"Kingsley will have international floo permits ready and waiting for us by dawn New Zealand time."
"Excellent." George cheered.
"Let's get packing." Padraig agreed.
The first class that Kannan attended was that of the fifth years. Now here, he felt he was on a stable broom, he'd had at least six of the current class in the D.A. during Harry's fifth year. Dennis Creevey, Jimmy Peakes, Natalie McDonald, Orla Quirke, Emma Dobbs and Nigel Wolpert. Although he thought Owen Cauldwell, Kevin Whitby and Stewart Ackerley were also using familiar techniques when it came to attempting to cast a patronus.
Kannan was rather glad that his patronus had changed after becoming Kannan. No longer was it an adolescent stag, no, now his patronus was a fully mature thunderbird.
"Master Grimm?" Clarence Orwell was the current Professor for DADA this year, he'd been one of Oliver Wood's dormmates. "I have five students that I believe would benefit from spending time with you."
"Of course, Professor." Kannan sat down beside the Professor, where the man gestured. "Whom and why?"
"Three are excelling and two are struggling. Dennis' brother was one of Hogwarts' Fallen, he's not been coping well. Oh, initially he seemed to be doing alright, but of late? His grades are falling, I know he missed a year due to the war and all, but he should be advancing faster than he is." Clarence handed over a manila folder with Dennis' name on it. "Euan Abercrombie. Euan took the Death-Eaters control of the school hard. He'd believed the Prophet up until returning to the school and finding that the Death-Eaters and Voldemort existed and had control of the school. He spent a fair amount of time hiding from everyone, missed a lot of classes and hasn't really tried since." Another folder was handed over. "Rose Zeller, Nigel Wolpert and Jimmy Peakes? Those three I believe could go a long way, easily into the Auror corps. But I simply don't have the time to work with them on the more advanced spells." Three more folders were handed across.
"Alright, what are you currently working on?"
"Patronus. Rose, Nigel and Jimmy have had no problem, but Dennis and Euan? If they don't get more help than I can provide, they're not going to get it."
"How many classes do they have and when?"
"They've a double Mondays and singles on Wednesdays and Fridays." Clarence said.
"Alright. Why don't I take Euan and Dennis today and for the rest of this week, see if I can bring them out of their funk. And from next week, I'll take them on Mondays and the other three Wednesdays and Fridays? If you give me a breakdown of your class schedule, I can work with the two boys to bring them up speed and the others will gain a few things that are handy for the corps." Kannan offered.
"That would be fine. I'm assuming you've a classroom?"
"I do, but I think the lads need something a bit different today. Let me try that before we start pushing in what may be the wrong direction."
"If you think you can bring them around, by all means, do so. The Headmistress told me to do as much as I could to accommodate your requests and bluntly? If something doesn't happen, the two boys are going to fail that component." Clarence grimaced slightly.
"I'll do my best." Kannan stood and turned to the class, the students were flicking through their textbooks and making notes on various things. "Mr Creevey, Mr Abercrombie? You're with me for the week. Come on, pack your things and let's get moving." The two boys quickly packed their things and followed Kannan as he led them from the tower and then into the castle itself. "Your next class is potions with Professor Slughorn, correct?"
"Yessir." Euan muttered. "It starts at two-fifteen, sir."
"Excellent, plenty of time." Kannan headed for the third floor on the right and the History classroom. "Let's make a quick stop and then find a quiet spot to have a chat, huh?"
The two boys that bounded into the Great Hall that evening, were bright and happy lads, a sharp contrast to the dull and lethargic caricatures they'd been since the start of the school year.
Clarence blinked at the two boys and raised an eyebrow to Kannan, who simply gave him a grin and poured himself a goblet of juice.
"Whatever did you do to them, Kannan? They're not the same boys, at all." Clarence wanted to know.
"Not much, really, we just talked. Oh, we did pay a visit to the History classroom and borrowed one of Hermione's memories. After that we just talked." Kannan answered.
"A memory?" Clarence asked.
"Yes, just the one."
"Might I ask which one? Or would that be invasive?"
Kannan studied Clarence, he remembered the man from Harry's time in Gryffindor. "You do recall that Hermione was Harry Potter's closest friend during his time here at Hogwarts? Don't yo?"
"I… I thought it was the Weasley boy…?" Clarence frowned.
