HP Life after Hogwarts
Chapter 25
R. A. B.
--
Sirius is in for a family reunion…
--
Hogwarts- Albus Dumbledore's Study
Harry was not the least bit surprised to find that his Aunt and Uncle had been expecting him and the girls. "I thought that this might be the normalcy Hermione's been craving as of late." Harry sipped his hot coco as he paced his Uncle's Study. "And since we had this not so nice quarrel an hour or so ago I decided that this was the perfect place to set things right again."
"You managed to defeat the Dark Lord single-handedly, so making nice with your bride shouldn't be too difficult of a task." A voice growled from one of the chairs facing the fire.
Harry had not realized that his Uncle had a guest and apologized for his rudeness. "I'm sorry Uncle Albus. I'll just go to the Family wing and leave you to your visitor."
"Regulus Alphard Leonardo Nigellus Black is family, so no you do not have to leave." Albus calmly introduced him to Sirius' younger brother. "Regulus I would like you to meet my Great-Great Nephew Harry James Merlin Potter-Pendragon."
"He looks like the mirror image of James with Lily's eyes." Regulus got up and walked over to look him over.
"Not to be rude, but aren't you supposed to be dead or something?" Harry stared into the cool blue eyes of Regulus Black. He was the older version of his Uncle, because Regulus was 39, and Sirius was in all reality 24 not 40. This man with his jet-black mane of hair looked like he could easily take on any opponent and come up the winner every time, but he had a regal air to him as well.
"Oh that, well, you of all blokes should know that death is overrated or that not everything is as what it seems." Regulus grinned. "I've been away for an ungodly amount of time, but that doesn't mean dead. Stephen dropped off the map for years, but no one thought him dead. I decided that being a double agent for the Order wasn't worth risking the lives of whom I thought of as family and friends. I chose to take my face off the playing field and all of them instantly thought that I was killed by Voldy?" The grin turned to a scowl when Harry nodded.
"No offense, but not many that tangled with Lord Voldemort lived to tell about it. Nor could anything stand in the way of fate or destiny." Harry rolled his eyes. "I of all people should know this, so you went off into hiding somewhere in Avalon or the Alps?"
"You really are bright aren't you?" Regulus smirked. "Yeah, kid I hid out in a place where not even the Dark Lord would ever think of looking for me and married me a genuine fairy princess called Princess Dahlia…"
"And have a little girl that just turned a year this November named Candace…" Harry shook his head in disbelief.
"Albus is he a seer as well?" Regulus conjured himself a drink.
"Regulus he happens to be the next Merlin of our world, so yes he is a seer." Albus smiled. "Although, being one of the many great-grandsons of Mab and Merlin, I would think that he knows of various members of that side of his family tree."
"Actually, last November Hermione and heard it at High tea." Harry shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal. "Aunt Celestra named Dahlia and little Candace, but you were never mentioned as anything but First-Grams Great-Nephew."
"I'm aware of this ones destiny and all that, but he stole my big reveal." Regulus downed his drink in one-shot.
Harry walked over to where Fawkes was perched and stroked his feathers. "Looks like you aren't finished yet my friend."
"Hey, now what are you up to over there?" Regulus frowned.
"I'm going to send Uncle Sirius and the others the news that you're alive and well." Harry wrote out a message on some parchment and then fastened it to Fawkes leg.
Fawkes vanished in a flash of fiery light.
"Why did ya have to go and do something like that?"
"Uncle Sirius might like to know that his younger brother is alive that's why!" Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "Hiding is the coward's way out of any situation that's unless you're on the run from the law like Uncle Sirius was after he escaped Azkaban prison for being accused of a crime that he didn't commit. He stayed around and fought and gave his life for the cause. I nearly did the same during that final battle with Voldemort. Oh and just to add to your discomfort there were seventeen, fifteen, and sixteen-year-old students fighting alongside members of the Order against the Deatheaters!"
"Oi, now back it up there kid! I did not runaway and hide like a whipped pup! I was Albus and Stephen's eyes and ears in Europe during those times! I didn't get my big brother killed! You did! So, don't go and play the blame game on me!" Regulus got his hackles up after hearing Harry's words. "I played the perfect son and hated it and all for the cause! So, you can just hang your words!"
"Regulus you will calm yourself that goes for you as well." Albus got between the two of them.
"I lost my parents at the tender age of one for the cause! I suffered a hell of a lot more trials, heartaches, and turmoil than you ever did from that day on, so it's you who can bloody well go to hell! Uncle Sirius is your older brother! He is alive as are you, so the way I see it you two should touch base again!! That choice is up to you and Uncle Sirius! Now if you will excuse me I have to go check on my daughters!" Harry vanished in a blinding flash of turquoise and gold light.
--
"That one still has issues to work out." Regulus downed another drink.
"Regulus there is no fear in meeting your brother again." Albus conjured himself his own version of a nightcap. "Now as for Harry having issues, well he hasn't had that easy of a life."
"Sirius has always had issues. So I have every reason to be wary of this family reunion." Regulus grumbled.
"Sirius is married to Jenna Pendragon and is the doting father of twins. He is also the Co-head of the UK's Auror/Hit Wizard division. He does not harbor any ill feelings towards you. He was given a second chance at life and is nothing like the person you grew up with. Regulus your older brother has finally grown up into a mature responsible adult." Minerva walked into the study. "It is because of our Great-Nephew that you have him back in your life again."
"Having his family restored to him was his reward for fulfilling this part of his destiny." Albus calmly sipped his sherry.
"This part of his destiny," Regulus whistled low under his breath. "No wonder the kid has issues. It's like he can never catch a breather."
"He is the Half-Blood Prince, as well as the next Merlin, but has embraced both positions with enthusiasm." Minerva bristled.
"Embraced my arse, it's not like the kid had a choice. He probably received the ring at sixteen and blindly put it on his finger. Now as for the Merlin part, well, that comes with the bloomin ring." Regulus raked his fingers through his thick wavy main of jet-black hair.
"Harry isn't that trusting and refused to put the ring on his finger, until nearly two months after he defeated the Dark Lord. It was his other half that did the honors for him and the rest as they say is history." Albus handed Minerva a small glass of sherry.
"It's always the woman who ends up spoiling it for their man." Regulus rolled his eyes in disgust. "The choice should have been his and not just thrust on his shoulders like another set of weights that he thought he had lost after defeating Voldy. Freeing the world of the most evil, vile, being in existence should have been enough for all of you."
"Regulus, he has embraced his destiny willingly and is not being forced into it by any of us. Hermione thoroughly researched the HBP ring during their sixth year and did not intentionally trap him into his destiny. He had just recovered from having a horrific walk down memory lane the night before, after having all of his memories fully restored to him. That and Molly Weasley told him all about his family tree which in turn triggered his memory recall. Hermione wished for him to wear his father's signet ring with pride and that is why she put it on his finger. She didn't believe everything that she had read and was just as surprised as Harry had been when he put on the ring." Minerva was not pleased with Regulus' altitude or of his accusations that they had forced Harry into choosing his chosen path.
"Minerva my dear he was raised in the not so nicest of manners by some of the darkest of our kind, so please, as the muggles say, cut him some slack." Albus had heard more than enough. "Regulus, it is best to find out all the facts before jumping to conclusions that can get you into boiling potion."
