Chapter Thirty-One - 2010 A Magical Odyssey
Teddy,Stewart, Lisa, and Megan were able to spend a little more time with Ginny and Harry before it was time to go back to Hogwarts, and then, once the Christmas holidays were over, the New Year really got underway. Ginny settled back in to work at the lab, and Harry and the kids got back into their routine of visits to the Residence, playtime, and going on little outings. The Chudley Cannons weren't having one of the great seasons their fans had come to expect every year, but they were a respectable seven and three at the halfway point of the season.
Now that the younger kids were getting a little bigger, Harry started having Rose and Hugo come over one day a week for playtime with Albus and Lily. Victoire's avid interest with her little cousins died out approximately with Teddy's return to school, though she did come with them to the Residence at least once a week to hang out with her friends there. Harry got his first letter of the New Year from Teddy in the third week of January.
Dear Uncle Harry,
Thanks for telling me that story about the bezoar! I got ten points for Gryffindor for knowing that, and another ten points for still making the potion correctly anyway. Professor Slughorn told the class that you hadn't made the potion too when you'd handed him the bezoar as your antidote when you were his student, although he did add that your poison antidote was a sixth year advanced potion.
Quidditch practices are hard work, but Stewart and I love every minute of them. We hope we'll be ready for Hufflepuff next month - they have a really good team this year. Professor Williamson says I'm a natural in DADA, just like my Mom and Dad were. You should see my Shield Charm!
Professor Tonks is really tough on me, but I'm near the top of my class anyway. Not much else going on right now. I better go - Stewart's going to borrow my legless pants and no-shirt and go mess around with the kids in the Common Room.
Give Aunt Ginny a hug and kiss for me, and say 'hi' to James, Albus, and Lily.
Teddy
Harry and Ginny had been sitting at the kitchen table with the kids when he'd gotten the Owl Post, and so he handed her the letter, along with the requested hug and kiss. While she was reading the short letter over, he refilled his coffee, and helped Lily with her breakfast. The little girl was becoming a very independent person, but neatness when eating had not come with that desire to be self-sufficient.
After breakfast, Ginny was off to work, and Harry got the kids ready for a trip in to London. They had shopping to do to get ready for Valentine's Day in a few weeks. Some people would say that starting that early was silly, but this year they were having a Valentine's Day party at the Residence. Harry had volunteered to help out with that, so they were shopping for over one hundred and forty Valentine gifts, not including the students at Hogwarts, plus Mommy and Lily, so they were going to need to make several trips to get all of the gifts they would need.
The Phoenix Foundation was continuing it's building of new Residences, and there was one under construction near Toronto that would be ready in June, and would be starting out, as they did at many of the new residences, by taking the first group of students from the Wizarding Schools in Canada. They were already recruiting their staff, had hired the manager, and Natalie had asked her mother to get the GamePortal people in the Canadian stores to get involved with the Residence, putting together volunteers for the summer vacation at Marauders Paradise, and anything else they might want to do for the children.
Harry also had the manager of the foundation start looking into ways to help other children in need. He knew that there were many families out there that needed help too. Poverty was a much bigger problem than that of helping orphans, just because of the sheer size of the problem, but somebody had to start somewhere. They started out by requesting proposals and ideas from foundation workers and volunteers, and then planned on putting some people on preparing feasibility and cost estimates for those proposals.
The Valentine's Day party at the Residence was a huge hit with the kids. They put on a lunchtime meal for all of the children. The dining hall had been decorated with red and white streamers and paper hearts. George and Lee had come up with a junior Valentine's Day party favour package that the children loved. The candy kisses were popular - leaving a big red kiss on the victim's cheek. The hot cinnamon hearts made smoke come out of your ears - a trick that would probably always be a favourite. There were poppers that would release a small fireworks display, and a variety of other similarly themed prank and gag items.
Valentine's Day is really all about the girls, but there were a lot of little boys that Harry wouldn't want to disappoint by not having at least some kind of gift, so they had, at James suggestion, gone with getting boxes of chocolates for each of the boys. James' logic was that while they were Valentine's presents, they were edible and delicious, and so therefore 'cool'. From the looks on the boys faces as they popped those chocolates into their mouths all afternoon, James had been absolutely right.
Harry had been provided with a list for all of the girls, so that every little gift was something special for each young lady. There was jewellery, make-up, a few dresses or other outfits, and a number of requests for the TeenWitch Valentine's edition doll. James pretended to gag, and Harry thought it was cute when Albus asked Carolyn to be his Valentine, and gave her a little silver locket that he'd gone out with Mommy to get the little girl. His gift and sincere request earned the little boy a hug and kiss on the cheek. Nathalie was definitely right - he and Ginny were going to have to watch out for their quiet, sensitive son - only three years old, and he already had his first Valentine's kiss. They stayed the afternoon, playing games and having cake and other goodies.
Ginny and Harry had volunteered to be this year's designated Valentine's Day daycare so that their family, including Grandma and Grandpa, could go out for the night. They had Victoire stay with them to help, since she had helped out at the residence too. Nicolas, Rose, Hugo, and Frederica were dropped off for the night as parents got finished work for the day and brought them over before going home to get ready for their night out.
Most of the family was attending the second annual Marauders Institute Valentine's Day dance. George and Marietta were going out with Lee and Cho for a romantic evening in Paris. Harry and Ginny played games with the kids until late into the evening, and then went through an expanded bedtime story routine before putting all of the little kids to bed.
They had extra beds set up in each of the kid's rooms, and Frederica would stay in Harry and Ginny's room with them. She was currently sleeping in Victoire's arms, who was in the sitting room with Harry and Ginny. Victoire had been such a big help today, and Harry was very proud of his niece.
"You were awesome today with everything at the Residence, and then helping out here tonight," he told her.
Victoire smiled. "I love helping with the kids," she told them, hugging Frederica. "Especially the babies." Ginny pulled the present that she had for Victoire out of her pocket, and walked over to her. She traded the gift for the sleeping baby.
"Happy Valentine's Day, honey," she told Victoire, who had her aunt and uncle smiling as she quickly unwrapped the present in a flurry of paper and ribbons, and then opened the box to find the gold locket with the small blue diamond in the centre.
"This is beautiful," she breathed, opening the locket. Ginny pulled hers out from under her sweater to show Victoire.
"You and I have the only two lockets of their kind," she told the now brightly smiling young girl. "If you open it up you'll see two mirrors. When you hold the locket and think about anyone you love, their image will appear on one side, with yours on the other - unless you're thinking about two people, like say your Mum and Dad."
Victoire was looking at the mirrors in her locket, and after a moment, there was a slow blush on her cheeks that Harry and Ginny both politely pretended not to notice, and had a pretty good idea what might have caused it. Victoire came over to Ginny and hugged her, then hugged Harry too.
"Can you help me put it on?" she asked Ginny. Harry took over baby duty while the girls took care of fastening the locket around her neck, then checking it out in the hall mirror, and exchanging more hugs. They stayed up for another hour or so, and then headed for bed - Victoire to the guest room she was using, and Frederica to a crib in Harry and Ginny's room.
