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SIYE Time:15:10 on 28th March 2024
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Birth of the Potter Children
By JetLaBarge

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Category: Post-DH/AB
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, Nymphadora Tonks, Ron Weasley
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, General, Romance
Warnings: Death, Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 59
Summary: Third in the Almost Happily Ever After series, starting at the end of the hunt for the remaining supporters of Tom Riddle and the end of Ginny's Quidditch career.
Hitcount: Story Total: 77528; Chapter Total: 2503





Author's Notes:
The title ought to be “James First Christmas, Hermione’s Difficult Christmas, and Ginny’s Revenge. FriendofMolly named Hermione’s parents years ago, and shared her thoughts with me. Thank you, Diane.




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It was Saturday December 18, the week before Christmas. Harry, Ginny and James were in the drawing room, and with the house elves were decorating the room for Christmas.

Harry looked at the fireplace and said, “We need stockings.”

Ginny looked at Harry’s feet and asked, “You want socks for Christmas?”

Harry said, “No, Christmas Stockings. Father Christmas brings presents for good boys and girls Christmas Eve. The Dursley’s always had Christmas Stockings for Vernon and Petunia and Dudley on the fireplace mantel.”

Ginny said, “And none for you, I expect.”

“Father Christmas forgot me,” Harry acknowledged. “Maybe that’s why I want Christmas Stockings on the mantel for James.”

“And for Harry,” Ginny said. “We will need to get one for Teddy as well. Then he can stay over here Christmas Eve, and get his stocking in the morning before we go to my parents’ house.”

“Do not forget a Christmas Stocking for the fantastic mother of this family,” Harry said. “I’m working double shifts until Christmas again. The Aurors with young children really appreciate me helping out, especially Christmas Eve. I could always count on Cho to take over supervising the second and third shifts Christmas Eve, but she has been working fewer hours lately. She will still be in about eleven, but not way before. I think she has a boyfriend!”

Ginny said, “You have said you were worried about Cho. She was working too many long shifts, and didn’t seem to have a life outside the Aurors.”

“Mary Lou Creevey is privy to most of the gossip around the office. Cho is very private, but everyone is sure she is seeing someone. Even her Auror uniforms look a little sexier, a little more feminine. Mary Lou commented on it to me, and said she was sure Joey and Laura Middy had something to do with it.”

“You didn’t notice?” Ginny kidded.

Harry tried to think how he was going to answer this question. Ginny and Cho were not exactly friends. “I don’t think I noticed until Mary Lou pointed it out,” Harry said. “I guess it is pretty subtle.”

*****

Harry got back very late Christmas Eve, almost one in the morning. “Sorry, Love, but there were a couple of problems that delayed me,” Harry said.

Ginny asked, “Was Cho on time?”

“Just,” Harry said, “She was a little distracted. I asked her if her Christmas Eve had been good, and she almost swooned. I didn’t get any facts, but something good obviously happened.”

*****

There was not much in the Christmas stockings, but Teddy was thrilled. Ginny could see very mixed emotions in Harry. It was obviously very important for him to start this Muggle Christmas tradition, but there was still, she was sure, the memory of all those years with him being the only one without a Christmas stocking.

Harry said, as they were getting ready to go to The New Burrow, “Maybe for the first time I feel like our little family is starting its own Christmas traditions.”

“Next year I will work on what to put in the stockings,” Ginny said. “I sort of feel more like a parent, helping Father Christmas with the presents.”

“I want to treat Teddy the way I wish the Dursley’s’ had treated me,” Harry said.

*****

Harry and Ginny delighted in another Christmas at the New Burrow. Teddy was 6 , an absolute delight of a child. He was maybe a little too aware that he was not like other children, being raised by grandmothers and a grandfather (Grandma and Grandpa Weasley not really grandparents, but really grandparents in every way that counted). He loved Harry and Ginny, and Bill and Fleur as substitute parents, but he was very aware that they were substitute parents. Bill and Fleur were still not quite sure how they got so thoroughly adopted by Teddy. Somehow, although the trust Harry has set up for Teddy always paid for Teddy’s clothes, Teddy had talked Fleur into buying clothes for him. He could always transform himself into a strikingly good-looking child, and at Christmas he was as handsome, and as well dressed, as a little boy could be, at least as handsome as a little boy with constantly changing and sometimes rather striking and strange-colored hair could be.

