Ch 47 The First Summer as Princess and Prince
Tuesday July eighteenth Ginny and Harry Potter were back at Mayo Magical, going through all the tests again. Ginny knew the routine by now. Submit a urine sample, get blood drawn, have a Muggle ultrasound and a magical imaging, and then get poked and prodded and questioned by the healers.
"I wish they had some answers," Ginny complained to Harry as they were heading home. "Gregory Godric is active enough. Did you see him moving around when they did the ultrasound?"
"He seems reasonably active," Harry replied.
"It always was annoying when I was awakened in the middle of the night, or during a much needed nap, by a baby deciding to wake up and push against me," Ginny mused. "But Monica Jane doesn't move. At least not that I can notice. Sometimes I wish she would try to beat me black and blue inside there instead of just ... Oh Harry. I'm worried. I'm scared for her."
"All we can do it take care of you," Harry replied, giving Ginny a hug. "That is what the midwitches have stressed. That and take your potions, including the one that should prevent premature labor, as long as the babies are healthy. I'm glad you are seeing a midwitch every week now."
"Two weeks before my due date it will be every other day!" Ginny complained. "Now that Lily is out of school she is going to be doing all the interviews, and except for games I am staying in the house."
The same Tuesday Albus and Cleo were meeting with the Swiss healers associated with Mayo Medical. The Muggle and Muggle like illnesses that Magi suffered were mostly treated in the United States location, but Mayo Medical had part of the hospital in Switzerland that treated curses, spell injuries, and other unique magical maladies. This was where Lavender Brown was treated, because her injuries were inflicted by a werewolf and were not normal injuries. These healers also developed the treatment for the pockmarks that James Potter had received from the Potions accident.
"Your Resurrection Stone has been able to heal or help to heal some of our more complex or serious curses," Marcus Wellbe, the healer in charge of the department told Albus. "We would like to use it more often, but your job does not seem to be primarily to be a healer."
"The Resurrection Stone must not be used for your own good, but only for others," Albus insisted. "I am not aware of anything that would not permit me to let the healers here use it, but I know that the prophesies Cleo and I operate under require me to possess the stone. Let me see if I can let healers use it, and under what conditions."
The group then talked about a couple of cases where Albus would use the Resurrection Stone to try and help heal difficult curses.
Albus and Cleo spent much of the rest of the day conferring with the prophets. Albus tried to see if one of the Crystal Balls could give him any advice, without any success. Cleo at times watched as Albus used the Crystal Ball, but she never used them. She was afraid that if she tried she would see too much, and she already had trouble occasionally seeing too much, seeing things beyond what most beings saw.
Thursday Morning Albus and Cleo met with Jesus and Ginny, Galadriel and Thorin, Luthien and Beren.
"The healers want to use the Resurrection Stone to help heal difficult curses, and I want to let them," Albus told the group. "I am just not sure what restrictions I need to put on them, since I need to possess it to fulfill the prophesies Cleo and I operate under."
"Who do you intend to let use it?" Galadriel wondered.
"I think that no one should be the only Magi to use it," Albus replied. "Should Elves use it?"
"If it is what I think it is, allowing an Elf to use it is dangerous." Galadriel replied. She said something in Elfish about what type of object she thought the Stone was, and every one of the High Elves agreed that it was not an object the Elves should use.
"I think I need to try and teach healers how to use it, and have Cleo watch, because she sees things that none of the rest of us see," Albus proposed.
The group nodded their agreement.
"I think I am going to suggest that we allow any one healer to use it for a maximum of four hours a day once a week, with two or three healers trained to use it," Albus continued.
The group nodded their agreement.
"I am going to have the ring given to one healer, not the one to use it, and they should only hand it to the healer using it when the healer needs it," Albus continued. "There is too much temptation to use it for yourself otherwise."
"I think that is a wise precaution," Ginny agreed. "It does seem a shame not to use such a powerful device, but from what I have read about it all the caution you are suggesting is prudent."
"I agree that that it makes little sense to have such a potentially useful magical object not used," Thorin added.
Over the next two weeks Albus and Cleo trained three healers in how to use the Resurrection Stone. Finding someone to guard the ring until the healer used it was more difficult, but eventually they had three witches who seemed to be able to resist the lure of the stone to use if for themselves, but just give it to the healer when it was needed.
Using it didn't magically cure everything, and what it did varied greatly, but all agreed that it was helpful enough to warrant being used.
Thursday the twentieth of July Harry was in a meeting in Switzerland concerning security for Albus and Cleo. Albus Peverell was in the meeting, as were Al and Dan Van Lente, Raphael Vaud, and Ben and Karen Nguyen. The meeting was held in a conference room at the Swiss Auror office, and as was usual for most of the worldwide Auror offices there was a smattering of No-Maj technology, including a phone in the room. The group sat down in comfortable office style chairs around a conference table.
