Chapter 4
The tremors were talk of the school and apparently the whole wizarding world the whole week following the incident. Speculations were printed on the Daily Prophet everyday. Wizards within 100 miles felt the tremors. Some were afraid, yet others believed the tremors were a sign of a brighter future. For Harry, the talks went in one ear and out the other. He was having the time of his life with his kids. He didn't care much about anything else, well maybe there was one more thing he did care about.
The talk that he and Hermione wanted never took place. Hermione busied herself with her lessons. Harry busied himself with his kids and spending time with Grandfathers. Although he'd been recovering well, he still couldn't leap far enough to visit Merlin. But Merlin visited him often enough.
He was also giving Hermione time to get used to him being back. But Harry was having a hard time trying to control himself. Every time he caught even a slight glimpse of Hermione, his stomach fluttered and his heart raced. His feelings for Hermione doubled since he left. He knew somehow he'd have to win her back with everything he had. Technically they were still married, he hoped that alone would at least open a crack into the wall around her heart.
The Weasleys were great distraction as always. The lot of them even Draco and Neville visited the day after the tremors.
"Oh, Harry, it's good to have you back," Molly said. She squeezed Harry in a bear hug and started bawling.
"Mum, give him air," George said.
"Let us at him," Fred said. After they pried Molly off of Harry, the rest of the Weasley clan and Draco and Neville took a turn in welcoming Harry back.
"So, Harry, where've you been?" asked Ginny.
"I'll explain it all some other time. Why don't we go to the great hall and feast. Grandfather said the house elves have out done themselves." They all noticed that he didn't really want to talk about where he'd been, so they all dropped it. They followed him all the while chatting about what've been happening in their lives.
Neville finally talked Tonks into a date. They were currently an item.
"Very serious," Ginny added.
Ginny and Draco tied the knot six months before. Ginny played hard to get according to Draco.
"I wanted to wait until after I graduated from Hogwarts is all," Ginny said. That was the truth of it. Since she took over Hermione's position as head girl, she'd been busy with school and other duties. The only good during her year was the fact that Voldermort's presence didn't loom over them.
Harry took in everything everyone told him. He didn't open himself up to receive their emotions. Recovering became one of his priorities. Getting to know his kids was another. Getting Hermione back was yet another, but he figured he could table it until he gained his full magical powers.
He discovered that Draco and Ginny opened the Malfoy foundation. The foundation's mission focused on those in need instead of cheating people out of what little they did have. In a sense, Draco wanted to redeem the Malfoy name for his sake as well as the sake of his children. He and Ginny planned to have at least a dozen to which Ginny rolled her eyes heavenward.
"You wish, Malfoy," Ginny said.
"Ah, I see you've both talked about the subject well," Harry said. He smiled and winked at Ginny. He had a feeling they would do just that.
"Well, love, if we can't have a dozen, at least we would have fun trying, won't we?" Draco wiggled his eyebrows at Ginny.
Harry laughed at Ginny's expression. She looked ready to hex Draco.
"Don't worry, Ginny. I'm sure Draco would love to sleep on the couch," Harry said. Draco put on a shock face. Deep inside however, he was scared. He'd already had a taste of Ginny's temper. He didn't want to get on her bad side.
They walked to the Great Hall chattering all the way. Their laughter and voices filled the Hogwarts hall. All the children were abed since Harry's presence remained a secret still, or so they thought. At Hogwarts, secrets always spread as fast as gossip.
"What have you heard?" Harry asked the Neville.
"Oh, the usual, that the boy who lived was actually in Hogwarts. The boys all want to see you play quidditch and the girls all want to have a look at your handsome face or marry you."
"Bollocks, but I do want a go on the quidditch field. Draco, Ron, can you still fly?"
"Did I hear something about flying?" George said.
"Yeah, the git here who hasn't fully recovered yet from whatever it was he went through wants to give quidditch a go." Ron was worried still. Harry looked well enough, but he somehow had a feeling Harry was not 100 percent Harry.
"Aw, come on Ron. Maybe a game of quidditch is just what he needs to get his blood pumping," Fred suggested.
"I think you're all nutters, but I will be there just to make sure you lot stay in line."
"Wow, he's been a father for what, a day or less and already he's becoming such a worry wart."
"Sod off, George."
