Harry looked out the window to see a tight huddle of red hair. He smiled as Fred and George planted simultaneous kisses on each of Molly's laughing, reddened cheeks. Angelina and Katie soon followed suit when 4 children and the two families' luggage suddenly appeared via portkey. Harry's eyes went wide at how tall Alex and Annette had gotten and he waved for Hermione to join them outside.
"We'll be right back, Lily." Harry said with a smile. "Don't leave your chair, ok?"
Lily nodded absently as she moved her animal shaped pancakes around in a search for that special one that was sometimes hidden under the more mundane shapes. "Ok, Daddy."
Harry took his wife by the hand as they joined the growing gaggle in the back garden. "Oy! Gred! Forge!"
"Harry, you're here early!" Fred said with a smile.
"We didn't expect you here until this afternoon!" George piped in with a laugh.
Angelina and Katie both squealed when they saw him and Ron stepped out the door in time to see Harry buried under four Weasleys. Not wanting to be left out of the Gryffindor Quidditch team reunion, Ron plowed ahead and dove atop the pile of laughing bodies.
"Charlie and Bill ... Will be ... In for a shock ..." Fred gasped as he extricated himself from the heap of laughing bodies.
"Has anyone seen my glasses?" Harry asked with a chuckle. "Angelina, I think you're on top of them."
"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry." She said with a pout. Sure enough, she had sat on his black-rimmed spectacles and they were once again snapped in two.
Hermione laughed and with a flick of her wand they were as good as new. "Well, tradition has to be upheld somehow."
Harry pulled her into a hug and gave her a quick kiss. "Thanks, Love, what would I do without you?"
Hermione smiled and shrugged as if she didn't have the faintest clue and laughed when he picked her up to plant a longer kiss on her lips.
"UNCLE HARRY!" Two young girls squealed in unison and Harry found himself buried in long, red hair and hugs. Harry fell back in laughter as the simultaneous kisses of Fred and Katie's twin's landed on his cheeks. His arms went around the two girls and he hugged them to him gently.
"Mary! Liz! You've gotten bigger!" He said with a laugh. "I don't know if I can handle your tackles for much longer!"
"We missed you, Uncle Harry!" Mary said with a giggle and a twinkle in her eyes.
"We couldn't wait for the weekend!" Elizabeth said with a nearly identical look on her face.
Harry laughed as he got to his feet and the twins moved to either side of him to hug Hermione and Ron and immediately returned to Harry's side with star-struck looks on their faces.
Hermione laughed and took Harry's arm. "I don't think they've gotten over their infatuation with you, Love." She whispered playfully in his ear.
Harry blushed and smiled sheepishly. "I'm still not used to it." He whispered back. "It's been this way since they read Hogwarts, A History ..."
"It's about time that someone in the Weasley family did!" Hermione retorted with a laugh.
Harry smiled in return. "Looks like someone is looking for his Aunt Hermione ..."
She looked to where Harry indicated and spotted Alex looking around nervously. The young boy caught her smile and blushed profusely but walked quickly over to the two of them. Hermione pulled him into a bone-crushing hug as soon as he made it over and without hesitation, he returned the embrace.
"Hi, Aunt Hermione." He said nervously.
"Hello, Alex." She said with a smile. "How was your first year at Hogwarts?"
Alex exploded into a commentary on the different aspects of first year charms and transfiguration spells that he'd already mastered and explained with much detail how he was the only one in his year to successfully levitate the feather Professor Flitwick provided them. Hermione smiled and laughed genuinely as she caught Ron roll his eyes and Harry's laugh.
"Alex, take your bags up to your room." Angelina said firmly. "And I would like it if you left the reading alone for the weekend to spend it with your family ..."
"Yes, Mum." Alex said dejectedly.
"We can talk later, Alex." Hermione said with a smile. She waved to Annette, Alex's sister who smiled shyly and hid behind her big brother.
"Annie!" Alex said exasperatedly. "Could you give me a little room, please?" The little girl nodded quietly and took a few steps back. She clutched her stuffed dragon to her chest and followed her brother quietly into the house.
