HP Life After Hogwarts

by Cindra

Part three of my saga. Now that seventh year is done the fun begins for Harry and Hermione and the others as they start their new lives outside of the protective walls of the castle. AU/OOC/HEA story not canon by any means! (Undergoing revision)

16. Music is Magic

HP Life after Hogwarts Chapter 1

HP Life after Hogwarts

Chapter 16
Music is Magic

--

The day of the big charity event arrives and with it the usual surprises.

--

(Sanctuary)

"All in all, I'd say what we'd dreaded turned out to be a successful, all be that almost enjoyable day." Harry cuddled Hermione closer to him.

Hermione propped herself with her elbows on his chest. "I'm happy and content lying here in your arms with our girls sleeping in the nursery. Although, it wasn't too much of a trial, and enjoyable, I never want to endure that particular event again."

"I promise that you won't have to be the bride, but I can't promise that you won't be one of my sister's attendants." Harry threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her to him for a long kiss.

"That's four years from now, Wolfe. By that time the triplets, Bell, and Julie will be their flower girls and I'll be cuddling our newborn twins. I doubt that I'll be in any shape to be their attendant." Hermione reminded him between long soul-searching kisses.

"Oh yeah, our twins, how could I let that slip my mind." He grinned wickedly up at her. "I would think they would incorporate that into scheduling the wedding."

"Yes well, knowing Wills that's exactly what they'll do." Hermione was about to distract him into changing the subject when Dani's whimpers filtered into the room from the baby monitor on the nightstand. "It's time for her bottle."

Harry reluctantly let her go. "Or she wishes a certain bracelet removed from her wrist." He rolled over onto his stomach and grumbled that into his pillow.

Hermione slipped his pajama top back on and got out of bed. "It's five in the morning time for their bottle." She went to see to her daughter.

Harry, knowing that he couldn't just lie there and grumble into his pillow, pulled on the matching pajama bottoms, and went to help see to the girls. "That may be, Mione, but the other two wish to snooze a while longer." Harry checked on Ally and Mia.

:Wrist hurt Dada.: Dani grabbed at the silver bracelet with dragonflies and her name inlayed in jewels on it. She gave him her most pathetic look to play on his heartstrings.

"She's going all-out this time. She's using the pout and miserable eyes." Harry checked her wrist just in case, but there was nothing hurting her wrist. "I'll go fix her a bottle." He kissed Dani on the nose, then kissed Hermione, and vanished from the room.

:Dada wrong. Want it off.: Dani continued to grab at her wrist, as Hermione changed her diaper.

"It's not going to do you any good young lady. The bracelet is there to stay." Hermione did up the snaps on her sleeper. "It's special like Dani and her sisters. No one else has one like it in the whole world."

:Just Ally, Mia, Dani?: Dani stared up at her with intense green eyes.

"Just you, Ally, and Mia," Hermione bundled her up in her baby blanket and sat down in the rocker.

"I made three." Harry appeared beside the two of them and handed her a bottle.

"I was just telling Dani the bracelets are special and created just for them." Hermione looked up at him, as she fed Dani her bottle.

"That's right princess, and it's tailor-made for each of you. Yours is different from Ally's or Mia's, because all of you are your own individual little people." Harry took his cue and added to what she was telling Dani.

:Dani understands now. Likes sparkly.: Dani was content with their explanation about her new bracelet. :We's gots pretties like Mama.:

"That's right, sweetie. It's your first piece of jewelry, only it's more special than mine. Yours came from magic." Hermione cooed down at her.

:Dani love magic.: This made her very happy. :I's be like Mama and Dada when I's big.:

"That you will precious, but for now indulge us by taking baby steps okay." Harry touched her nose with his finger.

:Okay Dada, I try.: Dani answered sleepily.

Harry glanced over into Ally's crib; she was just beginning to fuss. "One princess down, two to go." Harry picked her up and went to change her diaper.

"This one is just about to sleep." Hermione gently burped Dani on her shoulder.

:I full now…I go sleep.: Dani drifted off to dreamland.

Hermione once again got her settled in her crib. It was just in time for Mia was starting to whimper. "Up you go angel, mama's here."

"I don't know what all those concerned couples were talking about. I think we do a smashing job with our girls and have from day one. We do not need a nanny." Harry sat down in a rocker to feed Ally her bottle.

"That's because we wish to focus on them and not on our careers or social stations. You've had more parenting in one year than I have had with my parents in a lifetime. Hogwarts was a haven for me. It was somewhere that I belonged." Hermione sat down in the other rocker to feed Mia.

"No wonder you wanted to box my ears for growling about Dad lording over me with his parental authority..." Harry felt guilty for not reading her actions all those times when he was rebelling against his father. "I could have looked using Legilimens, but then again you would have not been happy with me afterwards and cast itchy pox on me or something worse than that."

"You were dealing with having parents again, besides that was a year and so many months ago and I have never held it against you." Hermione yawned. "Although, we both had parents from second year on in Aunt Molly, Uncle Arthur, Uncle Remus, Uncle Sirius, and Uncle Albus."

"I was in my own selfish bubble, as usual considering what I was dealing with, but thanks for letting me off easy." Harry settled Ally in her crib, "Night princess we love you."

Hermione set Mia back in her crib, "You were reeling from all the emotional ups and downs. There was the loss of Ron and Luna, all those new intense feelings for me that you could barely act on, the being HBP, and then Merlin's miracle." Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and set her chin on his shoulder.

"Remind me to cook a special dinner for two for Aunt Mattie and Uncle Paddy." Harry turned around, so he was looking down into her eyes.

"So what's this special occasion that you're thinking of?" She settled her face against his shoulder loving being in his arms.

"In honor of her having raised such a beautiful young woman, who I had the great honor of calling a best friend, then soul mate, and best of all wife." Harry swept her up into his arms and carried her back to bed.

"Why Wolfe that is one of the sweetest things that I have ever heard you say." Hermione felt the same way toward the ones that had reunited her with him all those years ago. "We should throw a party for all the family who brought us together and raised us that way we can honor them all." Hermione suggested between kisses before her mind shut down and she focused on nothing but the two of them.

"I plan to honor them today, but the other sounds great too." Harry growled between kisses. "That's hours away. Let's focus on us for a few hours. I mean, who needs sleep anyway."

--

Later that morning...

"Are they up yet?" Wills and Rory sat down for breakfast.

"No not yet." James glanced up at him and wound up with baby food on his face, because Mikey slapped his hand at the spoon in his father's hand. "Nice one Mikey, but it goes into your mouth, then down into your tummy, not on Daddy's face." James fed him another spoonful of oatmeal with applesauce.

"Yum," MJ slapped his hands down onto the tray of his high chair with delight. "More please." He opened his mouth for another spoonful.

"He sure doesn't mind eating his baby food." Rory reached over to tickle Mikey's foot.

"The two of them are both good eaters," Lily was feeding Bell her breakfast.

"Junior loved everything that we fed him, so their appetite was no surprise to me." James fed Mikey the last bite from the bowl.

"He didn't like everything James; he hated creamed spinach and squash. In fact he loved throwing it in your face." Lily winked at him.

"I stand corrected and Mikey loves to do it too." James used a wet clothe to wash off his face and then Mikey's face and hands. "There you go little man all clean."

"Want down." MJ kicked his feet.

"Mikey you can wait until I've finished eating my own breakfast." James fixed himself a plate of breakfast.

"Now dada," MJ wasn't in the mood to wait for him to eat and decided that if Dani could do all kinds of fun stuff then so could he. He focused on his father's fork and to his delight it vanished.

"Uh-oh, watch out Daddy it looks like Mikey wants to spread his wings." Rory smirked.

"He's a smart little guy it was just a matter of time that he would want to try to do what Dani does." Wills paused in reading The Quibbler and looked over at Mikey.

"Mikey…No…No…" Bell scowled at her twin.

"There you go sweetie all clean." Lily washed Bell's fingers and face with a cloth and then focused on Mikey. "James maybe he did that by accident."

James once again tried to eat another fork full of eggs and it vanished. "I have to admit that trick is unique, but I also need to eat." He put his fork down, reached over to remove the tray off MJ's high chair, and picked him up in his arms. "It's into the exersaucer for you little man." He set MJ into his play center and then went back to eat.

"You should have done that to begin with." Lily set Bell in her own exersaucer. "Play in there for a bit and then we'll go for our walk."

"He's just miffed because he missed the fun yesterday." James focused on eating again, but this time all the food on the plate vanished. "If you ever wish to see the gold ball with wings again, then I would suggest that you cool it." He glared at his youngest son.

Mikey blew him a raspberry and went back to playing with his toys.

James fixed himself yet another plate of food. "I mean it Michael James no more magic."

"Yes, Michael James, enough is enough." Lily tried to keep a stern look on her face, but she had to admit this was amusing. It also made her wonder where exactly Mikey was sending the food.

"NO!" Mikey was in the mood to test his father and once again made all the foods on it vanish as well as the plate.

""Michael James Andrew enough is enough!" James was losing his patience with him.

"No like Dada!" MJ glared defiantly back at him.

"That's it Michael James. It's time-out for you." Lily no longer found this amusing. She took him out of his exersaucer, carried him into the other room, and placed him in his playpen. "You are not being nice and that isn't going to be tolerated. If we say no more it means stop!"

"WANT OUT!" MJ was so angry now that he was throwing a tantrum.

