I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Extended Family
Chapter 75 – Anniversary
Takes place a year after chapter 143 of Family.
"Hey Katie?"
"Yes Lyla?"
"You left a notebook thing here on the table and it's open-" Lyla yelped when Katie came rushing into the sitting room and dove for it, landing over her and closing it with a snap.
"What the hell?!" Lyla grunted. "What is your problem and get off me!"
"Shh! It's a secret!" Katie hissed back, her face bright red.
"From who?!"
"Harry!" Katie smiled and tried to look as nonchalant as possible while lying over Lyla and trying to hide the notebook under them. Harry walked past them and stopped, turning to look over.
"Is…everything okay?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Yup everything's fine no problems at all how are you?" Katie asked in one breath, smiling winningly.
"I'm okay," Harry said, bemused. "You okay Lyla?"
Lyla glared at her older sister before smiling herself, the expression becoming vindictive. "Oh yeah, I'm great. I'm just helping Katie here. She thinks she gained some weight and I told her to prove it."
"Lyla!"
Harry chuckled. "Wouldn't a scale or something be better? Or a charm?"
"It's how we've always done it," Lyla shrugged. "She used to jump on me all the time and I'm fairly attuned to it by now. Calibrated you might say."
"You used to do the same!"
"I'm the little sister, of course I did!"
Harry's chortles cut through their angry looks. "It's so nice how close you two are. Also I don't think you've gained any weight Katie."
"Of course you would say that," Lyla sighed. "You're too nice to her."
Harry continued to laugh as he walked away, stepping into the kitchen. Katie watched him go and waited for him to hum before she pinched Lyla's leg. "You're such a bitch!"
"You're the one that jumped on me!" Lyla pinched her back and they both wrestled on the couch some before they fell off and tumbled to the floor with a loud squawk.
"Everything still okay in there?" Harry called out.
"We're fine," the sisters called back.
"I can't believe he bought that though," Lyla said, shoving Katie off.
Katie pushed Lyla over again when the younger girl sat up. "He's used to us being weird."
"Oh right, the lasso thing." Lyla sat up. "Now are you going to explain why you're being stupid?"
"Not now because you're being a brat," Katie said and made a rude gesture, shaking her fingers in Lyla's face. "EWWW! LYLA!"
Harry peered back into the sitting room. "Why are you trying to smother Lyla now?"
"She licked my fingers!" Katie shouted indignantly, sitting on Lyla's back and trying to mash her face into a pillow.
"She shoved them in my face after giving me the salute!" Lyla grunted, twisting and trying to slap at Katie.
Harry blinked a few times and summoned his mirror with a wave of his wand. "SamaMum," he said. After a few moments, Samantha appeared within the mirror. "Hi SamaMum!"
"Hi Harry!" Samantha's smile became weary. "I think I know why you're calling. I can hear them." Samantha rolled her eyes when Harry angled the mirror at the fighting sisters. "What happened?"
"Katie jumped on Lyla, Lyla called her fat, Katie then made a rude gesture and Lyla licked her."
"Sounds about right. You'd never guess that they were adults with them acting like this."
"What do I do?"
"Let them fight it out. It's for the best. Might take a bit though."
"Huh. Okay. Would you and Thomas like to come to dinner? Since Lyla's already here. I was about to start and can make more than I was planning."
"That sounds lovely! We'll be over in a bit then."
-0-
"What's that face for?" Angelina asked the next day.
"Hers or mine?" Katie asked, not looking away from Lyla.
"Both of you," Angelina said, sitting on the couch and catching a bottle of butterbeer that Alicia tossed her.
"Same sentiment from the both of us I guess," Katie sighed. "We got into a spat yesterday and Mum and Dad came for dinner and they took the mickey and told Harry all sorts of embarrassing stories about us."
"And they told Harry not to give us dessert and he listened," Lyla said angrily. "It's not that funny," she said crossly when Alicia and Angelina roared with laughter.
"I saw Harry give you a bag when you left," Katie said.
"That's not the point," Lyla sighed. "It's been years since I've had sweets taken away for misbehaving." She looked at the two laughing women. "Tell Katie she needs to be nicer to me because I'm younger."
"We're the wrong people to say that," Alicia said. "My brother has not been nice to me in a very long time and I've long given up that sentiment."
"My brothers used to be a little nicer to me until I started kicking their arses sincerely," Angelina said. "Now they don't hold back."
"And you've only gotten stronger since joining Tutshill, you brute," Alicia laughed.
Angelina flexed her arms. "Hell yeah I have. I can bench any one of my brothers now. I'm awesome."
"Besides, we both know that you give as good as you get," Alicia said.
