Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (or any of its subsidiaries) nor do I claim to.

A/N: I am frankly amazed by the number of people who like to read my story. It's very…satisfying and makes me want to get working on my own work of independent fiction. Not to fret, though, I will finish what I have started. I have too much of a loyalty/honesty complex to abandon anything I've set my mind to work on. I will finish this story as fast as I can without shortening or butchering the plot I've set. I hope you enjoy this next installment entitled 'One Hell of a Party.'

Also, I'd like to apologize for not posting this sooner. I was experiencing issues logging in and uploading this chapter. Sorry for the delay everyone!

************************************************************************

Harry smiled as he surveyed his and Hagrid's handy work. Originally they'd only had two long tables to work with, but Mrs Weasley had assured them that they would not be enough. So, Harry had to use his wand. He had worked a complicated bit of magic expanding the length of the tables and also adding legs and Reinforcement Charms so they would not collapse under the weight they'd be under soon. After that, Harry had joined the tables together with magic so there would be no seams in the wood. They had also rounded up all the chairs the Weasleys owned and Harry had to conjure several more, along with a chair that could hold Hagrid's immense weight.

'Will Grawp be joining us tonight, Hagrid?' Harry asked with some trepidation as they set up a few more chairs in the Weasley's backyard. They situated Hagrid's much larger chair at one end of the table, the same end at which Harry was planning to seat himself with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione.

Hagrid chuckled. 'No, Harry. Molly said she barely had enough food ter feed me an' Ron, much less Grawpy. No, I left him back at the castle. He's comin' along great, Grawp is,' Hagrid said with a swelling chest.

Hagrid had been training his giant half-brother as his assistant ever since the end of the Second Wizarding War. Initially, it had seemed Grawp would not be fit to do so, but Hagrid was patient. The last Harry had seen, Grawp was petting Buckbeak with one enormous finger and cooing to him softly. Buckbeak had seemed pleased and had not seen fit to snap at the unintelligent giant.

'That's great Hagrid, really great. How is his English coming along?' Harry asked, just trying to make conversation. He wasn't exactly paying his full attention; he'd seen Ginny passing in the garden and was temporarily transfixed by the way her hair shimmered and danced in the growing darkness. She was trying to quickly de-gnome the garden so they wouldn't come out and harass the party guests. Consequentially he missed what Hagrid said in response and had to ask him to repeat himself.

Hagrid laughed robustly at this. 'Nah, I won't bore you with me stories about Grawp, although he has been gettin' a lot better. I'm sure ya was just bein' polite, Harry. How're things goin' with you and Ginny? Last I heard you two was gettin' pretty serious.' There was a knowing glint in Hagrid's eye. This was one of those times that Hagrid demonstrated his startlingly sharp wit and keen eye for detail. Not many suspected him of this quality, but Harry had been friends with Hagrid for nearly ten years and he knew that Hagrid was much smarter than anyone made him out to be.

'We're doing very well, thank you,' Harry said. He leaned in close and stood on his toes, motioning for Hagrid to bend down so he could whisper into his ear. 'I just got her a silver locket for her birthday.'

Hagrid grinned under his heavy beard and mustache as he stood up. 'That's right nice of ya Harry. I'm sure she'll love it.'

'Who'll love what?' asked a voice from directly behind Harry. Harry felt his face flush as he turned. It was Hermione. 'Who'll love what Harry?'

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. In his mind, it had been Ginny standing behind him and he'd projected that to his ears, so he'd thought he was hearing Ginny's voice. 'Would you keep it down, Hermione?'

Hermione quirked an eyebrow and whispered, 'Who will love what?' She had changed out of her Ministry work robes in favor of jeans and a long-sleeved Weird Sisters t-shirt. Though it was nearing the end of July, they were experiencing a peculiar cold snap, causing everyone to wear a bit more clothing.

Harry leaned close to her so she could hear better and so the sound would have to travel less. He explained what he'd done for Ginny's birthday and Hermione smiled. 'Oh, Harry, you romantic sod! I can't believe you didn't tell be before now.'

Harry grinned. 'How am I supposed to keep any secrets that way?' He checked the charm on the enlarged chair and nodded before bending down to check the semi-soft ground under it. 'Do you think you can come with me when I pick it up to put the picture on? I can do a Permanent Sticking Charm, but I haven't quite mastered the Everlasting Preservation Charm yet.'

Hermione smiled a little wider, it seemed she was pleased that Harry wanted to include her in his plan. 'Of course I'll come with you, Harry. It would be my pleasure.'

Harry smiled back and hugged her before bending back down. 'Thanks, Hermione. Would you mind helping me a moment? The second Hagrid tries to sit in it, the legs will sink straight into the ground.'

Hagrid laughed a great belly laugh. 'Thanks Harry, Hermione. I'm just gonna go an' help Ginny with the gnomes.'

