Read the disclaimer at the very beginning and Chapter 3: Two Copies of No Relation, Please to get up to speed.

Allnew characters in this chapter are theproperty of this author. (if you don't recognize a name it is the property of this author).

Words: 5,009 words Pages: 17 pages

Chapter 4: Packed, Pecked, Picked, Poked

July 31st

Hermione and Ron arrived at the Burrow early, with their children. Hermione had promised to help Molly with the preparations for the celebration. Harry's birthday was today and everybody was showing up at 2 o'clock to celebrate. Everyone meantthetwenty-four Weasleys, seven Lupins, Sirius Black and the five Potters, who would stay far into the evening. Not to mention the numerous guests who could only stay for a few hours or for just a few minutes. The burrow would be packed.

"Molly," Hermione called out.

She stood in the Burrow's tiny family room. Shecouldn't hear a thing. She turned, looking all around the room. Molly wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Family pictures lined every wall. Baby pictures of Molly and Arthur, then their children, and the grandchildren were stacked on shelves near the staircase. Pictures of everyone growing up and getting married were mounted around the front door. And professional portraits of all the smaller Weasley families sat on a ledge above the fireplace. Harry and Ginny's family was to the far left, then Ron and Hermione's, Fred's, Greorge's, the formerly ex-communicated Percy and his, and last Bill's, to the far right.

In the center of the line, in a black marble frame was a large smiling photo of the late Charlie Weasley. He died nearly half a year before Harry defeated Voldemort, murdered by Death Eaters. It had been tragic and Hermione knew that despite everyone's everyday smiles, they all still thought of and missed the second eldest, dearly. Hermione also knew that behind Charlie's photo, Molly had slipped a portrait of Charlie and his fiancé, Ciara Hagan. Ciara had been beautiful. She was Irish and brilliant. She had been a Ravenclaw in Charlie's year, but they hadn't noticed oneanother until years later. She had developed a product that helped magically inflicted scars heal to almost invisibility. Molly had convinced Charlie to volunteer for the product testing Ciara was doing in Southern Dublin.Molly had disapproved of Charlie keeping some of his talon cuts and burn scars as sorts of battle trophies. Charlie had seen Ciara again, during thetesting,and had been instantly taken. He had brought her home to meet everyone and to propose.

Hermione stared at the grinning portrait of Charlie, trying not to seem too depressed at her thoughts that lingered on the unseen photo. Molly had pushed it to the back of the frame within a week of the news of Charlie's death. It wasn't that Molly hadn't liked Ciara. She had. Very much so. But Hermione supposed Molly couldn't bear to look at the bright, smiling faces or maybe it was the clasped hands over the soft swell of Ciara's obviously pregnant middle. Ciara had died just hours after Charlie. The Daily Prophet had claimed the Death Eaters had killed her soon afterwards, but all the Weasleys knew she had died of heartbreak just before Montague had cast the killing curse.

Behind Hermione,Ron barely stifled a yawn in his fist. Cassia, Hermione and Ron's oldest child at thirteen, had woken her parents up at five in the morning, complaining of what Ron called 'women's problems'. He hadn't been able to get back to sleep after Cassia left their bedroom. Hermione had and as a result she had been fresh as a daisy when the whole family had gotten up at ten. Ron had stayed up, counting quaffles going through hoops, it hadn't helped. He needed a firewhiskey and soon. Cassia had collapsed into a maroon armchair, closest to the Burrow's front door. It smelled of her grandfather, Arthur Weasley; like mint, tea, and explosions(caused by Arthur's'experiments' with muggle devies).Hermione and Ron's middle child, Braden, stood, supported by the front door, with his eyes closed, half asleep. At eleven years old, he was nearing five and a half feet, which was just an inch under his older sister. Hermione had been worried when he grew three inches in two weeks andwhen he had started cleaning his room without being told, but Ron assured her everything was perfectly fine and Weasley puberty worked in strange ways. Their youngest child, Evan, would be nine in a month. He, like Hermione was wide awake. Evan was the only one of Ron and Hermione's children to have the Weasley red hair.

"Hermione, dear? Is that you?"