"I am worried that if Albus or Cleo are captured we will not have enough Aurors immediately available to rescue them," Karen remarked. "Can we make a Portkey that will follow them if activated?"
"I think we can," Harry confirmed. "I just do not want only you two to go and try to rescue them. Al Van Lente has emphasized that you need overwhelming force, and I agree. The only time I send in fewer Aurors than we had enemies, at The Battle of Malfoy Manor, we lost half the Aurors, and I don't want to ever do that again!"
"We need an Auror strike force of some sort," Raphael remarked. "I just don't have enough Swiss Aurors to do it alone."
"Some sort of honor guard, with representation from every group or country?" Ben suggested.
"It sounds pretentious," Albus Potter remarked.
"An honor guard is probably the best way to arrange it, though," Raphael replied.
"How dangerous will it be to be in the honor guard?" Ben wondered.
"If Al or Cleo are captured, extremely dangerous," Al Van Lente proposed.
"Then I don't want any young couples in the honor guard, not together," Harry insisted.
"I agree," Albus added. "I know how many Aurors we lost at Malfoy Manor. I don't want both parents to be at risk."
"Both of Teddy's parents were killed at the Battle of Hogwarts," Harry added. "I don't want to risk having both parents die in a battle if we can do anything to help it."
"I don't want to have anyone die protecting Cleo and me, but I don't think we have any choice in the matter," Albus reflected. "I'm just so tired of having my life, and Cleo's, in danger all the time. And having beings, Magi and Elf, risk their lives to protect you. That is hard."
"We are doing the best we can, Al," Harry told his son. "It is hard, though. There is something called 'survivors guilt.' Others die and you feel guilty you were not among the ones who did. I've felt it. Talk to your pastor and to the mind healers."
Albus nodded that he would.
It was Friday July twenty-first. Albus and Cleo had not been back to England since leaving to take the Crystal Ball back from Resort Cleo. Part of their duties, or at least expectations, seemed to be to attend plays and concerts. There was a symphony orchestra with a summer program that was putting on a concert Saturday afternoon and evening.
"We are attending the concert tomorrow afternoon instead of tomorrow evening," Albus told Cleo as they ate breakfast. "If we go to church tomorrow night we can go to the New Burrow for brunch Sunday."
"I would like that," Cleo replied. "Next weekend I am playing the organ at church. Phil, the music director, has asked me to cover for him when he cannot play, probably four to six times a year. He says I am better than anyone else he can get, and I enjoy playing."
"What is Phil doing?" Albus wondered.
"He is playing the organ for the Camille Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3," Cleo replied. "He will be busy Saturday night, and asked if I could play for the ten-thirty service Sunday as well. He will play for the early service."
"How do the babies like the music?" Albus asked. "I haven't been there when you practice since the babies were born."
"They seem to like the music," Cleo replied. "They are not going to be happy if I stop them from nursing so I can play at church, but they are big enough and healthy enough that they are just going to have to wait."
"I thought you couldn't spoil an infant," Albus remarked.
"Well, no," Cleo replied, "but babies are selfish little beings, and a little delayed gratification isn't going to hurt them either."
"With guards and others we cannot do much spontaneously," Albus muttered. "I will make sure everyone who needs to know does know that we are going to go to the New Burrow Sunday morning, and plan on spending the day."
Ginny Potter walked down to breakfast Sunday morning, Harry and Mitzi by her sides. She was already feeling like a rather large house, which made sense since her body was housing two babies. They were having a light breakfast before heading over to the New Burrow.
"Good morning, Mum," Minerva beamed. "Will everyone be at grandmother's today?"
"I think so," Ginny replied.
"I hope Billy is going to be there!" Lily emphasized. "I miss him! It is going to be really hard next year at school. I don't know if I will be able to take two years at school with him not there."
Ginny didn't reply. She wasn't sure if Lily would be able to stand two years apart from young Bill Lionheart either, and it worried her. Lily was her daughter, and she remembered her sixteen-year-old hormones before she and Harry married. She was tempted to get contraceptive potions for Lily, but that would just give Lily permission to become intimate with Billy Lionheart, and she wasn't quite ready for that.
There was a sign on the Closet indicating that it was in use, so Harry said, "It looks like Ron and Hermione are using the Closet." A very short time later the sign indicated that the Closet was free, and the whole group of people still living at twelve Grimmauld Place crowded into the Closet at Grimmauld Place and exited the Closet at the New Burrow.
The group moved into the combined kitchen and dining room, a rather large space that was beginning to become crowded with the three large tables.
"Billy!" Lily squealed as she spotted Billy Lionheart. Lily ran over to Billy and passionately kissed him, and then hugged him like she needed to merge their bodies. Billy smiled an embarrassed smile.
