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SIYE Time:9:30 on 28th March 2024
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Remember
By potterfan2008

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Drama, Romance
Warnings: Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 410
Summary: The summer after the Chamber of Secrets was hard on everyone. How come no one can remember what happened? Prior to starting his seventh year at Hogwarts, Harry realizes he is missing some memories from his second year. Together with Remus Lupin, Harry sets out to discover what happened. He hopes to find out about that pretty red head he has been dreaming about as well.
Hitcount: Story Total: 353178; Chapter Total: 8113
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Thanks to my beta StephanieO! Just a warning, this chapter is full of Christmas fluff!




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Ginny smiled as she looked around her sitting room. It had taken several days of hard work, but now it was everything she imagined. The large marble fireplace had been displaced as the focal point of the room by a large beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

The tree was decorated with beautiful jewel coloured ornaments, fairy lights, and glittering tinsel. This was the more formal tree while the smaller tree in their room was decorated with all homemade ornaments, popcorn and cranberry strings, and paper chains. She couldn't decide which tree she liked better, but she liked having both of them. The sitting room was further decorated with strands of greenery, fairy lights, and bowls of ornaments.

She inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of the pine tree. She jumped slightly as strong arms wrapped around her growing waist. Leaning back into her husband, she said, "Isn't this beautiful?"

"Um-hmm," he murmured as he kissed her neck softly. "The house looks nice, you are beautiful."

She giggled as she covered his hands with her, "You are silly."

He turned her in his arms, "No, I'm serious."

Wrapping her arms around his neck she kissed him deeply. He responded by pulling her closer, sliding his hands under her shirt. He started kissing down her neck while he started unbuttoning her shirt. Ginny melted into his arms as they made love in their exquisite new sitting room. Afterwards, Harry summoned a blanket from the couch as they curled up on the floor near the Christmas tree and fell asleep.
_______________________________ ________________________________________
Ginny woke the next morning in her bed. She smiled as she recalled the events of the night before. After making love in front of the Christmas tree, Harry had carried her up to their bedroom where they had made love again before falling asleep in their new home. She stretched and started to get up out of bed when the door opened.

Harry was carrying a tray loaded with food. He made her favourite scones as well as sausage and eggs and a large carafe of pumpkin juice. "Good morning, beautiful. I was hoping to get back before you woke up."

Setting the tray on the bed, Harry sat down on the bed next to her legs, facing her. Ginny giggled when she saw his eyes trace the path of the sheet that fell away as she sat up. Picking up her wand, she summoned a shirt from his open trunk. Pulling on his shirt, she leaned over and kissed him. "Don't worry love. It won't stay on for long."

His face cleared up and he smiled mischievously, "Good."

They ate their breakfast while stealing kisses and talking. Ginny was thrilled to be home in her new house with her husband. Shortly after they finished eating, as promised Ginny's shirt came back off and the two remained in their room for most of the morning and early afternoon.
____________________________ ________________________________________ ________
Ginny woke up from another short nap and realized that Harry was missing. She walked into their palatial bathroom and decided a nice soak in the tub was in order. As she lay in the tub, she looked around the room. They really needed to do something nice for Remus and Tonks. Harry and Ginny had chosen paint colours and furniture for their sitting room and bedroom and the Lupins had painted and furnished the rooms for them. While they still had rooms to decorate, it was nice to come home to the house she had envisioned.

After her bath, Ginny wandered around exploring her new room. They had two large walk in closets. Ginny had to laugh their belongings together barely filled up one. A small sitting room was set up on the far side of their bedroom. She looked around imagining a rocking chair and cradles would fit there when the babies were little. As she headed towards the stairs, she noticed another door behind the stairs. Opening the door she found a laundry room, complete with washing machine, dryer and an area for ironing. She made a note to have Harry show her how to use these machines.

She climbed the stairs to the third and highest floor of the house. There were two bedrooms plus a room they planned to use as a playroom on the top floor. After looking in both rooms, Ginny decided she wanted the twins to have the front room that was just above her and Harry's room. She heard footsteps on the stairs and turned around to see Harry entering the room.

"Hi, I was just looking around our new nursery," Ginny said as she greeted her husband with a kiss.

"I like it," Harry said as he looked around the room. "When is Alicia going to do the charm or whatever it is to find out the sex of the babies?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "It is a charm. I thought maybe we could invite Alicia and Oliver over to dinner on Saturday and she could do the charm then."

"Okay," Harry smiled. "That sounds perfect. I'll go shopping later if you'll send them a note."

They left the top floor talking about their plans for the rooms. As they reached the ground floor, the two of them gravitated to the kitchen. Ginny sat down at the kitchen counter while Harry made a plate of sandwiches for them to share.

When Ginny finished eating, Harry said, "Come on downstairs, I need to show you something."