Hermione turned towards the kitchen. Molly was definitely in there. Pots were clanging softly, the sink was running, and there was a clunking of a knife onto a cutting board. Hermione smiled to herself,and thenshe turned to face her family.

"Right. Well. Evan, I want you and Braden to find Grandpa and help look for a table to hold all the presents. Cass, you and I will help Grandma." The boys left; Evan bouncing merrily and Braden dragging his feet along. Cassia eased herself from the armchair and staggered into the kitchen. Hermione turned towards Ron, her smile faltering at his tired expression.

"Maybe you should go up to your old room. Take a nap or something."

"It won't work," Ron told his wife. Hermione looked at him sympathetically.

"Maybe it will. You could at least try. I'll make you a potion tonight," Hermione told him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, drawing him close to her. He responded by holding her in a hug.

"I hate those potions. They have an awful taste. Besides," Ron argued. A sly smile slipped onto his lips, as he looked down at Hermione. He pressed himself into her. "I know a better way to tire me out."

Hermione's brown eyes went impossibly wide. She tried to pull back from Ron but he held fast.

"Ronald Weasley," Hermione exclaimed in a shocked whisper. She succeeded in getting away from him. "We most certainly cannot do that here; in your parents' home, no less." Hermione was indignant. Ron rolled his eyes at her.

"You say that like we've never done it before," Ron teased. Hermione looked about the tiny room, checking to make sure no one was listening. "It wouldn't be the first time, you know. And this time we've got many more rooms to choose from." Hermione smacked his arm, causing him to laugh and rub his arm in mock pain. Hermione turned from him and stalked to the kitchen, determined to help prepare snacks and sandwiches for the birthday party.

Guests had started to arrive half an hour ago; starting with Percy and Penelope (formerly Clearwater) Weasley and their three kids. Percy arrived with his arm through Penelope's. He was sporting wire-rimmed bifocals and wearing deep emerald robes. His hair was combed back and his shoes were shining from underneath the hem of his robes. Penelope had opted for muggle fashion; appearing in a pale yellow summer dress.

Their three children; Samuel, Kelly, and Henry moved through the burrow with incredible swiftness. They walked straight from the front door to the back yard, where Molly, Hermione, and Cassia were setting out food and clearing table space for presents.

Samuel, the oldest at eighteen, led his two younger siblings out into the yard, reading a brown leather covered textbook. He wore glasses, similar to his father's for his nearsightedness. However, besides his bookishness and glasses, the similarities stopped there. Samuel's hair was hardly ever combed, he wore blue jeans and a 'Weird Sisters' t-shirt. He moved across the back lawn to one of the many unoccupied tables and slouched into a chair, without looking up from his book.

Kelly was unusually chipper this day. She had received her N.E.W.T.s scores just a week earlier. She was ecstatic, and couldn't wait to let everyone know what exactly she had earned. The seventeen year old would turn eighteen in a fortnight, though it seemed to the majority of her family that she was bordering on turning thirty-five. She was wise and impressive. Kelley was tall (70 inches) and thin, she spoke eloquently and intelligently. She could recite statistics and facts, making her a favorite conversationalist of Hermione's. Unfortunately, Kelly has inherited her father's need to make herself seem better than she was.

If Samuel appeared to look like his father and Kelly acted like her father, then Henry was his mother all the way around. He was all smiles and serenity. He was smart and confident without going overboard. He had Penelope's blue eyes, and slightly rounded cheeks. He could go from making jokes to serious and intent in just seconds. At fifteen, he would be starting his fifth year at Hogwarts as a Ravenclaw prefect. Many of his female peers found him to be an alluring enigma, and thus quite the crush magnet.

"Lovely day, isn't it," Percy asked aloud. He strolled over to his mother and pecked her on both cheeks, before turning and doing the same to Hermione and Cassia. Cassia struggled a little trying to avoid the pecks, whilst still being polite. "Are we the first to arrive?"

"Yes, you are," Hermione said. She moved the corned beef sandwiches an inch. Cassia looked at the vegetable plate and rolled her big brown eyes. Honestly, her Uncle Percy could be so predictable. Being early was so not cool. Hermione nudged Cassia in the shoulder with her elbow. She glared at her mother, before turning and marching into the house. Hermione rued that day in February that began Cassia's teen years.