The girls weren't wasting any time that spring putting their new investment company's money to work. They bought businesses that catered primarily to Witches, and then revamped them. The best fashions of both Wizarding and Muggle worlds were suddenly available in a new chain of stores that seemed to spring up overnight. They made fashion affordable, and they started new lines of jewellery and cosmetics. There were also new products that covered everything from hair care to bath time. If a product had to do with women, girls, mothers, or babies, they were there - and kicking some serious industry butts along the way.
The women in Harry's life weren't the only ones succeeding in business. A package came in the Owl Post for James. They were all sitting down for breakfast already on the morning that it arrived. James hadn't gotten an Owl Post of his very own before, and he was very excited. He opened the package up to find a letter and a box of candy bars. Ginny read the letter for him.
Dear James,
Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes would like to thank you for your new product proposal, and are pleased to have you be the first person to get a box of our new 'Bludger Bars'.
We should warn you in advance that while they will not cause any damage to you by consuming them, we cannot be held responsible for excessive giggles caused by internal tickling. We have also made a small transfer of funds to your Gringotts account to thank-you for bringing this product idea to our attention. We think it will be a big hit!
Sincerely,
George and Marietta Weasley
Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes
James had already popped a piece of the chocolate bar into his mouth, which immediately bounced around the inside of his mouth, then after he swallowed, continued to bounce around his stomach for several minutes, making him giggle as he could see his tummy bulge wherever the candy bounced. He got Harry, Ginny, and Albus to try it, but Ginny drew the line at testing it out on little Lily, and instead got her a different candy. They weren't sure whether they should be proud of their inventive little boy, or worried for the future. Ginny remembered very well what it was like at home when Fred and George experimented with their inventions.
Victoire turned ten, now only about a year and a half away from starting at Hogwarts. Ginny and Fleur took her for a 'girl's makeover day', and then out to dinner with Bill and Harry, who dressed up in their best dinner suits, gave their three girls flowers, and took them to one of the finest restaurants in London.
James and Albus went to Nicolas' fourth birthday party, which had more politicians than children in attendance, and according to James was a total snooze. Teddy turned twelve, but was at school, so they'd sent his presents to him there. There was a thank-you letter in the Owl Post the next morning.
Dear Uncle Harry,
Thanks for the new GameWizard game. Tell Natalie and Aunt Ginny that they're helping to make me very popular when I get these games before they come out in stores! The Quidditch gloves are great too.
Not much new to report here. I'm sure I told you in the last letter that we lost that game to Hufflepuff. Last chance for a win is coming up against Ravenclaw. We can't win the Quidditch Cup now, so we'll be playing for pride.
I'm off to battle plants in Herbology. Take care of yourselves.
Love, Teddy
Lily was pretty sure that she was smiling before she woke up this morning. She was now a grown up two years old today, and it was her birthday! She knew this because Mommy and Daddy had told her so at bedtime to get her to go to sleep. James had told her that she needed her beauty sleep, but Lily knew he had to be teasing her again, 'cause everyone said she looked just like Mommy, and Mommy was the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world - or at least maybe a tie with Aunt Fleur, who she thought was very pretty too.
She wondered if Daddy would make her pancakes today - and sausages. She loved pancakes and sausage the best. Mommy had to work today, but she always had breakfast with them first. Daddy's job, so he said, was to have fun and make people happy. If that was really a job, then Lily thought he was probably the best at it, because she certainly always had fun with him.
Lily loved his green eyes, and his smile, and his hugs and kisses, and when he sang her to sleep at night, and all the other fun things they did. She was getting herself dressed when she started to smell sausage cooking, and coffee. That stuff was yucky, but she knew there would be juice and milk there for her and her brothers. When she thought about them, she wondered if it would be possible to see if there was a trade-in policy at the Ministry of Magic.
James was cute, and fun, and he laughed a lot, but she got really cross at him when he played his practical jokes, which was nearly every hour of every day. She thought she'd ask Mommy sometime if they could switch him for Frederica or Victoire or Rose. She loved Albus though - he was quiet and gentle, and he had green eyes like Daddy.
Mommy came in, and she was just finishing getting dressed. She helped Lily fix the buttons on her blouse, and switched her shoes, then tied them up for her. Lily gave her a hug and kiss to thank her for the help.
"Come on, birthday girl," her Mum told her with a smile, "let's go see what Daddy's got cooking in the kitchen."
Harry had pancakes and sausage cooking, just like Lily had hoped. When his two girls came into the kitchen, he gave them both hugs and kisses, and wished Lily a happy birthday, then sat them down and served them breakfast. An Owl Post came in with a little package for Lily. Ginny helped her open it, and read her what was written on the sheet of parchment.
Dear Lily,
Sorry I can't be there for your big second birthday, but I'm locked up here at Hogwarts, and the warden, I mean Professor McGonagall, won't let me out of classes for the day. I hope you like the present. I'll save up an extra kiss for you when I see you next.
Love, Teddy
Lily opened her package and found a doll that looked a lot like James, with a note pinned to the front of the outfit that simply said 'Tickle Me'. Lily did that, and suddenly James fell out of his chair, laughing uncontrollably. Lily laughed in delight. She looked down at her brother and stopped tickling the doll.
"No tricks on me anymore, James," she told him with a bright smile. "You promise?" Her brother shook his head in the 'no', so she tickled the doll again. "Promise now?" she asked again.
James gave up. "I promise!" he gasped.
Lily smiled. She really, really loved Teddy. James was fascinated by the doll, and she let him look at it, and then he proceeded to tickle himself blue in the face, which she also thought was hilarious. He wasn't always bad, she decided. Mommy left for work after breakfast, and the rest of them got ready for a day out doing one of Lily's favourite things to do - go shopping.
While Ginny was hard at work playing in her lab, Harry took their birthday girl and her brothers to London for a day at the mall. They picked up Victoire on the way, and the two girls happily wandered through the stores, picking out a couple of outfits each, and having a fun morning together. They had lunch, then went into Diagon Alley for another couple of hours of shopping that included a stop at the FashionKnut, one of Witch Investment's new stores, which specialized in affordable fashion for girls and women.
Two more bags were added to Harry's growing armload by the time the girls were finished there. The final stop was at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, where they found out that it was here that Teddy had gotten the 'Tickle Me' doll for Lily. George and Marietta had a present for her too - a box of their new candy WigglyWorms that wiggled around in your hands and your mouth. Lily thought that was a great present too - both fun to play with and delicious too!
They went back to the cottage after that, and Lily had an afternoon nap so she wouldn't be too tired for the party, and Victoire, James, and Albus helped Harry decorate and get everything ready for when the party guests arrived after work.
Grandma and Grandpa were at the cottage for Lily's birthday party. She's just like Ginny was when she was little, Arthur thought to himself. He was watching his little girl playing with her little girl, and it didn't seem possible that she was now a mother of three. He looked around at the sitting room that they were all gathered in. Nobody who came in here would ever suspect that the richest family in the Wizarding World lived here. It was neat, and the furniture was nice, and comfortable, but certainly didn't cry out 'wealthy'.