Taking his hand, they went downstairs. There was a large family room and another bedroom with its own bathroom, but Harry bypassed those rooms and led the way to an area that had been set up as a staff's flat. With Dobby's help, Remus had gutted the rooms and set up a state of the art gym complete with a fencing area. He had kept the small bathroom so they could shower after working out.

"This is amazing," Ginny said. "I love it."

"I know," Harry replied. "Remus came over here to check on the house several times while we were gone and he thought this would be perfect for a gym. He and Dobby did all of the work."

"We need to do something really nice for both of them," Ginny said.

Harry nodded, "I noticed that Dobby really likes socks. He told Remus that he collects them because that is the article of clothing that set him free. I think we should get him a couple pairs of zany socks."

"Oh, that's good," Ginny said. "I also noticed the socks. He also never wears a matching pair so we should mix them up."

Harry laughed, "That's really good. Okay, for Remus. I always have trouble thinking of a good gift for him. I've gotten him some new clothes and books in the past, because he's really bad about buying things for himself. I think over the past two years I've replaced all of his really horrible clothes."

"I noticed some of the earlier pictures his robes were a bit thread-bare," Ginny said. "I think we should talk to Tonks and see what it is he really needs, but I want to get him something just for fun also."

Harry nodded, "He told me once that he really liked looking up at the stars. Maybe we could get him a really nice telescope."

"That's a good idea," Ginny said.

The two headed back up to the kitchen and Harry said, "Do you want to make Christmas biscuits?"
____________________________ ________________________________________ ________
Andromeda said goodbye to her last client and closed her office door. She had quite a bit of charting to catch up on and the latest copy of Magical Healing had just arrived. It took her almost an hour to catch up on her charting and she had just picked up her favourite Healing journal when there was a knock on the door.

She opened the door to find a young blonde woman on her doorstep. Andromeda guessed the young woman was in her late twenties to early thirties, but she had rather a defeated air about her pleasant young face.

Putting on her most welcoming smile Andromeda said, "Can I help you?"

The woman smiled nervously, "Are you Andromeda Tonks?"

"Yes," Andromeda replied, suddenly clenching her wand a bit nervously.

"My name is Victoria Gilmour. I believe you met my children Lanie and Ryan," the woman explained.

"Oh," Andromeda was shocked, but rallied quickly, "Please come inside."

Once they had settled in Andromeda's office, Andromeda said, "May I ask how you found me? I don't think I mentioned my last name."

Victoria smiled, "My Ryan is very curious and very protective of his little sister. He tried staying awake to make sure nothing happened to his sister. He heard someone he claims was Harry Potter call you Mrs. Tonks and you were introduced as Andromeda and a healer. I made some inquiries and was directed to you."

Andromeda nodded, "Ryan impressed all of us with his concern for his sister."

"I want to let you know how much I appreciate what you did for my children," Victoria said. "Ryan was bitten four years ago in retaliation for my husband's opposition to his company's policy of Muggle baiting. They denied it of course, but it seemed the logical rationale. He was only eight years old. He and his father were out walking and they were attacked. My husband, Will, was stunned and left where he was while Ryan was taken. By the time we found him, he'd already been bitten. For weeks we thought he would die."

Andromeda silently handed Victoria a box of tissues. Victoria took them and wiped her tears before continuing, "We tried to get him Wolfsbane Potions, but we were told it was not available for children or it was too expensive and they wouldn't let us make payments. Each month we had to take our sweet boy and lock him in a steel reinforced basement.

"When Lanie was born we were naturally worried about her, but everything seemed fine. Three months ago, Lanie was taken during the full moon. We had been securing Ryan in the basement and they stole her right from her cot. A note they left blamed us for being 'blood-traitors' and the Umbridge-Weasley act for making life so difficult. We later found out they targeted children of families already affected by lycanthropy. In was like living our worst nightmare all over again. I was sure we would find her dead. We didn't, but I was so worried about her. The reason I took them to the centre was I was afraid of what might be happen if we didn't comply with the rules. We also have a four year old, I didn't know what else to do."

"I can't even imagine," Andromeda said.

Victoria smiled wanly, "It's one of my worst nightmares come to life. I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for my children. Ryan said he didn't hurt and no one tried to attack them at all."

"That is what we were hoping for, " Andromeda said. "My son-in-law has been a werewolf since he was a child. I was preparing his Wolfsbane Potion when my daughter suggested our 'raid' on the secure facility."

Victoria smiled, "I can't tell you what it's meant to us." She sighed, "I am here to actually ask you if you would consider continuing to do that. I know it is a lot to ask, but my baby is so young. The Wolfsbane is so expensive and I don't know how I would get it for her any other way. I will pay whatever I can, I don't have a lot, but I will pay what I can."

"That won't be an issue," Andromeda said. "We, that is our group, are planning to do the same thing next month. It seemed to work so well."

"It did," Victoria said, "Some of the adults swore Harry Potter was there and tried to poison them, but because most of the adults and the guards swore it didn't happen no one listened to them."