Harry nodded and tried to think of a spell or charm he could use to make the ground under the chair less permeable. 'What do you think Hermione? A Hardening Charm or a Moisture Removal Hex?' Harry asked. A Hardening Charm would, of course, make the ground directly under the chair much harder, but if it did not extend low enough, that part would just sink anyway. The Moisture Removal Hex, on the other hand, was an unknown element. It was originally invented to dry parchment or to remove liquid from a potion when too much had been added, though Harry theorized that if they applied it the right way, the soil would pack tighter together, making it less permeable and less easy to permit the chair to sink.

'How about a strong Hardening Charm? Like the one I used on that tapestry last year when were escaping the Death Eaters?' Hermione suggested, shaking her head at the mention of the Moisture Removal Hex. 'We can both cast it and it should be strong enough.'

Harry nodded and pointed his wand directly under the centre of the chair and muttering, 'Duro.' Hermione did the same and they both stood, satisfied with their work.

'Do you know how many are coming tonight, Hermione? We might as well set the table while we're out here,' he asked her, curious to how many had been invited.

'Well,' Hermione replied, 'between Mrs Weasley and me, we sent out sixteen invitations. Then you have to take into account the fact that Professor Slughorn tagged along with Professor McGonagall, there should be seventeen others coming. I didn't count you, Ron, Ginny, Ted, Mr and Mrs Weasley, or myself so we should set twenty-four places in total.'

Harry nodded and summoned a large, gold- and white-striped tablecloth to him from a closet within the Burrow and, together with Hermione, draped it over the table. Hermione had taught Harry a different version of the traditional Summoning Charm, where the object or objects being summoned simply disappear from one place and appear in another. It came in handy and was much simpler than the one Harry had learned in his fourth year at Hogwarts, especially since the objects didn't collide with any people or other things on their way to the summoner. They had to cast an Enlargement Charm on it so it would fit over both of the conjoined tables. After making sure the cloth wouldn't move around with a Temporary Sticking Charm, they summoned plates, silverware, glasses, and crystal champagne flutes from within the house, setting each the places by magic and having to enlarge Hagrid's entire place setting, going so far as to replace his champagne flute and cup with a large tankard Hermione conjured, at the head of the table. After they'd finished setting the table, they saw it was growing dark and decided to conjure some candles and levitate them over the table so there would be light later on, much like the house tables in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. They quickly conjured them, using the variety of candle that vanished its own wax so the guests would not have to experience the uncomfortable feeling of hot wax dripping on their heads or their food for that matter.

'So do you have any news, Hermione? Everyone seems to today,' Harry asked as they walked back towards the kitchen.

'No, none that I can think of, though I know what you mean, of course,' Hermione said as they entered the kitchen. 'Ginny told me about playing as starting Chaser tomorrow and of course Ron owled me as soon as he got out of the press conference to tell me about being made George's business partner. I'm so proud of him.'

Harry nodded. Of course Hermione, Ron's girlfriend, would have been told Ron's news before Harry. They found Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley, Bill, and Fleur in the kitchen waiting for Harry.

'Heya Harry!' Bill said with a grin. His scars from the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, still stood out stark against his pallid Weasley complexion. He held a hand out to Harry and smiled as Harry shook it. Bill still looked very cool, his red hair back in a pony tail and his fang earring glinting in the light. He had tried to persuade Harry to get his own ear pierced on his eighteenth birthday, but Harry and, more importantly, Ginny had refused. 'Congratulations on the promotion mate!'

'Thanks Bill, good to see you again,' Harry replied, smiling. Bill was always a fun person to be around. 'And how are you, Fleur?' Harry asked as he extended his arms.

Fleur smiled and gave him a hug, kissing him on both cheeks as always. 'I am very good, Harry,' she said in a much better accent than Harry was used to; she'd obviously been practicing. 'I must also congratulate you, well done.'

Harry flushed. Fleur always had a way of making any male do so. Just then, Ginny slid a hand around Harry's waist and pressed her side against his. 'Hey Bill, Fleur. How are you two getting on?' she asked, eying Fleur with a slight bit of distaste. She never really had truly liked her sister-in-law, though she had grown to respect her much more after the Battle of the Astronomy tower when her brother had been wounded and Fleur had taken care of him. 'Mum said you two have some news of your own to report tonight, fancy telling me what it is?'

'You'll find out when everyone else does tonight, Gin,' Bill said good naturedly. 'How are the two of you doing? We hardly get any letters or see you these days.' Bill wasn't exactly admonishing them, but from his tone he was slightly disappointed.

'We're doing grand, Bill, we really are,' said Harry. Ginny beamed at him and kissed his cheek, standing on her toes to do so. 'Well, I'd best go change. I reckon I'm not in my best clothes to attend a party.'