Regulus didn't get a chance to comment because James, Sirius, and Remus all arrived.
"What's this about my brother being..." Sirius' growl trailed off as he locked eyes with his younger brother. "Bloody hell he wasn't being cheeky Regulus really is alive."
James saw that his Aunt was upset and narrowed his eyes. "And by the looks of my Aunt is still the same smart arse hot headed piss ant."
"Now James, we just got here let's not jump to any conclusions." Remus growled.
Harry appeared with a stack of books for Regulus to read. "Read those before even thinking of ever speaking like that to me again or I swear Uncle Sirius' little brother or not I will test your ass and then AK you for good measure!"
He set the stack of books on the table and it was then that he finally noticed that his Dad and Uncles had arrived. "Good you enjoy your frickin visit with your smart arse sibling! I've had my fill of him for one night!! You are the most ungrateful bastard that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and that includes Draco when he was at his Malfoy worst!!"
Harry forced himself to calm down as he then addressed his family. "I'll see you and Aunt Minerva in the morning. Good luck dealing with him that is if reasoning with him is even possible." Harry once again vanished in a blinding flash of turquoise and gold light.
"I see that some things never change do they baby brother." Sirius narrowed his eyes at Regulus they were mirror images of each other, only Regulus was looking his age.
"The way I see it is this… since you got a new lease on life and are back to being what twenty-four that makes me the oldest because I'm thirty-nine." Regulus matched his glare.
"The hell it does and where the hell have you been all this time?!" Sirius decided the best way to deal with his brother was to be straight and to the point.
"After Severus carried out old Voldy's orders to dispatch my arse and told me to stay dead or he would come back and finish the job. I settled in the Alps and loved every second of it until this beautiful blonde dropped into my life two years ago. I found her alone and shivering on one of the trails near my place. Long story short I thought she was a witch and it turns out that she was a fairy princess, who saw me and decided that I was gonna be hers, even if it meant bending the truth a lot." Regulus grumbled. "It was when Oberon himself appeared in my Great Room that I found out that she was his daughter and since we were, uh, in love and all that we were to be married. Don't get me wrong, I love my Dahlia and our baby girl to distraction. It's just that a guy wants to think that all of it was his idea and not the other way around."
"Now everything is beginning to make sense." Albus smiled knowingly.
"Look, if there's one thing that I've learned is the female rules the roost and we just have to live with it. She saw you as a life mate, set her mind to catching you, and it's as simple as that. When you get that into your thick skull then everything will be right again." Sirius gave him some good advice.
"It's true." James was in full agreement with Sirius. "It's a bitter pill for a guy to swallow, but it's the god's honest truth."
"I am a much happier person with Gene in my life and she waited seventeen long years for me to finally come to my senses that and Harry's blood was the key to the vaccine to cure me." Remus arched a brow at them.
"So, the kid really is what the hype is saying about him?" Regulus changed the subject.
"In spades and Hermione is more than up to the challenge of reining him in." Sirius grinned.
"I caught sight of all of you at the Quidditch matches, while Puddlemere was in Europe. It was then that I decided that maybe it was time for me to come back to the land of the living again." Regulus bent the truth a little Dahlia had ordered him to go see his brother or he was gonna be on the couch for a year. "I have to admit that I've never seen such flying and playing in all my days of going to the matches. You must be proud of your kids."
"Oh, I am, but then Quidditch runs in the bloodline as does winning the Quidditch World Cup. I am beyond proud of my kids and am especially proud of my oldest son and everything that he overcame to become who he is today. I'd read those books if I were you or you just might get a taste of what AK feels like. Now if you're on the up and up and a good wizard all it does is knock you out, but it kills a Dark wizard. Junior can also test anyone to see if they are Dark just by touching them with his blood." James having learned from being betrayed by the Rat traitor wasn't all that ready to trust Regulus.
Regulus didn't get a chance to respond to that because a harried looking Severus with a miserable baby girl in his arms came in search of some advice.
"Harry said the two of you were here." Severus was trying his best to soothe his daughter. "He's in a mood for some reason and said that I should seek the two of you out here."
Regulus couldn't believe his eyes Severus Snape was a Daddy and a blonde. "You need to burp her. She's got a bubble in her tummy and that's why she's not happy." He was the first to speak up.
Severus recognized that voice and arched a brow at him. "I see the younger sibling finally found the courage to come back into the fold again." He set Cindy against his shoulder and gently patted her back. "I'm not an imbecile Regulus. I did burp her and she is still miserable and might I add a newborn."
"I have a one-year-old little girl, so I think I know the ropes when it comes to tending a newborn." Regulus smirked. "So, who's the lucky lady?"
"If you must know I married Sibyll." Severus growled softly.
"Sibyll Trelawney?" Regulus stared at him in disbelief. "You and Phony Trelawney?"
"Look, I would button it unless you wish me to carry out that threat all of those years ago when I saved your worthless hide!" Severus' tone was low and lethal.
"You saved his hide all those years ago?!" James and Sirius exclaimed in unison.
"Yes and I told him if he ever showed his face again before the war was over that I would finish the job." Severus relaxed a little when Cindy burped and then finally settled down to a soft whimper. "There now angel go back to sleep." He continued to rub her back.
"You said ever and never mentioned the part about the war being over or Voldy being defeated." Regulus corrected him.
"Anyone with a brain would have realized that without having it spelled out for them." Severus set Cindy in the baby sling.
"He does have a point little brother." Sirius smirked.
"Leo, I think it best if we visit with your family for a while that way you and your brother can get to know each other again." Dahlia appeared with little Candace in her arms. "This way I can visit with Aunt Mab, Uncle Merlin, and meet the rest of the family."
"Excellent suggestion dearest," Regulus walked over to her and kissed her, before taking Candace so he could cuddle her. "Daddy's angel is way past her bedtime." He cuddled her against his shoulder.
"Hello I'm Dahlia and this little one is our daughter Candace. You must be my cousin James, brother-in-law Sirius, Albus and Minerva Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, and oh yes Severus Snape the one who saved my husbands life all those years ago." Dahlia smiled warmly at them. She was a violet eyed, platinum haired, beauty, and their daughter was the tiny image of her.
"Dada I no sleepy," Candy yawned hugely and snuggled into his shoulder.
"Oh, no of course you aren't." He chuckled. "I need to get this little sprite tucked into bed, so is it going to be here or at this Sanctuary that I've heard about?"
"That sounds like an excellent idea that way you and Harry don't clash with each other in the morning." Albus smiled.
"So, that's who he's in a temper about, well, that doesn't surprise me in the least you tend to have that reaction around people or always did." Severus smirked. "I have my own little one to tuck into bed, so I bid you goodnight."
"Goodnight Severus and little Cindy." Minerva and Albus smiled.
"Yes goodnight." James, Sirius, and Remus echoed.
"So your place it is." Regulus arched a brow at them. "How does one go about getting to the private sanctum?"
"It's simple really we apparate there Merlin style or are you just stuck with the boring way of wizarding travel?" Sirius drawled sarcastically.
"If you mean can I apparate without a wand then the answer is yes."
"Now Leo you be nice." Dahlia hissed into his ear.
"It's quite simple then Sanctuary happens to be in Godric's Hollow. Do I need to go on?" James arched a brow at him.
"Your old place then got it." Regulus gathered Dahlia close to him with his other arm and vanished in a flash of sapphire and purple light.