There was a squeal from the kitchen and Harry recognized it instantly. Knowing that it was one of happiness didn't keep him from bolting into the house. When he stepped into the kitchen he laughed at the sight before him. Lily was doing a little happy dance and pointing at the plate in front of her chair.
"DADDY! I got a monkey!!!" She squealed happily again as she climbed back into her chair. "I can't believe I got a monkey!" She started to cry happily as her fork made short work of the other animal shapes.
"That's wonderful, Sweets." He said with a laugh and kissed her cheek. "We'll have to thank Gramma Molly after you're done, won't we?"
Lily nodded her head vigorously but didn't say anything because of her full mouth.
"When you're done with breakfast, wash your hands in the little sink, ok?" Harry said as he rubbed her back. "You have to say hello to your cousins, uncles, and aunts."
Lily nodded and took a drink of her juice. "Ok, Daddy."
"The same goes for you too, Percy." Harry said with a smile.
Percy nodded his understanding and made short work of the remaining pancakes on his plate.
Harry didn't have much time to himself between the children at the table and the sudden closeness of Mary and Elizabeth who seemed to be pining over their favorite uncle. Harry laughed and took each of their hands in his. "Why don't you two help your parents get ready. We'll have plenty of time this weekend for stories."
The twins didn't seem to want to leave him at first but after he mentioned stories, they smiled to each other and bolted up the stairs to their parent's suite in a fit of giggles.
Harry looked up to see a smiling Luna walking from the stairs.
"I don't know if those two will ever get over their crush and I don't know if I want to be around when that happens." She said with a laugh as Harry hugged her good morning and helped her into a seat.
"Herbal tea? Anything you can't eat?" He asked as he went to the counter.
"That would be fine, a little milk and sugar as well? And are there any more sausages and pancakes left?"
Harry laughed. "Percy seems to have eaten the majority of them, but there are still enough left."
Luna eyed her son critically. "Oh, the pancake eating snorkak has struck again, has he?"
Percy paled for a moment but smiled at the grin his mother was sporting.
"Go on and finish your plate and don't be rude to Annie this time." She scolded in the only way a mother can. "She's shy enough as it is."
Percy sighed and nodded. "Ok, Mummy. I won't tease Fanny Annie."
"Percy ..." She said in a dangerous voice.
"I'm sorry!" He said quickly.
Harry shook his head and set a plate and cup in front of his friend. "Breakfast, madam." He said with a laugh.
Luna shook her head. "You're worse than Ron sometimes."
"You don't know the half of it." Hermione said with a laugh from the door. Her face was red and she stumbled a bit on the way to the table. Harry was at her side instantly and pulled her into a hug to support her. She winced a little and smiled her thanks.
"Are you ok, Hermione?" He asked concernedly. He pulled out a chair and helped her into it.
"I'm fine, Love." She said with a slight smile. "I could use a glass of water though." She hugged him around the waist then let him go. "Just all the excitement and I thought I'd left the morning sickness a few days ago." She looked at the platter of pancakes and paled a bit. "No pancakes for me, just some sausage." She said with a small smile.
Harry didn't take his eyes off of her as he bustled around the kitchen fulfilling her request. After downing half the glass of water, her face went to it's normal hue and she smiled gratefully at him.
"I just needed some water, Harry." She smiled reassuringly at him then started on her breakfast. Harry bent and kissed the top of her head before retrieving his own breakfast.
The morning shot by in short spurts of activity as more and more of the Weasley clan arrived. Bill, Fleur, and their children William and Constance arrived shortly afterwards in muggle style, Charlie and a now pregnant Samantha walked up the garden path with Mary and Hannah in tow before lunch. Ginny had finally come downstairs with Neville and Alice but avoided Harry like the plague. Every time their eyes met, she blushed profusely and busied herself with her clothes or with her daughter. Lily had thanked Molly enthusiastically for her monkey shaped pancake and seemed to dance happily in that excited, little girl fashion she reserved for special bouts of giddiness.
They were all surprised when a familiar Quidditch keeper knocked on the door with a baby in his arms.
"Wood?!" Virtually every adult in view of the door said with surprise.
"Hey, I guess word hasn't gotten out yet." He said with a smile and stepping to the side, Penelope and Maggie came into view farther down the path.