Teddy had adopted James as his “god-brother,” and was proud to hold him and talk to him. Victoire was also proud of her brother Louis, and occasionally the two of them would sit down together and the mothers would put the two babies in their laps.

Freddy was 5 . Freddy had been very excited that his aunts were having boys, since all of his cousins so far were girls. He was most disgusted when they were born. “They aren’t boys, they’re just dumb babies,” he said when he was shown them. “You can’t play with dumb old babies!” Although Freddy was not allowed anywhere near the cash register, he was very capable of selling some of the WWW products, and enjoyed it. He thought selling was a game, one that he enjoyed immensely. Of course he was always as flamboyantly dressed as his parents, never more so as at Christmas.

Little Molly at 4 was not as timid as she was a year ago, but still was a quiet good little girl. Of course Molly was conservatively dressed.

Victoire at 4 had turned into a real character. She was vain about her beauty, delighted that she was a girl, and proud of being an older sister. Even her play clothes were feminine and obviously of the highest quality, and a Christmas dress was as fine, feminine, and frilly as a dress could be, with jewelry appropriate to her age but again obviously high quality and beautiful. Victoire was also a reasonably talkative and energetic girl as well. She still looked more like Molly’s granddaughter than Fleur’s daughter.

Roxanne was 3 , and was beginning to come into her own. She was a little overshadowed by her older brother, but had become very talkative. You could not be too subtle and survive in a family with George and Angelina as parents and Fred as your older brother, and she was not subtle. She and Fred did not have disagreements, they had fights! There was a good reason why when she and Fred got into trouble both parents ran, or if only one parent was present some other adult ran. Grandma Molly occasionally said “Those two are as bad as (or sometimes as good as) the twins.”

Lucy was 3, not as timid at her sister Molly, but still a quiet good little girl. Unlike Fred and Roxanne, if Molly and Lucy fought it was more a semi-polite disagreement. They were always conservatively dressed, but Percy was doing well enough at the Ministry that the girls never lacked for anything. They were a little intimidated by their other cousins, but not intimidated enough not to want to be in on the action.

Dominique was 2 years old, fully a talkative active toddler. She both admired her older sister, and could get very frustrated when Victoire was in the dominate “older sister” mood. She was just as pretty as Victoire, but a different type of pretty. Vela genes were strong in Dominique, and she looked like her mother. She and Victoire generally got along, and more often than not she would go along with Victoire when it came to play, and do what Victoire wanted her to do. She was a little intimidated by Freddy, and in awe of Teddy, who was so grown up in her 2 year old eyes.

Louis and James were both infants, both good babies.

Molly was delighted with the 8 grandchildren, and in general it was a very good Christmas for the family on Christmas day.

The only thing that kept the family’s spirits down a little was that Hermione had lost her baby. Hermione was really down, close to tears, much of Christmas day. Ron was doing his best to comfort her, but you could sense a tension and sorrow there. So as Christmas Day was drawing to a close Ginny quietly talked to Harry and then invited Ron and Hermione back to their house for drinks and some quiet conversation. Hermione agreed, and they went up to the living room, Ginny arranged the furniture so there was an intimate sitting group, and Harry had Mabel bring some wine for everyone.

Ginny said “You have been so sad this Christmas, Hermione, I thought my heart would break for you. Is it just losing the baby?”

Ron held onto Hermione’s hand and looked at her with a great deal of compassion. You could tell all Christmas that Ron was trying to support Hermione the best way he could, mostly with non-verbal gestures, holding her hand, looking at her, and occasionally hugging her and lightly kissing her. Hermione looked at Ron, got ready to say something, and gave a great big sob. At this they hugged. After a brief while they broke off the hug, Hermione sort of brushed herself off to compose herself, and said “It’s not just losing the baby.” She gave sort of a sob and continued on. “My father has terminal cancer.”

Harry and Ginny looked at Hermione, at each other, and back at Hermione. At almost the same time they said, “I’m so sorry.” Ginny followed up with “Is there anything we can do?”

Hermione said “I don’t think there is anything anyone can do to heal my father. He has lung cancer, and now it is in his brain and all over his body. His thinking is starting to go, and the doctors say he will probably go quickly.”

