Chapter 56

Harry woke the next morning before the sun was up to a whimpering noise coming from his bedside table. He rolled over and stared at the strange globe for a moment before it registered in his mind that the whimpering was getting louder and more desperate. Then it clicked that the whimpering was coming from Teddy in the room next to him and he jumped up and threw on his dressing gown before heading through the newly added door next to his closet that led into the nursery.

"Hey there, Bug, don't cry, Harry's here," he murmured softly so as to not startle the tot even more. He picked him up and rocked him while he called for Kreacher.

"Kreacher, I need a bottle warmed. You know how right?" he asked the elf sleepily.

"Kreacher knows how to mix a bottle for young Master Teddy. Kreacher will be one moment, Master," said the elf before popping out almost silently. While he waited he sat in the new rocker and slowly moved back and forth. Remus and Tonks were asleep so Harry focused his attention on the child in his arms, who currently had violent green hair and was back to whimpering hungrily.

"It's okay Bug. Your tummy will be filled soon, just a few more minutes," Harry said before yawning. Kreacher popped in a moment later and handed the bottle to Harry, then bowed before stifling a yawn and disappearing again. Harry chuckled.

"He's an old little elf, but he's okay now. Here you go bug, enjoy," he said before testing the temp on the inside of his wrist like Andromeda had taught him.

While Teddy hungrily suckled the bottle Harry hummed the song he'd heard his mother sing to him in her memory and rocked back and forth. Eventually, he noticed Teddy had stopped drinking and was sound asleep again, occasionally gumming the nipple of the bottle in his sleep, drool pooling under his chin. Harry smiled down at the baby before lifting the bottle out of his mouth and carefully placing the baby over his shoulder and patting his back. Once he heard the tiny burp and sigh, he chuckled before resting the infant back in the crook of his arm and continuing the rocking and humming.

Harry thought about what he'd learned only a few hours before. His parents wanted more kids, wanted to do just what Harry was doing at that moment. He wondered to himself about how many kids they'd have and whether they would have more girls than boys or vice versa. Then he wondered what it would be like to have siblings with such an age gap between them. Would they consider him their brother, or more like a cool uncle or godfather type?

No matter how Harry thought about it, any sibling his parents had wouldn't really feel like a true brother or sister because such an age gap created a distance that was hard to get past. He wondered how Bill Weasley handled the age difference between him and Ginny. Their gap was only eleven years, and any sibling he had would be more than eighteen years, but it was still plausible.

He gazed at the sleeping babe and wondered if this was what having kids of his own would feel like. Teddy's hair had faded to a dark brown as he'd fallen asleep staring at Harry, so Harry found it easy to imagine his own child, black hair and brown eyes that matched Ginny's. With a start he saw himself carrying a baby seat into a refurbished Godric's Hallow following Ginny who was holding the hands of two little kids. In the background he could see his father holding a bundle of his own while a couple older kids ran up to greet Ginny and the two little kids she was with. Harry realized that if he and Ginny had kids around the same time as his parents, his brothers and sisters would be aunts and uncles to people the same age as them.

Harry yawned again and decided to place Teddy back in his cot and return to sleep. He'd only gotten a couple hours since he'd actually gone to bed, and the lack of sleep was obviously affecting his thought process. After checking Teddy's nappy, which was still dry, he laid him down and tapped the Phoenix music box with his finger and went back to his own room and fell asleep immediately.

A few hours later, just as the sun was turning the world grey outside, Harry woke again to sounds in the nursery. He sighed before getting up and padding across the room and opening the door. Inside he found Lily leaning over the cot, a smile on her face, murmuring to Teddy quietly.

"Mum? What are you doing up?" he asked. She stood up straight and turned around with a smile.

"I got up to use the loo and heard the little guy cooing to himself. I figured I could feed and change him and not wake you, let you sleep a bit longer, but I guess I was wrong. Did I bother you?" she asked.

