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SIYE Time:13:57 on 29th March 2024
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The First Year, An Almost Happily Ever After Story
By JetLaBarge

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Category: Post-DH/AB
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Action/Adventure
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 103
Summary: Fairy tales end “And They Lived Happily Ever After,” but wars end with Post Traumatic Stress Disorders. Someone is taking hostages and wants to kill Harry and everyone close to him. Follow our favorite characters as they rebuild their lives the first year after the war, Harry as he becomes an Auror and finds out that life as a hero has its own challenges, Ginny as she finds out that having all your dreams come true does not solve all your problems, and the rest of the Weasley clan as they start to rebuild their lives.
Hitcount: Story Total: 96743; Chapter Total: 3275
Awards: View Trophy Room






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Sunday August 2 was the second day of weaning Teddy from Ginny’s nursing and getting him on the bottle. Molly and Andromeda took turns feeding Teddy, who was old enough and strong enough that he could survive a few days of short rations while he got used to bottle feeding. Ginny was glad that she was going to be free of Teddy, but at the same time, a day with Teddy in a bedroom upstairs from Molly and not near Ginny was also very hard. How could you miss something and at the same time be glad you were missing it? Harry came over for breakfast and asked Ginny to go to Grimmauld Place with him after lunch, and she gladly agreed.

Sunday morning was noticeable for more reasons. Hermione and Ron came for breakfast, as did the entire Weasley family, including George, Angelina, Percy and his girlfriend Audrey Baker, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and if he was not off in Romania working with dragons, Charlie.

After breakfast, George asked, “Mum, Dad, could Angelina and I use the New Burrow on Sunday afternoon, August 23?”

“I don’t see why not,” Molly replied. “Why do you want to use it?”

George replied, “Family tradition, Mum. You really ought to be married before you have children. We figure about March 1.”

Molly could not say too much about getting pregnant before you got married, so she said, “A grandchild! How wonderful!”

There were congratulations all around. Molly seemed delighted to have another daughter-in-law and made sure everybody knew that: “Any time one of my married children wants to start giving me grandchildren, I’m ready!”

Ginny had a surprise. “I have been talking with the Chocolate Frog people, and have the first sets of Harry Potter Heroes of Hogwarts Chocolate Frogs.”

She had a number of packets of just the cards to show everybody. Ron, sort of in disgust, said, “Now Harry has his own Chocolate Frog card. Harry has everything.

Ginny nonchalantly replied, “Let’s just go through the cards and see who is on them.”

The cards started with Harry James Potter, the Boy who Lived, victor over Lord Voldemort and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

“You tell the Chocolate Frog people that the next time they print those cards to say, ‘Tom Riddle who called himself Lord Voldysomething,’” Harry exclaimed.

“I’ll try, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll have you visit them,” Ginny said.

The next card was Hermione Jean Granger, the smartest witch in over a generation, one of Harry Potter’s companions and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

The third card was Ronald (Ron) Bilius Weasley, expert tactician and chess player, one of Harry Potter’s companions and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ron took the card in his hand like it was a huge piece of gold or a diamond or something, a precious thing. He looked at both sides a couple of times with his eyes wide open, like this was something beyond belief. There was a moment when it looked as though he might faint, but he finally shouted out, “Blimey, I can’t believe it! I’m on a chocolate frog card! I’m famous! It’s better than E’s and O’s on your NEWTS!”

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, “Stop being silly, Ron. It’s no where near as good as good grades on exams!”

Ron could not believe what Hermione had just said and replied, “Don’t be mental, Hermione, of course it’s better than exam grades.”

Ginny half-heartedly piped in, “Stop fighting, you two. There are more cards.”

Neville Longbottom, one of the leaders of Dumbledore’s Army, slayer of Voldemort’s snake Nagini and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Luna Lovegood, one of the leaders of Dumbledore’s Army, assistant to Xenophilius Lovegood who tried to report the truth of the resistance through The Quibbler and one of the Heroes of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ginevra (Ginny) Molly Weasley, one of the leaders of Dumbledore’s Army, she still bears the scars from her heroic resistance to interrogation during the months leading up to the Battle and one of the heroes of The Battle of Hogwarts. Engaged to Harry Potter.

