FriendofMolly suggested Arthur’s Airplane ride, and gave Teddy some of his dialogue. I can never thank her enough.
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Birth of the Potter Children | ||||||
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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: 77678; Chapter Total: 2829 Author's Notes: |
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Early in April Harry and Mo came home from school at about four in the afternoon. Ginny was working on homework, and when she looked up she saw a big grin on Harry. “Harry, what is going on?” Ginny asked. “Bill and Dudley are flying here to San Francisco, and your father is flying along with them!” Harry said. Ginny said, “Daddy is getting a chance to fly in an airplane! He is going to be so excited! Is Mum coming with him?” “Spend twelve hours cooped up in a metal tube, when she can get here with the floo/closet network within an hour? Your Mum thinks Bill and your Dad are crazy.” “She would,” Ginny acknowledged. “Why are they coming over?” “There is a fair amount of magic in making some of the tiny parts in computers, mobiles, and similar products. Dudley is already making some parts that no one else can make, but that is partly because he has several Goblins and at least one house elf working for him. No one else in the world has been able to have Goblins and house elves work together with Muggles, but Dudley and Bill have. “Belinda Shashaguay works with her parents and brothers in a family factory making lots of small, hard to make parts. She thinks that if she can take some of the same things over to where Dudley is working, and get the Goblins and house elves involved, they can build quite a business.” “Why don’t house elves work in factories here?” Ginny asked. Harry turned to Mo, who said, “They do. They are only given menial tasks. Their owners do not think they can do hard jobs.” “That’s crazy,” said Harry. Ginny said, “You and Jo talk more like Goblins than house elves, you and Harriet Tubman. I think she’s half Goblin.” Mo said, “She is only one quarter Goblin.” Jo said, “MO!” Then she said a lot of something in Elfish. Jo and Mo argued for a couple of minutes. When they were done they looked at Harry and Ginny, not saying anything. Harry asked, “Are YOU part Goblin?” Mo answered, “Law in most countries says Goblins keep census of Goblins. House elves are always owned. If not owned is ‘was owned’.” Harry asked, “So what are you?” “Not Goblins,” said Mo. Harry asked, “Were you purchased, or hired?” Mo said, “Hired. Can be hired in Great Britain.” “Are you free?” asked Harry. Mo said, “Even Goblins not free like some humans want to be free. Always obligations to family and group. Never all free. Same with house elf.” “How much Goblin are you, how much house elf,” Harry asked. “Half,” Mo said. Harry turned to Jo, who replied in a quiet voice, “Half.” Ginny asked, “Where are you from?” Jo said, “A place very far away, not on maps.” Ginny asked, “Near what countries?” Jo said, “Not so near anywhere. Very high mountains, almost highest in world. No people. Not on maps?” Harry said, “In the Himalaya Mountain Range?” Jo said, “Yes.” “Do you feel welcome in Great Britain?” Harry asked. “No,” Jo said. “Welcomed by Harry Potter, and the Potter/Weasley elves,” Mo said. “Welcome by Harriet. Welcome by Eniac, and Dudley, and witches and wizards and Muggles working for Harry Potter’s cousin Dudley and Harry Potter’s brother-in-law Bill Weasley, and by Kreacher, because they all say how good and honorable Harry Potter is.” “They are giving me too much credit,” Harry said. “I am glad you are working for us. I am ashamed to ask, but you never talk about yourselves. Are you cousins, siblings, or mates?” Mo said, “Double first cousins, and mates, because is hard to mate with Goblin or house elf when you are not pure.” “Pure?” asked Ginny. Jo said, “House elf married to Goblin not pure, not good, not acceptable. All decedents not pure, not REALLY Goblin or house elf. We outcasts, despised beings.” “That’s horrible,” Harry said. “Harriet is mated to Dobedo. Will that be a problem for their children?” “Everything different if you are a Potter/Weasley elf,” Jo said. “Harry Potter is too humble. Is his fault we free, more free than sometimes we want?” “Are you happier because you are free?” Harry asked. Jo said, “Happiest house elves ones that serve good master, no worry about what is right and wrong, no freedom. Winky was very unhappy when she was free. Winky is very happy now that she serves her mistress Hermione, does what Hermione wants her to do. Hermione is a good mistress, except she tries too hard to make Windy happy.” Ginny asked Mitzi, “Are you happy, Mitzi?” Mitzi said, “Very happy serving such good mistress.” “Just do what good master says,” Jo said. “Freedom better, we