"Goodnight Uncle Albus…Aunt Minerva…we'll see you tomorrow when we check on Junior and Hermione." The three of them left.
"Finally, you see I have been longing to read what Harry just gave me." Albus picked up the manuscript for Harry and Hermione's take on sixth year.
"Is it finished?" Minerva picked up the other manuscript.
"This is the rough draft, but if it's anything like his or her other manuscripts this should be a fascinating read." Albus smiled at her and they headed off to bed.
--
Harry took out his frustrations on the heavy bag in the workout room of the Pendragon wing. "I can't believe the nerve of that git! He plays dead for what twenty years and then has the nerve to lecture me!" He pummeled the bag until it flew off its chains and crashed into the far wall.
"It's been over an hour lion. I would have thought that your temper would have been cooled down by now." Hermione had her peace offering waiting for him in their upstairs suite, but hadn't counted on him still being in this much of a mood. If he's still this steamed over what happened back home with the girls then I might have to rethink my strategy.
"Oh, I was fine until I had the displeasure of meeting a long lost thought dead family member in Uncle Albus' study." Harry used Reparo on the Heavy bag before turning to focus on her. "So have you figured it out yet?" He wiped the sweat off his upper body with a towel.
Hermione focused on the conversation and not on Harry's sweat glistened torso. "I had every right to react to Dani using serious magic, but in all honestly it comes down to this. I'm bored with just watching the girls. I know that it sounds horrid of me, but I need more than just that." She waited for him to lay into her again, but that wasn't going to happen.
"I realize that and Danielle now knows that it's Mummy and Daddy magic and not for her to use unless the situation calls for it." Harry walked past her and left the room. "Now as for a solution to your need for normalcy or as you call it to end your boredom, well, I have the solution to that as well." Harry headed up the staircase.
"How is that possible when I haven't the foggiest clue about why I'm bored?" Hermione followed him.
"Uncle Severus needs a break from teaching so he can focus on Aunt Sibyll and baby Cindy. He insists on choosing who is going to sub for him and he specifically requested you." Harry, as he headed for their floor, continued their conversation.
"Me?" Hermione felt beyond flattered that he had chosen her or thought that she was worthy of such a task at nineteen and still fresh out of Hogwarts. "Why not Lexi or Draco?"
"Nope it's you subbing for him or he won't take the much-needed time off." Harry headed for the shower. "Feel free to keep chatting I just want to wash off all this sweat with a quick shower."
"Well, of course I'll do it." Hermione stood in the doorway of the bathroom suite of their room. "Are you sure that you won't mind me doing this?"
"Mind? Why would your teaching bother me at all?" Harry couldn't fathom why she had just asked that. "You are obviously unhappy this is the solution to end that unhappiness, so no I don't mind. You have my blessing to sub for Uncle Severus. Not that you need it or anything, but you have it nonetheless."
"I'll be swamped all week, so you will have to take care of the girls on your own." Hermione wanted to be sure that this was okay with him.
"I have Winky, Dobby, and Kreacher to enlist if I need it." His shower finished he got ready for bed. "I can also recruit the preteens if need be. They'd jump to watch over them or help out because they all adore our girls."
"So, who was this long lost presumed dead person that got you riled up again?" Hermione now reassured that teaching was fine with Harry, broached the subject that she was dying to know the answer to.
"It's someone from Uncle Sirius' family tree." Harry finished shaving and brushing his teeth.
"The only one besides Draco that's still alive to my knowledge is Tonk's mother." Hermione frowned.
"In Jo's version of the HBP that I detest, the initials R.A.B. are the reason my Uncle died for nothing, and the reason that dooms my character to certain death. I believe that everyone fandom wise or most of them suspect that this R.A.B. character is someone directly related to Uncle Sirius." Harry left the bathroom.
"Regulus Alphard Black, as in Uncle Sirius' little brother, didn't Voldemort have him killed because he suspected him of being a spy for our side?"
"That would be correct, only he's very much alive, and was here visiting Uncle Albus..." Harry noticed the candles lit all over their room and the tray with what looked like a delicious dessert on a silver platter and some sparkling cider in crystal flutes. "Oh, angel, now that's what I call a peace offering." He pulled her to him for a long kiss.
Hermione reluctantly ended the kiss and pulled back in his arms, so she was looking up into his eyes. "It's a triple brownie Juniors cheesecake, but before you and I enjoy your peace offering please tell me what he did to upset you."
"He got his back up about my sending word to Uncle Sirius that his little brother was alive and then he had the nerve to go and lecture me and compare my hell with Voldemort to his. I left to cool off. Then went back with a stack of the books on our lives and told him to read them before ever lecturing me again or I would test him and then AK him just for the pleasure of it. The guy is an arrogant arse, but the mirror image of Uncle Sirius. The only difference being that Regulus has long hair and looks his age. Oh and he married Princess Dahlia, so that makes him someone who is most likely going to be around a lot. I left Dad, Uncle Sirius, Uncle Remus, and Uncle Albus to deal with him." Harry calmed his mind and his temper vanished.
"Well, did you do anything to provoke him into saying something like that to you?" Hermione tried to see both sides of this.
"The fact that he didn't wish for his own brother to know that he was alive just yet got my temper on slow boil again and I may or may not have called him a coward." Harry hated it when she tried to see both sides to an argument it always made him feel like the bad guy.
"Well, then there you have it the two of you just got off on the wrong foot." Hermione surmised.
Harry walked over to the tray on their bed and went to cut them a slice of cheesecake to share. "Very well love I'll try to give him another chance…"
The triplets paged them from the nursery.
"So close to taste bud heaven yet so faraway." Harry set the knife back down on the tray and went to go see to their girls.
"They just know that I'm home and want to see me for a bit, so please enjoy your treat." Hermione stopped him by placing a hand on his arm.
"I plan to enjoying my treat, but with you, so the two of us will see to the girls together." Harry pulled her to him for another kiss and then they went to see to their girls.
--
Sanctuary the following morning
"This place is magnificent!" Regulus had woken up early and had gone about exploring Sanctuary's vast grounds.
"Marcus, Harry, and Hermione all had a hand at designing it, so the credit goes to them." James was feeding the twins their breakfast.
"Who you be?" The twins swatted away the spoon of hot cereal that James was trying to feed them and focused on the stranger who looked like their Uncle Sirius.
"MJ and Bell that happens to be your Uncle Regulus and he is staying with us for a while." James told the twins. "He's your Uncle Sirius' younger brother.
"Fuffy!!" The twins squealed with delight when their three headed guardian lumbered into the kitchen.
"Merlin's beard is that what I think that is?" Regulus found himself sniffed by two of Fluff's three heads.
"He's the family couch potato and we adore him." Lily walked into the kitchen with Dahlia, little Candy toddled beside her.
"Puppy!" Candace toddled over to Fluffy.
Fluff playfully nuzzled her with one of his muzzles and she giggled.
"Yes Regulus, he's a Hellhound, but after the Weasley twins figured out what to feed him he's been a big softy and he adores kids." James finished feeding the twins their breakfast.
"How'd ya find the big guy and whose idea was it to name him Fluffy? Titan seems like a more likely name." Regulus was scratching Fluff's ears.
