Chapter 14 – Life Goes On

Two months later, the Black-Potter family returned from their European tour. The trip had been a dream and Harry spared no expense in making sure his ladies had the time of their lives. They toured historic muggle and magical sites in each country, and stayed in wonderful boutique hotels and charming B&Bs. Three days into the trip, Hermione and Ginny were due for their monthly contraception potions and announced to Harry that they were stopping them. That night's passion exhausted them so much that they didn't leave the hotel until the following afternoon. When they weren't seeing the historical sites, all three witches enjoyed shopping in antique stores and street markets. They gradually picked up a number of unique furniture pieces and decorative items for their future home. Harry wasn't as happy with the shopping, but he did make sure to take care of the arrangements to get all the purchases shipped back home. Arthur and Molly were quite helpful in receiving the shipments and seeing that they were stored in the basement of Grimmauld Place temporarily. The trip was truly delightful and Harry couldn't believe his fortune. He still had decisions to make about the future, but for a couple months his primary concerns were scheduling tours during the days and exploring new ways to pleasure each of his ladies during the nights.

A week before their trip was due to end, they were in Prague and Ginny was stuck in the hotel after eating some bad fish and ending up quite sick. It was Hermione who wondered if it was actually the fish and insisted that Ginny take a pregnancy test. It turned out Hermione was correct and Harry was overjoyed that his diligent work since the wedding seemed to be paying off. The following day Hermione's period arrived and she was slightly upset, hoping that she might be pregnant along with Ginny, especially since Harry had made love to her every single night as well. Ginny quickly tried to cheer her up and insisted it was just the Prewett magic in her. After all, Molly had seven children in eleven years. Harry comforted Hermione and insisted it would happen and that he would just have to try harder.

When the time arrived for them to return home, they all had mixed feelings. The honeymoon had been amazing, but they all missed home, family and friends. They portkeyed back to Grimmauld in the evening and fell into bed, happy to be home. The following day they invited all of the Weasleys and a few friends to Grimmauld for dinner to hear about their travels.

Two days after arriving back, they decided not to wait any longer to house hunt and Harry contacted a real estate broker that Arthur recommended. With three babies on the way, he was ready to get a large place with ground outside of the city to raise his family. The house search took longer than planned, but five weeks later they finally found the perfect place. It was a hundred year old manor on the outskirts of the town of Tinworth, near a magical community. The manor sat on 15 hectares and included nine bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The master suite included a bedroom and sitting room, which they soon combined into just a bedroom with a bed that was half again larger than a standard king and required specially made linens. They made a few additional modifications, including modernizing the kitchen and setting up a large room that was supposed to be a second master as a combined nursery for all their babies. They spared no expense as the room was decorated in multiple pastel colors with a fanciful mural that wrapped around the whole room and depicted dozens of magical creatures in natural environments ranging from sea to forest. As they all stood in the finished room, Harry didn't think he could be happier. Once the nursery was complete, they focused on the rest of the house and began to unload Grimmauld's basement, as they found the perfect places to put all their purchases from the honeymoon. The large house still required more furniture and the three witches went shopping on two separate days to help find the missing pieces. Luna was on partial bed rest, but insisted that she go along so Hermione borrowed a wheelchair from a friend and Luna rode as they shopped. Two months after they returned from the honeymoon, they finished the last pieces of the move and were finally settled into their new home.

The day after the move was completed, they invited all of the family over for dinner, including Hermione's aunt, uncle and cousin. She had been to visit them since her return and given them more details about her secret life, although she didn't tell them everything about the war she had been involved in. They were quite shocked and impressed when she showed them a couple of scars, as well as her Order of Merlin medal. That more than anything was what finally caused Uncle Walt to see her in a new light. The Ministry had been informed of the security breach and had visited to place secrecy compulsion charms on them, but due to the situation, no penalties were levied on Hermione. The dinner at the new house was great fun and everyone admired the comfortable grandeur that they had created. Molly and Fleur helped Hermione and Ginny with the cooking and everyone was completely stuffed by the time the night ended.

The following morning Hermione woke up and crawled over Ginny as she exited the bed quickly and dashed for the bathroom to be sick. Her first thought was that she had eaten too much the night before, but Ginny was by her side and immediately produced a pregnancy test potion. Harry woke and showed up in the bathroom right as the potion turned purple and Ginny squealed. Still half asleep, it took Harry a moment before realization hit him and he engulfed Hermione in a hug. They called their mid-witch, who came by later in the day and confirmed that Hermione was three weeks pregnant. While she was visiting, the mid-witch did a quick check up on Ginny and Luna. Ginny was just reaching the end of her first trimester and Luna was due in a week. When she examined Luna, the mid-witch found that she was already three centimeters dilated and declared she could deliver any day. Harry was overjoyed as he looked at all three of his pregnant witches lying in bed. Just the thought of it made him start to harden and he quickly turned his thoughts elsewhere as he had a busy day planned.