Ginny, with a big smile, piped in, “The Chocolate Frog people tell me that this card is going to be by far the most valuable of the set, because it is only going to be published for a short while. They say that people will be paying good money for a Ginny Weasley card. All of the cards being sold on the Hogwarts express will have Ginny Potter cards!”

There were other cards: one of The Weasley Family with a brief note on all, referring to Ron and Ginny’s cards for more information. Every member of Dumbledore’s Army was on a card, but most of the D.A. cards had two or sometimes four students on them. Several had lists of the dead, including a card with the Lupins on it. Some of the cards had one or more Hogwarts Professors on them.

Professor Snape had his own card, which said that he was a double agent and on Harry Potter’s side. Harry was hardly involved in any of the other cards, but he had spent a fair amount of time on this one. Most of the people involved with the Chocolate Frog cards either wanted to forget about Snape or downplay the heroic nature of his struggle. Harry had just enough contact with McGonagall, others from Hogwarts, Kingsley and others from the Ministry, to realize just how much Snape had done. Harry wanted to make sure Snape was recognized and, and the Chocolate Frog card was the first step.

“Snape’s got a card as a good egg?” Ron asked in horror.

“In the end he was,” Harry replied.

“Looking back, Snape did the best he could,” Ginny grimly said. “I can still hear him roar, ‘No rapes. Scars are acceptable but no debilitating injuries!’ I think he was doing the best he could. If some people came out of the experience with scars, then they would remind them of the horrible days and maybe they would not forget how they had to fight for the right. Neville and I both thought that Snape was a double agent, playing a dangerous game. Luna was sure of it!”

“Well if Luna was sure of it, why would anyone doubt it?” Ron said, obviously trying to make a joke. The stares he got from Ginny and the rest of the family shut Ron up immediately.

After breakfast, Ginny motioned Harry, George and Angelina to come outside with her; Once they were a little way from the house, Ginny said, “George, after what you did to Harry and me when we got engaged, you owe me one. How did this happen?”

“How did what happen, Ginny?” said George, trying to look innocent.

“You and Angelina having a baby,” Ginny prompted.

“Well, when you sleep together-” said George looking at Angelina, who added, “-Ron and Hermione took the two rooms over the Hogsmeade store. We do not know when they started sharing a bedroom, or even if they are. They surely were not sharing a bedroom then. Well, that left four people who were going to be staying at the store in Diagon Alley, with two bedrooms. So, I told George that I was not sleeping with Charlie or Lee, so he and I were going to have to share a bedroom.”

Angelina looked at George, who then added “Angelina said that she would rearrange everything and move her clothes and personal stuff from the guest bedroom into our bedroom, I mean my bedroom. When she was done, I came up to take a shower and go to bed. Angelina had done a little more rearranging than I had anticipated.”

Angelina, in a somewhat exasperated tone, said, “Well there were two beds with a nightstand in between. I took my wand and made one larger bed. George gave me a funny look when he came upstairs but then went into the bathroom and took a shower, coming out with just his boxers on.”

George got a big smile on his face and said, “You left the smallest pair of boxers you could find in the bathroom, nothing else. Go on, tell them the rest.”

Angelina said, “Well, I found the smallest, sexiest knickers I had, went into the shower, came out wrapped in a towel with nothing on but my knickers, turned my back to George and said, ‘Dry my back please.’ When he had dried my back, I turned to him and we started kissing. We kissed and fondled each other for quite a while, neither wanting to stop, and finally I could not stand it any more and I took off George’s boxers and my knickers and-” Angelina looked at George who said, “-she had her period about a week later, but then missed her next one and told me things were starting to happen to her body.”

Angelina said, “So many things were going on we just never thought of birth control. But once I was pregnant, we both knew that we were going to get married sooner or later, and it probably ought to be sooner.”

Angelina and George both looked at Ginny like that was the end of the story.

Ginny gave Angelina a big hug and said, “Welcome to the family, sister.” There was no doubt that she was much more welcoming to Angelina than she had been to Fleur initially.


Harry and Ginny finally got to Grimmauld Place in the middle of the afternoon. Once they were there, Harry said, “How do you feel about remodeling this place and living here after you graduate?”

Ginny said, “I guess we could remodel this and make a nice home here.”

