For the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition,

Round: Finals — Position: Seeker — Team: Chudley Cannons

Prompt: Your character must ignore the facts so they don't have to change their opinion.

For Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

Assignment #9 - Men's History: King Tut - Task #4: Write about something unexpected.

W/C: 1885

What's The Big Plan?

Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. The Vanquisher of Lord Voldemort. A third of the so-called 'Golden Trio'.

So it had been a bit of a surprise when he went and became a full-time father.

The Daily Prophet had been quite the menace when he had handed in his resignation letter to Kingsley Shacklebolt, to say the least. Half the Wizarding World had been shaking its head in disapproval, because it expected 'so much better' of Harry Potter. The other half had been bouncing on the balls of their feet, pretty convinced that he must have something very big in the making. Maybe he was preparing to run for Minister a few years later? Maybe he was going to become a professional Quidditch player? Why had he resigned in the first place? Was there something suspicious going on inside the Ministry that led him to make such a decision? Is Harry Potter going to spill the beans on the inner workings of the Ministry? questioned an article in the Daily Prophet.

Not even Ginny, who was a correspondent for the sports column, could convince them of the fact that Harry was really going to be a stay-at-home dad. He had done what was expected of him all his early years, and now he was going to do something for himself and his family. But no, it was almost comical — the way every person had been convinced they were right.

The Weasleys, Hermione's parents and their other friends had been very supportive, of course. Ron had even told him and Hermione one day that he was thinking of taking a leaf out of Harry's book and becoming a stay-at-home father.

"It'd be cool if I did that, wouldn't it?" he had asked, grinning. "George will probably have my head, though, if I left the shop all to him."

Harry had since been having a great and fulfilling two years being a homemaker, despite everything. Most importantly, his decision had allowed Hermione to focus better on her work. She deserved to have a successful career. And neither of them wanted their children to get neglected because one of their parents was Head Auror, and the other well on her way to becoming the future Minister for Magic, both working for hours each day.

Like any other decision he had ever made, being a homemaker had also been an impulsive one. He had come back home close to midnight one day and found Hermione in the living room, going through a stack of parchment while holding a fussy two-year-old James in her arms because he had been having problems going to sleep.

It was impulsive, yes, but it became one of the best decisions he had ever made.

During the first week of November, they received an invitation from Hermione's great aunt, Mabel, who was turning eighty. It was a bit strange, since Hermione told Harry she hadn't heard from Great-Aunt Mabel for ages.

"I don't even remember what she's like," she said at dinner that day.

"She's my father's cousin," said Robert, Hermione's father, when they asked him about it. He had a look of distaste on his face as he continued, "She used to be a bit of a show-off; I didn't like her all that much."

Hermione's mother, Jean, giggled. "You've never liked any of your aunts or uncles."

"That's only because they just can't mind their own businesses. You remember Uncle Will, don't you?"

"The one who always asks you how much money you make?" Hermione asked.

"That one," Robert nodded. "Prepare yourselves for some intense interrogation, Harry, Hermione."

The two of them had looked at each other, both hoping they wouldn't have to make use of a Confundus charm during the party.

"But you, Harry, do you work for this super secret organisation as well?" asked Great-Aunt Mabel sweetly, tapping her wrinkled chin with a heavily bejewelled finger.

"No, I don't," Harry replied. "I look after the children and the household."

Mabel smiled. "Now that's sweet and all, but don't you have a job?"

"Homemaking is my only job."

"That is … interesting," frowned Mabel. It was obvious that she disapproved; it showed in the way she gave Harry a once-over. Then she looked at Hermione in a sympathetic way.

She patted Hermione's shoulder, and was probably about to say something, but was whisked away from them by another couple of old women.

"Don't let her get to you," Hermione whispered in her husband's ear as they moved away from the centre of the room. "You remember what Dad said, right?"

Harry nodded — he was used to this, even though no one had ever really said anything to his face.

He spotted Rose and James by the fountain outside. They had gone with some of Hermione's other relatives to get ice-cream and were now eating large chocolate cones with content.

"I'll get the kids," he said to Hermione. "Save us some seats."

"Hi, Daddy," the twins said brightly when he reached the fountain.

"Do you want some?" asked Rose, pointing at her half-eaten cone.

Harry chuckled. "It's fine, love. Mummy and I just had a lot of pumpkin juice. Besides, it's almost time for dinner — we must save some space in our tummies for that."

The children grinned. Harry sat down beside Rose and waited for them to finish their ice-creams.