Bill and Fleur were here with Victoire, and so were Ron and Hermione with Rose and Hugo. They had already eaten, had birthday cake, and watched Lily open her presents. The kids were playing, and the adults were watching them and chatting with each other. Ron was talking Quidditch, as usual. Bill had told them about an amusing curse-breaking case he'd just finished up working on. Harry had updated them on the progress of the new Residences and how things were shaping up for the annual trip to Marauders Paradise.
Arthur knew that he and Molly were pretty lucky. All of their children were happy and successful. He included Fred in that statement, because he and George had certainly already been successful, and he knew that his son must also be happy where he was now. Molly had joined Ginny and Lily in the game of dolls they were playing on the floor, and he smiled, and went over to join them. Lily let him be one of the TeenWizards, and they played together until it was time to go back to the Burrow.
Harry had been getting suggestions and proposals in for projects that would help poor families and children, and had been spending some time going over them with Ginny and some of their friends and family. One of the first things he'd approved having done was a general assessment on poverty in the Wizarding World. What that showed him was that he could distribute all of his money to the poor, and if he did, it would make a difference for maybe a month or two, but then not only would they still be poor, but he'd also destroy what was now a significant part of the economy.
There were proposals for low cost housing, for clothing, for job creation, for providing food, and dozens of others. A large part of the Phoenix Foundation's money for this year was already committed to his orphan projects and to Goblin charity. He wanted to start somewhere, though, and so he approved the food bank program, which would start with operations in Diagon Alley, and spread out from there into other communities. Before he could do more, though, they would have to look at how to finance these things in a much bigger way than they were doing now.
Teddy sent an Owl Post to Harry and Ginny on the Monday after the Gryffindor game against Ravenclaw. Ginny read it aloud while they were all having breakfast.
Dear Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny,
We won the game! Our team was ninety points behind, and then our Seeker caught the snitch to win the game. We all stayed up late to celebrate, and I guess Slytherin House had a big celebration too, because they won the Quidditch Cup. The Arithmancy kids had been busy figuring out how many points Ravenclaw had to beat us by to win the Cup, but nobody really figured we could actually win the game.
It sure is better helping Slytherin to win the Cup than to help Ravenclaw win by losing all three of our games this season. Our team Captain is pretty excited about our chances next season. He told me if I keep working hard, that I'll make the team for sure. Gotta go - I'm behind on my homework after getting none of it done yesterday, and exams are coming up on us fast. See you at summer break.
Love, Teddy
James turned five years old in June. The day had started off great with a present from Teddy in the Owl Post - a Junior Joke Inventor kit that was brand new from Uncle George's store. They had a fun day, going to the Residence to play, and then going out for lunch in Chudley with Mommy, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, Rose, and Hugo at the Diner. After lunch, they went back home to get ready for his birthday party. He got some new clothes (boring), and new games for his GameWizard (two thumbs up), and the ultra-cool, brand new flying dragon, that had real dragon sounds, pretend fire, and real smoke. It was bigger than James, and would chase him around when he was flying his broom.
There was cake and ice cream, and other food and stuff, but James didn't really pay much attention to all of that. He played with his new dragon, and laughed when Daddy, then Albus had it chase them around on their brooms too. Even Grandpa got on a broom and tried it out!
The Chudley Cannons finished the season with thirteen wins and seven losses, and made the playoffs, but lost in the quarterfinals to the Tornados. The scoring had been getting ugly for the Cannons, and Dennis was given the green light to at least salvage a little respect by catching the snitch to end the game. Ron was looking forward to next season, when they would have Demelza back, and their rookie Keeper would now have a year's experience.
Harry met the train on the day that school got out for the summer. Victoire, James, Albus, and Lily were with him, and the car was loaded down with the trunks that Stewart, Lisa, and Megan had, along with the bag Teddy had packed for his week at the Cottage. There had been hugs and kisses, and all four teens were telling Harry about school, and about their plans for the summer. They all did great in school this year, and they were all glad to be home for the summer.
Lisa and Megan told Harry that they both had boyfriends now. Stewart and Teddy were planning to practice Quidditch every day all summer. James did everything but glue himself to Teddy, and the girls had lots of attention for Albus and Lily. Victoire made sure she hugged all of them, but she definitely saved her biggest smile for Teddy. They dropped the trunks off at the Residence, picked up Carolyn, took Teddy's bag back to the Cottage, and then they all went to the Institute to pick Ginny up for a long lunch.
When they'd dropped Ginny back off to work, Harry and the nine kids went to spend the afternoon at the Residence. Harry caught up on all the news from the other students that were back for the summer. There were twelve students graduating from Hogwarts this summer, and Susan would be working with them to get them ready for when they moved out of the residence and into the things they wanted to do with their lives.
There were GameWizard matches, a swim in the pool, and an hour out on the Quidditch pitch playing a match that Harry's team again won. He brought the whole gang back with him to the Cottage. All four students, and Carolyn, were going to be staying overnight, and then would be going on the now annual shopping trip in the morning too. Kreacher and Winky made dinner for everyone. Teddy and Victoire did the bedtime story for the little kids, and then they joined Harry, Ginny, Lisa, Megan, and Stewart for an evening of animated conversation.
Carolyn was sleeping in Lily's room. Lisa, Megan, and Victoire were in one of the guest rooms, and the two boys were in the smaller of the two guest rooms. They talked late into the night, and when they were all tired and talked out, they headed off to bed, happy to be back together again, and looking forward to an exciting summer.
Harry and Teddy were doing the breakfast cooking in the morning. There were eggs, pancakes, cinnamon buns, and sausages. They had coffee, juice, hot chocolate, and milk. Once everything was nearly ready, and James had been the only one downstairs so far, Harry and Teddy sent him off to get the others moving. He went to the bottom of the stairs and hollered - "BREAKFAST! LAST ONE DOWN HAS TO CLEAN THE DISHES!"
Harry might have wished that his son had taken a different approach in inviting everyone down to eat, but it did have the desired effect, and Ginny, Albus, and Lily were the last ones downstairs, just a hair behind Stewart, Victoire, Lisa, Megan, and Carolyn. The food quickly disappeared off of the platters and bowls, and then Harry and Ginny did the cleanup. They left for Diagon Alley to start their shopping day.
He and Ginny couldn't help but be amused when Lisa and Megan's boyfriends just happened to be there shopping too, and just happened to bump into them within five minutes of their arrival – all completely by coincidence, they were assured. With the two additional teens, there were now twelve teens and kids in their shopping group, so after the young men had been introduced, the two young couples were sent off to go shopping on their own. Ginny managed to quietly slip some spending money to Lisa and Megan without the boys noticing, and got promises from them to meet back at the Leaky Cauldron in two hours so they could head to the Mall in Muggle London from there.
Teddy, Stewart, and James went shopping together too, and it looked like they were making a beeline for George's store when they left, but they might have diverted to the Quidditch store on the way. Victoire and Ginny took Lily with them, leaving Harry, Carolyn, and Albus on their own.
"We've been deserted," Harry told them. "I think we should hit the bookstore first, and get ourselves a new storybook or two. What do you think?"
