"I'm sorry it's taken so long, Mum." Harry said softly into his adopted mother's hair. "We were going to be here earlier, but there was something I had to take care of first."
Molly Weasley pulled back and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "It's alright, Harry dear. Come on in, we've been waiting for you to get here."
"We?" Harry asked curiously. He looked through the doorway and saw a familiar set of cloaks hanging on the wall. He smiled at his wife and motioned towards the full rack. Hermione glanced in the indicated direction and smiled back. Without hesitation, they both plugged their ears in anticipation of what would happen next.
"PERCY!" Lily squealed in pure delight. "UNCLE RON! AUNT LUNA!" Like a lightning bolt, Lily flew through the kitchen and wrapped a tight hug around her redheaded cousin.
"LILY GEROFF!" Percy yelled uncomfortably. "Mummy! Daddy! Get her off!"
Ron and Luna couldn't have helped their son if they had the strength. Both parents were sitting on the sofa laughing hysterically at their wriggling son.
"LILY!!!!" Percy yelled again in frustration. "Ok, OK! I missed you too! Happy?!"
With a smile and a quick kiss on the cheek, Lily let go of her blushing cousin. Percy was wiping at his cheek furiously.
"Don't I get a hug?" Ron said through his tears as he got to his knees. With the extended invitation, Lily jumped into Ron's waiting arms and hugged him around the neck with all her strength. "Can't.Breathe.Need.Air." Ron wheezed out playfully causing the other adults to break into laughter.
"I missed you, Uncle Ron!" Lily said happily with a kiss on his cheek. Ron smiled and kissed his niece and released her. "I missed you too, Aunt Luna!" She quickly made her way to Luna's outstretched arms.
"Be careful, Lily, I've got a baby that's trying to sleep." Luna said with a laugh and a pat on her oversized tummy. Heeding her aunt's words, Lily very carefully climbed to the sofa next to her and gently hugged her around the neck as well. With kisses firmly in place, Lily slid off the couch and ran to her bag.
"Guess what Mummy gave me!" She said excitedly as she rooted around in search of her most prized possession.
"Let me guess." Ron said as he helped Luna to her feet. "She got you a small hippopotamus because a normal sized one is too big to fit in your bag?"
"No, Uncle Ron!" Lily huffed. She turned around and presented her book. "It's a book about being a big sister!" She said excitedly. Ron looked into her sparkling eyes and smiled widely.
"Somehow I thought that a book would be what she got you." He said with a laugh.
"It's not funny." Lily said with a pout and a fallen face.
Luna gave Ron a stern look that cut off the laughter and he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Lily." He said as he picked her up. "That's a very nice gift! And very important too." Lily looked to her uncle's face and began to laugh at the face he was making.
"Can I read it to you?" She asked quietly after she'd calmed down.
"In a little bit, ok, Lily?" Ron said with a smile. "I have to say hi to your mummy and daddy first."
Lily nodded and Ron set her down. She quickly made her way to her favorite chair and opened her little book and began to read.
"Some things will never change. And it seems that Lily's inherited one of your most interesting habits." Ron said cheekily to Hermione as they hugged.
"Just because I give her educational gifts doesn't mean that she's inherited a bad habit, Ron." Hermione replied with a faux scowl. Ron smiled and kissed her on the cheek before pulling Harry into a brotherly hug.
"How much longer, Luna?" Harry asked with a grin as he pulled her into a long overdue embrace a few moments later.
"Three agonizing weeks to go." She said with a frown. "I just want this child out of me!"
Hermione laughed and gently put her arms around Luna. "I've been so happy that I completely forgot about that." She scowled at Harry playfully and he pulled back in mock fear.
"I'm smart enough to not say that it isn't my fault." Harry said with a chuckle and elbowed Ron. "How many times has this one said that?"
"You don't want to know." Luna said in disgust. "You'd think that he'd learn some form of tact by now."
"I'm standing right here!" Ron growled. "Why is it that every time we get together all of you feel this need to gang up on me?"
Everyone laughed as Harry clapped his brother on the back. "It just wouldn't be the same, Ron." Ron shook his head in an attempt to keep the smile from forming on his face but he couldn't hold it back.
"Alright, alright, why don't we get you three settled in and get something to drink?" Molly came in with a smile on her face. She looked around at the small gathering and her smile grew bigger.
"Penelope and Maggie coming tomorrow, Molly?" Hermione asked as she, Harry, and her mother-in-law carried their overnight bags to Percy's old room. Molly was glancing at the photos lining the walls and her eyes had begun to mist over.
"They'll be here tomorrow, Hermione." She said quietly. Harry put an arm around her shoulders and smiled at the photo in front of them.
