CHapter 11 is up! Thankyou all for being patient, hope you enjoy and if not tell me why!
The second party was – in the opinion of almost everyone involved – a lot more fun, much more casual and enjoyable with no annoying cameras around. Real laughter was very much present and honest conversations was the only type found.
The guest list was quite an interesting mix of people, apart from the family and friends they also had Madam Bones, the Unspeakable's and of course everyone from the farm plus Mr and Mrs Weasley and the Twins. It had been a minute of tense conversation when Harry had brought up the possibility of it, he wanted to thank the Weasley parents in person and figured it would be good for Sammy and Bobby to have some other friends who could make them laugh and draw them out of their shells, Sirius had been reluctant despite the Twins apology all those months ago; thankfully Theo had helped the Dogfather see sense and they'd sent the invitation that day. The occasion was met with weather slightly windier than the one before and although the patio had been set up with tables, the parlour and dining room had been made up to with enough comfy chairs to seat an army and enough food laid out to feed a continent. The house elves had been told to keep things casual and light and those comments had been duly ignored and the result was three tables worth of products.
The table rested against the wall of the dining area groaning under the weight of the food. Delicious potato salad with sweet cherry tomatoes and slices of cold ham. Bowls of dark red and bright orange chicken and beef curry with all manner of spices and fluffy rice to the side. Refreshing couscous with grilled vegetables and chunks of feta cheese. Plates of pork loins and chilli chicken wings as well as a few burgers made up with slices of cheddar, crispy lettuce and home-made chips. Chocolate covered strawberries, cream filled eclairs, soft Victoria sponge style cupcakes with rich buttercream icing covered the opposite end of the table and a gorgeous white pavlova topped with peaches stood next to the main centrepieces - a scrumptious looking dark red velvet cake, the top of which had a soft green icing and fondant decorations that made up a Quidditch scene with POTTER written in white on the pitch and a beautifully done chocolate cake that had a brilliantly crafted greenhouse on top of it with tiny miniature flowers and plants in it with LONGBOTTOM written in dark red along the side.
Luna and her father had been the first to arrive and both had quickly oohed and ahhed over the cakes, while Xeno talked over the possibility of installing an alarm to ward off the Hinklebunks to Sirius, Thomas and Timothy – the latter of which didn't seem to know how to respond – Luna thoroughly charmed the women of the group and made Sammy laugh so much that his mother had almost started to cry. Harry and Theo had quickly proposed another game of football and so starting out on the lawn, they easily convinced the boys to join in and they quickly started. When the Greengrass' arrived, Luna had sat down in the middle of the pitch and had begun to make a daisy crown while the boys tried to make their way around her as she sang an old sailor's song. Xeno quietly asked and received permission to visit the greenhouse and to indulge in chasing the nargles from their hiding places, Remus had agreed most sincerely while his best friend had snorted behind him.
"Oh good afternoon, you must be those living at the farm now! How do you do? I'm Aquilla Greengrass and you are?"
In her own unique way Aquilla had shocked the guests into speaking up and flummoxed them with her glittering personality.
Apart from Theresa, Oscar and Joy, the other guests had all spent the last hour before the party panicking about the other guests there and how they were going to be treated and whether or not they should go at all! While Harry, Sirius, Theo and Remus had tried to tell them all how welcome they were and how none of their friends were those 'stupid ridiculous small minded nincompoops' – courtesy of Sirius – discrimination and past prejudices were difficult to overcome when meeting new people. It was for one of these reasons that Theo had suggested making the dress far more casual than simply informal, they'd sent the memo round to all those invited and while some had been a little confused, most had been perfectly amiable to it; resulting in jeans and t-shirts.
Sirius could have kissed the Lady Greengrass for her charmingness, he knew the initial introductions would be awkward enough and had been dreading the 'casual conversation' that Remus had said to partake in. Now with the society madam taking charge he felt so much more relieved.