He was also acutely aware of two old women watching him. He was probably the topic of their current discussion, as well, but he tried to pay attention instead to James talking about how he'd like to swim in the fountain.

"You can't swim in a fountain, James," Rose was saying. "It's too small."

"We can make it bigger with magic," James said in reply.

"... the poor children," Harry heard one of the women say in a hushed tone. "They probably have no one to look after them, what with Hermione having to work all day."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say he was kicked out of his job or something because he was lazy," said the other woman. "Our Hermione's such a brilliant girl, 's a shame her husband's like that."

"And Jean and Rob don't seem to worry about their grandchildren at all!" the first woman replied.

Harry felt his stomach drop, but he grit his teeth. This was the first time he had heard someone talk about him in that way, but he really wished he would stop being so affected by the words.

Don't listen to them, the voice in his mind that sounded like Hermione told him. Don't listen to them.

"What's wrong, Daddy?"

Harry shook his head and looked at James and Rose.

"Everything's OK, loves," he told them, managing a small smile.

Both his children were as perceptive as their mother, as evident from the disbelieving frowns on their faces.

"Can we go inside then?" asked Rose.

"Of course. Mummy's waiting for us."

It did not take Hermione very long to realise that something was troubling her husband as well.

So she asked him about it one evening after dinner. They were all together in the living room. The twins were sprawled on their backs on the floor, doodling and chatting to themselves. Harry and Hermione were on the couch; Hermione was telling Harry about the latest attacks on Muggles in some town in Spain.

"By the way," she said when she was done, "is something the matter, Harry? You've been very quiet these last few days."

Harry sighed. Of course Hermione would notice.

"It's nothing," he said dismissively.

Hermione fixed him with the look that meant she wasn't going to take 'nothing' for an answer.

"Are you embarrassed because of me?" he blurted out. "Because I don't have a job?"

Hermione frowned. "What's made you think that?"

"I've let everyone down, haven't I?" he said, looking down. "I'm so sorry, Hermione, you deserve better than an unemployed husband."

Hermione took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her.

"Listen to me, Harry Potter," she said firmly. "You have nothing to be sorry about, and I have nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm quite proud, in fact. You've raised our children so well, and they couldn't have asked for a better father. I couldn't have asked for a better husband."

Harry blinked at her.

"There are always going to be a bunch of idiots who'll talk — no matter what you do. You are not jobless or unemployed — anyone who even thinks that is just ignoring the real truth: looking after the children and holding the household together is not easy, yet you're doing a fantastic job of it."

"I think you're a really cool daddy."

Harry and Hermione looked down at James, who had rolled over and was listening to them.

"Yes, so do I," said Rose, who was still doodling away. "Even Paige and Jack at school think so."

Hermione looked sideways at Harry and was pleased to see that he was smiling.

"Paige told me her parents are always at work and she only gets to see them in the morning," James said.

"Yes, but you always let us help you cook dinner, and you pick us up from school, and you take us to Diagon Alley and Uncle Ron and Uncle George's joke shop and — ," Rose continued to mumble, counting off her fingers as she did.

"See, Harry?" asked Hermione, beaming at him. "We wouldn't have you any other way, love," she assured him.

And as Harry looked at his wife and his two children, he realised they were right. Being a father wasn't something to be ashamed of, even though it was something nobody expected of him. After all, seeing the smile on Hermione's face when she came home from work and listening to James and Rose talk to him about school made him happier than he had ever been in his life.

"Ooh, look, Harry Potter must be having a secret meeting with his old coworkers!" a girl outside Quality Quidditch Supplies whispered dramatically. Inside the shop, Harry stood with his twin children and Ron Weasley. The twins had a new toy broomstick each, which they were ecstatic about. And Harry and Ron were talking very seriously to a pair of men in Auror robes.

"It must be the big plan the Prophet's talking about, don't you think? That homemaker business was a complete sham," the girl's friend muttered darkly.

"Must be."

"So, Hermione, how's your husband's new job going? What's he doing, again?"

Hermione sighed internally. "He's a homemaker, and his job's going fantastically," she replied, smiling brightly. "We're all so proud of him."

The Unspeakable smiled back in a very annoying manner.

"All right, Mr Quinn," Hermione told him. "It's almost seven! I must go home, my family's waiting."

As Hermione walked over to the Floo, she once again realised it would probably take the people a lot more time to come to terms with the fact that no, for once, nothing exciting was happening in Harry Potter's life, but their opinion did not make any difference, anyway.

She and Harry, their kids and their friends, they knew what a good thing Harry was doing, and that was all that mattered in the end.