"I guess so," Lyla sighed.
"So what's up Katie?" Angelina asked.
"I could use everyone's help with something."
"Even me?" Lyla asked.
"I have to since you almost ruined everything yesterday." They exchanged more rude gestures with Katie keeping her hands away from Lyla's face this time. "So I'm at a bit of a loss and I'm really embarrassed right now but I need to swallow my pride and admit I need help."
Lyla exchanged worried looks with Angelina and Alicia. They all sat forward looking serious. "Of course," Angelina said. "What can we do?"
Wordlessly, Katie handed Alicia the notebook. Alicia flipped it open and stared at the first page for a long moment. Angelina and Lyla tried to look over but could not see what was written on the paper.
"Are you serious?" Alicia asked flatly.
Katie nodded.
Angelina and Lyla exchanged another worried look.
"You're an idiot," Alicia said at last. "I always knew you were an idiot, but your idiocy has really grown. It's astounding." Alicia started laughing hysterically and tossed Angelina the book.
Lyla peered over Angelina's shoulder and she gave Katie an incredulous look while Angelina started laughing too. "That's what you were trying to keep a big secret and you almost crushed me to death for?!" she said indignantly.
"Oh I can actually crush you if you want me to," Katie said, flushed from irritation and embarrassment. "Also you guys are being super rude right now."
"It's actually kind of adorable in a really innocent way," Angelina gasped, wiping tears of merriment away. "But Alicia's not wrong, you're an idiot."
"Yeah well, glad we can all agree." Katie flopped face-down onto the couch and tried to burrow into the cushions.
"Come on Katie, we're teasing because we love," Angelina sighed. She walked over and tried to pull Katie up. "Why are you so bent out of shape over this?"
"Because it has to be perfect," Katie grumbled, her voice muffled. "It has to be wonderful and perfect and if it isn't then it'll be terrible and I'll be the worst."
"This is Harry we're talking about," Alicia said. "You could literally walk out of the bedroom starkers and he'd be very happy."
"Ew no! No no no!" Angelina cried in disgust. "Stop that!"
"Yeah I really don't want to think about Katie starkers," Lyla said with a look of intense disgust. "Harry neither really come to think of it. Or not think of it."
"Angelina, Harry is a lovely boy but he's a boy," Alicia sighed.
"Rabbit is my little brother and I do not want to think about him doing things like that," Angelina argued.
"And you don't care about me doing that?" Katie asked, rolling slightly and looking up at Angelina.
"Not at all. Slag it up girl." She leaned back from Katie's irritable swipe. "I didn't call you a slag, just to slag it up with your significant other whom I am conveniently forgetting the name of right now. Alicia's not wrong though. It's Harry. Any form of affection and planning you give him and he'll adore it. He's really easy."
"So's Katie apparently," Lyla sniggered. She growled when a couch cushion bounced off her face.
"I knew I shouldn't ask you three, terrible the lot of you," Katie moaned. "You don't understand."
Alicia looked at Katie thoughtfully for a moment. "Ah, I see. This is about your last year at school. Hence why you are being particularly prickly about us," she pointed at herself and Angelina, "calling you an idiot."
Lyla and Angelina looked at them before understanding. "Oh, when you forgot about Valentines and your anniversary," Angelina said.
"Don't remind me." Katie pulled a pillow over her head.
"I'm willing to give you a little leeway," Alicia smiled. "You were studying very hard for your career options."
"I'm not," Lyla said. "Priorities."
Alicia pinched her. "Hers were well in order and besides, it has given us ample ammunition to tease her about for…well forever."
"That's true," Lyla smiled.
"Are you saying you didn't make up for those after?" Angelina asked.
"I did," Katie said limply, "but this is our first anniversary after getting married. I want it to be special and incredible and I'm just…I don't know."
"What did you and Ollie do?" Angelina asked Alicia.
Alicia smiled lovingly. "It was a very lovely day actually. I unfortunately had to finish a potion that was time sensitive. I was beating myself up over it because it could have been started sooner or later and I lost track of the date. However, Oliver did not let it deter him. He took time off work and spent the first half of the day assisting me. Then when it could sit, we went camping and he brought food from my favorite place. It was simple and very thoughtful."
"Oh what's your favorite place?" Lyla asked.
Katie pulled the pillow down and smiled. "Harry made it, didn't he?"
"Like I said, my favorite place," Alicia laughed.
"Oliver came over after you guys got back and he high-fived Harry really hard," Katie giggled. "They wouldn't tell me directly what warranted it but I guessed afterwards."
"George better do something nice," Angelina smiled. "I'll pull my own weight too of course."