"No, not at all. Oh, they were close, friends certainly, but no more than that. What's his name…? Ronan, Ronald, Ronson? Regardless, from speaking to their Professors of the time, Ronald… that's it, Ronald! Anyway, Ronald had jealousy issues and when you pair that with the Weasley temper? Ronald fell prey to his jealousy and temper at least once a year, so much so that in their fourth year, they rarely spoke to each other at all." Kannan waved the subject away.
"Ah, that was the year after I left." Clarence nodded. "How did you find out all this?"
"I asked, Clarence, I simply asked. Portraits are an excellent source of information, as are the other Professors." Kannan laughed gently. "Hermione, as I said was Potter's closest friend, she was one of the few people present at his trial."
"Oh…" Clarence gasped.
"Exactly. Euan believed the Prophet and the Ministry when they said that Potter was unstable or going dark or… whatever they said. So, now he's come to the conclusion that they can't tell the truth, so them stating that Potter is alive in Exile must be a lie, which in turn means that if it's a lie then the Ministry is responsible for his death."
"Oh, good Lord above." Clarence sighed and shook his head.
"Yes." Kannan agreed. "So, for him, watching Hermione's memory of the trial and a statement from the Headmistress that the current Minister was a Gryffindor and one of Potter's guards during the war and closely monitoring what the prophet printed. Well…? That settled him down, some. And of course, the Headmistress' comment that Mr Potter is well and happy, and that she'd seen him just recently, that was almost as good as having seen Potter, himself."
"And Creevey?"
"Survivors guilt." Kannan closed his eyes in remembrance, the sight of Colin's tiny body being carried by Neville and Oliver still hurt his heart.
"Ah…" Clarence sighed.
"Yes. It was a private conversation that I believe should remain private, if Dennis wants people to know, he'll tell them. The only thing I will say, is that I reminded him of how his brother would feel about how he's been. We did have a chat with the Gryffindor ghost and after that we settled ourselves in the kitchens and Dennis told me tails of Colin and their lives together."
"Well, it certainly made a difference." Clarence smiled.
Bill and Kannan greeted George, Padraig and Lee as they entered the shop.
"Hey." George called. "Go straight up. Katie's already there."
"Thanks, George." Kannan gave his adopted brother a hug and bounded up the stairs.
"George." Bill gave the heir to the Grimm family a wave and followed his husband.
Up the stairs and into the space that George had converted from a private flat into a massive single office. In one of the armchairs that were grouped together around a coffee table, sat two witches.
Kannan bounced across the room. "Good afternoon, Katie." Kannan and Bill were quite familiar with Katie Bell, by now.
"Hi Kannan. Hello Bill. Thanks for coming."
"Hello Katie." Bill added as he reached them, he guided Kannan towards one of the larger sofas.
"Kannan, Bill, this is my Aunt, Elizabetta Bell." She introduced the second woman. "Lizzy, these are Kannan and Bill Prewett."
"Madam Bell." Kannan smiled and offered his hand.
"Mr Prewett." She shook his hand and did the same with Bill. "Mr Prewett."
"Madam Bell." Bill smiled. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us."
"Not at all, Mr Prewett. Katie was quite short on details, but the idea was most intriguing."
"Lizzy." Katie chided.
"Hush, now, Katie." Lizzy waved at Katie to be quiet.
"Trust Katie to only give you half the story." Bill laughed.
"Why don't you tell us about yourself, Madam Bell and then we'll tell you about what we are hoping for." Kannan requested.
"Very well, Mr Prewett, but please call me Lizzy. As Katie said, I am her Aunt. What she didn't say is that I am considerably younger than her father and only his half-sister. Katie's grandmother died when Katie's father was ten and her grandfather remarried a few years later. Katie's father was fifteen when I was born. We'd had little contact, until my parents were both killed during the war, leaving my half-brother as my guardian. He brought me into his house and raised me, when he married, his wife accepted my presence and life continued. Not even their own children would change that. I began my healer's training, straight out of Hogwarts and have begun to specialise in midwifery and pregnancy care. However, I am finding that my knowledge of pregnancy is… more theoretical and less practical than I would like."
"Hence why you're interested in our proposal?" Bill asked.