"No, I have a monitor globe in my room that starts to glow and make noises when the baby wakes up. As he gets fussier it gets brighter and louder and I saw it was glowing but barely any noise was there, so I figured I'd check on him. You can go back to bed if you want, I've already been up with him once tonight, and I don't mind it again," he said.

She smiled and replied, "I'll sit with you while you take care of him, okay?" He smiled back and picked Teddy up.

"Phew, nappy time for sure, little man," he said with a grunt. Lily laughed a snort-like giggle as she elongated the rocker so it would fit all three of them. Once Harry was done changing the soiled nappy, he called Kreacher again for a bottle and the elf, who'd felt his Master and Teddy wake, had already prepared the milk. Harry sat down next to his mum and they both rocked the seat while Harry fed the baby again. After sitting in silence for a little while Lily began to sing.

Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles await you when you rise.
Sleep, pretty baby,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

Cares you know not,
Therefore you sleep,
While over you a watch I'll keep.
Sleep, pretty darling,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.

Harry felt his head droop and land on his mother's shoulder. He rested there, his grip on Teddy still strong as his mother continued the lullaby.

Harry woke to voices muttering outside the room. His neck was arched in an awkward position and he knew he wasn't in a bed, but he felt warm and comfortable and didn't want to open his eyes. He felt the warm, weight of Teddy in his arms still cuddled to his chest and was momentarily worried that it was irresponsible for falling asleep while holding a baby, but he knew that even though he'd been asleep, he'd never have dropped the child.

There was a sudden flash of light and he made a slight jerk which caused someone's head to fall from his shoulder. That was when he remembered waking to find his mum in the nursery and rocking Teddy to sleep while she sang a lullaby.

He groggily opened his eyes to see Hermione and Ginny huddled near the cot holding a camera and smiling tearfully at him. He looked to his right as saw it was his mum's shoulder he'd been using as a pillow, and her head had been resting on his. They both had woken to the flash and blearily looked around them.

"That had to have been the cutest thing I've ever seen…ever," Hermione whispered to Ginny.

"Did you actually take a picture of us sleeping?" Harry asked testily.

"Uh, yeah, but it was just too adorable to pass up," Ginny said.

"I want a copy," Lily said as she stood and stretched.

Ginny smiled and said, "Of course."

"Okay, well I'm going to go to my bed and sleep a little while longer. Harry, have fun at your prank planning party later. Good morning girls," she said as she walked about the room.

"I guess you girls came to get me up for George's?" Harry said as he placed the sleeping baby in the cot.

"Yeah, Ginny and I decided to make sure everyone was up and gone before the Old Farts wake up. Hermione pranked them yesterday after she and Ron got back from the movies. Are you going to bring Teddy with you to George's?" asked Ginny.

"We told the guys we'd pick up pastries on our way, so you should get ready. We can get Teddy ready for you," said Hermione.

"Uh…wait, you pranked the other team? With what?" Harry asked with confusion.

"I'll explain it at George's. Go get ready, we have a lot of planning to do today," she said as she pushed him into his room and shut the door behind him. She turned to Ginny and rolled her eyes and the two giggled quietly as they packed a day bag of nappies, formula and bottles. Then Hermione slowly lifted Teddy out of the cot and dressed him in an adorable jumper and sweat pants. Ginny giggled at Hermione's attempt to carefully put socks on the infant without waking him, while Teddy grunted and kicked his foot out every time Hermione tried touching the bottom of his feet.

"I think his feet are ticklish," Ginny giggled. Hermione was chuckling so hard she was bent at the waist holding her hands to her mouth to keep noise from escaping. "Let me try," Ginny said. Hermione passed of the tiny socks and Ginny tried as well, to no avail.

"You need to grip his ankle with one hand. Here let me," Harry said from the door way. In seconds Harry had both socks on the baby's feet, and Teddy continued to sleep.

"You're really good at that, Harry," Hermione said with a smile.

