Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm really liking this story right now, so I've been working on this one on my rainy day! I hope you all enjoyed the prologue – thank you to Qoheleth, Cartman1701 (sorry it was so short – it was just a prologue; hope this one is long enough!), jvic98, and anthony37 (thank you so much for the suggestions! We have similar ideas – this chapter has a lot of Molly!) for reviewing. It made my day! I hope everyone enjoys chapter 1!
Previously: Wordlessly, she held up the object. It was an ovular piece of plastic, white with a blue tip and a blue plus sign in the center of it. For a moment, Harry didn't recognize it, but then he gasped in surprise.
"Ginny?" he asked. "Is that a – "
"I'm pregnant," his wife said.
"What?" Harry asked, a look of shock playing across his face.
"I'm pregnant," Ginny whispered again, staring down at the floor. For a moment, Harry didn't say anything. Then, leaping up from his seat next to hear, he began shouting and whooping, spinning crazily around the room.
"I'm going to be a dad again! We're having a baby!" he shouted, pulling Ginny up and twirling her around. He danced around the room, picking her up and spinning her wildly through the air. Abruptly, he stopped and placed a protective hand on her stomach. "I'm so sorry, Gin. I forgot! That didn't hurt the baby did it?" he asked. Ginny had to giggle at the horrified look on his face.
"Of course not, you nutter! The baby's fine! But you're really not upset?" she asked, smiling up at him.
"Of course I'm not upset, darling! We're having a baby! A brand new baby, a piece of both of us! A new brother or sister for our children! What is there to be upset about?" he asked, returning her smile and kissing her softly. Breaking off the kiss after a moment, Ginny began to protest again.
"I don't know. It's just, well…we had always planned on three, and I wasn't sure how you would react," Ginny said, sitting back down.
"I'm ecstatic, Ginny. Ecstatic! A new baby is such a blessing. And your mum will just die! She's been saying for years how she needs a new grandbaby, how all her grandkids have gotten so big. She'll be thrilled! We have to go tell her, right away! And we have to tell the kids! We can't do this in a letter – no, we'll have to go visit them; maybe a dinner at Hogwarts? I wonder if McGonagall would allow it." Harry said, breathless with excitement.
"Whoa, Harry, just hold on a bit," Ginny said, pulling him back down to sit with her. "Now, I'm only about 2 months along. Normally I would have taken the test earlier – I've had a hunch for a couple of weeks – but it just seemed so impossible that I didn't take it. Regardless, I'm still in my first trimester, so I feel like we need to keep this quiet for at least another month until we tell anyone. After all, something could go wrong, and then we'll all be crushed."
"I suppose you're right, Gin, but I'm just bursting with excitement! Can't we at least tell your mum?" Harry asked, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes.
"Well…" Ginny mulled it over for a moment, "I suppose we could maybe tell just her. After all, she probably already knows anyway. She was the one that told me I was pregnant with James before I even thought about taking a test!"
"Oh, good, Ginny! I just have to tell someone. And it's only right that we tell her. But we have to make her promise not to tell anyone. It'll be difficult for her, but maybe if we promise her she can throw a celebratory announcement party next month, she'll be able to keep it quiet," Harry suggested, standing again and offering his wife his hand. She took it, and they walked downstairs together towards the living room fireplace.
"Come on, Gin, you go first. No Apparating now, it's bad for the baby," Harry said, tossing some Floo powder into the fire and ushering his wife into the flames. Following her in, they shouted "The Burrow!" and moments later emerged in the comfortable living room of the family home. They heard familiar clanking of pots and pans from the kitchen, and sure enough, Molly Weasley soon appeared, wiping her hands on her apron and offering them a big smile.
"Why hello dears, what a nice surprise! What brings you here today? Some news for me?" she asked, subtly eyeing Ginny's stomach. "Well, come on into the kitchen and I'll fix you something to eat. You just sit down and relax!" As Harry and Ginny followed her to the kitchen table, Ginny leaned up and whispered in her husband's ear, "I don't know how she always knows about these things before we do!" Harry chuckled softly, and responded with just one word - "Magic." As they sat down, Molly bustled off to the stove, where she had potatoes peeling themselves. Ginny moved to help her, but Molly waved her off.
"You just relax, dear. You work hard enough! Let your old mum fix you children a meal. It's been too long since I've cooked for anyone but your father. Speaking of which, he should be back in about an hour and a half if you wanted to say hello." Molly said, continuing with her chopping.
"Mum, you really don't have to make anything for us. It's just a quick visit," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.
"We do actually have something rather important to tell you though," Harry said. "Could you come sit down with us for a minute?"
"Of course! Let me just fix these potatoes, and I'll be right over," Molly said. With a wave of her wand, the potatoes began to chop themselves, and she sat down at the table with Harry and Ginny. "Now, what was it you needed to talk about?"
"Well," Ginny began, "We've just found out, and you have to promise not to tell anyone what we're about to tell you. Do you think you can do that?"
"Darling. What do you take me for?" Molly asked. "Now, please, continue."
Harry began to speak, grasping Ginny's hand under the table. "Well, the thing is, since James, Albus, and Lily are all off at Hogwarts now, we've had some more, ahem, well-"
"Free time," Ginny jumped in, blushing. "And, well, I took a test today, and it turns out,"
"YOU'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!" Molly shouted, springing up from her chair and grabbing both Ginny and Harry in a tight hug. "Oh, I knew it! I knew it! Finally, a new grandbaby! How far along are you, darling? Boy or girl? Oh, maybe it's twins! They do run in the family, you know! We have to start preparing right now. You both should re-read my book about pregnancy and babies – after all, you're a bit out of practice – and you'll have to set up a nursery. Oh my goodness, we have to tell everyone! We'll have a party! We can have it here at the Burrow – after all, Harry dear, Grimmauld Place isn't exactly the spot for an outdoor picnic. And the other children! You have to tell them! Oh, little Lily will be so excited to have a new baby brother or sister, I know she's always wanted – "
"Mum! Mum! Hold on, please!" Ginny shouted, managing to finally get a word in over Molly's elated tangent. "Please, I know you're excited, but just stop for a moment. Remember, you promised us you wouldn't tell anyone. I'm only two months along and I just took the test today. It's still very early."
"Oh," Molly said, deflating a bit and sitting back down. "Still, what wonderful news! You two must be thrilled!"
"We are, we're just so excited," Harry said. "We wanted to tell you first, but we don't want anyone else to know for about a month. We agreed to throw a small party here to announce it, that is, if you want to."
"Of course, dears! It will be simply lovely. But I can't even tell Arthur?" she asked, a bit dejected. Harry and Ginny shared a quick glance, and then Ginny spoke up.
"Well, maybe you can tell Dad – but that's all, Mum! No one else, alright?" Ginny asked.
"I won't tell a soul, Ginny. But you really must start preparing. This is fabulous news! My, the first grandbaby since little Hugo over eleven years ago!" Molly said excitedly. "Now, I have to get back to my chicken – you two must stay for dinner! Won't you please?"
"I'll never pass up a chance for your cooking, Molly," Harry said. "Although of course Ginny's is quite excellent as well!" he added, noticing the look on his wife's face. I hope women aren't as hormonal with the fourth child as they are with the first three, he thought. Knowing my luck, it'll be even worse!
A/N: So, like it, love it, hate it? Please, leave me some feedback in a review! Next chapter won't be quite as quick, but I have lots of ideas for this story. Oh, and if you want, suggest a baby name or whether it should be a boy or girl. I might use your suggestion! Thanks for reading! – Lily