made her smirk and kiss his cheek.

"I tried to point that out to him but I am afraid he would not see reason." Dumbledore looked tired. "My meeting with Grasnig early this morning did not go well either."

Bill snorted. "I can believe that. I have never met a Goblin more obsessed with gold. They day I left for Egypt he gave me a talking to about how finding treasure was more important that anything else and I think he meant that I should give my life if necessary. Complete nutter about turning a profit."

"I must disagree with you Bill. He cares deeply about two things. Grasnig also wants Goblin safety guaranteed." Dumbledore told him. "When I met with him he brought up the attack. He seemed to have guessed why I was there. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that Gringotts would continue to run as a stable financial institution. He did not want scandal or unproven accusations to scare away bank patrons but he uh… he might have hinted that he would not let his fellow Goblins be hurt under any circumstances."

"So he knew that Voldemort planned to attack?" Pru asked him.

"Yes. He admitted that he paid a large sum of gold to the Death Eaters when he was approached. In return they warned him when the attack would be but he was forbidden to tell anyone who was not a Goblin." Dumbledore informed the stunned room. "I have asked if he will continue to support Voldemort but he would only commit to keeping the peace."

"He won't be happy when he hears that Davies is going to try and throw them in jail." Harry said.

"More than that, he'll never pay the Ministry's fine even if they did promise to support us." Bill notified them.

"I think we need to persuade Grasnig to cooperate with us against Voldemort." Ginny said with a smile.

"How, precisely, are we supposed to do that Mrs. Potter?" Moody asked her in his growling voice.

"How much money do we have?" She asked Harry who looked dumbly at her.

"I'm not entirely sure. I've never really bothered to get an exact figure."

Bill gaped at him. "Harry! You don't know?"

"Know what?" Harry asked.

"You are the richest wizard in England!" Bill informed him.

Harry started to laugh. "Well, I guess that means I have some influence with the Goblins."

"Even more than that Harry, you have influence with the public. If you pull your gold out of the bank then so will others. It could cause the financial instability that the Goblins are afraid of."

"I have an idea." Ginny said. "We inform the Goblins that Harry and I will empty our vaults if they refuse to support us. That should be enough to sway them to our side."

Bill shook his head. "Grasnig will still never pay the Ministry's fine. He's too proud and obsessed with money to give it away when he probably does not feel that he did anything wrong in protecting the other Goblins." Bill's voice was edged with bitterness.

"I agree with you, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said. "They'll fight if Auror's try and arrest them which they will have to do when they do not pay the fine."

"This is a mess." Pru grumbled.

Ginny got a determined look in his eyes. "We will pay the money for the Goblins."

"I repeat… this is a mess." Pru sighed. "At least we won't need that Prophet article printed."

"Are you sure?" Mr. Weasley asked Harry and Ginny.

Harry started to laugh. "This will solve a lot of problems and ensure that fighting does not break out. That is worth some money."

"It is a lot of money, Harry." Dumbledore informed him quietly.

Harry shrugged. "Like Bill said, we're rich and it is only money."

"I will arrange a meet with you and Grasnig soon." The Headmaster informed him with a smile. "I am glad that we have a solution. Does any one have any other business?"

"Yes." Bill interjected. "Have you hired a Charms professor?"

Dumbledore looked surprised and curious. "No, Mr. Weasley, I have not. Are you interested in the position?"

Bill nodded, a scowl on his face. "I am not working for the Goblins again after what they did."

"Well then, a guess Hogwarts has a new professor." He smiled. "If there is nothing else, then we are adjourned until Thursday."

"You know," Ginny whispered in Harry's ear making him shiver. "I didn't mind being poor but I have to tell you, being rich does have its perks."

"I guess." He had turned his head towards her to reply quietly. "It certainly doesn't make you happy though."

"You are right about that." She smiled again before kissing his cheek. "I know something that would make me happy but it involves us and our bed."

Harry gulped but stood and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

A/N: I am back from my weekend and it was fun. I now have more material for Nicole… I really have the cutest goddaughter. Anyway, THANK YOU for the reviews! I got so many and was excited to see them all when I got back. It's great getting feedback. And thanks to my wonderful editor for all her help!

Nightwing 509: I liked that part too…

RyougaZell: My mom did that exact thing to me… just because I might have accidentally thrown a water balloon at my dad… in the house… she seems to think that age should have matured me but she got really irritated to learn that my dad had shot me with a water gun first… in the house.

mysticruby: I'm happy you're enjoying it. It's been fun writing it and it's nice to know others are enjoying it too.

Lourdes: I am glad it was better than I thought. I had a lot of info in this one too but I made sure there was lots of fluff and I'm pretty please. Thanks.

Kritbug: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you are enjoying it. My best friend was quite amused to learn that I was writing about her daughter (my base for Nicole) and was glad that everyone loves how cute she is (she really acts that cute).

Molz: It is quite long…. But I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Beth5572: Hope you liked it.

weselan: I was dreading that someone would notice that there were no dead Goblins… but if they did no one said anything. I wanted it to be a shock. I'm glad you liked it.

Jen: I'm glad you liked it and trust me… I'm not going to get sick of it. I will finish it… probably pretty soon. I am glad that it is original. So many times I read a story and see similar plots… I just want to have a little variety.

Gem: Thank you… I had fun with the Goblin surprise. I was sad about Fleur too but that was the way to story needed to go.

alen: I agree that the start was abrupt and the back story did not have a lot of build up for it. When I go back over it, I see that same thing.
About the good stuff… thanks! I kept developing her although more like her mother (as far as being a mother) but in her own kick-butt sort of way. Ginny is a strong and independent character and I wanted to stay true to that. I hope you weren't disappointed as you continued on with the story. I wanted to make all of the characters more family centered so Ginny did have to go that way as well but hopefully in a unique way.

Miliardo Peacecraft: I'm glad you are enjoying it and Nicole as well… Ginny getting pregnant was what everyone else does… and while I like it, I thought this would work better in the story. Thanks!

l'angelodimorte: Thanks! Hope you liked it…

Mr.Firenze: Thank you for all of your reviews! I am glad you are enjoying the story.