Once the mid-witch left, Harry's first errand was to visit the Ministry. After they had bought the manor, Harry had hired Winky away from Hogwarts and installed her as house-elf for the Black-Potter family. The elf was thrilled to be serving such a prestigious house, but Harry realized that the elf could use some help. Hermione was still not sure about the use of house elves, but had agreed as long as they were well cared for and paid. Harry reached the Ministry and made his way to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, where he filled out an application for an additional elf. The application fee was 800 galleons and, upon placement, he would pay an additional 70 galleons a month to the Ministry for the elf, but the cost was worth it. The department could give no timeline on when a placement might be made, but when Harry mentioned that he had four babies on the way, the clerk smirked and stamped his application 'expedite'. With his business at the Ministry complete, Harry continued on with the additional errands that he had been given, including buying the watermelon that Luna had been begging for.

The following day, November 2nd, the entire family was sitting at the breakfast table when Luna dropped her fork and groaned as she clutched her stomach. Harry ran to her side and noticed a large puddle under her chair. He immediately summoned the mid-witch while Ginny and Hermione levitated Luna upstairs to their bedroom. Luna also wanted Molly to come and Ginny sent a patronus to summon her mother. Seven hours later, the first baby made his entrance with Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Molly all in attendance, along with the mid-witch. Twenty-two minutes later, his brother joined him. Both boys were just over six pounds and healthy. Luna handled the delivery in her usual easy-going manner and was nursing minutes after the second baby was born. The boys were named Xander Nicholas and Xavier Nigel, following on the four hundred year tradition of all Lovegood males carrying X names. The family was overjoyed and the entire extended Weasley clan, as well as a number of their friends, made their way through to see the boys in the first couple hours after they were born. Luna couldn't be happier. Thanks to Harry she had been rescued from Malfoy and had now seen to the continuation of the Lovegood name.

The following day, Hermione arranged a portkey trip for her parents after making a long distance call to Sydney with the news of the boys' arrival. She had made it clear to her parents that she considered the babies their grandchildren and they quickly made time to come visit. Due to her pregnancy, Harry went to accompany them on the long trip to England. Once Jean and Neil held the two tiny bundles, any reservation they had fled as they welcomed their grandsons. Hermione and Ginny were cuddled up with Luna in bed while they held the babies and it was obvious how bonded all the members of the household were. As Hermione lay in the bed, she decided it was time to make her own announcement to her parents.

"Well mum, dad, you seem quite happy with your grandsons. Thank you for being here."

"Of course dear. I know we had trouble accepting your partnerships at first, but we see how much you all love each other. And these two are simply precious."

"Well it's a good thing you like being grandparents since you've got two more grandchildren on the way."

Jean and Neil looked at Ginny and she laughed.

"Don't just look at me. The mid-witch confirmed only one in here."

Jean and Neil quickly looked over at their daughter and she smiled. Jean was out of her seat and handed the baby she was holding to Harry as she went to embrace her daughter.

"How far along dear?"

"About a month. We've got plenty of time to plan.'

Neil looked at his son-in-law and chuckled.

"Not firing any blanks I see."

Harry turned crimson as all three of his ladies burst out laughing. It was good to have both of Hermione's parents finally in complete acceptance of their family.

The Grangers spent another week visiting their family and enjoyed their time back in England. They were quite impressed by the manor and slightly jealous of the house-elves, which Jean said she could have used when Hermione was young. All too soon their week was up and they headed back to Sydney. With their first portkey trip completed with Harry, they assured him they were used to it and could travel on their own. When they arrived home, they called the mobile that Hermione had insisted on getting and assured her they had arrived safe.

Luna recovered from the delivery quickly and soon the household settled into a comfortable routine. Winky had been joined by a new house-elf named Tringy. Between them they kept the house and grounds maintained. They also both adored the babies and were more than happy to look after them if needed, although all of the Black-Potter family insisted that they were not nanny elves. Luna was more than happy to remain home with the boys and enjoyed being a housewitch. To relax, she liked to paint and Harry and converted a small den on the first floor into a studio for her. When the boys napped, she would often retreat to the solace of her painting.