"I haven't seen you all week!" Lily sniffed. "It is hard, after being in school together."
"Blame that slave driver of a brother," Billy shrugged. "Sunday is the only day we have off."
"How is practice going?" Harry wondered.
"It started out pretty rough," Billy responded. "We have enough players for two teams, but they do not all work well together, and we are just learning each other's styles and abilities. James is a fabulous seeker, but we haven't been able to get a good second string seeker. The witch we have isn't all that good."
"Where are James and Erica?" Ginny wondered.
"I understand that James Jr was worse than wet," Billy giggled. "When James answered his door I heard Erica yelling and little James screaming."
"I remember those days," Ginny laughed.
Rose and Scorpius appeared with Elanor, but also Narcissa and Arthur.
It was almost half an hour later before the two James and Erica showed up.
"James needed to eat," his father explained.
"I understand that James was worse than wet," Ginny giggled.
Erica admitted, "It is usually not so bad, but he was especially wiggly this morning, and James had quite a mess to clean up as I fed the baby. The Elves have Sunday off, so James had to clean the mess that James had made."
"It is not TOO bad, if it is your baby, I guess," James grumbled. James than made a face indicating that cleaning up after a messy baby was not his favorite thing.
Big James was wearing a shirt that said, Real men change nappies.
A somewhat bleary eyed Erica was wearing a shirt that said, I'm so tired. Little James was wearing a one-piece that said, I'm not tired. At the moment the baby was wide awake, and Erica gladly passed the little one to his grandfather Potter. Once Ginny was seated Harry sat next to her and the two played with their wiggly grandson.
Erica went over to one of the comfortable chairs in the little sitting area next to the kitchen and closed her eyes. "I think James has his nights and days mixed up," she muttered.
About this time Albus and Cleo showed up. The guards and Elves that accompanied them made themselves scarce. There was a meal served by Elves in the dining room of Potter's New Burrow for the beings other than the immediate Potter family. Rich and Molly Hudson arrived with them, and Rich took a few photographs.
"How are you handling taking care of two babies, Cleo," Ginny wondered.
"Oh, it is easy," Cleo just beamed. "I have lots of help, and even though I'm too busy sometimes I have a rule that when I am nursing the babies I can sit in a comfortable chair and just enjoy. I know that the potions you take to help with lactation also help make nursing more pleasant. I just love the sensation, and that both babies are feeding at the same time is just twice the pleasure."
"James kept me up half the night," Erica muttered.
"James, give your tired wife a rest," Ginny kidded, looking right at her son.
James had a horrified look, and shook his head 'no' to indicate that he wasn't the James that kept Erica awake.
"You wanted to name him James Junior," Erica told her husband. "I've tried calling him Sirius, but he doesn't feel like … serious, and I don't want to call him Junior."
"You can call him 'Snitch," Ginny suggested. "If he is as active as you were, James, you are going to be spending a lot of time chasing after him."
"I'm the one who is going to be chasing after that little Snitch," Erica reflected.
"James is wigglier than Elanor," Rose observed. Elanor was awake, but she was resting quietly in her mother's arms, quietly looking around.
"A nice quiet baby like her mother," Hermione smiled, looking fondly at Rose and Elanor.
"I was looking forward to a nice quiet little girl after all the boys," Molly reflected, looking right at Ginny. "Instead I had Ginny, a girl that was as loud and as busy as any of the boys."
"I finally got my quiet little girl, Minerva," Ginny beamed, looking at Minerva. "It only took four tries."
Erica grimaced.
Minerva, who was doing her best to help her grandmother in the kitchen, just beamed.
Little James finally slowed down, and Harry, recognizing a tired baby, arose and went back and forth, holding the baby close as he rocked the little one to sleep.
Harry saw Molly smiling at him, felt the love, felt the approval of this most marvelous woman. She was the matriarch of this family, and the kitchen was her domain. Even the little sitting area off the kitchen was an indication that this space was home. Grimmauld place was Harry and Ginny's home, but Ginny's place was not in the kitchen. She was everywhere in the house, in the office working as often as anywhere. The Elves did most of the cooking and domestic chores in their home.
Victoire was helping Molly, and the two were teaching Minerva. Somehow Victoire had become an almost full partner with Molly in taking care of the expanding brood that had become the Weasley family. Neither were elegant in their bearing or dress, were beautiful like Fleur and Dominique, but they were both female at home and comfortable in who and what they were.
Teddy was taking care of his brood of children, along with Josefina. Teddy loved being a father. His schedule was a little erratic, being an Auror, but he was a homebody, and spent as much time with his wife and children as he could.
Bill, Fleur, Louis, Dominique and François entered the kitchen. Fleur and Dominique looked elegant, obviously pregnant but carrying their babies high, and not moving or looking awkward. Ginny looked up at Harry, who was still standing holding little James, and shook her head.