The Lupin clan arrived next. Tonks came barreling through the yard, a large box hoisted in her hands. Remus came running after her, attempting to help her steady the package. Together they managed to get the box onto the table, but Tonks pushed her side just a bit too far and slid Percy and Penelope's gift right off.

Remus looked just as haggard as usual. He was pale, too thin, and slightly slouched. The full moon had ended last night. He looked tired. His age was beginning to show full force now; his facial features were sagging, and he had lines all around his eyes and mouth. His hair was thinning and turning gray. After the war, he had been able to relax some. He didn't have to worry so much about anyone, but himself. Then Tonks was back on his doorstep. She wanted to 'talk'. Goodness gracious, women and their need to exchange words every few minutes. He didn't know what they would talk about. They didn't really work together and Christmas wasn't for months yet. She wanted to 'talk' about 'them' and what was meant by that was that she wanted there to be a 'them'. She had arrived at his tiny little apartment at six in the morning that Saturday and didn't leave until five in the evening next Tuesday. They were married soon afterwards.

Tonks looked almost the same as she had way back when. She was tall and slender. Her hair was fashioned into a short bob (she was brunette for now). Her eyes were an awkward blue green, almost an unnatural teal; bright and vibrant. Her age was still a guessing game, because she could change her appearance at will and seem to be as old or young as she wanted. Molly had sworn up and down that having kids would make you grow up and settle down faster than a Firebolt could go. It had been true for everyone else,but not Tonks. After five kids, who weren't really kids anymore, Tonks was just as lively as ever.

Remus and Tonks' first born were twins. Derek and Gideon would have looked incredibly identical if it weren't for the fact that Gideon was a metamorphmagus. They both would have had shaggy, sandy blonde hair (except Gideon had turned his into short, black spikes). They both would have had bright yellowish brown eyes (if Gideon hadn't decided blue suited him better). They both had straight noses, were 73 inches tall, and were skinny as rails (Gideon by choice). One thing Gideon couldn't change to make himself stand apart from his brother was that they were both twenty-five, now.

The Lupin twins' younger sisters Louise and Clara were not twins, but were mistaken as so very often. Both girls had long, brown hair (which everyone supposed was from Tonks' side, but no one knew for sure) and the same yellowish eyes as their father and older brothers. They had small noses and wide mouths. Both were terribly smart and extremely quiet. Though the girls looked and acted like twins, Clara was two years younger than Louise and three years younger than the twins.

The youngest Lupin, Patrick, was the family oddball. His hair was stick straight and dirty blond, his eyes were light green. He was dimpled in both rosy cheeks. He was much shorter than his siblings, and more muscular. Patrick was the most athletic of his family, having played Quidditch back when he was at Hogwarts (some three years earlier) and now he had taken up rugby, to impress a muggle girl he had met in London.

It was nearly twenty minutes before anyone else arrived. And when they did, they arrived almost together, as one extremely large group.

First, Sirius came. He was grinning broadly and had a joyous bounce to his step. His black hair was long and pulled back from his face with a smoky-colored ribbon that matched his robes and resembled his eyes. He was still thin, but had refilled himself out from his years in Azkaban and from his time on the run. Ever since Voldemort's defeat and the revealing of Pettigrew, Sirius had been working at Hogwarts. He was teaching a new class; it was called 'Wandless Magic', and it was very popular, which was mainly due to a large portion of the female students being attracted to him. He wasn't the only one of the old crowd teaching at Hogwarts. Remus had taken over Defense Against the Dark Arts, again. Harry was teaching Transfiguration. And Draco Malfoy, like Sirius, was teaching a new course; which he called "Magical Rites, Rituals, and Traditions'. Both Sirius and Remus (and his family) had become family to all the Weasleys and most of the youngest Weasleys never hesitated to call them Uncles.

Bill and Fleur came in together, hand in hand. Their two sons followed. Both boys were now out of school.