Ron patted Hermione’s hand again, and she gave him a loving and grateful look. She took a small drink out of her wine glass, asked for some water which was immediately provided, and took a small drink out of the water glass. Everybody waited for her to continue; it was obvious from her manner she had more to say.

“It’s not like I come from a large or long-lived family. Both my parents were only children, and their parents were older when they were born. My father’s parents were gone before I was born, and Mum’s father died when I was very small although I sort of remember him and the funeral, and my last grandmother died just before I went to Hogwarts.

“Mum and Dad met at the dental clinic where they work. She was just out of dental school, and he was 10 years older. It took them a few years to court and get married, and they did not want to have children right away. My mother did not get pregnant with me until she was 35 and she was 36 when I was born. Dad was 46.

“Mum only worked part-time when I was small. She took 4 years off and taught me to read; I was reading by 3. She and I read and studied and talked about everything.

“Dad was harder to get to know. Even after I modified their memories before they went to Australia and then got them and restored their memories, even after spending time with them then, and seeing them … that’s the problem. We never have spent that much time with them.”

“Maybe you can get to know your father more the next few weeks,” said Ginny hopefully.

“No,” said Hermione. “His brain has already started to go. He was barely able to talk Christmas Eve.”

Hermione gave a great big sob again and said, “He found out he had cancer about the same time I told them I was pregnant, and decided to fight it with everything he could, so he could live to see his first grandchild.”

Hermione tried to compose herself again. “From what Mum said it was harder on him when I lost the baby than it was on me. He just sort of gave up then. I’ve been so selfish, not wanting to have a child because I was afraid, and busy with all the things I wanted to do, and just thinking they would always be there. And now my father is never going to know any grandchildren, because I waited and waited, and then lost the baby when I finally got pregnant.”

Hermione took a couple of deep breaths, looked at Ron, then at Ginny and Harry. “I’ve never failed at anything, but I feel like I’ve failed at the most important part of my life.”

“You can be there for your mother,” said Ginny. “Would you like me to come with you? That’s what family is all about. I can spend a lot of the next days with you, as long as I can bring James along.”

“I was going to go there tomorrow morning,” said Hermione. “Ron has to work, first at the ministry, and then at WWW, and I was going to help at WWW, but he has told me I am not welcome back at WWW until all this is over.” Hermione looked at Ron and said, “Thank you again, Ron. I would not be much of an upbeat salesperson anyway.”

“The days right after Christmas are some of our busiest,” said Ron, “or I would go with you. George says if I have to be with you they will cover. I may have to ask Harry and Robards for some time off. Eventually I will have to be with you, I know. When that time comes I will be there for you!”

“I’ll be there!” said Ginny. “That is what family is. What time do James and I have to be ready?”

“9:00 AM,” said Hermione. “I’ll meet you outside the front door, and if James delays you I will just come in to your house.”

Ron and Hermione walked out the front door of the Potter house and went in their house next door.

Ginny looked at Harry and said “What do I do? I’ve never sat with anyone who had a dying relative. We’ve seen a lot of death, way way too much, but it’s all been tragic violent death. We were with Kreacher and Azalea, but that was house elves. I don’t know if it is different with a parent.”

“I don’t know, Ginny,” said Harry.

“Maybe Mum knows,” said Ginny.

“James is sleeping,” said Harry. “You could try and pop over there for a mument while I stay with James.”

Ginny immediately went downstairs to the Floo without saying a word to Harry. Of course as soon as Ginny got up Mitzi was at her side. Ginny called for her mother, who was in the kitchen and answered. She then disappeared into the Floo for the New Burrow.

As Ginny came out of the Floo she noticed that both of her parents were there. There was a little sitting area sort of in the wing that had their bedroom but most of the time open to the kitchen, with comfortable chairs for Molly and Arthur and a grandchild or two, and many a grandchild had been held in Grandma or Grandpa’s lap in that little area. Ginny found a kitchen chair and took it into the area and sat down, eyes downcast and sorrowful. There was no use hinting at anything. She said, “Hermione’s dad is dying. That’s one of the reasons she has been so sad. I’m going to go over to her parents’ house tomorrow with Hermione. What do I do?!”