"That's just too bad because you're staying in there for a time-out!" Lily went back into the dining room to finish breakfast.

"He really is in a mood today isn't he? I wonder what brought this on." Dromi sat down for breakfast.

"I think he's feeling left out of everything." Henry sympathized with the little guy. "He's seen everyone this week except for Harry and Hermione now he's acting out about it."

--

"Would someone care to explain why we got a rude awakening this morning? Mione is trying to wash the syrup and what not from the hotcakes that suddenly appeared on her head! Not to mention the sausage, eggs, toast, bacon, and seasonings that are now all over our bed!" Harry was peeved. "Here have the plate and silverware back!" He set the tableware on the table. "The girls are sleeping in so this had better be good!"

"I was wondering where all of that food was vanishing to." Rory smothered a giggle.

"Mystery solved." Wills was also trying not to laugh, but it was hard because Harry had bits and pieces of breakfast all over him.

"Your baby brother is in a mood this morning." James was also trying not to laugh; it seemed that MJ was toasted at more than just him this morning.

"He's been making your father's breakfast vanish this morning. I put him in time-out after he made the plate vanish and then sassed James." Lily calmly sipped her tea.

"Mikey did this?" Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise. "That's not like him. He never acts out like that." He walked over to look into the other room where his baby brother was howling his protest to the world.

"You've never been too busy for the twins. It's been hectic for you this week, but he doesn't understand why you haven't paid attention to him. He's jealous of the triplets getting to experience the reception while they stayed with everyone on Avalon." Dromi surmised.

Harry knelt down in front of Bell. "Are you mad at me too?"

"I miss Har." Bell reached for him.

"It's nearly over and then I'll spend plenty of time with you two." Harry picked her up and cuddled her.

" 'romise?" She frowned.

"I promise." He kissed her nose. "The only item on my schedule is writing and I can do that during yours and the triplets sleep time."

"Love Har," Bell kissed his cheek. "You be sticky."

"Love you too, baby sister." Harry cuddled her close and then looked over at his parents. What he and Hermione had chatted about was still fresh in his mind. "I just want to say that you both are fantastic parents and that I'm lucky to have your guidance in my life. I'm sorry for all the flack that I gave you off and on last year. It was selfish and self-centered of me. I just needed to say that."

James and Lily looked at each other and then back at their oldest son. "Apology accepted son. We're flattered that you feel that way. What exactly happened in the past twenty-four hours that made you want to apologize for being a teenager, who had just come off an event that more than justified your wanting to vent on us."

"I had my eyes opened last night and this morning. Obviously, everyone expects us to hire a nanny to raise the girls, so we can focus on our social status and careers. It's expected of parents of wealthy families. I'm just happy knowing that you chose us instead and still would have, if this destiny rubbish hadn't happened." Harry answered seriously.

"Son, that's how parents should behave, but if the couple's brought up by a nanny, it's just bred in them to carry on that tradition in raising their own children. Alex and Katherine were only going by what they know. They lost out in raising Hermione, but are trying to make up for that by taking a more parental interest with the twins." Lily explained the reasons behind Hermione's upbringing. "Aunt Mattie needed to keep her mind off everything that she had lost, so we welcomed her help after you were born. Mattie was like a Nana to you and was never in any sense of the word your nanny. Hermione was fond of her as well and when she lost us on that night all those years ago, she offered to watch over Hermione for Alex and Katherine, who were on their fourth Nanny. It seemed as though Hermione didn't care for them, but she adored Mattie, so of course the two of them jumped at the chance to hire her. The result is a well-rounded young woman, who is like a granddaughter to her."

"Last night they hounded us about hiring a nanny. Hermione finally told Lord and Lady Channing where to go by letting her feelings about the matter known and it all hit home for me." Harry sighed.

"They can all hang themselves for all I care, because I plan to raise my children." Rory growled.

"If Mum hadn't died, it would have been a lot different for us. I would never have been near as wild or have done the stuff that I did like acting out against everyone." Henry agreed. "Nannies' are for parents who don't wish the joy of raising their own kids. I don't believe in them nor would I allow my kids to be brought up by one."

"Mum raised us herself and what mucked it all up was his attitude toward raising us after Mum's murder that he in fact arranged." Wills grumbled. "I am not having a nanny raise my kids and that is all there is to it."

"We're all in agreed then no nannies for us ever." Dromi frowned.

--

"Now that that's settled, I've got an unhappy little guy here who wants to see his big brother." Hermione stood in the doorway with Mikey in her arms.

They all gaped at her appearance, but said nothing.

"My hair is not behaving itself at the moment. I know that it looks horrid, but I had to use Scourgify on my hair three times to get all the stickiness out of it. The result is my old frizzy out of control hair that looks like I stuck my hand into a light socket." Hermione had a bemused look on her face as if to ask what next. "I used to think that it was bad all those years ago, but now that it's so long this is just a mess to tame. The worst of it is that I'm fresh out of Sleekeasy's Hair Potion and I need that to tame this disaster."

"You look, uh, like Diana Ross with your hair like that, but today is not the day to have an extreme hair emergency." Wills took out his mobile and dialed Beau's number.

"Mione pretty," Mikey kissed her cheek.

"Mione pretty," Bell agreed with her twin.

"Damn got his bloody voice mail." Wills glared at his phone.

"Wills, my Mione looks beautiful with whatever hairstyle she wears." Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't worry about it sweetheart it isn't that bad." He tried to keep his mind bank and his expression neutral. In the seven years they had been together not once was her hair behaving as badly as it was this morning. Her naturally curly amber brown waist length mane was having a flyaway frizz attack. Wills was correct in calling it Diana Ross like, for it was nearly identical looking to the famous Motown singer's flyaway out of control hairstyles.

"I have just the cure for such a hair emergency." Lily flashed Hermione a reassuring smile.

"See Mione, Mum has a solution to the problem." Harry saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

"I hope so Wolfe, because this hair disaster has me tempted to have Beau cut it to my shoulder blades." Hermione was not pleased with her hair.

"Sorry Mione." Mikey buried his face against her shoulder.

"Sorry? Whatever is he going on about? My hair disaster wasn't his fault." Hermione frowned at Harry in confusion.

"Mikey made Dad's breakfast keep vanishing, but he doesn't know how to make it vanish, so it landed all over us. He's toasted at us for ignoring him and Bell all week." Harry explained.

"Well then in that case apology accepted and I am sorry as well for not paying attention to both you and Bell all week." Hermione kissed his red-gold cap of fiery red hair. "I'll make it up to you I promise."

Wills managed to reach Beau. "It's a hair emergency that's why I called you so early…Who well it's Hermione…Not possible you say, well, take a look at the picture that I'm sending you."

"Wills no way are you going to take a picture of my hair like this!" Hermione made a face at him.

"Stand still for a second. Got it" He sent a snap of the hair emergency to Beau's mobile. "Beau, you still there? I thought you'd understand the problem. See you in a bit." He ended the call. "Beau says not to worry if anyone can work a miracle on your hair he can." He told Hermione and it was then that he realized that she had jinxed him with a rash. "Bad form Ducky you needed help and I got it for you."

"Mum was going to help me just fine! Now Beau has a horrible picture of me of the worst hair disaster of my life! You're lucky that I don't turn you into a ferret or worse!" She was not pleased with him.

"Hermione, he's one to talk he thinks he's going bald." Rory smirked.

"Hey, that's privileged information!" Wills narrowed his eyes at his wife. "That article in the Royal Watcher smarted a lot and it got me thinking of how the men in my family tree experience thinning hair before they are thirty."

"I caught him thanking god for allowing his hair to continue to grow back every time the sergeant growls at the two of us to go get a haircut." Henry rolled his eyes at his brother.

"I don't see how that should worry you. If you hadn't noticed, the men of the Wizarding World have a problem with going bald. And since you have that blood running through your veins, it should just skip you." Harry pointed out that to him.

"Son, we solved that problem with a simple hair tonic, just an application once every couple weeks or so cures that particular genetic flaw. I don't see either of you needing that for a longtime from now." James corrected Harry, but reassured Wills.

"See dreamboat there's nothing to worry about. You need to ignore those nasty tabloids and now that we have them leashed it shouldn't be a problem." Rory kissed Wills on his cheek.

"His hair grows faster than mine, so damn right he has nothing to worry about, as it is we have to get a regulation trim every other week."

"Now with that settled Hermione and I are going to go see if we can tame her hair before Beau gets here. MJ and Bell are going to have to be content to be around their father, because Harry needs to shower and remove the remnants of breakfast off him before the girls wake up demanding his attention." Lily got to her feet.

"We'll help Daddy while you three go do what you need to do." Dromi assured her mother.

"Yeah, we've got this covered." Rory nodded.

"I'll take MJ." Wills took Mikey from Hermione.

"Come here Bell." Rory now had Bell cuddled on her lap.

"Just a word of warning, Wolfe." Hermione arched a brow at Harry.

"What's that?"

"If the syrup doesn't come out of your hair don't use Scourgify and just wash it again. Otherwise, I won't be the only one with wild hair today."

"Don't worry angel my hair didn't get nearly as much syrup in it as yours did, so it should come out in the shower. I promise not to use Scourgify on my hair." Harry kissed her before heading off to take a shower.