"There was a small portion of the group that refused to take the Wolfsbane," Andromeda explained, "There was a bit of an altercation, but it was quickly subdued."

"I belong to a support group for parents of children with lycanthropy," Victoria said. "After hearing Ryan, some of the other parents are planning to take their children to the centre next month. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a one-time thing."

"It was not," Andromeda said. "My son-in-law's godson is very passionate about werewolves' rights and is also extremely wealthy. He is providing the funds for the Wolfsbane Potion."

"Is there anything we can do?" Victoria asked.

"We could use help," Andromeda said. "If we had more people we could help more facilities. It takes people to secure and patrol the facility."

"I will talk to my husband," Victoria said, "but if I know my Will, he will do anything to help the kids. All of the parents in our group are so frustrated by not being able to help our children, anything we can do to help we will."
________________________________ ________________________________________ ___
Inanna Zabini watched as her son paced the sitting room in front of her, "What do you want?"

"I don't know, Mum," Blaise responded. "I spent most of the term helping that cow, Pansy search for her information supposedly for the Dark Lord and she just thanks me. I know Nott and Goyle are both getting inducted over the holidays."

"Do you want to become a Death Eater? If that is truly what you want, I can arrange for you to meet more of the Dark Lord's more important followers."

"I thought that is what I wanted," Blaise said. "Draco always enjoyed such power over the rest of the house. I never did understand how he could have any girl he wanted and he chose Pansy."

Blaise sighed, "I respected Professor Snape so much. He seemed as though he was an ideal Slytherin, he took Draco under his wing and they seemed so powerful and their cause so right. Potter killed them both. Do I really want to undergo the indignities that are a part of being a follower of the Dark Lord? I've heard the stories of the Cruciatus curses and followers being punished. If Pansy recruits me I don't want to be punished for her mistakes."

"Is there a better option?"

Blaise sank down into his favourite chair in his mother's opulent sitting room. Did he really want to give everything up to become a Death Eater? He knew the Malfoys held a place of honour in the Dark Lord's Inner Circle, but he had seen Lucius Malfoy come home from meetings battered and worn and he had seen the money being diverted to the Dark Lord's cause. Was it really worth it?

"Parkinson has contacted me about a marriage contract with his daughter," Inanna revealed. "Are you at all interested?"

"Hell, no!" Blaise burst out. "It's been bad enough this term helping her, I can't imagine being married to her."

"I have also been approached by Greengrass," Inanna said.

Blaise looked at his mother speculatively, "On whose behalf?"

"Daphne."

Blaise considered that, "Greengrass is neutral, is he not?"

Inanna nodded, "He is. The family has lost some of their power because he will not come out in support of the Dark Lord."

She regarded her son, "Do you think Potter can defeat the Dark Lord?"

"Yes," Blaise replied. "Draco was always going on about how Potter was just lucky and he wouldn't stand a chance in a real battle, but he has. Potter has escaped the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters while Draco, Vince, Snape, and the Lestranges are all dead."

"Do you want me to accept Greengrass's offer?"

Blaise nodded. Inanna smiled, "I think that is wise, my son."
_________________________________ ________________________________________ ___
Harry watched Alicia anxiously as she prepared to scan Ginny. Oliver sat in the background in one of the chairs near the fireplace.

Alicia smiled reassuringly at Harry, "I'm going to do the same charm as before. You will be able to see the babies and hear their heartbeat again. By this time the babies have developed well enough that we should be able to tell their gender. It is not always possible to determine the gender of the babies, especially with twins."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"The way we tell the gender is by looking at their genital area," Alicia explained. She smiled at the blush that covered Harry's face. "It depends on how the baby is turned. Especially with twins, they may be faced the wrong way or behind each other."

Harry nodded his understanding as he took a seat next to Ginny. She was lying down on the couch in the sitting room.

"Are you ready?" Alicia smiled down at Ginny.

She nodded. Alicia waved her wand and the shadowy version of the babies appeared above Ginny's belly. Harry stared at them in amazement, he could feel tears prickling his eyes as he stared. He looked over at Ginny and saw the same look of awe on her face. She looked over at him and smiled, "Aren't they amazing?"

"Is that one sucking his thumb?" Ginny asked.

Alicia nodded, "And you are correct, that one is a boy." She pointed to the other baby, "This one is a girl."

"One of each?" Harry wondered at his luck. He turned his head slightly as Ginny gripped his arm. Reaching over he wiped away the tears that he didn't think she had even noticed yet.

"D-do they look okay?" Ginny asked, her voice a bit unsteady.

Alicia beamed at them, "They look perfect." She waved her wand and the sound of double heartbeats filled the room.

Harry lifted Ginny's hand off his arm and raised it to his mouth and planted a kiss on the palm of her hand, "They are so tiny."

He marveled at the tiny little beings, watching as they moved a bit.

"You should start to feel them moving soon," Alicia explained. She smiled at the awestruck parents, "I need to release the spell."

