Disclaimer: I am not Suzanne Collins, and I'm not J.K. Rowling, therefore the Hunger Games Trilogy and Harry Potter do not belong to me.
Chapter 2
Early the next morning, Harry and Katniss snuck out of their house. They had sent Gale to Harry's house the night before to 'check on the leak in the roof'. That had become code for 'go tell Dylan and Rue whatever I said'. Gale had come back an hour later, claiming that the leak had gotten worse. He joked that it was because the house missed its owner and needed an excuse for Harry to go back to it. Harry's response to that remark was very mature. He stuck his tongue out.
The couple remained silent as they made their way to Harry's house. They felt no need to speak, because they knew exactly what the other was thinking and feeling. The first thing Harry did when they reached the home was place silencing charms around it. He would add the muggle repelling charm when the whole family was there so he could key them into the ward. He had made a mistake with that ward before, and he really didn't want a repeat.
The second he had finished, Katniss burst through the door, sprinting to where she knew the two would be. They were more than just family. Harry didn't know this, but she considered them her babies. She had taken care of them just like a mother would, and when she thought of them, she felt the same way her mother did when she thought of Katniss and Prim.
Rue had heard the couple walk in (more like barge in), and came running out of her room, wearing one of the dresses Harry had gotten for Prim. The two girls collided in the hallway, laughing, hugging and crying all at once.
"I'll never understand women," Harry told Dylan, before pulling the younger boy into a hug. Dylan hugged back, still amazed that Harry really cared about him. Dylan and Rue were much like Katniss in the sense of how they felt about Harry and Katniss. Rue had woken from one of the best dreams of her life, terrified, because she had dreamt that Harry and Katniss were her parents. The poor girl felt as though she was betraying her real parents by dreaming such a thing until Dylan told her that he'd been having similar dreams. The two had been too scared to tell Gale about their dreams, because they knew that he told the couple about what they told him. They were worried about how Harry and Katniss would react.
Harry and Dylan ended up on the floor too, seeing as how Katniss and Rue tackled their legs, making them fall. The girls were lucky that the boys could more or less control where they fell so that their attackers wouldn't get squished.
Harry immediately drew Rue into a hug, holding her as close as possible. He had more or less the same feelings for the children as Katniss did, but he had never given it much thought because there were always other things on his mind.
"I missed you daddy," Rue said, caught up in the moment. Everyone froze. Rue was terrified. The shocked look on Harry's face had brought her back to reality, realizing what she had just said. She was about to take the statement back and hide her face in shame when Harry pulled her closer.
"I missed you too baby." He whispered into her curly brown hair. Harry had never had a parent to look up too, but he somehow knew what a father's love for his child, or children was like. Harry pulled Dylan into a hug as well, holding both of his children close. Katniss wrapped her arms around her family as well, hugging her new family close.
"Does this mean we can come live with you guys now?" Dylan asked timidly, as if afraid the answer would be a definite no.
"We'll be living here for the time being. Once the new, bigger house has been built and all of the reporters are gone, we'll move out, but for now, it's not safe for you two to leave here." Harry said.
"What about the others?" Rue asked.
"Your aunts and uncles will be staying with us in the house in victor's village with us once it's been built, but it's their decision whether they want to stay next to Haymitch for the week, or if they want to come back to their old houses for the week." Katniss said. The family hadn't discussed the situation yet, and to be honest, they couldn't without reporters hearing what they were saying and doing a segment on it.
"We should come up with a way of asking so that it doesn't offend the Capitol." Harry said. He had an idea, but he wanted to know if Rue and Dylan could think of one. They needed to be cunning and manipulative, just like their mom and dad if they wanted to survive the real world on their own someday.
"What if you decided to stay here as a way to say goodbye to the place, and convinced the rest of the family to do the same?" Rue suggested.
"Or, you could come here during the day in order to 'fix the leaky roof' and get the house ready to be sold or rented. The other families could do the same, added on to wanting to say goodbye to the homes." Dylan said, adding on to Rue's plan.
"Actually, that last plan would work. Gale's been joking about a leaky roof in front of the camera, so this would give us the perfect excuse."
"Do you still have those Capitol cosmetic kits, Harry?" Katniss asked. She didn't want her babies to be cooped up in the house the whole week. If they were anything like her, they'd go nuts. They must already be nuts after spending just over three weeks in the house.
"Of course," Harry answered, looking at his kids in thought. How should he disguise them?
"We look just like you!" Rue said excitedly, looking at her new reflection in the mirror. Dylan and Rue's hair had been dyed black, and green contacts inserted to that they could be passed off as Harry's relatives from District Four. Harry had used magic as well as cosmetics to lighten Rue's dark skin into a tan, and just cosmetics on Dylan. Harry had even given them fake scars on their hands and wrists so that they could pretend they'd been fishing their whole lives.
"That's the idea baby," Harry told his 'daughter'. There had been a real fishing boat accident in District Four, but nobody knew who was on the boat, so Harry had enlisted the help of Finnick Odair to make it look like Harry's best friend/honorary brother had been on the boat with his parents, and that the will specifically stated that his little brother and sister were to be entrusted into Harry's care. It had taken a little while for Harry to convince Finnick that Rue and Dylan were alive, but once Harry had used a portkey keyed to take him to Finnick's house, the man believed the young wizard.
Aelia and Felix Castellan [AN: I couldn't resist] would be arriving by train to District Twelve at noon. The two were being escorted by their new guardian's friend Finnick, but were too grief-stricken to leave their rooms. Harry would be taking them by portkey onto the train just before their arrival before apparating back to his house to meet them at the train station, offering his condolences.