--

Lily's cure worked miracles with her hair and it was once again manageable and flowing in sleek waves down her back. "I watched Beau the last time he trimmed your hair and put to memory exactly what he did just in case this emergency ever came up. I also snuck a sample of his top secret potion so I could reproduce it. Your hair should be manageable now as long as you don't use Scourgify on it again. It cleans away any potion or incantation that you might use on what you cast it on. In this case it took away the special formula that could only be removed using Scourgify." Lily intricately braided Hermione's hair into a series of rope like braids that all connected to a bun at the center of her head.

"Thanks Mum you're a lifesaver." Hermione hugged her after seeing her reflection in the mirror. "I love it."

"I'll do anything for my girls even if it means resorting to a little spying." Lily hugged her back.

"Today looks to be an enjoyable afternoon for all of us. Fred and George have developed baby earmuffs, so the little ones aren't exposed to the loud music, and that means that we can have them all with us today." Hermione smiled at her.

"That will make it easier on all of us, but what about Dani and her tendency to do magic?"

"Oh that's right. I haven't told you what those bracelets do on their wrists. It's one of the reasons Harry is so grouchy this morning. It took us off and on all morning to convince Dani the bracelet was a good idea." Hermione yawned. "Oh excuse me I didn't get much sleep…Uncle Oberon created them especially for the girls, it puts a damper on their magical abilities. She can't do any serious magic as long as she's wearing the bracelet and only one of us can remove it."

"That's brilliant and just what she needs to rein in her marauder instinct, so she can focus on being a baby." Lily decided to braid her own hair just like Hermione's. "Not that Dani or any of her sisters are babies, more like two-month-olds going on teenagers, our Dani is you and Harry combined in magic as well as intelligence."

"She did her best to try to get us to take it off, but when she found out how special it was, she was satisfactory with having it on her wrist. I believe that it is safe to say the girls will behave more like normal babies from now on. I mean as normally as a Wizarding baby, with us as their parents, and you as their grandparents can be anyway." Hermione instantly knew that her girls were awake. "Thanks a bunch Mum for the miracle of all hair cures and this glorious hairstyle." She hugged her again. "The girls are awake and even Harry can't handle all three of them at once."

"No, but they sure like to believe that they can." Lily smirked.

--

Harry had just barely stepped out of the shower when the girls told him that they were awake, wet, and hungry by crying at the top of their tiny lungs.

"Five minutes you three…Is that too much to ask of you. It took me nearly twenty to get the mess out of my hair."

He dried himself off at record speed. Pulled on his shorts and sweats, declining to pause to put his contacts back in. He blindly tripped over Crooks and Pepper, snoozing in the front of the doorway, causing him to stumble into the bedroom.

"Sorry about that, but duty calls." He glanced over at the two blurry images of the two not so happy cats.

"Yeah pups, I hear you. I'm going to tend the girls first and then put you two out."

The two playful, nearly full-grown collies playfully pounced on him. This sent him flying backwards. He stumbled over two of the toys the pups had left in the middle of the floor. His right ankle went the opposite direction, slamming against the bed causing unbearable pain to shoot up his leg.

"Be right with you ladies!" Harry ignored his severely injured ankle, vaulted to his feet, gimped over to the nightstand, put on his specs, and then gimped into the nursery.

"Sorry about that my girls, now you will have to be patient with me, because it's just me at the moment, while Mama gets her hair fixed by Grandma." He picked Ally up out of her crib. "Did Ally have a nice sleep? Let's get you into a fresh diaper and dressed for the day."

:Dada gots owie.: Dani sensed her father's distress. :Go fix Dada. We wait.:

"I'm fine, angel." He ignored the pain shooting up his leg and carried Ally over to the changing table.

:Dada fix owie.: Ally made a face at him as he changed her diaper.

"I will as soon as I get you three into fresh diapers and then fed your bottle." Harry dressed her in a pink romper and then carried her back to her crib.

:We wait you fix.: Dani glared up at her father.

"No you first, me last." Harry preformed the same task on Mia then put her into a sunny yellow Romper.

:Dada no wait. You fix.: Mia whimpered as he set her back in her crib.

"Honestly, you three I'm fine until you girls are all diapered and fed." He picked up Dani and she tried to bite him with her new teeth.

:No be fine. You fix.: She glared up at him.

"All right, you win. I'll fix my ankle." Harry set her down on the changing table, before concentrating on healing his injury, but it wasn't an easy fix. This was more than just a sprain or a twisted ankle, so that particular talent wasn't remotely useful. That factor didn't matter in the least to him; he blocked out the pain, and acted as if he was now all better. "It's all better now, so let's get you into a dry diaper, and then I'll get you three your bottles." He changed her diaper and dressed her in a turquoise blue romper.

:Dada fix owie. We wait.: Dani knew that he was lying to her.

Hermione stood in the doorway; arms folded, and not a bit pleased. "What exactly does she mean by that, Harry James?" Her ankle was hurting, but she hadn't a clue why.

:Dada gots bad owie.: Dani told her mother.

Hermione gave him the-once-over and it was then that she noticed that his ankle was severally swollen. "Harry, what in the name of Mab did you do?"

"It's nothing, Mione. Your hair looks smashing by the way. Mum truly did have a miracle cure for it." Harry was an expert at blocking out pain, so he focused on the girls and not on his injury.

"Nothing my foot! You are to sit your butt down in that rocker, while I put Dani in her crib!" Hermione scooped Dani up into her arms.

:We wait. Fix Dada.: Dani whimpered.

"Oh, I'll fix Dada." Hermione set her down in her crib then glared at Harry who hadn't done as ordered. "Don't make me use the forbidden curse on your sorry hide! I said sit!" She pointed her wand at him.

"All right, Hermione, I'll sit." Harry eyeing her warily did as ordered and sat down in the rocker. "Seriously, sweetheart, it's just a bad sprain nothing to AK me over."

Hermione ignored him and went to the wall monitor. "The girls are up, but Harry hurt his ankle, so I could use some help her in the nursery. I think he might even need St. Mungo's. Oh and the pups need to go out." She used the intercom to tell the others in the manor.

"I'll be right up with their bottles." Wills answered.

"I'll see to the pups." Henry answered after him.

"What happened?" James and Lily appeared in the nursery.

"I have yet to hear what caused his injury, as it is I had to use the threat of AK to get him to sit down." Hermione glowered at Harry.

"The girls paged me just as I was getting out of the shower. Now naturally I wasn't wearing my contacts, so I blindly headed off to tend them. I tripped over Crooks and Pepper, but managed to keep my footing. The pups were trying to get my attention about the girls and got playful. I stumbled backwards, lost my footing on one of their toys, and mucked up my ankle. The girls are priority one in my eyes, so I grabbed my specs from the nightstand, and went to take care of my girls." Harry told them the play-by-play on how he injured his ankle. "I tried to heal it, but it must be beyond that kind of healing."

"Junior, even I'd be howling in pain from an injury like that. This is exceedingly bad kid." James knelt down beside the rocker and got a good look at his ankle. "She's right Lil's this might even be St. Mungo's bad."

:We wait. Fix Dada.: Dani whimpered once more. :Dada gots bad owie. You fix.:

:Fix Dada.: Ally and Mia echoed.

"Why what little sweethearts the three of you are." Lily looked down into each of the cribs and smiled down at them. "Don't you worry little ones we're going to make him all better."

"You made your ankle worse by standing on it and then walking on it as well." Hermione was not pleased with him.

"It's just a bad sprain." Harry tried to move his right ankle around to prove his point, but it was no longer able to work in that capacity. "Then again maybe not..." He gasped as wave after wave of pain washed over him.

Wills walked into the nursery with the bottles for the girls. "What's the damage?" He took one look at Harry's foot and could not believe that he was still conscious from feeling the extreme pain the injury must be causing him. "Good lord man you messed up your ankle."

"No really you think, Wills. I thought it felt funny." Harry drawled sarcastically.

"We're off to St. Mungo's. Wills, would you please watch the girls while we're away?" Hermione growled.

"Why not Avalon? First-Grams can heal it far better than they can and she won't take any unnecessary blood samples either." Harry suggested in a hopeful tone. "Or we can always call on Master Teacher, but then again he's with Kane and Lotus in the Orient."

Lily left to go get her Healers bag and some potions to ease his suffering.

"Son, that's worse than your arm ever was." James frowned.

Lily returned with her Healers bag and potions. "Drink this and no arguments." She ordered her son.

Harry drank the potions like a good boy. "One of those was vile!" He made a face of pure disgust.

"It's not supposed to taste good. I gave you three potions one to work on healing any breaks or fractures, one to bring down the swelling, and one for pain." Lily focused on his injured ankle that in minutes shrank in size, so she could see just how damaged it was. She waved her wand over the injured area three or four times, while chanting something in the old tongue. The result was his ankle became semi-transparent, so his injury was visible to the naked eye. It was a step above a Muggle x-ray. The tendons that usually connected to his ankle had torn off his bone and broken in several places, it was clear that this was not an easy fix.

"Crikey that's amazing, Mum. I mean who needs radiation when you've got an x-ray charm instead." Wills was impressed.

"It does come in handy at times." Lily reached into her bag and took out a large jewel. "I'll page Mab." She tapped her wand on the jewel, it sang out in the old tongue, and turned almost ruby red in color.

Mab appeared next to her. "Is it one of the little ones?" She looked around to see who was in need of emergency healing.

"No Nana, it's Harry again. This time he did a number on his ankle." James pointed at Harry.