Bill and Fleur nodded, Fleur nodding a bit more emphatically. Harry slipped out of Ginny's hold and retreated upstairs to change into a long sleeved red and black striped t-shirt with a moving photo of a dragon on it. Charlie had gotten the shirt for him in Romania right before he'd left to work closer to home in a remote area of Wales. There was a dragon preserve up there and Mrs Weasley was much more cheerful with him closer to home.

Harry nodded at his reflection and was just about to leave until he heard a sharp sound coming from his window. He turned and saw a very familiar eagle owl sitting on the sill, a letter in its beak. Harry frowned and drew his wand, waving it to open the window and temporarily let down his security wards he'd placed on it. The eagle owl soared in and lit upon Harry's chest of drawers.

His room was somewhat larger than Ron's at the top of the house, but less cluttered. There was a chair in one corner and the chest of drawers next to it that Harry kept his underpants and socks in along with most of his trousers. In the bottom drawer, however, was his stash of dark detectors and defensive objects he'd either purchased from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and other shops. In the opposite corner was a desk so he could work from home if he felt the need, it had been a gift from Kingsley because Harry had been complaining about it to him one day. Next to his bed was a night table with a lamp on it and a drawer he kept emergency supplies like Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder for, Merlin forbid, a dark wizard broke into his room. Also in this drawer was the photo album Hagrid had given to him, now expanded with similar pictures to the ones Ginny kept in her room.

Harry strode forward and hesitantly took the letter from the beak of the owl. It ruffled its feathers and began to preen itself, clearly waiting for Harry to read the letter and respond to it. Harry opened the letter with the familiar wax seal of a large M and quickly scanned it, seeing the handwriting he was expecting, but being completely thrown by the message. It read:

Potter-

My father has gone missing. I know you've never had anything but bad feelings toward us and us towards you, but I am asking for your help. I assure you, we have reformed ourselves. You know how much this must kill me to ask this of you, though I feel I must. I need your help in locating him. I think he may have been kidnapped or worse. Mother is worried and keeps asking me to do something about it. You were the only one I could think of to help us, as an Auror and a good man. Please, I urge you to look past our differences and help me. I will assist you in any way I can, I'll even pay you on the side to help look for him. Understand that when I say help, I mean that you and I will have to look together.

I know that this would normally be a case for the Missing Persons Department in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but I do not feel comfortable going to them. The wizarding community has shown in the past to not trust the Malfoy family after the war. You are the only one I can trust. Bring along Weasley and Granger if you must, but beyond them this must be kept quiet, anyone could be behind this.

Kindly respond to this by return of my owl. He will wait for you to reply. Thank you, Potter.

Draco

Harry was shocked and he had to sit down on his bed to think about it. He shook himself and thought hard on the matter at hand as the owl stared at him unblinkingly from its perch. Why would Draco Malfoy, one of the few people in the world that Harry truly hated, turn to him for help in finding one of the other few people that he hated, Lucius Malfoy? It was obvious and stated in the letter; he couldn't trust anyone because there were any number of people that wanted to see all of the Malfoy family dead or gone. It was common knowledge that many at the Ministry thought that they ought not to have gotten off after their part in the war, no matter when they'd decided to switch sides. The thing was Harry had stood up for them, citing the fact that Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother, had saved his life from Voldemort in the end. Harry was caught in a quandary, should he help them or should he let Lucius suffer at the hands of his possible captor? The answer was simple. No matter how much he loathed that family, no matter how much suffering they had caused, Harry could not simply sit by and turn his back on them. They were still people after all and Harry had pledged his life to serving all of wizard kind, not just those he liked.

Harry reluctantly went to his desk and pulled out an eagle feather quill and parchment. He wet the quill in one of his bottles of black ink and started writing.

Draco-

As difficult as it is for me to say this, I'll help you. Just know that if this is a trick or some kind of ploy to get rid of me, I will not hesitate to kill you. Send me a time and place to meet you and I will be there, just not tonight. I am busy this evening. I admit I was very surprised to receive your letter, I'd never expected to hear from you again especially after what happened the last time we saw each other. I do hope you've grown out of your habit of sneering at everyone who isn't a pure-blood. Otherwise it will be very difficult for me to be around you, likewise for Hermione. In fact, if you dare to utter that hateful word, you know the one I mean, in our presence, not only will I leave, but Ron will most likely hex you.

If this pans out as a kidnapping or worse, rest assured you will have my full confidence and help in finding the one who did it.

Harry

Harry cast a Drying Charm on the ink and folded it before putting in an envelope. He heated the wax he kept in the drawer closest to his right hand and carefully dripped a small amount onto the back of the envelope, pressing his own seal into it. His seal was simply his first and last initial bisected by a lightning bolt. It had not been his idea, but he had grown fond of the seal after a short while and now used it every time he sent a letter. He rooted around until he found an owl treat in one of the drawers; they had been Hedwig's favorite brand and he still could not bear to throw them away. He stood and fist gave the treat to Malfoy's owl, which devoured it happily, then he gave it the letter.