"Well, when Andromeda makes you dress and undress a squalling infant five times an hour, plus times you when you change the nappies, you get pretty good at it," he said as he picked Teddy up and wrapped him in a snug blanket. "Let's go," he said. The three of them trudged down the stairs and out the door, Ginny and Hermione Apparating to Diagon Alley, while Harry used the Multi-Portkey using the Diagon Alley keyword. They stopped at a Bakery across from the Apothecary and ordered a dozen variety pastries. As soon as they had them in hand they continued on to number ninety-three, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Ginny let them in using her shop key, and as they entered the flat upstairs they found Ron asleep on the couch and George nowhere to be found. Hermione rolled her eyes and went to wake Ron, while Ginny brought the pastries to the kitchen where she promptly burst into silent laughter and beckoned for Harry and Hermione to come look.

There in the middle of the kitchen they found George, clad only in a pair of lurid pink, purple, and green plaid boxers and lime green bunny slippers, standing and leaning against the cupboard holding a tea cup in one hand and the other hand on a pot of cold tea, dead asleep.

The three sniggered to themselves and Hermione whipped out a camera from her purse and snapped a few pictures of the scene. When she was satisfied she hid the camera and let Ginny wake George. She placed her hand on his shoulder and he jolted upright and spun, flinging cold tea across the room and covering Ginny head to toe while he shouted, "Muto ut Puniceus!"

Ginny's skin was suddenly changed to bright, electric purple. Harry burst out laughing which drew Ron and Hermione to the kitchen door. Hermione's camera resurfaced and she snapped several more pictures while George stood blinking in bewilderment.

"George Weasley! Change my skin back this instant!" Ginny shouted. "And dry me off!" Harry pulled out his wand and siphoned off the cold tea while George blinked at his sister.

"What…Ginny why are you purple?" he asked. "And why am I standing in my kitchen in my knickers when you're all here?"

"George, I woke you up when I dropped Ron off here before I went to get Hermione and Harry. You obviously were up really late last night and you fell asleep standing in your kitchen making tea. When I tapped your shoulder to wake you up, you dumped your cold tea on me, and then shouted a spell that turned me purple. Now…change me back or else," she finished in a malevolent tone of voice. Even George, as groggy as he was, knew that tone and quickly changed her back to her normal skin tone.

"Er…I guess I'll go get dressed?" he muttered as he slid past Ginny and out of the kitchen.

Several minutes later the five of them were enjoying the pastries and fresh tea sitting around the mismatched living room.

"So, Hermione, what exactly did you do to the adults last night?" asked Harry. George snickered and Hermione smiled an evil smile.

"Well, I happened across a nifty spell while researching the ones you asked for. It gives a substance the property of changing the colour of whatever touches it without affecting the spelled substance in any way. For example, when the spell is put on some skin lotion, the lotion will change the colour of your skin when you apply it but will look like regular lotion. George and I tweaked it a little and put it on the tubes of toothpaste in everyone's loos. I showed the mums and Fleur last night how to negate the spells on the toothpaste before using it this morning. It should make the other team's teeth turn a moss green for several hours," she finished. The others all roared with laughter.

"Best part! We charmed the mirrors to capture an image and turn it into a Wizard's picture for us so we get to see their reactions after they spit and look in the mirror to find mossy teeth!" George howled. Harry and Ron were beet red and gasping for breath while the girls were only slightly more composed.

"Oh Hermione, that's brilliant! Daughter of dentists, pranking the other team's teeth," Harry chuckled.

After they all calmed down a bit Hermione whipped out a notebook and went into lecture mode.

"Okay, I made a list for us all containing the charms and spells for the big prank. I also made a timeline of what needs to happen when, and by whom," she said as she handed them all a piece of paper. "These are charmed with an altered For-your-Eyes-Only spell so only we five can read them. Otherwise, they just look like blank parchment. You need to finish your tasks by the time allotted or it could all fall apart."

They all spent a few minutes reading their paper. When they all finally looked up Hermione asked, "Any questions?"

"Um," began Ron. "Are we going to go over the spells here, in case we need help with them?"