The chatters were broken as soon as they entered the Great Hall. The house elves out did themselves once again. Elaborate decorations incorporated the Gryffindor lion hung on each wall. The tables were filled with chicken, pumpkin pie, pumpkin juice just to name a few. Basically, it was filled with all of Harry's favorite thanks to Dobby.
Although the elves usually disappeared after setting the tables, the headmaster asked Dobby and Winky to stay a bit. He knew how much Dobby missed Harry. He missed him so much, he begged the Headmaster to let him work at Hogwarts to stay close to Hermione and the babies. The headmaster agreed under one condition: Dobby still had to go to Harry's estates and clean it up every other week or so.
Lavender and Hermione joined the crowd in the great hall. A minute of uncomfortable silence descended the Hall when they walked in until Hermione placed a chaste kiss on Harry's cheek.
Harry preferred a more thorough kiss, but beggars could be choosers. He figured he was making some headway. He also knew that he had a long way to go to get through to Hermione's stubborn head. He could only imagine what a mess she was in her head. Her practical and logical head warred with her gentle and loving heart.
Hermione knew the silence was due to the unresolved issue between her and Harry. She also knew that everything was up to her. Everyone apparently accepted the prodigal's son without any hesitation. She knew she was the only one with hesitations. Damn, wasn't she allowed to have a bit of hesitation after the hell she'd been through without him, she thought. How could everyone be so sure that he really was Harry? He could be an impostor for all they knew. Oh, who was she kidding? No one else made her heart flutter and her insides churn. It had always been Harry and she knew deep down inside it would always be Harry.
She tried not look his way during the feast, but since she was sitting so close to him, it was still difficult not to feel him.
Shortly after the meal, she made an excuse to escape from the crowd, but most of all Harry. Lavender who'd been exchanging glances with Ginny followed her and told them the babies needed to be nursed. Ginny followed them and told them her back hurt from the pregnancy. Since she was about five months pregnant, no one argued. Besides no one argued with Ginny Weasley. She'd grown into a formidable witch.
The men decided to have a game of quidditch to take Harry's mind off of Hermione. They all seemed to have picked up psychic abilities since Harry's been gone. In reality though, it wasn't hard to deduce what Harry's primary problem laid. They all saw they way he'd been looking at Hermione throughout the meal as soon as she entered the room; his eyes always went back to her when he thought no one was looking.
So the men played quidditch while Lavender and Ginny attempted to talk to Hermione.
"Hermione, are you okay?" Ginny asked while Lavender readied herself in the nursing position.
"I'm all right. Just haven't been getting a lot of sleep. The boys are teething and are a bit fussy, is all."
"Hermione, this is Ginny and Lavender you're talking to remember? We know how much Harry's absence affected you."
"Really, then why is it you both accepted him so easily? He left you too you know."
"Hermione, we weren't as emotionally attached to him as you. He was like our brother and we're just happy to have him back with us. You on the other hand went through more than what we could imagine. I know you did. You may have tried to hide it, but I knew you were feeling much more that you let on."
Lavender remained silent. She wanted to tell Hermione about her premonition. But she was torn between clearing her conscience or possibly losing her friend.
"Lavender, you're awfully quiet." Ginny noticed. She'd never known her sister in law to be so quiet. It was out of character. "Come on, Lav. Spill it. I know you want to say something."
"I had a premonition."
"When? Why didn't you tell us? Who was it about?"
"Ginny, let her talk."
"It was when Harry left and it was about Hermione. I know I should have told you sooner, but I was unsure of what it meant. I saw you suffering. That was all. But I didn't know what it meant so I never told you or anyone else for that matter. Not even Ron."
Hermione and Ginny remained silent.
"You have to understand. My premonitions come in bits and pieces and I usually have to interpret it. It is about what happens in the future and how far in the future is something I am not usually privy to."
"I'm not mad Lavender. If I knew, I might have been selfish enough to keep Harry here. He might not have never known what was out there that was eating him up inside. No, you were right not to tell me. Besides, we should not try to change fate. You should know that by now."
"I know. But I'm still sorry I didn't tell you."
The boys started fussing once more. "You know, if I didn't know better, I think they're fussing on purpose. When Harry's here, they don't fuss at all."
"Maybe they're trying to tell you something, Hermione." Ginny winked at her.
"Don't start, Ginny. I had enough lecture from your mother earlier."
