Chapter Thirty-Two - A Healthy and Happy New Year
Teddy and the other students were back at Hogwarts. Ginny was back into her work routine at the Institute. Harry was busy with the Phoenix Foundation, continuing his bi-weekly visits to the residence, and keeping up with three busy little kids. Fleur put one of their junior account managers solely onto the Foundation account, and Harry worked with the Wizard to set up guidelines for funding charity projects, and developed a process for tracking how effective the spending was in helping people.
There were five more residences that would open in June. The food program was helping a lot of families, especially through the holidays, and now the cold winter months.
Witch Investments was also working to help out. Mum had suggested that they look to stay-at-home moms to make some of the clothes and other products they had in their stores, and they soon had hundreds of interested Witches who were thrilled at the chance to make some money while still being able to stay home with their children.
Nearly every other company and division of PBP Investments were also focusing on ways to help employ more of the Wizards and Witches that needed decent jobs the most. The Phoenix Foundation's new junior account manager made sure that every company heard about what they were each doing, and this helped good ideas spread quickly to other businesses.
There were Witches and Wizards at the Ministry of Magic who weren't very happy about everything that the Phoenix Foundation was doing, since it took a certain amount of power out of their collective grasps. They wisely stayed out of Harry's way, though, after a few well-placed rumours suggested to them that if they interfered, he would turn his attention away from charity long enough to make sweeping government reform his top priority.
Ginny woke to the smells of coffee, eggs, and sausages coming from the kitchen. She got up, had a shower, and got ready for work before heading downstairs. Harry had let her sleep in while getting the kids up and ready. There were presents on the table in front of her chair, and Harry gave her a kiss and a cup of coffee, and then held her chair out for her to sit down.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Ginny," he told her with a smile. James, Al, and Lily happily echoed the 'Happy Valentine's Day', each of them excited and waiting for her to open her present from them.
James actually got her something other than the box of chocolates he normally picked out, instead getting her a nice warm pair of gloves. Albus gave her a new novel from one of her favourite writers, and Lily's present was a very nice silk blouse that her Aunt Fleur and cousin Victoire had helped her pick out. Harry gave her a jacket, skirt and pair of dress pants that the girls had picked out to go with the blouse. Ginny and Harry gave each of the boys a box of chocolates, and a small toy for James and a new book for Al. Lily also got a box of chocolates, and a big stuffed red Valentine's Day Hippogriff that she could add to her ever-expanding stuffed hippogriff collection.
The Marauders Institute social club was holding another Valentine's Day dance, and Harry and Ginny were going this year. Victoire had been hired to watch the kids, and Kreacher and Winky would be available to back her up if she had any problems. The dance was in the Emerald City Centre Grand Ballroom, and the place was already nearly full by the time that Harry and Ginny arrived.
They had about an hour to wander around the room and talk with some of the other guests before the dance got underway. They were standing near the stage with Ron, Hermione, and some of the senior managers when Mandy got up on the stage to welcome everyone. Harry had only been half listening to the welcome when something she'd said brought his attention around.
"- Tonight we are pleased to have, for the first time, WizardKaraoke as part of our evening entertainment and music," Mandy was saying. "Some of you will be familiar with this from your visits to Marauders Paradise. For those of you who don't know what it is, I think it's only fair that we select an experienced volunteer to demonstrate, and open our dance for us."
Harry had felt that familiar sinking in his stomach, and knew some of his friends had just set him up. He looked at Ginny, who was just as surprised as he was, so it obviously hadn't been her. Mandy smiled down at him.
"Harry, why don't you come up here and show us how it's done?" He was trapped, and he knew it as he heard the encouraging applause from the crowd. He smiled at Mandy, climbed the few steps to the stage, and gave his friend a hug.
"Let me guess - Gabrielle sold me out," he whispered, and Mandy laughed and hugged him back.
"She might have mentioned that you'd visited the WizardKaraoke lounge at Marauders Paradise once or twice," she answered.
Harry picked out a ballad that was one of Ginny's newest favourites, and then he stepped to the front of the stage. The lights in the room were lowered, and a spotlight was aimed at him as the music started to play. He sang directly to Ginny, as he had every other time he'd done this, and tried not to think about the more than five thousand people listening.
There were couples moving out onto the dance floor, and others that just stayed close to each other and listened to the beautiful song. Harry received warm applause when he'd finished singing, and a hug and kiss from Ginny when he returned to her side. Mandy gave him a hug too.
"I thought that Gabrielle was just playing a joke on you tonight, but apparently it was for the rest of us too. She seemed to have forgotten to mention that you're a really great singer." Harry laughed.
"For some reason, that just does not surprise me," he told her.
There were quite a few other Witches and Wizards who got up to sing throughout the night. Some of them were good, some not so much, but all were entertaining. Harry and Ginny danced and chatted with their friends, and soon another great Valentine's Day was over, and they headed home to the Cottage, where they found three sleeping children and one exhausted, but very proud babysitter.
Teddy wrote Harry and Ginny a letter after the Quidditch match with Hufflepuff to let them know that the Hufflepuff team had beaten Gryffindor in a close match. He had scored eight goals in the losing effort, and Stewart had also played a good game, but the Hufflepuff Seeker caught the snitch, and gave her team a two hundred and ten to one hundred and seventy victory.
The Cannons were continuing their amazing run, now with eleven wins and just one loss at the end of February, and that one loss had come back before they'd started taking Neville's vitamin. Those vitamins, branded ReVive daily vitamins, went on sale at the beginning of March. It was sold at Apothecaries, and Luna quietly advertised the product, wanting to build inventory to be ready for the explosion they knew would happen at the end of the Quidditch season.
Harry and Ginny both started taking the vitamin as soon as it was available, and they were both amazed at how much better they felt, and how much energy they had right from the first day. Neville and Hermione would at some point have a modified version for children, but the ReVive that was on sale now was only recommended for adult Wizards and Witches.
Victoire turned eleven, and it was celebrated with another 'girl's day out'. Harry knew that Ginny and Gabrielle went on the excursion, along with four or five of Victoire's friends, but 'the boys' did not need to know any of the secrets that were involved in one of these special days.
Teddy had his thirteenth birthday, and Harry and Ginny sent him a set of the brand new, and yet to be released, LaserBroom game that was based on the Marauders Paradise game. Near the end of April, Luna gave birth to a sandy-blonde haired, grey-eyed baby boy. Harry and Ginny stopped in to St. Mungo's to see the proud parents, and meet baby Lance. He slept through their visit, apparently not in the slightest bit impressed by having Harry Potter come to visit him on his very first day. Luna and Neville had lots of family visitors there, so Harry and Ginny promised to come visit them at home once they got settled in with the baby.
Lily had her third birthday, and most of the family was at the Cottage for the party. Her favourite present was her very own Kneazel kitten. She very creatively named the pure white animal 'Fluffy', which Ron thought was hilarious, considering the last animal they'd known with that particular name.
The final game of the Hogwarts Quidditch season was approaching, and Teddy had let Harry know all about the buzz at school over the final game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin, but lost to Hufflepuff. Slytherin had lost to Gryffindor, but tied Hufflepuff in their match and beaten Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff had beaten Gryffindor, tied Slytherin and lost to Ravenclaw.
If Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor, then they would win the Quidditch Cup with two wins, and if Gryffindor won the match, then they would win the Cup, being the only two-win team. If the two teams played to a tie, then it got really complicated, with all four teams having one win, one-tie records. Then they had to figure out who won against which team, and by how much. It was a toss-up between Hufflepuff beating Gryffindor, Gryffindor beating Slytherin, Slytherin beating Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw beating Hufflepuff, and who was ahead of which teams on points. Some even suggested that they could just end up with four co-champions if that happened.