As the shadowy babies disappeared, Harry reached out and pulled Ginny into his arms. Alicia looked at her husband and they discretely withdrew to give the couple a few minutes to themselves.

Harry and Ginny joined them a few moments later. Ginny hugged Alicia, "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

"I have some fruit cake in the kitchen," Harry said. He led the others into the kitchen and soon the four of them were sitting around the kitchen table.

"This is delicious," Alicia said. "The whole meal was actually. I can't believe how well you cook."

Harry blushed, "Thank you. It's just practice."

"Speaking of practice," Oliver said, "How is my brother doing?"

The talk turned to Quidditch as Harry extolled Michael's skills, "He is really good." Stealing a look at this former captain, Harry teased, "I think I may have swayed him to Seeker."

"Really?"

"He's really good," Ginny said. "I mean not as good as Harry, but he's good. I think he likes playing Seeker, but he doesn't want to disappoint you."

"I don't care what position he plays," Oliver said. "As long as he's having fun, he can play whatever position he wants. I just had him play keeper because that's what I play. It was easier for me to teach him."

He laughed, "My sister will make a great chaser."

"You have a sister too?" Ginny asked.

Oliver nodded, "My parents were pretty young when I was born so they waited a while before they had more kids." A strange look crossed his face, "I had a little brother older than Michael, but h-he was killed by a werewolf when he was three." He looked up at Harry, "That's why it was so important to me that we help them now. The man that killed my brother, it was only his second or third transformation. The room his family had secured him in wasn't as secure as they thought and he got out. When he realized that he killed Nathan, he killed himself. It was horrible for my family and it was horrible for his family. So if there is anything I can do to help prevent something like this from happening to anyone else's family I will."

Harry looked at him in amazement, "I am so sorry, Oliver. I had no idea."

"I don't usually talk about it," Oliver said. "I thought you two deserved to know. When we raided that facility, it really made me think about everything. My father is a great man, he was never angry at Angus, the man who killed my brother. He sat me down and explained how Angus didn't know what he was doing when he killed Nathan. It wasn't until I got to Hogwarts that I realized his attitude was not very common."

"He was so proud of Oliver for helping in the raid," Alicia said with pride. "If you need more help, just let us know."

"Thank you," Harry said. "Once this is over, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that Wolfsbane Potion is available to everyone. That's what the government should be doing instead of treating them like criminals."

Oliver smiled, "I will be happy to help. Anyway, before I got lost on my rant, I was telling you about my sister, Ainslee. She will be starting at Hogwarts next year. Like the rest of my family, she loves Quidditch."

"She will make a great Chaser someday," Alicia said.

"Is it just the three of you?" Ginny asked.

Oliver nodded, "I think my mam had her hands full with the three of us."

"I will never know how my mum did it with seven of us," Ginny said. "I'm getting a bit nervous about two at once."

"That is so cool, though," Alicia said. "Are you going to have their names starting with the same letter or have you made any decisions yet?"

Ginny laughed, "We haven't seriously thought of any names. This one over here keeps coming up with the worst possible names."

"What's wrong with Dagwood and Ernestina?" Harry laughed.

Ginny just rolled her eyes and ignoring her husband she asked, "Did you find out what you are having?"

"A girl," Alicia gushed. "I am so excited. We went out shopping this week and got the cutest little nursery set up. It's a sweet little pink plaid."

"That sounds so cute," Ginny said. "We were looking at like a jungle animal print with a green or yellow background. Harry found this adorable L-shaped crib that we want to get for this house. We got a double decker crib for Grimmauld Place, Tonks said it was delivered last week. I can't wait to go see it."

Harry leaned back in his chair listening to his wife talk about their nursery. He smiled at her enthusiasm as the two women exchanged decorating ideas and pregnancy stories. He caught Oliver's eye and smiled, he knew that Oliver was also thinking that they were really lucky.
________________________________ ________________________________________ _____
Charlie smiled at Hermione as they headed out into Muggle London. Hermione wanted to get presents for her parents and Charlie wanted to find something for his father. As they walked along talking, Charlie was trying to remember why it was that he wanted to break up with her. They were getting along great, she was funny and smart, not to mention pretty — what had he been thinking?

After a morning of shopping, Hermione had found a beautiful blouse and necklace for her mother and some books and a CD for her father. They entered the electronic appliance section of the store to look for something for his father.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" Hermione asked.

"Not really," Charlie said. "Something small he can take apart and tinker with."

Hermione nodded. A few minutes later she called out, "Charlie. How about this?"

She held up a red blender, "He would have a great time with this, don't you think?"

Charlie looked over the box, "What is it?"

"It's a blender," Hermione said. "You use it to make drinks, like milkshakes or frozen drinks."

"Brilliant," Charlie said as he read the print on the box, "Dad will love this."

He leaned over and kissed her, "Thanks."

Hermione beamed, "You're welcome."