"Hagrid got him from some chap he met down at the pub when Junior first entered Hogwarts. He was what they used to guard the Philosophers stone. Now since Hagrid couldn't very well take him to France with him the big guy here became an official member of the family." James, after letting the twins down from their high chairs, walked over to give Fluff his morning rub down. "Read the books and all will be revealed. Junior wasn't kidding when he said if you don't he was going to test you and then regardless of the result AK you for the hell of it."
"Hagrid does collect the strangest of beasts." Regulus watched in amazement when MJ and Bell toddled over and the beast let them climb onto his back. "Your kid has an attitude problem just like his old man. Besides, using AK gets you a one-way ticket to Azkaban unless you're sanctioned to use it. He's eighteen and probably still undergoing training as an Auror."
"Wrong. He's twenty and already an Auror/Hit wizard. Long story short Morgana La Fey used a powerful curse on both Harry and Draco last Halloween and turned them into six-year-olds. First-Gramps and Grams performed the counter incantation and missed the mark by two years. Junior went from seventeen to nineteen with all the knowledge of a wizard that age, plus Mab upped his intelligence tenfold, so he would be able to control his temper. He passed every N.E.W.T that they gave him with straight O's and flew threw the Auror trials, so yes Regulus he does have the authority to use AK on you." James loved bragging about Harry he was proud of his son.
"That kid just can't catch a break can he?" Regulus stared at him in disbelief.
"Not really but he's used to it."
"So are the Griffs outside yours?" Regulus changed the subject.
"Buckbeak and Goldie are both Harry's." Lily sat down to eat some breakfast. "You really should read the books. Buckbeak and your brother were both wanted fugitives during Harry's fourth and fifth years. Sirius, because of being framed by Peter, and Buckbeak, because Lucius was an evil, evil fiend."
"Dad?" Draco walked into the kitchen. "Did Harry and Hermione make nice with each other or not? They didn't send Ferria to us yet."
"Sorry son, but I haven't a clue because your Uncle showed up at Hogwarts and we had to deal with that. As far as I know Hermione hadn't arrived back at the castle yet and this one here put Junior back into a foul mood." James smiled at his son.
"No way!" Draco stared at Regulus in disbelief.
"You must be Draco." Regulus looked at his nephew he resembled Lucius and Narcissa in looks, but it was clear that this lad was no Malfoy or Black. He was very much a Pendragon and it showed. "And no kid I'm not dead."
"Uh, welcome back to the family…" Draco was at a loss for words.
"It's good to be back. Glad you decided to see the light and ditch all the darkness." Regulus grinned.
"Oh yeah that, well, I like having a family that loves me. Friends that care if I live or die, a wife that I adore more than anything in the universe, and a little boy due in late April or Early May." Draco reached down and scooped up Candy. "Well, are you going to introduce your family or do I have to guess?"
"The lovely blonde is my wife Dahlia and you are holding our one-year-old daughter Candace." Regulus was impressed by how his nephew had turned out.
"So, you're the reason Hermione suffered for four weeks while First-Grams and Aunt Celestra were away visiting the omni powerful relatives in Europe." Draco conjured a toy for Candy to play with. "Morgana targeted Hermione last November and the result was her breaking her ankle. This was just after the first-grandparents righted us again. Dad wasn't happy with first-Grams, so she decided to visit family abroad." Draco explained.
"So that's what he was talkin about last night." Regulus now had some answers to some questions.
"Sorry about that I'm Draco it's a pleasure to meet you." Draco smiled at Dahlia.
--
"Daddy? How do I go about killing William?" Rory stalked into the kitchen with several newspapers in her arms.
"Yes Daddy. How do we go about killing our husbands?" Dromi has had a stack of papers in her arms.
"Girls we have guests and no you are not going to kill William or Henry now sit and have breakfast." Lily ordered her daughters.
"Sorry, but our husbands actions last night are the buzz of the press and the media." Dromi forced herself to smile at their guests. "I'm Dromi and this is my sister Rory."
"You're not Uncle Sirius…" Rory narrowed her eyes at Regulus, but smiled at Dahlia and Candace. "You must be from the omni side of the family tree."
"This is your Uncle Sirius' younger brother Regulus, his wife Dahlia, and their daughter Candace. Regulus these are my oldest Andromeda Marie and Katherine Aurora." James introduced them. "They are married at least in our world to Prince William and Prince Harry of Wales."
"So, that's the reason Uncle Sirius couldn't find you on the other side." Rory arched a brow at him. "You weren't dead. Just like Mum's parents. What did you do fake your death as well."
"Yes I did." Regulus was impressed with these two beauties as well. "So, what exactly did the princes do that has your feathers ruffled?"
"Oh, pick a paper and see for yourself." Rory set the stack of papers on the table and then sat down to focus on eating breakfast. "The four hearts ditch Sandhurst Ball and return to mystery love nest!? I ought to give those sharks the works for that article!"
"Well, it does look bad because you left the ball after... It says here... Seriously snogging under the mistletoe for nearly fifteen minutes." Regulus picked up a paper and read it.
"That's a breach of promise!! I want them locked up and then have them throw away the key!" Rory pointed at the picture of her and Wills kissing on the front page of The Sun.
"That was an official event therefore it was fair game for everyone who signed that agreement." James picked up another paper this one was the Mirror. "Future King and Queen of England ditch Ball to continue their hot and heavy romance in private. It wasn't surprising that Prince Harry and Princess Dromi followed their lead and went off somewhere in private. Where is yet to be discovered, but the four have yet to have surfaced at Highgrove. Therefore, we are certain that they have secretly bought love nests of their own and have hidden it from the public eye." James read some of the article.
"We left to come here and join in on decking up the manor for the holidays and it's none of their business if we have a secret love nest or not! I am going to jinx them until they develop blue and purple spots all over them for that one!" Dromi was not happy with them either.
"Where exactly are the boys?" Lily arched a brow at her daughters.
"Wills is talking with Grams and Henry is talking with Dad." Rory was focusing on each one of those reporters and their photographers and jinxing the tar out of them just by focusing her mind.
"Talking? It was more like Grams was screaming at Wills and my poor Henry was being roared at by Dad." Dromi was doing the same with her stack of papers. There was just no way that they were going to let them get away with printing rubbish like that.
"Girls all that jinxing them is going to do is get you into hot oil with Dad. He'll have to have them all sorted out at St. Mungo's and then have to deal with talking with the PM. Dad loathes talking with the PM. It's like dealing with a brick wall." James narrowed his eyes at his daughters.
"I'll wear ear protection during his lecture." Rory grumbled.
"Look, darlings, what's done is done the four of you had a lapse in good judgment during an official muggle event, so now you're going to have to live with the fallout of your actions." Lily was sorting through a stack of snaps that had arrived by owl from the Weasley twins. "Or we can provide them all with some snaps of the family gathering last night and then perhaps a home movie cleverly edited by Colin."
"Darling, as usual you come up with the most brilliant solutions to our children's horrendous mishaps." James blew her a kiss. "We shall retaliate by giving them all a glimpse of all of us at play."
"That's beyond brilliant that way those gits get the rotten egg thrown right back into their faces." Regulus was feeding his baby girl her breakfast.
"The spawn of mortal society happen to be the relentless members of the press. Oh, there are rare individuals who respect their fellow others, but most of the lot love making everyone as miserable as possible and get a rise out of it." Dahlia was in full agreement."