'Now I know I'm not your master,' Harry said to it, looking it in the eye. 'But I won't be in my room this evening to receive any replied he might send. I'll leave the window open at the bottom, so you can drop his reply through there. Have a safe flight.' Harry held his arm out and the owl climbed on, seeming pleased by the information Harry had given it. He held his arm out the window and there was a sudden pressure and small gust as the owl took off into the purple sky. Harry lowered the window so there was a slot just large enough for a letter to fit through at the bottom, then turned to leave. He stopped, went back to the desk, and left another treat on the outside sill.

He left his room then, heading back downstairs. He had decided while writing the letter that he would wait for Malfoy's reply before he told Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He didn't want to spoil their evenings and a message from Malfoy, no matter how benign, was sure to do so. So he plastered a smile on his face and entered the kitchen again. A few more guests had arrived since he went upstairs to change. Kingsley Shacklebolt was talking to Minerva McGonagall near the stove while Horace Slughorn was laughing heartily at a joke told by George Weasley, who was accompanied by Angelina Johnson. Oliver Wood was pouring a drink for his girlfriend Alicia Spinnet as she spoke with Katie Bell and Ginny.

As far as Harry knew, those were the only guests that had arrived so far. He caught a glimpse of Molly through the open door as she carried Teddy to the table. He stepped off the last stair and started towards Kingsley, but he was almost immediately sidetracked by a flash of blonde hair outside the kitchen window. He squinted and looked, but could not see anything. He strode over and smiled at Alicia and Katie, lacing his fingers through Ginny's.

'Hey Alicia, hey Katie! How are you two doing?' Harry asked, smiling at the both of them.

'Hey Harry!' they chorused together. 'Congratulations!' Alicia said and Katie echoed her. 'We were just telling Ginny how great it is that she's playing starting Chaser in tomorrow's game.'

Harry and Ginny smiled at them and thanked them. 'Do you mind if I borrow Ginny for a few moments?' They nodded and turned back to Oliver, striking up a conversation concerning Puddlemere United's chances of winning against the Holyhead Harpies.

'What's up Harry?' Ginny asked in an undertone. She'd heard the urgency in Harry's voice, it seemed.

'I think we have an unwelcome visitor here,' Harry replied as he quickly led Ginny out into the living room. Immediately it was clear that Harry was right, the window was open and there were muddy footprints on the floor leading towards the bathroom. Harry held a finger to his lips and drew his wand, Ginny doing the same.

They went over to the bathroom and Harry threw it open, he and Ginny pointing their wands at the culprit. It was Rita Skeeter, clearly seeking to find a story that was juicier than the events of earlier that day at the press conference. She was wearing a dark cloak and had her blonde hair tightly curled and piled on top of her head. When she saw Harry and Ginny, she tried to draw her wand, most likely to transfigure into her Animagus form.

'Expelliarmus!' Harry shouted, letting Ginny catch the wand that came zooming from Rita's pocket. 'Rita, Rita, Rita,' Harry said, clucking his tongue in disapproval. 'How many times do we have to tell you to quit bothering me? You do realize that I'm an Auror and can legally have you fined or even thrown into Azkaban for breaking and entering.'

Rita glowered at him. She'd eventually gone back to work for the Daily Prophet, boldly calling Hermione's bluff. Hermione had calmly not leaked information about her illegal Animagus status, sending Rita a letter instead that told her implicitly that if she were to ever write libelous or slanderous things about Harry or any of his friends again, she would be immediately thrown in jail for breaking the law and not registering herself as an Animagus.

'You wouldn't do that Harry, would you?' she asked in a simpering voice. Harry wasn't impressed, neither was Ginny for that matter.

'You stupid cow!' she exclaimed dangerously. She had lowered her voice so as not to alert any of the guests of their uninvited friend. 'You really ought to have thought this out more.'

Harry grinned. 'You know, I could just go and tell Kingsley right now, Gin. That would clear everything up straight away.'

Rita blanched under her heavy make-up. Harry had succeeded in scaring her. 'Oh, Harry, you don't have to go and do a terrible thing like that do you? We can work this out. How about I just leave now and we never have to mention this again.' She was speaking very quickly and with a very clear note of desperation in her voice.

'No, I have to do something to discourage you from doing this ever again, Rita. What do you think Ginny?' Harry asked with a mischievously evil grin.

Ginny made a real show of thinking, keeping her wand trained on Rita while she twirled the other witch's wand in her free hand. Then she smiled widely, she'd thought of something. 'I know, Harry. Why don't we just frog march her out through the garden and keep all of her favorite quills?'

Harry grinned, knowing exactly what Ginny meant to do. Later, he'd tell Hermione and the Minister that they didn't have to do anything to Rita, but for now it would seem like the two people she feared most at the moment would have eyes on her before she was thrown out. 'I like the sound of that idea, Gin. Hand over your bag, Rita.'