Ginny and Lavender piped up. Hermione went to check on the boys and Lavender continued to nurse.
"I think I'll go check on the quidditch match." Ginny left. Her mind was turning in her head trying to come up with a plan to get her friends back together.
By the time the quidditch match was finished, Harry had worked out a bit of his frustration. He and Draco played their old positions: seekers. Bill, Fred and Neville were with Draco and Harry, Ron, George and Charlie on one team. They also managed to pick up some spectators just a few minutes into the game. The prefects who'd been on patrol and who were avid quidditch fans went back to their respective common rooms to spread the news. Of course the news spread the way news spreads at Hogwarts: like wildfire.
As soon as the quaffle was thrown up by Hagrid, who became the unofficial referee, there were about a dozen students in their robe on their way up to the bleachers. They watched with fascination at the legends of Hogwarts. They've heard about all of them. They had all left some type of Hogwarts legacy. Of course the person with the most legacy was Harry and it was who they wanted to really see at first until they saw how all of them played together. The children were in awe. Even the 7th years who thought they were beyond being impressed by such show of competitiveness were sucked into game.
Not only was it an amazing game, the game brought houses together. Though most of the players were from Gryffindor, and only Draco from Slytherin, just that fact alone showed the students that even rival houses can get along.
As players swooshed to and fro, the students cheered, but for no particular team. They were mostly cheering the acrobatics. Bill, Ron, Charlie, Neville, Fred and George gave them all something to watch. Ron and Neville played Keeper, Fred and George played Beaters and Bill and Charlie played chaser.
The score differed by only twenty points with Draco's team on top when the seeker appeared out of the darkened sky. The lights from the stands illuminated the golden snitch as if it were an apparition of an angel. Harry saw it first and started for it. Draco did not miss a beat and stayed right on Harry's tail. They were neck and neck as they swerved in and out of the stands.
They both stood on their brooms as if surfing the waves. With outstretched arms they both reached for the snitch. Just as his first quidditch match he stepped too close to the edge and fumbled to the ground. Everyone gasped in simultaneously.
Ron rushed to Harry's side. He didn't even wait for his broom to stop, but dismounted when the broom was low enough near the ground.
"Harry?"
Harry smiled just as he did in his first year and spit out the snitch. A resounding cheer erupted. Ron relaxed just a few degrees and helped his friend up.
"Show off!" Draco joked. He was just as worried, but unlike Ron he tend to try to make things light.
"Off to bed," came Dumbledore's booming voice.
The children grumbled all the way up to the dorms. They discussed the game animatedly with hand gestures and sound effects. They hoped to meet Harry in person, but they knew the people around him protected him like fragile china.
"Well, I guess this game will be the topic of the day tomorrow, if not the week," Fred commented. "I mean, how often do you see the Harry Potter and the famous Weasley brothers play quidditch together."
"Go on, Fred. But don't forget the only famous GOOD Slytherin in Hogwarts history." George said. He tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't help himself. He had to smile at least.
"If Ginny didn't love you so much, I'd have done something to that huge mouth of yours," Draco joined in the fun.
"Oh, go on. You know you love me just as much."
The banter continued until they reached the castle doors. Harry felt loads better until he saw Hermione descending the steps.
The tension crept inside Harry once again. The others could practically slice through the tension it was so thick. They took it as their cue to leave. They all said their goodbyes and promised to visit again when they could. They walked their way to the headmaster's office to floo home except for Ron who walked to his and Lavender's temporary quarters. They needed to wait a few days before traveling with their little bundles of Joy.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked when they were alone.
"The children are fussing. I think they want you near them." Harry arched a brow. He would have rather she told him that she needed him, but alas he knew she still needed time.
"Is it okay with you?"
"Of course it's okay. They're your children too. I don't think I can keep you away anymore than I can keep them away from you."
"I meant would it be okay with you if I stayed in your rooms?"
Hermione hesitated, and then nodded her head in acquiescence. They walked into her rooms together and were greeted with laughter when they opened the door to the nursery.
Since Harry practically lived in Hermione's suite, Hermione gave the boys' nanny a holiday. Although, the nanny was sad to leave her charges, she'd never seen them happier since Harry arrived. The past week had indeed been both a trial and joy for Harry.
A/N: I could have kept on going, but I decided to break it up here. Thank you for your reviews once again. They are truly what keeps me going.
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