"I'm no Veela," Ginny quietly told Harry.
"I've never wished you were," Harry replied. "You are perfect for me."
Percy and Audrey were some of the last to arrive. Audrey was no Veela, but she was a pretty witch, and she had become much more comfortable in her femininity, to the delight of both Percy and Audrey. They were holding hands as they came in, and looking lovingly at each other.
Ginny motioned for Audrey to come over, and then she whispered, "What did you and Percy do this morning?"
Audrey giggled, nodded her head 'yes,' and went back to Percy.
"I think I know why Percy and Audrey were among the last to arrive," Ginny quietly told Harry, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
Harry just laughed. He loved this family.
It was Saturday August nineteenth, and Ginny was eight months pregnant. Ginny felt bigger than she thought she had felt at the end of her other four pregnancies. What was even more frustrating was that Monica was still small. Ginny should be even bigger. Gregory was a normal size baby, big enough to survive if he was born today, but Monica was still small. The healers wanted Ginny to carry Monica for as long as it was healthy for her and the babies.
The day was warm, hot really, and sunny. Molly had invited the family to a picnic on the pond, and Ginny was going with Harry, Minerva, Natasha and Lily. Natasha had, it seems, a boy she was going to dances with and was interested in, but she was very private about her love life. Unlike Lily, who was too eager.
Once at the pond Ginny sat down on one of the comfortable chairs, shaded by an umbrella. She watched as her three girls went into the water, the older two watching Monica as they all swam. At least Monica was a good swimmer.
Ginny was not exactly on bed rest, but the healers had stressed that she should not try to do anything very athletic, not that she felt like it. It was not easy carrying twins, even though one was small.
Shortly before noon James and Erica showed up, along with the 'Snitch' and Billy Lionheart.
"We decided to give everyone Saturday afternoon off," James told Ginny. He looked to where Harry was in the sandbox playing with the little children. "The Snitch is too little to play in the sandbox," James suggested. He put down a blanket and put the baby in the middle of it. Little James proceeded to wiggle and roll, and was off the blanked in just a few minutes.
James proceeded to find the plastic fencing that they kept in a storage shed next to the deck, and confined the baby.
"Snitch cannot see confinement spells, and they just frustrate him," James explained.
Minerva came over and asked, "May I take little James down to the water?'
"You have to watch him every moment," James said. "I will take him down and sit with you."
Erica plopped down on a chair next to Ginny. "I understand that some mothers have nice quiet easy to take care of babies."
"I didn't believe that type of baby existed until I had Minerva," Ginny replied.
Ginny watched as little James jumped and splashed and had a great time playing in the water at the edge of the pond. Rose and Elanor were sitting on the edge of the pond as well, but Elanor seemed content to sit, move her hands and feet gently, and look around.
Ginny spotted Billy and Lily, heads just above the water. She wondered what their hands were doing under the water. She thought again about the birth control potions. Less than two weeks and Lily would be back at school, and Billy was busy almost all the time at the Canons.
Ginny's mother and others brought out a light lunch, and announced that there would be an outside dinner that evening, and that the same thing would happen Sunday. Molly thought that Albus and Cleo would be able to come Sunday as well.
Shortly before dinner Lily and Billy appeared. Lily was pretty, and Billy was handsome. They were a beautiful couple. They had gone somewhere and changed out of their swimming costumes, and they looked ... Ginny wondered where they went and how long they had been gone. Well, mothers worried, and she was concerned.
"I don't want to go back to school," Lily announced at breakfast the next morning. "I want to get engaged to Billy and keep helping you with the Quidditch column. We can get married in a big ceremony next summer, but meanwhile we can see each other and ... Mum, I really don't want to go back to school."
"It is the 'and' that worries me," Ginny told her daughter. "You are only sixteen. Have a little patience."
Lily frowned. Ginny worried. When had Lily been patient.
For the second day in a row Donna Lionheart was at the pond in the afternoon. She was sitting next to Ginny, and she told Ginny, "Billy is worried about Lily. He is worried about how she is going to handle being at Hogwarts without him. He also wants to get engaged, maybe over the Christmas holidays. He has a good job with James and the Cannons, but I'm worried that those two are getting too close too soon."
"I'm not the best person to complain about early marriages," Ginny groused. "I wish I was. I just hope Billy has more control over his hormones than Lily does."
"He is generally a very responsible person," Donna replied. "I know he is more than just a player. James counts on him being a field captain. I'm not sure he needs the distraction of Lily this first year."
"I will miss Lily's help with the Quidditch column," Ginny sighed. "I'm worried that Monica Jane is going to take a lot of time and attention after she is born. She is still small and not very active."
2022