Harry opened the door and pulled his old friend into a hug. "Did you and Penelope finally get married?" He asked with a wide grin. "I mean, we heard you two had started dating a few years ago ..."
Harry was cut off by a flash of red hair slamming into his midsection with a hug to rival Molly Weasley's. He laughed and picked the crying girl up and held her in a tight hug. "Why the tears, Maggs?" He whispered to her as she hugged him around the neck.
"I missed you, Uncle Harry." She said quietly. She looked into his green eyes and smiled widely before hugging him again.
"I missed you too." He said with a laugh. She didn't seem to want to let go so he hugged Penelope with his free arm.
"You're all she could talk about for the past two weeks." Penelope said with a laugh. "And to answer your question, Oliver and I got married a year ago on Percy's anniversary." She added quietly. Oliver put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple before they all made it into the house.
"Looks like everyone's here, Mum." Bill said with a smile. "We have enough for two teams now!"
Ron's eyes gleamed as he looked around the room. "Oh, this will be a great game." He said with a wide smile. "No more off balanced teams!"
Harry laughed at the scheming brothers and put a free hand on Hermione's shoulders. He had a hard time putting Maggie down but after whispering that she should say hello to everyone else, she reluctantly let go and made her rounds.
The day went by in a flash of laughter, Quidditch, food and fun. Mary, Elizabeth, Lily and Maggie had become Harry's official cheerleaders as he looked around for the snitch and Hermione was laughing at the expressions on their faces when he dove for the golden ball. She winced as well but knew his flying skills were beyond what most people could dream of and still scolded him for taking chances. Ron proved several times over that he deserved the praise the sports columns gave him for his position on the Cannons and Wood deserved just as much for being Keeper on Puddlemere's front lines. The game boiled down to Harry and Charlie racing each other around the Weasley Pitch in an attempt to beat the other to the snitch. The children who weren't playing were staring in awe at their father or uncle as they zipped from one end to the other cutting each other off and laughing at the diversionary tactics they took to confuse each other. Harry won the game with his famous dive and rolled to the ground with the golden orb fluttering harmlessly in his outstretched hand. He soon found himself covered in a mass of red and bushy brown hair as his cheering squad rushed him and fought for a hugging spot. Lily was the first to latch around his neck, then Mary and Elizabeth both got an arm and Maggie was firmly wrapped around his midsection. He laughed and tried to hug them all back but his arms were weighed down by the twins.
After cleaning up from the game, the large family made their way to a large oak that sported two headstones in front of it. Molly was the first to them both and spoke quietly as she cleaned off the grave of her husband while Penelope and Maggie tended to Percy's. Each family took their turn to speak to their lost loved ones as the sun sank lower in the sky. They all placed a flower in the large vase that was between the two and let out small laughs and sobs as they spoke of their memories with the two fallen men. Fred and George left an old 'Bighead Boy' badge on Percy's grave and laughed as if it was their fourth year and they'd just pulled the prank on their older brother. Harry and Hermione were the last two and after a silent thank you to them both for the memories they'd given him, they rejoined the rest of the Weasleys at the family pavilion for dinner.
The time flew by as everyone shared their experiences since their last gathering and congratulations and squeals were heard as Hermione and Samantha both announced their pregnancies to the entire family. Harry spotted his adopted mother looking over the gathering with tears in her eyes and a wide smile on her face. She winked at him and bustled around the tables mothering her children and kissing her grandchildren for what seemed to be the hundredth time since they'd all arrived.
It was a unanimous vote that brought Oliver Wood officially into the Weasley fold, making him an honorary family member from then on. The men hoisted the flabbergasted Quidditch fanatic on their shoulders and gave him a victory lap around the house before unceremoniously throwing him into the pond to the laughter of everyone present. The children were playing various games of tag and hide and seek while the Weasley wizard chess tournament raged on at the picnic tables. Those who weren't playing were caring after the babies or chatting over tea in the shade.
There was a roar of laughter as six very familiar people ran out of the house. Harry sat next to his wife and smiled dreamily as three manikin-like women ran past and she laughed as three manikin-like men followed afterwards. Ron sat down with a grin at the sight and slid his arm around his wife's shoulders.
"I forgot we'd left the masks here." Hermione commented with a shoulder shaking laugh as one of the men tripped and fell into the pond.
Harry grinned. "That was some ball, don't you think?" He said with a far away look in his eyes. "I can't believe everything that happened that year ..."
Hermione leaned into him as his arms encircled her waist and patted her firming belly. She smiled and tilted her head back to kiss him on the cheek. "It was." She whispered contentedly to him. He smiled at her in return and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
Professor Dumbledore stood at the front of the Great Hall as he had so many years past. He cleared his throat and smiled at the quieting students in the school. "Everyone, I would like to make an announcement before we begin tonight's feast." He smiled at the now attentive faces of his students. "It is with great pleasure that I announce the first Hogwarts Masquerade Ball set for this Halloween."
The students began talking amongst themselves animatedly as the excitement spread across the tables. Dumbledore smiled at their reaction and cleared his throat again.
"There are a few rules pertaining to this event." He said seriously. "The first is you will only be able to wear a mask that belongs to your year. There will be consequences if you attempt to procure one that is from a year above yours. Secondly, it is open to everyone!"
The din of the students increased at the news and it took a sonorous charm to get them back under control. "Please do be sure to speak with your prefects with your intent to attend or not. You will not have to wear dress robes as your costume will be provided by your masks. This event has been designed for you to get to know one another without the pretense of knowing to whom you are talking so we may come together as a school instead of four separate houses. With that said ... Let the feast ... Begin!"
The tables filled with the normal fare for a Hogwarts evening feast and through all the excited chatter that echoed through the hall, students were still finding themselves full to exploding.
Harry smiled at his two best friends. "I wonder what costumes we'll have." He said conspiratorially. "I just hope that I don't run into Cho ... She keeps pestering me to try dating again ..."
"Harry, you have to realize that she's had time to heal." Hermione said casually as she went for a second helping of Yorkshire pudding. "She did apologize for blowing up at you at Madam Puddifoot's, didn't she?"
Harry closed his eyes and winced at the name of the gaudily decorated shop in Hogsmeade. "I was so uncomfortable there, you wouldn't believe it." He said under his breath. "She did apologize, but I just don't see her that way anymore."
"Is there anyone you fancy now?" Ron asked with a smile.
Harry glanced at Hermione as she reached for a goblet of pumpkin juice and lowered his head. "I don't know if there's anyone who would like me for me and not this scar." He admitted in a whisper.
Ron grinned and looked at his sister further down the table. She noticed Ron looking and blushed. Ginny turned to her plate and busied herself with moving the mash around before glancing at Harry again.
"I wouldn't bet on that." Ron said with a smile.
Hermione spilled her juice and looked up apologetically. "Sorry." She said quickly as she used her napkin to clean up the mess she'd made.
Harry helped her without thinking about it and flinched when their hands met. He looked apologetically to her and set his napkin aside.
The days went by quickly after the announcement and as Halloween crept closer and closer, Harry became more and more depressed. He tried to tell his friends that he wasn't going to go to the ball but Hermione had persuaded him from sitting around the empty common room by himself. The rest of the student body of Hogwarts were becoming more and more restless as October thirty-first rapidly approached and on Halloween day, most of the teachers relegated the class to study sessions instead of lessons due to the distracted students.
At lunch, it was announced that classes were cancelled for the rest of the evening in preparation for the night's festivities to the cheers of the entire student body, save Hermione, who was looking forward to the study time. Regardless, they would all find a mask on their beds when they returned to their rooms. There were charms in place to keep them from hinting to their true identities and it was up to them to discover who everyone else was. They were warned that once the masks were on, they would not be able to remove them until the appointed unmasking later that evening.
Harry and Ron found that the small masks not only masked who they were, but also their voices. They sounded alike and they looked alike, down to the color of their hair. The only thing different was their robe colors - Ron's was blue and Harry's green - even their heights had been evened out.
"I'm guessing Professors McGonagall and Flitwick put this together." Harry said in his strange, new voice.
"I don't care how they did it." Ron said in the same voice. "It's going to be bloody hard to find anyone else if everyone looks and sounds the same. I wonder what Eve is going to look like?"
"Eve?" Harry asked curiously. "Don't you mean Eve?"
"Why are you calling Eve, Eve, Adam?" Ron asked with an equal amount of confusion.
Harry laughed. "I guess real names are masked just like our faces, Adam!" He said with a laugh. "I can't even call you by your real name!"
Ron joined in the laughter. "This is going to be one confusing night, Adam ..." He laughed again as he was forced to say a different name than he intended.
The time came when everyone was to meet in the Great Hall and they followed Seamus, Dean, and Neville down the stairs to the common room. When they got there they looked around in shock.
All the girls were dressed in the same Victorian-era ball gowns, save for the differing colors, and just as it had been for the guys, their voices were all identical as were their faces. The only way to tell the different years apart were their relative heights and the color of their masks.
Harry looked around for any hint that Hermione might be in the crowd of Eves and found it difficult to tell any of them apart. Aside from how they walked, even their body language when they talked was identical. With a sigh, he joined the mass of students in their march to the wonderfully confusing night ahead of them.
It was soon apparent that the magic concealed everyone in the school equally. The only way to tell the students from the professors were the crowns perched atop the professors heads. It was a rather surreal night for everyone according to the chattering identical voices throughout the Great Hall.
Harry had broken away from Ron in an attempt to find Hermione. He figured this was as good a time as any to spend some quiet time just talking with the girl he'd come to fancy. He poured himself a glass of punch when a familiarly robed Adam bustled over to him.
"Adam! I think I found Eve!" Ron said happily. "I can't believe my luck! She rolls her eyes when I talk about Quidditch, that's how I knew it was her!"
Harry had a sinking feeling in his stomach and realized that Ron was talking about Hermione. He'd known that his best friend harbored a crush on his other best friend but he was hoping that he could have let her know about his feelings first. He nodded and forced a smile to his hidden redheaded best friend.
"Why are you standing here telling me about it when she's waiting?"
Ron didn't pick up the hurt in Harry's voice and smiled widely. "Wish me luck, mate!" He said with a grin. Ron grabbed two glasses and bustled over to the girl in the blue gown. Harry winced when he saw the familiar periwinkle hue and sighed miserably.
"What's wrong, kind sir?" An Eve in a chocolate brown gown asked concernedly as she joined him at the table.
Harry looked up and smiled wanly. "Oh, it's nothing." He said distantly. "Just girl problems, it seems that I don't attract them like some others do."
She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled in return. "I'm sure there's someone out there for you, you never know." She said with a smile.
Harry smiled genuinely and realized that he didn't have to worry about being Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, for once in his life and decided to let his courage show. "Would you like to dance, Milady?" He asked with a flourish and bow. She laughed gaily and took his proffered elbow.
"I'd be honored, kind sir." She said with a hint of amusement to her voice.
The two of them seemed to fit together perfectly as they danced around the floor and laughed at the jokes and their current predicament. They'd both built up the courage to at least admit that they had their eyes set on unattainable relationships but couldn't go into specifics because of the protective charms on the masks. The feast came after the dancing as hundreds of six-person tables riddled the Great Hall and people began to eat.
Harry laughed as he saw the enforced manners and dinner etiquette that everyone was magically coerced into. He looked at his mysterious guest and smiled. "A friend of mine is probably having a hard time eating right about now." He laughed again as she nodded.
"There's someone in my house that would be truly upset at the pace as well." She laughed and though it was magically induced to sound like the hundreds of other laughs in the room, Harry was entranced by it.
The feast continued to much laughter and conversation. Shortly after everyone had finished, the tables were cleared away once more and the ball resumed. The music slowed down and Harry found himself wanting to continue, but everyone's attention was drawn to the court jester who had been dancing by himself merrily through the night. He was up on the stage and came to a humorous halt in front of a podium.
"My good Adams and Eves." He said with a chuckle. "The time has come for us to reveal ourselves. On the count of ten, please remove your masks."
The tension built in the air as the countdown commenced from one to ten. Everyone was laughing merrily at the jester who was doing his best to ease the pressure with comedic dances and jokes in between the numbers.
The roar of the crowd grew as the numbers got higher and higher. They all shouted at eight, then nine, and suddenly the masks were pulled off on the echoed number of ten.
Harry looked to his partner for the evening and smiled with relief as her face returned to normal.