Harry walked into the ministry with a solemn expression wiped across his face, his brow and underarms felt sweaty as if he had been out running all morning. "Mr. Potter!" A gleeful voice announced.
Harry turned and stared at the figure in the doorway, she had dark bushy hair and a laid back expression as she slouched against the door frame, "I'm sorry Hermione, I don't have time to do my paperwork today, I reckon you can cover that for me?" Hermione stood back up and took a stack of papers from his desk without a word before she began to walk out, as she did, though, she stopped in her tracks and turned back to him, "Mr. Potter, how reckless can you be not to complete your paperwork yourself?"
Harry sighed and felt a tad annoyed by her, "Hermione please, just this once!"
Hermione ignored him and swatted the question away immediately, "Mr. Potter, you say that 'just this once' yet the next time I find you, you want me to do this repeated sequence. Mr. Potter, I believe it is your turn, to complete your paperwork."
Harry turned his head and sighed again tiredly.
He did not want to do his paperwork, he wasn't a man to like to sit down at a desk and write checks and opening letters to other ministries, but he did see Hermione's point, he never really did do his paperwork.
"You're taking your time." She said annoyingly again.
Harry looked back at her and frowned, he tore the stack of papers from her hands sadly and tapped open his desk to find his quill, "Hermione, I hate paperwork." She nodded and grinned, "I know, but you haven't done some in a while and something seems to be bothering you. When something bothers me, I work on paperwork. It's my turn of events. I knew you'd be subject to doing so...so I came in big. You see, Harry. When I promise to help, I keep that promise, now it is your turn. I know you can do it, it's a few simple problems to discuss. Surely that can't be as miserable as what you must be facing."
Harry nodded, he knew he had been a bit tired lately with the birth of his third child, and trying to take care of his other two sons hasn't been specifically easy either. Hermione smiled and left him to think of it with the stack of paperwork, muttering a short good-bye hand gesture as she passed.
After the door closed softly behind him, he shoved all the paperwork to the side and pulled out his wand beginning to examine it. It was a shallow wood covering up the soft phoenix feather hiding beneath the surface, maybe if he just stared at it long enough the time would pass faster and he wouldn't have to do any paperwork, that sounded nice.
But of course, going home to Ginny and his kids felt like an overbearing weight. Since night number one, Lily Luna Potter cried every night, all night, Ginny was able to somehow sleep through it, but Harry got up every morning at about 3:00 AM to pat her back to sleep, only to wake up again at 5:00 AM to do exactly the same thing. And of course, there was the night he woke up and Albus had wet his bed and his trousers then soon after, Lily started screaming and pouting again.
Harry had not had a very good month so far, in a way he was happy Hermione had found him this way and offered to help. Harry laid his head on his desk and his eyelids felt heavy, he closed them softly and drifted off to sleep.
Ginny...Ginny...
Ginny's form appeared in the distance against a black background. She looked sad, her hair wasn't as vivid and smooth on top, it was instead faded and graying, slowly becoming brittle and fragile. "Gin?" Harry said, his mind propelling towards her, he couldn't neglect the fact that he missed her, yet all those late-night lullabies sung under the cold ceiling made him only considerate.
"Harry!" Someone yelled, "Harry!" Harry jumped up, he was no longer in the black void, no longer experiencing terror, he comforted himself and turned to Ron who stood in the door, "Blimey Harry! You sleep deeply!" Harry nodded slowly, Ron's mouth moved but no words came out, Harry felt drowned by responsibility. "What time is it?" Harry asked, straightening his work tie and turning the bronze knob on the door.
"Harry it's 5:00 PM!" Ron said, still staring at Harry. Harry swung the door open and walked out, still configuring what Ron had said, 5:00 PM...5:00 PM... Ron walked alongside him and waved a hand in his face, "What's wrong with you, Harry! I've been trying to get your attention since 4:30!" Harry rubbed his eyes and continued to move forwards, "Goodbye Ron," He said as he walked forwards some more. Ron stopped and waved shortly, "Goodbye Harry?"
Harry arrived home and slipped into the brown leather chair that sat in his living room as a gift from Hermione and Ron, Ginny moved about in the kitchen and Harry slid under a quilt on the couch and grabbed five more blankets. Ginny stomped over to him and stood over him like a lamp, "Harry are you ill?" She said, bending to touch his forehead as James entered the room dragging a teddy bear behind him.