"That was a great summer." Harry said quietly as he kissed his mother's temple. "It was the first time that Percy came home ..."
Hermione smiled and took Molly's hand. "I remember the look on your face when he arrived with Penelope ..."
Molly let out a small sob and smiled at her two adopted children. "Let's not concentrate on those we lost." She said quietly with a long sigh. "What matters is that everyone worked it out before ..." She couldn't finish the sentence and before she knew it, Harry had her in a tight hug.
"It's ok, Mum, they're here, all of them." Harry whispered quietly. "I know it hurts ..."
With their mother's grief spent for the moment, Harry and Hermione walked with her to their assigned room. "It's going to feel so good to lie down tonight." Hermione moaned as she sat on the edge of the bed. "It's been a long day!"
"It sure has." Harry looked out the window to see another couple walking up the path. "Looks like Gin is here." He said with a smile.
Molly went to the window and smiled brightly. "Looks like they were able to get off of work earlier than they expected." She hurried from the room with a smile spreading on her face.
Harry sat next to his wife and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "How you feeling?" He asked quietly as he kissed her tenderly on the cheek.
Hermione returned the one armed hug and sighed. "Just a little tired." She admitted. "No morning sickness yet ..."
"Well, that's a good thing." Harry said with a soft chuckle. "I remember how you were with Lily! I didn't think you'd be able to eat anything."
"She was a picky one." Hermione smiled warmly. "Let's hope that this one isn't."
"Do you want to lie down now, Love?" Harry asked quietly as Hermione snuggled into his shoulder. "We can say hi to Gin and Neville tomorrow ..."
"I'll be fine." Hermione said with sigh. "I really miss my caffeine."
Harry laughed and helped her into a standing position.
"I'm not an invalid, Mr. Potter."
"I know that and I'm sure every time I do something to help, you'll tell me again." He said cheekily and pulled her into a hug. He looked her in the eyes and smiled at the twinkle that was dancing merrily in the swirls of chocolate brown. "I love you." He said quietly.
"I love you too, Harry." Hermione said with a small smile playing at her lips.
They inched their faces closer and were soon caught in a slow, tender kiss that made Harry's heart skip a beat and his palms sweat. He tightened his grip on her when she went limp and her arms went around him for added support. They broke apart a few moments later when they heard a baby crying downstairs.
"I guess that's our cue." Harry said in a whisper so quiet it was difficult to hear.
Hermione's eyes were still closed and a wide smile was on her face. She swallowed and nodded her agreement. "Let's go say hi."
The two of them disentangled themselves and slowly walked to the stairs. After a few moments, they were standing in the kitchen to see Molly cradling a crying baby in her arms and Ron, Luna, Neville, and Ginny giving each other hugs.
"Hey, stranger." Harry said with wide smile. Ginny's head snapped up and her smile seemed to mirror Harry's. They were hugging the next moment and laughing heartily.
"I didn't think you guys would be here tonight!" Ginny said with a squeal as she turned her attention to Hermione.
"The same could go for you." Harry said with a grin as he and Neville hugged like old friends. "How'd you get the time off?"
"I had more than enough vacation days saved up." Neville said with a grin. "It was our dear Ginevra here we had to wait on."
"I had to be quiet around the Prophet." She said with a sly smile. "I didn't want Skeeter to find out about the reunion."
Harry put a finger to his lips. "Shh!" He looked around wildly. "You know how she has that uncanny ability to show up whenever her name is mentioned."
Ginny smirked and shook her head. "She doesn't suspect a thing." She said reassuringly. "I was between assignments anyway so there wasn't a problem taking off an extra day."
"Tut tut. Poor little Alice is hungry." Molly said with a grandmotherly smile on her face.
"She eats more than Ron! I swear!" Ginny said in exasperation. "Here let me take her Mum." She took her daughter in her arms and cooed to the crying little girl. "It's ok, Ali, Mummy will get you something to eat."
Harry glanced at Neville and waggled his eyebrows a bit and laughed as his friend blushed profusely as Ginny took their daughter upstairs for her feeding.
"I saw that." Hermione said behind him. Harry straightened immediately and coughed. "That's better." She said with a smile.
"Come on and sit down now." Molly said with a smile. "Let me get you some tea."
"I've got to get Lily ready for bed." Hermione said with a smile. "Could you make mine herbal?"
Harry kissed her on the cheek then went to the counter to help. Ginny and Hermione left the kitchen and the others settled around the table.
"I should get Perce ready too." Ron said with a grin. "I'll see you in a little bit, honey." He whispered to Luna after a quick kiss when she'd been seated.