"So how long have you been married? Oh that's so long? And you Anna, Remus says you've worked in the farm, do you specialise in dairy or grain? Oh that's most interesting my husband uses that same method for our crops up north. Oh a chef how exciting, did you work with any one famous? I can never get a souffle right do you think you could teach me one day?"
With her husband simply smiling by her side and occasionally adding a 'yes dear' when instructed Aquilla guided the conversation to happy and simple subjects giving each a chance to talk and respond and along with the Davis' who came with them allowed everyone to feel more at ease. Astoria of course joined the conversation easily, asking child like but also intelligent questions that gave them all something to laugh about. Daphne and Tracey gave a brief hello and introduction to everyone who smiled at the two young ladies who had no qualms in shaking their hands and simply treated them as normal people before going to greet their friends and say hello to the younger members of the farm. Tracey and her family had thanked Madam Longbottom but had declined to attend the formal event the day before as a result of the last time they had Daniel had ended up having fisticuffs with a stuck-up pureblood lord who insulted the wrong woman. As Melissa put it, it was one of the most heroic things she'd seen in her life, and therefore this was the first time they had seen Tracey since the garden party and the red headed witch was doubly bubbly and energetic at meeting new people and being around old friends and of course the incredible feast that was laid out before them.
"Come on Bobby, to me to me!" She yelled out before letting out a yelp as the ball came sailing towards her and she ducked. "Hey give a girl a little warning! And you lot stop laughing!" She said as her lips twitched and it wasn't soon after that she was giggling too. While Daphne had been her usual charming self, her personality was just a little more difficult to break through and it was clear that the boys weren't as fond of her as they were Tracey who ran around with them having kicked off her pumps to join their football game.
Harry had enjoyed the game and had managed to tease his girlfriend into enjoying a few kicks but after her third attempt and narrowly missing kicking Theo in a sensitive place she had decided to flop down onto the grass and cheer them on which allowed the boys to smile a little at her though somewhat shyly. Luna had joined her and quickly placed the daisy crown on her head before starting another, Daphne had immediately joined in and the two began a discussion over the properties of flowers.
The parents had congregated on the patio to watch with good humour but were soon disturbed by a harried Madam Bones and Unspeakable Robbins and Arrans.
"Sorry, we're late. We didn't miss anything have we?" Arrans asked after the introductions were complete.
"No no we were merely enjoying the play fighting of the kids." Daniel said with a grin.
"Much better than the real fight between two grown men." Madam Bones said semi sternly as she eyed Mr Davis. "I hope we will not be going through a repeat of it at this celebration?"
Mr Davis adapted a very insincere innocent expression.
"Me? Madam, I do declare I haven't the foggiest idea what you refer to."
"Hmm." Came the unimpressed reply.
"Are you the new tenants at the farm? How are you finding everything?" Robbins asked sensing an argument brewing.
"Oh its wonderful thank you, Remus has done such a good job at making us all feel so comfortable."
"I have to agree, the hovels I've been staying in have felt barely liveable compared to the houses we're now in." Theresa said with a smile directed at Remus who nodded and returned her smile somewhat shyly.
Sirius immediately saw the delighted glance that Aquilla and Melissa exchanged and quickly jumped in as Lady Greengrass opened her mouth with a wicked gleam in her eye.
"We're so happy to have been able to supply you with a place. How goes the improvements on the land?"
"We've decided what to do with the back five fields, two of them will be corn and the other three can be grass to dry for the herd for the winter feed. Remus and I talked about going eco friendly but we don't think its very feasible right now, maybe in a few years when we're more settled. Oh and our bid for that tractor came through!" Anna said, eagerly diving in to her favourite subject.
"Yes it hadn't been too bad, and luckily the boys are all still enjoying. I think Sammy is still just finding a huge adventure, he loves milking the cows and digging up the potatoes. It's a change for me and Thomas but we don't feel as tired as we thought we'd be. I think we bigged it up in our minds." Jodie said with a shrug.