Harry was making breakfast when the Owl Post arrived on Monday morning. He quickly opened the letter he'd been expecting from Teddy.
Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny,
WE WON THE QUIDDITCH CUP!
I scored seventeen goals, and Stewart knocked the Ravenclaw Seeker out of the game, and we won four hundred and thirty to two hundred and ten! We stayed up most of Saturday night to celebrate. The two guys you got the brooms for asked me to tell you 'Thanks'.
I'm pretty sure that having getting to keep those brooms on the line made everyone play better. School is going good too. I've gotta get my homework done, so I'll keep this short. See you when school gets out.
Love, Teddy
Ginny was busy at the Institute, helping with the upcoming launch at the end of the school year of the LaserBroom game. Harry travelled to China, India, Argentina, South Africa, and Australia to personally check out the new Residences that were opening at the end of June. They were all beautiful places, and the Witches and Wizards who were running them had all been carefully selected. He was confident that each of these places would all be as successful as the rest of the Residences were.
James turned six in June, and was just the second Wizard in the world to become the proud owner of his very own LaserBroom game. Since the game was the most fun in the dark, they all stayed up late playing with it in the yard.
The Cannons won the League Championship convincingly, and the announcement of the fact that their secret weapon this year had been the ReVive vitamin supplement sent Witches and Wizards all over the world flocking to their local Apothecaries for the miracle product. Luna was ready for them, and they sold five million bottles before the end of June - each bottle containing a one month supply.
School was finally out for the summer, and Harry went with Victoire, James, Al, and Lily to pick up Teddy and the other kids from the train station. It would have been hard to decide whether Victoire or James was more excited to see Teddy, and Lily was running up to Lisa and Megan as soon as they stepped off of the train, hands held high to be picked up and hugged.
There was a round of hugs and kisses, then Harry and the boys loaded up the car while Lisa and Megan were discreetly allowed to say goodbye to their boyfriends. They all headed back to the Residence, where the trunks were dropped off, and then they all went on to the Cottage, having added Carolyn to their group.
Teddy, Stewart, Lisa, and Megan spent the afternoon telling Harry about everything at school, being introduced to Fluffy by Lily, and playing with the younger children. When Ginny got home from work, they all went out to dinner, and then they ended the day by playing some night time LaserBroom before heading to bed to get ready for their big back-from-school shopping day.
Harry was cooking up breakfast, and reading the Owl Posts that had arrived with the first reports on how the grand openings were going at the five new Residences. The first groups of students ranged from twenty-eight starting at the South African school, to eighty-four for what was now the second Residence in China. He wished he could be at all of them to see the kids, but was happy to see one thoughtful manager had included a few pictures of happy, waving teens.
The gang began coming down to the kitchen, the two bottomless pits - Teddy and Stewart, arriving first. Victoire, Lisa, and Megan were next, with James only seconds behind them. Ginny, Albus, and Lily were last to the table, and Harry had already started cooking up more as the bowls and platters of food disappeared - he wondered if he should have had Luna work up a production schedule for the breakfast, since he'd apparently misjudged the amount of food that nine children could consume.
They stopped at Diagon Alley first, and Harry had forgotten that LaserBroom was going on sale today. The GamePortal store, and every other place that was carrying the new game, had line-ups of children and their parents waiting to get one of the hot new games that the kids had seen on WWVN for the past two months. They quickly changed the plan, and went to the Mall for the morning instead of wading through line-ups for the next few hours.
There were bags and bags of summer clothes that were picked up for the kids, and they wandered through book and toy stores. They had lunch at the Mall food court, and then headed back to Diagon Alley to finish their shopping. The crowds had thinned a little bit, but it was still busy there, and it was nearly dinnertime when they dropped Lisa, Megan, Stewart, and Carolyn off at the residence before going home to make their own meal.
Gabrielle was taking a tour through the new addition to the hotel. In the past, they had been able to take extra reservations on top of the commitments they had for the two weeks each PBP Investments worker was allowed, and handle all of the children and chaperones that came during the week reserved for the Phoenix Foundation.
With the five new residences this year, however, they would not have had enough room, and were now nearly at capacity the rest of the year too. Gabrielle had requested the addition to the hotel from Molly Weasley last summer, and the place was now completed and ready for the children coming at the end of the month.
While she was taking this final tour before the first guests that would be staying in this wing arrived, she decided that it was absolutely perfect. There were five hundred more suites that could hold twenty-five hundred more guests now, and they were able to nearly clear off the waiting list for requests for reservations.
She checked out one of the new eight bedroom and four bath suites that could handle up to sixteen member groups. Harry and Ginny were going to love staying in one of these with all of those kids this year. The new wing also had another large pool next to it, and more shops, restaurants, and entertainment businesses to accommodate the extra guests, and offer new adventures for all of the hotel patrons. She smiled as she headed back to her office - this was absolutely going to be a great summer!
Harry and Ginny had Lisa and Megan watch the kids - and Fluffy, for a whole weekend and went with Ron and Hermione to Spain to celebrate their anniversary. When they got back home, they hired the girls to watch the kids three days a week. They both wanted summer jobs, but also didn't want to miss the end of July trip, so it was a good compromise for them, and allowed Harry to spend a few days each week working on Phoenix Foundation and Wizengamot business.
Teddy and Stewart continued to live and breathe Quidditch, and were at a Quidditch pitch, or practicing in the yard, somewhere at least once every day. Victoire was once again a regular visitor at the cottage, and came with Harry whenever he was going to play Quidditch with the boys at the Residence.
She was a very good flyer, but was not in the slightest bit interested in playing the game. She would fly with them sometimes when they were just racing around during warm-ups or just seeing who could go fastest. There was no doubt that she was just as fast as Teddy, and a little faster than Stewart. The rest of the time, she would hang out with some of the other kids and watch the boys and girls that wanted to play pick sides and play a match or two.
This year, Harry and Ginny's group was the last to leave for Marauders Paradise, and got to the island at about ten in the morning, local time. Gabrielle and Michael were there, and took them to their suite in the brand new part of the hotel. The kids were thrilled when they saw all of the extra room they had this year.
Teddy, Stewart, Lisa, Megan, and Victoire all had their own rooms, while James and Albus were together in one room, as were Lily and Carolyn. They all quickly unpacked, and headed their separate ways. Lisa and Megan went to meet up with friends they'd met in past years. Teddy and Stewart took James and Michael with them, and went straight for the games and rides.
Victoire and Ginny took the two younger girls to the beach, and that left Harry and Albus to do their own thing until it was time to meet back at their suite for dinner. They started out by stopping in to see Kevin. His paintings were selling all over the world now, and he was slowly becoming quite famous for his portraits and his island landscapes. They decided to wander the stores, and then went back to pick Kevin up and take him out for lunch with them. When they'd dropped Kevin back off at his shop, the two boys decided that what they'd both really like to do most is go have an afternoon nap back at their suite, since they'd already been awake for thirteen hours or so, and would have a late night with the banquet. Ginny climbed into bed with them a couple of hours later when she and Victoire had that same good idea for themselves and for Lily and Carolyn.
The welcoming banquet began with Gabrielle's opening address and announcements. Gabrielle, Kevin, and Michael sat with Harry, Ginny, and their group of kids during dinner, and then she had set up a two hour long show that included skits performed by different groups of staff from Marauders Paradise, music from some of the lounge and theatre groups, and a very spooky story put on by the Witches and Wizards who did the nightly Haunted Island Adventure.