Harry asked, “Would you like to spend our honeymoon here or just go to a hotel or something?”

Ginny thought about it. She had never been to a muggle hotel, and she was a little nervous about being in a totally muggle setting, while she was getting used to being married. And there was no chance they were going to stay at a magical hotel, not with all of the press and Harry’s adoring fans out there. She said, “I think I would rather spend it here. This is a place that you own, that we can come back to and live in when we are not at Hogwarts. I do not want to have to spend all my time not at school at my parents’ house.”

Harry told Ginny, “After we’re married, you are going to own it as well. It’s not going to be my house. It’s going to be our house. Is there anything we can do to fix up the master bedroom?”

The second floor was clearly meant to be the master suite. There was a connecting door between the two bedrooms and each one had a large private bathroom.

Harry and Ginny looked at the master suite, which had two full bedrooms and bathrooms. At least the room that had most recently belonged to Walburga had been cleaned out for Arthur and Molly. They decided to turn Walburga’s room into a nursery for Teddy to stay in, when he was visiting. They weren’t sure what they would do with the extra bathroom, but surely something would come to them.

Ginny used some of the spells she had learned while they were furnishing the New Burrow, and before long, the room they would be using was reasonably inviting. Then she said, “We just need to try the bed.” Ginny got up on the bed and stretched out. Harry climbed in next to her for a delightful session of kissing and more.

“It’s too warm and uncomfortable with these robes on,” Ginny said playfully and pulled them off.

Harry was worried that they were getting too close to doing what they were not supposed to be doing. But the wedding was only a week and a half away, and it was no use pretending that they were not going to get intimate soon. Besides he was horny himself!

After a few more minutes Ginny pulled briefly away and took off her bra, and then went back to pushing her chest against Harry. It felt different with Ginny against him like that; very good indeed.

Ginny finally reached down to pull off Harry’s boxers, and he gently said, “Ginny, please! I’ve promised your parents.”

“I AM SO HORNY I THINK I’M GOING TO GO CRAZY BEFORE THE WEDDING, HARRY JAMES POTTER!” Ginny yelled.

“I did promise your parents,” Harry said. “I know in the Muggle community you really ought to wait until you are married.” Harry thought of his brief discussion with Bill. Why in Merlin’s name was he waiting? Bill didn’t think it was a big deal, except that disappointing Molly and Arthur was a big deal in Harry’s mind.

Ginny was sitting on the bed panting, trying to control herself. Harry sort of felt the same way, but obviously Ginny was having a really hard time.

“I don’t think we should be over here alone until our wedding night,” Harry said, trying to put a little distance between them despite his natural inclinations. “I know that I just about lost control.”

“It’s one of the things I love about you, you’re so blasted honorable, damn you, Harry,” Ginny said. “I’m sure I’ll appreciate it someday, BUT TODAY I’M OUT OF MY MIND HORNY.”

As they went downstairs to take the floo back to the New Burrow, Ginny said, “Maybe Mum has some ideas on how to wait.”

“Wasn’t your mum pregnant with Bill when she was married?” asked Harry.

“Maybe Mum wouldn’t be the best person to ask about waiting after all,” Ginny grumbled, as she looked at Harry. “Oh boggarts, I’m in trouble now.”




On Monday, Ginny came in from flying to find her mother and a witch she did not recognize. They were deep in some sort of discussion about Molly’s clock.

“You can’t have two locations on the clock called ‘Home,’ Molly. The magic doesn’t work that way,” she was saying.

“I want my children and their spouses and grandchildren to always feel this place is home,” Molly retorted.

“How many do you have left at home?”

“NOBODY!” Molly exclaimed. “Well, Andromeda and Teddy are making their home with us. I suppose we should have them on the clock too.”

“Plus all of your children and their spouses, and one grandchild on the way, so I would expect there would be more eventually. Molly, you need a bigger clock.”

“Can you enlarge this one, so that it’s bigger but still the same clock? All we have left from the old Burrow are a few things we brought to Muriel’s house when we had to leave because it was too dangerous here.” The woman’s expression said that she thought that ‘too dangerous’ was a rather mild statement.

“How about MOLLY’S HOME and CHILDREN’S HOME on the clock?” the witch finally asked. “We can expand the dial, add more categories and give you enough room for a dozen grandchildren.”