With everything going well at home, the other members of the household began to think about long term goals. When Hermione expressed an interest in the Ministry, Kingsley immediately offered her a position as a junior policy assistant in his office. She enjoyed the work and began to understand the intricacies of the Ministry better. Thanks to potions from her mid-witch, her morning sickness was under control and her pregnancy was progressing smoothly. Two months after she began work at the Ministry, she was promoted from junior assistant to assistant. She quickly started to be known as more than just a war heroine and she began to work quietly on a few ideas for changes to outdated wizarding laws.

While Hermione was happy in her new job, Ginny still wasn't sure what exactly she wanted to do. Then one day Harry spotted an advertisement when he was in Diagon Alley. Quality Quidditch Supplies was for sale. He went home that night and talked to all his ladies about the shop and Ginny loved the idea. Hermione and Luna also thought it would be a great fit for her. The following day, Ginny and Harry visited the shop and talked to the owner. The price was reasonable and Harry immediately worked out a deal. Two weeks later, the sale was complete and Ginny took over as the proprietor of Quality Quidditch Supplies. She loved the challenge and soon started to modernize the shop and bring in some new stock from around the world. As an investment, it turned out to be quite good for the Black-Potter family and turned a profit within the first year. Ginny's pregnancy continued smoothly, although she found she was excessively tired as the months progressed. Harry set up a day bed in the back office of the shop and she happily complied with him and used it for regularly scheduled afternoon naps.

Several weeks after the twins were born, Harry received a floo call from Headmistress McGonagall, asking if she could come by for a visit. Harry readily agreed and suggested she come for dinner that evening, which she accepted. She apparated to the manor about a half hour before dinner and Harry greeted her at the door as she looked around.

"Welcome headmistress."

"Please Mr. Potter, you're no longer my student, I think you can call me Minerva. This is quite a lovely home."

"Thank you Minerva. And while you are a guest here, it is Harry. Come, my ladies are waiting for you and you have yet to meet my sons."

"Yes, I do apologize. I was out of country for most of the summer and arrived back only a couple of days before the beginning of the new school year."

"I quite understand."

Minerva followed him in and was equally impressed with the comfortable, yet opulent interior of the home. Harry led her down the hall to the informal family room that looked over the back garden. All of his ladies were there and they quickly embraced their former professor, who put them on a first name basis as well. Hermione and Luna led her over to the cradles arranged in the corner of the room and each picked up one of the boys to introduce her. Minerva took Xavier first and went to sit down with him. The group talked casually about what they had been up to for the summer. The purchase of Quality Quidditch Supplies was still in process and she congratulated Ginny on her career choice, certain she would do well. She was also pleased to hear that Hermione had begun her career at the Ministry. Then Hermione delivered the news of her own impending arrival and Minerva shook her head and looked over at the obviously pregnant Ginny, before then looking at Harry and smirking. Harry laughed at the knowing look.

"Well Minerva, I do have two ancient and noble houses that need heirs. No use wasting time."

Minerva chuckled and traded babies with Luna, looking Xander over and comparing him to his brother.

"The babies seem quite similar, but I don't think they're identical?"

"Well, it's still early, but we think they're mirror-image twins. Our mid-witch thinks it will be quite interesting to see how their magic develops."

"Yes, I'm certain it will be. I daresay in this household with the level of talent you all possess you'll have your hands full with your large family."

"And in eleven years we'll start sending them to you."

Minerva shook her head. "I think I will be planning to retire in eleven years."

Everyone laughed and then Minerva turned to look at Harry.

"Harry, before we have dinner, my duties as headmistress are one of the main reasons I am here. Not that I am not thoroughly enjoying the social part of the visit, but I want to get business out of the way."

Harry nodded as Minerva continued.

"Have you given any thought to your own career goals? I know that you don't have to work. Both your houses have a number of businesses that you can manage. I also know you once considered being an Auror."

"Yes Minerva, once I did. Since then I've fought in a war and defeated Voldemort. Pardon me, but I think I have fought enough for our world. I will soon have four children and certainly more in the future. I have three lovely ladies and I have no desire to leave them. I am long past the boyish aspirations that made me dream of being an Auror. As for my businesses, I pay a management percentage to Gringotts' business division and see a steady profit with little intervention on my own part. I don't see a need to change that. I'm not one to remain idle, but I haven't figured out what else to do yet. Quidditch is a possibility, but it can be almost as dangerous as being an Auror sometimes. I've enjoyed helping Ginny at the shop some, but she has other capable staff. Staying home is alright, but I can't see that long term either. It's something we've discussed over the previous months, but haven't decided on."