Mab looked down at his ankle and scowled. "Were we in a rush to tend the girls this morning?"

"Something like that Grams." Harry nodded. "They paged me when I was just getting out of the shower. I neglected to put on my contacts or specs, and tripped over the pups chew toy."

"Then he went and walked on it." Hermione grumbled.

"I see. While I admire your dedication to your girls, it should not hamper your ability to prevent further injury to you. Therefore, a lesson needs learned. I will mend the injury, but only in part." She began to chant in an old language, they could visibly see the tendons reattaching to the bone, but it was obvious the tendons were not fully healed. The break and fractures were also not healed completely.

"Now I shall encase your ankle in a protective wrap that will slowly fade away to nothing when your ankle has mended." She wove an intricate material from her wand that encased his foot and lower leg in an iridescent white cast like substance, so only his toes were visible. "It will not detour you from playing Quidditch, for it will become light as a feather during times that call for you to be on your broom. In cases like today however it should rein in your tendency to play with the foreign wizards and Muggle audiences."

"Thanks Nana, this saved him unnecessary tests at St. Mungo's." Lily conjured him some crutches.

Mab reached down into Dani's crib and picked her up. "Next time I will listen to your plea." She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Your actions last eve made us believe you were 'crying wolf' so you could have your bracelet removed."

:I likes sparkly. No Lie. Dada hurt.: Dani pouted.

"I will make my misjudgment up to you by spending the day with your and watching over my other flock." Mab held out her palm and one of the bottles in Wills hands flew to it. "James please tell my husband what has occurred."

"Sure Nana, I'll tell him." James vanished.

"Grams one request, can you make this cast so I can walk on it? Crutches and caring for the girls don't mix." Harry frowned at his crutches.

"You can walk on what I tended your foot with, even stand on it, but anything else wouldn't be wise." Mab arched a regal brow at him.

"All you have to do is smile, wave, and maybe entertain them with a song." Wills suggested from where he was feeding Ally her bottle. "I know you can be Hermione's volunteer and she can do the magic this time."

"Now that's a brilliant idea, Wills! I'll be the star and he can be at my mercy." Hermione grinned mischievously at him. "That nevertheless is later for now go put your foot up while we handle things here."

"Yes Harry, go prop your foot up and relax. I'll have Rory send up a breakfast tray. It's only going on eleven and the concert starts at two." Lily pointed toward the other room.

"Think of an alternate bit for the show while you're at it." Wills grinned.

"What like Mione sawing me in half?" Harry frowned.

"Maybe or the one where they stick those blades in the box, I believe they call it the zigzag illusion." Hermione smirked.

"I was thinking of you making me disappear." Harry eyed her warily.

"I could just surprise you." Hermione gave him the look.

"I'm gonna lie down and pray." Harry left the nursery on his crutches and closed the door behind him.

"I have an idea, change his appearance, do a whole book six bit, and the kids will eat it up." Wills suggested.

"Just surprise him." Lily winked at her.

"Oh I plan to. It's time to show the world that magic runs on both sides of the family." Hermione picked up Mia. "Let's get you fed. We've got a big day today." She conjured another rocker and sat down to feed Mia.

--

Later that morning in the Study

"No way in hell are you broken! We've got matches on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!" Draco, Ron, and Logan glared at Harry.

"Its fine. My ankle's fucked not my arm." Harry had figured that they weren't gonna be happy about his injured ankle.

"That has to hamper with your weight and speed on the broom, so no it ain't fine." Logan scowled.

"First-Grams has it all worked out. Its featherlight during matches, so getting the snitch will be no problem." Harry went back to reading the days line-up for the Music is Magic, first annual charity event. "You three gonna sit and watch today or play along?" He looked up at them.

"Us sit and watch? Did ya hit your bloomin' head as well this morning?" Ron rolled his eyes at him.

"Hey, I was just asking a logical question, so don't bite my head off for it."

"Why ask what you already bloody well know?"

"Because wise ass, none of you told Wills that you wished to join in when he asked you about it in August, so you're not in the line-up!"

"Fix it then! We're not sitting on our hands while everyone else is having all the fun!" Draco wasn't happy either.

"There is this block here, after Clay performs again, maybe that's for you." Harry held up the line-up so the three of them could see it.

"That's the slacker section for those who were too lazy to give me a yes or no answer." Wills growled from the doorway of the den. "Hogwarts dress gents. This is a fancy dress event." He didn't like the jeans and Music is Magic sweatshirts that they were all wearing.

"Are you sure about that, Wills? The movies and ours are very different. I don't think that's it's a good idea."

"You've got to be pulling my leg right? You're Harry Potter. Therefore, that's who you will be, and if yours varies from the movies, well, all the better for it." Wills stared at him in disbelief. "Daniel and Emma are wearing Yule Ball clothing, since GOF premieres tonight after the concert/magic extravaganza."

"Boy did they get those costumes wrong in that movie." Draco smirked.

"The cast is what's off mate. Ginny well no offense, but my Sis was nothing like that fourth year, and they didn't hit the mark when it came to getting someone with her likeness. Krum is nowhere near that build, Cedric is a 'golden boy' not dark blonde, Fleur they didn't even come close, and Moody looks, well, he'll pass. Voldemort seems dead on, but then I'm not Harry so I wasn't there. Crouch Sr. I would say bull's-eye. Bill and Charlie not even close except for the hair color. Crouch Jr. again wasn't there. Though your dad should take offence the bloke playing him looks a little too much like him. Karkaroff is way more intimidating. Olympe well what can you do. Cho dead on and the same for Rita and Bozo, only he's skinnier." Ron went down the list of new characters in the movie.

"Beauxbaton is not an all girl's school, neither is Durmstrang an all boy's school, but then they left out Hermione's pet project completely. That in my opinion throws the whole movie off." Harry added his twopence. "With no Winky and no house elves it doesn't mesh right."

Hermione, dressed in her Hogwarts finest, knocked on the doorframe. "You boys do know that it's a fancy dress event don't you." She frowned at Ron, Draco, Harry, and Logan.

"I'm aware of that my angel." Harry only had to think of what he wished to wear, changed to his Hogwarts Uniform.

Ron and Draco followed suit.

"Is that better my heart?" Harry smiled at her.

"Logan you can be a Gryffindor as well, if it will make you feel more at ease." Hermione suggested.

Logan had already thought of that and dressed identically to them. "I should have always been a Gryffindor. It's my birthright."

"You would have graduated when we were in fourth year, now that would have been interesting." Draco grinned.

"Wills what are you going as?" Ron inquired.

"Rory and Dromi are dressing as fairy princesses, so I would think that you and Henry are going as their princes." Hermione arched a brow at him.

"That is the plan, Ducky. Now if you will all excuse me I have to go get ready." He started to leave the study, but Hermione had something else in mind.

"Nonsense, just do a quick change and be done with it." Hermione dared him without adding the word dare.

"You can do a quick change can you not?" Draco challenged with his tone.

"Yes, Draco, I can. It just seems so lazy to me. I can understand using it when you're in a rush, but all the time seems lazy to me." Wills was now in Sapphire Wizarding Dueling armor. The detail that made it prince like was the coat of arms on the front, the sword, and the crown. "Convenient as all get out, but still lazy."

"The Wizarding World is lazy. That's what makes it enjoyable to live in." Ron pointed out. "We've simplified everyday chores and duties so we can focus on more important things like family."

"We've been waging a war and are now at peace. I think we have a right to be lazy if we want to." Harry growled.

--

Music is Magic in Hyde Park.

Those with tickets were already setting up their assigned canopied areas' to their liking. It was a family oriented event, so they even had a play area for the kids, and goodies and toys for them to play with as well. The theme for the whole event was a picnic in the park, so everyone was invited to bring a picnic with them. The result was a colorful, safe, fun setting in which to enjoy the main event on the beautiful Indian summer day.

The Wizarding guests as well as the Pendragon family and friends set up across from the Muggles, but to anyone watching they appeared just as normal as the everyday Muggle. They dressed as they normally would and no one was any the wiser.

Fred and Katie, George and Trista, and Lee and Angelina had set up shop near the entrance with Muggle souvenirs and Muggle friendly magic tricks. The WWW tent was the highlight of gaining entry and packed with Muggle and Wizarding alike.

The cast of Goblet of Fire was sitting in a tent-covered area signing autographs for the fans. Jo had her own tent area and was signing autographs as well.

Backstage while the Muggle World's magical elite fretted and triple checked illusions. The Wizarding Worlds elite casually chatted with their counterparts. The musical talent warmed up in the backstage area. Clay and Josh were the main event, but there were other musical talent as well, some of whom were Daniel's favorite bands.

"It's a shame that you busted your ankle, your highness. We had a few surprises of our own to try on you this time round." Copperfield being of their world was able to figure out how to gain entry into the Royal families' private tent.

"Sorry to disappoint the lot of you, but I'm at my Mione's mercy tonight. I'm sure she'll more than match your surprises." Harry glanced up from where he was helping Mikey stand up and not fall back down onto the ultraplush carpet under his feet. "That's it baby brother balance first then focus on walking second.

MJ was using Harry's left crutch to balance himself, by holding onto the side of it with his tiny hand. "I did it." He clapped his hands happily and lost his balance.

Harry with a motion of his hand kept him from falling over onto his face; instead he was gently persuaded back to holding onto the side of the crutch. "Easy there champ. You're not ready to try it solo yet." Harry cautioned the little guy.