"Yes. I have no desire to be a parent, not at this time in my life, but opportunity to go through a pregnancy without the ongoing responsibility of raising a child, is extremely difficult to resist." Lizzy added. "The chance to to know exactly what it is that my patients are going through, first-hand? That is something I couldn't just walk away from without knowing more."
"Ah, we did wonder." Bill glanced at Kannan as he said it.
"You might have…" Kannan snorted and shook his head. "Alright, so… What we want is… basically we want some to carry a child for us. From approximately six weeks after conception, through to birth."
"Six weeks after conception?" Lizzy asked.
"Yes… after. We went through a rather awkward process in Salem, that involved gender-swapping, fertility treatments, sperm and egg removals, before the eggs were fertilised and incubated for six weeks, then each embryo was assessed for medical and magical health and those that passed were placed under a medical stasis." Kannan explained.
"And those that didn't pass?" Lizzy asked.
"The only embryos that were terminated were ones the healers said would likely not have survived or if they had would have been physically or mentally impaired, or those that were already suffering from nerve damage." Bill answered. "We were living in New Zealand at the time and those that didn't pass, were taken with us for the local Maori tribe to farewell in a traditional ceremony."
A small but pleased smile slid across Lizzy's face. "And what are your requirements and terms of involvement?"
"Kannan?" Bill raised a brow at the man sitting beside him. "You set the contract."
"Sure." Kannan turned to face Lizzy. "So, the first we're insisting on is a medical assessment, someone impartial, not connected to you or to us. Only once you have a clear health certification will we consider moving to the next step which is a contract with full disclosure. But in brief? We'll pay all medical costs in the lead-up to the embryo transfer, during the pregnancy and until the healers clear you, after the delivery. We will provide accommodation and all living costs, as well as a small personal allowance. You'll be seen by a healer, weekly. We reserve the right to monitor your food intake, for the safety of the baby and yourself. And your physical activity, if necessary."
"And what will you expect of my private life?"
"Your private life is yours, but we will be insisting on proof of non-pregnancy prior to the embryo transfer and a length of abstinence afterwards, just to ensure that the only child you carry during this time is ours." Kannan answered.
"I'm in a long-term relationship with a witch." Lizzy told them.
"Oh… Then why didn't you bring her with you?" Kannan asked.
"Erina's aware of everything I know and will insist on being involved in the ongoing negotiations, but she felt that it was better for me to meet you alone, at least today." Lizzy answered.
"Fair enough." Kannan nodded.
"So… you provide the accommodation. Would that cover Erina, too? Right now, we're renting a muggle flat and neither of us like it."
"We're currently living at Hogwarts, but we've purchased a cottage in Hogsmeade for the duration. Having said that, we would happily rent it to you, for a nominal fee, until we're ready to plan the arrival of our second child. At that point we may need to renegotiate, but we will give you plenty of notice. And we are prepared to work with you."
"And what of my professional life?"
"As long as it doesn't impact negatively on the pregnancy or our child, we have no concerns with you continuing to work." Kannan replied.
"Will my working affect the allowance? If you're paying for accommodation, the living costs and the allowance, and I'm still working, Erina and I could put a significant amount aside towards purchasing a home of our own." Lizzy mused.
"We're more than happy to work with you, Lizzy." Kannan said. "If you want to buy a house, we'll help you buy a house."
Kannan approached the doors of Hogwarts' hospital wing with a little trepidation. Less than ten people knew who he'd been, but when it came to who to look after his children, his first thought was always going to be Madam Pomfrey.
He just had to tell her.
He entered the hospital and nodded to the medi-witch as she tended a little firstie that had overindulged on candy eggs at the Easter feast, the night before. He crossed the room and sat himself down on 'his' bed, the one that bore a plaque on the wall. He read the elegant lettering and laughed.
In memory of Harry Potter,
who holds the dubious record,
for the greatest number of injuries
sustained in a school career.
1991-1998.
"Master Grimm? What can I do for you?" Madam Pomfrey smiled at the firstie and sent her ack to her dorm.
"Madam Pomfrey, I…" He trailed off, he didn't know what to say.
"Master Grimm?" Madam Pomfrey hurried over. "What is it? How can I help?"
Kannan threw up a quick muffliato charm, which caused the medi-witch to widen her eyes and look concerned.
"There's something you need to know, and I need it to be kept completely secret." He began.