Ginny was fascinated by the conversation, and she sat down to listen to her mother and the clock witch. The clock was the only think even remotely resembling furniture that had been saved from the old Burrow.

Molly and the witch expanded the clock and went into the details on how spouses and children would be added. Finally the witch left.

“Mum, it sounds like YOU add people to the clock,” Ginny said. “It’s not automatic, like when someone gets engaged? Harry and Angelina are on the clock. Shouldn’t Hermione be on the clock too?”

Molly looked at the clock, sort of flustered, and said to Ginny, “Hermione probably ought to be on the clock. It’s just that Ron and Hermione are not formally engaged, and I really don’t want to risk putting someone on the clock and then take them off.”

“Did you put Fleur on when she and Bill got engaged? I don’t remember her on the clock the first Christmas?” Ginny asked.

“I’m ashamed to say it now,” Molly said, and then took a big breath, “but she wasn’t on the clock that Christmas. You weren’t the only female in the family who was not all that happy that Bill was engaged to that uppity French witch.”

“She was on the clock when we came home that summer,” Ginny said.

“When Bill’s face was shredded, I was sure that Fleur would just walk away,” Molly said. “I thought that if he wasn’t handsome, she would not want to marry him. When she told me that the scars would just be a sign that Bill was a hero, and she would have to be pretty enough for both of them, but that she was going to marry Bill anyway, well, … well … I knew she loved Bill and not just the pretty face. I went home and cried over how bad Bill’s face was shredded but also over how mean I had been to Fleur, and how I hadn’t put her on the clock or knit her a jumper for Christmas. Before the night was out, she was on the clock.”

“I think that you ought to put Hermione on the clock too,” Ginny said. “I think the only reason Ron hasn’t asked Hermione to marry him is because he doesn’t have money for a ring. Well, plus he’s an idiot some times, especially about girls. Besides, she’s always been almost as much a member of the family as Harry.”

Molly and Ginny stared at the clock silently for some time. Finally, with a smile, Molly raised her wand and said some things. Hermione was on the clock too.




Friday morning, Arthur kissed Molly and took the Floo. Harry kissed Ginny and followed. Michael kissed Rosemary, and as had become her custom, Coriander said out loud, “Stop it, Mum. He’s not Dad.”

When Michael left, Rosemary turned to Coriander and said, “Michael and I are going to get married tomorrow, and you are going to respect him as your father.”

“He’s a nice man,” Cinnamon said, as though she’d been through this a thousand times already. “You’re not being fair to him.”

“I like your mum,” Tom said to Coriander. “We’re not happy we lost our mum, but we’ll give your mum a chance. Give Dad a chance!”

“They shouldn’t be kissing like that,” Coriander said. “Next thing you know, Mum will have a baby with him. It’s not right!”

“Maybe we will have a baby together,” Rosemary said, wondering if a shared sibling would help matters. “You have about an hour before we do some school work. I don’t want to see you for about an hour, if you can behave.”

“Yes, Mum,” all six children said, as they disappeared up the stairs.

“You still think Coriander is going to accept the wedding?” asked Molly.

“Cinnamon and Tom both say she will,” Rosemary said. “The two oldest children seem to have agreed to share the role of watching over all of the younger children, and both of them have talked to Coriander. They think that once it’s a done deal, she will accept it, just probably not very gracefully at first.”

“It’s almost like you and Michael were expecting something like this, it happened so quickly,” Ginny said.

Rosemary shook her head, and said, “When Bill kissed me that last time, it was almost like he knew, well he did know that it could be the last time. Grace was so anxious to fight, so mad at the people who had ruined her life and especially the life of her children. We talked about who would fight and who would stay behind, and Bill said I had to stay behind. If anything happened to him and Grace, Michael and I would need to get out of Britain, take the children to someplace safe, make a life for ourselves. Even if they were just missing or captured, we’d have to go. The children needed a parent, and they needed a mother and a father figure.

“When we found out that both of them died in the battle, we knew what was expected of us. We, the family, we were good friends, but never that way. I loved Bill and Michael, loved Grace, but we never would have thought to switch or take the other’s place or anything like that, but …

“We talked after the battle, and within a week had made up our minds, but somehow it wasn’t real, until the funeral. And then we buried them, saw the gravesites with graves for us between our spouses, and at least for me, it became very, very real.