"I know what you mean." Timothy agreed. "We've never done anything like this before and although we're hard workers it's a different kind. We kinda thought we'd be going to bed at nine o'clock and up at five kind of thing, especially after reading the books."
"You guys read books? Like how to be a farmer kind of thing?" Arrans asked curiously, like the idea had never occurred to her.
"Yep, we had no idea what we were in for so figured research was the best way to figure it all out."
"Good plan, we spent ages simply trying to explain to Sammy that no he couldn't drive the tractor just because he has a toy one and clearly is a master!" Jodie said with a giggle.
The talk of the farm continued as the all became more familiar with each other and before long the jokes started especially as they described Oscar's one and only trip to help with the milking that ended with him falling face first into a cow pat. He declared himself King of the vegetable patch after that. Soon a divide occurred as Daniel questioned the events of yesterday and so the guests along with Remus, Aquilla and Melissa enjoyed a discussion of Hogwarts and the courses offered versus other magical schools while Madam Longbottom, Sirius, Cyrus, Daniel and Oscar spoke about the Wizengamot and the responses that the group had had as whole been received as well as separately.
"It sounds as though you all think the event was truly an excellent event then. Especially if the Birthday Boys held their own against some of the more irritating species of the government." Oscar said who had slid into the discussion with ease and understanding of how difficult the social interactions could be.
"They did marvellously, showed more decorum than some of the 'betters'. When Lord Yaxley confronted them, I had to stop myself from getting rid of him then and there." Cyrus said stiffening at the veiled threat his daughter had received.
"They responded very well indeed, especially Harry on his first big occasion. You trained him well." Madam Longbottom said with a smile and twinkle to Sirius who simply bowed though there was a certain gleam in his eyes that spoke of his true feelings.
"And the others? I know Tracey said Theo wanted to hold back a little, was he alright in the end."
"Oh that boy!" Madam Longbottom said shaking her head. "He could be an absolute rake if he wanted to be, and yet as soon as Miss Addams turned up he turned into a puddle of goop. However he did manage to string together enough sentences that I believe she found him quite charming, I wouldn't be surprised if you were to receive notice from Mr Addams soon enough and a few invitations extended." She added with a nod to Sirius who turned his gaze back to the young man who he was quickly considering to be family.
"Enough of the courting scene, how do you think the underlining negotiations went?" Oscar asked, eager for the political side of things.
"Well enough, I know Harry helped Ogden make his mind up about whether to support him or not and that's a large coup as he has a great deal of influence in the grey area. Neville also showed his training strongly but I think the fact he was unswayable on some issues while more akin to listen on others showed some of the others his affinity towards tradition which had him accepted by them and therefore more agreeable." Sirius said after careful consideration.
"I agree, Neville was certainly more willing to listen on some issues than Harry but they both listened to each other and didn't simply agree to whatever they or anyone else said. They ensured a thorough conversation and then made up their minds." Cyrus commented before his wife called him over impatiently.
"I do not wish to break any confidences, but I have had several members enquire as to my position on the Farm as well as how I feel about such a young member take his seat. I believe I have made my opinions known to the right people." Madam Bones confided with a wink.
"From the sounds of it they both went through serious interrogations; I'm amazed they kept their cool as much as they did. I must congratulate them." Daniel said.
"I believe Miss Greengrass helped Lord Potter keep it, she seemed to have developed a sixth sense for when he was about to say something too Gryffindorish and simply turned to catch his eye. Don't look at me like that Sirius you saw it too I know!" Madam Longbottom said with a tinkling laugh.
Sirius barked a laugh and bowed again.
"You caught me, my lady. I did see such a look once or twice and my Godson swallow the words just in time. Neville however clearly had a more intelligent training teacher."
This time Madam Longbottom's smile dropped to smaller one as she turned to enjoy her grandson's presence.
"I'm afraid I was too hard on him as a boy, the man he has become is much more his own strength and resilience than anything I gave him."