Before they left the store, Charlie stopped to get his present gift-wrapped. Once that was taken care of, the two of them headed out to lunch.

Charlie had decided he wanted to go for pizza so the two of them headed into a pizza parlour. Once they'd ordered Charlie decided he needed to say something.

"Hermione, have you been happy? I mean with us?"

Hermione turned her questioning eyes on him, "Yes. Obviously I would rather you were closer than Hogwarts, but I'm happy. Are you?"

He sighed, "That's just it. I had a great time when I came up for my birthday and I've had a blast the last few days. You are smart and funny and pretty."

"But?"

Charlie shrugged, "I don't know it is really strange, when I'm with you or writing to you I have no doubts, but when I am at Hogwarts…I start having doubts. I don't understand."

Hermione dropped her eyes to the table, not willing to let him see how much that hurt. What could be wrong? They'd had a beautiful romantic dinner for his birthday and even snuck in a little snogging. She knew he'd gone further than that before, did he want more physically? That wasn't something for which she was ready.

He reached his hand across the table to her, "I'll be honest, Hermione. When I was at Hogwarts I had every intention of breaking up with you. I kept thinking that you weren't the one and feeling guilty that I kept you and Ron apart, but as soon as I got to London all of my doubts disappeared."

"You definitely aren't keeping me and Ron apart," Hermione said softly. "We had a really good talk when he was here with Harry and Ginny. He's dating Parvati and actually seems quite happy about it."

She looked up at him, "Is there someone else?"

"No, no," he hastened to reassure her. "I don't feel like that now, I just…I can't explain it."

Her eyes narrowed, "You feel like that at Hogwarts, but not here?"

He nodded. His eyes widened as the implications hit him, "Could someone be manipulating my feelings?"

"It would make more sense if it was me, but as it is not…There are potions and charms that could make you think or feel a certain way," Hermione replied thoughtfully.

As Charlie helped himself to a slice of the pizza that had just arrived, he said, "I should talk to Bill. He has the Curse Breaking experience, he can tell me if any charms have been cast on me. I just can't figure out why someone would do this."

Hermione shrugged, "It could be someone who has a crush on you. Look what happened to Harry."

"I don't think so," Charlie said. "I mean some of the older girls have been flirting with me, but no one that I think would actually pursue me. Most of them just enjoy flirting with the teacher." He laughed, "No one from Gryffindor is flirting with me anymore. I think Ginny put a stop to that right away."

"It could be someone who objects to me," Hermione offered after she ate her pizza. "I am Muggle-born and you are a Pureblood. We know there are plenty of people who object to that type of relationship."

"Okay," Charlie said helping himself to another piece of pizza. "But I'm a dragon keeper, why would anyone know who I am much less care who I'm dating."

Hermione laughed, "I am one of Harry Potter's best friends and you are his brother-in-law. Trust me, plenty of people know who you are and who you are dating."

Charlie shook his head, "I am not used to that."

Once they finished their lunch, Charlie stood and kissed Hermione, "Thank you for hearing me out."

Hermione smiled up at him, "I'm glad you gave yourself the chance to think things through."

Hand-in-hand they left the store and headed back to Grimmauld Place.
________________________________ ________________________________________ _____
"Hermione, you do realize this is not architecturally accurate, right?" Ginny asked laughing as Hermione worked to fit a roof on the gingerbread house on which they were working.

"I don't want it to slide off," Hermione protested.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Are you a witch or not? If it doesn't stay use a sticking charm."

Hermione blushed as Tonks and Fleur started laughing, "Oh, I guess that makes sense."

"Fleur, stop eating the gumdrops," Tonks reprimanded.

Fleur laughed, "I can't help it. They are really good."

"I've never actually done this before," Hermione said. "This is really fun."

"It was Harry's idea," Ginny explained. "He always wanted to make gingerbread houses when he was young. We made that one the other day and he suggested that the four of us make one today."

Tonks looked over the house made by Harry and Ginny, "You two did a really great job."

"Thanks," Ginny laughed, "We went through a lot of those round peppermint sweets, those are really good. He also made some gingerbread biscuits. We can have some in a bit if you want."

"Oh, that sounds good," Hermione said. "My mum always used to buy gingerbread biscuits. We aren't so much for baking so we would buy them when we decorated the Christmas tree. We did that last weekend, it was great. I haven't done that with my parents in years."

As the girls laughed and decorated downstairs, Harry, Remus, Bill, and Charlie were up in the sitting room trying to figure out what might be wrong with Charlie.

After determining he was not under the influence of any potions, Bill performed an Incantatio Revelio. The air around Charlie lit up with runes representing the curses that had been cast at him. Harry and Remus watched as Bill separated the curses. He was reading the runes and vanishing the runes that were not responsible for what was going on. After several minutes of vanishing runes, Bill separated a group of light blue runes.

"I think this is it," Bill announced. "These have been cast over a period of months. These are not standard charms, they seem to be a combination of a Confundus Charm and some sort of suggestion charm. They don't appear to last long so that could be why your feelings are coming and going."