When the skits had been completed, Gabrielle told them that there would be a talent competition on the night of the closing banquet, and each Residence could enter to compete and win prizes from the panel of Marauders Paradise judges. The young kids, and even the teenagers were tired out after the banquet, so they all went back to their suite to get some sleep and be ready for an exciting day of adventure in the morning.
On their first full day at Marauders Paradise, Harry and Ginny took Michael, James, Al, Carolyn, and Lily on a new glass-bottom boat tour in the morning. They had a picnic on the beach, and spent the afternoon playing together in the water and along the beach. Lisa and Megan went off to spend the day with friends, while Teddy and Stewart planned to play some of the games that James wasn't old enough to do with them yet. Victoire would have loved to go hang out with the boys, but instead settled for a day with Aunt Gabrielle and Uncle Kevin.
Their group had drawn an eleven o'clock time for the Haunted Island Adventure for that night. Teddy and Stewart had met them for dinner, and Lisa, Megan, and Victoire caught up with them on their way to the beach. They had all been on the adventure last year, but it was still just as amazing, and there seemed to be new things to see that they'd missed last time. When they got back, the five teens, including Victoire, headed for one of the teen dance clubs. Kevin picked Michael up, and the rest of them went back to the suite, got cleaned up, and headed to bed.
The rest of the week was non-stop adventure. Teddy and Stewart would do some of the activities with the whole group, or take Michael and James with them to play games. Lisa and Megan weren't around with the others as much, but did spend a morning shopping with Ginny, and an afternoon by the pool with everyone. Ginny and Susan had been drafted by some of the children to help them with their closing banquet skit, and they found an hour or so every day to help the mostly teenaged group that were going to represent their Residence. The competition to win the Phoenix Cup was won this year by the new Residence from India.
Harry and Ginny took Lisa, Megan, Teddy, Stewart, and Victoire diving to the reefs on their last full day on the island, and Gabrielle and Kevin took the other kids for a day at their bungalow with Michael. The food that evening was as great as always, and the evening of entertainment put on by groups from each of the Residences was the perfect way to end a wonderful week. There were dance routines, musical numbers, skits and comedy bits. Gabrielle and the judges had prizes for all of the groups that performed.
The 'teens' went from the banquet and talent show to a final night at their favourite dance club. Harry and Ginny went with Gabrielle, Kevin, and the rest of the kids to the ice cream bar at the kid's nightclub. They played a few of the games there after they'd all had ice cream sundaes at the bar, and then called it a night and took the kids back to their suite.
Harry and Ginny were in the sitting room when Victoire came in - the first of the older kids to get back. She looked excited, and Harry discreetly headed off to bed so that his niece could talk freely with Ginny. When Ginny finally came to bed after the boys, then the girls got in, he had been drifting off to sleep. She snuggled up next to him, and kissed him.
"Teddy danced with Victoire two times at the nightclub," she whispered quietly to him. Harry smiled at his wife.
"And he still has no clue, does he," he whispered back. Ginny laughed softly.
"Nope, probably not, but he definitely made Victoire's week by dancing with her."
Harry put his arms around her and held her close. "Give him a few more years - he'll figure it out eventually,"
All of the children and chaperones left for home the next day, which was also Harry's birthday. They got Lisa, Megan, Stewart, and Carolyn settled back in at the Residence, and then dropped Teddy off at Andromeda's before going home to the Cottage. It was nearly dinnertime when they got back, so Harry and Ginny started cooking while the kids put their things away and then joined them in the kitchen to eat.
Ginny had whipped up a small birthday cake that they had for dessert, and then they gave Harry his very own, coming to stores this fall, WizardKaraoke machine. They made it an early night, since Ginny would be back at work in the morning, and Harry and the kids needed to rest up for the busy summer days ahead filled with play and adventure.
Lisa and Megan continued to watch James, Al, and Lily three days a week during August. When Harry wasn't working with the Phoenix Foundation, he would play with the kids around the Cottage, or at the Residence. Hugo turned three, and Albus had his fifth birthday. It seemed that every weekend, when Ginny was off work, they were always busy with either family commitments or activities at the Residence.
Hogwarts letters arrived. Lisa received six Outstanding OWL's, and the rest were all Exceeds Expectations. Megan would be starting her fifth year. She was not made a prefect, which she had told everyone she didn't want after seeing how much work it had been for Lisa last year. Teddy and Stewart were starting their third year, and were mostly excited about getting to go on the trips to Hogsmeade this year, and hopefully getting to play Quidditch for Gryffindor again.
The back to school shopping trip to Diagon Alley was just as busy as it had been last year. First year enrolment for last year and this year was over two hundred students each year. Victoire was going to be one of those new first year students, and she had come for the shopping trip, along with Bill and Fleur.
The girls all went shopping for new robes and clothes. Bill and Harry took the boys to gather the long list of books and supplies for all of the students, and then took Teddy and Stewart in to be fitted for robes too. Harry and Bill took Victoire to Olivanders for her wand, then to Eeylops, where Harry bought her a snowy white owl, earning him one of those smiles he loved to see so much, and a big hug. The owl gave him a nip, reminding him of how Hedwig used to do that to him when she was mad at him or wanted attention. He still hadn't been able to bring himself to getting a new owl for himself, even after all this time.
On September first, Harry and Ginny loaded up the car with trunks and kids, and headed for King's Cross Station. Teddy still liked to ride the train with the other students, and so he came to stay at the Cottage overnight. It helped that he didn't have to haul his trunk around with him, but the sedan was still pretty much full anyway.
Bill, Fleur, and Victoire were already on the platform when they got to the station, and Victoire looked relieved and excited to see Teddy and the others there. They didn't have much time before the train was going to be pulling out, so they exchanged hugs and kisses, and helped the kids get their trunks, cages, and bags on board, then the four adults, and the younger children, watched as the train pulled away from the platform.
There were two Owl Posts waiting for Harry and Ginny the next morning. They opened the one from Teddy first.
Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny,
Victoire was sorted into Gryffindor house, and she seemed really happy, but by the time we got to the Common Room, she was having problems. A lot of the boys here seem to have gone mental - every time she's around, they fall all over themselves trying to hang around and impress her, but mostly they're just acting stupid. Most of them act so dumb they can't even put a whole sentence together around her.
That's got most of the girls ticked off - especially the ones that have boyfriends that are acting like that, and they're not treating her very nice. The only ones that aren't giving her a hard time are the guys and girls from the Residence that have known her for a long time.
What is their problem? Is there anything I can do to help her out? I think she went to bed crying, but I can't go into the girl's dorm to help her.
Please send me some ideas on what to do to help her out.
Thanks, Teddy
Ginny had been reading the letter along with Harry, and then she opened the second letter, this one from Victoire.
Aunt Ginny,
Mom tried to warn me that I could have some problems with the kids at school because of being part Veela. I'm finding out the hard way that she was right. The girls in my dorm are completely ignoring me, but are making sure their stupid little remarks are loud enough for me to hear.
There are a couple of girls from the residence who aren't treating me like the rest, but they're in higher grades, and didn't hang around with me at all, and I'm on my own in the first year dormitory.
Most of the boys are acting like complete morons. Any chance you could teach me that bat-bogey hex of yours? I saw Teddy in the Common Room watching me. He looked really upset about how I was getting treated, and that got me crying, so I went to my dorm.
I'm going to go to sleep once I send this off to you. Please don't tell Mom and Dad. I'll be fine, and I don't want them to worry about me, but I needed someone to vent to. If you happen to have any suggestions, I'd be happy to try anything you think might help.
Thanks for listening,
Victoire
Ginny put her arm around Harry. "Why don't you handle this with Teddy, and I'll write back to Victoire," she suggested. Harry kissed her and agreed.