"I am hesitant to agree to that, madam. He must be given due credit of course but do not doubt the encouragement you give him each day to do duty and stand up for yourself and others. To do what is right and to think about and research issues that may not affect you in any way." Oscar said solemnly and grinned at the great lady who had turned to look back at him in surprise. "I was still working at the Ministry when your son and his wife were attacked, I along with many others I know were immensely impressed at your actions of taking charge and ensuring a future for Neville and keeping your son and daughter in law in St Mungos as well as taking over as regent for the Longbottom seat. That type of bold and courageous behaviour was incredible to view and I have little uncertainty that that is where your Grandson gets his strength."
"I would have to agree, Augusta. You are a force to be reckoned with and an excellent role model." Madam Bones said nodding her head emphatically.
There was silence as the others allowed the lady to gather her composure.
"Thank you, that was…thank you." She said simply.
"It is one of things I do regret about Tracey's training. My family was never high enough to be of anyone's notice and especially not a part of the Wizengamot, my grandfather was the first to not teach his children about the rules and history etc. And yet I had a fair few question's in Tracey's letters about meanings when Daphne and Theo first started to introduce Harry to different teachings."
"I hope they didn't make her feel uncomfortable?" Cyrus asked, concerned that his daughter's friend may not have felt okay enough with asking basic questions.
"Oh no nothing like that, its just simple things that she wondered why I hadn't told her or why to others it was expected knowledge, to be honest with some of the stuff she asked about even I had to look up the family meanings and ask my parents. What about you, Amelia?"
"My parents taught my brother and I equally no matter if he was to be head of the family. When they died and I took in Susan I was determined that she would know everything and therefore have all the information so she was never surprised but I was more practical training; making sure she knew a few healing, defensive and offensive spells by the time she was ten."
"That young?" Daniel asked.
"Yep, the information side of things and family history talk I never really scheduled and simply spoke to her about it all since she could talk. But the practical side I introduced the first day after she'd asked to go shopping by herself. The idea she could be out there with no knowledge of how to stay safe…nope not gonna happen. Not on my watch." The Head of DMLE said fiercely.
"Agreed, the first time Aquilla wanted to leave the house with Daphne after she was born, I was an inch away from hiring bodyguards for them. I had to tell her things right from the get go as she started picking up on conversations quickly, by the time she was five she knew 90% of the legislation in the wizengamot and after the seventh time of using my wand to start a fire. My wife said that her training should be brought up instead of waiting for her to reach seven which had been the original plan. Sirius what was your training like?"
"My grandfather and father shared the troubling load, it was a lot more structured and difficult than anything I would recommend but it started before my fifth birthday. I was expected to recite with two weeks of knowing something, and the family was always to come first. My father was incredibly strict, probably on the orders of my mother though at that age I still wanted to impress; he used punishments instead of rewards and simply expected perfection from everything. I was trained to memorise and recite rather than think and form opinions. My grandfather had a more…understanding approach, he spoke of impacts and changing the world, he had an aura to be in awe of."
"I remember Arcturus, while we had differing opinions on many subject's, he was someone I respected. No matter his personal views he always showed excellent manners and decorum no matter who he came to face with. His points were thought out and well-crafted with just a hint of recklessness that always paid off, you are very much like him."
"Thank you, my lady, he certainly is one member of my family I don't abhor being linked too. He was the one who taught me about family magic and how to use it and protections, he was good at that…" The head of House Black said with a wistful smile as he remembered the amount of times his grandfather protected him from his mothers wrath.
"I'm a half-blood and was in Ravenclaw and luckily had a good group of friends that were a mix of pure and muggle and half so all our information on any subject was shared but are other houses still very diverse and selective about what they share? About matters of family magic or things like politics?" Oscar enquired.
"As a pureblood Slytherin it was simply not spoken about." Cyrus said without arrogance or pompousness, it was a fact. "If you didn't know something in Slytherin you made sure to find out as secretly and quickly as possible, anything you didn't know was a weakness. And if it concerned your family or family secrets then people simply didn't ask as it was family business. Alliances were of course formed quite early usually on instruction from parent but until we reached fifteen there wasn't much on the politics front unless you heard something and could pass it on. Daphne managed that a few times; its how I knew to get out of investing in Rosiers healing scheme, saved a lot."