"So what do I do?" Charlie asked.

"I will talk to Filius when he returns from his sister's house," Remus said. "He should have a good idea of what to do."

"Who cast it?" Harry asked. "This had to have been done at Hogwarts, right?"

Bill sighed, "I don't know. I mean, yes it would have been done at Hogwarts, but I don't know who."

"Is Pansy in any of your classes?" Harry asked Charlie.

Charlie shook his head, "No, I've only seen her once or twice."

"Of course," Harry muttered. "That would be too easy."

"It must be an upperclassman," Remus said. "Bill, you said this was a complex charm, right?"

Bill nodded, "It is."

"What about other Professors?" Harry asked. Charlie looked at him in confusion and Harry clarified, "Are there other professors who could have cast the charm?"

Bill nodded, "Yes. I mean Minerva, Nadia, and Poppy are all capable of casting it. I don't know about Slughorn's casting abilities, but he could possibly cast it. Aurora and Septima are both good at charms. I'm not sure about Trelawny."

"I know Minerva was concerned about both Slughorn and Septima," Remus said. "Plus we still don't really know about Fedorov. Any of them could have been offended that a Pureblood was dating a well-known Muggle-born."

Harry groaned as he dropped into his favourite chair by the fire. "I hate this. I am so tired of the prejudice and the interfering in other's lives."

"I know cub," Remus said. "We will fix this once Voldemort is gone."

Harry nodded, "We will."

The sound of laughter drifted up the stairs. Harry smiled, "Let's go join them."
________________________________ ________________________________________ ___
Ginny straightened her hair ribbon nervously; self-consciously checking herself out in the mirror.

"What's wrong, love?" Harry asked as he slipped his arms around her.

She leaned back against him, "I'm just a little nervous. I've exchanged some letters with my mum, but I haven't seen her and had a civil conversation with her since this time last year."

Harry dropped a kiss on her temple, "I know baby. I will be with you the whole time and if you want to leave just let me know."

Ginny smiles at his protective tone of voice, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Harry said as he tightened his arms around her. Stepping away he looked her up and down, "You look absolute beautiful."

Blushing, Ginny smiled. "Thank you."

She turned to the mirror again to check her reflection. Her new dark green jumper and blue jeans looked good. She ran her hand over her stomach, it had gotten a bit bigger.

As she was about to move her hand she felt a fluttery movement. She gasped and turned to Harry with big eyes.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Harry asked urgently.

Ginny smiled and put his hand on her stomach and held it there. He looked at her in confusion before comprehension filled him, "Is that the baby?"

"It's one of them," She smiled.

"Merlin, that's amazing," Harry whispered as he dropped to his knees so he was level with her belly. He lifted her shirt and jumper to drop a kiss on her stomach. "Are you telling Mummy not to worry?"

Getting to his feet, Harry smoothed down her shirt and jumper, "Everything will be fine, my love."

"Okay," Ginny smiled. "Let's go to my parent's Christmas party."

Molly smiled as the Burrow filled with people. She and Arthur had moved back into the repaired and heavily warded Burrow only two weeks before. She was thrilled that she was going to have Christmas at the Burrow. While they'd celebrated Christmas in Romania and Egypt and of course most recently at Grimmauld Place, the Burrow was Molly's favourite place to celebrate the holidays.

Ron, the twins, and Charlie had all helped decorate the house and get it ready for the party. The tree was in its traditional spot in the sitting room and the whole house smelled of Christmas baking and pine. All of her boys except Percy were here, but she was really waiting to see her daughter. She smiled to see Arthur had cornered the Grangers and appeared to be peppering them with questions; she would have to rescue them soon.

As she looked over her boys she realized that many of her fears may have been groundless. When Bill had first brought Fleur home, she had not thought her an appropriate bride for her son. She seemed vain and shallow and not nearly good enough for her son, but Fleur had proven her wrong and the two of them were very happy and thrilled to be expecting a baby. Fred had brought his girlfriend, Angelina. Molly wasn't sure how serious they were, but they seemed to be having fun. George was here with his friend, Katie. No matter how much Molly hoped he might have a serious girlfriend, he and Katie really did just seem to be friends.

Charlie and Hermione were a big surprise to Molly. For years she had assumed that Hermione would end up with either Ron or possibly Harry, but she and Charlie seemed very happy. Molly knew that he had gone to London to see her for his birthday. It gave her a bit of hope as she had begun to despair that anyone would drag her adventurous son home from Romania.

The door opened and Molly smiled as her daughter and Harry walked in the door. He helped her off with her jacket and wandlessly banished both of their hat and jackets. Ginny looked beautiful and happy, as Molly watched Harry kissed her on the side of the head and briefly caressed her belly.

Ginny looked around the room and seemed to find her mother; she whispered something to her husband before heading over to her mum.

"Mum."