"If you need help yes, I can help you. The spells are a bit obscure, but not too difficult I believe," she replied. They all spent the next several minutes practicing the proper enunciation and pronunciation of the incantations.

"Do we all have our parts down? Okay. Let's go," she said. They all shared wicked grins before heading out the door. Harry loaned his Invisibility Cloak to George and they, plus Hermione went back to Grimmauld Place while Ron and Ginny returned to the Burrow.

~Grimmauld Place~

Harry waited for Hermione and George to make it to the first floor before he wandered down to the kitchen. He could hear talking and found his parents and Sirius having a lazy breakfast.

"Harry, I thought you and your friends were having a planning session this morning," Lily said.

"Harry, would you happen to know who might have tampered with our toothpaste last night?" asked Sirius from behind a large mug. Harry grinned.

"Your toothpaste? Nope, no clue. What did it do?" he asked innocently.

"Knock it off, Harry. We already checked the scoreboard and saw that your team has chalked up another point, so tell us now, who tampered with my amazing smile and how long is it going to last?" asked Sirius, still hiding his mouth from sight.

James had yet to open his mouth, but his expression was intense. Harry felt like he'd cracked a few ribs holding in his laughter.

"I've no clue. Mum to answer your question we came to a dead end in our planning, so Hermione went to the Burrow for breakfast with Ron. Could you help me upstairs with Teddy? I think he's got a rash and I have no idea how to heal it," he said. He put on a slightly anxious tone and she smiled.

"Of course," she said as she stood up. The two arrived in the nursery and Harry spelled the room with anti-eavesdropping spells.

"Okay, so Teddy is fine. But I wanted to warn you not to enter the Drawing room for the next hour…in fact it would probably be best if you and Molly went out for a while and didn't come back home until, say…three-ish? Yeah, three sounds good. Okay?" he said quickly. Lily rolled her eyes.

"What exactly are you guys going to do to them?" she asked.

"Er…I'd prefer if it were a surprise for you and Molly," he said weakly. She stared him down for a couple minutes before sighing.

"Okay, I can see when I'm not going to get anything out of you. Be careful," she said with a smirk as she exited the room.

"Mum, Molly should be ready to meet you in about…ten minutes," he said.

"Strict schedule," she muttered. "I'll be ready to leave in a bit then."

Harry smiled as he sneaked into the Drawing room. Hermione and George hadn't set the spells on the door yet, so he was safe still. They quickly applied the correct spells to the door frame after Harry entered. He sent a flying message he'd learned at the Ministry down to the kitchen after waiting long enough to be sure Lily and Molly had left and then set his wand on the ground a few feet inside the door. They all chuckled as George and Hermione hid under the cloak and Harry hid behind the sofa.

They could hear James and Sirius chatting as they came up the stairs and down the hallway. As they entered the Drawing room they triggered the spells and Harry, George, and Hermione whooped loudly.

~Burrow~

Ron and Ginny arrived in the front yard of the Burrow and could see their mum collecting eggs for breakfast. As Ron ran inside and upstairs to do his part, Ginny trotted over to Molly and whispered the plan for her and Lily to meet for the day and hang out until three, when they should then go back to Grimmauld Place.

"I'll finish breakfast if you need me to since Lily will be expecting you in a little bit. You should get ready," Ginny added as the two walked towards the house.

Molly chuckled to herself and agreed to get ready for the day. Ginny watched as her mother went up the stairs before entering the kitchen where her dad was seated reading the morning edition of the Prophet.

"Morning Dad," she said gaily.

"Good morning," he said before taking a sip of his tea. A few minutes later Ron came down stairs and sat down.

Ginny cooked up some eggs and bacon for herself, Arthur, and Ron while she chatted merrily with her father about her upcoming birthday. Ron ate abnormally fast even for him.

"Slow down, son, before you choke," Arthur said with a chuckle.

When Molly came downstairs, Arthur looked up and glanced between Ginny and Molly.