"Gryffindor was a bit of both, it wasn't so much about it being family business but I know most in my year didn't care." Sirius said with a weary grin.
"Yes you lot were always a little rough." Daniel said with a wink to which Sirius raised his glass.
"I think people either knew about it or didn't, my years in Ravenclaw were similar to yours, my boy but still split into the pure, half and muggle. Subjects that you wanted to know about you were expected to research yourself and if it was termed family business then you left it alone unless you were dreadfully uncouth." Madam Longbottom said after a pause.
"Hufflepuff didn't really care, I think politics was a quieter spoken about occasion. Most people shared their opinions freely on politics but family business…to be honest I can't remember anyone ever talking about it, I don't think we really cared about what the family could do, it was always about the individual." Madam Bones added.
On the other side of the patio, the rest of the adults had moved onto primary school conversations which involved Aquilla becoming very interested and firing questions left and right as the others struggled to answer simply for the pureblood witch to understand.
"Daniel and I did think about a muggle primary for Tracey, we thought it might be good for her to get out and experience the culture and kids her age who didn't have as much as her. But after she kept setting fire the her colouring every time she went outside the lines we thought it might be safer to home-school." Melissa said with a grin.
"Yes I think the teachers might get suspicious after a time." Aquilla giggled.
"It's a shame there aren't magical primary schools. It wasn't very difficult to home-school Sammy but it was still stressful to make sure he had simple mathematics, English and science especially when I had to learn along with him. His first times table lesson had us both in tears!" Jodie said shaking her head as she remembered how her husband had thought that someone had died when he'd come home that night.
Remus had a thoughtful expression on his face as he listened to the others, a kernel of an idea beginning to grow before he put it away for later.
"Yes, it was amusing and we got there in the end, he knows all the way up to 11 now." Thomas said proudly as clinked his glass next to his wife who smiled back at him in happiness.
"Primary school for me was brilliant, as half blood magic was quite common around me and when my parents decided I wasn't much of a risk to the school system they let me go. I made it all the way through to year 5 – about 9/10 years old - before any magic showed and even then my parents managed to explain it away but –"
"No no no what was the accident?"
The woman immediately blushed and looked down as she mumbled her way through the situation that had occurred.
"What was that?" Timothy asked in amazement causing the blonde to sigh as she raised her head and spoke clearer.
"I was taking part in the end of year swimming races and the girl next to me way overtaking me…and then I just started going faster, turns out my limbs weren't even moving I simply shot forward, one minute I was about 1/3 done and the next I was at the end. Head butted the wall but ended up winning." She said proudly as the others fell about laughing.
"You apparated to win a swimming race?" Theresa said, gasping for breath as her face went pinker.
"It was more than that!... This girl was always winning. And she was mean!" Anna exclaimed though somewhat abashed.
Timothy wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm sure she was, dear. Don't worry the mean swimmer is far away from you now." Causing another round of laughter as Anna shoved him away and sent him to his wife's laughing form.
Meanwhile the children had completely lost track of the score and teams and more fouls were being yelled as the younger places got lifted up and placed away from the ball. As Timothy, Sirius, Daniel and Thomas decided to join in with the game; the shrieks were loud enough that the mothers started to look over in concern but still with happiness in their eyes as they caught sight of the boys being lifted up over their father's shoulders and tickled.
"I don't know how they do it, I swear they seem to never run out of energy!" Joy said, shaking her head as she watched them all dodge and dive and sprint from one end to the other.
"I know what you mean, they never seem to run out." Jodie agreed.
"When Neville was little, he simply seemed determined to go all over the place, never fast but always moving." Madam Longbottom said smiling as she remembered her active grandson.
"Tracey definitely wasn't like that." Melissa said laughing. "That girl was determined to run everywhere, no matter how many times she had a tumble, up she got and was off."
"Same with Harry, James couldn't wait until he was old enough for the soft play area." Remus said with a roll of his eyes.
"What's that?" Aquilla asked in confusion.
"Its an indoor play area but all the climbing frames and things and made of soft fabric so that kids can enjoy themselves with parents running after them in panic." Jodie explained.
"Oh that sounds brilliant." The blonde-haired lady exclaimed, things about the muggle world still surprising her despite the time that she spent there.
"It is yes, its for all those parents that are simply to tired to chase after their kids and its only for certain ages so you don't need to worry about older years being a bit rough." Anna said, recalling a few hazy memories of her parents taking her to several.
At that point Linky turned up and tugged on Sirius' robe.
"Weazly family is here sir."
"Oh excellent thank you. Harry, Neville your last guests have arrived.
Immediately putting Sammy down from where he'd been hanging over his shoulder, Harry hurried to join Sirius as Neville quickly reassured Booby that he would love the Twins before joining the other two.
Moving into the reception room they were greeted by beaming smiles on the Weasley parents and enthusiastic hellos by the twins.
"Hi all, we are so happy you could join today! How are you, Arthur" Sirius said throwing his arms open in welcome before shaking hands with Mr Weasley and then enjoying the sight of his Godson disappearing into Mrs Weasleys infamous hugs.
"We're so glad to have got your invitation, we weren't sure but the Twins convinced us." The patriarch said.
Meanwhile Molly was restricting Harry's breath to the point he was getting worried.
"Mrs Weasley I love that you came but I love breathing too."
"Oh my dear I am so sorry its just so wonderful to see you, and you look so well too its just oh its so wonderful, how are you?"
"Mum, he's fine clearly – "
"Yeah until you got your arms around him though."
The twins remarked from their position of either side of Neville where they had just finished following their mother's example and smothered him in a hug. He looked slightly dazed.
"Oh stop it both of you I can be happy, and you Neville dear? Its been so long how are you?"
"Fine thankyou Mrs Weasley, its good to see you all again. Come on we've got quite a few people who can't wait to see you."
"Of course they-"
"Can't, we're incredibly-"
"Famous."
The Twins said as they linked arms with the Longbottom Heir and led him out with huge smiles.
"Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley. I just want to say thankyou. Your support meant so much to me and I just…I need to know how much I appreciate it all."
The two faces blushed and looked back at the young man with a thousand thoughts running through their heads.
"Harry…there was no question in our minds. As soon as we heard the news – no matter what our children decreed – we knew you couldn't do that its simply not you. You mean a lot to us, we hope you know that." Arthur said gently as he wrapped an arm around his wife and they smiled at him.
Harry was lost for words, not knowing what else to do he stepped forward and wrapped them both in a hug that they eagerly returned.
"Thank you." Was the mere whisper that escaped but they both heard it and tightened their grip slightly before they all released each other and headed out with Sirius who was surreptitiously removing the moisture from his eyes.
"Everyone this is Mrs and Mr Weasley and those two red headed pranksters are Fred and George." Remus said loudly as they arrived on the patio.
Molly immediately bustled over and held her hand out to shake everyone's expectantly.
"Hello dears, its so wonderful to meet you all but please call me Molly. We've made sure to keep up the Quibbler and it sounds fascinating. Hello Mrs Davis, Lady Greengrass; a pleasure to meet you again." She said politely, her brown eyes open and warm as she surveyed the group who all introduced themselves with only small amounts of hesitations.
"A pleasure to meet you, Molly. I'm Thomas and this is my wife Jody and Sammy is our son. Sammy! Come over here and say hello to our new guests."
The group of children came over, Bobby and Sammy both clearly lagging behind no matter the encouragement from the new friends. Molly smiled at them both; not the beaming grin she'd given to the parents but to the gentle, kind one that Harry remembered at their first meeting.
"Hello Sammy, it's a pleasure to meet you. I remember when my boys were your height, they got into so much mischief getting under my feet."