Molly reached out and hugged her daughter tightly, "Hello, love. I am so glad you came."

She turned to her son-in-law and smiled, "Harry. Thank you for coming. I truly am sorry I have not made you feel welcome in the past."

Harry nodded, "Thank you for having me." He kissed Ginny on the cheek, "Remus just got here, I'm going to say hello."

Molly's heart sank a bit as she turned back to her daughter. Ginny met her eyes, "You really hurt him, Mum. Both of us actually, but I wanted to give you another chance. I think he's waiting to see how I react. While you hurt him, to him what matters is that you hurt me. If he thinks that will happen again he will leave and take me with him."

"I never meant to hurt the two of you," Molly said. "I just…you are so young and I didn't want you to do something you would regret."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Mum, I didn't come to have the same old argument. I came to enjoy Christmas with my family."

"Of course, love," Molly said apologetically. She reached out and wrapped a strand of Ginny's hair around her finger. "You look wonderful, so beautiful and so grown up."

"Thank you, Mum," Ginny beamed. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"We found out that we are having a boy and a girl," Ginny said excitedly just as Arthur came up to greet his daughter.

"Oh that is wonderful," Molly cried as she watched her husband embrace her daughter.

"That is wonderful," Arthur echoed, "and you look beautiful."

"Thanks, Daddy."

"Ginny!"

Ginny turned to see Fred gesturing her over. She nodded and turned back to her parents, "I'll see you two in a bit."

To Molly's delight, Ginny leaned in and kissed them each on the cheek before moving off to join her brothers. As she watched her daughter greet the twins and their dates, Arthur put his arm around her. She leaned into his familiar embrace and he kissed her temple.

"That didn't go too badly," Arthur observed. He glanced over at his wife, "She looks wonderful and very happy."

"That she does," Molly replied. She turned to her husband, "I trust you will not badger the poor Grangers all night about your Muggle nonsense."
____________________________ ________________________________________ ___
"Gin-Gin!"

She smacked George, "Don't call me that!" She looked over her brother with a critical eye, "You look good."

"Tell that to Aunt Muriel," he groused. "She keeps going on about my ears being uneven."

Fred laughed, "Well you know how much Aunt Muriel loves us."

"I got a lovely earful about lying to her," Ginny said. "Crabby old bat."

"What did you lie to her about?" Angelina asked.

"I didn't lie," Ginny defended herself, "I told her I wasn't pregnant when I got married, because I'm pregnant now she assumes that we had to get married."

Across the room Harry was deep in conversation with Bill and Remus, "So you are sure about this?"

Bill laughed, "I am positive. She will love it!"

"Okay, I just…I want to make our first Christmas together perfect." Harry said softly as he looked over at his wife.

"It will be," Fleur said as she joined her husband . "She is so happy. I had so much fun at your house the other day."

Harry smiled her, "Good. I know Ginny was really glad she had that time to spend with all of you."

"Oui," Fleur said. "We are going shopping next weekend as well."

"I know," Harry replied, "She is so excited about getting the nursery together. She had poor Hedwig flying out and getting paint swatches and catalogs. I think now that we know what we are having it is a bit easier."

He looked over at Fleur, "Did Alicia see you?"

Fleur exchanged a look with her husband, "We are having a girl!"

"Congratulations!" Harry said as he hugged his sister-in-law.

"We're having a boy," Remus put in. "We just found out yesterday."

"That's great!" Harry enthused hugging his godfather. "I can't believe by next Christmas we will all be parents."

"I can't wait," Bill said as he wrapped his arm around his wife. He looked over at the younger wizard, "So who will have the oldest grandchild?"

"I think we will," Harry said. "Ginny's due date is the middle of May, but Alicia said she will probably have them early because they are twins."

Bill shook his head, "So the youngest will have the oldest grandchildren? That's just wrong."

Harry laughed, "It's not my fault it took you so long to find your true love. I was just really, really lucky to find mine so early."

"Find your what?" Ginny asked as she slid her arm around him.

"My true love," Harry said as he kissed her softly.

"You are so sweet," Ginny sighed as she snuggled into his embrace.
______________________________ ________________________________________ ___
Ginny woke on Christmas morning warm in her husband's arms. Glancing at the clock she noticed it was half past eight, she smiled thinking this was the latest she'd slept on Christmas in a long time. Rubbing her hand on her belly, she tried to imagine next Christmas. If she knew Harry he would want to buy the babies everything.

The twinkling of the Christmas lights caught her eye, she loved having a Christmas tree in her room. The smell of the pine and the sparkling of the lights always seemed so magical to her. She knew her mother thought it an extravagance to have two trees, but she didn't mind.

Turning she faced her husband, he was sleeping peacefully. She ran her fingers through his hair, smiling as he leaned into her touch. She knew that he had not had many happy Christmases, the Christmas he had spent with Sirius and Remus at Hogwarts during his fifth year was probably the only Christmas that he'd felt he had family with him for Christmas.

His eyes slowly fluttered open and he smiled, "A Christmas angel in my bed."

Ginny giggled as he leaned down to kiss her. Her amusement quickly turned to passion as he leaned over her kissing her deeply. He braced himself above her looking down into her eyes, "You really are everything I want for Christmas."

She smiled up at him, running her hand up his arm before pulling him down into a deep kiss. He kissed his way down her neck before he smiled wickedly up at her, "I did have a good time unwrapping you last night."

After they made love he lifted his head, "That has got to be the absolute best way to celebrate Christmas."

She laughed as he shifted and pulled her into his arms. "We will have to make that a Christmas tradition."

Closing her eyes she drifted off for a few minutes until her body reasserted itself. She slipped out of his arms into the bathroom. After using the facilities, she brushed her teeth and washed her face. With a smile she looked over at the tub that still had flower petals sitting on the bottom and burned out candles around the edge. Last night, she had talked Harry into joining her for a bubble bath. It had certainly made for a memorable Christmas Eve.

Heading back into the bedroom, she pulled a soft cotton nightgown on over her head.

"You are not supposed to rewrap presents," Harry said as he sat up on the bed.

She laughed at him, "I want my other presents."

Grumbling playfully, Harry pulled on a pair of pajama pants and the two of them headed down to the sitting room. Ginny couldn't help it, the pile of presents under the tree made her squeal with excitement.

Harry laughed as he sat down on the rug next to her. He lazily summoned the gifts so they lay around them. He gestured to her, "Go ahead."

They both opened their gifts from her parents. Harry received a new Weasley jumper in green with a golden snitch while Ginny received a soft lavender jumper. Ginny had to blink back tears at the tiny pink and blue blankets her mother had made.

"She must have started working as soon as we left," Ginny said as she rubbed the soft blanket against her cheek. "These are beautiful."

Harry smiled at her enjoyment. Together they finished opening their gifts and found they had received a number of books as well as gifts for their new home. Harry was thrilled with the grandfather clock from Remus and Tonks. It was his parents' and had been in storage for years. Remus had it restored and delivered for Christmas.

Ginny felt the waves of emotion from her husband as he traced the stag and lily etched into the glass. He turned to her with a smile, "My mum had this made for my dad. Isn't it brilliant?"

"It is, love," Ginny said with a smile. "Do you want to put it in the front hall?"

Harry considered it for a moment, "That sounds like a good idea."

He wandlessly levitated the clock and they placed it in the front hall. Ginny leaned against her husband, "It is so beautiful." She looked up at him, "She must have loved him very much."

Harry nodded as he pulled her into his arms. She felt a few tears drop onto her neck, she clung to him letting him draw comfort from her. After a few minutes he pulled away and wiped his eyes. Smiling down at her, he said, "We need to head upstairs for your present."

"What?" Ginny followed him laughing. To her surprise he stopped on the second floor landing. They hadn't done much with this floor yet, they hadn't even really decided what they were going to use the rooms for as far as she knew. With a smile he led her to the front drawing room, "Close your eyes."

She did and let him lead her into the room. She could hear him moving around before he said, "Okay, you can open your eyes."

When she opened her eyes, she saw a gorgeous grand piano sitting at the end of the room. She gasped, "Merlin."

Slowly she walked over to the piano and ran her hand along the gleaming burnished brown wood. She ran her hand over the keys, playing a few notes.

Looking up at her husband, her eyes shining, she said, "This is amazing. How… how did you know?"

Harry smiled, "You mentioned you liked playing at Beauxbatons and I talked to Bill and Fleur. She told me you always played at her parents' house, but you had never had one of your own. I thought this one would be perfect in this room."

"I have never owned anything this nice," Ginny breathed. "Harry, I'm not that good. I mean I like to play and mess around, but not for something this nice."

He laughed, "I don't care if all you play is 'Chopsticks.' You like music so I wanted to get you something you can enjoy. Just think, you can teach the babies to play."

She launched herself across the room and into his arms. "Thank you, love. This is truly the best gift I've ever been given."

"You are welcome," he said leaning down for a kiss. As they pulled apart, she said, "I need to give you your gift."

Together they headed back down the sitting room. Ginny guided Harry to the couch before handing him a beautifully wrapped box. She sat down next to him as he opened it. He gasped as he pulled back the tissue to reveal several framed pictures. He pulled out the first picture. It was him and Sirius at Christmas two years ago.

Harry looked at her in amazement. She smiled, "I talked to Remus and he helped me pick out some of the pictures to use for our house. He had some great pictures of you and Sirius and you and your parents. As they can't be here with us in person, I don't want them to be forgotten."

He looked at each of the pictures in turn; she could feel a jumble of emotions — joy, sadness, laughter, and most of all love. He set the pictures on the side table, "Thank you, my love."

As he sat down to a late Christmas dinner in his brand new home with his wife, he wasn't sure how his life had become so wonderful.
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