"I'll write to him later today," he promised. "Right now I better get breakfast going before the boys get down here and start chewing on the table." He got up and started cooking, and Ginny went upstairs to help Lily get ready, and get the boys moving. Harry was busy all day, and it was later in the afternoon before he got the time to sit down and reply to Teddy's letter.
Dear Teddy,
I know you don't really notice it because you grew up with Victoire, and none of us make a big deal about it, but she's part Veela, just like Aunt Fleur and Aunt Gabrielle. That causes most boys to be attracted to her whenever she's around, and because of that, she's going to have a lot of girls that are going to be jealous, and hurtful to her.
What you can do is just be her friend. If you and Stewart, and some of the other teens from the Residence treat her as a friend, then maybe some of the other kids will come around - eventually. In a way, the girls treat her a lot like your Dad used to be treated - and his furry little problem was no more his fault than being part Veela is Victoire's fault.
Keep that in mind when you take some of the heat you're bound to get for helping her. Don't let any of that bother you. I'm proud that you want to help, and I'm sure she will appreciate having at least a few friends to stand by her.
Love, Harry
He sent the Owl Post on the way, and then started making dinner so it would be ready when Ginny got home from work. After dinner, the kids went outside to play, and Harry was cleaning up, so Ginny sat down to write her letter.
Dear Victoire,
I know from talking with Fleur and Gabrielle about how mean the girls could be at school when they went to Beauxbatons, and what a pain it was having guys falling all over them. I'm sorry you have to deal with it too.
We can talk bat-bogey hexes sometime in the future if nothing gets any better, but I do have a few suggestions. First, be yourself. Most of the people you know like you because you're smart, happy, and fun. Do what you can to discourage the boys that fall all over you - they'll eventually stop trying. Hang out whenever you can with Teddy and the students you know from the Residence. Don't be afraid to ask them for help. If the other girls see Lisa, Megan, and a few of the other girls being friendly with you, they might start to come around.
If none of that helps by Christmas, then I'll teach you a bat-bogey hex that'll make sure that nobody you use it on will ever bother you again. :^)
Love, Aunt Ginny
She had Harry read it over, watching as he laughed at the ending comment. "I'm going to fire off a note to Lisa too, asking her, and Megan, to help Victoire out," she told him. "A couple of well timed hugs from a prefect, and a little time hanging out with two of the most popular girls at the school should help too." She tied the letter to the first of the two Owls she'd ordered, and sent it on the way, then wrote the note for Lisa, and sent it with the second Owl. Harry had finished the cleanup, so they went outside to play with the kids until bedtime.
There was no doubt that Teddy and Stewart would again make the Gryffindor team, and Harry and Ginny got regular updates from them about school and practices. The two boys were now allowed to go into town on the Hogsmeade weekends, and were glad to be able to visit Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, and the other stores. Since Victoire couldn't go, Teddy made sure to see if there was anything she needed, and also picked up some of her favourite treats from Honeydukes as a surprise.
The guys gave him a hard time about that - kidding that he was getting sweets for his little sweetheart, but he just ignored them. If Uncle Harry's father, and his own great-uncle Sirius could stand by his father, then he could handle a little teasing to help Victoire.
Victoire was getting used to life at Hogwarts. She'd taken Aunt Ginny's advice, and things had settled down a little. Teddy, Stewart, and some of the other boys from the Residence all treated her just like any of their other friends, and that went a long way with getting some of the younger boys to stop acting like a bunch of love-struck dopes.
When some of the girls saw her chumming around with Lisa and Megan, most of them stopped being mean long enough to find out that she really was a pretty great person to get to know. She still had some problems to deal with, but at least she was starting to get some friends to help her get through those troubles.
She was a good student, and loved all of her classes. Professor Tonks was her favourite teacher, followed a close second by Professor Williamson. She thought it was strange learning about Uncle Harry in the History of Magic class. Her family did not talk much about the war, and she learned things she hadn't known - like that Grandma had defeated one of the Dark Lord's top lieutenants in a duel right here in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. She was not disappointed when Professor Slughorn invited her to join the Slug Club, since Teddy was also in it.
The Professor obviously saw potential in the daughter of the CEO of a major investment company, and the niece of Harry Potter. When the older students went to Hogsmeade, and Teddy asked her if she wanted anything picked up, she had made up something small that she'd needed, and she gave him a hug when he brought that back along with a box of her favourite chocolates. She thought there might just be hope for him after all.
The Chudley Cannons had lost their magic vitamin edge - or more accurately, the other teams now had that same edge. The games were faster, and generally higher scoring. During those first games of the season, it seemed that the team that caught the snitch first won the game, since the rest of the scoring was pretty close to equal. Through September and October, the Cannons won three games and lost one.
Harry was keeping busy with the Phoenix Foundation, and with Wizengamot business. He and the kids still spent at least two mornings or afternoons at the residence each week, and had their weekly outing day. Winky would help out with the kids when Harry had to be out, or they'd go to the daycare at Marauders Institute.
In November, Teddy let them know that Gryffindor had lost their game against Slytherin, even though he had scored nine goals, and they'd been ahead. The Slytherin Seeker caught the snitch, and they'd won by only ten points. Frederica had her second birthday. George and Marietta had a beach birthday party for her on the island. WizardKaraoke went on sale. It wasn't the huge smash that the GameWizards or WWVN had been, but it was certainly a very popular Christmas shopping season purchase, as were the thousands of background track songs that were available.
The whole year had seemed to fly past, and it was once again December first. Ginny had breakfast cooking duty this morning, and Harry was getting the kids ready, so she read her Owl Post first.
Dear Ginny,
Marauders Institute had a fabulous year, driven by the main product lines, and the addition of ReVive, LaserBroom, and WizardKaraoke. Your incentive was approved, and a transfer of fifty-nine million galleons has been completed.
I have also included your annual report for Witch Investments. They also showed exceptional growth and results for the year, and I'm certain you will be quite pleased with the results.
Molly Weasley
Account Manager - PBP Investments & Witch Investments
Ginny got up and refilled her coffee, checked on everything that was cooking, and then flipped to the second page of her package.
Annual Financial Report - Witch Investments
Year Ending November 30, 2011
Beginning Balance WI: 435 million galleons
Beginning Balance PBPI: 290 million galleons
Total Beginning Balance: 725 million galleons
Profits:
Manufacturing: 150 million galleons
Retail: 250 million galleons
Total Profit: 400 million galleons
Less Incentive: 100 million galleons (25 percent)
Profit: 300 million galleons
WI Profit: 180 million galleons
PBPI Profit: 120 million galleons
Ending Balance WI: 615 million galleons
Ending Balance PBPI: 410 million galleons
Total Ending Balance: 1,025 million galleons
Ginny smiled to herself. Witch Investments was now officially a billion galleon company - and after only two years! PBP Investments and the Investors Partnership had forty percent, but they were all heavily involved in the Investors Partership too, and she was married to PBP Investments, so it was all in the family anyway. She got up again, and finished cooking everything just as Harry and the kids came into the kitchen. Ginny handed a coffee to Harry, and he sat down to go over his reports while she fed the kids.
Dear Harry,
Thanks to the results at Marauders Institute, and better than expected results in every other area, I am pleased to report another year with outstanding earnings on your investments.
In this package, you will find the financial summary, my incentive approval letter, and the new report for the Phoenix Foundation, which documents the money spent, and the effects that the various projects have had in the Wizarding World. When you have reviewed the reports, please authorize the incentive letter, and return it with this Owl.
Fleur Weasley
CEO - PBP Investments
Harry flipped to the summary page, and continued reading.