"Iz can. I can." Mikey pouted.

"Izzy doesn't get frustrated and throw a fit if she doesn't master something right off." Harry glanced over at Izzy trying to take her first step with Hermione and his parents beside her.

"Draco are you getting all of this?" James glanced over at his son.

"We've got it covered Dad. I've got my recorder on Izzy and Gin's got hers on Mikey." Draco grinned.

"Mikey ignore Bell and focus on me." Gin tried to get MJ's attention away from Bell.

Mikey let go of the crutch, on wobbly unsure legs, but still standing. He had a determined look on his face. "I do it." He stomped his tiny trainered foot, but didn't falter. "Dada! I do it!"

James walked over beside him. "Way to go champ. I am so proud of you." He praised him. "Give me your hands and we'll try a step or two."

Mikey reached up and took his fathers hands. "I do first."

Bell sat down to watch her twin. "Good Mikey." She had crawled first, so she was willing to give him this honor.

"That's sweet of you to let him have this one." Lily scooped her up and went to sit a few steps in front of her son and James. "Come to Mama little man." She called to him.

"I do first." He tentatively took his first step, then another, until six steps later he cuddled in his mums lap next to his twin.

"Good Mikey." Bell kissed his cheek.

"I do it!" Mikey was one happy seven-month-old.

"Good job Mikey." Everyone beamed at him.

They had forgotten that Copperfield was even there.

"Don't any of you ever get nervous?" Copperfield frowned.

"No not really, you see after Voldemort this is nothing. I prefer to focus on the positive and not the negative. Magic is like breathing air to most of us. There are no special sets, slides of hands, or optical illusions to worry about not going off without a hitch, because ours is real not invented for an audience to enjoy. This uniform symbolizes that we were trained by the best of the best. It means something and it's an honor to wear it, because where I come from we care about upholding tradition, not exploiting it..." Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "Or how much dosh someone can make, by tweaking my life into a farce for her new book... Any magic you see from us is very real. Just like the last time we met. I'm completely sober, so it will be even more real and I will be with my wife and you never know the rest the marauders could make an appearance."

"Well-said Harry well said indeed." Albus had Dani cuddled in his arms. "So, you must be the American Wizard Copperfield. I'm..."

"Albus Dumbledore, it is an honor to meet you." Copperfield was nearly on the verge of bowing at his feet.

"Oh, no need for any of that, Mr. Copperfield. I would like to thank you for providing a few hours of stress free enjoyment for my nephew, last March thirty-first. The Granger Twins and their friends otherwise occupied me. They were trying to take a baby dragon for a walk and still try it whenever my back is turned." Albus smiled warmly. "I dare say that they might just be even more devious than Fred and George and they are only in their second year."

"What do you expect when Bastion and Bree happen to be as bright as their older sister? They wish to prove themselves as equals, as well as make their own mark at Hogwarts." Merlin came out of the room behind Albus with Ally cuddled in his arms. "Just as these little ones will when the time comes," He narrowed his eyes at Copperfield. "Sellouts are not welcome here. Go back to the area with the other charlatans."

"Merlin that was harsh of you to say to him. They don't see matters in America as we do here where magic was born. It is no wonder that many of their kind turn to using magic for wealth, as well as fame and power." Albus chided him.

"Nonsense, wealth and power cannot bring happiness; it only complicates ones life if that is all one seeks. They shun those who love them in to uphold even greater wealth, fame, and power in their pathetic lives." Mab added her take on the matter. "You miss the important things like having little ones on your own to nurture, love, and carry on your legacy for generations to come." She cuddled Mia closer to her. "In the end all you have with is a life filled with loneliness, regret, and sorrow.

"All the money in the world can't ever replace that in your life." Hermione agreed.

"No, all you become is a lonely aging man with a legacy and no one to share it with. Because you're so paranoid that anyone close to you will steal or expose your secrets, and that all you've strived for will fall down around you." Copperfield stated bitterly. "In the end your loved ones do not expose you its members of your own craft."

"We all make choices the hardest pill to swallow is living with the choices that you've made." James sighed.

"Merlin and I know that all too well." Mab agreed

"That we do my love." Merlin sighed.

"Yes well, I've got to finish preparing for my parts. This has been a eye-opening experience for me." Copperfield left the tent.

"He's known as one of the greatest magicians and illusionists of his time, but at what cost." Hermione felt sorry for him.

"That is the price some pay for seeking wealth and power. It is a bitter pill to swallow when someone throws ones failures in their faces." Albus knew how it felt to be alone and didn't wish that fate on anyone. "With power comes great responsibility, for some that is a lonely road that becomes like an endless span of time."

"Thankfully for us we now have our families back under our wings to keep us faraway from that path." Merlin cuddled his granddaughter close.

"Quite right old friend, and many generations to enjoy, teach, love, and nurture ahead of us." Albus chuckled when Dani tugged on his snowy white beard. "Yes Danielle, I was referring to your sisters, cousins, aunt, uncle, and you."

--

An hour later they had the little ones safely tucked away in the tent with a disillusion and Imperturbable charm cast on it. No Muggle could accidentally enter the tent, and shielded them from the noise that came with such an event.

Daniel's dream came true when several of his favorite bands let him jam with them.

It wasn't until after a short break that Harry found himself sharing center-stage with Hermione, Ron, Luna, Draco, and Ginny on a set that was a near replica of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Have a seat mate. You can sit back and watch how we pros do magic." Ron pointed to the familiar red chair in front of the lifelike fireplace.

"Do any of you see any professional wizards up here onstage?" Harry grinned at the audience, who laughed in response, some of them pointed or shouted out their names. "No? Didn't think so."

"Cheeky mate that was really cheeky of you." Ron once again pointed at the chair with his wand, but this time it moved on its own accord, so it was now right behind Harry. "I said sit down and take a load off." Ron made another motion, so the chair nudged Harry on the back of his legs, which forced him to sit down. "Now you were saying mate?" Ron was now grinning smugly at him and then at the audience.

"That's nothing to be smug about." Draco rolled his eyes at him. "Try something a little more complex like this." Draco pointed his wand at Harry and incased him in a giant bubble.

"Oh honestly, it's as if you boys have no imagination whatsoever!" Ginny shook her head in disgust. "Think of something more entertaining like this." The bubble vanished and Harry was now dangling upside-down by his good ankle in midair.

The audience was awed by what they were witnessing and couldn't take their eyes off the stage for fear that if they did they would miss something. The six of them were performing some of the magic that Jo wrote about in her famous books, only without uttering a single spell aloud.

"Oh, thanks a lot Gin!" Harry crossed his arms in front of him, as if not to happy with her. "I know that you're cheesed off about our hot and heavy romance in the book, but breaking my other leg is not the right way to go!"

"He does make a point, Gin." Hermione frowned at Ginny and then at the audience. "He isn't the one who wrote that bit of trivial and utter fantasy..." She paused and pointed over at where Jo and her family were sitting. "Our good friend Jo was." Hermione pointed her wand at Harry and he was once again sitting in the chair.

"Mental note never mention this subject again..." Harry winced when his injured ankle banged against the chair. "My life may just depend on it."

"Why chew on such a gloomy subject, when there's a rainbow of joys in our lives to celebrate!" Luna happily conjured a Rainbow that arched across the stage. This had the audience cheering and clapping in approval. "You have Harry, Ginny has Draco, and I have my Ronnie. We don't need a silly book to tell us otherwise."

"I know that moonflower, but it smarts all the same since countless millions read her yarn as if it were the gospel truth." Ron conjured a garland of morning glories for her hair.

"You have nothing to complain about. I'm the one who's trying to kill my uncle in it." Draco scowled. "The only monumental event in my sixth year was catching the eye of my future bride." Draco conjured some wisteria to woo her back to a better mood. "And how can I forget the mother of our unborn son."

"Have I taught you gents nothing?" Harry used his wand to shower Hermione with colorful roses and rose petals out of thin air. "That mate's is how one makes their better half smile." He grinned.

"Yes well, as much as I adore your roses. This is not flashy enough for me." Hermione used her wand to conjure canaries out of thin air.

"Am I in the doghouse again?" Harry eyed the little birds with wary eyes. "You sic those at anyone who you aren't pleased with.

"Oh relax, besides it's just no fun if you can't run from them." Hermione made the little birds vanish with a motion of her wand. "I can however turn my attention to make others do things like say dance for instance." She pointed her wand at Ron and he started dancing uncontrollably.

"Oh, now I can't let you have all the fun now can I." Harry pointed his wand at Draco and a mist appeared at his feet. "Let's see how you like hanging upside down."

"Why can't you do something harmless like this?" Luna pointed at Harry the result of her charm was to have enchanted snow fall down onto him.

"I like this one." Ginny used her wand to write in flames 'The children of the world thank you for coming to Music is Magic.' "Now that makes a statement."

Draco was once again back on his feet. "I agree and this one is as harmless as it gets." He pointed his wand at Hermione and in seconds she was laughing as if someone were tickling her.

"Maybe what they wish to see is one of you vanishing and then instead of you there's an animal in your place?" Logan walked onstage. "Gramps is highly amused with all of it so far, while Uncle James and Uncle Sirius think that you're boring the audience."

"Uncle Albus would think that this is amusing." Harry grinned. "Now as for Dad and Uncle Sirius, well, I don't see them out here onstage. This is my cousin Logan Dumbledore. I believe that she skipped him in the books, but then she skipped a bunch of us didn't she, especially in the last one."