"They're not wrong though," Lyla said. "Harry will love anything you do. You could just give him a box of sugar quills and he'd be happy."
"I'm not giving him a box of sugar quills as an anniversary gift!" Katie shouted.
"Don't be so hasty. Do you know there are some very deluxe and fancy versions of sugar quills?" Alicia said seriously. "I found a company that makes luxury versions. There are ones that are fruit infused and have gold wrappers. Others have alcohol infusions."
"You could make a bouquet out of them," Lyla giggled. She laughed at the withering look Katie gave her.
"I think, what we're trying to say," Angelina said soothingly, "is that you're overthinking it. I get that you want it to be sweet and awesome and incredible, but don't drive yourself mad over it. He wouldn't want you to."
"Yeah, you're right," Katie sighed. "I just want it to be special and good."
"It will be," Alicia soothed. "We will help you though. Let's see what you had written down as ideas." She opened the book. "Trip to Paris. That's not a bad idea. He hasn't had much chance to travel."
"A bit overdone though," Angelina said thoughtfully. "And going anywhere else on short notice will be expensive and not as fun."
"Day trip to Hogsmeade. That'd be sweet but you'd be overrun with his fans and the like," Alicia continued.
"Oh how about what he did for you for your dating one year anniversary?" Lyla suggested. "That was super romantic and super sweet."
"Yeah it was," Katie said, smiling at the memory. "But this will be his first extended break from Quidditch and he was commenting how it's nice not to be flying all the time for a little bit."
"I know that feeling," Angelina agreed. "Never thought I'd get tired of flying but it really drains you when you're on a professional team. Then skip the flying part. Make a dinner picnic thing together and eat outside together."
"That seems so…normal though. We do that as a date a lot as it is."
"At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is Harry we're talking about," Alicia said. "Harry isn't a fancy lad and doesn't try to go for the expensive luxuries. He's incredibly generous and doesn't hold back on gifts, but he doesn't go for spectacle."
"That's true," Katie said thoughtfully.
"Wait, what if he's planning stuff, wouldn't that potentially ruin things?" Lyla asked.
"No, I told him I wanted to plan something and he said that was fine." Katie smiled softly. "He said he was happy to hear it and was eager."
"See? Told you," Alicia said smugly.
"Yeah yeah. I just…I feel like I have a lot to make up for," Katie sighed.
"I sincerely doubt he thinks of it like a competition," Alicia said. "Look, just focus on him and how you feel around him, how he makes you feel. Convey that, and you can do no wrong."
"That makes sense, thanks," Katie smiled.
"And wear something easy to remove," Alicia finished. "Angelina!" she shrieked when Angelina threw a cushion at her.
-0-
Harry groaned, feeling disoriented. He blinked slowly, stifling a yawn. As his senses woke up with him, he smiled as he felt Katie kiss him again. "Good morning," he said. His voice raspy from sleep.
"Good morning," she said happily. "Happy anniversary!"
"Happy anniversary!" he replied and kissed her back a few times. "I can't believe we've been married for a whole year!"
"Been counting the days, have we?" Katie asked with an arched eyebrow.
"There hasn't been enough of them," he smiled.
She blushed. "Gosh, you're still so cheesy."
He chuckled. "You love it. What are we doing today?"
"Well, I was thinking we can go to Skye Market and buy lots of things. Come back and make them. Then have a picnic dinner." She ran her fingers through his hair. "Does that sound okay?"
He kissed her nose and pressed his forehead against hers. "Sounds perfect."
-0-
Katie sighed softly, feeling content and happy. It had been a really nice day. She and Harry had taken their time at the market and gotten all sorts of things. Then they cooked the day away, trying new dishes and laughing and chatting. As the sun set, they went into the back garden and ate together, watching the moon rise and the stars come out. She enchanted candles to float around them and they slowly lit as the night deepened.
"Thank you," Harry said, looking up at her. "This was a perfect day."
She felt her heart thump. "I'm glad." She hugged him and squirmed out from under him. "Present time!" She gave him two wrapped objects: one large and flat and the other oddly shaped. She smiled at his open glee as he opened the large one first.
"Oh wow!" He extended his arms, holding up the very large blanket. It was scarlet and gold, incredibly soft.
"Bit of a gift for me too," Katie admitted. "This looked perfect for snuggling in."
"I don't mind at all," Harry laughed. He draped it over their bodies. "It's wonderful. Thank you!"
"Good!" She laughed with him when he opened his other gift and he looked at the vase hungrily. "Alicia told me about those."
"Luxury gourmet sugar quills," Harry said excitedly. "I can't wait! I like you putting them in a vase like that."