"That's funny I didn't see Colin around last night…" Rory was looking over various snaps that her mother had thought as worthy for muggle eyes. There were pictures of the men setting up the front yard, of the family inside trimming the tree. Harry and Hermione showing Dani the lights, of the finished backyard, and of their arrival home from the Ball and her and Rory did not look at all pleased with their men. "I love these muggle friendly snaps, yes they'll do nicely."
"Colin was under an invisibility cloak, so he could capture the gathering with everyone none the wiser and at ease." James chuckled at the snaps of Ron hanging off the side of the roof and the ones of Henry and Draco in the hedges. "Looks like he created DVD's as well there's one labeled muggle safe while the other just says family at play with the date."
"It sounds as if Fred and George were already devising a plan, after hearing us rowing in the foyer last night." Dromi called the laptop in the Common Room to her, so she could use it to view the DVD's. "He edited the ladder incident, so it looks as if Fluffy is a bullmastiff…Oh my, it plays out like one of those hilarious home video's on the Telly." She giggled.
"He captured our entrance in all our finery too, which more than sets the scene for a not so romantic evening as is being reported in the news." Rory glanced over at the screen. "This is perfect! Oh, we must do something brilliant for Colin and the boys."
"The boys haven't started designing the nursery yet, so we'll do that for them, now as for Colin it's the latest digital equipment or something along those lines." Dromi smiled.
"My suggestion is the four of you behave in the public eye that way all of us aren't forced to sacrifice our privacy or dignity to get you out of your dodgy messes." Draco had his say and then vanished.
"The nephew's got a point. You girls look fabulous, but Draco, Henry, and Ron not so much." Regulus was viewing the ladder incident on the screen. "By the gods I love muggle technology." He chuckled.
--
Wills and Henry reluctantly entered the kitchen.
"Granny and Dad are both in full agreement. It's our mess, so we have to make it right again somehow." Wills gave the girls the bad news, but they were too busy sorting through snaps.
"Ignoring us isn't going to make this problem of momentous proportions go away. If we don't make it right they could very well force us into marrying after we graduate from Sandhurst." Henry growled.
"No one is ignoring you. If you must know we are solving your problem of momentous proportions as we speak." Dromi munched on a piece of marmalade toast.
"Sorry about that how rude of us. That's Uncle Sirius' little brother Regulus, his wife Dahlia, and their cute as a button baby girl Candace." Rory glanced up at the two of them.
"Well, well, well, it looks as if Jo has goofed yet again…He looks very much alive to me." Henry smirked but then got all serious when Dromi glared at him. "Uh, sorry about that it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Henry Windsor."
"I'm William Windsor, but everyone in the family calls me Wills." Wills smiled warmly at them.
"So, how do you lads feel about showing off home movies and family snaps to the press and media?" Regulus arched a brow at them.
"It's not one of our favorite pastimes…Why do you ask." Wills frowned.
"It appears as though that's the solution to solving your little snafu yesterday evening." Dahlia sipped her tea before continuing. "I being a princess know there are certain cardinal rules that one does not break and the two of you chose to break one of the most important ones. However, you four are newly married and very much in love so it's forgivable."
"They're only married in the eyes of our world and engaged in the eyes of the muggles." Lily narrowed her eyes at the boys.
"Then we find other solutions, because I am not outing the location of Sanctuary to the media or the press." Wills narrowed his eyes at all of them looking very much the future king of England.
"There's no way in hell that Harry would go for an idea like that and after last night's meltdown I really don't wish to see him go over the fine line of sanity." Henry was in full agreement.
"No one said anything about revealing the location of our home. Besides, only a muggle who has signed the nondisclosure agreement can even see anything after they pass the Lazy Meadows estate. Everyone else see only rolling meadows and trees. The fact remains that you went AWOL from the Ball last night and this is a way of providing them with an idea about where you rushed off with my daughters." James wasn't the least bit pleased about the trash they were spewing about the four of them nor was he pleased by the boy's rash actions under the mistletoe.
The boys were saved by the ringing of Drom's mobile.
She checked to see who was calling and smiled because it was Nanda. "Nanda, Hi. What has you calling at dawn your time?" She listened to her chat for a few minutes. "The press as usual blew everything way out of proportion. You see we left the Ball early because we had to attend something more important in our world." She listened to Nanda's response to that before continuing. "No it wasn't that... Aunt Sibyll had a baby girl in late November. We were having a family tree trimming and decking the manor party the same night as the Sandhurst Ball. We didn't wish to miss it, so the boys came up with that dramatic exit. Colin covered the gathering for the family album. You see Fred and George were already thinking of damage control, so we have the snaps and video edited for us to release to the media as a countermeasure to their slanderous insinuations. Yes, well, we know how scandalous it looked. So, how would you like to do the honors and get the four of us out of boiling hot oil? The Queen and their dad are absolutely livid at us and wish to string us by our toes. Oh no…you see the boys got us into this mess, so they have no say. Mum is the one who came up with the solution, so both her and Dad are all for it. Harry and Hermione are at Hogwarts with their girls for the week, so what they don't know can't hurt them now can it. You will…splendid I shall send Dan to collect you at the airport…You're on the way to Cardiff as we speak even better…See you soon… I will… bye." Dromi ended the call.
All eyes were on her.
But instead of filling them all in took out her Wizarding version of a mobile and rang Dan.
"Dan Shunpike please." She spoke into the phone that instantly connected her to Dan's mobile.
"Dan its Dromi…" She paused to listen to Dan growl about what he would love to do to those muggle gits of the press.
"No we're going to handle it in a more civilized manner. Oh no, I agree wholeheartedly that they all deserve to be kissed by a Dementor, but there are rules that we must abide by. Now the reason for my call, I need you to pick up Miss Nanda Lewis at the airport in Cardiff in about an hour. Yes she's part of our more civilized plan, but she also wishes to visit Hermione. No, there's nothing to be worried about Harry and Hermione are fine. There's what in the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly..." Dromi's eyes widened as she listened to him talk. "No they haven't split up nor did Harry split with the girls! Hermione was asked to teach potions while Uncle Severus takes some much needed time off! Who reported that rubbish anyway!? Rita Skeeter and Marietta Edgecombe!? No, you did the right thing by telling me. You see we don't subscribe to rubbish or rags…Oh yes, please do send us copies…Very good, Dan, we shall see you when you arrive with Nanda…Bye Dan."
"Rita is on probation and Marietta is in violation of the restraining order that forbids her from getting within a foot of Junior or Hermione. Rita is also banned from using her animagus form for life, as is her twin sister Becca. Violating that probation would mean more time for them in Azkaban and a first visit for Marietta." James was beyond displeased with this latest development and made a call to his father.
"Dad, hi…Yeah, I'm well aware and we're going to correct the situation. It's about the morning trash…They violated their parole and I wish for the lot of them to be rounded up…No Harry hasn't read them…I know what he'll do and that's why I want them rounded up! I want the Prophet and the Weekly to print a retraction of the story as well. It's either that or Junior squashes Rita and her twin, and then uses AK on Marietta just for the hell of it. The three of them were never tested. So, I would assume that he would do that first before carrying out the other two actions. Yeah, he's here. Fine, I'll give him the message. Look, dad if you're too busy this morning to deal with this then I will send Tonks and Kings to bring them in or better yet I'll send Lotus and Kane after their worthless hides. Yes, I trust Angelina to handle Marietta, but I'm still going to send Tonks and Kings to fetch the other two pests." James didn't even let him say anything else he simply ended the call then focused on Regulus. "My father the King wishes an audience with you at Godric's Castle."