"Arthur, Lily and I are going to spend the day window shopping and I'll be picking up a present for Ginny's birthday. I'll stop by Harry's house before coming back here around three," she said before picking up some Floo powder. She said goodbye and threw the Floo powder down and whisked herself to Harry's house.

"Well that was sudden," Arthur muttered. Ron wiped his mouth and excused himself from the table and retreated to the living room.

"I'll clean up in here dad," Ginny said as she picked up the plates and cups from the table. He nodded absently as he picked up the paper and headed towards the living room. Ginny watched her father leave the room then dropped a plate which shattered loudly. Arthur turned around and came back just in time to see Ginny sheepishly repair the plate. He rolled his eyes and headed back to the living room. Ginny followed him discreetly and watched as he passed through the door frame into the room.

With a pop he triggered the spells Ron had quickly applied before breakfast. He'd entered the room and waited for the cue of the broken plate before muttering the trigger word and taking a seat on the sofa to wait. As his dad entered, he schooled his expression until the audible pop, which was his cue to whoop with success. He could hear Ginny doing the same from the kitchen door.

"Right on time!" he shouted. He unspelled the doorframe and Ginny came into the room. They both turned to their father, who was now four years old.

~Grimmauld Place~

"Wow, I can't believe this is working so well," Hermione muttered to George. They were still under the cloak hiding in the corner of the Drawing Room.

"I know, this plan is so perfect," he whispered back.

They watched as Harry stood up from behind the sofa and spoke to the nearly identical four year olds standing near the door while looking around the sofa and lifting the cushions.

"James, Sirius, have you seen my wand?" he asked before looking at them. He waited for an answer and when they both simply stared at him he asked, "Are you guys okay? Did you hear me?" he asked with concern. The two looked at each other again and then back at Harry.

"Where are we?" asked James.

"Oh dear Merlin," Harry repeated the lines Hermione had scripted for him as he stared up at the ceiling. He frowned in frustration. "You two were playing with my wand again weren't you?" he asked with disappointment as he pointed to the wand lying on the ground in front of them.

"Um," Sirius said slowly and with puzzlement. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm your nanny," Harry replied with a huff. "Harry Potter. Do I need to remind you of whom you two are also?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," the boys replied timidly.

"I recognize this spell in any case. Your teeth should be back to normal in a few hours and you'll have your memories returned to you then. For now, I have an appointment to keep, so you will be coming with me and my friend George to his house and my friends will be watching you both with another child, named Arthur. Come with me," he said. George waited until the three were out of the room and pulled the Cloak off him and Hermione.

"See you in a bit Hermione," he said with a grin. He brought the Cloak with him down the stairs to the kitchen.

"There you are!" he said dramatically. "I've been looking everywhere for you guys. Harry we really must be going…now." George emphasized by glancing at his wrist, which contained no watch. James and Sirius giggled.

"Yes, well these two were playing around with my wand…again. Let's go, James with me, Sirius with George," said Harry as he took his dad's small hand. The two adults brought the four year olds through the Floo to the Burrow.

"There you guys are! James, Sirius, you can go through here; Arthur is playing with Ron in the living room. He's got some biscuits for you as well," said Ginny as she guided the kids through to the living room.

Ron comes back to the kitchen while saying behind him, "…and mind you guys don't eat all those biscuits or you'll have a stomach aches all day." He smirked when he saw Harry and George's confused looks.

"We spiked the biscuits with triple doses of sugar and then left three 4 year olds by themselves in the same room with the sugary cookies," Ginny whispered. Harry and George's mouths dropped.

"That's flipping genius!" George muttered.

"When did you have time to make them? And it's safe, right?" Harry asked.

"I got up last night around four in the morning and baked them. They're as safe as it sounds. Beside's, Bill and Percy can handle them, if anything they'll just end up with some upset stomachs and then crashing for naps around the time they're supposed to change back," Ginny said. "You guys hide, I'll check on the kids before Flooing Bill." She peeked into the living room and came back smiling.

"All the biscuits are gone," she giggled.

"That was fast," muttered Ron.

Ginny threw some powder in the fireplace before sticking her head in and calling out, "Shell Cottage!" When she could see her brother's home she took a deep breath.

"BILL! BILL, COME HERE, QUICK!" she shouted loudly before schooling her expression into one of worry and panic. She heard thundering and her oldest brother came into view.

"Ginny? What's wrong?" he asked.

"We were pranking Dad after mum left and something went wrong. We can't fix him, you need to come and help, now!" she said her panic sounded as genuine as possible and even producing some tears for the Master effect.

"Get back, I'm coming through," he said quickly. She pulled back into the burrow and gave the corner of the room a quick thumbs up before stepping back. When Bill arrived she tearfully pointed to the living room and as he passed by her she reached up and grabbed some Floo Powder.

"Dad!" Bill shouted as he ran into the living room. What he saw though were three little kids, two of which were jumping on the sofa while the third was sitting in his dad's usual chair, glaring at the two rowdy boys. Bill glanced around in confusion before turning back to the kitchen.

"Ginny?" he started before seeing her smirk. "What—"

"Dad's the red head, you can figure out the rest. Oh, mum and Lily are out for the day and soon Fleur will be too. I suggest you get Percy over here. Have fun, Bill," she said with a mischievous grin before Flooing away. Arthur came up behind Bill and saw Ginny Floo away. Bill cursed loudly.

"That's a bad word, mister," said Arthur.

Bill stared at his four year old father for a second before laughing loudly.

"Oh they are going to pay for this," he chuckled darkly. Harry, Ron and George chortled to themselves silently in the corner. "Da—er, Arthur, can you please go in the other room with the other two boys. I need to Floo call someone then I'll be right in."

"Those other boys are being naughty," Arthur complained. But he left the kitchen and returned to the living room anyway. Bill sighed.

"Merlin! Yeah, they are going down!" he muttered as he headed towards the fireplace.

He called Percy and explained the situation.

"Are you joking? Please say you're joking," Percy begged. "That's twice today they've gotten us!" he complained as he pointed to his moss green teeth. "I don't even know how they got into my flat to do this one. Let alone when!"

"My guess it was Hermione and George last night while we were all listening to Harry's fourth year story. Come on Percy, I need your help. They even got the women out of the way so we can't get help from mum or Fleur, please?" Bill asked. Percy sighed in frustration but nodded his head.

"I'll be over in a moment," he groaned.

When Bill pulled his head back into the kitchen he heard a crash from the other room. He moaned as he stood up and trotted towards the chaos.

That was the moment Harry, Ron, and George escaped outside and Apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long again. I know I promised a few of you a quick post, I'm sorry I failed you. Truth is, the last month of school or so has been insane (more insane than the first four month at least) and I've barely had time to think of anything other than school. I figured that since I have a week left of finals (YAY!) I'd post this now, since as soon as I'm finished with my last two classes (Sociology and Psychology, more ologies than I should have taken) I'll be roarin' to get back to my story and ready to post a new chapter. So...please review this chapter, it's getting me through two tough finals.

As for the last month, I got a tattoo for my birthday...It's so totally a Deathly Hallows symbol right smack dab on the top of my arm (between my wrist and elbow, not the elbow to shoulder part). I'm the biggest nerd ever aren't I? And (this is the best part) I got it and then went to the opening of DH...right on! LOL! I'll post pictures on my homepage blog and livejournal. And yes, I've gotten much crap from my family and friends for it, but I don't care. In the words of my aunt, "It's your body, and I know you love Harry Potter. It's good you have something you can be so passionate about."

Hope everyone is staying warm in the colder climates. We're about to get a foot of snow! ew...I hate snow. REVIEW PLEASE!

PS, this chapter cracked me up while writing it. I was laughing so hard thinking of what some you might say in the reviews. So make me happy and laugh! Thanks!