“Oh poor Hermione” said Molly. “First she miscarries, and then this!” Molly looked directly at Ginny. “I think it is very good that you are going to be going with Hermione. Spend as much time as they want you to. You do not have to do anything. If they need something they will ask, and then if you can you do it. Just being there is the most important thing. And if you need more help let your family know. We are all here for support and to help when necessary.”

“Just be there?” asked Ginny.

“Just be there,” said Molly. “I know you like to do, but sometimes just being there is more important than anything we can do.”

“Thanks Mum,” said Ginny. “I love you, you too Dad.”

“Tell Hermione we love her,” said Molly. “She’s part of the family, and anything we can do we will.”

“I will, Mum” said Ginny as she went back to the Floo and back to her house.


Sunday the 26th was Boxing Day, but some of the stores were going to be open in the afternoon, including WWW. Harry got a call at 7:00 AM. One of the Aurors on duty said, “I think every witch and wizard who did not have a mobile got one, and they are all taking the Floo network or apparating all over Britain with their mobiles turned on. There is enough chaos in the network that we are covering for now, but we need your help!” Harry would spend a good part of the rest of the year trying to tell witches and wizards why they could not just suddenly disappear in one place and appear in another with their mobile turned on. When a couple of them asked why Harry seemed to be able to, he said, “I have a special and very expensive wizard mobile with multiple numbers. It costs as much as 10 regular mobiles, both to buy and per month. We can get you one of these, or you can learn to turn the mobile off when you travel.”

Harry and Department of Magical Law Enforcement also had a magical application you could put on most mobiles, that looked like the mobile was on even though it was not, to tell you how long you had to wait before you could turn it on again. If you did not obey the mobile's suggestion they would hard wire it in, or confiscate your mobile and force you to buy a special wizard mobile.

Even without Hermione’s dad dying, Harry’s week between Christmas and New Year was somewhat of a nightmare.

*****

Ginny walked outside her front door, 2 month old James on her hip, baby travel bag over her shoulder, Mitzi by her side, at 9:00 AM, and Hermione walked out the front door at the same time. James had been sleeping, but the cold air sort of woke him up. Ginny knew where Hermione’s parents lived, as did Mitzi, who had to help Ginny Apparate, and they apparated together.

As they arrived James limbs got stiff, he gave a big start, let out a large wail, and looked at his mother like “what did you do to me?” He was wide awake and very nervous. He grabbed on to his mother hard, and put his head against her, eyes wide open sort of shaking. “I’ve never Apparated with James before,” said Ginny. “It does not look like he likes it.”

“Well it is a strange sensation,” said Hermione.

The two women and James went in the front door of Hugo and Jean Granger’s house. “Hello, Ginny,” said Jean. “Thank you for coming. This must be James.”

James was still upset from Apparating, and meeting another strange person was the last thing he wanted to do. He shrank away from Jean and pushed his head even harder into Ginny. “James had his first experience Apparating as we came here,” said Ginny, “and I think it scared him. He usually warms up to people quickly.”

Jean Granger looked questioningly at Mitzi.

Ginny looked at Jean and then said, “Mitzi, this is Hermione’s mother Jean Granger. Mrs. Granger, this is my house elf Mitzi. She helps me keep my balance, among other things. I’ve really never recovered from my sporting accident.”

Hermione went in first, followed by Ginny holding James, Mitzi at her side. Three large Siamese cats came up and sniffed at Mitzi, then looked at Ginny, then looked very hard at Mitzi again. Mitzi waved her free hand in some complicated way. The cats backed off but continued to look at her.

“Cats be fine,” Mitzi said. “I let them know who boss is.”

“I think your father wants to see you,” said Jean to Hermione. They went into the living room where Hugo was sitting in an overstuffed chair. “We are having some problem with pain,” Jean said, “and the hospice nurse should be here this morning.”

“What’s a hospice nurse?” asked Ginny.

Jean said, “Hospice is an organization that takes care of people who are dying, letting them die at home if they want to, surrounded by friends and family. They are just excellent at pain management and keeping people comfortable. The only real requirement for hospice care is to accept that you are dying. Hospice tries to keep you comfortable, not alive.”

Hugo motioned for Hermione to come over, and said, “wan .. waan,” pointing at Hermione.

“My wand?” asked Hermione. Hugo nodded.