"And here I was gonna check out the pitch that resembles a Quidditch World Cup stadium in your back forty." Regulus sighed in defeat.
"The King bids us an audience and we shall abide by that request." Dahlia shot him a regal glare. "Come my pretty little blossom you and I need to get ready for our meeting with King Stephen and Queen Anna." She picked up Candy and with a princess like manner glided out of the room.
"You could've lied to him." Regulus grumbled at James.
"He's already in a mood this morning, so you're on your own." James was placing calls to both Tonks and Kings.
"Regulus Alphard Leonardo Nigellus Black, move your hide we are not going to keep them waiting!" Dahlia glared at him from the doorway.
"Be right there my angel blossom." Regulus reluctantly left the kitchen as if going to his own funeral.
"Drat! Kings and Tonks are otherwise occupied for the day." James grumbled as he rang Lotus' phone. "Good your back. So, you had a private ceremony in the orient and have been married nearly three week. Well then congratulations to you both on your marriage, now for the reason that I disturbed your cozy weekend. Why yes it is about the articles in today's Prophet and Witch Weekly. Once again you are correct in assuming that I wish to have both Rita and her twin arrested for violation of their parole. I know that it's beneath the rank of Auror to lower oneself to that of wizarding police, but I want my best to handle it before Harry goes hunting for them himself. Exactly my point that wouldn't be good at all…Yes, that's true I am the boss…and it would be less messy if you and Kane were to catch them first…I shall await your call and as always good hunting." James ended the call.
"I can't believe that she did that to me!" Rory was not happy with her best friend. "She went and married Kane and didn't even invite me to her wedding!"
"Now Rory at the time you weren't exactly all for the two of them getting married." Wills sat down beside her.
"I was furious with you and not thinking straight at the time." Rory pouted.
"Honey what's done is done just be happy for them." Wills reassuringly patted her hand.
"I know that and I am…" Rory laid her head on his shoulder.
Now that they had one set of children squared away it was time to go check on Harry, Hermione, and the triplets at Hogwarts.
"We shall see you four later." Lily got up to pick up Bell.
"We've got to go check on Junior." James scooped MJ into his arms and the two of them left the kitchen.
--
Hogwarts- Pendragon Wing Common room
Harry was enjoying his breakfast while the triplets happily played on a blanket at his feet. "The twins did a spread on our family gathering last night for The Quibbler. These shots are really good, so my guess is that Colin was skulking around under that invisibility cloak that they gave him for an early birthday present." Harry glanced over at Hermione, over on the other couch looking over the lesson plan for the week.
"Yes, I know. I read it an hour ago. It's a lovely article." She didn't so much as look up at him, because all of her focus was on the lesson plan that she had laid out in front of her.
"I for one wouldn't dare even glance at the muggle papers or the Telly after what the four of them pulled last night." He sipped his tea.
"It's their scandalous mess, so let them worry over it."
"Mione you happen to be a natural at potion making, so you'll be fine teaching in Uncle Severus' absence." Harry knew that she was having nervous jitters about teaching class on Monday and tried to give her a small pep talk.
"Why Harry. Thank you ever so much for your glowing observations of my potions making abilities. We shall see how accurate you were after my first day of teaching." Hermione scribbled down notes on some parchment as she continued to chart out her teaching plans for the week.
Harry decided to just let her be for a while and focused on reading a copy of The Daily Prophet that was on the end table. He wasn't at all pleased as he read the front page headlines and had the sudden urge to cause the downfall of the now more tabloid rather than actual newspaper.
--
(The Article read as follows)
Dark Cloud looms over Royal Couple's marriage. Crowned Prince Harry takes daughters to Hogwarts after having a horrid falling-out with his Princess.
After a lovely family event at the Royal home Princess Hermione stunned the entire family when she lost her composure and forbid her three and a half month old daughter from ever using magic again. Not only that, but she went as far as to threaten King Merlin himself. This as you can well imagine enraged our Half-Blood Prince causing him to take drastic action. After setting his upset daughter in his father's arms the Half-Blood Prince took his princess somewhere private to chat. The result was an earsplitting row between the two former lovebirds about magic and their children. The Prince did most of the talking, because he had rendered his beyond furious wife speechless. Using what I believe was a heightened form of Silencio. Now after several long minutes of laying into his wife the Prince gave her an ultimatum saying and I quote.
"Now if you'll excuse me my daughters need their daddy! Who would never think of terrifying them into doing anything!! Figure it out Hermione and do it fast or you and I are going to have problems!!" Before leaving his wife hysterical and in tears and then taking the girls with him to his home away from home Hogwarts.
It is beyond clear at least to this reporter's eyes the Princess fears magic far more than she embraces it. She is showing that her muggle upbringing overshadows the seven or so years that she has spent living off and on in the Wizarding World.
The Prince on the other hand sees things very differently and to use another direct quote from him as stated to the princess the following… "I grew up in a family where all magic was taboo!! I'll not have that around my kids!! It isn't going to happen, so you'd best learn to live with it!!"
Yes, I am sorry to report that it looks as though the happily ever-after that all of us assumed was meant to play out for many years to come has turned out to be more like unhappily ever-after. You can be sure that this reporter is going to do her best to report to you our loyal readers the truth about what the Royal family doesn't wish all of you to know.
--
Harry swore in Parseltounge after finishing reading the article and then because Rita was back to her old tricks again.
"Harry James what on earth is wrong with you!? Dani knows what you are swearing! Now enough with the language!" Hermione hissed at him.
"Sorry precious, but Daddy read a not so nice article and lost his temper." Harry apologized to Dani.
"I thought that I got rid of that rubbish. It's all lies, so just ignore it." Hermione frowned at him in annoyance.
:So, sorry for bothering you with my right to be furious over this thing that she wrote about us!: Harry snarled. "You focus on your class notes and I'll focus on taking out the trash!"
:You will focus on the girls and ignore the articles that are all lies about us and that is final!: Hermione threw down her quill and snarled at him. "I can't focus with you over there snarling about nothing!"
"Nothing!? This is a blatant violation of her parole and of our privacy! This is not nothing!" He held up the paper that had the snap of the two of them rowing in the Guest Cottage plastered on the front page. "I seriously doubt that Colin shot these snaps of us! Now what in Merlin's name did you mean by other article?!"
"Marietta wrote a similar article for Witch Weekly that I disposed of in the fireplace. It's rubbish. Let Mum and Dad deal with it. You're off duty remember...no wait scratch that comment because you forget that little factor a lot lately." Hermione rubbed at her temples with her fingers to ward off her impending headache.
"Let us handle what?" James, Lily, and the twins had arrived.
"Harry read The Prophet and is going mental over its front page." Hermione gathered her things and headed for the sanctity and quite of the study. "You deal with him while I prepare for my first-class tomorrow."
"Very funny, Hermione! It's not like I'm a toddler and I have not gone mental!" Harry muttered under his breath.
"It's already taken care of so relax." James set the twins down and they raced over to play with the triplets.
"Thanks that's a big load off my shoulders, so what did you do about the other mess?" Harry arched a brow at him.