think, but it does not make you happy. It is a problem.” Harry pondered this. He and Hermione were making some progress freeing the house elves, but it wasn’t making them any happier. In some ways it was making them less happy. Were they doing the right thing? Finally Ginny said, “When are Dad and Bill coming?” “They will be in tomorrow evening. We have to pick them up at the airport. Friday afternoon Molly showed up at the apartment. The apartment had been modified by magic to actually be the size of two apartments, with a larger kitchen, six large bedrooms for people, and a small apartment for the house elves. It could get a little crowded with house elves. You always had Mitzi, and now Mo and Jo. Dobedo was over for a day or two every week teaching Mo all he could about Harry Potter and the people Harry knew. Dobedo would occasionally bring over another house elf or two, for, as Dobedo explained, ‘learning.’” Molly showed up shortly before all the inhabitants of the apartment, including Dobedo who came with Molly, boarded a Ministry minibus for the ride to the airport. Dobedo had also brought along Eniac and another Goblin, and two house elves. These last four beings were going to stay at the apartment and not go to the airport. “Why didn’t you come over with Dad?” Ginny asked her mother. Molly said, “Ride in a metal tube with no control for hours and hours? I think he is a crazy old man. Now he wants to buy another car. Why ride around in a metal cage?” Harry asked, “Have you ever taken the knight bus?” Molly put her hands up to her face, and said, “Oh Merlin, once, never again!” Harry and Ginny both noticed that Molly was not comfortable riding in the minibus, even though it seemed to be traveling at normal speed. Someone from the ministry escorted the entourage through the terminal. There seemed to be private passageways, but eventually they had to walk down a corridor and wait for everyone, including two Aurors who had come along for security, to go through customs. Molly asked, “Why do we not have to go through customs when we come by floo?” Harry said, “When you cross national boundaries you usually have to show your wand. Sometimes you need another parchment or book. When we came into the United States to live we had some forms to fill out. The Ministry here has some sort of private channel to the US Customs Service.” Finally Bill and Dudley came walking out of the customs area, each with a rolling luggage bag, Arthur followed, his head turning like he was a little boy in an airport for the first time. Last out were two Aurors. Teddy ran up to Arthur yelling, “Grandpa! Grandpa!” Arthur picked up Teddy and kissed him, and then set him down. He said, “You are too big to carry through this big aeroplane station.” Teddy said. “You fly inna airplane?” “Yes, in a great big aeroplane, Teddy. We flew for over half a day.” “Was it fun, Grandpa?” Bill said, “We are not going to talk until we get into the minibus.” He kind of pointed to Arthur; there was no way they were going to keep him from saying strange things to Muggle ears while they were walking through the terminal. As it was his head was swiveling around in wonder, looking for all the world like a man who had never seen an airport before. “Yes it was. I’ll tell you all about it, Teddy. Can you wait until we get on the bus?” Arthur asked, after hearing what his son said. When they got into the minibus Molly asked Arthur, “How was your airplane ride?” Arthur answered, “They have tele-viewers on the airplane, and to listen to the sound you have to PLUG IN ear things. I plugged them in and worked the controls just like a Muggle! And you could plug in your computer and all sorts of Muggle gadgets. They served meals, just like a restaurant. It was just very noisy. Bill used a special Muffliato spell to keep it quiet around us. We were in the aeroplane for half a day!” Bill said, “We put Dad next to a window so he could look out. We were way higher than any broom could fly. That way Dudley and I could talk business.” Arthur said to Molly, “You need to see out an aeroplane window someday.” Molly said, “I do not NEED to do any such thing! I will be quite content if I NEVER have to get into one of those Muggle air things!” Harry and Ginny noticed a short time later that Molly and Arthur were holding hands and looking at each other. You could almost see the Hogwarts students who had fallen in love, here many years later as grandparents. Harry and Ginny smiled at each other. “Can you imagine us as Grandparents some day?” Harry asked. “I’m kind of busy trying to become a mum first, Harry,” Ginny said. She looked down at her expanding shape. “I just never imagined looking like Mum.” “You will always be the most beautiful girl in the world to me,” Harry said. “Even when we both are old and wrinkled and frail you will be