Julian and Luc both had bright blonde hair, not the white blonde of their mother, but still bright, and blue eyes. They spoke six languages between them, both were fluent in French and English. Both had left Hogwarts and were working in an international sect for the Ministry of Magic and had been overseas for the past year. No one had seen them in just as long, because they were unable to get away for the Christmas holiday. The two blonde boys immediately set about the yard, hugging and kissing their grandmother, aunts, and cousins on their cheeks and shaking hands of uncles and male cousins. Neither could escape hugging their grandfather when they found him.

Bill and Fleur ventured over past the food table (now hidden under towering plates of brownies, vegetables and sandwiches. Not to mention bowls of potatoes and salads) and deposited a wrapped package on the gift table next to Sirius' haphazardly wrapped bundle. Next to Hermione, at the opposite end of the yard, away from the tables and near the house, Molly grumbled about the length of Bill's hair, which was now set in a long ponytail a great way down his back. She seemed to be over her dislike of Fleur; she gave the girl respect that had been warranted after Bill's grapple with lycanthropy. Bill had managed to make himself presentable, despite the hard time they allknew he'd had on with the full moon the night before.

Molly was just as motherly now as she had ever been. She scolded and coddled just the same. But she was getting quite on in years. Her wrinkles had wrinkles. Her hair was streaked with gray and white. She was hunched slightly and though she adamantly denied it, she didn't hear as well as she once had.

Arthur had found that grandchildren suited him well. They made him feel young again, though he certainly didn't look it. He adored showing them his collection of muggle tools and for the most part they adored seeing them. Arthur's hair was also graying. But unlike his wife, he managed to remain upright, and could hear just fine.

Fred and George arrived with their wives and former housemates Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. They had four children between than and Molly was disappointed that neither had had twins. She had wanted twins for them both so that Fred and George could understand what it had been like for her and Arthur to cope with. Fred and George's business, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, had branched from their solitary store to twelve worldwide, four of which were located in the United Kingdom. They had expanded their staff too. They no longer had to travel themselves to all the stores and instead had been able to hire witches and wizards who could do that for them.

They werebothhappily successful, as were their wives. Katie, George's wife, was a Healer at St. Mungo's. She worked very closely with children who had gotten hold of their parents' wands and had unintentionally performed magic on one another. Angelina, Fred's wife, played Quidditch professionally. She was a brilliant chaser and had scored over a thousand points (with 108 goals) last season. She played for the Holyhead Harpies, League Champions three years running.

George and Katie had two children. Their son, Gregory, was fourteen and determined to go into the family business; though he didn't know which. His sister, Kathleen, Kat for short, was sixteen now. She was a prefect and a bit of a snob according to her brother. She was in contention for the Head Girl position, in the year that would follow her sixth and as far as she was concerned, no one was going to stand in her way.

Fred and Angelina's son was preparing for the upcoming Hogwarts Quidditch Season. He played Chaser, like his mother for Gryffindor. As his housemate and fellow Chaser, Louise Waitts, was a seventh year, there was little doubt in Alexander's mind that she would be captain and that he would most likely be given that responsibility in the next year. Alexander's fifteen year old sister, Frankie, had just been made a prefect. She had spent the last two weeks analyzing the entire Hogwarts rule book, to make sure that no a single school deviant tried to feed her a line that the rule they had just breached wasn't really a rule.

Though Gregory, Kat, Frankie, and Alexander were only cousins, many students in the school confused who was whose brother or sister. It was fairly ridiculous, because Alexander and Frankie both had light tan colored skin, as a result of their father's pale and their mother darker hues.

Hagrid arrived by apparating; something he did often, now that he could. He shook the ground when he landed.

After Voldemort's death, the Ministry had been convinced by Dumbledore that all those witches and wizards who had been personally affected at some point in their lives by Lord Vodemort's wrong doings should be compensated for it.

Hagrid had been allowed to have his wand restored, because Voldemort had framed him, and told everyone that it was Hagrid who had been responsible for the beast in the Chamber of Secrets. Hagrid, though much older now than when Harry, Hermione and the Weasley's had been in school, was still his enormous height and weight. His age was beginning to show somewhat in the wrinkles on his face and hands. Whether his hair was combed or not, no one could say; it was just a mass of black wiry curls. The younger children (Cassia and all those younger) swarmed around Hagrid, tugging on his large hands and dragging him around the yard, insisting that he show them magic and tell them stories.