"Now Prince, don't go on about that again, it's clearly known that you don't like this latest installment of your namesake." Logan conjured a sheet of black silk out of thin air and used that to cover him up. "Hmm let's see whatever shall I do to his royal grouchiness?" Logan grinned at the audience.

"I've got an idea." James walked out onstage and the audience went wild. "You can make him disappear for a while and see what you get when he vanishes."

"Excellent idea James, who knows it could be a wolf, big cat, or whatever fate decides." Sirius also came out onstage which made the audience cheer even more.

"Very well, do what you must, but I'm warning you I want my Prince back." Hermione now back to herself again, planted her hands on her hips, and pinned them with a look.

"I second that." Lily also joined them.

"Nothing like pressure to make one will a trick to work," Logan winked at the audience. "Now everyone, I want you all to count to three, and we shall see what we get instead of Harry.

"One...Two...Three..." The audience played along.

It was clear that Harry was no longer under the sheet and there was a large animal of some kind underneath.

The audience went wild with applause

"Well, how do ya figure... it worked!" Logan removed the sheet revealing a jet-black green-eyed wolf that seemed to be very annoyed with him.

"Holly Quidditch! He really can do magic." Draco and Ron gaped at him as if this were some big shock.

"I'll say I mean that's a fantastic trick." Ginny and Luna nodded.

"Well, what do you expect look who his grandfather is?" James and Sirius grinned.

"Yes, it was a good trick. Prince was keeping an eye on our girls. It's no wonder that he looks annoyed with you." Hermione walked over to the chair and scratched him behind the ears. "You made your point now would you please bring him back."

"Yes Logan, I applaud you for your brilliant trick, now may I have my son back please." Lily arched a brow at him.

The wolf gave him a look as though you don't think that I'm going to make it that easy now do you.

"Sure, I'll just cover up Prince and we'll have Harry back in a blink of an eye." Logan covered up the wolf and performed the trick again. This time instead of Harry there was a jet-black green-eyed panther glaring at him. "Well then third times the charm." Once again he hastily covered up the big cat and preformed the trick this time there was no one in the chair.

"Oi Logan! Your reverse trick needs some more work!" Harry shouted at him from somewhere in the audience. "I believe I'm supposed to appear in the chair again not out here in the audience!"

The audience went wild with applause.

"That's a relief for a second there I thought that I was a goner for sure." Logan eyed Lily and Hermione with wary eyes.

--

"I'll be right with all of you!" Harry conjured a rose for Emma, winked at her, and vanished.

"Show off!" Daniel growled when Emma sighed dreamily.

"Well Daniel, if you're so jealous go on up there, and show them some of your magic." Emma knew that he was dying to go up there and join them.

"Don't mind if we do." Daniel pulled Emma to her feet and they headed to the stage.

"Daniel I was only egging you on. I wasn't serious!" Emma was dragging her feet.

"I even have this beauty." Daniel took out Harry's old wand and grinned. "Jo sent it to me a few weeks ago, because she doesn't think that Harry would think her worthy of it anymore."

Emma's eyes widened at the sight of the very real prop. "Now I know that this is sooo not a good idea. You could hurt someone with that!" She protested, as they joined them on the stage.

"Someone seems brave enough to come up here and challenge me." Harry was well aware that Daniel could do Muggle tricks and wanted to see him at play. "Daniel, where did you get that? I distinctly remember giving that particular item to someone else."

"I guess they didn't wish me to forget my other character during filming my latest project." Daniel smirked. "Now go have a seat will you that looks painful. You two must have had one interesting night." He teased.

Hermione turned beat red and Harry glared at him. "I got this trying to get to the nursery to care for the girls. I'm half-blind without my specs or contacts, so I tripped over my pups chew toy, and that you cheeky git is how I injured my ankle!" He snarled.

"Hey, that's a good cover story I'd stick with it." Daniel chuckled.

"No he's telling the truth. Hermione had a bad hair day this morning, so she was with Lily. Harry was on solo duty with the girls and they paged him when he was stepping out of the shower." James smirked. "He tripped over Crooks and Pepper that still didn't do him in. The pups knocked him off his feet, he tripped over the chew toy, hit his ankle on the bed, and then the rest, well, he spent the morning getting patched up. By the way kiddo this is a kid friendly event enough with the innuendos."

"Yeah Danny, show us what magic you can do." Sirius challenged him.

"Yeah mate, put your magic where your mouth is." Ron seconded the challenge.

"I for one think that all he can do are cheap parlor tricks." Draco smirked.

"Well he does have a nice prop to use." Ginny grinned.

"Oh, be nice he was only joshing with Harry and didn't mean any harm of it." Luna growled at the others and instantly all teasing stopped. "Please show us some of your magic Daniel. They'll all behave now." She smiled serenely at Daniel.

"Uh, thanks Luna." Daniel had never seen her lose her temper ever and it made him wary of her. "Emma you're used to being around when I'm practicing, so you can be the lucky sport."

"Just as long as it's your usual magic and nothing sneaky," Emma shot him a look.

"Oh Em, nothing I'm gonna do magic wise is gonna harm anyone." Daniel winked at her. He took a simple match out of his pocket and lit it. "Have a flower on me." The match went from that to a flower made of colorful feathers.

"Now that one is new," Emma grinned.

"Not bad Daniel got anything a little more interesting." Harry produced a ball of turquoise blue-green flame in both palms and juggled them back in forth.

"Yeah, I've got more." Daniel pulled a rope from his pocket. He showed the audience and everyone the rope, and then continued to tie a knot in the center of it. "Now watch what happens when I tighten the knot." The knot was transformed into metallic looking flowers.

The audience and everyone onstage clapped with approval.

"Oh, but wait there's more. Emma hold this side for me will you." Emma held the rope knowing what it was going to do. "Now I'll tap this with the wand..." The metallic bouquet in the center of the rope unrolled into a six-foot garland of metallic flowers. "Not bad, eh?"

The fire in Harry's hands magically vanished into thin air. "Oh yeah, that's fascinating." Harry held out his own wand and a glorious bouquet of real flowers appeared out of the tip of it. "Flowers for my sweet," He gave them to Hermione.

"Do any of you wish to see if any of Jo's made up spells work?" Daniel grinned at the audience.

Of course the audience shouted yes.

"Daniel you promised." Emma hissed.

"Don't be such a worrywart, Em. It's all in good fun, besides the spells are nothing but utter fantasy." Daniel tossed the wand back in forth in his hands.

:Uh, Prince. I think he's got something not so nice in mind for you for being cheeky.: Logan walked over to where Harry was sitting.

:Not possible, but he can try if he likes.: Harry answered back. "I'm game, Daniel. Dazzle us with one of Jo's charms." He smirked.

"Let's see how about Stupefy?" He pointed his wand at Harry and shot him in the arm. A red flash of light hit its target.

Ron, Draco, Ginny, Luna, Hermione, Sirius, Lily, James, and Logan were gobsmacked.

"Told ya so," Logan rolled his eyes at his cousin, who was not happy with Daniel at the moment.

"Nice visual illusion, Daniel! Let's see if another charm works shall we." Harry ignored the stinging sensation in his arm. "Accio wand!" The wand went to its rightful owners hands. "Well now kid what shall I show the audience now hmm..."

Daniel paled at the thought that maybe he might have overstepped his boundaries. "Uh, now Harry how was I supposed to know that it would work?!" He took a step backwards. "I was thinking AK for the fun of it, but didn't thank goodness."

"Emma why don't we make Daniel here dance?" Harry grinned.

"Oh, now that's something I want to see!" Emma giggled.

"Let's see now what was that charm in the books..." He tapped his wand against his chin. "Oh yeah, now I remember... Tarantallegra!" He pointed at Daniel's legs.

"Oh, come on that isn't fair!" Daniel was now dancing away.

"Oh, really and trying a stunning charm on me was?" Harry arched a brow at him.

"Well, you were being cheeky with me about my magic!" Daniel growled.

"He does have a point Harry you were being awfully cheeky about it." Hermione frowned. "The two of you have more than given everyone a show. Finite Incantem!" She ended the charm on Daniel then put her wand away. "I just want all of you to know that we've been practicing this for weeks just to make it fun for all of you fans, so I hope that you enjoyed it."

The audience was giving them all a standing ovation.

"I have one more illusion that I wish to show all of you and it's my signature in the books..." Harry grinned at the audience. "Expecto Patronum! Meet my pal Prongs." The patronus marched across the stage down into the audience and stopped right in front of Jo then vanished.

That had them roaring their approval.

Draco preformed it and out flew his small dragon. Ginny did hers and out slunk a kneazle. Hermione did hers and out slunk a lioness. Ron did his and out skittered a raccoon. Luna did hers and out flew a phoenix. Logan did his and out came a large dragon. James did his and out came a sleek wolf. Sirius did his and out came a griffin. Lastly Lily performed hers a majestic falcon flew around the stage.

"I'll admit defeat that's real magic!" Daniel clapped with approval.

"No that was amazing is what it was." Emma was also clapping.

--

"Jinx! Get back here!" Bree and Bastion chased after their kitten that raced out onto the stage.

"Well, hello there you two," Harry grinned at the twins. "Are you and your friends enjoying the show?"