Finnick had purchased some clothing and little trinkets, like Harry had recommended, and was being reimbursed at the station. The Victors figured it would be suspicious if two children moving to a new District in order to live with their brother's best friend without bringing the belongings that meant the most to them.
When Katniss asked Harry about the reaping, the children had nearly had panic attacks. They knew that if they had to go into the games without their 'parents' that they wouldn't last long. This prompted a trip to the bank as well as the justice building. Harry exchanged two of his gold galleons for six thousand dollars, making a very large 'donation' to the Capitol. The receptionist and Head Peacekeeper were very understanding when Harry told them the conditions behind the donation. 'Aelia', 'Felix', Rory, Vick, Posy and Prim would never have to worry about their names being in the reaping again.
By the Harry had to portkey Rue and Dylan onto the train to meet with Finnick, he was exhausted. Katniss had been cleaning up around the house, since Gale didn't seem to understand the concept, so she was almost as tired. That could be blamed on nightmares though. It could also be blamed on something else, but the Capitol knew that Harry and Katniss had no intentions in having children until they'd settled into the marriage though, so those rumors wouldn't be going too far.
"Alright kids, I want you to hold this pen, and don't let go." Harry told the children.
"Is this another portkey?" Rue asked. It was nothing like the gold coins they had used to get out of the arena.
"Yes, it is. It's going to take you to your room on the train. Finnick is 'escorting' you to the train station here in Twelve. Katniss and I will be picking you up there. Now, do you remember the backstory?" Harry asked, taking their minds off of the portkey.
"Alright, we'll see you in a few minutes." Katniss said, kissing her children on their heads.
"The portkey will be going off in three, two, one." Harry said, grabbing the pen.
Harry and his children felt the familiar tug, as well as the spinning that came with traveling by portkey. Over the years, Harry had gotten better at landing on his feet when traveling by Floo and by portkey. Rue and Dylan had only traveled by portkey once though, and if Harry hadn't caught them, they would have fallen on their faces.
"Thanks dad," Rue and Dylan said in unison. They turned and grinned at each other. Harry laughed, getting Finnick's attention.
"Hello kiddies," Finnick greeted happily. He was glad that the two of them were okay, but he was pissed at Harry for keeping so much information from him. It made the slightly older Victor feel better when Harry admitted that Haymitch and Effie weren't aware that Rue and Dylan had made it out of the arena alive.
"Holy crap they look different," Finnick muttered, circling the two teens like a vulture.
"No shit Sherlock," Harry muttered.
"Who's Sherlock?" Finnick asked, his voice showing his young age. Harry often forgot that Finnick had better hearing than Haymitch. He'd have to watch his mouth around Finnick.
"Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective from books written between the late 1800s and the early 1920's. My family's been saying that since for centuries."
"If I ever need help writing a history report, I'm going to you." Harry heard Dylan mutter.
"Now Felix, be polite to your new guardian," Rue teased.
"You're one to talk Aelia." Dylan retorted, sending the group into a fit of laughter.
"Alright kids, I'll see you at the station," Harry said, having gotten control over his laughter. He activated the portkey once again, and dizzily made his way back to his house.
Katniss greeted him with a kiss seconds after he touched down, asking him why he was out of breath.
"The kids were joking around," He told her, before repeating the conversation. It wasn't nearly as funny as the first time though.
At eleven forty, the couple made their way to the train station. Harry had his usual style of attire on, with a dark green button-down shirt, blue jeans and black converse on his feet. Katniss was wearing the outfit Rue had picked out for her, a black and pink sundress with a pair of pink converse on her feet.
The couple knew that there were cameras around, since the demand for footage of the star-crossed lovers hadn't gone down. Harry made sure to look sad, and Katniss did her best to comfort him. The urge not to hug their children as they got off the train with Finnick was almost unbearable, but they knew that it would blow their cover if they did. Rue however played the 'depressed little girl' card, launching herself into Harry's arm, babbling almost incoherently about how much she was going to miss her parents and brother. Harry let the camera get some footage of him with watery eyes, comforting Felix and Aelia. The Capitol would eat it up and he knew it. Katniss caught on to what he was doing and joined in; comforting the children as if she had known them their whole lives. Felix was able to hold himself together in front of the camera, but accepted Katniss's hug.
Finnick followed the new family to Victor's village, where Haymitch had invited him to dinner. He, Harry, Gale and 'Felix' intended to spend the day out in Twelve, getting to know each other, the locals and their way around the District.
The reporters wanted to get an interview with Harry and Katniss's new wards, but Harry refused to allow that, stating that the children needed time to get over the loss of their family before they could be interviewed. The reporters saw the truth in Harry's statement, but they were unrelenting. After about twenty minutes, Harry had full out kicked them off his temporary property and told them that if they set one foot, or sent a single camera, microphone or any other device onto any of his family's property, he would request a restraining order from President Snow himself. Harry introduced the newcomers to the family, who welcomed them in instantly. All in all, it had been an extremely productive day, so the group decided that they'd take the rest of the day off, getting to know the newest members of the family, as well as the newly appointed 'Uncle Finnick'.
Author's note: Hey everyone. I posted my Fem!Luke/Percy story, so be sure to check it out. It's called 'The Titan's Promise'. Read and Review!
AN #2: Hey guys. I've had some people ask about why I'm making Rue and Dylan the 'children' of Katniss and Harry. I promise that I will explain this in later chapters, I just haven't gotten that far yet.