"I hold my patients' privacy in the utmost regard, Master Grimm." Pomfrey replied.
"Ah, but I'm not here as a patient, not this time." He countered.
"This time? Do you plan on it in the future?"
"No, ma'am. But I've been here in the past."
"I doubt that, young man, I would remember having tended you." Pomfrey disagreed.
Kannan smirked. "Oh, but you put a plaque up for me and all." He looked at the wall to his right.
Pomfrey followed his line of sight and frowned. "Excuse me?"
"The last thing you said to me was…?" He hummed in thought and when he spoke, his voice held a remarkable semblance to the medi-witch's. "Goodness, Potter, you're extremely lucky, yet again. Surviving another Killing Curse, only you could do that. Whatever would your parents think. Oh, no, I know what James would say, but Lily would likely box your ears, young man. Duelling a madman. Sheer stupidity. I expect you to take those potions, don't make me stupefy you."
"You expect me to believe-" She started.
"The Headmistress knows, ask her, but I'd appreciate if you'd not do so in front of any portraits." Kannan cut her off.
Pomfrey frowned at him. "Stay." She pointed at the bed and stalked off in the direction of her office. A few minutes later she re-emerged closely followed by Professor McGonagall.
"Kannan? Telling tales, I hear." The Headmistress said primly.
"Of course, Headmistress." Kannan grinned.
"Well, I dare say if you must tell tales, at least Pomona will be able to verify what you say. She should be quite familiar with your… history." McGonagall sniffed.
"What? You mean to say…?" The medi-witch's jaw fell in shock.
"Harry Potter was Exiled, Pomona, and as part of that he acquired a new identity. That of Kannan Grimm. Yes." McGonagall stated, bluntly.
"Oh, my goodness…" Pomona Pomfrey stumbled back a few steps and sat down on the next bed, as though she had been hit with a jelly-legs hex. "Oh, but… but…"
"It gets better… or worse… depending on your point of view." McGonagall huffed.
"You married Bill Weasley?" Pomfrey whispered.
"I Bonded with Bill Prewett." Kannan corrected. "He might have been born a Weasley, but he did a blood claim-and-purge and is now Heir Prewett."
"Oh, yes, of course, I forgot. My apologies, Master Grimm." Pomfrey spluttered out an apology.
"Is that all, Kannan?" McGonagall asked. "I have a Board of Governors meeting due to start in an hour."
"Actually, no, that's not all. I came to ask if Madam Pomfrey would monitor Elizabetta Bell. She's carrying our child." He went on and explained to the medi-witch and the Headmistress about the process he and Bill had visited Salem for and how they'd offered Lizzy a contract to carry a child for them and why she'd agreed to it.
"Elizabetta was always extremely focused in her research." Pomfrey nodded. "Of course, I'll monitor her for you. Will she be coming here, or will you want me to go to her?"
"Initially, she'll still be working, so I'd suggest she come here. With the Headmistress' permission, of course?" Kannan looked to McGonagall with a raised brow.
McGonagall huffed and pursed her lips, before giving in and smiling. "Of course, Kannan."
"Brilliant!" Kannan beamed. "Now, Lizzy is going to St. Mungo's tomorrow to get started on the process, her appointment is at eleven. With your approval, I'll get her to drop in here beforehand, so you can get a baseline history. The embryo transfer won't happen for another fortnight, but from what I understand, she has to take a course of potions before then to prepare her for the transfer." He shrugged. "That's not really something that Bill or I need to be involved in, but we did ask if we could have a representative attend. So, if you want, you can be involved from the very beginning."
"Excellent. I'll meet Miss Bell here at nine, that will give me time to update my records and do a fresh baseline for her." Pomfrey nodded sharply.
"Wow, Mione!" Kannan grinned at his sister-in-law. "You make pretty babies." He cooed at the tiny boy in his arms. "Yes, she does, you're so pretty."
"Well, thankfully he didn't get my hair." Hermione grunted, sitting up, so that George could rearrange the cushions behind her.
"What are you calling the little horrors?" Padraig asked from his chair on the other side of the bed, his focus completely on the bundle he held.
"We were going to call our firstborn is Fredrick, of course." Hermione smiled at her husband. "But George seems to think that Fred wouldn't have liked that, very much."