Rita clutched the bag to her chest in a feeble attempt to keep it from Harry, but Harry had a wand and she didn't. He performed a simple Summoning Charm and the bag was in his hands before she could blink. He reached in and removed ever one of her quills and a piece of parchment that had the title of her next story, 'Harry Potter Becomes and "Auror".' Harry grimaced at the title, not liking how Auror was in quotes, and set all the items on the floor, thoroughly smashing them with his foot before pointing his wand at the piles and muttering, 'Evanesco.'

Rita groaned weakly and sank to the floor. Harry tossed her bag at her and then turned his wand back on her. 'Come on, Rita, up you get.'

She stood slowly and shakily, rifling through her bag, vainly hoping that Harry had accidentally missed something, but her incriminating article was gone as were all of her favorite quills. She looked livid, but there was nothing she could do about it. Harry motioned for her to walk out first, keeping his wand trained on her as Ginny went to close the window she'd climbed in through and cleaning the muddy footprints from the floor. It wasn't that Mrs Weasley would have been particularly angry about the mud stains, but it was courteous, none-the-less, to clean it up. Harry waited for her and resumed walking only when Ginny was back at his side, her wand likewise pointed at Rita's back.

'What in the name of Merlin is she doing here?' Ron yelped when he saw Rita enter the room. Only two other people had arrived since Harry and Ginny had confronted Rita, but it looked like everyone was in the kitchen exchanging pleasantries, though now they were all staring at Rita, Harry, and Ginny.

'Nothing to see here, all, just an uninvited guest being escorted off of the premises. Come along, Rita, let's get you out of here,' Ginny said with a grin akin to a cat catching a canary. They marched Rita through the throng of people, which now included Neville and his girlfriend Hannah Abbott, and down the garden path past the fence and to the point where Apparition was possible again. Ginny tossed Rita her wand and glared at her. 'Do not ever come here again, Skeeter. If you do, we'll be sure to let every newspaper in the world know about your little secret, not just the Daily Prophet.'

Rita wasted no time in replying, she simply picked up her wand and Disapparated, her face red and angry looking. Harry grinned and walked arm in arm with Ginny back up the garden path to greet the party guests.

'What the bloody hell was that all about?' Ron asked in an undertone so no one else nearby could hear what they were saying. Hermione was right next to him, listening closely with a furious look on her face.

'Well, we caught Rita sneaking into the house, she must have found a way to disable the Security Charms I placed on the window, otherwise everyone would have been aware that she was in the house,' Harry said in a likewise sotto voice.

Hermione didn't like the sound of this. 'I should just tell the Prophet all about her, that would teach her a lesson she'd never forget.'

'Nah, I think we embarrassed her enough tonight,' Ginny replied. 'We told her if she ever tried anything so stupid again, though, and we'd leak the information to every magical newspaper in the world. She'd never find another job in her field.'

Ron looked taken aback. 'I didn't know you were so…devious, Gin. Remind me to stay on your good side, alright?'

They all laughed and Harry started making the rounds to say hello to all the guests that had arrived so far. Slughorn was now chatting merrily away to an always dreamy looking Luna Lovegood while Percy Weasley, a new arrival as well, was deep in conversation with Kingsley. Harry thought this slightly foolish as Percy was still Junior Undersecretary to the Minister, but Percy was allowed to do as he wanted. As he walked over to greet Percy, Harry saw Charlie Weasley drop in, so he changed course, happy not to talk to Percy just yet. Though they were friendly, Percy was still a stuffed shirt and talked too much about Ministry policy for Harry's liking; he much preferred talking to the second-eldest Weasley brother.

'Charlie!' Harry said happily as he held his hand out. He'd crossed the room without much needing to stop. Everybody was either helping to carry or place the finishing touches on the massive amounts of food or exchanging pleasantries with the other guests in attendance.

'How are ya, Harry?' Charlie asked, smiling brightly. Charlie looked more tired than Ginny, though he also had more reason to be tired. Most in his field either didn't last long or earned their wrinkles and gray hair early on.

'I'm good, Charlie, very good. How about yourself? Any escaped dragons I should be warning the country folk about?' Harry jested. It was something of a standing joke in the Weasley household because on the day Charlie started work at the Wales Dragon Preserve, a very young Common Welsh Green had escaped. Charlie had initially been blamed, as he was the new guy, but it was actually found to be an activist for an extremist group that advocated the release of all dragons into the into the wild. The young dragon was captured after a few hours, though the one who freed it was a little bit more difficult to find. If it hadn't been for Harry, Neville, and a very harassed Emelina Banks, the witch would have set even more dragons free.

Charlie scowled and rolled his eyes. 'Oh ha ha, Harry, you're so funny I'm going to drop dead right here from the pure hilarity of that joke,' he said in a deadpan voice. 'I'm doing just fine as of late. I started seeing a girl from work a few weeks ago, actually. She's very sweet and quite the laugh. I was going to bring her with me, but she had to go to dinner with her parents and I did not want to experience that horror yet. I don't know how you do it, living with the parents of your girlfriend. It would be murder for me mate.'