"That is also being taken care of, now finish your breakfast." Lily sat next to him on the couch.
Harry concentrated and his laptop appeared on his lap. "I lost my appetite. Now before you start in on me, I will point out that this was upstairs in our suite and that I need it to finish working on the book."
"Did I say a word?" James munched on a piece of toast. "Do as your mother says and eat that way you're setting a good example for your brother, sister, and daughters."
Harry gave in to their parental pressure and handed his laptop to his mum, so he could finish eating his breakfast. "So, who called Nanda and what's the damage control gonna cost us to fix what their scandalous behavior caused last night?" Harry asked curiously.
"She called Dromi and is going to show off snaps and home movies of last night's family event." James frowned at his son. "You do know that picking someone's brain at will is rude and against the rules."
"Who said anything about picking your brain? I'll have you know that you happen to be loud this morning and couldn't help but pick up on your thoughts. It sounds like a good plan. Lucky for them Colin covered the party last night." Harry finished eating his breakfast. "Mum…I cleaned my plate may I please have my computer back now?"
"Don't be cheeky." Lily handed him back the computer. "Are the two of you okay about everything now?"
"We're fine. She's just got nervous jitters about teaching tomorrow and it's really beginning to show." Harry looked over at the study.
"I told her that she had nothing to worry about, because she's a natural at creating and making potions. The problem being that she didn't believe a word that I was saying to her."
Harry, Googled the news to see what they were reporting about his older siblings and bit back an oath. "The Archbishop of Canterbury is demanding that they officially wed in the fall as soon as they graduate from Sandhurst. Secret love nest? My god they completely muddled everything up! How will home photos or movies get them out of this mess?" Harry knew the rules and that nothing was ever set in stone, but this was not what the four of them wanted, but then again it might not even matter what they wanted anymore.
"It will show them all that they left for our family party and not too, uh, well, you get the idea." James grumbled.
"Oh, I get it. You wish the four of them to appear as though the four of them aren't… Oh yeah, shagging on a daily basis. I got it dad. In this case it's essential to lie to save face and get the four of them off the hook." Harry drawled sarcastically.
"Precisely and that's why Nanda is going to cover it for us. We trust her and she's family to us." Lily scowled as she read some of the headlines being written about her babies and then proceeded to mentally jinx the lot of them for even thinking such rubbish about her girls.
"Mum that's really not the way to go about handling this…They'll think it's a new virus or something…not that they didn't all deserve it. I mean they did, but that's really gonna cause a stir in the muggle world." Harry had felt what his mother had just done and reacted accordingly. "Although, on the other hand being in quarantine might just be just the ticket that will teach them all a lesson."
"Oh honey, you didn't…Dad's gonna pull his hair out at this rate…first the girls and now you." James rolled his eyes at his wife.
"They deserve far more than that!" Lily was not pleased. "My girls are nothing like that Paris or that Lindsay!"
"No of course they aren't and none of us are saying that either." Harry focused on emailing the family letting them all know that all was well between Hermione and himself and that she was going to be teaching potions. "News travels fast…Daniel and Em emailed me about my split with Hermione…Oh and Em is doing a reality ice-skating show called Stars on Thin Ice…"
"All of them are just worried about you and as for the other it's good for Emma to try other things." Lily her temper now spent smiled at him.
"The book is being released on the twenty-first. Jo wishes us to be there for the book reading at the stroke of midnight that morning. Midnight just to read an exert from the book for the fans?" Harry wasn't so sure that he was liking that idea. "Oh and I'm to ignore anything written that is rubbish, because it's not worth reading any way." He read some more of the e-mail and pondered the last request. "She also wants an advanced copy of our sixth year masterpiece…evidently she got a hold of a copy of the rough draft and loved every last word of it."
"I sent it to her…no harm was meant." Hermione stood in the doorway of the study.
"No harm was meant? Angel, I'm not a nuclear bomb set to explode at any second. I'm fine. It's your book too, so you had every right to send a copy of it to Jo." Harry smiled at her. "Daniel wishes for me to cut you some slack and Em says that I overreacted to the situation."
"That's wrong I was the one who overreacted, but no matter I'm spending the day with you and our girls. I'll just wing it tomorrow." Hermione went over to join them.
"We'll watch the girls while the two of you go somewhere very public and do a lot of snogging. Like say Diagon Alley." James suggested.
"Yes, that's a lovely idea and I believe that Kate has something there that she wishes for you two to see today." Lily smiled.
"Well then in that case let's go make them all jealous of our love." Harry grinned wickedly at Hermione.
"Now that sounds like a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon." Hermione's eyes danced playfully.
After saying good-bye to the girls they both vanished while embraced in a passionate kiss.
--
Diagon Alley
Cedric and Kate were at Diagon Alley surveying the work that had been completed on what would be two different shops, one was to be Triwizards Inc.'s company store, and the other was Enchanting Imaginations a store centered on children.
"Darling you aren't going inside, so don't even ask." Cedric had a firm yet gentle hold on her arm.
"But I want to see inside." Kate pouted. "I'm seven months pregnant not an invalid, so stop treating me like one!" Her pout turned into a menacing growl.
"Now Kitten. You know that a construction area is no place for you or our unborn son. The answer is still no." He wasn't about to budge on the issue.
"Rohan is fine. Lower your tone or you'll wake him up again and I'll have to take a nap just to settle him down." Kate hissed up at him. "Let go of my arm Golden Boy or I'll hurt you."
"Rohan is a higher priority than seeing your shop." Cedric narrowed his eyes at her.
"I said move!" She took out her wand and gave him a hotfoot. "Never accuse me of neglecting our son again or singing soprano you will be!" Kate opened the doors to her finished shop. "I love it! The twins did a smashing job!" She adored the carpet with it's planets and stars, fairies in their gardens, dragons, other mystical creatures, Unicorn, and Pegasus sections. There was a play area where kids could test new toys while their parents shopped. Everything was fashioned, so little fingers could reach shelves that would soon be filled with toys. The shop was made to be child friendly. She especially liked the area that had be designed to showcase children's clothing and accessories. All in all the result was a child friendly and colorful environment.
"I wanted it all set up before you saw it." Cedric was the one pouting now.
"Oh baby, I'm sorry if I spoiled your surprise, but I want to see every stage of the shops completion…"
Cedric was scowling at her again.
"Within reason of course." She added hastily.
Cedric conjured a comfy chair for her to sit in. "The storeroom is fully stocked. I'll set up while you direct me where everything is supposed to go."
"That's thoughtful of you Golden boy, but I left my list and things at home." Kate sat down in the chair.
"You mean this?" Cedric produced her satchel out of thin air.
"Nicely done there Cedric. Do ya fancy yourself needin a hand?" Seamus and Lexi smiled at them from the doorway. "Have a seat darlin." He conjured Lexi a comfy chair beside Kate's.
"I'm not fragile glass, Seamus." Lexi rolled her eyes at him.
"Liftin and such is mans work and not for a momma-to-be." He bent over and kissed her pouting mouth.
"I'm four weeks along not twenty-eight, now stop fussing I'm fine." Lexi growled.
"Humor me." Seamus pouted giving her his best forlorn puppy eyed look.
"Mon Dieu! You worry way too much!" She rolled her eyes at him in sheer exasperation. "Very well, I will humor you for now." Lexi was peeved at him, so her french accent was prominent.