“Mem .. mem,” said Hugo pointing to his head. “Old mem .. old mem.”

“You want me to find some old memories?” asked Hermione.

Hugo nodded and then said, “block ked mem o,” and he closed his eyes like this had been a terrible strain.

“Blocked memories, like by magic?” asked Hermione. “Real old blocked memories?” Hugo nodded yes.

Hermione put her wand up to her father’s head. For about 5 minutes there was a tremendous strain on both of their faces. Finally Hermione said, “It’s real messed up and confused up there, Dad. I’m having a hard time getting anything. I think I have found some very old memories but I do not know if I have unblocked any.”

“Somewhere!” said Hugo very strongly. “Wan … trunk … attic … go,” and he slumped down in his chair.

“You want me to go up to the attic and get a trunk, with my wand?” asked Hermione.

“Open,” said Hugo. “Go.”

James had almost fallen asleep, and Ginny put him on a blanket on the floor, where he proceeded to doze off. Hermione and Ginny then went up to the attic of the Granger house. There in the attic, among boxes and other stuff, was a very small trunk. If you went up with a magic wand looking for a magical trunk it was obvious that this was the one. You could not open it with a key, but with a wand it was easy to charm it open.

Right on top was an old Daily Prophet. There was a photograph of a young man that looked something like a younger version of Hermione’s father. There was another photograph of the ruins of a house. The paper was dated October 1970, and the headline over the paper was “Another Auror killed by death eaters.” The story went on to tell how Mark Granger, who had just become a fully qualified Auror a month and a half ago, was missing along with his Muggle parents, and their house was destroyed by Fiendfyre. The Dark Mark was over the house, and they were all presumed dead. It went on to say there were rumors of an unidentified sibling.

Below the Daily Prophet were photographs of Hugo and his parents and a much younger brother, photographs of Mark at Hogwarts in Gryffindor robes, and other items, not much really, mostly from his desk at the Ministry, a note said, although there were a few photographs that Hogwarts had contributed.

Hermione carried the few photographs and documents down stairs. She gently tapped on her father’s hand, and he woke up. She showed the paper to her father.

Hugo put his hand on the paper and his finger went down to where it said the house was destroyed by a Fiendfyre. “Gone” said Hugo. “Gone. Every, every, every, thing, gone.” Hugo pointed to his head. “Gone, mem-o-ree gone too.”

Hugo looked down at the papers, then back at his daughter who was kneeling by the chair, her eyes level with her father. “Back … Back,” Hugo said, a smile on his face, tears pouring out.

“Your memories are back?” asked Hermione.

“Enough,” said Hugo. “Enough” in a tired voice as he sank into the chair. “Sanks, sanks, sanks,” as he gripped the sides of the chair. In a small voice he said, “Hurts.”

The doorbell rang, and Jean let in a hospice nurse. She checked Hugo over and gave him a shot. She asked a lot of questions about pain. She talked to Jean about Hugo’s ability to speak and eat and breathe. Finally she said to the three of them, “We are into the last days. We have no idea how long, and with cancer like this there is always the chance that something will happen suddenly and we will lose him. His body is strong enough for a couple of weeks or more. We will know more as the disease progresses.”

“Should I be staying here from now on?” asked Hermione.

“You’re his only child,” said the nurse, more as a statement than a question.

“Yes,” said Hermione.

The nurse said, “If it was me I would clear my calendar and plan on spending the next few days here. I’m not sure how much time you can take off work, but if you can I would take it off and be here.”

After the hospice nurse left Hermione asked Ginny if she could stay with her mother while she went home to get some things. Hermione was back about an hour later with a small suitcase; knowing what Hermione had packed in the beaded bag Ginny was reasonably sure there was a small wardrobe in the suitcase. Winky was also with her.

“Helps,” Winky said. “Helps family of Hermione.”

“I went over to WWW and told Ron,” Hermione said. “We are going to be sleeping here in my old bedroom until Dad…” Hermione went over and held Ginny, just barely holding back tears, and said, “Until Dad… dies.”

Ginny spent the rest of the day with Hermione, only going home at 9:00 PM, long after Ron had shown up. Harry got back shortly later.