Finally, at long last, ten minutes after two o'clock, Harry came ambling through the yard, blinded by a charm Ginny had placed on him. He was smiling, obviously not at all fooled by what was supposed to be a surprise. His kids had already run off into the house where the youngest of the cousins had gathered, playing with their grandfather's muggle trinkets and gadgets.

Harry looked nearly exactly as he had when he left Hogwarts. He was tall and thin, with pale skin and shocking messy, black hair. Though his eyes were shut, everyone knew behind his lids were bright, emerald eyes. Harry had filled out somewhat over the years, with age, but he was still skinnier than Molly Weasley thought was healthy. His cheeks were never as round and smooth as they had once been. Instead, his cheeks always seemed to have a thin layer of stubble on them, despite how many times Harry shaved it off. He had a strong jaw line that was set stoically. The ex-auror had learned to hide emotions when he really needed it, but now was not the time at all.

Ginny had aged gracefully. She was slender, her body widening imperceptibly at her hips. She kept her fiery red hair long, and down her back. Her brown eyes were hardly ever incensed and seemed to be filled with merriment instead. She smiled more often than she did anything else. It appeared that nothing ever bothered her, but when one of her kids crossed the thick line from behaved to misbehaved she was quick with her wand due to her temper.

James, was eleven and looked like Harry, but was certainly shorter and without the glasses. His eyes were his mother's brown. James' hair was unruly at its best. The biggest difference between James and Harry (when he was eleven) was that James wasn't as skinny or underfed. He still had a good amount of his baby fat attached to his cheeks and legs.

Lily did not have the appearance of her late grandmother at all. She was dark haired and dark eyed. She was a year younger than James and just as tall. She was thinner than her brother too. If James liked something, than Lily loved it and if James loved it, Lily hated it. They fought on a daily basis (usually away from their mother).

The youngest Potter was Mac, full name Marc Arthur. Mac was a Weasley all over. He had the red hair, the freckles, and the hot headedness. He couldn't blush or be angry without his entire face burning pink. He was tall for his age and promised to be much taller than both his older siblings. He had Harry's eyes and penchant for mischief.

Everyone still in the backyard, moved in a staggered circle closer to Harry. They were all shooting smiles at each other, and grinning at Harry. As silent as they could manage, they crept up to Harry and watched Ginny as she mouthed 'one-two-three'. All together they shouted, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY', at the same moment Ginny had released Harry's eyes of the spell. No one could keep from grinning.

Late in the evening when the twenty-five and younger crowd had dragged the grandparents off to watch a make-shift Quidditch tournament between several hand picked teams, and Hagrid had departed with Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore, who arrived just and hour earlier, the second generation (Harry and the Weasley boys, etc) had separated into two groups. The men sat in the yard sipping butterbeers and firewhiskies. The women sat in the Burrow's family room. The discussions had both turned to the birds and the bees, as they were prone to do.

"You know what I don't understand," Katie asked aloud. She sat on one of the three high back armchairs, facing the long, red sofa that seated four.

"What's that," Hermione asked politely, from the end of the red couch. All the wives turned to look at the blond Katie.

"Why is it that men can be so oddly poetic when talking to their kids about sex, but can't manage to find the words to say anything on your birthday or Valentine's Day," Katie looked around at all of the women. "You know what I mean?"

"Oh I know what you are talking about," Fleur said excitedly from next to Hermione. Her English had much improved over the years. The focus in the room shifted to her. "When it came time for Bill to talk to Julian and Luc about it, I leestened at the door. 'E used all types of metaphors and zimiles. The one I can remember best is ze one about Quidditch. 'E told the boys, 'e told them that when a man is in ze course, 'is member has become like a quaffle punch searching forth and back for a repeated golden 'oop."

There was a moment of silence in which all the women tried to understand what Fleur had just said. Ginny got it first.

"Oh," she shouted, "Oh. The motion of intercourse is like punching the quaffle repeatedly back and forth through a goal hoop."There were several 'ohs' and giggles.

Fleur's indignant cry of, "I just zaid that' went unnoticed.

Penelope cleared her throat, smiling kindly at the room, until everyone looked to her.

