Ginny looked at Ron and shook her head as he recounted some story from George at the shop. They were having dinner, it was just after Valentines, and to everyone's astonishment, Hermione had not only come along to Ginny and Harry's house, but she'd left the Ministry on time to make it to dinner before it was cold.
Ginny wasn't really paying attention to what Ron was saying. It might have been funny, but her heart was caught up in all the things that were going wrong around them and she couldn't laugh. She wanted to, but it was getting to her. She had eight grandbabies with two more on the way, but Lorelei was constantly suffering from visions which everything she'd read told her she shouldn't be having before she was eight. She'd not found tales of a single seer who had visions as an infant. Of course, it could be that no one had known what they were looking for with the infants and might have thought they were fussy babies.
She worried for her and there was nothing she could do.
She worried about Crabbe, although that was a low-level anxiety attack that she'd been ignoring for decades at this point so it didn't stir up too much worry. They'd managed. They had everyone locked down that they felt might need to be locked down. That would have to do. It wasn't that anyone loved not having freedom but they'd accepted it.
Everyone was doing well personally. Al and Nat had their son and Wyatt was the sweetest of babies! They enjoyed him so much and she could see all of her younger son's hopes and dreams coming true. It was a sight to behold and she treasured it.
"Let's get dessert ready," Hermione said from Ginny's side and she answered with a smile and rose to follow her sister-in-law into the kitchen.
"I only have fruit," Ginny told her with a wry smile. "We're both watching our weight, so we have berries and cream."
"That's fine," Hermione said as she helped pull things out. She glanced over to the men, then back to Ginny. She had on her serious face, which made Ginny's heart sink. "I wanted to know if Harry has said anything about Hugo."
That was not what Ginny had expected from her. "In what way?"
"With his Auror training," Hermione explained in a barely audible whisper. "He's told me he's doing well but Harry would lie to spare my feelings and I'll… well…" she bit at her lip for a moment before she let out a long sigh. "You know what it's like. If they're bad at accounting, they aren't going to be hurt. They'll just be fired. If he's not good as an Auror, he can get killed and I'd want to, I don't know, possibly encourage him to look at something else."
"Oh!" Ginny understood exactly what she was saying. "No, he's doing really well. Teddy isn't about to spare my feelings and he's told me that Hugo is a steadier trainee than Al was."
Hermione's brows rose almost to her hairline. "Really?"
"Al might be better in some areas, like some spell casting, but he wasn't consistently better in all areas," Ginny told her. "Harry has said the same thing. Al did very well and he and Lena were able to push through quickly, but they both said that Hugo is better at fixing mistakes and he's more calculated in risks."
"Good, good," Hermione said as she let out a long breath and glanced over to Ron.
"How are things?" Ginny asked, wondering what state her brother's marriage was in at that moment.
Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment before she shrugged. "We get along just fine now. We rarely fight. We share meals. It's very civilized and we're back to being friends. Sometimes we have mild disagreements, but it isn't like when we were young and both so hotheaded. I think this might be as good as it can be and I'm alright with that."
It wasn't anything Ginny would have been satisfied with and she was thankful to still be deeply in love with her husband. She was also not as hotheaded as she'd been when she'd been a teenager, but they still have passion and love. It wasn't a blazing fire, but it was so easy and comfortable now that she cherished it all the more. They weren't simply roommates, going along to get along with each other.
She went to bed that night and rolled over to rest her head on Harry's shoulder. He kissed her brow and held her fast, running his hand up and down her arm. "You okay?"
"I'm good," she assured him. "I'm glad I have you."
"I'm very, very glad I have you, too," he told her.
The next day saw her going to Lily's house. Her daughter had sent a message. Lorelei was having a very bad day and Lily was beside herself.
It wasn't as though either of them could do anything for her, but it helped Lily to not be alone with her child's misery. They could take turns holding and rocking the girl as she cried and cried.
As Ginny took a turn around the house, holding the exhausted Lorelei, who had finally cried herself to sleep, Lily burst in to tears. "I can't do this, Mum!"
"Yes, you can," Ginny told her as she continued to sway, knowing if she set Lorelei down, the tiny girl would wake and start crying all over again. "You can do this!"
"She's miserable!" Lily said as she fell into a seat and dropped her head into her hands. "She's so unhappy and it hurts her! I don't… I d-don't know how to do this!"
It always hurt Ginny to see her children unhappy. She never wanted it. She wanted to protect them, always, and when they'd been little she'd done her best to shield them at all costs. It had made James a bullying monster, Al a worry-wort, and Lily a mouse.