Monday and Tuesday Harry continued to get James up at night when necessary, although James was sleeping through most nights. He changed James when he and Ginny were together. He left for work about 8:00 AM because mobile phone problems did not usually start early in the morning, but ended up working until 8:00 or 9:00 at night. He did appear at the Granger residence briefly both days. Ginny waited until Harry had left, then she and Mitzi Apparated to the Granger’s. James still did not like Apparating, but the total shock he showed the first time was replaced by an expression of glaring dislike, accompanied by James grabbing Ginny so hard if she had not been dressed for winter it would have hurt.

Hugo Granger spent most of Monday, when he was awake, looking at the papers Hermione had brought down, looking at Hermione and Jean, and smiling. He tried to indicate how pleased he was, but the words came harder and were harder to understand.

Mid-Monday Hermione realized that she was going to have to take care of some things at work. Hermione said, “Harriet Tubman,” and there was the crack of a house elf appearing. Jean Granger jumped. “Sorry missus,” said Harriet.

“You need to stay here! Harriet will take care of it,” said Harriet. She knew of Hugo Granger’s condition. “We will bring you what needs you to sign. Eloise will do what I say. We need you only for a little.”

Harriet dumped a small pile of documents on the table. “I’ll send Ginny back with these when I am done, and have her give them to Eloise,” said Hermione.

“Ginny give them to Eloise?” asked Harriet.

“Why not!” said Hermione with a wicked smile on her face.

Hugo was sleeping soundly. The papers that Hermione had brought down were by his side, and Jean was sitting on a chair next to Hugo trying to read but mostly looking at him.

Hermione finished scanning and signing the documents, folded them neatly and put them in a big envelope.

“Harry is a good man, Ginny,” said Hermione.

“I know he is, but what brought that up?” asked Ginny.

“Do you have any idea how many witches would love to get their hands on the famous Harry Potter?” asked Hermione.

“Too many!” said Ginny.

“Ask Harry how many witches have ever made a play for him. Mary Lou Creevey has, and Harry told her he could not remember any witches making a pass at him. It happens but Harry just doesn’t notice.”

“Witches make passes at him and he doesn’t notice?” asked Ginny.

Hermione said, “He does not notice, or assumes they are talking about you and family. From what I understand Eloise Urquhart, who works for me now, made a pass at Harry just after James was born, said something to indicate she was available for sex if you were not.”

“The bitch! And Harry didn’t notice?” asked Ginny.

“Harry noticed she was talking about you and James, and went on from what I understand to talk about you and James and your family and how lucky he was without the slightest indication she had made a pass at him,” said Hermione.

Ginny said, “He never mentions other women making passes at him. When we are out together occasionally some witch tries to make advances, and he does not seem to notice. I thought maybe it was all me, but he is like that when I’m not around? That’s good to know.”

Hermione said, “Meanwhile I think you showing up with these documents would scare Eloise. None of the men in the Ministry want her working for them. She has caused too many problems.”

Ginny thought a little, then said to Hermione, “She ought to be scared. Harry is almost always nice, but I’m not always nice. I will be glad to take these documents to Eloise.”

Ginny waited until James had nursed again and was back down for a nap. Then with a wicked gleam in her eye, and with the help of Mitzi, she Apparated to the Ministry and went up to the offices of Hermione and her staff. She asked for Eloise Urquhart, and was shown to a cubical where Eloise was sitting at a desk. Ginny’s brothers had good reason to be scared of Ginny. She was an expert in hard-to-detect curses that could make you miserable, and she thought she had just the right one for Eloise; it would make you so sick to your stomach that you had to throw up, and it was tied to thinking of the person who cursed you. Every time Eloise saw or thought of Ginny or Harry she was going to get painfully sick to her stomach and lose its contents, but only after Ginny was gone so she would not throw up on Ginny.

After performing the curse Ginny went into the room where Eloise was and said, “Hermione has these documents for you.”

“Yes, Miss,” said Eloise, still sitting. Making sure Mitzi was still supporting her Ginny grabbed Eloise and stood her up.

“Ginny Potter, Mrs. Harry Potter to you,” said Ginny.

“Yes, Mrs. Potter,” said an obviously frightened Eloise, beginning to get very sick to her stomach.