"That was Lyla's idea," Katie said ruefully.
"It's fun," Harry grinned. He crawled out from under the blanket and summoned a large box to him. "So I really hope you like this. It's a bit of a work in progress still, sort of. It started as a project for my mastery work and I've been working on it for a while."
Katie opened the box and pulled out a bundle of fabric. She unrolled it and smiled when it was fully open. "It's a hammock! I love it!" She looked around the garden, "What should we attach it to?"
"Well, I'm hoping it doesn't need to be anchored technically. Tap your wand on the metal pieces at the top and bottom and say Nubes."
Katie did as he said and she watched the hammock float into the air and remain stationary. White fluff began to pour from the metal discs until the hammock was covered in it. She stared at it for a moment. "It's a cloud."
"Yeah. I mean, it looks like a cartoon cloud, but it's a cloud," Harry said nervously.
"You made me a floating cloud that I can lie on."
He nodded.
She stared at him. "Did…did you make this for me because I said when I was little, I wanted to live on a cloud?"
"That was the inspiration, yeah." He looked sheepish. "Do…do you like it?"
"You made me something incredibly sweet and probably really hard to do because of a comment I made as a child, and you ask me if I like it?" She dabbed at her eyes. "I love it. And all I got you was a blanket and candy! I'm the worst!"
"No you're not!" Harry said.
"I am! You do amazing things like this and my big idea today was us to cook and eat together like we do normally!"
"And I love it, I really do," he said softly. "You know how I have, what MumAndi says, an obsession with being normal?" He smiled at her snort and nod. "You have no idea how happy and content I am. I wake up everyday with you. I sleep in a giant bed and have a whole house with you. I get to cook and eat what I want and for people who are thankful I cook for them. I am literally living a dream." He shrugged weakly. "I just wanted you to have one of your dreams come true too."
Her heart melted and she took his hands and kissed them. "Harry, the life I have with you is a dream too. It's a dream I never knew I wanted or needed until I had it. I can't imagine a life without it, without you."
Harry smiled warmly and it was a smile she would never get tired of seeing. He let one of her hands go and waved his wand and the blanket she gave him fell over the top of the cloud. "See? It's even better now. We always do our best working together."
She pulled him to her and kissed him soundly. "Yeah we do," she breathed. At his bidding, she gingerly sat down on the hammock and then leaned back comfortably, smiling broadly. "It's so comfy!"
"I'm glad! It can kinda drift a little but take it easy. Haven't gotten that part worked out quite right yet."
"It's a bit lonely just for me," she said, giving him a wide-eyed look.
"Well, so far it's only really been tested to carry one person," he said slowly.
Her look smoldered. "Care to test it?" she asked, her voice husky. Her smile was warm and hungry when he nodded. "Then get your arse over here."
-0-
"So, how was it?" Alicia asked the next day.
"It was great! Kept it simple like you lot said. Slept in a bit, went shopping for a while. Cooked all afternoon, and ate and watched the sun set and the stars come out."
Angelina smiled. "See? Told you that it'd be that simple."
Katie grinned. "Yeah, thanks for all the help."
"You're welcome." Alicia looked down at the table with a slight frown. "What's with the pain relief potion?"
"It's nothing bad. I fell and banged up my knee and bum. Harry made me this amazing gift." She unfurled the hammock and activated it. Angelina and Alicia exclaimed with delight when it floated and the clouds came out.
"That's darling," Alicia praised.
"He made it for me because he remembered that when I was little, I wanted to live on a cloud."
"What a romantic," Angelina sighed.
"Can we try it?" Alicia asked.
"Sure! But only one at a time right now," Katie said.
Alicia sat and bounced up and down on it a few times. "That's so comfortable," she said. "I might ask him for one."
"He's still working out some of the problems with the enchantments but I bet it'll be amazing when he finally does," Katie said proudly.
"Is something wrong with it?" Angelina asked when she laid back on it.
"Well, let's just say it doesn't hold two people very well right now," Katie said. "It can tip over."
Alicia started to snicker. "So when you said you got banged up a bit…"
Katie began to giggle. "Yeah, had a bit of a tumble."
"Oh…Oh no. Don't tell me," Angelina said, looking down at the cloud hammock in horror.
"It was worth it," Katie said before she dissolved into laughter.
"Ew!" Angelina struggled and nearly fell out herself while Katie and Alicia shrieked with laughter.
-0-0-0-
odonnellzoo99 - With the vast majority of the school wide pranks being caused by two people in her House, as per usual, she probably feels personally responsible when these shenanigans occur. I thought the reactions from Ginny and Ron would be funny.
alix33 - Knicker conversations are always fun.