"Do you need any help expanding the third floor, Mum?" Harry asked as he prepared his wife's tea automatically.
"Ron helped me earlier." She said with a smile. "The Twins' room is now a suite large enough for both families and we've got the attic pushed up another floor so Charlie's and Bill's families have rooms when they get here."
"So Charlie and Sam are going to be here too?" Harry said with a smile. "This place is going to be packed!"
Molly stopped and wiped away a tear. "It hasn't been this full since that last summer." She said with a smile. A far away look settled in her eyes. She let out a shuddering sigh and turned back to the tea.
Harry reached over and rubbed her back. "It'll be good to have everyone here."
"It will be." She said quietly and smiled back at Harry.
Harry looked down to see his little girl tugging on his pant leg and he smiled. "Ready for bed, Sweets?"
Lily nodded and yawned. "I brushed my teeth and everything." She said sleepily.
Harry laughed. "Say goodnight to everyone and I'll tuck you in."
Lily made her rounds with liberal hugs and kisses to everyone and finally made it back to Harry. He smiled when she teetered a bit to her left and he picked her up. Within moments, she was sound asleep against his shoulder. He quietly walked upstairs and put Lily in the twin bed across from his and Hermione's and pulled the covers up to her chin.
"Goodnight, Lily." He whispered to her and kissed her temple. "Have sweet dreams."
Lily yawned sleepily and buried her head in the pillow after Hermione wished her a good night as well. Harry pulled her into a hug and the two of them beamed at their sleeping daughter.
"You three are so sweet." Ginny's quiet voice floated to the watchful parents from the doorway. They turned around and smiled at their friend and the sleeping baby in her arms.
"Motherhood suits you, Ginevra." Harry said with a grin as the two of them joined her in the hall.
"Please don't call me that." Ginny said with an exasperated sigh. "I so prefer Ginny."
Harry kissed her on the cheek and chuckled. "Fine, fine ... At least you don't lose it like Her ..."
"Don't you dare, Harry James Potter." Hermione said evenly.
"What?" He said innocently. "I was going to say 'like Hermione does when someone uses the nickname that Hagrid came up with to introduce her to Grawp.'"
"Uh-huh." She said dryly. "Just get downstairs."
Ginny giggled quietly and all three of them entered the kitchen to the smiling faces of their family. Neville shot to his feet and relieved Ginny of their daughter. With a smile and a quick kiss to her forehead, he placed her in the crib that had yet to be taken to Ginny's old room.
"I'll get your tea, Love." Harry said with a smile and returned with her favorite herbal mixture. She smelled the steam wafting from the surface before taking a careful sip and sighed in her chair.
"Thanks." She said with a small smile as Harry pulled a chair up next to her.
"Perce says goodnight to everyone." Ron said with a smile as he rejoined the group. "He was almost unconscious after we finished and I didn't have the heart to bring him back down. He was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow."
"That poor boy." Molly said with a smile. "When he saw Lily he grinned like a Cheshire cat until she buried him with that hug!"
Everyone laughed as Molly replayed the arrival of the Potters for the Longbottoms when Ginny looked curiously at Hermione.
"Wait, you're drinking herbal?" She asked with wide eyes and a forming smile.
Hermione nodded vigorously and matched the smile tooth for tooth.
Ginny looked to Harry then back to her best female friend and let out a squeal of delight. "How far along are you?!" She rushed over and hugged Hermione with everything she had. Hermione laughed and returned the embrace.
"About a week." Hermione admitted with a smile.
Neville's face changed from one of amusement to one of confusion. "A week?"
Harry laughed. "We're having another baby, Neville." At the bluntly given news Neville shot from his chair and pumped Harry's arm several times.
"Congratulations!" He said through his laughter. As soon as Hermione was free, he gave her a congratulatory hug as well.
"You are so slow sometimes." Ginny said with a laugh. She pulled her husband into a hug and kissed him on the cheek.
"Well, the doctors say that the memory charm removal is going to take a bit." Neville said with a frown.
"How many more treatments?" Harry asked concernedly.
"Three more, according to Susan." Ginny said with a smile.
"I can't believe your Gran did that to you, Neville." Ron said with a frown. "Has anything else come back to you?"
Neville shook his head. "It's been a little slow going with the natural memory blockage." He admitted sadly. "But Susan says it's not a good idea to let everything release at once."
There was silence around the table and what seemed to be a collective sigh. Molly broke the silence when she pushed her chair back and stood. "Well, there's going to be quite a bit of excitement here tomorrow, I need to get some sleep."
Everyone else rose as well and each took their turn wishing her goodnight. Ron walked with her to the stairs and whispered quietly to her before she gave him a final hug and went up to bed.
"It's going to be tough tomorrow." Ron whispered to everyone. "But it's good that we'll get to see everyone."
"Well, Hermione and I are kind of beat too." Harry smiled contentedly at her and took her hand. "We'll see you in the morning."
With a round of goodnights and yawns, the couple made their way to their room but stopped at the familiar picture of them during the summer before seventh year. The entire Weasley clan including Harry and Hermione were in the back garden of the Burrow. They were all laughing jovially and waving at the camera. Mr. Weasley had his arm around Mrs. Weasley and from time to time he'd plant a kiss on her reddened cheeks. George and his wife Angelina were holding their first born son, Alex, treating the baby like a puppet by making him wave at the camera. Fred and Katie were kissing each other with abandon and broke apart to wave at the photographer for a few minutes before returning to their previous activity. Ginny and her boyfriend at the time, Colin Creevey, were holding hands and smiling shyly at each other from time to time. Charlie and his wife Samantha were holding their two children happily, Mary and Hannah were hugging them shyly. Bill was standing behind an eight month pregnant Fleur smiling proudly at his growing family and stroking her hair lovingly from time to time. She looked to her husband and the love in her eyes could clearly be seen. Harry and Hermione were standing by Arthur and Molly. Harry was behind her with his arms firmly around her midsection and she was looking lovingly up at him. He smiled and kissed her forehead before he gave her a tender kiss on the lips. They separated a few minutes later and waved at the camera with wide grins on their faces. Luna was waving madly at the camera and Ron darted out front as quickly as he could. He picked Luna up into a fierce bear hug as she laughed and they kissed on her way down. There were a few more moments of everyone's waves and laughter before the scene repeated itself.
"I thought you two were going to bed?" Ron asked quietly from the bottom of the stairs.
Harry looked down to his brother and smiled. "We are, just enjoying a few memories before we go." Hermione tightened her hug on him as he wiped away a tear that had decided to make a break for it.
She looked to her best friend and smiled. "Night, Ron."
"Night, Hermione." Ron said with a gentle smile. Luna joined him at the bottom of the stairs and put her arms around him. Ron looked down and kissed the top of her head.
Harry chuckled slightly and turned to finish the climb the stairs.
"What's so funny?" Hermione asked with a grin.
"Just remembering." He said simply.
Hermione looked to Ron and his wife and smiled. "I know what you mean." She said quietly and followed him to their room. They closed the door and changed in silence. Shortly thereafter, they were under the covers of their bed and fast asleep.
Harry didn't know when it happened but for some reason he found himself lying half off the bed the next morning. Apparently, Lily had crawled into bed with them in the middle of the night and had tossed and turned to the point that she somehow took up more of the large four-poster than both of her parents combined.
He smiled and shivered a bit at the chill in the air before he slid to the floor and pulled on a bathrobe. He smiled at the two most important women in his life and replaced the blanket that they'd kicked off of them during their sleep. With a stretch and a yawn he made his way to the bathroom and smiled at being the first one to get the warm water.
He was enjoying the warmth of the water splashing over his body and turned to rinse off a hard to reach portion of his back when the curtains opened suddenly. Ginny let out a shriek, covered her bare body then quickly closed the curtains again, leaving a very embarrassed Harry Potter paralyzed in shock.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so, so sorry!" She said over and over again as she hurried from the bathroom. "I thought you were Neville ..." She said shakily from the other side of the door.
Harry cleared his throat and turned off the water before wrapping a towel around his waist. "It's ok, Gin." He said as his face turned a shade of red that rivaled that of the famous Weasley hair. "Might want to knock next time ... Wouldn't want you walking in on Bill or Charlie ..."
"I said I was sorry, Harry." Ginny said exasperatedly from the other side of the door.
"Morning, Ginny." Hermione said sleepily from the hall. "Why are you so red?"
Harry sat on the toilet and buried his face in his hands. "We need to put more bathrooms in this place ..." He groaned to himself.
"Oh, um ... Slight ... um ... scheduling snafu." Ginny stammered quickly. "Why don't you go ahead and grab a shower, I can wait." Harry heard footsteps retreat down the hall and a door close. There was a knock at the door.
"Come on in, Love." Harry said as he stood to finish his morning ritual. The door opened and Hermione stepped in before she closed it again.
"What was that all about?" She asked as she sat where Harry had just vacated.
Harry sighed and shook his head. "She thought I was Neville and tried to surprise him." He said slowly.
"What?!" Hermione's face reddened quickly. "Don't tell me that you ... that she ..."
Harry nodded as his face went red again. "Yep." He said with a sigh and leaned against the sink. "I wasn't quite prepared for that this weekend."
Hermione looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "Should you have been?" She asked warily.
Harry recovered instantly and shook his head. "Farthest thing from my mind!" He said quickly and put his hands in front of him.
Hermione finished her business and flushed before disrobing and locking the door. "That's good to hear." She said as she pressed herself up against his still wet body and wrapped her arms around him.
"You know you're the only one, Love." Harry said mischievously as he returned the gesture.
"You two had me worried during sixth year." She said softly.
"Hermione, please don't go there ... That was a mistake." He said quietly back to her.
Hermione sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I just worry sometimes."
"Love, you've got me and there's nobody who's going to take me away from you." He cooed into her ear. "You don't have to apologize at all, remember our promise?"
She nodded and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Harry wiped the tears that had fallen after she pulled away and he held her tightly to him.
"You're everything to me so don't worry." He whispered reassuringly.
"I know." She said quietly.
There was a knock at the door. "Are you going to be long in there?" Ron asked impatiently. "There are others who need to use the loo, you know!"
"Keep your knickers on, Ron!" Harry said with a smile. "Hermione's got next shower."
"Well make it snappy then!" Ron said in a huff and his footsteps could be heard tracing a path to his old room.
"I think we should have saved some water today." Harry said with a grin.
"It might have helped." Hermione smiled back. "I'll be out in a few minutes."
"Lily had her bath last night?"
"She did." She replied from the shower as she tested the water. Harry returned to his morning routine and left as Hermione finished her shower.
"I'll see you downstairs." He said with a kiss and was soon dressed for the day ahead of them. Lily was still out cold and he didn't have the heart to wake her but he didn't want her to be up too late so he grudgingly shook her awake.
"What time is it?" She yawned sleepily.
"Time to get up." Harry said with a gentle smile. "Gramma Molly is making pancakes today." The word pancakes seemed to bring Lily to consciousness and without a further word from her father, she was out of bed and hastily getting dressed.
"Sweets, you've got that one backwards." Harry said with a laugh. He helped her get dressed and Hermione walked in just as the two of them were tying her shoes.
"Did the pancakes wake you up?" Hermione said with a laugh. Lily nodded vigorously and fidgeted in her seat.
"Daddy, hurry up! Percy will eat them all before I get any!" She said insistently.
"Percy won't eat them all, Sweets." Harry said with a laugh. "I'm sure Gramma Molly has your special ones all by themselves waiting for you."
"Do you think I'll get monkeys this time?" She asked dreamily.
Harry looked at his wife and smiled. "Animal shaped pancakes ... Who would have thought?"
Hermione laughed as she pulled on her jumper. "Leave it to Molly." She said as she struggled to push her head through the wooly garment. She pulled her hair into a loose ponytail and sat on the bed to slip on her shoes.
"Well, let's go down to breakfast." She said with a smile as Harry got to his feet with Lily firmly in his arms. She smiled at how gentle he was with her and laughed at their daughter's giggles when he nuzzled a particularly ticklish spot on her neck.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked quietly when he put an arm around her.
Hermione sighed. "Just wondering why I'm so lucky."
Harry kissed her temple and smiled. "I'm the lucky one." He said when he caught her eye then turned and kissed his daughter after his unspoken love for his wife was acknowledged in her smile. Lily giggled again as they made their way to the kitchen.
"Good morning!" Molly beamed at them as she served up a plate of pancakes for those who were already up. "I have yours right here, Lily." She said with a smile and placed a plate in front of her granddaughter.
Lily smiled at the small animal shapes. "Horsies and ducks! Thank you, Gramma Molly!" She said excitedly then gave her grandmother a hug and a kiss before she turned toward the plate with her fork firmly in hand.
Molly laughed and kissed the top of her head. "My pleasure, Angel." She said with a smile.
There were several loud cracks in the back garden and Molly bustled quickly to the door with a wide grin plastered on her face. "It's about time you showed up!" She said with a laugh and hurried out into the garden.
A/N: Another chapter! Yay! Well, just so you all know, I've been suffering from minor writer's block for the past week and it's a good thing too! Well, I had five finals this week and needed the time to study. You are rewarded with an intermediary chapter in the storyline that introduces a bit of angst to the relationship. Things haven't always been rosy and happy ... You've seen that already. I'm going to work the Masquerade Ball challenge into the next chapter and after that the First Date challenge. I hope you've enjoyed this one as well. I'm sorry if it seems tedious, but unfortunately, that's how life is sometimes and I'm trying to write about their lives continuing on. There will be much, much more to come so stay tuned! I don't normally respond to questions in netspeak but I am a guy, for the record. Follow the link to my homepage if you want to find out more ...