“Harry still has a hard time imagining that some BITCH made a pass for him just after James was born,” said Ginny, backing Eloise against the nearest wall. “Harry is a little nave and always nice, but I am not nave and I am NOT always nice. My brothers are still scared of me, for good reason.” Ginny was standing right next to Eloise, bodies touching, Ginny pushing hard up against Eloise. Eloise had her back pushed against the wall like she was trying to get through the wall into the next room.

“I do not think they would punish me much if I made you hurt for the rest of your life, not if you seduced a friend or employee of one of my friends or family,” said Ginny. “That’s just about everybody in the Ministry.”

Ginny stood back, glared at Eloise, and said, “Ginny Potter, Order of Merlin first class, married to the hero of the Wizarding world, and a nursing mother as well. They are not going to punish me for cursing a BITCH who made a pass at MY HUSBAND.”

Ginny turned sharply, smiled wickedly at Eloise, and stormed uneasily out, Mitzi vainly trying to keep Ginny from being too unsteady. Eloise shakily walked to the woman’s bathroom and heaved and heaved until there was nothing left in her stomach.

*****

Tuesday morning Ginny thought that if Mark was in Gryffindor Minerva McGonagall should remember him, and she tracked McGonagall down. Minerva came over in the afternoon, knelt down to look at him, and said, “I remember your brother Mark from when he went to school at Hogwarts.” When she said this Hugo got a big smile on his face and noticeably perked up. “Mark was a good person and a good student. He did mention you, and was proud of you. He knew you were a specialist, dental surgeon not just a dentist. Mark would have made an excellent Auror had he lived.”

Hugo reached for the papers, and Minerva looked at them. She had duplicated a couple of additional photographs of Mark from his Hogwarts days and she gave them to Hugo. Hugo really did not speak, but by nodding indicated that he understood what Minerva was saying. After about half an hour or less Hugo was totally exhausted. Minerva walked away from him, and he fell asleep again.

Tuesday afternoon the priest who was the pastor of the Anglican Church the Granger’s attended came over, along with his wife. The pastor said some prayers and anointed Hugo with oil. He and his wife and Jean talked briefly. Harry happened to be there when the priest showed up, and he stayed for the prayers and anointing.

Hugo was in enough pain that a hospice nurse was coming over 4 times a day, 6:00 AM, noon, 6:00 PM, midnight. By 6:00 PM Hugo had been in quite a bit of pain for over 2 hours, and after some consultation hospice decided they needed to have someone there full time from then on.

Late Tuesday morning Harriet had some more papers for Hermione, and again Ginny took them back and gave them to Eloise. And of course after Ginny left Eloise immediately headed to the bathroom. Tuesday afternoon Harry was at the Ministry for a brief period, talking to Mary Lou Creevey about several business matters. When they were done Mary Lou said “Ginny brought over some papers for Hermione yesterday, delivered them to Eloise Urquhart.” The way Mary Lou said it got Harry very curious.

“What happened?” asked Harry.

“I’m not sure, but the witch and elf who saw it said that Ginny was talking to Eloise while pushing her up against a wall, hard. Ginny left with a wicked smile on her face and I think Eloise went to the bathroom sick and terrified,” said Mary Lou with a smile on her face.

Harry looked pensive and said, “Ginny must have found out that Eloise had …” Harry paused and looked at Mary Lou with a questioning look on his face and said, “She really tried to seduce me?”

“She’s done enough seducing in the Ministry, and yes I think she tried to seduce you,” said Mary Lou.

“It’s not a good idea to get on Ginny’s bad side,” said Harry. He thought maybe he ought to do something, but he could not think of what to do. Maybe it was better if Eloise was, was, whatever she was after Ginny had gotten through with her.

Wednesday Hugo seldom woke up. When he did he smiled at Jean and Hermione, but you could tell he was in great pain, despite everything the hospice nurses could do. New medicines and formulations were delivered every few hours, to little effect. He had stopped eating and by Wednesday afternoon he was not drinking anything.

Thursday morning the nurse on duty was having problems. Hugo’s vital signs were becoming erratic. It was taking much more narcotic to keep him comfortable. “This is where some hard choices have to be made,” said the nurse. “Cancer at this end stage can be terrible, causing much agony. Extra narcotic can greatly ease the suffering, but too much can be toxic. There are not any really good choices left.”