my beautiful Ginny.” Ginny gave Harry a small but lingering kiss. “I love you,” she said. “Even when you are being silly.” “Life is good,” Harry said. The next evening Harry came back to the apartment to pick up Ginny. He said to Teddy, “Mum Ginny and I have a big dinner we have to go to tonight. You are going to have to eat here with your Grandmother Tonks and Grandmother and Grandfather Weasley.” “We did FUN things today,” Teddy said. “We showed Grandfather Weasley Disney Land. He went on a FAST ride. He said it was like the nighttime bus. I had a lot of fun! Grandpa told me about when he flew on the aeroplane. He said they were on top of the clouds, and there was a lady who gave him and Uncle Bill and Uncle Dudley drinks and food. He said he asked if they had pumpkin juice, then Uncle Bill made a funny face, then everything was quiet around them. Then he told me about how it felt funny in his tummy when the aeroplane started going down. He said it was landing. And his ears felt funny. When they were getting off the airplane the drink lady, thanked him for the silly request. ” Harry looked like he was going to say something, when Teddy said. “Papa Harry, nobody could hear us we were on the roller coaster. I know we have to keep magic away from Muggles” “We are enjoying Teddy and the sights of the West Coast,” Molly said. “Teddy can skip school for a couple of days.” Teddy pleaded, “Please. Please, can I not go to school? I wanna go with Grandpa Artur and Granmum Molly. It will be so much fun. Please, Papa Harry? Ginny said to Teddy, “We have arranged for you to miss school for a couple of days. You may spend them with your Grandfather and Grandmothers. Harry took Ginny to a restaurant they had never been to before. It was magical, and it had a large private room with a long table. Harry and Ginny were in the middle of the table, on one side, next to Ginny, was Belinda Shashaguay’s mother Betty, and then her father and brothers and their wives. Dudley and Belinda were sitting across from her parents, with Bill Weasley next to them. Next to Harry was Eniac, and the elves and Goblins were at that end of the table. There were other people that Ginny did not know around the table. Eniac said to Harry, “It is going well. It is very subversive having Goblins and Elves at same table with witches and wizards.” Harry said, “There is really a lot of the technical stuff I don’t really understand.” Eniac said, “All you need to know is that with elves and Goblins we make lots of tricky small parts, and we make lots of money!” “Good for you!” Harry said, “Good for everybody. That is what Harry Potter teaches us,” Eniac said. Belinda’s mother introduced herself. “I’m Betty Shashaguay. You must be Ginny Potter.” Ginny said, “Yes, pleased to meet you.” Betty said, “Do house elves usually eat at the same table as their masters?” Ginny replied, “I don’t think Harry would like you to call yourself the ‘master,’ like elves and Goblins are inferior beings. We eat with house elves often. I have a lot of trouble with my balance since getting injured, and Mitzi and I have become partners in most of what we do. I cannot imagine sending Mitzi to eat at another table. “MoJo, that’s Mo and Jo, our guards, always eat with us. They are with Dobedo and a witch Auror by the door eating now. “Do you have house elves?” Ginny asked. Betty said, “Yes, we do, for cleaning and cooking, both at home and at the factory. Bill, your brother, and Harry’s cousin Dumley or something, are talking about using Goblins and house elves helping to run the machines!” Ginny said, “I think they already do.” “Belinda is all eager to move to England and work for Bill and the rest of you. I just hope she meets some nice wizard over there to marry.” Ginny said, “She is as tall as I am short.” Betty said, “She is six foot two inches. She sort of intimidates most wizards with her size. “Did you really get pregnant in the back seat of that car?” Ginny rolled her eyes. “Probably,” she said. The conversation deteriorated from there on. Betty was an avid reader of gossip, something Ginny had no use for. That night Harry told Ginny, “We need a couple more days, but I think we may have a way to substantially grow the companies that Bill and Dudley are running. I have tried to make sure your brother gets a fair share, and also that the house elves and Goblins are partners and are not taken advantage of. Bill and Dudley agree, but because I have the most gold on the table I have to be there to insist on fair treatment.” Ginny said, “I spent most of the evening talking to Betty. Talk about an empty headed woman. She leaves everything but cleaning and gossip to her husband. She’s upset that Belinda received an engineering degree at MIT and is involved in the business.” |
| Reviews 59 |
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