"They did?" Sammy asked, poking his head out from behind his mother's legs.
"Oh yes, utter pranksters they were, oh the things they did. Once they added dandelion roots and firefly wings to my cooking stew and we all glowed pink for a month!
Sammy let out a giggle and stepped out from his hiding spot to stand closer to Bobby who was smiling but still cautious.
"And you my dear? You look about the age of my littlest?"
"I'm Bobby, I'm twelve."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, young man and these are my boys Fred and George."
Within two minutes Fred and George had engaged Bobby and Sammy in conversation and had drawn laughs from the both of them, altogether the children returned to their game where the twins exhausted everyone and shrieks of excitement rolled over the gardens and through the adult conversations that had resumed.
Molly and Arthur seamlessly slid into conversations with the others involved and soon Arthur was wrapped in discussion with Thomas about working in a muggle restaurant while swapping stories with Oscar about different ministry workers.
"Tell me more about your delightful children? Do you need anything up at the farm?"
"Thankyou but we are actually overflowing with everything. Remus has made sure we are all taken care of, there's so much food we won't have to worry about eating for a month! And where as we may have struggled in the past, Theo and Harry have taken us all out to the local shops and we've brought lots of nice things for the kids… probably better than they've had for a while." Joy said quietly and Jody quickly wrapped an arm around her.
"Now now none of that, we've had lots of problems but we all tried our best. Don't doubt that hun."
Joy sniffed back tears and looked around in slight embarrassment.
"Yes, you're right. Its just such a relief now I wonder if we couldn't have done something like this ages ago."
"What matters is that you can say hand on heart that you gave them the best life you could. That's all you can do as parents." Jody said firmly and the others quickly chimed in with their agreement leading to the woman to smile at them in relief.
"Thankyou, anyway the point of that Molly is that we're okay but thankyou anyway."
"Well if ever you need anything let me know my husband and –" They were interrupted by an especially loud shriek and looked over to see one of the Twins spinning Bobby around in a circle.
"Or if you need to borrow one my sons to get rid of your ones energy." Molly finished with a sigh as she watched the children with a fond smile.
"They do seem to have made an impression, how old are they?"
"They are our two middleist and are seventeen. Fred is older by 6 minutes and 17 seconds – a point I only remember because he ensures to remind his brother every chance he gets. First we have Bill is our oldest, then Charlie, Percy, Twins, Ron and Ginny."
"Quite the clan then, how was that all when they were younger?"
"Oh a headache, completely and utterly. But I love them all and could never imagine not having a noise in the house."
Family talk continued until exhaustion had finally run through the game players, the group then descended on the food that the ecstatic house elves had catered for them. Falling into the chairs set around the large tables that had appeared; happy sighs emitted from each as plates emptied and bellies filled. Chatter filled the air as voices rose in order to be heard over each other as family members argued over a story and the others laughed. Sirius and Remus kept them all in hysterics with the many pranks they did a school, Thomas was almost as bad as he spoke about the appalling manners and all manner of 'fuckery' that he had to put up with when he worked as a chef in some of London's finest establishments. Luna and Xeno had them all trying to act very seriously as they spoke mystical animals from around the globe and what various governments wanted to do with them.
All in all Harry thought as he looked around with a smile as the plates were cleared its one of the best days of my life and certainly his favourite birthday.
Feeling a small hand slip into his from where they rested on the table he turned to catch the gaze of his girlfriend who was looking at him with eyes practically glowing from happiness.
"Having a good day?" She asked quietly.
Harry nodded and raised her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles.
"The best, you?"
"Undoubtably. It's been brilliant."
Smiling at each other they were pulled away by Neville and Theo's over exaggerated sappy lines to each other as they mocked their friends. Grabbing a roll Harry through it hard and with a smack it landed in the middle of Notts face sending everyone back into hysterics again. Settling back with his arm around a giggling Daphne, Harry smiled smugly at his friend who was scowling around with bits of dough and butter stuck to his eyebrows.