Albus was always good for picking out new books, and Carolyn was happy to go anywhere Al went, so off they went. They followed that stop up with a visit to the Owl Emporium and to Magical Menagerie, and finished up their two hours with an unapproved-by-mommy stop for ice cream.
When they all met up again, Ginny sent the packages they'd accumulated so far to the Cottage, using a bunch of Transloctors. With a couple of quick WiComm calls, the two boyfriends had permission to go with them - the mention of going with Harry and Ginny Potter immediately ending any parental concern.
They had lunch together at the mall, then again split up to wander the stores. Several hours later, Stewart, Lisa, Megan, and Carolyn were dropped off at the residence, and the rest of them went back to the Cottage. Victoire was staying for another night with them, and was helping Ginny in the kitchen with dinner late that afternoon while Teddy was entertaining James by letting the toy dragon chase him around on his broom. Harry, Albus, and Lily were upstairs having a nap, and they had snuggled into bed together in Harry and Ginny's room.
The rest of the weekend, they stayed around the Cottage, playing outdoors a lot, and having a fairly quiet, fun weekend together. Teddy stayed with them all week. He and Stewart practiced Quidditch every day, either at the Residence, or in the yard behind the Cottage. Bill or Fleur would drop Victoire off on the mornings when she hadn't stayed overnight with them, and pick her up after work. Andromeda picked Teddy and Stewart up at the end of the week. They were going to spend a week on the island together, then back to their home for the few weeks until Teddy and Stewart would be going with Harry and Ginny to Marauders Paradise at the end of July.
Summer just seemed to get busier all of the time. Harry and Ginny celebrated their anniversary, Rose had her fourth birthday, and Art turned seven. Ginny was busy at work, and Harry was busy with getting everything ready for the kid's week on the island. He had also made a trip to the new Residence in Canada, visiting with the children there for two days before having to come back home.
The day of the big trip arrived, and the children were all excited. Harry and Ginny, and their group, were one of the first to leave that afternoon, which put them on the island in the early morning, island time. Gabrielle was able to take them to their suite, and they quickly settled in, then all went out to enjoy the beautiful weather.
Bill and Fleur weren't going to be here this year, but Victoire came to help out with the younger kids, and to spend some time with her Aunt Gabrielle and Uncle Kevin. Lisa and Megan were doing their own thing all day, and were going to meet them back at their suite in time to get ready for the banquet.
Teddy, Stewart, and James met Harry, Ginny, and the others for lunch and then were off exploring for the afternoon. Albus, Carolyn, and Lily wanted to explore the shops in the morning. After lunch they played at the beach. The three youngsters were nice enough to let Harry, Ginny, and Victoire join them for both adventures.
The opening banquet was the official start of the Phoenix Foundation's vacation week. This year, there were more than fourteen hundred children, and over twelve hundred chaperones. The Phoenix Cup was surrendered to Gabrielle at the start of the meal. It was going to be on display all week, and the competition later in the week would determine which Residence would be taking it back home with them until next summer.
Throughout the day, children and their chaperones had been re-connecting with friends they'd met on previous trips, and the banquet gave many of them a chance to look for each other in one place. The two boys from the Residence in France had already managed to find Lisa and Megan earlier in the day, and they'd spent most of the afternoon together. The dinner was as terrific as it had been every year. Afterward, many of the guests headed for bed, since the time zone change had made for a very long day.
Marauders Paradise still offered the popular activities and entertainment that everyone had come to love there, but Gabrielle and her team also added new attractions each year. This year there was the all-new magic carpet racing for the kids, and a Haunted Island Adventure that took groups of guests on a nighttime ghost story adventure around the island, complete with ghosts playing the parts of shipwrecked sailors, pirates, and other inventions from the imaginations of the storywriters. The under-ten guests now also had their own nightclub, with games and activities to keep them occupied and supervised, complete with an ice cream bar.
The weather was beautiful every day they were there, and the children and their chaperones had a wonderful time. Harry and Ginny spent a few afternoons with Natalie and Valerie, who were the chaperones for two of the younger kids from the Canadian residence. Albus, Carolyn, and Lily immediately had two more little friends, and they happily played on the beach, and in the water together.
The Haunted Island Adventure could only handle about five hundred guests each night, so it was Wednesday night when Harry and Ginny and their group got to go. The buzz from the guests who had already seen the adventure was that it was amazing, and after seeing it for themselves, they were not disappointed. The story began with an awesome ghostly shipwreck on the beach, continued with a series of pirate sword fights before moving on to a Wizard's duel and more. The action was exciting, the special effects terrific, and the narration from their guide was masterful as it weaved the smaller stories and legends together.
Dumbledore House won the Phoenix Cup at the second annual challenge, the only Residence with two event wins. The week was coming to an end, and their last full day also just happened to be Harry's thirtieth birthday. His big day started out with Teddy offering to 'buy' them all breakfast, and they all went down to the already complimentary breakfast in the atrium.
That was followed up with a morning playing games like LaserBroom and Magic Carpet Races. They had a light lunch, and then he was taken to a lounge chair by the pool, where he and Ginny were told to relax for the afternoon while the older kids took care of the younger ones until it was time to get ready for the banquet.
Teddy told him that now he was a really old guy, he needed to save up what limited amount of strength he had left. Harry and Ginny both were happy to have a quiet afternoon to spend together, and took advantage of the short lull in the whirlwind that had been the week with nine kids.
Gabrielle began the final banquet by making sure that everyone there knew that her good friend Harry Potter was thirty years old today, and gave him a Marauders Paradise Senior Citizen discount card for his present. Dumbledore House was presented the Phoenix Cup, and then the dinner was served. They all spent the evening trying to visit with as many of both their old friends, and the new friends they'd made this week as they could, then Harry and Ginny took the younger children up to bed, while the older ones stayed out late playing games or going to the teen dance club, or for a last chance moonlight walk on the beach. The next morning, they said their goodbyes to Gabrielle, Kevin, and Michael, and then left for home.
There had been so much going on during the summer so far, that Harry had barely paid attention to the fact that this was a Quidditch World Cup year. He had bought a large block of tickets for the event, which was being held in Brazil this year. The Brazilian National Team had played hard to win the chance to play in the finals for their hometown fans, while England's team were out early, defeated by the eventual other finalist, the national team from Italy.
Harry and Ginny took Teddy, Stewart, and twenty-seven other students from all of the residences that played Quidditch for their school's House teams. Lisa, Megan, and Carolyn came too. Nearly every member of the Weasley clan were there, although George and Marietta were actually working, trying out their first Weasley's Wizarding World Cup Wheezes booth. They had brought many of the top sellers with them, but also had an entire line of new products especially for the event.
They spent several days there this year, taking the chance to show the kids some of the amazing beauty of the country before the big game. It was very hot on the day of the game, and that seemed to be a slight advantage for the Brazilian team. Both teams roared out to a fast pace, and this was definitely a high-scoring offensive game. When the game had gotten into the fourth and fifth hours, though, the Italian team was obviously running out of energy, the unrelenting heat sapping their strength.
Brazil was ahead five hundred and seventy to three hundred and ninety when their Seeker finally caught the snitch to seal the victory for the hometown team, and end the game. All of the spectators cheered the two teams, and Harry, Ginny, and their large group celebrated along with everyone else in the camps until late into the night.
Hugo turned two, and Albus had his fourth birthday in August. Hugo had a 'family' birthday party, and they all enjoyed an afternoon picnic and play day at Ron and Hermione's house. Al had a 'friends' party. Most of his cousins were there, as were Teddy, Stewart, Lisa, and Megan, who were all helping out with the younger kids. He had invited Carolyn and several other kids that they played with at the Residence, and another few kids that he played with when he was at the Institute's daycare centre. They had a fun afternoon with all of the youngsters. Al's favourite present was a GameWizard and GameWitch - one for him, and the other for Carolyn so they could play games together.
The rest of the summer was spent playing Quidditch at the Residence, long lazy afternoons at the Cottage playing in the yard with the kids, going on daytrips, and, for Harry, even doing a little bit of Wizengamot and Foundation work.
The annual back to school shopping trip was an adventure. This school year was probably the largest first year group that had ever started at Hogwarts. It was not a surprise that there were more first year students - 2010 was the year in which the much larger numbers of children born in the years after the war now started turning eleven. The schools expected to have this increased number of students entering Hogwarts for the next ten years or so.
This meant that the stores in Diagon Alley were much busier than in previous years, and getting the clothes and school supplies for the kids took nearly the entire day. Lisa found out that she was going to be a prefect when she got her letter from the school, and Ginny bought her an Owl as a reward for her accomplishment.
September first arrived, and they were once again at King's Cross Station, seeing Teddy, Stewart, Lisa, and Megan off to another year at Hogwarts. There were hugs and kisses, and more than a few tears, and then the train was pulling out of the station. Ginny took Victoire out for a little shopping and lunch, knowing that she needed some girl time, and Harry took the other kids back to the Cottage, then on to the Residence for the afternoon so that they could help out some of the kids for which the first day back to school was always hard because of having brothers or sisters or friends being gone until Christmas.
The Chudley Cannon's faithful fans had high expectations for the coming season. Demelza was going to be back - their best scorer. Dennis was still rated the top Seeker in the league. The Cannons' Keeper was not only good, but was also 'easy on the eyes', according to the droves of both young and not-so-young witches who had become fans of the sport ever since he started with the team. The final piece of the puzzle was hopefully the new Beater who had joined the team this season. He was big, strong, and when he hit the bludger, you definitely didn't want to be in the way, unless you were looking forward to a long nap. The Quidditch pundits ranked the team third in the league with the pre-season predictions that seemed to almost always be a total waste of time.
Teddy's first letter came in the second week of September, to let them know that he was now a Chaser, just like Aunt Ginny, on the Gryffindor team, and Stewart had also made the team as a Beater. He also asked Harry if he'd think about helping out a couple kids on the team that were really good, but couldn't afford their own brooms. Harry had two Firebolts in the Owl Post that Teddy got the next morning, with a short note attached to the package.
Dear Teddy,
Tell your teammates that the brooms are theirs to keep if your team wins the Quidditch Cup this year. Good luck with your season. Work hard, but remember that it's just a game and is supposed to be fun.
Love, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny
When Teddy opened the package from them in the Great Hall at breakfast, and handed out the two new brooms to his teammates, he became the most popular second year Gryffindor for the day.
Mandy was in her office, and was about to start the meeting that Neville Longbottom had requested. She thought about the unassuming man that had spent more than eleven years now doing Herbology research with the help of Marauders Institute grants. The company still paid for all of his expenses, and were the beneficiaries of the more than two dozen medical treatments his research had provided over the years, the most notable being the poison antidote, and all of which had been profitable for both Marauders Institute and for Neville. Natalie, Hermione and Luna were also there for the meeting.
"Good morning, Neville," Mandy began. "Welcome back home." Neville smiled.
"Thanks, Mandy," he answered. "It's really good to be back." He got right to the point of why he'd asked for the meeting. "I've found something new on this trip, and want to start working on it with Hermione here at the lab for a while, and I'll get to that in a minute, but I also want to let you know that this was my last research trip - at least as a full time job." Mandy and Hermione looked surprised, but Luna had obviously known, and she smiled as Neville continued.
"Part of the reason is because I've been doing this for a long time now, and I'm ready to do something different for a while, and the other reason is that Luna and I will be starting a family - sometime in the next eight months or so." Luna smile was very bright now, and Hermione and Mandy were quickly out of their chairs, hugging their friend, and then hugging Neville too. They all sat down again, and waited for Neville to tell them about his discovery.
"During this trip, I was exploring in an area I'd prefer to keep confidential. I met a small group of Wizards and Witches who were also living essentially side-by-side with a tribe of native Muggles." Neville placed a plant on the desk in front of him. "The Wizards, Witches, and the members of the Muggle tribe all use a crushed version of this plant as a spice in their food. I spent two months with them, studying all of the plants and foods that they ate." He looked at each of the women, smiling as he continued his story.
"The reason I spent so much time with them is because when I first met them, I found out that there were several elders in both groups that were quite a bit older than is normal for either of our groups. The oldest Wizard I met was over three hundred years old, and the oldest Muggle was somewhere between one hundred and fifty and one hundred and seventy years old." Hermione and Mandy were immediately as excited as Neville, and Luna smiled, since she and Neville had carefully considered what to do about this discovery for a while before deciding to let the Institute know about it.
"I determined that it was the spice that they created from these plants that was the primary cause of their longevity. I've been using these spices for a few months now, and I can tell you that the day to day impact is that you not only feel, but actually are measurably stronger and healthier." Neville nodded to Luna that she should take over.
"Neville and I discussed this extensively before deciding to bring this to your attention," she told her two friends. "We think that we have to take a great deal of care with how this should be introduced into our society, and then also into the Muggle world sometime in the future. We want to develop a vitamin from the plant, and market it as a health supplement. We are confident that anyone who takes it will feel so noticeably different, that they will continue to take the pills, which they would need to do for their entire lives to gain the most important advantages from this discovery." Luna took a breath and a drink before continuing.
"We do not think that in the short term, at the very least, that it is a good idea to even let Wizards and Witches know about it's greatest benefits," she told them seriously. Hermione and Natalie had both nodded at that, but Mandy didn't seem sure why you wouldn't want to sell this as the life-extending product it was. Luna saw her expression, and answered her unspoken question.
"Mandy, how long do you think it will take to produce enough of these vitamins for every Wizard and Witch in the Wizarding World to have one every day? Then how long before we could duplicate that for the billions of Muggles?" Mandy nodded, understanding now the chaos that could occur during the probably twenty years or more that it would take to be able to produce thousands of billions of pills every year. Neville got their attention next.
"I'm hoping that you'll let me come work here in a lab now for a few years, and then I'll probably decide whether I have the bug to explore more, or do something else instead."
Mandy smiled at him. "I think we can find space for you here, Neville. I'd like you and Hermione to put a proposal together for me to take to Fleur, and we'll get the funding for this without any problems. How long do you think it'll take to get a vitamin ready, then be able to go to production?"
Neville thought about that for a moment. "I'd say two months to have the vitamin, another four months to produce enough to sell to Wizards and Witches, if we have the funding for the greenhouses and production we'll need. Growth will mostly be limited after that by our ability to expand production and train workers." Mandy nodded to him.
"Hermione, will you be able to help with this research?" She watched as Hermione nodded.
"I also have a suggestion," she told Mandy, Luna, and Neville. "When we have it ready, let's start giving the vitamins to the Cannons players." Neville started to laugh.
"Did you watch American Muggle football when you were a kid? That sounds like you're trying to pull a 'Gatorade'."
Hermione laughed too. "No, I didn't, but I might have read something about that somewhere." Mandy and Luna both looked perplexed, so Hermione explained.
"There was a group of Muggles that had developed a kind of energy drink, and had a college football team test it for them. It worked so well, that they named their product, Gatorade, after that Florida Gators football team."
Mandy looked at Luna and smiled. "I really hope you don't plan on calling your vitamin the Chudley Cannonade or something equally awkward."
Luna smiled back at her. "I think we can come up with something a bit better than that. We seem to be pretty good at coming up with product names that help our marketing. I like Hermione's idea, though. Just keep it quiet, and then if they win another championship, we can use it in our advertising." Mandy wrapped up the meeting.
"Natalie, could you set Neville up with a lab that has everything that he and Hermione will need, and keep me posted? You and I can work up the cost estimates together. When you're ready with the supplement, go ahead and offer it to the Cannons. Luna, if you can start working up your marketing, it sounds like we can start sales early next year. I'd also like to know whether there are any potential benefits for our Goblin friends. Let's bring one of their researchers in on the project too. When we've figured out how much we'll need, I'll get the money from Fleur. Congratulations, Neville. I'm not sure if there's ever been an Order of Merlin first class in Herbology, but if not, you could be the first. It'll just be a few years before we can announce why you deserve to have the award."
Harry was pretty much out of the loop on the business at the Institute. He'd heard some rumblings about Neville and Hermione working on something new, and knew that Neville was now working at the Institute full time, but left if up to everyone there to deal with all of that business. He and Ginny had taken Neville and Luna out for a celebration dinner the week they'd found out that Luna was pregnant.
Harry had been spending most of his time, when not with the kids or at the Residence, working on plans of his own for the Phoenix Foundation. He was now sitting down with Fleur and the account managers to give them some new instructions for PBP Investments and the Phoenix Foundation. Now that he was out of the direct loop, the junior account managers that had been hired since Fleur took over had not been informed about the fact that Harry was the sole owner of PBP Investments, so they were not invited to this meeting. When everyone was ready to start, he handed out folders to each of the managers.
"I want to start by telling you that I'm very pleased with how you have all been managing my investments. The reason I have asked you all here today is because I want to do more with the Phoenix Foundation than I am currently able to do with the finances that I've set aside for the foundation's use so far." He looked at the three women and five Goblins, making sure he had their attention.
"To that end, I am directing you to make two changes to the way my finances are handled. First, I want the amount of my profit that goes to the foundation to be increased to fifty percent from the current ten percent, effective with the current year." This definitely got everyone's attention.
"I realize that this is going to affect our ability to invest that money into long term investments. I'll leave it up to you to reorganize the combined investments if needed to accommodate this change to minimize the impact on the Investment Partnership." He received nods from everyone.
"The second part of what I want to do, and this doesn't have to be exclusive of the first, is to develop housing and employment opportunities for the poorest among us. We have new businesses starting up all of the time. Let's start making employment for these Wizards, Witches, and Goblins a priority." He looked at Mrs. Weasley and smiled.
"I want to start building more affordable housing wherever it's needed. We can supplement the cost through the Foundation whenver that is needed." Harry took a breath.
"Start here at home first, and then we'll spread out through the Wizarding World as we can afford to do that. Don't risk the integrity of our operations to do this - we need to keep making money to be able to spend it helping others." Harry looked around again, assessing the reaction of his managers and friends.
"The Residences and the food program are just the beginning. I'm looking at the long-term picture with this. Start thinking about the potential for the Wizarding World, for PBP Investments and the Investment Partnership fifty and a hundred years from now. Consider how your investments will do if everyone that can work has jobs, and if they can actually afford to buy your products or go to your resorts. If you're not moved to do this just because you don't want to put up with anyone living in poverty anymore, think about it as a very long-term investment." Harry finished up his presentation.
"We're all doing better than any one of us could have ever imagined. We've done some really good things by bringing a lot of Wizards and Witches along with us who work at Marauders Institute, and at all of our other business interests. We can make the same kind of difference all over the world too. I am confident that we will." He smiled at them. "Any questions?"
There were several dozen questions, and they spent the next two hours or so going over the changes Harry wanted to make in much greater detail. Some preliminary plans were begun, and everyone was confident that they could meet Harry's goals while continuing to grow the investment portfolios.
Harry went out for lunch with all of them afterward, something that had only started happening after the Goblin Bill of Rights had been passed. That evening, after dinner and bedtime stories, he and Ginny were curled up on the couch together, and he was telling her about the morning's meeting.
"You know they all pretty much believe that anything you decide to do - even if it's basically giving money away - will turn out good for everyone," Ginny told him, and Harry nodded.
"If only it was as easy to convince everyone else as easily. There are a lot of Wizards and Witches out there who just don't care about their own neighbours. Most of them only need a chance, and they'll do the rest." Ginny gave him a big hug.
"Then we'll just make sure they all get that chance," she said, and she had that mischievous look in her eye when she added - "You've been a very good boy today. Why don't we go upstairs, and I'll start by giving you your chance, and we'll see if you can 'do the rest'."
Harry, Ginny, and the kids settled into their regular routines again that fall. They'd have breakfast together every morning, then Ginny would go to work, and the rest of the family spent two days a week at the residence, two days at home, and one day on outings. Rose and Hugo would come over on some of the 'home' days. Victoire usually came with them to the residence on at least one of their 'residence' days. Weekends were spent with Mommy and with their family.
They caught the first two home games the Cannons played, and their team had three wins and one loss in their first four games of the season. Harry took James, Al, and Victoire to see Teddy in his first game as a Chaser for Gryffindor. He scored eight goals in their win over Slytherin, and Stewart, playing Beater, knocked out one of Slytherin's Chasers, and one of their Beaters.
Victoire gave both boys congratulatory hugs after the game, as did Harry. They couldn't take the boys for any celebration, so the three of them went to their own celebration lunch, picked up two small gifts to send the boys for playing such a great game, and then met Ginny, Fleur, and Lily, who had been out for a shopping day in London.
Neville and Hermione had the first batches of the new vitamin ready, and Ron had the team start taking it every day, starting before their first game in November. The impact of those vitamins was immediate and shocking to their competition. The players reacted faster, they could hit the bludgers harder, and they could throw the quaffle more accurately. Those two November games were complete blowouts, and there was rampant speculation as to what had suddenly taken the Cannons game to a whole new level.
Frederica had her first birthday. The party was certainly the most entertaining one that any of the family had been to, since George and Lee decided it was the perfect chance to try out their not-yet-in-stores Junior Birthday Party Pack, included some of the favourites from the Junior Skiving Snackboxes, a couple of the milder gags from the other party pack lines, and also had a number of all new products.
The trick candles that made the birthday cake disappear from the moment they were lit until they were all blown out again, and the bursting balloons, which would randomly pop and shower confetti over the unsuspecting Witches or Wizards that happened to be closest, were two of the new items that the kids liked the best. Everyone had a great afternoon, and then Harry and Ginny took their children home to confetti-cleansing baths, followed by early bedtime for their tired little troop.
The usual busy morning routine of getting three children up, dressed, and fed was nearly completed as the Owl Posts arrived with the annual letters for Harry and Ginny. The kids were set free to go play, while their parents sat down with second cups of coffee to go over the letters and reports.
Dear Harry,
We have made the changes in the finances for the Phoenix Foundation, and are also pleased to advise you that the Property division has begun work on two new low-cost housing projects, and that all of our companies have begun job creation programs that focus on the poorest communities.
PBP Investments had another outstanding year, with strong results in all divisions. The Investment Partnership has decided to continue the same financial formula that has been used when the Charity received ten percent of profit. We believe your goals are more than worth the projected reduction that will occur in the percentage of profit.
We have also allowed one billion galleons in new investment for the coming year. When you have completed your review, please approve and return your humble CEO's incentive authorization with this Owl.
Fleur Weasley
CEO - PBP Investments
Passing the letter on to Ginny, he started in on the financial summary.
Annual Financial Report - PBP Investments
Year Ending November 30, 2010
Beginning Balance PBPI: 14,092 million galleons
Beginning Balance PF: 325 million galleons
Beginning Balance - IP: 5,468 million galleons
New Investment: 0 million galleons
Total Beginning Balance: 19,885 million galleons
Profits:
Marauders Institute 4,600 million galleons
Property Division 940 million galleons
Goblin Ventures 460 million galleons
Witch Investment 90 million galleons
Other Investments 260 million galleons
Total Profit 6,350 million galleons
Less incentive (40 percent) 2,540 million galleons
*Pending approval of projected incentives.
**Vaccine Program expense rolled into the Phoenix Foundation (PF) expenses this year.
Profit after incentives: 3,810 million galleons
**Investment Partnership receives 27.5 percent of after-incentive profit. Charity receives 1.63 percent of profit.
Ending Balance PBPI: 15,442 million galleons
Charity Account: 1,737.25 million galleons
Less Expenses: 325 million galleons
Ending Balance - Charity: 1,412.25 million galleons
Ending Balance - IP: 6,515.75 million galleons
Total Ending Balance: 23,370 million galleons
When he was finished, Harry gave the summary to Ginny too. The incentive authorization was on the way back to Fleur a minute later, approved and having an added note of congratulations for her and for the account managers.
"These reports just get more incredible every year," Ginny told him. "More than seventy-five percent of profit goes to the employees, the Investment Partnership, which is also the managers and employees, and to charity, and your account this year still grew by well over a billion galleons."
Harry smiled, got up to refill his cup, and then gave her a hug and kiss on his way back to his chair. "If you think this is fun, just wait and see what we can do with all that extra money we have for the Foundation now," he promised, and Ginny laughed at him.
"I have absolutely no doubt that it'll be fun to be a part of," she agreed as she put the PBP reports to the side, and opened her own Owl Post.
Dear Ginny,
Congratulations on another great year at Marauders Institute. I am pleased to advise you that your incentive has been approved, and a transfer of forty-six million galleons has been made to your account.
We have also included your financial summary for Witch Investments. As you know, we have modelled our finances similarly to PBP Investments, and have an incentive structure for our workers. Since we are managing our own accounts, there are no account manager incentives. You are also aware that we have agreed to reinvest all profit, but not add new investment into Witch Investments this year. We are expecting an exciting year again, and look forward to working with you with both the Institute, and with Witch Investments.
Molly Weasley
Account Manager - PBP Investments and Witch Investments
Ginny flipped to her very first Witch Investments financial summary
.
Annual Financial Report - Witch Investments
Year Ending November 30, 2010
Beginning Balance WI: 300 million galleons
Beginning Balance PBPI: 200 million galleons
Total Beginning Balance: 500 million galleons
Profits:
Manufacturing: 100 million galleons
Retail: 200 million galleons
Total Profit: 300 million galleons
Less Incentive: 75 million galleons (25 percent)
Profit: 225 million galleons
WI Profit: 135 million galleons
PBPI Profit: 90 million galleons
Ending Balance WI: 435 million galleons
Ending Balance PBPI: 290 million galleons
Total Ending Balance: 725 million galleons
Ginny handed the two pieces of parchment to Harry, who read them over quickly.
"Congratulations," he told her. "This is a really incredible first year for Witch Investments. You should all be really proud!" Ginny was smiling.
"And one of the really great things is that a lot of the jobs we've created with the new stores and the manufacturing companies help out the same Witches and Wizards you want to help through the Phoenix Foundation." Harry had gotten up and started to clean up from breakfast. Ginny stood up, went over and gave him a hug and a long, attention-grabbing kiss. When she finally let him have his lips back again, he smiled at her.
"Wow! You should probably go get ready for work, or I may just have to keep you here all day," he warned her, and Ginny laughed happily. "Don't make plans for after the kids go to bed, though," he added. "That was definitely a 'to be continued later' kind of kiss."
Other than the December Wizengamot meeting, Harry pretty much had the entire month to hang out with the kids, shop for Christmas presents, and spend time at the Residence. The Cannons won two more lopsided games in December. Harry was able to take Teddy and Stewart to the second game, which was on the Saturday after they got out of school for the Christmas holiday.
He and Ginny had picked all of their kids up from the station on Friday, and taken them to lunch before taking Lisa, Megan, and Stewart back to the Residence, and bringing Teddy to the Cottage for the weekend. Ginny and Fleur took the girls shopping on Saturday while Harry took all of the boys, including Bill, to the game.
All of the kids stayed overnight on Saturday night, including Victoire and Carolyn. They had another shopping day on Sunday, with the boys still needing to do their shopping, and the girls more than willing to spend another day browsing through stores and trying on clothes.
Teddy and Stewart went on a trip to France with Andromeda for most of the week before Christmas, coming home on Christmas Eve day. Ginny worked until Thursday, while Harry and the kids spent most of their time either at the Residence, or running around getting last minute shopping done for family and any missed wish list gifts for the kids at the Residence.
Ginny and Harry attended the Institute social club's Christmas dinner and dance on Thursday night, along with about five thousand other guests. Lisa and Megan were handling childcare duties for them, at the bargain price of five galleons each. Victoire was at Ron and Hermione's for the night, and she was watching Rose and Hugo. The Christmas dinner and dance was again held at the Emerald City Centre, in their beautiful grand ballroom.
The social hour before dinner gave Harry and Ginny some time to mingle, and Ginny introduced him to some of the more recent members of the research department. Harry saw that this year the Goblins and Wizards and Witches were interacting much more than they had last year, and was encouraged that at least some of the walls were coming down between their two groups.
Fleur, Molly, and Penelope were all here tonight with Bill, Arthur, and Percy, as Mandy and Terry's guests of honour. When they sat down to dinner, the social club had decided that this year they would put the guests together randomly for dinner, and so Harry and Ginny found themselves with a Wizard from research and his wife that they did know, a Witch and Wizard from manufacturing and their spouses that they didn't know, and two Goblin couples that Ginny knew, but Harry hadn't yet met.
This made for an interesting conversation throughout dinner. The diversity of their group gave them each a chance to get different perspectives and perceptions of their company. The surprise of dining with Harry Potter, and the nervousness that caused the couples who hadn't met him personally before, quickly wore off when they found out that he and Ginny were just normal people.
Harry and Ginny both encouraged them to join the conversation, and showed that they were genuinely interested in what they had to say on topics that ranged from children to business to politics. After dinner ended, there was another hour or so of socializing while the cleanup from dinner was completed, and they got ready for the dance.
Hermione was sitting down for what seemed like the first time in hours when she saw a smiling Ginny approaching.
"You look beat," her friend and favourite sister-in-law said, trying to be heard over the music and the noise that five thousand people make. Hermione waved her to a chair.
"I am," she answered. "I love dancing, but I don't think I've stopped for more than a few minutes since the music started."
Ginny smiled. "Me either. Harry managed to escape somewhere, but I've been out there with Terry, and Owen, and Dad, and I've lost track of who all else."
Hermione looked up and smiled. "What'd you do? Hear your wife call your name and come running?"
Harry laughed as he handed each girl a drink before sitting down with them. "No I didn't," he told her. "The reason I came over was because I saw you with your feet up and thought I'd bring you a drink, and then added another one to my order when I saw Ginny join you while I was just getting to the front of the line." He took Ginny's hand and held on. "Your brother had me dragged into a conversation on politics for most of the last hour before I could escape," he told her. "Penelope was faster, and left me hanging while she helped Bill escape to the dance floor with her." Ginny and Hermione both laughed at him.
"You know that Percy just cannot comprehend why you don't want to be involved in politics, Harry," Ginny told him. "Penelope can't and wouldn't tell him about your involvement in PBP Investments, and I'm sure that even if he knew, it wouldn't occur to him that you've done more for the Wizarding World through it and the Phoenix Foundation than the Ministry has managed to do in probably the last couple of hundred years put together."
Hermione nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, Harry. You're safe with us now," she added.
Harry smiled at her gratefully. "My heroes."
The dance started winding down by about two in the morning, and it took Harry and Ginny over half an hour to wish their friends a Merry Christmas before making their exit and heading for home. Lisa and Megan were still up, and they talked together for a while about how the kids had been for them.
Harry headed up for bed while the two teens made tea for Ginny and got her to tell them all about their night. They wanted all of the details about fashion, and any of the rest of the information that was the lifeblood of the teenage Witch's imagination. He was warm in bed and beginning to fall asleep when he heard Ginny come in and get ready for bed. He was suddenly wide-awake when she slipped under the blankets.
"Your feet are freezing!" he told her in a fierce whisper. She snuggled up beside him and laughed softly.
"Yours are nice and warm though," she answered quietly. "Why don't you put your arms around me and warm me up?"
Christmas Eve day began with Harry cooking breakfast for seven, while the girls got ready for the day, and then helped James, Al, and Lily. They all went into Diagon Alley for the morning, followed by lunch and an afternoon of shopping in Muggle London. They had dinner back at the Cottage before they all went to the Residence to spend Christmas Eve there.
Teddy and Stewart had already arrived there after getting home from their time in France with Andromeda. The boys told Harry all about their week, and the sights they'd seen and places they'd gone. There were drinks and treats, and the children played games, watched Christmas shows on WWVN, or gathered in groups to talk and enjoy the festive evening with their friends. It was near midnight when Harry and Ginny took one very tired, and two already sleeping children home to dream of Christmas morning surprises wrapped in bright-coloured packages.
The kids had slept in on Christmas morning until nearly six-thirty! That was a whole hour later than last year. Harry went into the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on while Ginny raced the kids to the sitting room, all of them giggling and jostling to be first. He'd barely reached the doorway to the sitting room when James was handing out presents.
There were toys and clothes, books and games, and an assortment of other gifts that filled the early morning with shouts of excitement and laughter, and their hearts with warmth and joy. When they'd finished opening gifts, Harry and Ginny left the kids in the sitting room to play and enjoy themselves, while they went into the kitchen to have coffee and make breakfast. They spent the morning playing together, had lunch, and then headed for the Residence.
The Christmas Day celebration was one of the top two events for the kids at every Residence. The other was, of course, the summer trip to Marauders Paradise. Each Residence had special dinners, many volunteers, and the always-anticipated gifts for each of the children. Every year was just as amazing as the one before for Harry.
He loved the fun and the games that he played with these kids. There was nothing more special than watching the joy of so many children as they opened presents to find the special gifts they'd wished for had been received. Teddy, Victoire, James, Albus, and even Lily all helped out, and Harry and Ginny were both very proud of all of them.
They went back to the Cottage shortly after dinner, having been through two very long days, and with a Weasley family Christmas coming up on Sunday, they all went to bed early to get a good night's sleep.
Nathalie, Charlie, and Art were at the Burrow for their family Christmas celebration. They'd been busy over the past few weeks at the Dragon's Lair Residence, and were taking a couple of days off to spend here with the rest of the family. Harry and Ginny had gone over to the Burrow with the kids early so that they could help with cooking duties. Kreacher and Winky would be spending the day with them too.
The arrivals began shortly after lunch, and continued for the next couple of hours - a continuing line of welcoming hugs and kisses. Cousins played together and talked excitedly about their presents and holiday adventures while their parents and grandparents watched them play and enjoyed being together with each other again.
Victoire was certainly happy to have a day when Teddy was not joined at the hip with Stewart, and took advantage of the chance to spend time with him by joining him when he played with the younger kids, and sitting beside him when he was visiting with Harry and Ginny, or any of the other adults.
Kreacher and Winky still sat together quietly when they were with this family, not yet comfortable enough to initiate conversations with any of them, but they were happy to be included, and would talk with whomever came and talked with them first. The dinner was great, as it always seemed to be whenever they all got together.
After dinner, the children happily led the charge back to the sitting room to open presents. Hours later, it was time for everyone to head for home, since many of the adults were working the next morning. When Harry and Ginny got the children back to the Cottage, they quickly got them all ready for bed, had them asleep, and were not very far behind them in getting to sleep themselves.
Ginny was back to work on Monday, and Harry and the kids spent some time with Charlie, Nathalie, and Art before they left to go back home to Romania. They then spent most of the rest of the week days with Teddy and Victoire. They went to the Residence for a couple of days. Those visits included two very cold Quidditch practices, with Harry going out to play with Teddy, Stewart, and some of the other Hogwarts students. They also managed to fit in a shopping day at Diagon Alley for school supplies for Teddy, Stewart, Lisa, and Megan. They spent a quiet Friday at the Cottage, and then went to the Residence to spend New Year's Eve with the kids there. New Year's Day on Saturday was another lazy day, and then on Sunday, they went to see their Hogwarts students off to school again.