Jean said, “Keep him comfortable. Hugo and I have talked about this, and there is no reason for him to suffer. Keep him comfortable.”

The nurse said, “You might want to call any other family today. Hugo could go at any time, and I do not think it is going to be more than a day or two at most.”

Hermione called Ron, and he came and stayed close to Hermione, frequently holding her hand.

Ginny called Harry, who was still very busy, but every break he had Harry Apparated over to the Grangers.

About 3:00 PM Hugo’s vital signs really started to go down. His breathing was becoming shallow, and his blood pressure was dropping. His heart rate was becoming erratic. The nurse said, “We are getting close to the end.” It took another 15 minutes for Hugo’s heart to stop completely. Shortly after 3:20 the hospice nurse said, “He is gone.”

Ron held on to Hermione during this time, and Jean just held Hugo’s hand. James had started to indicate that he was hungry; his schedule was all messed up. So from just before 3:00 to after 3:30 Ginny was busy with James.

Hugo was 71 years old. He had worked until he had gotten cancer, and all of his close acquaintances were from the dental practice. Other than his wife no one knew of any close friends. The pastor said Hugo was privately very devout, and he was very faithful in attending church and financially supporting the church, but he never joined in any groups at the church. He was an intensely private man. Hermione thought the loss of his childhood memories, both the physical loss and the memory loss from the spells, probably contributed some to his personality.

Harriet was there just before Hugo died, without being asked. She stood silently watching as Hugo took his last breaths, and when Hermione was ready gave Hermione a hug, Hermione down on her knees and Harriet stretching up to Hermione. Harriet let Hermione know that she, Harriet, would notify the Ministry. Hermione asked Harriet “How did you know to be here when you were?”

Harriet looked a little embarrassed, but she said “I is still your elf, Hermione. Elves know these things. Being totally free not always such a good thing. You and Ron not free of each other, Hugo and Jean not free of each other. Is what we must do as elf, but is also love. Works for you under contract, but also loves, more than … is also loves.”

Hermione looked a little shocked. “Is also love? Oh Harriet, thank you, thank you, for your love.”

Hermione looked at Winky, who was also crying. Winky said, “Hermione such good mistress. Sad seeing good mistress like this. Winky also loves, Not just obeys, loves.”

Hermione gave Winky a big hug too.

Harriet asked, “May I go back to work? I tell everybody. Stay with family! Loves is important!”

“Yes, Harriet, please,” Hermione said.

Jean and Hermione then hugged each other. Jean said to Hermione, “I had to be strong for Hugo. He was in such pain and I just had to be in control.”

“He’s gone, now, Mum,” Hermione said. “We can cry now.”

The two women held each other for some time, silent tears from both of them. Hermione thought it may have been the first time she had ever seen her mother cry, and it was the first time her mother had cried in her arms.

Ginny sat down, holding James, looking at the scene, tears cascading down. Ginny had so much family, and Hermione had so little, and she had just lost her first baby and father within a couple of months. She just felt so sorry for Hermione and Jean.

Eventually Jean called the church, and the pastor came over. The soonest they could schedule a funeral was Tuesday January 3, because of the holidays and other things going on. Jean also called the dental clinic where they had worked. She knew one of the neighbors reasonably well, and the neighbor said she would let the other people in the neighborhood know.

A little later the undertaker came to collect Hugo’s body. Hermione asked her mother if she wanted to have Ron and her stay in the house, or if she wanted to come back to their house. “I don’t want to stay in this house alone,” Jean said. “You have been away from your house for too long. I’ll go home with you.”

Friday Hermione notified the Ministry that she would be off until Wednesday, back at work Thursday morning. Hermione, Winky, Jean and Ginny (with Mitzi and James) went back over to the Granger house. They cleaned up and got rid of medical stuff that was no longer needed. They were there from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, going out to a local restaurant for a long lunch in the middle, getting maybe 2 hours of work done but doing the essential job of grieving and talking about Hugo, about the life Hugo and Jean and Hermione had together. Ginny would tell her mother later, “You’re right, Mum. Sometimes you do not have to do much to do a lot. This time with Hermione and her mother Jean has been precious, and good, even if in some ways it has been hard.”

Friday evening was New Year’s Eve, but no one was much in the mood to celebrate, so they all went to bed early.

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