James stopped and stared at his father, he waddled over to his mother and she ignored him. James picked up his teddy and pushed the arm of the teddy into his mouth, sucking on it. His mother bent down to him and yanked it out from between his teeth, "No James, we do not eat our toys," she said, shaking her head and holding the slobbery teddy, James wailed.
He screamed and jabbed at the rug, whining and whining. His mother picked him up and rocked him back and forth in her arms but he continued to scream and jab constantly, she leaned him up against her shoulder and bounced him up and down. James thought that was nice and slowed his crying, sniffling at random points and sometimes picking back up again.
Harry felt his forehead, his hand was cool against it, perhaps he was ill. He didn't show any symptoms though, just a slight fever and now his throat felt raw and swollen. Ginny continued to pat the back of a sniffling James, his face was red and tears ran down it in streaks, Ginny brought him to the dining table and sat him down in a green and white high chair.
She tied a baby bib around his neck and set down some mashed carrots on the tray in front of him, he wailed again and pounded his small fists on the tray. Harry thought he might throw up and felt chills run down his back and stay there, they made him shiver and he grabbed about seven more blankets, after five minutes he began to feel hot and kicked them all off.
Harry just now thought he'd send word to Ron and tell him he wasn't feeling very well that day, and maybe Hermione would read it as well and let him take a sick day. The thought of all that paperwork made Harry feel worse and his stomach flipped.
"Hay Popper!" A voice came from the floor and Harry looked down to see Albus crawling to him, he was clapping his hands and trying to climb up onto the couch with him. Harry acted fast and pushed an extra couch pillow down to loosen his grip on the couch, "No Albus, I can't help you right now,"
Ginny rushed back to Albus after controlling a menacing James and pulled him from the couch, "Albus! Here! We're gonna play a game! Peek-a-boo!" Harry found it heartwarming to see Ginny interacting with them, Lily was probably upstairs, sleeping like Harry wished he could be doing.
Ginny took three hours to get all of the kids fed and in bed, including Lily, Harry felt even more ill after waiting that long to be taken care of himself. "Harry, how are you feeling? Can I get you some water? Or orange juice? You'll need your vitamin C!" Ginny knelt down next to him and he pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear,
"Water is fine," He said, turning back around on the couch. Ginny stood up and grabbed a cup of water and a thermometer from the kitchen, "Harry you don't have a fever," she said after two minutes handing him the water. "I think you're just worried. Worrying creates its own negative effect on people, Dr. Kane PhD said that the diagnostics and relative symptoms of worrisome happen commonly," She droned on but Harry didn't listen.
'Worry' was the only word he needed to hear to clarify his emotions.
Harry sat up and downed the cup of water in a single gulp as a knock came at the door, Harry had expected Hermione to come and check on him. She had been worrisome herself of him all day, he was just sad that there might've been nothing to check up on this time around.
James waddled down the stairs and Harry caught him just before he was able to force himself into the kitchen, James was almost everywhere. Even as a baby they had these problems with him while he climbed up the walls and danced up and down on the couches. A foolish child he was, always bouncing around on something, but nowadays he seemed to like to chew on things like quills and stuffed animals.
Ginny took him back upstairs and shoved Harry off the couch, laying down on it herself and piling up with blankets galore, "I'm sick now," She said, turning over onto her side. Harry sat down on a leather armchair and they stayed silent.
An hour passed of dead silence.
Harry looked over to Ginny and saw she was asleep, her hair tucked behind her ears, her chest rising up and down rhythmically. He stood upright and sent an owl to Ron, his message was short, but he was sure Ron would understand - and hopefully Hermione. Hermione, Harry thought, crossing his arms, oh sweet Hermione, he chuckled.
A screaming erupted from upstairs and Harry automatically assumed it was Lily, she would be up this late, balling her eyes out in dried tears. There really was no way to describe tears, heavy bags that fly down your face? Weeping after being dunked under a fountain leaving cold stains to experience? The screaming became louder and Harry rushed up the stairs and swung the door open into Lily's room.
Lily...was dead silent.
The screaming hadn't stopped though, but Harry knew the boys would be- The boys. Harry thought as he bolted into the back rooms.