"That's mo grá." Seamus grinned.
"Hello all." Dean and Padma had arrived. "The broom shop looks wicked as does this place."
"You never listen when your brainstorming another idea of yours do you?" Padma smiled warmly at Lexi and Kate, but growled that up at him. "I'm going to love minding this shop. It's turned out smashingly smart and Parvati will love this as well. She'd be here, but since she still hasn't come to her senses about dating Michael Corner, she's spending the day with him."
"Thanks for helping make this venture of ours a reality. I'm sorry the men are in a paranoid frame of mind this morning." Kate smiled at Padma.
Dean's eyebrows rose as it dawned on him that this was what Padma was so excited about. She was going to be running a shop with her friends. "I take it that all of you are opening a boutique of some sort?"
"No Dean. We're not opening a boutique. We are opening a children's toy and clothing shop called Enchanting Imaginations." Padma set about exploring the shop.
"Fred and George are designing toys now and we are going to feature them only at our shop. I have my own line of children's clothing that we plan to featuring as well. Our biggest coup was getting the Strauss's to agree to let us carry their famous line of plushies and that's just the beginning." Kate explained.
"That's, uh, great. So do you need help setting up?" Dean changed the subject.
"Yeah, let's go in back that's where all the stuff is for the shop." The three of them disappeared into the backroom.
"Okay, now that the men are off bonding, what did the two of you think about that article in The Prophet this morning?" Padma walked over to her friends.
"It's rubbish and that Rita woman should be shot." Lexi growled.
"I know what you mean. The nerve of her typing malarkey like that!" Kate landed handed Padma the floor layout for the shop. "I'll admit the photo looked extremely bad, but Harry would never leave Hermione nor would he take the girls from her."
"That snap of Hermione with her face buried in her hands was heart wrenching. Marietta was vicious in her article in Witch Weekly. Hermione is not nor has she ever been a magic hater." Padma wanted to rip out Marietta's hair by the roots for saying those things about her friends. She looked over at the front store windows and her mood instantly lightened, because Harry and Hermione were seriously kissing right outside the front of the shop. "Um, girls. Do they look doomed to you?" She giggled pointing at the windows.
"Does who look doomed?" Lexi got up to see what Padma was grinning at. "No they look very much in love to me." She smiled happily.
Kate pushed herself up to her feet and went to see what they were so happy about. "Someone get some water and douse the fire. Those two are so hot that they may very well light this whole street on fire." Kate waddled her way to the front doors and opened them. "You two have more than proved your point. Now stop snogging and come see the shop."
At the sound of Kate's voice the two of them reluctantly broke off their too-hot-to handle kiss.
"My Mione is gonna be swamped teaching potions all week, so I'm storing up kisses in my head." He flashed her a wicked grin and his eyes had that wicked gleam in them.
"Hermione's teaching potions?" Padma and Lexi joined them outside.
"Yes, but only for a week while Uncle Severus takes some much needed time off to focus on Aunt Sibyll and the baby." Hermione resisted the urge to fan her flushed face. "So this is where Enchanting Imaginations is going to be located." She focused on the store in front of her and not on the wicked way that Harry was gazing at her.
"So this is Project Enchanting." Harry pulled Hermione back against him and rested his chin on her head.
"This is one reason Fred and George are focusing on creating toys for infants and children of all ages. Kate has a glorious line of infant, toddler, and children's wear that she's designed, and we'll carry Lucy's as well." Hermione sighed happily. "You boys have your brooms and we have our own passion, not for our enjoyment, but for our children and he childern of the Wizarding World."
"Well then let's get this store up and running." Harry kissed the top of her head. "I happen to think that this is a brilliant idea on all your parts. Now where are the guys?"
"In the back storeroom most likely chatting about the two of you." Padma smirked.
"Don't tell me that all of you actually believed all of that tripe Rita and Marietta are spewing about us!" Harry scowled. "Because that's all it was. Rita and her twin are going back to Azkaban for all of their troubles. Marietta is also in boiling oil for violating the restraining order against her. Maybe a month in Azkaban will do her some good."
"We're fine." Hermione forced herself to smiled. "Yes, it's true that we had a row, but we solved that problem, and are fine now."
Harry took out his wand thought of the spell Sonorus in his head and began to speak. "Attention citizens of the Wizarding World!"
Hermione blushed crimson when everyone stopped to stare at them.
Shoppers, store clerks, and store owners came out to see what was up as well.
:Harry this is not necessary!: She hissed.
:Oh, but I think it is.: Harry continued with his declaration. "My princess and I wish you to know the two of us are forever and always hopelessly, recklessly, and deliriously in love with each other. No matter what The Daily Prophet and Witches Weekly say. It is true that we did go to Hogwarts last night, but not because of a row. It was because my angel is subbing for Professor Snape. He's the proud father of a beautiful baby girl and needs to focus on his wife, Professor Trelawney-Snape, and their daughter. We both love magic and neither of us shuns it in any way, as reported by Rita in the article in The Prophet. However, our Dani is excelling faster than we would like in magic and it frightens her mother and even I at times. You see three and a half-month-old babies should not be able to just appear at random in their father's arms. Oh yes, and all of you thought that your little ones were handfuls." Harry chuckled.
Everyone stared gobsmacked at him.
"Trust us when we say that you have no idea what mischief is until you have three budding little Mab's to watch over. It's a good thing that Hermione and I can handle anything that comes our way and that includes our little wonders. The articles were not only rubbish and not worth the parchment that they were printed on, but the two reporters and photographers were all in direct violation of their probation and are in boiling hot oil. I assure you there is no dark cloud and my princess and I are fine." He finished his announcement.
The crowd of loyal subjects were all shouting for them to kiss.
"Well you two. You heard what your subjects requested. Now enough with the long-winded speech and on with the smoochin." Seamus grinned.
"Yeah, cuz we got work to do for the girls and it can't get done standin out here all-day." Dean smirked.
"Oh, very well if we must then we must." Hermione turned the tables on Harry and went to kiss him until his mind shut down and there was nothing in his mind but kissing her.
The crowd of onlookers went wild with cheers and applause.
"See what I mean…we're...uh…fine. Have a pleasant afternoon." Harry's mind had nearly shut down, so he barely croaked that last bit out before Hermione dragged him with her into the shop.
"I'd say that little show is gonna make an excellent front page for the morning edition." Fred smirked.
"Oh yeah, it'll sell out for sure." George agreed.
"Boys let them be. I need to go over to Sanctuary, so I can interview Regulus Black before anyone else gets to him first." Katie growled.
"Yes and I need to have a chat with Rory and Dromi about helping us design the nurseries for our baby girls." Trista although pleased with what she had just seen was also on a mission to get something done today that George kept putting off. That being some idea about how to design the nursery.
"You win we'll go, maybe we can get the scoop on what's up with the other four." Fred and George grinned at each other.
"You two just love to see others squirm don't you." Katie rolled her eyes at Fred.
"It's better them than us, besides we gave them a solution to get out of their mess and just wish to see how that's going." Fred shot her a wounded look.
"Yeah, and maybe we might just get a meal out of it as well." George pulled Trista into his arms and they vanished.
"Yeah, there is that too." Fred did the same with Katie and they vanished from Diagon Alley.
--
Chapter 26
New Endeavors
--
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.
--
Cindra 2004-2008