“That night we made love for the first time. We had never even passionately kissed, and we, well we, well it wasn’t like it was the first time but it was the first time with a different partner. Michael is kind and considerate and,… but he’s not Bill, and it was good and strange. We made love, and it felt sort of good. When we were done, we both cried, held each other close feeling our naked bodies next to each other and cried and cried and cried, mostly for our dead spouses but also because it felt good, sorrow and joy mingled. We just bawled for a long time.

“It’s still like that, joy and tears. I am so lucky to have Michael. The wedding charms will be good, and we WILL love each other even more as the years go by. I wonder if the tears will ever end, though.”

By the time Rosemary had gotten through saying all of this, she was bawling. She, Ginny and Molly all cried and hugged for some time. Maybe most of the tears were of grief, but some were of joy too. A new family was being born out of the wreckage of two good intact families that never should have ended so prematurely. Eventually, they just sat and made small talk until it was past time for Rosemary to go upstairs to work with the children and Ginny’s flying partners had shown up.




Saturday, August 8 Fiona McGonagall Prewett was supposed to arrive in the morning, coming into the Ministry by Floo from North America. Patrick Prewett and Molly were at the Floo when Fiona arrived, along with Harry and Ginny. Fiona rushed up to Patrick and gave him a big hug. She then looked at Molly and said, “Hello, Molly. It’s been a long time.”

“I remember you from Hogwarts,” said Molly. “You were dating Fabian then.”

“And from fifth year on, you only had eyes for Arthur,” said Fiona.

“I’m still in love with Arthur,” said Molly with a twinkle in her eye.

“Patrick has told me about your wonderful family,” said Fiona. “The last Christmas before your parents died your mother told your father right in front of us that it was not right that you were not with us. Something had to change and you and Arthur and as many children as you wanted to have were going to have to be welcomed into the family. Your dad said that what was done was done, but your mother said that what was done could be undone. The last I heard from Fabian, they were taking legal steps to un-un-inherit you, and Fabian was going to visit you to try to make some peace in the family. And then they died, and only a couple of months after that, Fabian and Gideon died. Oh, Molly, I am so sorry.” She held her arms out, Molly opened her arms and the sisters-in-law hugged each other.

“I am sorry we did not know each other when our children were growing up,” said Molly.

“Fabian did a very good job of hiding me and making sure that even if Voldemort won and all of Europe was under his sway, they could not find me or Patrick. It kept me safe but at the cost of losing touch with my entire family,” said Fiona.

Molly said, “You are staying with us for as long as you want. Our house was destroyed in the war, but Harry-” pointing to her soon to be son-in-law “-has built a big new house for us, and it feels empty. So, until I have lots of grandchildren filling it up, I need some guests. Besides, if you want family, at least on Sunday mornings, we can give you plenty of family.”

“Thank you, Molly. This has to be your daughter Ginny, the one who is getting married,” said Fiona looking at Ginny.

“Hello, Mrs. Prewett,” said Ginny somewhat shyly.

“Call me Fiona, Ginny,” said Fiona. “And is this the young man we have heard so much about, the Hero of the Battle of Hogwarts and your prize catch?”

“She caught me, Fiona, yessed me right into marrying her,” said Harry with a big grin.

Over the next few months, Fiona became part of the expanding family taking up residence at the New Burrow, to the delight of Molly and the rest of the family. They found out that most of the estate issues surrounding her parents’ and her brothers’ estates were because they had been frozen due to ‘unanticipated complications’ and not re-opened. But when they got into the estate, Molly did have a modest-sized bequest, although the vast majority of the estate was going to Fiona through Fabian. Molly felt sure that had her parents lived, they would have become proud grandparents to her brood of children.

The permanent or semi-permanent residents of the New Burrow included Molly and Arthur in the master suite, Andromeda in the mother-in-law suite, Teddy in a bedroom just upstairs from Molly and Fiona and Patrick Prewett in adjoining rooms. That left five bedrooms for her six remaining children and their spouses or significant others, plus grandchildren that looked liked they would start coming soon. Suddenly, the house did not look too big. Of course, three of the six remaining bedrooms were temporarily being occupied by what was to become the Appleleaf family.

Saturday afternoon, Michael and Rosemary had a small wedding, attended only by the residents of the Burrow. Harry showed up, as did Bill and Fleur, but they were the only other people there.

Michael and Rosemary stood in front of the little wizard who presided over these ceremonies. They had what looked like a script before them. Michael said, “We are gathered her to celebrate two fantastic marriages, my marriage to Grace Gryffindor.”

“And my marriage to Bill Bayleaf. And we want to join our lives and our families together, because of our fantastic spouses and the great children we’ve had together.”

“Therefore I Michael Appledorn take you Grace Bayleaf to be my wife, to love you as I loved Grace and you loved Bill, to be faithful to you until death part us.”

“I Grace Bayleaf take you Michael Appledorn to be my husband, to love you as I loved Bill and you loved Grace, to be faithful to you until death part us.”

“Together, we promise to love our children, all of them equally even if only one survives. Because we are joining our families, we are also joining our names, becoming the Appleleaf family.”

“Rosemary, take this one ring, made out of the two engagements rings and stones, as a symbol of our marriage, and this double wedding ring, combined but not merged, symbol of the two weddings.”

“Michael, take this double wedding ring, combined but not merged, symbol of the two weddings.”

Molly and Arthur said some charms over Michael and Rosemary that parents usually said over their children, to bind them closer together.

The little wizard had documents for Michael and Rosemary to sign.

Then Tom read, “I am signing this document to change my name to Thomas Appleleaf, pledging to love and honor both of you as my parents, and to treat the girls as my sisters.”

“I am signing this document to change my name to Cinnamon Appleleaf, pledging to love and honor both of you as my parents, and treat the boys as my brothers.”

“I am signing this document to change my name to Richard Appleleaf, pledging to love and honor both of you as my parents, and treat the girls as my sisters.”

Everybody looked at Coriander. No one knew what she was going to say. She looked at Michael and Rosemary, then at the other children. “I don’t want to be left out,” she said. “I’ve been sort of rotten to Mr. Appledorn.”

“Appleleaf,” Tom and Cinnamon gently reminded her.

Coriander glared at Tom and Cinnamon, and in an exasperated tone of voice, said, “It’s BAD ENOUGH having a bossy older sister, but now I’ve got a bossy older brother too, and you are conspiring with each other to BOSS us.” Coriander stuck out her tongue at the older children. “A younger brother isn’t much worse than a younger sister, I guess. I would have liked to have a sister my age. Dick’s not too bad but he’s NOT a sister.” She gave a big resigned sigh and paused with tears in her eyes. Finally she said, “I’ll sign and become an Appleleaf.”

Coriander signed the document, and then went over to Michael and said, “I’ll try to call you dad, Mr. Apple … leaf. I just miss my dad.” Michael crouched down and hugged Coriander, tears stinging his eyes. He would have to try to give this new daughter of his just a little extra attention, he thought.

The two littlest children printed shaky signatures the documents.

After dinner, Michael and Rosemary left to spend the night at a muggle hotel. They planned on coming back Sunday evening, a brief honeymoon of just over twenty four hours.

Before the Appleleaf children went to bed, Coriander looked at Ginny and said, “Mum talked to me about what men and women do after they get married, like he puts his, … is Mum going to let Mr. Appledorn do that to her?”

“Appleleaf now, Coriander,” Ginny quietly reminded her. “I’m sure they WANT to do it.”

“EEEuuuwwwau ugh gross. I guess Mum and Dad, my real dad, did it too.”

“That’s how they made you and your sisters.” Ginny was struggling not to smile at the young girl’s disgust.

“I hope they don’t make another baby. The family’s already twice as big with boys! I’ve got more brothers than sisters. IT’S AWFUL.”

“I had all bothers, six of them. I thought it was nice, mostly. At least you’re not the youngest and smallest. Is it really that awful? Is it really that awful, Coriander?”

“Well, no, not really. And Mr. Apple … he’s really nice, except when he’s being a dad, and then he’s kind of like my dad making us obey, but if I say it’s going to be all right, it’s like I am a traitor to my dad.”

“You’re not. Your dad wanted your mother and you to be happy.”

“I sort of know that. I just don’t feel like that.”

“Maybe you just need to give it some time, Coriander,” said Ginny, planting a kiss on the top of the child’s head. She couldn’t imagine her own parents remarrying under any circumstances and thought that that must be how Coriander was feeling. “Your mum and dad are trying to do what will be best for everyone. Do you think you can try to give it a chance?”

Coriander’s eyes looked watery, but she had a strong look of determination as well. “You’ve all been so nice to us. I’ll try.”




Ginny woke up Sunday morning, August 9, went in to take a shower and wash her hair and thought, ‘I have been really good with the Touch-of-Lust spell. I’ve only used it one or maybe two times a week and only with one flick. But Tuesday night I’ll be married, and Harry and I will FINALLY make love. So today, tomorrow, and my wedding day I’ll use two flicks!”




Harry met Ginny in the kitchen of the Burrow. Molly had a feast as usual. Teddy was finally taking a bottle well from either Molly or Andromeda or anyone else who wanted to feed him, and Ginny could feed him without him getting upset that he was not nursing. The plans were almost done for the birthday party/surprise wedding. Ginny and Harry were getting more and more anxious.

The whole family eventually showed up. Molly had to show everybody the clock hanging in a prominent place in the kitchen.

Hermione saw her name on the clock, and her eyes just about popped out of her head. She didn’t say anything at first, but later that morning, Ginny saw Hermione and her mum in a private conversation. After they were done, Hermione and Molly hugged. Hermione went back to sit next to Ron. She held his hand and put her body next to his, sitting in a way you only sit when you are a lot more than just friends.

Before Hermione and Ron left, Hermione motioned to Ginny, and they went outside. “Your mum said you were responsible for me being on the clock,” Hermione said. “I, I just, I guess I want to be part of this fantastic family, but until that idiot brother of yours asks me to marry him, well we’ve talked about it, and we even agree that we are going to get married. But it’s not like he’s proposed. I don’t even need a ring or anything, just Ron saying, ‘Hermione and I are engaged. We will get married. We’re just working on when and how.’ That would be enough. I think Ron’s scared.”

“That’s Ron, scared to tell the girl he loves that he wants to marry her. Idiot. I told Mum that it was all over except for the formalities, and she might as well have you on the clock,” Ginny said.

“Thank you, Ginny. It means a lot to me,” said Hermione as she gave Ginny a big hug.


The birthday party was going to be a casual affair. Harry had a pair of very nice charcoal gray cotton pants and a casual white cotton shirt that he was going to wear, along with sandals. In photographs and in person it looked dressy while not inappropriate for a garden party. Ron had a similar outfit with a pastel blue shirt and tan slacks. Hermione had a very nice, form fitting but conservative pastel blue sun dress with spaghetti straps and a modest neckline.

Ginny had gotten a white strapless cotton sun dress that was a little dressier than was normal for a sun dress, with piping that was, if not lace at least lace-like all around the top and bottom of the dress. The same white on white piping went under her breasts, outlining her shape in a most attractive way. Ginny thought that half of the girls at Hogwarts were unhappy with their breasts, thinking they were either too small or too big. Ginny was actually rather satisfied with her shape, big enough that there was no doubt of her femininity but not too big. The neckline was quite conservative, showing just a touch of breast, although it did show the start of her scar, and the skirt came down to just above her knees.

The cotton fabric of the dress was close knit, the kind of cotton that looks almost sheer but feels comfortable, and the white was one of those whites that one remembers not as shiny but as both touchable and beautiful at the same time. The dress was form fitting as only a magical dress could be from the top of the dress until her natural waist and then flared out modestly. The skirt moved side to side as her hips moved, and Harry suspected that it had been charmed to exaggerate the sway.

Although a very attractive dress, and one that looked fantastic on Ginny, it was still obviously a sun dress and not a wedding dress.

Molly had been with the couples as they picked out their clothes, but Ginny had been altering the dress with magic, lowering the neckline to show much more bust, and raising the skirt until it came halfway up her thigh

Ginny and her mother were looking the altered dress, and Harry heard Molly and Ginny arguing. Molly was shouting, “Ginny, that dress is way too low-cut, and you are showing way more than you should. You can see more through that fabric than is proper! You need more layers on top.”

Harry came into the room, and Ginny looked at Harry, who said “I think your mum is right.”

Ginny looked at Harry in shock. “I want to be as sexy as possible for you. This is my wedding!”

Harry thought a little. How was he going to put this? Finally, he decided that there was no easy way to say what he wanted to say. “Ginny, your mother is right. Everything I need to see I will see Tuesday night. There is no need to be that revealing. I expect that enough people will take photographs that we really should have a much more modest dress”

Ginny’s eyes got wide open, and she pouted, saying, “You don’t like me dressed like this?”

Harry answered, “Not on such a public occasion. Maybe on vacation on a beach, but you’re even pushing the limits there. Ginny, we are very public figures, and we are going to have to behave just a little conservatively in public.”

Molly piped in, “Harry is right. There is one way to behave in public, another in private. Your father and I would not have had all you children if we did not like the physical part of marriage. We still do. But some things are best left behind closed doors.”

Ginny said, “You and dad still … still …?” Ginny thought her parents still did it, but she was a little surprised to hear her mother talk freely about it.

“Have sex?” said Molly, looking surprised. “Of course! We’re not that old. I hope we’re never too old. There’s magic in sex too. It’s part of the physical world. Once you and Harry are married, enjoy each other!”

Ginny was amazed. She had seen her mother and father kissing plenty of times, and it usually embarrassed her. To have her mother tell her not to control herself and not just have sex but to enjoy sex with Harry (after they were married) was a revelation. Over the next day or so, Molly and Harry were able to reassure Ginny that just because she needed to be more conservative in public did not mean she had to be at all conservative when it was just her and Harry.

Ginny and Molly modified the dress so that it met Molly’s (and Harry’s) standards of modesty. They even made the skirt longer, coming to just below the knee. Harry thought the dress made Ginny look absolutely stunning. Everybody who saw Ginny in the dress would think that she was incredibly gorgeous and that Harry was one of the luckiest wizards in the world.

As they were putting the dress away Molly looked at Ginny and said “You’re really getting married on your birthday!”

“Finally!” said Ginny. “I’ve waited for months!”

“You are the young lady who complains that you have to wait for everything,” said Molly. “How many of your friends got married before starting their last year at Hogwarts?”

Ginny looked at her mother, momentarily at loss for words. Finally she said, “Hanna and Neville did, but they’re a year older.”

“Maybe you’re a little young to be getting married, young lady,” said Molly.

“I still want to, Mum,” said Ginny. “Things really change once you’re married, don’t they?”

“Once you’re married, what you do is between you and Harry,” said Molly. She then went into an imitation of a typical Ginny Weasley tirade. “Nobody wants me to grow up. Wait, wait, wait. I have to wait for everything. Will I ever be allowed to grow up?” Molly paused, looked directly at Ginny, and said, “You are very much a grown up when you’re married, or you should be, no matter how young you are.”

Ginny started to quietly laugh, like she could hardly believe what she was saying. “I’m doing it! I’m actually marrying Harry Potter on my birthday! No one will be able to treat me as a little girl anymore.” Ginny ended with a resounding, “YES!”

Molly was beginning to tear up. In a quiet voice, with just a small hint of panic in it, she said, “Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? I love Harry and I’m glad he is marrying into the family, but you haven’t even finished Hogwarts. I never wanted my children to have to grow up as fast as I had to, and it’s just very hard seeing you get married so young.”

“I’m not pregnant, Mum,” Ginny said, losing the giggles and getting serious. “I’m going to finish at Hogwarts and maybe, I hope, play for the Harpies before I have children. Except Harry and I sort of have a child already with Teddy, don’t we? It’s not fair to you if I leave Teddy with you and Andromeda, when I could be taking care of him. Mum, I’m sorry I always wanted to do it all. But I just can’t. If you want me to finish Hogwarts, I can’t take care of Teddy and be his Mum.”

Ginny looked at her mother, and realized how hard it was for Molly to see her only daughter get married so young. She went over and went into one of Molly’s hugs, hugging her back and finally saying, “Mum, I’m sorry if this is hard on you. Mum, how come we can’t have any happy moments without a few tears?”

“I think because we’re human,” said Molly as the two women hugged again.
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