"Percy managed to make it sound like a battle."

"A battle," Tonks asked, obviously and righfully confused.The women began to smile in anticipation for the story.

"He told Sammy and Henry that sex should be about protocol. First, you had to know the other party involved well. Then you had to make plans and strategies, try and figure out your position, their position, and then which angle to begin at."

Premature giggles were creeping out everywhere.

"He told them that their wands should be at the ready and that instead of attacking, they were going to sheath their wands into the second party. He said that if it was the first time, it would be uncomfortable, neither side would be quite sure of what was happening or if things were running smoothly and to not be surprised if the first time got a little bloody."

Laughter exploded all over the room.

Outside, the men were bent over laughing at a rather crude joke of Fred's. Ron was wiping his mouth from his spewed butterbeer.

"You know, I don't envy Ron and Harry in these upcoming years with their boys," admitted Bill, still grinning from the joke. Harry and Ron shot each other confused looks. "I can't imagine either of you having to explain sex to James and Braden, then Mac and Evan."

"I think they might do alright, as long as they don't insert that joke anywhere in the speech," Sirius spoke up. He poked Ron in the ribs with his elbow, rather hard, too. There was another round of laughter. Then everyone started lobbying their advice.

"It's best to get themall out of the way as soon as you can, less chance for humiliation," Remus suggested. Bill agreed wholeheartedly.

"Maybe you should find out what they know about it first, and then fill in the gaps," George offered.

"No. No. You have to relate it to something they'll understand; like Quidditch or procedures," Percy quipped.

"Maybe we should just hire the Daily Prophet to write an article, do away with the whole talking part of it," Ron mumbled to Harry as Sirius went into detail about how it was explained to him.

Back indoors, the topic had changed. The mood had become somber, after the last round of giggles.

"Did you read in the Daily Prophet about those murders in Versailles," Angelina asked, cautiously, from the second of the high back chairs. There was a general affirmative murmuring from the women. "The Aurors on the case are saying they're directly related to those ones a month ago in Italy. They think whomever is doing them is moving towards England or Spain."

"It's awful. Can you imagine coming home and finding all that…," Tonks trailed off, not needing to supply the rest. It wasn't really a question, justa posed thought for everyone to mull over.

Outside again, the men were discussing the murders as well.

"That makes seven so far. And the Aurors suspect they'll be more," Harry told the group of quieted men. "They think they know the connection too; what message the maniac responsible is trying to send."

"What's that," Fred asked. Harry said nothing for a moment.

"He thinks that there's an army forming or something. He thinks that everyone whose half or less are going to join up and try and take over the wizarding world. He thinks the army might try and kill anyone 'above them in blood status."

"How'd they figure that out," Bill questioned. Harry took a sip of his drink. He stillhad friends in the Auror office who filled him in on the goings on.

"A French muggle heard a few of this guy's men talking. Went right to the police, he did."

"Oh," Fred said in response. "So, it's another blood purist with a band of crazies at his beck and call." Then sarcastically he added,"Great."

No one said anything for the longest time. They were all thinking hard. It was almost impossible to find a pureblood who had married a pureblood or a muggleborn who had married a muggleborn. Nearly the entire Wizarding world was in danger of this crazed man with his deranged ideas and disgusting ways of spreading out his 'message'. Nearly everyone was at risk because hardly anyone was pureblooded any more. He was going to think nearly the entire world were potentially forming an army to kill purebloods.

In the back of everyone's mind (in the house or outside of it)was a lingering and daunting question; was this going to get better or worse first?

So now I've introduced almost all of the new characters and given an update of what's happened to almost everyone after the war.

Key word is almost... There's still more people to meet and some loose ends to tie.

I've introduced the bad guy, vaguely. He's a completely antisocial and paranoid, I'll get to that more much much later. And what Tonks says in reference to the murders will be completed later on in this story.

Any questions about the story should be included in the review or e-mailed to me and I'll answer as many as I can.

Cheers and love, y'all.

TNGoH

Joe and Izzy: As always thank you for the review. I hope this isn't as slow as the previous one, but then again, I'm never sure how good a critic I am of my own writing. I hope you keep reading AND reviewing. I love reading what you have to say about the story.