"He wouldn't have." George shook his head. "We thought about it a bit and we decided that he'd approve of us naming them after the Marauders."
"Kannan is holding James Hector and Padraig has Remus Fredrick." Hermione told them.
"…oh, wow…" Padraig began to sniffle.
"They'd approve, Pads. Wouldn't they?" Kannan smiled, running a finger down James' cheek.
"They would…" Padraig's voice was choked.
Neville stuck his head on the door. "Hey guys. Just thought I'd let you know, Luna's gone into labour, too."
"It doesn't rain, it pours." Bill sighed. "Kannan, gimme." He gestured to the baby Kannan held. "My turn."
"Bill?" Kannan called as he entered the lesser south tower of the Viaduct Entrance Stronghold.
"Kannan? That you?" Bill's voice filtered down from the tower's turret.
"Yes, dear. Are you at a stopping point?" Kannan waited patiently, he wasn't going where his husband didn't want him to, not when curses and hexes were involved.
"Yeah, half a sec." It took nearly a minute before Kannan heard footsteps coming down the stair. "Hello, love. What's up?"
"I have news." Kannan said in a sing-song voice.
"Well, Lizzy's already pregnant and both Mione and Luna are nursing so, I doubt either of them are pregnant again. That leaves… Charlie and Padraig. What have they done?" Bill frowned.
"Oh, no, not them. Not this time." Kannan beamed.
"What? Who is it and what did they do?"
"Molly accosted Kingsley in Diagon, ranting about Harry and his Exile and about George and his shop while Arthur watched on. She went far enough that Gareth lost his temper." Kannan smirked.
"Ooh…" Bill's eyes filled with hope.
"Yep, he disowned her and Arthur. Right there on the Alley, in public. And the moment he finished, Arthur snapped. He declared that Molly's actions were responsible for the disownment and he dissolved their marriage on the spot. Then he went into Gringotts and asked them to contact Charlie, as Lord Black. Charlie brought him into the Black family, with the appropriate amendments… you have your father back, Bill." Kannan beamed at his stunned husband.
Bill just stared at him, not able to say anything.
"I invited everyone, including Arthur, for dinner tonight. I hope that's alright?" Kannan chuckled as Bill nodded violently. "Yes, I thought it might be." Bill gave him a flat look. "Oh, be nice. I spoke to Minerva and she's given you the afternoon off." Bill blinked and raised his eyebrows, still unable toe to speak. "But if you'd rather spend the afternoon hunting the occupant of a hexed painting, instead of spending it with your husband and father…?" Bill just reached out and grabbed Kannan's arm and flipped the smaller man up over his shoulder and headed off down the stairs. "So impatient." Kannan flicked a stinging hex at Bill's butt, only to laugh as Bill reached up and swatted him with a wand.
"It's time." The voice of Katie Bell emerged from the silvery ghost-like hawk that was the chaser's patronus.
"Bill!" Kannan called as he bounded up the steps into their small cottage.
"What?" Bill stuck his head out of their bedroom at the end of the hall.
"Katie just sent a patronus. Lizzy's gone into labour." Kannan answered, darting into the connecting room that they'd done up as a nursery. Seconds later he emerged carrying the bag they'd made up for the baby. Their son.
"Oh, hell. You'd better let Pads know, he's with George at the shop. I'll message Mione and ask her to let McGonagall and Pomfrey know." Bill sprang towards the cupboard, he needed to get changed, gardening clothes were not suitable for attending the birth of his son. "George can tell dad, Charlie and Neville." He added as he pulled his shirt off.
All up, it took the two men ten minutes to change, notify people and get to the hospital. The welcome witch pointed them in the direction of the maternity wing. The two wizards paused briefly at the nurses' station and were sent down the hall, to the correct room. They arrived to hear Lizzy and Erina discussing the difference between knowing the theoretics of something and actually experiencing it. Contractions felt remarkably different when you were the one in labour.
Less than an hour later, a small bundle of dark hair was placed in Kannan's arms, while Bill had his, wrapped around them both.
"What are we going to call him, love?" Bill asked, quietly. "We never decided."
"I was thinking… what about Tristan?" Kannan whispered.
"Tristan…? Tristan… Yes, I like Tristan." Bill pressed his cheek against Kannan's.
"Tristan Arthur." Kannan said. "Welcome to the Grimm family, son."