Disclaimer: tail end of the Sorting Hat's song is directly quoted and not mine!

Back to School

Ron and Hermione had been named the new Gryffindor prefects for this year. Mrs. Weasley had been proud of her youngest son, they had celebrated the news with an informal dinner. The mother of seven and now grandmother of four had taken it upon herself to do the back to school shopping as Harry would have needed a guard and six young babies would have been a lot of work on the streets of Diagon Alley. The morning of the first of September dawned and Harry found himself almost wishing the summer could continue. He had enjoyed spending time with Sirius and watching his Godfather bond with Suzette.

The house was a buzz with noise, the yelling of both Mrs. Weasley and the portrait of Mrs. Black. As the twins had caused Ginny to take a tumble down the stairs. The result had been a lot of yelling, yelling that had of course caused the youngest visitors to start crying, adding the wailing of six infants to the noise already echoing around the halls of number twelve Grimmauld Place.

"Hush now Suzi, you're okay" Harry said, trying to calm his screaming daughters "Your Uncles didn't mean to make such a racket" he told her.

The tiny red headed baby girl was leaning against his chest,he pat her on the back and kissed her on top her shock of red hair. The teen bounded his daughter in a soothing motion, doing his best to calm her. It didn't take long for the baby to soon calm in her father's comforting arms.

"There you are, see no need for tears" he assured his baby girl.

"Come on Harry, we've got to go now or we're going to be late" Hermione called to him, she too had managed to calm her daughters.

Suzette was dressed in a comfortable purple t-shirt with a silvery unicorn printed on the front. A white singlet suit underneat the top and matching plain purple pants. On her feet she wore a pair of white cotton socks with a frilly satin trim around the top. She was laying safely in the soft material sling that Harry used to carry his daughter around. It was made from a soft and stretchy black material. The sling sat easily over his sholder like a satchel. Ron's triplets were dressed in matching red singlet suits with a golden lion embroided on the front in true Gryffindor fasion. Elani and Iona were bothed dressed in little pale pink singlet suits, Iona's with a butterfly on the front and Elani's with a love heart.

…...

As they said goodbye on the platform just before eleven am that cloudy Friday morning. Harry took a few moments to kneel in front his Godfather who was in dog form. He had taken his daughter from her sling and into his arms, Harry held her out for Sirius to sniff. The large black head nuzzeled the tiny infant in farewell before allow her and her father to move quickly to board the train before it left promptly at eleven in the morning.

Hermione had nursed her daughters before she got on the train and had handed them to Ginny, the younger girl had agreed to watch them while the brunet was in the prefects compartment. Harry was holding Kenzie along with Suzette. Fred and George each took one of the younger identical girls. The seventh year boys helped Harry and Ginny to a compartment in the far carriage of the Hogwarts Express. Neville joined them in the carriage along with an odd looking Ravenclaw girl Ginny had introduced to them as Luna Lovegood, although people often refered to her as Loony Lovegood.

The babies were lain out on the same comfortable blanket the had been the other day at Head Quarters. Harry and Neville were currently sitting on corners of the blankets, supervising the seven babies as they enjoyed some tummy time. Luna read her magazine and occasionally glanced at the babies. Hermione and Ron joined them a little over an hour later and reported on the other new fifth year prefects, Harry was not surprised to hear the Draco Malfoy was one for Slytherin. Luna made her presence known when she started to laugh hysterically at a comment Ron made about Goyle looking like a 'baboon's backside'.

A few hours in to the ride Hermione had sat herself down, popped her crescent shaped pillow under her breasts and positioned her daughters head to head, on on each breast and began to nurse them. By now Harry, Ron and Ginny were use to this, Neville blushed slightly and adverted his eyes but Luna watched the nursing mother with wide eyed curiosity.

"Does that hurt?" she asked, not rudely but clearly curious.

Hermione thought about it for a moment "Oh, well sometimes it can a little bit, but mostly it just feel natural and comforting" she replied.

"That's nice" Luna said before she returned to her reading.

The train ride went rather smoothly for the most part. Ron and Hermione popped in and out as they spent the required time patrolling the train and keeping an eye on the other student. Harry was able to see his son for the first time since the end of the last school year when Draco Malfoy had come into their compartment to gloat at Harry and let him know with his snide comment that he had seen Sirius and the platform. Evander looked healthy and content in his father's arms. Had been dressed in a green one piece with a silver snake on the front and matching silver booties.

As they pulled into the Hogsmeade station Harry felt at home once more, Ginny and Luna offered to carry Crockshanks's basket and both the owl cages as the parents had their hands full with the babies. Ron was carry two of his triplets, Callum and Kenzie while Harry carried his and Ron's daughter Suzette and her big brother Quinn, Ron's third triplet. Hermione had both her daughters safely in their slings. Frankie looked very happy in Neville's now practiced arms.

…...

"Oh, know the perils, read the signs, the warning history shows, for our Hogwarts is in danger
from external, deadly foes And we must unite inside her or we'll crumble from within I have told you, I have warned you... let the Sorting now begin"

As the Sorting Hat ended his song, Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, the hat's warning ringing clear and true for them. They were all in danger now and it was prudent that they work together to get through these troubled times.

Professor McGonagall stood and began to call the students names "Abercrombie, Euan" she called first. The boy promptly became the newest Gryffindor.

"Addis, Olivia" came second and was the first Ravenclaw student sorted that year.

"Ashdown, Salome" became the next new Gryffindor.

The spikey haired, blond boy was sorted after her also a new Ravenclaw was called "Buckley, Jack"

The sorting went on as it usually did, spanding over several minutes as many student joined their new houses, one of them being Blaise's paternal cousin " Zabini, Kendale" also a Slytherin before finally ending the Hufflepuff's newest student.

"Zeller, Rose".

The sorting ended and the speeches began, their new Defence againt the Dark Arts teacher, the toad like Ministry woman from Harry's trial that year, Professor Dolores Umbridge. The woman had an awful little throat clearing "hem hem" and had used it to interupt the Headmaster's speech and to do her own. Once the speech was done Hermione clarified for Harry and Ron who had been unable to follow completely that the Ministry was now interfering at Hogwarts.

The rest of dinner passed uneventfully, the parents of the Hogwarts babies were stared at and asked questions. The had been informed in their school letters that they were to meet Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital wing the next morning as she would give each of the babies a check up and inform the new parents about the planned childcare for the school year to help them while they were in classes.

But for now it was time to feed,bathe and change babies before putting them to bed and getting some rest themselves, for classes would start that coming Monday, just two days away.

A/N: It's not a bad chapter I hope, back at school means it can get interesting again =) the next chapter will pick up the next day, show the dorms now set up for babies and the childcare sitiuation plus that surprise for Sev. Classes start the chapter after that. Please review or I might feel I should start holding chapters hostage!