Things quickly smoothed out for the Potters. Harry came to understand that Ginny was no fun at all if he didn't leave her alone for about an hour every day after work, and Ginny knew that if she didn't make an effort to include Harry in the mundane happenings of her day, he would feel left out and hurt. After all, any strong marriage demands a good slice of compromise.

Both parties saw a definite improvement after the new house was finished and they had more room. Although the new houses started out looking blank and cramped, they were soon inhabited by Wizards, and in a little while each of the fourteen was a different color and style. Ginny had seen to it on the first day that the façade would be blue clapboard. She made Harry check all the shutters all the way round the house and make sure none creaked. She performed some sort of obscure magic to make each room a little bigger while maintaining the same apparent external size. Harry was hugely impressed at his wife's skill with these spells. He'd never even seen most of them, and here she was, performing them perfectly. He assumed she'd learned them from her mum.

When they moved all their possessions into the new house, they found to their surprise that they didn't have much stuff, but they had lots of space to put it in.

"You know, darling, we have enough rooms for a family of six or more," Harry observed, leaning against a wall on the second floor.

"If you're suggesting that we have four or more children, you can forget about it." Ginny was setting up a houseplant near the window and trying to make it look more voluminous.

Mrs. Weasley had been paying keen attention to Ginny's middle section, as she and Harry had been married for almost two years already. So far, Molly had been sorely disappointed in the two, but had had many other grandchildren to keep her spirits up. With the addition of Penelope and Percy's second son, Charlie and Camila's boy, and Hermione and Ron's imminent baby, Mrs. Weasley had plenty to keep her occupied. Still, she couldn't help but drop hints every time she saw them. Ginny only felt lucky that she wasn't in Bill's predicament. To be past thirty and childless was a grave sin under the Weasley roof. Not to mention that he wasn't actually married to the woman he'd been living with for seven years…poor Bill had had a bad time of it. Mrs. Weasley had almost convinced him to set a date, but then he and Fleur had quite suddenly eloped. One weekend they came to dinner and said that they'd been married for six weeks and hadn't seen the need to tell the family. Molly was furious, especially when George took the hint and married his girlfriend Katie Bell (the very same). With two of her sons married without her interference, she told Fred, who was now the only unmarried child, that if he even thought of doing the same she'd disown him. He had answered that he didn't have anyone with whom to elope. Fred and Angelina had sadly broken up, then gotten back together, then broken up, then gone out again within three months. Harry wondered if they would spend the rest of their lives in this capricious dance.

Strange things were happening within the clan. As people coupled off, had kids, and generally grew up, Harry felt an odd sense of loss. He didn't usually joke around with Bill or Charlie anymore, but rather had sensed a sort of generational gap. Now that Phase One of his project was over, Harry didn't really have a job, and wasn't earnestly looking for one. One day when he and Ginny were up at the Burrow, he was lounging on the lawn drinking currant wine and chatting with Bill as they often did. Abruptly, as if for no reason, Bill stood up and turned on him.

"Why can't you just stop screwing around?" Bill had a furrowed brow and looked angrily at Harry, which was definitely a first.

"Sorry?" Harry examined his tumbler of wine curiously.

"You've been out of Hogwarts for what- eight years? When are you going to get a goddamned job? You've actually got a family, you know. You're a grown-up now. What sort of adult wizard are you, letting your wife do all the work?"

Harry stared at him in utter disbelief. His mouth opened and closed silently as he tried to process what Bill had just said.

"I have a job…and it's not like Ginny does all the work. And I've got gold coming in every month from the Ministry…and what do you mean, family? It's just us two, and we're fine." Harry was a little confused as to why his brother-in-law was shouting at him in the first place, and couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Look, Harry…I can get you an interview at Gringott's. I know you've done Arithmancy. You could work on some local stuff, nice comfy desk work. Why not give it a try?" He was now trying to look helpful.

"I'm not interested," Harry stated conclusively, and that was the end of their row.

With all the pressure on him to get a job, Harry couldn't stand to go to the Burrow anymore, and stayed away for several weeks, which made Ginny very angry with him.

"I can't hang around like that, with Mum telling us to have kids and everybody telling me to get a job and nobody considering that maybe we're happy as we are!" he collapsed on the bed, his pajamas rustling as he settled.

"Love, I don't know what to say. If it bothers you that much, just get the damned desk job Bill offered you and clear your conscience," Ginny said rationally, propped up on a couple of pillows, reading.

"No! I don't need his charity!"

"It's not charity, dear, he's trying to honestly help you."

"Well, I don't need his honest help!"

Harry lay there in bed for a few minutes, thinking angrily about Bill and jobs and expectations…and then his thoughts became amorously engaged. Ginny put down her book and sighed, being rather tired, but then remembered that this might be a good time to get it off her chest. He might not get cross if she just suggested it nonchalantly…

"Why don't you go back and be an Auror?" She muttered it, but he heard quite clearly. He glared at her contemptuously for a few seconds, finally saying heatedly, "How many times do I have to explain it to people? I'm not EVER going to do that, okay? I won't do it!" He had apparently lost all interest in his previous activity, because he exhaled huffily and turned on his side with his back facing Ginny.

"Harry, I didn't want to annoy you when I suggested that, I just…you've already been through training. I seems logical as a…fall-back career."

Without any reply from her husband, Ginny sighed, "Fine," and turned the light out.