Harry laughed. 'It helps that your mum is like a mother to me and has been since the day I met her. I don't think I've ever met someone so kind.' And Harry meant it. Mrs Weasley hadn't been the first or the only one to offer to put Harry up after the war ended, but she was the one that Harry knew he could trust and the one he respected the most.

Unbeknownst to Harry, however, Mrs Weasley was right behind him when he'd said this. She sniffed loudly and threw her arms around Harry, burying her face in his shirt. 'Thank you so much, Harry. You don't know what that means to me,' she said. Everyone was staring at them and Harry felt slightly awkward hugging her as well and patting her back.

Thankfully, her husband was quick enough to see Harry was slightly uncomfortable with the situation he'd found himself in. Mr Weasley rushed forward and softly pried his wife off of Harry and pulled her away to the living room. It was quiet for a very long moment, no one knowing quite what to say.

'Oy!' shouted George in a clear effort to defuse the awkward situation. 'What's everyone standing around for? There's food on the table that isn't outside! Move it you lazy sods or I'll start hexing!'

Everyone laughed and started grabbing dishes just as the two more guests arrived, Neville and his girlfriend Hannah Abbott. They quickly jumped to one side of the kitchen door as everyone was now exiting through it, Harry waving at them as he walked by carrying a large platter of rice pudding. As soon as he'd dropped that off, he went back inside to greet them. He shook Neville's hand and hugged Hannah, Mrs Weasley clumsily patting him on the back as she walked by carrying a tray of treacle tart.

'Good you could make it Neville, Hannah,' Harry said as the food gradually made its way outside. 'We'll be eating out back tonight if you'd like to grab a dish and follow the procession.' Harry smiled again and made his own way back to the dining room table that, if it were a living thing, would have been groaning in relief from the amount of food that was being taken off of it.

Just as the last of the food was moved outside, Andromeda appeared. She looked very nice in peacock blue dress robes and matching heels. Harry was just about to hoist little Teddy into his highchair, but he acquiesced this to Andromeda happily. It was difficult to get him to do anything he didn't want to.

'Thanks, Drom,' Harry said with a smile. Everyone was chatting away and just taking their seats while they waited for Harry to maybe give a speech or someone to on his behalf, and for the drink to be dispensed so they could toast him, of course. 'I have to dash inside and grab the champagne, I'll be quick.'

Harry ran back inside, grabbing Ron on his way. When they were safely in the kitchen and looking for where Mrs Weasley usually hid the spirits, Harry let out a sigh of exasperation. 'What the bloody hell am I supposed to say, Ron? I know I've given speeches before, but there are twenty-two people out there, twenty-three counting you. All of them are people I know, this time! Last time I gave a speech, I was making it to the press about that mad witch in Diagon Alley, but these are all friends!'

Ron laughed. 'Calm down, Harry. Just thank them all for coming and tell them to enjoy the free grub, it's how I would I do it.'

Harry was astonished. Ron wasn't normally the type of person who would know how to handle a difficult situation, but this was a good tip. 'Thanks Ron, I'll do that. I knew there was a reason I kept you around,' Harry said with a grin.

'Oh shove off,' Ron replied, tossing Harry a bottle of champagne. Harry caught it deftly with the unerring accuracy of a trained Seeker before turning, a bottle in each hand, and heading out to the back yard again.

'All right!' Harry shouted over the considerable noise of many talking at once. 'I've got the bubbly, pass it along and fill the champagne glass in front of you so we can all toast and get on with this dinner!'

The assembled partygoers laughed as he filled Ginny and his glasses before sending it on down the table, right past Teddy because at only one year old, it was foolish to let him have any. Andromeda splashed some into her glass, followed by Molly, Arthur, and Bill. Fleur conspicuously chose not to have any and passed the bottle to Luna who poured some into her glass and kept it moving. Kingsley took it next and passed it to McGonagall and it ran out after it reached Slughorn at the opposite end of the table from Hagrid.

'It seems we've run out of champagne, Harry m'boy!' he called down the line and chuckled. Harry grabbed the second bottle and gave it to Hagrid before retaking his seat.

Hagrid poured himself a small measure and passed it to Ron. Hermione, then Neville, Hannah, Oliver, Alicia, Katie, Angelina, George, Percy, and Charlie all poured some before the bottle ran out once again, though it wasn't a problem as now everyone except for Ted and Fleur had champagne in front of them. Bill had filled her flute with water from his wand just as Harry stood.

'Speech!' cried George raucously to general laughter and applause. He started up a chant of 'Speech, speech, speech,' while banging his fork and knife on the table. This was taken up by everyone in attendance, though Ted was just banging his small fork and spoon because he saw everyone else doing it.