"Well, I quite agree with you on your choice to avoid dangerous careers. I'd like to make a suggestion. This would only be for the rest of the current school year to start. It would be on a trial basis for that time, but if all goes well, could extend well beyond that. As you are aware, I had several staff positions vacate recently and I traveled over the summer to fill those. Unfortunately, I had to compromise a bit on some of my choices. One of those was the DADA position. The woman I chose was a bit…flighty, but she had some notable accomplishments in the past. I had hoped the position would suit and she would settle down. Unfortunately, this last weekend she tendered notice and advised that she wouldn't be returning after the upcoming Yule holiday. This leaves me in a bind with exams almost underway and no real time to travel to find someone else. So that you are aware, the rumors of a curse on the position have been put to rest. All the wards have been checked and updated on the castle. I was wondering if you would consider the position? I believe you have shown that you can teach and, of course, you have unique qualifications. Honestly, if you were even five years older I would have made you my first candidate. While I still hold a bit of reservation due to your age, mainly with how the students will see you, I do believe you could excel in the position."

"Wow Minerva. That's a stunning offer. First, thank you. I am truly honored. I will need to consider it and discuss this with my ladies. I have a question though. All the professors live in the castle. Obviously that won't work for me. How would I travel daily?"

"Right now all the professors live in the castle by choice since they have no immediate families. That said, there is no requirement that they live there. If you agree to take the position, we will arrange a secure floo in your office that connects to your home. You will have set hours each day and will occasionally be asked to stay over for events, such as special feasts. Outside your regular hours, you can floo home to be with your family."

Harry's eyes were lit with fire and he looked around at all his ladies.

"Well, that is intriguing then. Like I said, it will bear consideration and discussion. I am aware time is short, so I will let you know within a day."

"Excellent, thank you Harry."

Tringy showed up and announced it was time for dinner. The babies had both fallen asleep, so Harry and Luna took them upstairs to the nursery. Harry cast an alert charm over their cribs that would cause his wand to vibrate if they woke, then led Luna down to join the others for dinner. The meal was pleasant as they all enjoyed talking with Minerva on a social level, rather than as their professor or headmistress. She spoke a bit about the other new professors and also about some of the guidelines around the DADA class, although there was plenty of room for the new professor to make their own adjustments to the class structure. Hermione noticed the way Harry talked with her about the class and she knew where his heart was at. The others noticed as well and traded glances among themselves. When dessert was finished and Harry suggested they return to the family room for drinks, Hermione spoke up.

"Harry, before we go to the family room, perhaps Minerva would permit the four of us a couple minutes for a family conference?"

"Of course my dear, you four go ahead. I'll just enjoy another glass of this excellent wine."

The foursome stood up from the table and made their way across the hall to the library. Ginny was the first to speak.

"Hermione, Luna, I think we all see where Harry's heart lies. I know he said he needed to discuss it with us, but I don't see an issue. I think it's quite perfect for him."

"I quite agree Ginny dear."

"Yes Ginny, myself as well."

Harry looked around between the three of them. He thought he understood what they were saying and smiled.

"Do I understand right that you are all in agreement with my accepting the DADA teaching position?"

"Yes Harry, if you want it. You did so well with the DA that I know you'll do well with a formal professorship."

Harry grinned and responded by kissing each of them soundly. He wanted more, but Minerva was still waiting for them. Fun time would have to wait until later. They returned to the dining room and Minerva joined them as they retired to the family room. As Minerva sat, Harry grinned at her.

"Minerva, I quite like the idea of teaching DADA. The four of us have discussed it and my ladies are all in agreement. I'd like to accept the position."

"Excellent! Thank you Harry. I must say, it's quite a relief. There is a start of term staff meeting on January 3rd, prior to classes resuming on the 6th. If you wouldn't mind coming a bit early, we can finalize your contract. I'll prepare the floo connection prior to then so that you can travel easier."

"Sounds good Minerva. I'm excited to begin."

Minerva stayed for another half hour of conversation before declaring that she had to return to her duties at the school. A half hour later, Harry's wand began to vibrate and they all went to take care of the boys. They took turns bathing and changing nappies before handing each of the boys to Luna for a final feeding for the night. The two small babies didn't require four adults, but each of them enjoyed spending time with them. Once the boys were settled back in their crib, the four of them stood, embracing and watching the two precious bundles. Harry felt remarkably content with life. Their careers were coming along and the family was growing. Life was good.

A/N: Just one small epilogue chapter to go...