"Uh, yeah we are, um, having a wicked time." Bastion caught sight of the audience and had instant stage fright. "We're, um, just gonna take our kitten and go now."

"If you ask me you were showing off way too much." Bree wasn't the least bit afraid of the audience, as she scooped up her kitten. "I thought that you were going to set a good example for us."

"Everyone this is Hermione's twelve-year-old twin brother and sister, Bree and Bastion Granger." Harry introduced them to the audience.

The twins waved.

"Are Sean and the others hiding or did you volunteer to come get Jinx?" Hermione asked.

"We got to be up here because of Uncle James and Aunt Lily." Bree told her sister and then pointed out Seamus and the others sitting down in the Wizarding VIP section. "Sean and the others are with their siblings and our family watching over there."

"Well, then do the two of you wish to try some magic of your own for the audience?" Harry arched a brow at them.

"I suppose we could." She walked over to Hermione and whispered something in her ear.

"Yes, I think that would be fine." Hermione nodded. "You'll need this though." She produced a jar out of her pocket and handed it to her.

Bree set the jar down in front of her, took out her wand, whispered something, so no one in the audience could hear, and conjured a bluebell flame in her palm. She then made it dance around until it eventually landed in the jar.

Bastion tapped the jar with his wand and changed the flame into various colors before reverting it to back to its original blue.

The audience thought that the two of them were very skilled for their age and gave them a standing ovation.

"Well then this has been fun and I hope that you enjoyed it as well. We've got to go check on our little ones, so now I want all of you enjoy the musical talent of my good friend Clay!" Harry and the others left the stage to another standing ovation. Then the stagehands went to work changing the set.

--

Later towards the end of the music and magic portion of the event Harry and Hermione came out onto the stage to honor the people who had such an effect on their lives.

The first of many was the Order of Counsel & Forbearance. The second was the Order of Loyalty & Friendship. The third was the Order of Sacrifice. The fourth was The Order of Love & Devotion, and the last was The Order of Merlin for Jo.

He had decided to use this time to honor those they cherished most in their lives.

"When it came to raising and teaching my generation it took guidance, patience, frustration, and devotion to mold us into mature responsible adults. We were worse than anything that Jo could come up with in her books." Harry shot his family a guilty look. "So, tonight we are going to take the time to honor them with their own awards. Trust me they deserve a hell of a lot more than a special medal or honor, but it's the best I could come up with. Besides, giving them the opportunity to spoil are little angels rotten, but then that was some of my greatest work." Harry gave Hermione a look and grinned.

The audience laughed and Hermione blushed.

"No, all kidding aside, they deserve a Medal of Valor and the works for having to put up with our adventures, antics, and what not."

"Darling, you boys were enough to turn anyone's hair silver." Hermione stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.

"You girls were just as much trouble as we were, but then you also got my tail out of trouble more times than not." Harry winked at her. "But then again that was half the fun." He flashed a wicked grin.

"Yes…well…" Hermione's blush deepened. "Shall we get on to the awards…."

"The first honor is what I call the Order of Counsel & Forbearance and for good reason. These wonderfully brave individuals molded us into who we are today and taught us how to excel, survive, and achieve our goals in life. Uncle Albus, Aunt Minerva, Aunt Molly, Uncle Arthur, Uncle Remus, Uncle Sirius, and Uncle Severus…" Harry paused because Hermione had just kicked him hard in the shin. "All right sweetness, I was going to get to them as well…" He glared at her. "I know that Mum, Dad, Grandpa Stephen, Great-Grandpa Merlin, and Great-Grandma Mab are deserve it as well."

"It is our honor to present all of you with the Order of Counsel & Forbearance." Hermione smiled at their family who was all blown away and touched by this act of recognition.

"Will you please come up here and accept your honors."

After many tearful hugs, kisses, and handshakes the first honor had been given.

"This next award is for the Order Loyalty & Friendship and this is for Rubeus Hagrid. You see without him we would have been lost during our seven long years at school." Harry smiled.

Hagrid had burst into tears and was crying on Olympe's shoulder.

"Hagrid we love you so much please come up here and receive your award." Hermione blinked back tears of her own.

"Yeah, big guy, we love ya." Ron walked out onstage with Luna, Ginny, and Draco.

Hagrid walked up to the stage and gave them all a huge hug. "I luv ya all so much…this means a lot ta me."

"You mean the world to us Hagrid never forget that…" Harry smiled up at him. "Our girls are lucky to have you as one of their guardians." Harry blinked back tears of his own.

Hagrid burst into tears again, hugged him fiercely, and then made his way back to his seat beside Olympe, who immediately comforted her husband.

He paused for a second before going on to the next award. "This next honor is the Order of Sacrifice and it is for those who willingly gave up their dreams and in sometimes much more for all of us. Uncle Albus, Uncle Severus, and Grandpa Stephen please come up to…" Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. "Mum and Dad as well, even though I have a special honor for the two of you…Please come up and collect your awards."

Albus, Severus, Stephen, and his parents once again came up onto the stage this time even Severus was near tears.

"Honestly Mione, I'm not on purposely leaving out my parents, so please stop kicking, elbowing, or decking me." Harry growled down at her and then looked over at his parents who were about to leave the stage. "Mum, Dad please stay right there, it is my honor to present the two of you with The Order of Love & Devotion without which I would not be standing here today. You sacrificed everything for me…" His voice clogged with emotion and tears shined in his eyes.

"…as well as for my brothers and sisters. For that I honor you with this medal. For loving us unconditionally, protecting us with your very lives during that horrible Halloween car accident on that stormy horrible night…" His voice broke.

"This is for putting up with our various bouts of rebellion and temper, mine more than anyone else's, and for choosing us instead of focusing on your own lives, careers, and duties. There would be far less spoiled rotten out of control individuals in this world if only their parents had cared enough about them and not as much of themselves and had not relied on governesses or nannies to raise them. Parenting is not a choice and you knew this and for that I honor you for choosing us." Harry had tears flowing down his cheeks and could barely finish what he wanted to say to his parents.

"I love you both so much and I am honored that I am your son." Harry found himself hugged fiercely by his parents. Then Rory, Dromi, Draco and Luna all joined in on the hug.

"This is also for Aunt Mattie, my nana, who I love more than words can say for many of the same reasons that Harry honors his parents. Nana I honor you. I would not be who I am today without you in my life to guide me. You have been there for me all of my life and for that I honor you." Hermione was as emotional as Harry was. "Please come up here and accept this honor."

Mattie tearfully came up onstage, gave Hermione a hug, and then accepted her award.

Harry composed himself and went to give out the final award. "Lastly, for Jo Rowling we award you the Order of Merlin for bringing magic back into the lives of everyone around the globe, who has read your saga of my namesake. Although, while I am not in okay with nearly everything about the six installment of the series…I trust you to make it right in the seventh and final installment of this amazing journey. Please come up here and accept your award."

Harry was pleased that he had surprised Jo, who tearfully headed to the stage. "I liked your first draft, so much more than this final one and that's saying a lot coming from me." He hugged her after giving her the Order of Merlin first-class medal. He knew that the audience was going to hear every word between the two of them and played his ace.

"First Draft?" The audience touched by how they had honored their elders, now intrigued with the idea that there had been two manuscripts of HBP.

"Why you sneaky brat. Now you've gone and done it haven't you…" Jo arched a knowing brow at him then turned to look at the audience. "Yes, I wrote two different manuscripts of Half-Blood Prince the first of which had been completed in July with a planned release announcement in September, so the book would be out by Christmas. However, the situation changed in August and I decided to rewrite HBP when the Pendragon family was disclosed to the public eye. I did it with their best interests at heart and I do not regret my decision. Harry and a handful of others received a copy of that book last Christmas and it is what he was referring to…" She paused because the audience was going crazy with excitement.

"It would be insane of me to have two versions of HBP…Although my publisher would probably salivate over the opportunity to have both copies out in the market." Jo sighed in frustration.

"PLEASE!!" The audience shouted back. "We want to see it!"

Harry said nothing he just stood there grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

"Oh, you're just loving this aren't you?" Jo shot Harry a withering look.

His grin widened even more.

"Look, I'm not making any promises, but we shall see."

The noise from the crown was deafening as they all broke out with shouts, cheers, and applause.

"You win, but I have to warn you, some of you will be upset about certain events in it. I can tell you that Dumbledore is very much alive in the end…" She had to pause until the audience calmed down.

"I also had to kill off more major characters both good and bad…this other manuscript is far more serious than HBP and in all honesty going with the second manuscript was the easier way out." She warned all of them. "Do you still wish to read it now that I've given you some tiny clues?"

The audience responded with a loud and clear. "YES!" That echoed for miles.

"Very well, but if I do this then you have to do something for me as well."

The audience went silent.

"Ah yes, you aren't going to get something and not give back anything in return. If you wish for the release of the other manuscript then give a single dollar, pound, Euro, or whatever you can afford to the Foundation and I will get with my Editor and Publisher to see what I can do. This way the children around the globe will benefit from your donations and that's not all, my take on all sells from the release of this book will go to the foundation as well. Do this for me and all of you will get your wish." Jo set down some ground rules. "You see the first draft was being printed for quite a few months before I told them that I had changed my mind in December, and I believe the publisher locked those copies away. This could mean that it could have a release date maybe by Christmas."

The audience went wild with applause and cheers.

Harry had other ideas for them to do. "Money is all well and good, but there is so much more that families and children need during this time of year. I believe that all of us can make a difference. So the foundation will be setting up drop-off points all around the world. You will be able to give new toys, clothing, and more for ones who might not get anything this holiday season. You see all families deserve a Happy Christmas and I believe that we can make that happen. The details for Operation Secret St. Nick will follow on our website, in the papers, and on the media as well. Let us show the world that we care about children and families not just here in the UK, but around the globe. This challenge goes out to everyone watching! Together we can make a difference in this world. This foundation has proven that greed does not make this world go round! Our foundation's milestones like the medical breakthroughs and our ability to deliver them to those who need it regardless of whether they have the money is living proof of that! Together we can make a huge difference in this world!" Harry found himself deafened by the audience's response and hugged by all of his family and friends.

--

Wills and Henry walked onto the stage.

"How is everyone doing, are you enjoying yourselves?" Wills and Henry greeted the audience.

The audience answered in kind.

"We are going to set up for the premiere of Goblet of Fire in just thirty minutes or so since it's finally dark enough, but until then you are going to be in for a treat." Wills and Henry were not going to let Harry and Hermione off without singing a single tune.

"This is the final event of the night for those of you who are watching on tellies around the globe. So sorry, but you'll have to see the movie in the theaters like everyone else." Henry broke the news to the viewers at home. "We appreciate all of your donations that are still pouring in, but since we opted to let everyone in on our show, Hollywood isn't that generous to allow all of you a free preview. The kids watching at Hogshead School for gifted children and our fellow cadets at Sandhurst however are in for a special treat."

"You've listened to some of the worlds greatest musical talents, but what you didn't know is that Harry and Hermione also have platinum quality pipes as well. If you make enough of a racket maybe we can get them out here and they will fancy us with a song or two." Wills played his ace and the audience began cheering and chanting their names.

Harry and Hermione reluctantly came out onto the stage, but they weren't alone they had the triplets in their arms and the audience went from chanting their names to saying how cute the girls were.

"Damned rotten timing you two," Harry growled softly.

"Next time take no for an answer." Hermione was not pleased with this turn of events.

"We'll take these lovely ladies for you, while you have a go at singing a song or two for your adoring fans." Henry took Mia and Ally from Hermione, it was clear to all that he was a pro at performing his duties as an Uncle to the girls.

Wills took Dani from Harry. "Hello there princess your mum and dad are going to sing, so I get to cuddle you for a while." Wills cooed down at his niece.

:Sing Dada!: The three of them chimed in his head.

"This is for my girls." Harry walked over to the orchestra and told them the songs that he was intending to sing. It was a new song that he had taken a fancy to by Billy Joel titled Goodnight My angel. "Daddy loves you very much." The orchestra started to play and he began to sing. The last verse ended and Harry added hoarsely. "Daddy loves you Dani, Ally, and Mia."

The entranced audience took a moment or two to give him a standing ovation.

"This next one is for the girls in our lives." The orchestra started playing the music to Areosmith's I don't wanna miss a thing and the audience went wild. "Clay, Josh, Draco, Logan, Wills, uh, if any of you wish to come out here and back me up feel free…" He requested before he started singing the song. Wills handed Dani to Ron, so he could join Clay, Draco, Logan, and Josh on stage to sing back up vocals for Harry. "I just want to say that without any of our girls in our lives all of us would be lost." He added as the song ended.

The entranced audience took a moment or two to give them a standing ovation.

Hermione, who had been sitting on a stool next to the grand piano, walked over and kissed him. "That was beautiful baby the girls and I loved it."

"The Quaffle is in your hands now my heart." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her for luck. "Might I suggest a song that will soothe our girls back to lullaby land?"

Hermione walked over to the orchestra and told them her song choice. "I love to sing this to each of my girls. It's a pretty little song and I hope that you enjoy it as much as my babies do." The orchestra began playing Baby Mine. "This is for each of my precious angel's mummy loves you very much." She began singing the song that did exactly as she intended before the end of the song the girls were sound asleep in the arms of their Uncles. Ron and Henry took them back to the tent, so the audience's applause wouldn't disturb them. "Works every time," Hermione winked at Harry.

"The uncles have taken our girls back to our tent feel free to applaud the singing talents of my beautiful wife." Harry walked over to Hermione and they kissed once more as newlyweds are prone to do. He had ditched the crutches hours ago and was content to ignore any soreness coming from his ankle, so he could enjoy the night like everyone else.

The audience loved their show of affection towards each other and had loved hearing her sing, so they were once again on their feet applauding and cheering them.

Wills saw this as an opportunity to have the two of them sing their favorite song, so he signaled the orchestra to play Destiny, and then left the two of them alone onstage.

"This song means more to us than words can say." Hermione smiled up at Harry.

"Then please honor us all with your rendition of a song that was a pleasure for me to write and compose." Jim Brickman walked out onstage. "Sorry that I'm late. There was a delay with my flight, but it appears as if I'm right on time." He sat down at the piano. "Your girls are angels by the way."

"Thank you and the honor is ours. We love your music." Hermione and Harry went to sit on the stools in front of the grand piano.

"Prince William wished to surprise you, which is something he claims is nearly impossible to do." He smiled.

"Oh, he's managed to do it once or twice." Harry grinned. "The two of us aren't the only ones who love your music. My baby sister Luna loves your song about Rainbows and my sister-in-law Ginny loves My Valentine."

"Well then after this maybe we can get the two of them to come out here and sing them for us." He began to play the opening cords to Destiny.

Harry and Hermione poured their hearts and souls into the song, once again weaving their magic on the audience and Jim Brickman as well. They ended the song with a kiss that once again had the audience on their feet.

Luna walked out onstage. "That was enchanting you two. Ronnie says that you wanted me to sing a song as well." She smiled serenely at them.

"The Rainbow Connection song that you love so much and sing to the girls." Harry nodded.

"Well you don't have to ask me twice. I positively love that song." She glowed with happiness.

"It's a favorite of mine as well." Jim smiled at Luna.

"You write such lovely music for the world to enjoy. Music that makes everyone smile, fall in love, shed a tear, or just feel good inside. There aren't many artists that can capture a song with words the way you can." Luna sat down on the stool that Harry had left for her to sit on.

"That's sweet of you to say. There aren't many young people like you in this world and that make us all lucky as well." He was fascinated by her natural ability to speak her mind or see things exactly for what they are.

"I mean what I say. It's a quirk of mine." Luna sighed dreamily. "I love to sing this song to the little ones of my family and I am honored to sing it for all of you as well."

He began to play on the piano and she began to sing.

Harry and Hermione added to the magic of the song by conjuring rainbows as she sang.

The Weasley twins added to that by setting off their new rainbow fireworks into the sky.

It was however Luna's angelic voice that captivated the audience until the last note was sung. She got a standing ovation as well.

"This looks like fun can we join in?" Ginny and Draco walked out onstage.

"Sure can the more the merrier." Harry grinned.

"Gin, this is the man who wrote the song that plays in the locket that Draco gave you." Hermione told her.

Ginny's face lit up like a Christmas tree she was delighted by this turn of events. "So, that explains why Wills nearly did a flip when they signaled him to go out onstage. Hello, I'm Ginny and I love your music." She beamed at him.

"Hello Ginny. I'm Jim Brickman and it's flattering to know that all of you enjoy my work. Which song plays in your locket?"

"Mine plays My Valentine. Luna has one that plays Rainbow Connection, and Hermione has one that plays Destiny. Our guys got them for us on Valentines Day and Hermione got hers from Harry last Christmas…" Ginny found herself pulled back into the arms of her husband. "Dragon this is the brilliant man who wrote those songs that we love."

"Yes, I know that Peaches. Hello, I'm Draco Pendragon. It's a pleasure to meet you." Draco offered him his hand in greeting.

Jim shook it in kind. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

Ron was the next to walk out on the stage to join them. "No rush. They are having technical difficulties setting up the IMAX size screen. I guess it's something that's never been tried before or somethin' like that."

"No worries mate, so who's giving them a hand?" Harry arched a brow at him.

"Uncle James, Uncle Sirius, and Uncle Remus are all pitching in to solve the problem." Ron pulled Luna into his arms and kissed her. "You sang beautifully my angel."

"Why thank you my handsome prince." Luna smiled up at him. "Gin's going to sing a song, so we should go sit over there." She pointed to the couch the stagehands had rolled onto the stage.

"Just so I don't have to sing." Ron followed her over to the copy of the Gryffindor couch sat down and then pulled her down onto his lap.

"No worries there mate we value our ears." Draco smirked.

"Look some blokes can sing and I can't. I have no hard feelings about sitting here while you entertain the audience." Ron made himself comfortable on the couch.

"Oh honestly, start focusing on the task at hand and quit focusing on your egos." Hermione scowled at them.

Harry led her over to the couch and pulled her down with him so she was cuddled on his lap. "Sorry princess we promise to be better." He kissed away her frown while Ginny sang her song to Draco.

They entertained the audience until it was time for the special premiere of Goblet of Fire that was the perfect way to end a successful evening.

--

Chapter 17
Reminiscing

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I do not claim any of JKR's characters only that I love being able to create my own kind of mischief with her beloved characters. I do not claim any other things that are owned by other companies that I may mention once and a while in the stories...Although the original characters and ideas are mine and I loved creating them. So please review if you wish but try not to flame me too badly.

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Cindra 2004-2007