'Okay, okay!' Harry called, but he could not be heard over the continued chanting of 'Speech, speech, speech.' His throat grew slightly soar after several minutes of trying to be heard over the din and had to resort to magically amplifying his voice before everyone would quiet down. 'Shut up!' he yelled. There were a few titters, but everyone quieted down, even Teddy who was staring up at his godfather in what appeared to be avid attention.

'Thank you, George, for that fabulous display. I'm sure we all wanted a delay in eating this fabulously prepared feast,' Harry said loudly after he'd muttered the counter-spell to his Amplification Charm. There were several loud boos from the people nearest George, though Ron at the opposite end of the table booed the loudest. 'Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate my becoming an Auror. I don't really think I deserved a party for the occasion, but what do I know?' There were laughs all around the table and Ginny poked him in the leg sharply. 'I hope you all enjoy the free meal you're getting tonight, it must have been difficult to do with only a few helpers and not a lot of time. Thanks go to Mrs W- I mean Molly.' A polite round of applause went up along both sides of the table and Mrs Weasley blushed scarlet, waving her hand as she nodded and smiled. 'I'm sure you can all show your appreciation by helping clear and clean the dishes!' Harry yelled to general groans and shouts of dismay. 'On other business, I'm not the only one with reason to celebrate tonight. On account of the large amount of people with news, we'll just all toast together so everyone doesn't get so drunk they can't Apparate home.' A few more laughs circled the table. 'Ron? Would you like to tell everyone your news?' Harry asked, not bothering to wait for him to answer before promptly sitting down. Ron glared at him and stood up.

'Thanks Harry, I think,' Ron said as George whistled loudly, causing a few to laugh. 'Shut it, you. Before I get on to my news, I'd like to congratulate Harry on becoming a full-fledged Auror. Have fun with the paperwork mate!' Everyone clapped and laughed at this remark. 'Now for my news,' he said when the applause died away. 'My brother, George, announced today that he has made me a full partner in our family joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!' Again, everyone clapped, though this time it was for Ron, who bypassed scarlet and turned crimson at the attention he was receiving. When the applause and catcalls (from George of course) had died away yet again, Ron continued. 'It's a great honor to be seen as an equal in George's eyes, especially since throughout most of my career at Hogwarts, he and Fred tried to deny I was related to them. I hope Fred was watching today at the press conference, he would have appreciated seeing Rita bashed over the head with a crystal tumbler.' A few laughed at this, but most just let it sink in, there was nothing to really say to that, though Ron captured their collective sentiments quite well. 'I know we all miss dear Fred, but we should always remember and appreciate his ability to find humour in any situation and let that live on at least partially through we who remember him.' Ron paused for a moment, then shook his head and smiled brightly again. 'Now I think Bill and Fleur have some news they'd like to share.' Ron sat promptly and hastily wiped a tear from his cheek while Hermione kissed the opposite one and grasped his hand.

Bill stood next, smiling at Fleur who still held his hand. 'Well, I'm not really one for speeches myself, so I'll just come right out and say it,' he said, looking like he was bursting to tell everyone their news. 'We're pregnant!' he shouted.

Mrs Weasley broke out in tears of joy and nearly toppled her chair as she stood and rushed over to Bill and Fleur, wrapping them both in a big hug and sobbing on Fleur's shoulder. Everyone cheered and several stood to shake Bill's hand or give Fleur a hug when Molly finally released her. When everyone calmed down and regained their seats, Mrs Weasley rather reluctantly, Bill stood again.

'We're only about a week along, but we've been trying for quite a while,' Bill said, still smiling like the proud papa he was soon to be, a smile echoed on the face of everyone present. 'We'll find out more later, but we wanted to tell everyone tonight. It seemed like a good time.'

Everyone clapped as Bill sat back down. Harry prodded Ginny, trying to get her to stand and give her news next. She sighed and stood, everyone in the yard immediately focusing on her now. Ginny cleared her throat and smiled at them.

'Well, following Bill, my news really isn't that spectacular,' she said, looking slightly nervous. 'I would ask you, Oliver, to cover your ears, but as you probably already know, I'm playing starting Chaser in tomorrow's Holyhead Harpies versus Puddlemere United game.' Everyone set to clapping again, even Oliver Wood, though Alicia had to poke him to do so. He didn't look very cheerful about the news. Ginny took her seat again and Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek before he stood again.

'We have one last piece of news before we set about eating the food. It's a good thing it's at least somewhat warm out tonight, since otherwise the food would be getting cold,' Harry said. The crowd chuckled and giggled at this remark. 'Hagrid? I know you don't want to announce your news, but could you please stand, at least?' Hagrid scowled at Harry as he stood up, careful not to bump the table with his knees. 'Professor Hagrid here told me earlier this evening, just before dinner in fact, that he's been promoted. You are all now looking at the Head of Gryffindor House!' The table exploded in cheers again, for, with the exception of Fleur (who had attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic), Hannah (who had been in Hufflepuff House), Luna and Kingsley (who were both alumni of Ravenclaw), Andromeda (who had been in Slytherin), Teddy (who was not old enough to be sorted) and Slughorn (who was not only Head of Slytherin House, but had been in it in school), the table was comprised of previous Gryffindor students. 'I would also like to congratulate Neville on becoming a full Auror as well, even though his test will be sometime next week. We all know he'll pass as well,' Harry said when Hagrid had sat back down, the visible portion of his face flushed beet red and the cheering had died down, though it started up immediately when Harry congratulated Neville. Neville stood in turn and smiled at everyone, though he glared daggers at Harry in jest.