Life was full of hurts and pains and it wasn't her job to stop them. That was a hard-fought lesson of motherhood. "You aren't supposed to carry her burdens for her, Lily-Lu. You're just supposed to walk with her on the journey."
Lily's anguished face rose to meet hers as Sera bumped her head into Lily's hand, the dog trying to offer what comfort he could. "I don't understand."
"You do your best to protect your kids," Ginny told her. "You're doing your best, but this isn't yours to carry, Lily. This is hers. She was given this gift, and yes, maybe it's a curse right now. But it's also a gift. You need to walk with her and help her learn to carry it. She gets relief when she can, but she's always going to have this… so she needs to be strong enough to carry it."
Lily let out a long breath and closed her eyes. "I know you're right… but it breaks my heart."
"I know, baby…" Ginny reminded her. "I know exactly what that's like."
A small smile formed on Lily's lips before she nodded. "Yeah, you do know."
They managed to keep Lorelei asleep for an hour, but then she was back to miserable. It wasn't until nearly six when it was three of them, including Scorpius walking around with her, that Rick arrived.
"I'm sorry," he said as he came out of the fireplace. "It was a mess today at the Ministry," he told the adults as the baby let out a pitiful cry and reached for him. "I know," he told her as he took the little girl and pulled her in for a hug. Moments later the prophecy spilled out of his mouth. In another life, Ginny might have been fascinated by all the things Lorelei saw, but she'd now heard so many and most of them were convoluted garbage that probably wouldn't happen for eons and she didn't care.
As soon as it was over, Lorelei looked ready to pass out. She was exhausted and she hadn't eaten all day. "Mummy…" she said pitifully and Lily took her, carrying her over to a comfortable arm chair so she could nurse her.
"Appreciate it," Scorpius said as he clapped Rick on the back. "I know it's a lot."
Rick shook his head. "Al and Lena are both back in at full time. If I can't get away from the Ministry, for whatever reason, just have Lily bring her to Harry's office. It doesn't take long and then she can have peace."
"Yes," Ginny agreed. "Lorelei is good with the Floo and Harry's office is safe. That's a good idea."
"I don't love her leaving the safety of the house," Scorpius said as he scrubbed at his face, "But she can't keep on like this. She was so unhappy today! And that prophecy about black birds? What does that even mean? It's nonsense, but it scares her."
"Being a parent is hard work," Ginny said on a long sigh as she gazed over at her daughter. "It doesn't get easier as they get older, I'm sorry to say."
"Great," Rick said on a clipped grunt. "Thankfully, Honor is not in any hurry. I know I'm not, either."
Ginny smiled. "It's very rewarding, as well, but there's no harm in waiting a bit. You're very young still. Anyway, thank you, Rick. We appreciate it. I'm going to get some dinner thrown together if you want in."
"No, I'm heading over to have dinner with Honor," he told them. "I'll see you later."
Parenthood didn't get easier because her children's problems grew in scope and complications and now she had grandchildren to worry about.
But it was all very, very worth it and she really hoped that once Lorelei could speak, the prophecies would simply spill out and she wouldn't remember them anymore, as was the case for other seers. It seemed to be the case with what happened now. As soon as she passed it to Rick, it was out of her head and she was free of it.
She didn't have to remember it anymore. At least, Ginny hoped that was what was happening.
Only time would tell what the future would hold.
~*~
The nightmare is what woke James, but it wasn't his nightmare. He felt Caroline thrash next to him and he reached for her, wondering how this one was going to go. She hadn't had a nightmare since before Asher was born… maybe since before she'd been pregnant with him. It had been so long that he couldn't even remember. "Hey," James said in a loud whisper. He needed to wake her, but she'd panic if he startled her too much. "Caroline!'
"No!" she said it forcefully and she shook her head. A low keening wail that sounded like a small child's voice poured from her lips, absolutely shattering his heart and his control. He reached to pull her into a hug.
And she hit him. She hit him hard in the face and screamed.
"No, sweetheart!" James tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't be reasoned with. "Rufus!" he called out loudly, knowing he was risking waking the kids, but he needed the dog. "Caroline, it's James… it's your husband, wake up Luv."
The dog pushed the door open and trotted into the room and over to her side of the bed. He was up on her side, sticking his nose into her hand until she clutched at him and began to cry hard, bitter tears.
Then the baby began to scream.
Honor might hear the baby and go get him, but she also tended to silence her room so she could sleep through the noise since she had work. He glanced between the dog, his wife, and the door.
He had to get Asher. Caroline would want him to get the baby. He hated to leave her, but he ran from the room and into Asher's room. "Hey," he crooned to the baby who was standing in his cot, his arms upstretched and tears streaming down his face. "You're okay," James assured him as he picked him up and kissed his damp cheek. "Daddy has you. You're okay."
"What's going on?" Honor asked from the doorway.
"Caroline is having a nightmare and I woke Asher up when I called for Rufus," James said as he tried to lay Asher down to check his nappy.
Asher wouldn't let go and he clung hard to James.
"I'll go check Caroline," Honor told him as he tried to coax his son into calming down enough to change him.
"Daddy!" Alex called out from his room.
"Coming," James said as he carried Asher out of the room and went to Alex. "It's very late," he told Alex, who was sitting up in his small bed, holding a stuffed dragon. "You can go back to sleep."
"Mummy is crying," Alex told him and indeed he could hear Caroline sobbing hard in the other room.
Too many people needed him, but he had to leave Caroline to Honor at the moment. "Lay back down, Alex," James said as he settled Asher next to him. "You and Asher can lay here while I go check on Mummy, okay?"
The second he set Asher down, his son started screaming again.
Well, it had been worth a try. He picked him up and rose to go back into his room, Alex trailing along behind him, dragging his stuffed dragon and a blanket that Gran had knitted for him years before.
Caroline was still stuck in the nightmare, but she was sobbing and Honor wasn't even close to her.
"She took a swing at me," Honor told him.
"Yeah, she punched me already," James told her. "Rufus," he called to the dog who very reluctantly left Caroline's side and moved over towards James. "Down," he told the dog and as soon as he was settled, he put Asher on the dog's back.
Asher might have been upset, but he wasn't upset enough to be able to resist the dog's calming magic and almost immediately his baby calmed into hiccups as he curled into the dog's fur. Alex did the same, laying down on the big dog and watching James as he approached Caroline again.
"Caroline!" James shouted it this time. "Your sons need you!"
He was hoping that would break through the nightmare, but she wasn't hearing him. He considered her for a moment, snatched up her wand which was closest, and doused her with water.
She woke up spluttering with a loud gasp. "What?"
He waved the wand again, drying her off and he sat down, waiting until she focused on him before he pulled her into his arms. "Nightmare."
His wife broke down in sobs; hard, noisy, painful, heartbreaking sobs.
"You're okay, now," he told her as he rubbed at her back. "You're okay."
"I couldn't… I couldn't…" but she couldn't get it out. Then she must have caught sight of the boys, because she let out a strangled cry and went for them, gathering both into her arms and sitting right there on the floor, rocking them and sobbing. James was right there with her, holding all three of them.
Honor came over to him and he saw her examine his face. "I'll get the bruise ointment for your face. I'll be right back."
He almost told her not to bother, but he knew the mark she'd left would bother Caroline. It was a lot less painful than a Bludger to the face, but that wasn't going to be a comfort either.
It took almost an hour to get everyone settled again, and his sons weren't in their own beds, but in with their parents. He had, at least, managed to change Asher's nappy while his son nursed.
There were things he imagined he'd do as a father, and other things he absolutely could never have foreseen and that was one of them.
"I'm sorry," Caroline whispered to him as she touched his already healing cheek.
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Luv. Just get some sleep."
He was supposed to be at the practice pitch early, but he overslept and by the time he made it to practice the bruise on his face was an amazing shade of green.
His coach was not happy with him, and his teammates ragged on his for the punch he'd taken to the cheek, but he didn't explain it to anyone.
Caroline had told him what her nightmare was about, and it wasn't her father. She'd been clutched in the grips of a realistic nightmare that she was watching her children being killed and she couldn't stop it. It was weighing on her.
It was weighing on all of them and there was simply nothing they could do about it. They all had to wait until Crabbe slipped up and she was caught. He'd had this woman hunting him and his family for longer than he'd been alive and now she was hunting his wife and his children.
"Do you need to leave early?" his coach asked as he missed yet another pass by one of his fellow Chasers. He'd called him down to the pitch to chew him out, but James' expression must have been absolutely miserable.
James turned his face to the ground and tried to contain his emotions, but he felt ragged and raw. His whole family had been depending on him last night and he'd barely held it together. He'd even had Honor there to help him, but his children needed him and their mother… not their aunt. "My family needs me," James finally said. "I would like to go home early if I can. We had a rough night last night." He met the coach's eyes and saw compassion there rather than anger.
"Did your wife hit you?" he finally asked.
He felt his shoulders stiffen and he turned away. "She was having a nightmare. She didn't mean to hurt me."
"Go," the coach said and James didn't say anything. He simply nodded in thanks and walked off the pitch.
He wasn't any good to his team that day anyway. He needed to be home.
He really needed Crabbe to drop off the face of the earth. But since he couldn't have the one, he was happy to have his family.
Author's Notes: Thank you Arnel for beta'ing!
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