Annual Financial Report - PBP Investments
Year Ending November 30, 2011
Beginning Balance PBPI: 15,442 million galleons
Beginning Balance PF: 1,412.25 million galleons
Beginning Balance - IP: 6,515.75 million galleons
New Investment: 1,000 million galleons
Total Beginning Balance: 24,370 million galleons
Profits:
Marauders Institute 5,900 million galleons
Property Division 1,120 million galleons
Goblin Ventures 530 million galleons
Witch Investment 120 million galleons
Other Investments 290 million galleons
Total Profit 7,960 million galleons
Less incentive (40 percent) 3,184 million galleons
*Pending approval of projected incentives.
Profit after incentives 4,776 million galleons
PBP Profit 1,627.5 million galleons
PF Profit 1,627.75 million galleons
IP Profit 1,520.75 million galleons
Ending Balance PBPI: 17,069.5 million galleons
Charity Account: 3,040 million galleons
Less Expenses: 1,400 million galleons
Ending Balance - Charity: 1,640 million galleons
Ending Balance - IP: 9,036.5 million galleons
Total Ending Balance: 27,746 million galleons
The third parchment had the Phoenix Foundation report, and he read it, amazed at what was in it.
Annual Phoenix Foundation Report
Year Ending November 30, 2011
Financial Report:
Beginning Balance: 1,412.25 million galleons
New Revenue: 1,627.75 million galleons
Total Expenses: 1,400.00 million galleons
Ending Balance: 1,640.00 million galleons
Phoenix Foundation Program Expenses:
Residences: 650 million galleons
Vaccine Program: 5 million galleons
Goblin Programs: 100 million galleons
Food Program: 50 million galleons
Housing Program: 300 million galleons
Work Program: 295 million galleons
Total Expenses: 1,400 million galleons
Phoenix Foundation Program Statistics:
Program Persons Aided Cost Per Person
Residences 2,600 52,000 galleons*
Vaccine Program 1 million 5 galleons
Goblin Programs 28,000 3,575 galleons
Food Program 250,000 200 galleons
Housing Program 30,000 10,000 galleons*
Work Program 118,000 2,500 galleons*
*The residence cost per child is based on operating cost and does not include the long-term investment costs for building the new facilities, since the Residences are Phoenix Foundation assets that will continue to have appreciating value. The total Witches, Wizards, and Goblins helped directly added up to one million vaccinated children, and over four hundred and twenty-eight thousand persons in the other programs.
We should note that for the Goblin, Food, Housing, and Work programs, there were, on average, four beneficiaries for each person aided. For example when a house was built, it was for an average family size of four people. This means that we can conservatively estimate that the Phoenix Foundation was able to aid over one million, six hundred and fifty thousand persons in the past year, plus the one million children that received their vaccinations.
The housing program did a combination of building new housing and renovating existing homes to make them meet the standards of living guidelines that we have developed. The food program averaged giving four galleons a week in food to supplement families.
The work program offered incentives to companies to create jobs for the poorest people, supplementing their incomes to give them a reasonable pay. The average income for these workers was ten thousand galleons a year - which was often ten times what they'd been able to earn before. Job supplements will be provided to companies for up to two years, and then those companies have agreed to guarantee at least another five years of employment for the workers. A high percentage of these jobs are being created through PBP Investments and Witch Investments companies, and even through our own Foundation job opportunities.
We consider that this first year of implementing several major projects have, together, created a significant impact in the Wizarding World. Everyone at the Phoenix Foundation should be very proud of these accomplishments, and we expect continued success and have the highest hopes for the future.
Harry sat back in his chair, handing the reports to Ginny. "This is even better than I could have hoped for," he told her quietly.
Leaning forward in his chair again, he read over Fleur's incentive letter, signed it, and sent it off with the Owl. He got up and made up a plate of food for himself - Ginny had left some warming for him while he was reviewing the reports. He ate while Ginny read through the reports. When she had finished, she looked up at him and was smiling.
"It's hard to believe this much got done in just one year. I know a lot of the PBP companies, including Marauders Institute, have taken advantage of the worker funding, and so has Witch Investments, but they've also done a lot of projects on their own too, and the jobs those projects have created aren't included in this."
Harry nodded his agreement. "It's an awesome start. Just watch - it's going to keep getting better."
Ginny got up from the table. She gave Harry, and each of the kids, a hug and kiss. "I better get going in to work. You know how hard I have to slave away today, going to lunches, having parties. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it."
Harry laughed, and walked her to the door. He gave her another hug, and a long kiss. "Have a great day, honey. We'll see you after work."
Harry loved the whole Christmas season. He loved the decorations, and the music, and seeing happy faces around much more often than there normally were most of the rest of the year. There were Wizards and Witches, and certainly a lot of Muggles that rushed around, looking grumpy and frazzled by the extra demands they had during the holidays, but Harry thought that most of them just had their priorities messed up.
The others just needed help to make their Christmas happy, and so he had a plan this year to help those families. For the two Saturdays before Christmas, Marauders Institute opened their daycare to selected families, where they could drop their children off for the day, then go Christmas shopping. When the parents were ready to head out, there was a group of volunteers there to give them each a bag of galleons to help them with their gift buying. The Foundation gave out over two hundred thousand galleons to those families.
Harry also put together a small group of volunteers who went around to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, and other towns and did 'random acts of Christmas magic'. Wandering around, they'd watch and listen, particularly for kid's wishes, and for parents comments like 'can't afford', and then they would step forward and quietly help those parents make their children's wishes come true.
Teddy, Victoire, and the other students got out of school a week before Christmas, and Harry and the kids, including Carolyn, met them all at the station. The boys both looked like they'd grown an inch or two. Victoire looked happy, and Harry saw that there were a few other girls that exchanged hugs and best Christmas wishes with her as they were getting off the train and meeting their families. It looked like Ginny wasn't going to have to teach her the bat-bogey hex after all.
Harry took a shortcut this year, and used Translocators to send the trunks to the Residence, Cottage, and Victoire's home. Once that was taken care of, he took them all to Diagon Alley, and then into Muggle London for a shopping day. He and Ginny were both going to be busy on Saturday with what one of the volunteers had called the DREAM Christmas project (Doing Random, Extreme Acts of Magic Christmas).
Teddy was staying with Harry and Ginny until after the Weasley family Christmas on Sunday, and then he would head home with Andromeda from there for the week. The 'teens', as Harry thought of the older kids, were going shopping on their own on Saturday, but the younger kids were going to be spending Saturday at the Burrow with Grandma and Grandpa. They had lunch at the mall, shopped until nearly dinnertime, and then went back to the Cottage for dinner with Ginny and an evening of catching up on all of the school news.
Harry and Ginny were wandering Diagon Alley on Saturday. So far they'd made twenty 'dreams' come true, and they were getting ready to have some lunch. They stopped in at George's store to see if he and Marietta wanted to join them, and were wandering around, waiting for them to have a few moments. Ginny was over near the Pygmy Puff display, when she heard a young Witch talking to her two young boys and one little girl.
"I'm sorry, honey," she was telling her daughter. "I know they're really cute, but I can't get you one. We won't even have a place to live next week, since we can't afford where we're at now." Ginny got Harry's attention, and waved him over. He was next to her in time to hear the rest of the conversation. The older of the little boys spoke next.
"It isn't fair that they're making us move out before Christmas, mommy," he said, sounding very upset. "They got rid of your job, and then throw us out because we can't afford to live in their crummy house anymore. How can people be so mean?"
The woman sighed wearily. "I don't know sweetie," she told him. "I guess for some people, it's just all about the money."
"Why don't you go invite them to lunch with us," Harry whispered in Ginny's ear. "I have to make a couple of WiComm calls."
The woman, Diane, was surprised at the lunch invitation from Ginny, and a little overwhelmed when she found out who Ginny was, and that they'd be having lunch with both her and Harry. When they'd all placed their orders at the Leaky Cauldron, Ginny got Diane to tell them their story.
Diane told them how she and the kids, David, Tony, and Christine, had been on their own since about a year after Christine was born, when her husband died in an accident. She'd gone out to work for the same people that rented them their little house, but they'd closed the business where she'd worked, and now they were evicting Diane and her kids because she couldn't pay the rent anymore.
They were nearly finished lunch by the time Diane had finished her story. Harry's WiComm chimed, and he stepped away from the table for a moment to take the call. When he sat back down at the table, a small box appeared in front of him, surprising Diane and her children. He handed it to Ginny.
"I qm'd you what you need," he told her, and Ginny nodded. "Why don't we split up, and I'll stay here and keep going, and you can spend the afternoon with Diane and the kids." Ginny nodded again, smiling excitedly – this was going to be fun! Harry stood up, ready to get back to finding some Christmas DREAMs to grant, and Diane stood up too, wanting to thank him. He gave her a hug and smiled brightly at her.
"I'm really glad we got to meet you today, Diane. I won't spoil the surprises Ginny has for you, but I think you and the kids are going to have a very happy Christmas this year." He gave Ginny a hug and kiss, which had Christine giggling, and then left his wife to have what would certainly be a really amazing afternoon.
Ginny smiled at Diane, who was looking flustered by the hug and Harry's comments. "He's just a really big kid. You get used to it after a few years," she told Diane. Turning to the children, she said - "How would the three of you like to spend an afternoon playing with a bunch of other kids at a really cool place?"
Ginny got three nods, and so their first stop was the Marauders Institute daycare. When the kids were settled in and already busy playing, she took Diane on a shopping trip. They bought toys and books and games for the three children, and one Pygmy Puff. Ginny's friendliness and genuine caring had put Diane at ease, and Ginny had avoided any uncomfortable moments by handing her a bag of galleons so Diane could pay for all of the purchases herself. Ginny had only told her not to worry about the cost, but to buy the presents she knew the kids would want the most. When they were done shopping later that afternoon, Ginny handed Diane the little box that Harry had given her.
"You should open this present now, Diane," Ginny had told her. When Diane opened the box, there was a set of keys inside. Ginny had smiled at her look of confusion.
"We have one more stop before we pick up the kids. Do you feel up to a side-along apparition?" Diane could only nod. Ginny took her arm, and the next moment they were on a street full of new houses.
Diane looked at her new friend, not knowing what to expect from her next. Ginny took her hand, and they started walking. "We're on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, and this is a housing project built by the Phoenix Foundation," Ginny explained as they walked. She stopped in front of one of the houses, and smiled at Diane.
"And this," she said, pointing at the house in front of them, then at the keys that were still in Diane's hand, "is your new house. Merry Christmas." Diane stared at her for a moment, completely speechless.
"Ginny, I could never afford someplace like this," she finally said sadly. "I really appreciate you finding a place we could live, but…" she trailed off, tears filling her eyes as she was overcome with emotion. Ginny put her arms around her, and held her as she cried. When she'd been able to let some of the now years of pain out, Ginny talked to her softly.
"Diane, you won't be paying anything for this house. It's a gift, and it's yours to keep. After Christmas, we'll help you find a new job too." She pulled another, larger bag of money out of her cloak pocket and held it out to the other woman. "Until then, this will help you get through the holidays. If you need more, just let me know, and I'll get whatever you and the kids need."
Diane started crying again. "I can't believe this," she whispered through her tears. "I would have never dreamed of anything this special happening for us. There's no way I can ever thank you enough, Ginny." They both had tears in their eyes now.
"I do," Ginny said with a laugh. "Let's hide these presents, except the Pygmy Puff, which you'll have to give Christine early, and then I want to get to see the looks on your kid's faces when we show them your new house!"
Diane laughed too, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I think we can at least do that for you."
Ginny took her hand and squeezed it. "I just happen to have a bunch of Translocators with me, so we could probably move enough of your things over here so you can start living here tonight. These houses all have new furniture throughout, and this one just happens to be set up for two young boys and one young girl."
The two women went into the house to put the presents away and have a short tour, and then they picked up David, Tony, and Christine, and brought them back to their new home. After they'd shown the children around, Ginny stayed with them for a while, and Diane took a bag full of Translocators with her to their old home.
It only took a short time for her to gather their few possessions together and send them to the bedrooms and sitting room of the new house. Ginny saw the few boxes arriving, and when Diane returned, she made plans for a shopping trip with them for next Friday before heading to the Burrow to pick up her own kids. If she ever decided that she didn't want to do research anymore, doing stuff like this all year round would be a pretty great job too.
Harry smiled as he left the Leaky Cauldron. He knew that Ginny needed to be the one to help Diane and her children, and he wanted to make sure they were still helping out other families, so splitting up seemed to be the best way to do both. Teddy, Stewart, and Victoire caught up with him, and so he gave them each a small bag of money, and recruited them to help out, told them what to look for, and how to help out when they found deserving families.
They were young, but he suggested that if the parents questioned them they should just tell them that they were volunteers for DREAM Christmas. The four of them made another fifty-eight DREAMs come true that afternoon. Lisa and Megan met them at the Leaky Cauldron at the end of the afternoon, and Harry dropped Stewart, Lisa, and Megan off at the Residence in time for dinner, and then went home to the Cottage with Teddy and Victoire.
Harry, Teddy, and Victoire had made it back to the Cottage first, so they started making dinner. They had everything nearly ready when Ginny got back with James, Al, and Lily. Throughout dinner, they told each other about their respective days. Ginny definitely got to do the biggest and coolest DREAM Christmas. She was proud of Teddy and Victoire for joining in and helping so many people. James told them about all of the things they'd done at the Burrow.
The evening was spent in front of a warm fire in the sitting room. They watched a little WWVN and played a few GameWizard games. Harry and Teddy did bedtime stories and put the younger kids to bed, then sat up for another couple of hours talking with Ginny and Victoire before heading for bed themselves.
Hermione was relaxing in the sitting room, watching the swirl of activity all around her. Rose was over playing with Al, and Lily and Hugo were surreptitiously trying to examine the presents under the tree. Ron was lost to a game of Wizard's Chess with Nathalie - whom Hermione thought had unbelievably extraordinary patience with her game-obsessive husband.
Mum and Dad were sitting with Frederica, George and Marietta. Percy had cornered Harry and was apparently boring him to death with talk about new policies and regulations he was working on at the Ministry of Magic, although Harry was trying to appear interested. Ginny was talking quietly with Fleur and Bill. James, Art, and Nicolas were playing GameWizard, and Teddy was sitting nearby watching them.
Hermione smiled when Victoire went over and sat beside him. It reminded her of another young girl she'd known and loved - still knew and loved for that matter. She wondered if it would break any auntie-etiquette rules if she and the other women placed small wagers on when her beautiful young niece finally caught her unsuspecting young man.
She got up and went to rescue Harry from her stodgiest brother-in-law with a pitiful excuse of needing his help in the kitchen, even though everything was being taken care of by Kreacher and Winky this year. When they got out to the kitchen, Harry gave her a big hug.
"I love you!" he told her gratefully. "I was beginning to think I'd been elected to be Percy's personal audience this year, and nobody bothered to let me know I'd won."
Hermione laughed at him. "You're welcome, and no, there wasn't an election - the rest of us are just faster than you are - or just a little less polite. Come on, I'll get you to carry a snack tray in so it looks like you were at least doing something out here, and then try to get yourself into one of the other conversations before Percy can catch up with you again."
Harry smiled at her, and they picked up the trays that Winky had made up for them. "Maybe I can talk the boys into getting Percy playing that Ministry of Magic GameWizard game," he suggested. "He actually seems to like playing the Minister of Magic, trying to catch the kids while they sneak around the building fighting the bad guys and saving the world." Hermione laughed again.
"That sounds like a good idea, and you can always throw in a bribe if needed - cash and candy seem to work best, I've noticed."
The dinner that Kreacher and Winky put on the table was another work of culinary artistry, and they both were pleased with the praises everyone gave them. Harry and Ginny sent everyone out of the kitchen after the meal, and took care of the cleanup duties. When they joined everyone else in the sitting room, the kids were given the green light to open presents.
Teddy and Victoire handed out the gifts. Harry and Ginny had sat down with Andromeda, and they all watched as the kids, young and old, opened their gifts. Andromeda got a box of jokes from George and Marietta that was the all-new 'Professor's Revenge Starter Kit'. Harry got a quill and parchment set from Percy, and Ginny got a cashmere sweater from Fleur, and Harry was really looking forward to snuggling up to his wife when she wore it.
The kids loved their presents, and Grandma's annual jumpers. Kreacher and Winky were given several presents each, and even after having a few Christmases with the family, still were overwhelmed by the generousity of these Witches and Wizards. Most of the adults had work the next morning, so it wasn't long after the gift exchange was done that they rounded up their children, and headed for their homes and waiting beds.
Ginny was working on Monday, so Harry took the kids to meet Diane, David, Tony, and Christine, see how they were doing, and if they needed anything. The six kids got along right away, so Harry and Diane chatted and had cups of tea. They were settling in to their new house, and starting to meet some of the neighbours, and no, there wasn't a single thing more that they needed.
He and the kids left there, and went to London to pick up a few things, then had lunch there before heading to the Residence for their afternoon playtime. They brought Carolyn, Lisa, and Megan back with them for an overnight stay at the Cottage, and had dinner ready when Ginny got back home.
She had to work until Thursday this year, and would have Friday to Monday off. Harry took all of the kids on another shopping day in London on Tuesday, had another play day at the Residence on Wednesday, and a stay-at-home day on Thursday.
Ginny took Diane and her kids shopping on Friday, and picked out new clothes for all of them. She also picked up a few presents for the kids to give to Diane for Christmas. They had lunch, then she helped Diane get the kids and all of the bags back home before meeting up with Harry and the kids back at the Cottage, and spending the afternoon with them.
Christmas Eve day Lisa and Megan came over to watch the kids, and Harry and Ginny spent the morning making a last few DREAM Christmases come true, then picked everyone up at the Cottage, and spent the rest of the day at the Residence. They played all afternoon, joined the kids for dinner, and then sat down with about thirty of the kids in one of the lounges to watch a new 3D incarnation of A Christmas Carol. They took Lisa, Megan, Stewart, and Carolyn home with them this year to spend Christmas morning with them.
Harry was the first one up Christmas morning, and quietly dressed and went downstairs to start cooking breakfast. When the smell of coffee and food was wafting through the house, he began to hear sounds of life from upstairs. This was the first year since James could walk that the eldest child of the family had not been up early Christmas morning, waking everyone else before dawn. Lisa and Megan made it downstairs first, just as Harry was putting the food on the table.
"Merry Christmas!" he told them cheerfully, giving them each a hug. "Sit down and get some food before James and Stewart get here, or you'll probably have to wait for the next batch." The girls both laughed, but filled their plates, knowing he was only half-joking at the boy's ability to devour nearly anything that was edible.
Ginny, Carolyn, and Lily made it down next, but the three boys were only seconds behind them, and soon the bowls and platters were empty, until the second wave of food arrived. When they had all eaten, Harry sent them all into the sitting room, and when they were gone, motioned with a hand, and in seconds, everything was cleaned and put away neatly.
He smiled to himself, and idly wondered how many other Witches and Wizards were able to do magic without their wands. He knew animagus didn't need their wands to change forms, and Tonks hadn't needed hers to change her appearance, but he never saw anyone else do any other magic without their wands. He tried to always remember to pull his wand out around others when he was doing magic, but he didn't really need to anymore, except for the really hard stuff. He went into the sitting room after filling his coffee cup again.
When he sat down, Lily climbed up in his lap, and Ginny handed out presents, sitting on the floor with the boys as they all tore through paper and ribbons to find out what special presents they'd received. Lisa and Megan had gotten each other gifts that they exchanged, and Harry and Ginny had several presents for each of them, and for Carolyn and Stewart. With all of their kids Christmas wishes granted, they all had a relaxing morning, playing with toys and resting up for the whirlwind that surrounded the fun and excitement of this afternoon's Christmas party at the Residence.
They got to the Residence shortly after lunch, and the kids soon scattered to find friends, talk about their Christmas so far, and have an afternoon of play until it was time for the presents to be opened before the dinner. Harry and Ginny moved between the dining hall, lounges, and Common Rooms, spending time with the children, joining in their games, catching part of a show or movie on WWVN, goofing off with the small groups of teens, and sometimes having a few quiet moments for a one-on-one with a few of the children that needed someone to listen, and offer them a few kind words.
Teddy got there mid-way through the afternoon, and he and Stewart were quickly reunited, and busy catching up on what they'd each been doing all week. Bill, Fleur, and Victoire stopped in on their way back from a weekend in France with the Delacours, and Victoire went looking for some of her friends, and very likely for Teddy too, since she hadn't seen him in a week.
Susan called everyone to the dining hall when it was time for presents, and when the kids were ready, the fantastic kaleidoscope of coloured boxes and packages did their magical dance as they found the children to whom they belonged, amusing and dazzling the child in each of them. The smiles and happy faces were what all of the grown-ups liked the best about being here for Christmas, and the children did not disappoint them. There were excited exclamations, and laughter, and happy voices in every corner of the hall. When they had finished, the room was quickly cleaned, and they sat down for dinner.
There was an evening of live holiday entertainment that Susan had helped put together for everyone after the meal. While the dishes were being cleared away, some of the tables were moved, and a WizardKaraoke system was set up at the front of the dining hall.
What followed was an entertaining two hours of music with some skits inspired by what the kids had done at the closing banquet at Marauders Paradise. There were groups of kids that sang Christmas songs like the Twelve Gifts at Christmas, and Grandma got run over by a Thestral (flying home from our house Christmas Eve).
The skits each had a Christmas theme, one done by some of the Hogwarts students that was an amusing version of A Christmas Carol with one of the kids playing Mister Filch from the school in the lead role. The show ended with the an encore of the Twelve Gifts at Christmas, with everyone singing along, and then Harry and Ginny said their goodnights, gathered Teddy, James, Al, and Lily, and headed for the Cottage.
Teddy was sitting on his bed at the Cottage later that night, and pulled a small gift out of his pocket. Victoire had asked to talk to him alone for a moment earlier, and had given him the little gift, and told him it was to thank him for being so nice when she was having a hard time with the kids at school. She had asked him to wait until later to open it, kissed his cheek quickly, and then left him standing there a little dazed.
It was later now, so he opened the present to find a gold chain with a small golden snitch pendant that looked exactly like the one Uncle Harry wore. He smiled, and put it around his neck, and tucked it under his nightshirt. He wasn't sure why, but he thought that the necklace was the best present he got for Christmas this year. That was just one more question to think about, since he'd been wondering why, when he'd seen her today, that he'd realized that he had actually missed Victoire quite a lot over the last week while he'd been away with his grandmother.
Ginny was in the kitchen with Harry making breakfast the next morning when Teddy came downstairs. She smiled to herself when she saw the glint of a gold chain peeking out from under the open collar of his shirt. Apparently he'd opened his present from Victoire after he'd gone to bed last night. Ginny had helped her pick it out, and Victoire thought that it was a great idea to get him one just like Uncle Harry wore.
She had also suggested what to tell Teddy when Victoire gave him the gift, but both girls knew that Victoire had wanted to give him something special because she loved him. Looking at her husband, she thought - been there, done that. She walked over and gave Teddy a hug and a kiss, wishing him a good morning, then went upstairs to get Lily up and ready for the day while Harry finished up making breakfast. When she'd left, Teddy walked over beside him.
"Uncle Harry," he said, a bit nervously, "Victoire gave me a Christmas present last night to thank me for helping her at school, but I hadn't thought about getting her anything for Christmas. Do you think you and I could pick up something for her today, or would it be too late?"
Harry smiled at him. "I don't think there's such a thing as too late for giving any girl a present, Teddy, and you can always just tell her it's a present to thank her back. We can go out after breakfast and see what we can come up with for her if you'd like." Teddy gave him a hug.
"Thank-you," he said happily, relieved that talking about this hadn't been as weird as he'd been worried it would be.
He let Harry go when he heard James and Al coming down the stairs, and went to sit down at the table. Harry served up breakfast just as Ginny and Lily joined the gang, and they talked about what they wanted to do for the day. They decided to spend the day in London, with Ginny, James, Al, and Lily making a side trip to visit Diane and the kids to see how their Christmas went, while Harry and Teddy went to take care of something else they had to do. They agreed to meet at 'their' mall in London in time to have lunch together at the food court.
Harry took Teddy to the same jewellery store where he and Victoire had gotten the earrings for Gabrielle, and Teddy picked out a blue diamond solitaire pendant that Harry had pointed out as 'matching her eyes'. Teddy didn't know anything about jewellery, so it never occurred to him to check the price. He likely would have been shocked at just how nice a gift he was getting Victoire. Teddy wandered the store while Harry paid for the necklace and had the salesperson wrap it for them. He handed it to Teddy as they left the store.
"We've still got an hour before we meet Ginny and the kids. Why don't we check out that Muggle video game store?" he suggested. "It's nothing like the GameWizards, but some of them are kinda funny." Teddy agreed, and they headed for the other end of the mall.
When they met the others for lunch, Ginny told them about their visit with Diane. She and the kids had their best Christmas since before they'd lost her husband, and she again told Ginny to thank Harry and the Phoenix Foundation too. When they were done lunch, they wandered the mall, picking up a few after Christmas bargains, and then headed back to the Cottage.
Ginny had sent a QuillMessage to Fleur, inviting Victoire over for dinner with them if she wasn't busy, and got a yes to the invite, so when Harry started dinner, she apparated over to pick Victoire up, and they decided to make it an overnight stay. Ginny would be going to work in the morning, so after dinner, they played with the kids for a while, then she and Harry took James, Albus, and Lily upstairs to get ready for bed and have their bedtime story.
That couldn't have been planned better if Teddy had done it himself, he'd thought. Victoire had been sitting on the sofa with Ginny and Lily, so when they'd gone upstairs, Teddy had gone over and sat beside her. He smiled at Victoire, and was a bit startled at how her smiling back at him made him feel when it was just the two of them sitting there, close together, and alone. He pulled the gift they'd picked up for her out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"I really like the necklace you got me, Victoire," he told her. "It's the best present I got this year, and I wanted to get you something to say thank-you back." He watched as Victoire unwrapped, and then opened the box. Her eyes widened, and when she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. Teddy didn't know what to think.
"Don't cry, Victoire," he said hurriedly. "If you don't like it, I can get you something else."
She laughed, and gave him a hug. "I'm crying because it's so beautiful, and I love it," she told him quietly. "Thank-you, Teddy. It's the best present I got this year too."
Teddy hugged her back, and he wouldn't have minded hugging her a little longer, but he heard the stampede that announced James was on his way downstairs - probably to get Teddy to come up and tuck him in for the night. He let go of her and stood up quickly.
"I'll cut him off at the pass, and come back down in a few minutes," he said quietly, and Victoire nodded, wiping her eyes, and giving him that brilliant smile that he suddenly realized he really loved to see. He caught James just before he reached the sitting room, and picked him up in the air.
"Look what I found!" he said loudly. "An escaped bedbug! Nice try, but there's no way out for you." James was laughing as Teddy ran him back up the stairs.
Victoire was using some tissues to wipe her eyes when Aunt Ginny came into the room. Victoire showed her the necklace.
"Could you help me put it on, Aunt Ginny?" she asked, holding the necklace out to her. Ginny nodded, and Victoire held her hair out of the way while Ginny fastened the necklace for her, then they both got up, and Victoire looked at it in the mirror.
"It's the same colour of stone as those earrings Aunt Gabrielle tells me that Uncle Harry and I got for her." Ginny gave her a hug from behind as she looked over her shoulder in the mirror and smiled.
"It looks great on you, sweetie. You might want to save Teddy some kidding from the guys though, and when someone asks, just tell them it was a Christmas present, and leave it at that. You both know who it's from, and that's all that's really important."
Victoire turned around and hugged her back. "Thanks, Aunt Ginny."
They were sitting down again by the time Harry and Teddy made it downstairs from getting James settled back down. Harry and Ginny only stayed up for a little while longer, and then they headed off to bed.
"I have to work in the morning, and Harry's going to be running around after the kids, but you two can stay up and watch something on WWVN or play something on the GameWizard if you want," Ginny told them, giving them each a kiss goodnight.
Harry gave Victoire a hug, and put a hand on Teddy's shoulder in silent communication, then took Ginny's hand and followed her upstairs. Teddy and Victoire decided to watch a show that was on the WWVN, and sat on one of the sofas together. When the show had been on for a little while, he tentatively reached out his hand to hold hers, and her hand was warm and soft as she squeezed his hand, lacing her smaller fingers with his. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he could smell the flowery scent of her hair.
They sat together like that through a couple of shows, and until they were both tired and ready to go get some sleep. Teddy turned off the WWVN, and helped Victoire to her feet. When she was standing, they were facing each other, and when he looked into those amazing blue eyes, he couldn't resist putting his arms around her waist and hugging her close. His stomach flipped a couple of times as she hugged him back.
"This was one of the really good days," he told her in a whisper. "Thanks to you." He was pretty sure Victoire was smiling as she held him for a while longer, then, holding hands, they went upstairs, and to their bedrooms.
Teddy spent another day with them before going back to Hogwarts with Andromeda. Harry took him, Stewart, Lisa, Megan, and Victoire to Diagon Alley to get any school supplies they needed for when they started classes again next week. When they were finished, he dropped three teens off at the Residence, one at Hogwarts, and then he and Victoire headed back to the Cottage to relieve Winky and Kreacher of kid patrol, where they stayed and played with James, Al, and Lily until Fleur picked Victoire up after she was done work.
The rest of that last week of the year was pretty quiet. Ginny found a job for Diane in Hogsmeade, working at the FashionKnut store. While she worked all week at the lab, Harry and the kids spent their time with Victoire, at the Residence, or just hanging out at the Cottage. They went to the Residence's New Year's Eve party, and then saw Lisa, Megan, Stewart, and Victoire back off to school on January first. With the kids back at school, they were all looking forward to finding out what adventures another New Year would bring.