'Can we drink now?' George called. 'I think we've all had enough news for one evening, plus I'm starving.' All of the partygoers laughed at this.

When Harry had finished laughing, he lifted his glass, the rest mimicking him. 'I propose a toast to Bill and Fleur, Ron, Neville, Hagrid, Ginny, and myself,' he called.

Everyone, excluding Teddy, of course, raised their glasses and sipped the champagne.

'All right, tuck in!' Harry called and sat down, his throat soar from all the speaking he'd done that evening. Ginny kissed him as everyone started serving themselves.

'That was a very good speech, Harry,' she said with a smile. 'I never really pegged you as a public speaker.'

Harry smiled back. 'Neither did I, but I guess we can all do something out of the ordinary sometimes.'

They smiled at each other and started dishing food onto their plates, Harry turning to help Andromeda feed Teddy. After Andromeda continually urged Harry to enjoy his party, Harry finally turned and began to eat. He was famished, though it shouldn't have come as a surprise since he hadn't eaten since a very light and brief lunch of a stale ham and cheese sandwich pilfered from a rogue witch's kitchen in Cornwall. He ate until he could not eat anymore, leaning back in his chair and groaning. He looked down the table, discovering most had finished eating as well. Ted looked sleepy and Harry stood, picking him up.

'Come on big guy,' he said, going back to the house. 'We'll lay ya down for a bit before Nanna takes you home.' He went to the living room and quickly changed Teddy's diaper before he summoned the spare crib they kept in the house from his bedroom closet. He laid the baby down and tucked him in, kissing his forehead before blowing out the lamp and walking back outside.

'I do have one last announcement,' he said as he took his place between Ginny and Ted's empty highchair. 'Next week is, as you know, my nineteenth birthday. If it's agreeable, we can count today as the formal celebration and you can stop by throughout the day to drop off any gifts you might want to give me. I know I can't stop you from doing so,' he said, which earned him several half-hearted boos, 'I won't ask,' he finished. 'Does that work for you lot?'

'Yes,' was the general answer, though most were varieties on the word or, in many cases, simply grunts in the affirmative.

'That works for me,' Harry said happily. 'Now let's all get up and help clear the table. You ate it and now you get to clean it, it'll do you good.' There was a groan from everyone present and a few threw their napkins at Harry, Ginny included. Harry laughed and picked up his plate and silverware and carried them to the kitchen.

Roughly half an hour later, the assembled partygoers had piled all of the empty dishes in the sink or on the counter, a small army of charmed sponges cleaning and soaking them in the sink while a towel waited to dry them, occasionally wringing itself out over the empty side of the sink. After the dishes were all collected and the leftover food had been either thrown away or packed away for later and stored in the icebox, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione went back outside to vanish the candles and clean up the backyard. Harry and Hermione had to think hard on how to best get rid of the chair they'd constructed for Hagrid, in the end they had to repeatedly cast 'Finite Incantatem.' After about ten minutes, the chair was once again a regular size and the ground beneath it regular grass and soil.

They retired to the living room after that, Harry and the others seeing their friends off until Molly, Arthur, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were the only ones left in the house. Andromeda had taken Ted home with her and all of the others had left.

'I'm exhausted!' Harry exclaimed, flopping down onto the floor in front of one of the couches, Ginny resting her legs on his shoulders.

There was a collective groan of consent from those who remained.

Molly yawned. 'We're going to head to bed,' she said, standing with her husband. 'Hermione, you know you're always welcome to stay over with Ginny. We'll see you kids in the morning.' She went around and gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 'Good night!'

'Good night,' they chorused. Molly and Arthur went upstairs and they weren't far behind.

Harry stood, the rest of them rising as well. 'See you lot in the morning then,' he said. They all nodded and smiled at each other.

Harry walked Ginny to her door and kissed her tiredly. 'I love you, Ginny,' he said softly and kissed her nose. 'Sleep well, sweet dreams.'

She smiled and kissed him again. 'I love you too, Harry. Sweet dreams.'

They kissed one more time and Harry left for his room, nearly running into a wall. He quickly cleaned his teeth and quickly removed all but his boxers before falling onto his bed and almost immediately falling asleep, noticing belatedly that there was a letter on the floor below his window when he took off his glasses.

************************************************************************

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that. Please review!! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon.