A Normal Day at the Potters. by Pottermum



Summary: Harry and Ginny have just returned home from another holiday, when they get a call from one of their children. Set after Diamonds and Pearls.
Rating: PG starstarstarstarstar
Categories: Post-Hogwarts
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: The Potters.
Published: 2014.08.06
Updated: 2014.08.11


Index

Chapter 1: Chapter 1 The call for help.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2 The Grandkids


Chapter 1: Chapter 1 The call for help.

Author's Notes: This is for Arnel. I had honestly thought I had finished with my little Potter family series. Then a message from Arnel, with a hint of an idea, lead to this. It does contain references from my other stories, but can be read alone. It wasn't the story I set out to write, but just what flowed. I won't promise this is the last, either. Arnel, I hope you, and everyone enjoys it. A/N at bottom.


Ginny and Harry were enjoying a leisurely shower together when they heard a voice come from the fireplace in their bedroom.

“Ignore it,” said Harry, soaping Ginny's body. “Nobody should even know we're home.”

“I owled the kids last night to let them know,” murmured Ginny, enjoying the ministrations of Harry's hands on her body.

“Then they should be letting us sleep in,” said Harry, running the wash cloth over Ginny lovingly.

Ginny laughed. “I don't think this is what they would call sleeping in.”

She turned to embrace Harry, but hearing someone franticly calling her name made her pause. “I think it's Lil.”

She grabbed a towel and stepped out the shower, heading back to their bedroom. “Lil, is that you?”

“Mum, thank Merlin you're home. Can you and Dad come over to Al and Scor's right now. Please, Mum, I, oh no-”

“Lil, Lily are you there? Is everything okay? Lily?” asked Ginny, worriedly.

There was no answer. Ginny went back into the bathroom. Harry popped his head out and tried to entice her back in, until he saw the look on her face.

“What's wrong? Was it Lily?” he asked.

“Yes, but I didn't have time to talk to her, she just asked us to come over to Al and Scorpius's place. You'd better get dressed, Harry,” said Ginny.

She went back into their bedroom and got dressed. Harry got out the shower, and he too got dressed. Together they made their way downstairs and prepared to leave via the floo in their lounge room.

They arrived in Al and Scorpius's cosy cottage. There was no sign of anybody, no sounds of anything unusual. Harry and Ginny looked at each other, silently drawing out their wands. Harry headed for the kitchen while Ginny headed to the rear of the house where the bedrooms were.

“Harry, here!” cried Ginny.

Harry quickly moved from the kitchen where the makings of breakfast were, through the lounge and down the hall. He saw Ginny come out of a room with two wriggling things under her arm.

“Here,” she said passing them to him, and going back into the room. He looked down at what she'd placed in his arms.

“Grandpa!” they chorused.

He looked into the identical faces of his first grandchildren, Brian and Bradley Potter. They were three and a half, born to James and Alice. They reminded Harry so much of James when he was younger, with their mischievous ways. Being twins, Ginny said they were also channelling Fred and George.

Harry carried them out to the lounge and sat down with them on his knee. He was surprised at how much they'd grown in the three months since he and Ginny had left for their trip to Australia.

“Hi, boys. I've missed you. Did you miss me and Nana?” asked Harry, giving each boy a hug.

They squirmed in the hug. “Yes, we missed you and Nana. What did you bring us?” asked Brian, the more talkative of the two.

Harry chuckled. “Well, we haven't even unpacked yet, but I'm sure Nana got a little something for you.”

“Yay for Nana,” cheered Bradley. “Want Nana now.”

He got off Harry's knee and started to run down the hall. Harry quickly stopped him.

“Woah, stay here with me for a minute. Do you know what's going on down there?” he asked.

Bradley nodded. “Auntie Lil is sick.”

Brian added, “Her face is green.”

Bradley said, “ She made a big mess in Annie's room.”

“Why are you guys here? Why is Lily here looking after you all?” asked Harry, thinking aloud.

The boys looked at each other, then Harry and shrugged. They all turned to look as Ginny came out of a bedroom carrying ten month old Annie, Al and Scorpius's adopted daughter.

Al and Scorpius had been approved as adoptive parents three years previously, but they were put on a waiting list with thousands of other couples. They'd nearly had a child eighteen months ago but it had fallen through. Then six months ago they'd received the owl they had been waiting for. Tiny Anne Marie had come into their lives; a magical baby found in a Muggle orphanage. Her adoption had completed their little family.

Harry looked at his wife, as she sat down next to him on the couch. They boys gathered around to look at their baby cousin.

“What's going on, Gin? They boys said Lil is sick, is she all right? Why are they all here, anyway? Where's Al or Scor, or James or Ali?”

Ginny sighed. “It seems we've returned in the middle of a flu epidemic. Ali has been pulling double shifts at St Mungo's, and James was supposed to watch the boys, but half of the Aurors are off sick. So he asked Lily to watch the boys today, as she's on summer holidays.”

Lily was a teacher at the local magical school for ages five to ten. She mostly worked with the youngest ones, and adored her little students. Being early July, she was on holidays. Her husband Liam played Quidditch for the Chudley Cannons, and was currently away at a training camp.

Ginny continued. “Al was off yesterday because Scorpius had a trade meeting in Egypt. He was supposed to be back early this morning, but there was a problem with his Portkey. Al had to go to work as he had a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister, so Al asked if Lily could watch all the kids here, until Scorpius got home. Lily stayed the night, she said she felt fine, but as she was getting the boys their breakfast, she felt sick. She ran to the bathroom, but then Annie woke up, so she went to see her. She threw up in there.”

“So it seems Lily has the flu, too. Where is she now?” asked Harry, worriedly.

“I cleaned up the mess while she had a quick shower, and she's laying back down in the guest bedroom, where she slept last night. I changed this little one and brought her out for a bottle. Come on boys, Nana and Grandpa will make you some breakfast, we'll leave Auntie Lil to have a rest,” said Ginny standing.

“Nana, what did you bring me?” asked Bradley. “I been really good,” he said, watching Ginny hand Annie over to Harry. Ginny then picked Bradley up to hug him and took Brian by the hand. They headed for the kitchen.

“How good is real good?” asked Ginny laughing.

“Really, really good,” said Brian earnestly.

Bradley nodded, cuddling his head into Ginny's shoulder.

“Well, really, really good just might mean a really, really good present,” laughed Ginny.
“Grandpa and I only got home last night so we haven't even unpacked yet. Maybe we'll pop over to our house later and see if we can find it.”

“We're really good finders, Nana, 'specially for presents,” said Brian, looking at Bradley, who nodded.

Ginny sat them both in a chair with a special seat for the toddlers, and kissed them both on their heads.

“I'm sure you are, if you're anything like your dad,” she said laughing. “Now, what would you like for breakfast?”

“Cereal, please Nana.”

“Toast, please Nana.”

“Just let me go and check on Grandpa and Annie, and I'll be right back,” said Ginny.

She found Harry in the lounge still, nursing Annie. He was talking and making silly faces at her, and she just watched him, enthralled. She reached out to grab his glasses.

“Hey, are you coming into the kitchen for breakfast? Or I can bring you her bottle if you want to stay here with her?” asked Ginny softly. She loved watching Harry with their grandchildren, he doted on them like crazy.

Harry smiled at Annie. “Who's Grandpa's pretty girl? Does Annie want her bottle now? Give Grandpa a big smile, come on sweetheart,” he encouraged.

Annie broke out into a big smile, showing off her two teeth. Harry yelled out 'Yes!' and it startled her and she started to cry.

“Oops,” said Harry sheepishly.

Annie's cries quickly grew louder, and he handed her over to Ginny. “How about you feed her, and I'll look after the boys?” he suggested.

“Okay. But I think we'll all eat in the kitchen. Come on Grandpa Potter, cereal and toast await you,” said Ginny, jiggling Annie to try and get her to calm down.

“You know, you're pretty hot for a Nana, Gin!” said Harry, caressing her bottom as he followed her.

“Harry, you are not copping a feel as I'm holding our granddaughter, are you?” laughed Ginny.

“Ugh, I did SO not need to hear that!” said Lily, from the hall, looking miserable. She swayed slightly, grasping the wall. Harry rushed to her.

“What are you doing out of bed, Lil? Come on love, back to to bed with you. I'll bring you in some dry toast and a cup of tea soon, all right?” said Ginny.

Lily burst into tears and nodded, letting Harry lead her back into the guest bedroom. “I'm so sorry Dad, I know you and Mum just got back. You probably wanted to have a quiet day back, didn't you? Now I've ruined everything,” she said, crying again.

Harry hugged her. “Come on sweetheart, you can't help being sick. You know you can always count on your mum and me for anything. It's actually kind of nice, you needing us again. Not that I want you to be sick, of course. Now, into bed, your mum will be in soon.”

“I'm glad you're home, Dad. I miss you when you're away,” yawned Lily, snuggling in the bed.

Harry tucked her in, remembering all the times he had done it when she was so much younger. He brushed a kiss over her forehead. “We miss you all too, Lil. Now, just rest and don't worry about a thing.”

He left her dozing and headed back to the kitchen. He found the boys eating their breakfasts and Ginny feeding Annie with a bottle. Ginny looked up as he returned to the kitchen.

“How's Lily?” she asked.

Harry shrugged. “Feeling lousy, if it's the flu. She's dozing at the moment. I'll make her some toast and put the kettle on. You want anything, love?”

Bradley and Brian giggled. “You called Nana 'love'. That's what Daddy calls Mummy too.”

“Well good,” said Harry. “Nana is my love, just like Mummy is Daddy's love.”

“And Uncle Al and Uncle Scor,” said Bradley.

“And Uncle Teddy and Auntie Vic,” said Brian.

“And-”

“Okay, okay. With this family, we could be here all day,” said Harry, laughing.

They boys giggled again. Ginny just shook her head at them, and to Annie she whispered, “Boys!”

Annie smiled behind her bottle, and kept sucking.

Harry made Ginny some toast and a cup of tea, then after taking some to Lily, he made some for himself. By this time the boys were getting a bit anxious, so Ginny let them go and play. Lily had said that James had brought some toys with them, when he had dropped them off.

“Ok Gin, what's the plan,” said Harry, knowing Ginny had a good head for organising things like this.

Ginny nodded. “While the boys are quiet, I'll try and get Annie back down for a sleep. Why don't you floo to the Ministry and leave a message for Al, and see if you can find out when Scorpius should be home. If it's only a hour or two we may as well stay here, but if it's going to be most of the day, maybe we should take the kids to ours and let Lily get some rest in quiet. You could always pop in and see James, let him know what's going on,” said Ginny.

“Sounds good, Gin. I'll just go check on the boys, then I'll go. I'll be as quick as I can, love,” he said, kissing her goodbye.

Annie reached up to touch his cheek. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. She awarded him another smile, which melted Harry's heart. He left the kitchen to go talk to the boys.

Ginny smiled at Annie. “He's a sucker for a little girl. Just keep smiling at him, and he'll give you the moon, if you ask for it.”

Annie smiled at Ginny, as if she understood everything Ginny said. Ginny sighed contentedly, enjoying the feeling of nursing a little one again.

Harry returned within the hour. The boys were still playing with their toys. Ginny came out from Lily's room, looking worried. She sighed in relief when she saw Harry.

“How did you go?” she asked him.

“Well, I left a message with Al's secretary, but he's expected to be away most of the day. James is out on a case with Teddy, so I left a message with Teddy's secretary too. No one in the Department of Magical Cooperation could tell me when Scorpius is due in, as the Portkey issue happened in Egypt. So I left a message for him, as well,” said Harry.

“You're just like an owl, Grandpa, deliverin' messages to everyone,” said Brian.

Harry chuckled, patting his head. “Yes, Brian, you're quite right.”

Ginny smiled, but then looked at Harry. “I'm worried about Lily. She's thrown up again. I think maybe I should take her to St Mungo's, see if Ali could take a look at her. She needs a potion, or something.”

“Our Mummy can fix everybody,” said Brian, proudly.

Brian nodded eagerly. Their mum, Alice Potter, nee Longbottom, was a healer at St Mungo's.

“Can't you just get her an over the counter potion? If it's just the flu, well, that should perk her up a bit,”said Harry.



“Well, I'm not sure it is the flu. It might be something she ate, or something else. I think she should get checked out. She says she feels all right to go, but do you think you can handle the boys? Annie's asleep, so you should be fine with her. I really don't know how long we'll be. If there's a flu epidemic, I imagine there will be a lot of people there, so we might be awhile,” said Ginny, worriedly.

“Ginny, we'll be fine. Honestly, you'd think I never looked after our kids alone before. Annie's asleep, and we'll play some games, do some drawings, make lunch in a while. There's lots we can do together, isn't there boys?” asked Harry.

“Sure Grandpa,” they called out.

Ginny coughed the words “Diagon Alley!” Harry narrowed his eyes at her, then laughed. “That was a one off, that day, and you know it!”

Ginny just smiled and blew her husband a kiss. The twins looked between them, wondering what they were talking about. Their nana and grandpa always did that, talking and laughing; that usually led to kissing and hugging.

“Well, all right then. I'll go help Lily get dressed and we'll go. Promise me you'll be good for Grandpa, boys, and do everything he says. If you can be good, I'll bring my boys back a treat,” said Ginny.

“Yay!” cried Bradley and Brian.

“Yay,” cried Harry.

Ginny, Bradley and Brian looked at him. “What?”

“Nana meant for us, didn't you Nana?” asked Bradley.

“Well, I did, but if Grandpa does a good job looking after you, doesn't he deserve a treat too?” asked Ginny.

“'Spose so,” said Brian.

“Right, I'm going to go see to Lily. Be good, my darlings. Harry, we'll be back as soon as we can, love,” she said kissing him goodbye. She quickly left to go to Lily.

“Ooh Yuk! Why do you gotta kiss Nana all the time for!” cried Bradley, screwing his nose up.

“Feels good,” said Harry cheerfully.

“Bleh!” said the boys together.

“Come on boys, let's go see what your dad packed for you. Maybe you could draw a get well card for Auntie Lil. Or shall we play a game?” Harry asked..

“A game, a game,” they called.

They played a couple of quick games of Exploding Snap, when Ginny and Lily returned to the lounge.

Bradley and Brian rushed to their aunt. “Are you all right, Auntie Lil?” asked Brian.

“You're not going to die, are you?” asked Bradley, worriedly.

“Feel like it,” muttered Lily, softly. Ginny chuckled.

To the boys Lily said, “No, boys, I'll be fine. Be good boys for Grandpa, now.”

“We will, Auntie Lil. Say hi to Mummy. Bye Nana, don't forget our treat,” said Brian.

Ginny and Lily were just leaving to go through the floo. “Don't forget to do the breakfast dishes, Harry,” called Ginny. She flooed away before Harry could respond.

And then the fun really began!


A/N OK I admit it was totally narcissistic of me to give Annie my name, but hey, my story, my character. I DONT get called Annie at all, though. So, I'm finally a Potter and magical! Yay, me! FYI Bradley and Brian are my Son's and Dad's names. They seemed to fit, as Brian was one of Dumbledore's middle names. Keeping it in the family, so to speak!
















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Chapter 2: Chapter 2 The Grandkids

Author's Notes: Last chapter. I won't say this is it for this little family series, but I do want to finish off Power, and I have a new 8 chapter story already finished and ready to go. A big thanks for all the great reviews for all the stories, and The Silver Trinket nominations are the cherry on the cake, Cheers




Harry went to retrieve the boy's bags that James had brought over with them that morning. There was a spare change of clothes, some books, colour pencils and toys. There was a note in there penned from Ali, she was trying to get the boys into a routine. She wanted them to have lunch at a certain time, then down for a nap a couple of hours later. She'd sent over some snacks as well; Lily had already put them in the fridge. She also reminded Lily in the note to keep asking the boys if they needed to go to the toilet, as they'd had a few accidents lately. 'Great!' thought Harry wryly, 'just what he needed to worry about'. He certainly didn't miss that part of parenting.

He was pulling out the books for the boys when he heard Annie start to cry. He waited a minute to see if she settled herself back down, but she continued. Harry was about to go and check on her when the floo activated. He was surprised to see Draco step through. Draco, likewise, seemed surprised to see him there.

“Harry,” he greeted.

“Draco,” nodded Harry.

Annie's cries were getting louder.

“Where's Scorpius, why are you here? Is that Annie crying?” asked Draco.

Harry and Draco headed down the hall where Annie's cries were escalating. “Scorpius's Portkey was held up in Egypt, and Al had a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister he had to attend. Lily was looking after them, but she got sick and called us. Ginny just took her to St Mungo's,” explained Harry.

They went in to Annie's room. She lay in her cot crying. Her arms waved as she saw her two grandpa's, but then her cries got louder. Harry picked her up. She stopped crying momentarily, hiccuping and putting her head in the crook of Harry's neck.

“Uh oh, she's wet. She needs changing,” said Harry, grabbing her hands to stop her grabbing his glasses.

“Who's them? You said Lily was looking after them. Is there someone else here?” asked Draco, smiling at Annie and grabbing her hands as she waved them at him.

“Oh damn, I forgot about the boys. Here,” said Harry, handing Annie to Draco. “James's twins are here too. I better go see what they're up to.”

He started to leave the room.

“Wait, you want ME to change her?” asked Draco. “I've never changed a nappy before.”

“Never? Even when Scorpius was a baby? How is that possible?” asked Harry, taking Draco over to the change table.

“Astoria took care of all that, with the help of our house elves,” said Draco, laying Annie down on the change table. She kicked her legs and giggled up at her grandpas.

“Listen, I really need to go. Take the old one off, and put it in that bin. Here's the clean one, just slip it under her butt and it does up here and here. Just rock her for a bit after, she may go back to sleep,” said Harry, running out of the room.

Draco took a deep breath and started to undo the nappy. “Here goes nothing,” he said.

Meanwhile Harry had arrived in the lounge and sure enough, there was no sign of the boys. “Bradley, Brian, where are you?” he called.

SMASH! Harry raced to the kitchen and burst through the door. They boys were in there, attempting to do the dishes. Bubbly water was coming out of the sink and covering the floor. Brian and Bradley were standing on a chair. A smashed plate lay on the floor.

“Grandpa, we is helping like Nana said. We gonna get a big treat from Nana,” Brian said grinning.

He dunked a dirty plate in the water and handed it over to Bradley, who patted it and put it on the bench. Four other plates balanced precariously on the edge of the bench, just waiting to slip and smash onto the floor, as the last one had just done.

“Boys, don't move,” said Harry. He summoned a broom and started to sweep all the broken bits off the floor. As he got closer to the sink, he turned the tap off.

Draco came into the kitchen and skidded on the floor. “Whoa, what the bloody hell, er heck happened here?”

“Hi Grandpa Draco, we is helping!” said Bradley. He bumped into Brian, and the chair they were standing on wobbled. Both Draco and Harry made a grab for the boys, each grabbing one. The boys giggled.

Harry and Draco carried them into the lounge. “They'll need to change their tops, they're soaked,” said Harry, grabbing their bags and handing one to Draco. “That's Brian's,” he said. “How did you go with changing Annie's nappy?' he asked as he stripped Bradley of his tshirt, and prepared to get him a dry one.

“Piece of cake,” said Draco. He held up two tshirts to Brian, asking which one he wanted to put on. Brian pointed to one, so Draco put the other one away. He dressed Brian, and asked Harry, “Now what?”

“How about you boys go out the back and play in the yard while we tidy the kitchen. We'll hang up their clothes to dry. We'll have to re-wash the dishes, I don't think they were cleaned at all. You boys can have your morning snack out there,” said Harry.

“Yay, woo hoo,” cried the boys, running to the door which lead to the back door. Harry let them out and told them to stay in the yard. “No leaving the backyard, no flying,” he instructed them. He gave them their fruit snack, and left a ball for them to play with. He hung up their wet clothes, and had a little kick with them, before going back inside.

Draco had started to tidy the kitchen by mopping the floor. When Harry joined him he asked, “Can't we just Scourgify this mess?”

Harry shrugged, “We can, but I prefer to do it the Muggle way.” He started to do the breakfast dishes.

Annie's cries stopped both men from working. Draco sighed. “I'll go check on her, you keep going here.”

Harry finished the dishes and was just wiping the counter when he heard Draco bellow, “Potter, get here now!”

Harry raced out of the kitchen and down the hall. The smell hit him before he ran into the room, but even so, he couldn't expect to see what he saw.

Annie was standing in her cot. Her nappy had come off. Unfortunately, the contents of the nappy were smeared all over her legs, on the cot and on all the bedding. She smiled at Harry as he came in, standing next to Draco, who had a horrified look on his face.

“That's-that's bloody disgusting,” said Draco. They both groaned as Annie lost her balance and sat on the bed, spreading the mess even further.

“Okay, what do you want to take, Annie or the bedding?” asking Harry.

“Is there a third choice?” asked Draco, wincing as Annie put her dirty hands in her hair.

“Look, just take her into the bathroom. I'll run the bath, you'll have to take her clothes off and clean her. Don't forget to wash her hair.”

“What! No way. I'd never changed a nappy till today, now you want me to bathe her. I don't think so,” said Draco, edging towards the door.

“Freeze, Malfoy. If I'm bathing Annie, you'll have to change her bed and clean the cot. You can do magic for that. Oh, and maybe an air freshening charm,” he suggested.

He took Annie into the bathroom. He banished her clothes and held her under the shower, letting the worst of the poo run off. Then he used a wash cloth to clean her properly. She kept trying to grab his glasses so he ended up taking them off. He washed her hair carefully, wishing she would stop squirming.

Once she was clean he wrapped her in a towel, and went back into the now clean bedroom. Together Harry and Draco started to dress her, Harry showing Draco how to properly fasten a nappy. He left Draco to finish while he went to check on the boys.

He opened the door to the back yard and looked around in shock. Al and Scorpius didn't have a big back yard, but they did have a nice little garden. That is, they used to. All the plants had been ripped out and now lay strewn all over the back yard.

“Brian? Bradley?” called Harry. A giggle made him look up. Both boys had climbed up the big tree that dominated one corner of the garden. They were quite close to the top, and Harry's heart lurched.

“Boys, don't move. I'm coming up,” said Harry.

“We lost our ball, Grandpa. Brian kicked it real high, and it got stuck,” explained Bradley.

He watched keenly as Harry started to climb the tree. “Did Nana teach you to climb trees too?” he asked.

Harry heard a chuckle from down below. He peered down. Neville Longbottom stood at the base of the tree, watching them all.

“Grandpop Nev!” cried Brian and Bradley, excitedly. The branch they were sitting on swayed under their movements, as they peered down and waved to Neville.

Harry reached out and snagged them. He started to climb back down, a feat not helped by two wriggling bodies.

“Well, Harry, did Ginny teach you how to climb a tree?” asked Neville, holding his hands out to take a giggling Bradley.

Harry then handed over Brian. “No, that would be running away from Dudley and his friends when I lived at the Dursleys,” he said dryly.

Neville looked embarrassed. “Oh, yes, well. What's going on here, anyway?” he asked, looking around.

“We weed, Grandpop,” said Brian.

“We is helping, so Nana will give us a big treat. So we weed, like you showed us,” said Bradley, proudly.

“I can see that, boys. Good job,” said Neville.

“What are they talking about?” asked Harry.

“They thought they weeded the garden. Unfortunately, it looks like they pulled out everything but the weeds. Never mind, the important thing is that they had fun in the garden. I can fix this, don't worry, Harry.”

“Gotta wee, Grandpa,” said Bradley.

“I think you've already weeded everything,” said Harry, looking around. He turned back to see Bradley had pulled his pants down and was weeing in the garden.

A noise made them turn around as Draco came out, holding Annie. He walked closer. “What's going on out here?” he asked.

Bradley turned around. “I'm weeing,” he said, spraying wee on Draco's pants, socks and shoes.

Annie clapped her hands as Draco groaned. Neville and Harry chuckled, exchanging amused looks.
Draco handed Annie over to Harry. He sat her on the ground, and the boys started to roll the ball to her.

“I'm going to clean my pants and shoes and borrow some of Scorpius's socks. Be back soon,” Draco said. He went back inside.

“How is it that you're babysitting with Draco?” asked Neville, amused.

Harry quickly filled him in on the latest with their children, explaining that Scorpius should be home soon, as should Ginny and Lily.

They ushered the boys inside. Brian then decided he had to go to the toilet, so Neville took him. Bradley followed them. Harry sat on the lounge, putting Annie on the floor between his legs. She pulled herself upright, leaning against him.

“Won't be long till you're running after those boys, climbing trees with them,” muttered Harry.

“No way,” said Draco, returning to the lounge. “She's a little lady, she won't be climbing trees, will you sweetheart?”

Harry scoffed. “She's going to go to the Burrow and she's going to climb trees, Draco. It's like a rite of passage there. You swim in the lake, you climb the trees, you play Quidditch. She'll do what her cousins do.”

“Well you bloody well need to keep an eye on her, I don't want anything bad to happen to her,” said Draco.

“You can't stop things happening to her, it's how she learns,” said Harry, amused.

“I know, it's just, look, never mind,” said Draco.

“Look, I know what it's like. You have a boy, and you don't mind when they rough house or climb trees and such. But with a girl, it's different, I get it. When Lily was born, I just wanted to wrap her up and protect her from all the bad things. But you can't, and you shouldn't. You just need to be there to help pick her up and get her back on her feet again.”

With that, he picked Annie up from the floor, and set her on her feet. She looked up at Draco, and smiled.

He sighed and sat down, watching her. “I just don't want anything bad to happen to her, that's all.”

“That's not all, that's everything,” said Harry, quietly. “Can I ask, why didn't you and Astoria have more kids after Scorpius?”

“We did. Astoria miscarried at six months. It was a little girl. Her name was Cassie, Cassipeia. It was a difficult time, and it left Astoria unable to have more children,” said Draco softly.

“God, I'm sorry. I had no idea,” said Harry, shocked.

“I would have liked a little girl,” said Draco, smiling sadly at Annie.

Annie stepped from Harry to Draco, holding onto both their legs.

Neville came back into the lounge, carrying both boys in his arms. “Found them jumping on Scorpius and Al's bed, like a trampoline. You need to remember to shut the door,” he said to Draco, who nodded.

“It makes us jump high. It's a great big bed. Why they gotta have such a big bed?” asked Brian. Draco and Harry turned red. Neville laughed.

Bradley jumped up and down beside him, making Annie laugh.

“That's my favourite sound in the whole world,” said Scorpius, coming through the floo. “Where's my little princess?” he asked, looking at Annie.

Annie left the protection of Grandpa Harry and Draco's legs, and on tottering legs of her own, made her way to Scorpius. He scooped her up and kissed her.

“Did you see that, she just took her first steps!” exclaimed Scorpius excitedly. “Who's my clever girl?” he asked her. She giggled.

Harry and Draco stood up. Scorpius greeted his dad with a hug, then Harry the same. “Did you see her?” he asked proudly.

“See her do what?” asked Al, coming through the floo. He dropped his briefcase, and went over to embrace Scorpius and Annie, kissing them both.

“Dada's,” she said, patting Al's face.

“Annie took her first steps,” said Scorpius.

Al looked delighted. Scorpius put her down, and with Brian and Bradley encouraging her, she toddled between Scorpius and Al, who scooped her up, kissing her.

Everyone clapped for her. Suddenly the floo activated and Liam, Lily's husband came through, still in his Chudley Cannons training gear and looking flustered.

“Where's Lily?” he asked Harry. Without waiting for an answer he went on. “I got an owl from her, asking me to meet her here, saying it was urgent. Is she all right?” he demanded.

“Well, she was pretty sick this morning. Gin took her to St Mungo's, they've been gone awhile, actually,” he noted, looking at his watch, an anniversary gift from Ginny.

The floo activated once again. Neville laughed. “Just a normal day with the Potters,” he grinned.

Ginny, Lily and James stepped through. Bradley and Brian immediately called out, “Daddy!” and ran to him. He knelt down and hugged his boys.

Liam went to Lily, and she took his arm and led him to the kitchen. Ginny went to Harry, greeting Neville and Draco. He put his arm around her, whispering in her ear, “Lil's all right?” She nodded, not saying anything.

A big whoop was heard from the kitchen. The door burst open. Liam came through, followed by Lily.

“We're pregnant. Lily's going to have a baby. I'm going to be a father. Merlin, we're having a -

THUD Liam had passed out. Lily and Ginny ran to him.

“Buddy ell,” cried Brian.

James looked at his son in shock.

“Is he dead?” asked Bradley curiously, kicking Liam in the side.

“What did you just say? Where did you learn those words?” James asked Brian, who glanced towards Draco.

Liam began to stir. “Ten galleons says he passes out in the delivery room,” murmured Neville to Harry, who chuckled.

“Er. I think I'll be going now. Son, I'll talk to you tomorrow, bye Al, bye Princess,” said Draco, kissing Annie's cheek. He patted Al and Scorpius on the shoulder and headed to the floo.

Passing Lily, he stopped. “Congratulations, Lily. It's wonderful news.”

Lily looked taken aback, but then smiled. “Thank you, Mr Malfoy.”

Harry knew Draco was thinking of his daughter, who probably would have been a similar age to Lily. He was probably thinking of all the might have beens. Knowing how precious his Lily was to him, Harry's heart hurt for what Draco and Astoria had been through.

Draco nodded, and went to the floo.

“Wait.”

Draco stopped and looked down. Bradley and Brian were pulling on his pants. “You come back?” they asked.

Draco knelt down. “You want me to come back?”

Bradley nodded. “We have fun with our grandpas. You're Annie's grandpa. We have fun with you.”

Brian added, “ We is going to Uncle Teddy's soon, we is going to the beach. You come and play?”

Teddy and Victoire had moved into Shell Cottage, where they raised their two children Dora and Remus. Their place was a popular destination in summer holidays.

Draco smiled. “I'd love to come and play with you guys and see Annie. You send me an owl, okay?”

Draco looked at James, who nodded.

“Okay, then. I'll see you soon,” he said. “Bye.”

The twins then ran over to Ginny.

“Nana, did you bring us a treat? We been real good, we did dishes and weed and everything. Ask Grandpas,” said Bradley.

Ginny looked at Harry. “Oh, they weed all right. All over Draco. It's a funny story. Yes Nana, the boys have been good,” said Harry.

“I knew they would be,” said Ginny, smiling at her grandsons. “Here boys, a little treat for now, presents tomorrow.”

She handed them a chocolate frog each. They ripped open the package. “Cool, I got a Dumbledore card! They're really hard to get,” exclaimed Bradley.

“Aw, I got a Harry Potter card. I've got about ten of him already,” said Brian, dejectedly.

Harry, Ginny and Neville laughed.

Liam sat up in a daze. He looked at Lily. “Is it true? You're pregnant? Or did I just dream all that?”

Lily laughed and kissed him. “It's true. I'm about eight weeks pregnant. I think it was that night when-”

“Okay, okay, we don't need to hear the details,” said Harry, hurriedly. He shook Liam's hand and embraced his daughter.

“I'm so happy for you Lil,” he said. “You're going to be a great mum.”

“I learned from the best,” she said, her eyes welling up.

Ginny embraced Liam and Lily, telling her daughter she'd come over and see her tomorrow.

James gathered Brian and Bradley's things and prepared to leave too. James and Ali had bought the Lovegood's house near the Burrow. James kissed his sister on the cheek, and hugged Al and Scorpius. They all made plans to get together soon to celebrate the good news.

Brian and Bradley hugged Grandpa Harry goodbye, and even gave Annie a hug and a kiss.They reminded their Nana about getting their presents tomorrow, then they flooed home, where Ali was waiting for them. Neville flooed away with them, wanting to go and see his daughter.

Al disappeared into Annie's room, and re-emerged, holding a purple dragon. “Here Lil, this is finally going to return to it's original owner. Remember, you gave it to Teddy for Dora, then Teddy gave it to James for the twins, only they fought over it, so James gave it back to Teddy when Remy was born. Then Teddy gave it to us for Annie. Well, now I can hand it back to you. It's gone full circle,” he laughed.

Lily looked at the dragon, a keepsake from her childhood. It was missing an eye, it was a bit tattered and needed a wash. Her eyes filled with tears. “Thank you,” she whispered, hugging Al, and hugging the dragon as if it were the most precious thing. Liam smiled proudly, his arms around his wife. They farewelled everyone and left to return to their little cottage in Godric's Hollow, to celebrate their happy news together.

While Ginny gave Annie a bottle in the quietness of her bedroom, Harry filled Al and Scorpius in on the craziness of their day, which had them all laughing. Al told Harry about his meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister, then Scorpius told them about his trade meeting in Egypt.

Ginny held Annie and rocked her to sleep. She lay her down in her cot, staring at her, remembering doing the same for Lily all those years ago. Now her baby was having a baby. Suddenly, Ginny missed her parents more than ever. She left Annie to return to the lounge, to find Harry ready to go home.

They farewelled Al and Scorpius, promising to get together soon, as they had gifts for Annie too.

As they returned home, the tiredness hit Harry. He yawned, prompting Ginny to yawn too.

“Hey Nana, how about a Nana nap?” he asked, taking her arm.

Ginny nodded, too tired to answer. They went up to their room. Their suitcases lay near their bed.
They got into bed, not even bothering to remove their clothes, or change. Harry spooned Ginny from behind.

“Gin?”

Ginny grunted.

“Don't unpack. After looking after those three today, and learning that there's another one on the way, I think we need a holiday to prepare ourselves. Somewhere far, far away. And soon!”

Ginny rolled over to face Harry. Although the tiredness showed in her face, her eyes were as bright as ever.

“We've been travelling a lot these last couple of years. I've loved every minute of my time with you, just the two of us. I still want to do that, but, maybe just short holidays here and there. Lily's pregnant, and I want to share that with her. She's our daughter, and I want to be here for her as much as possible.”

Harry nodded. “I understand. It's that mother-daughter thing isn't it? You and Molly got closer than ever when you were first pregnant with James.”

Ginny nodded, her eyes tearing as she thought of her beloved mum. “A girl needs her mum at this time, both at the beginning, when it's all new, and at the end, when it suddenly hits you that you're going to become a parent. We'll have time for ourselves in the middle part. That's the fun time, for her and Liam. I'm sure you remember my second trimesters very well,” she grinned.

Once her initial morning sickness, or, in the case of Lily, all day sickness had passed, Ginny had glowed throughout her pregnancies. The second trimesters in all her pregnancies had brought an increase in her libido, a fact that Harry thought was an unexpected bonus. He still had fond memories of an unexpected visit to his office. He'd never imagined using his desk for that!

Harry grinned, then stopped as he thought of his daughter and son-in-law doing that.

“Besides...” said Ginny.

“What?” asked Harry.

“While we were waiting for the results of Lily's tests to come through, Ali confessed to me that she and James were expecting again. They were waiting for us to come home to tell everyone. When we knew Lily was pregnant, Ali whispered to me that they'd let Lily have the attention for a bit. So, we have two new arrivals coming in the new year. Plus, I'd like to help Scorpius and Al with Annie a bit, although you, Neville and Draco seemed to have it all under control today.”

Harry snorted. “Ah Gin, let me tell you what really happened today once you left. It all started because Draco didn't know how to fasten a nappy properly...”

Ginny laughed as he told the story. Together, in each others arms, they fell asleep. Tomorrow would bring more family time, as they delivered the promised gifts to their grandchildren, and caught up with Teddy and Vicky, and checked on Ron.

But tonight, it was just the two of them, and with so much to look forward to, they slept easy.








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