"Hermione fell; they took her to the emergency room. They're about to perform the Caesarean. You need to get here right away."
"I'm appearating. I've got Henry with me. We'll be there as soon as possible." Said Harry seriously.
"Dad? What happened?"
"Your mother fell," he said as he directed the broom towards the ground, "We need to get to the hospital."
"Is she okay?"
"I hope so," whispered Harry as he lifted Henry off the broom. "I need you to hold on to me as tight as you can," he instructed as he hoisted him into his arms. "Don't move. You're going to feel like you're being sucked through a tube, but it'll last for only a second."
"Okay."
When Harry opened his eyes, he was standing in a deserted alley beside the hospital. Exhaling loudly, he jogged inside and ran up to the front desk. The woman looked up in alarm.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"My wife was just brought in. Hermione Potter." He said quickly; with fear and concern etched over his young face, making him appear older than his twenty-nine years. The woman looked at him sympathetically.
"She's in the ER. Straight down the hall and to your left. There's another desk, tell Holly your name and she'll give you scrubs and let you in immediately."
"Thank you," said Harry as he hitched Henry further up his side and tore off down the hall.
"Potter?" asked the young blonde woman from behind the information desk.
"Yes," said Harry breathlessly.
"Your in-laws are in the waiting room with your other children. Would you like me to take your son down so you can join your wife?"
Harry looked down at Henry who nodded. "Go dad."
"Harry nodded solemnly and set Henry down and hugged him. "I'll come out as soon as I'm sure everything's, okay. Tell your sister and brother I love them."
"Make sure mum and Lily are going to be okay."
Harry nodded and roughly put on the traditional sea-foam green hospital scrubs over his jeans and t-shirt and ran down the hall. He pushed open the doublewide doors and was instantly met by a team of doctors.
"Harry?" called Hermione.
"I'm right here, darling," said Harry as he pushed through them and joined her side. He had never seen her look so afraid. He quickly grasped her hand and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Don't you dare apologise," said Harry as he rested his chin on her knuckles. "It's not your fault."
"I love you," she whispered, not breaking their eye contact.
"I know, darling, I know," he soothed. He cringed as she visibly winced as they made the incision. Harry reached up with his free hand and gently stroked her hair. "It's going to be okay."
Hermione nodded and reached for his face and pulled him closer to her. A small smile graced her features as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. When Harry pulled away he chanced a glance over the sheet. The nurse behind the doctor gave him an encouraging thumbs up. He looked away.
Suddenly, Hermione gasped and a high-pitched cry filled the air and Harry let out the breath he had been holding. He sat up straight and looked at the doctors expectantly.
"Congratulations, Mr. And Mrs. Potter. You have a baby girl."
"She's alright? Both of them?" asked Harry seriously.
"They're wonderful. Hermione will have some obvious bruising, and she'll be in a little pain for a while, but she'll make a full recovery. Your daughter is in perfect condition." He explained as Harry's face dropped into his hands. He refused to let them see him cry. There were few times in his life where he had actually cried. A handful of times when he was a child, when Sirius died, shortly after he left England, when his first son was born, and now.
Harry drew in a shaky breath as Hermione weakly tried to pull his hands away from his face.
"Harry?" she whispered softly.
"Yes love?" he answered finally as he regained his composure. He rubbed his eyes and slowly opened them. His heart leapt into his throat as he saw a tiny pink hand flailing out of a mass of light yellow blankets as the beaming nurse walked towards them. Harry was on his feet instantly and slowly lifted his daughter into his arms.
She was a warm, comfortable weight in his arms. It was a feeling he had never experienced before. She was a whole new being for him to protect, and in the few seconds he had held her, she made it all worthwhile. Harry bit his lip as he gazed down at her. He was vaguely aware of the nurse commenting on her beauty, or Hermione calling him back over to her.
"HARRY JAMES!"
Harry flinched and spun around on his heel, grinning like a hatter to his wife. Harry slowly sat down on the small stool and gently laid their daughter on her chest.
"She's beautiful," whispered Hermione while she gently stroked her daughters' face with the pad of her thumb.
"Like her mother," Harry breathed, gently lacing their fingers together.
Hermione gave a weak laugh. "I'm not feeling too attractive right now."
Harry half-smiled. "You're always radiant, love," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
"I hate to interrupt, but we need to finish stitching up Mrs. Potter. Mr. Potter, would you mind stepping out for a few moments?" inquired the doctor kindly.
Harry hesitated.
"Take Lily out, darling. I'm sure mum and dad are beside themselves," said Hermione weakly.
"I don't care. That's the least of my worries," replied Harry as he gently lifted his daughter back into his arms, causing her wailing to cease instantly. "I want to make sure you're fine until I see anyone."
"She's in perfect condition, Mr. Potter, I assure you. The reason she fell was because her contractions surprised her. It's nothing to worry about. We just took a compulsory precaution by inducing her labour. Frankly I'm amazed you got here as quickly as you did," explained the doctor.
Harry laughed nervously. "I'm just concerned about her. I love her to death. The roads were practically empty … it was like magic."
Hermione exhaled and closed her eyes. Harry looked round at her and sat back down beside her protectively. "Harry, love, I'm going to be fine. Take Lily out to meet her brothers and sister…"
"Are you sure?" asked Harry worriedly.
"Yes, I've told you plenty of times," she said tiredly. "I'm sure I'll be wheeled up to a ward soon, then just come up with the baby for a while… Mum and dad will understand…"
"Alright," said Harry reluctantly as he leaned forward and kissed Hermione lightly and smiled faintly at her. "I love you."
"I love you too, you barmy prat," she whispered, giving him a weak smile.
"I'll see you soon," Harry replied, kissing her again before straightening up and secured Lily in his arms.
Harry allowed the doctors to take Lily away from him briefly so they could make sure everything was in order before he was allowed to leave the room with her. Finally, his daughter was deemed practically perfect. Harry held her tiny frame protectively to his chest as he walked through the doors. He followed the signs towards the private waiting rooms, and peered into several of them before he caught Helen's eye in the last one. She had James curled up asleep in her arms. Her expression softened as she saw Harry holding the baby. Edward, who was sitting with his back to Harry, slowly turned his head and rose to his feet. Harry half smiled and slowly entered the room. Henry and Sarah looked up from their spot on the floor and quickly scrambled to their feet.
"How's Hermione?" questioned Edward seriously.
"She's fine," assured Harry. They've just about finished stitching her up. She's very drained … she's not ready to see anyone yet," he added quietly, so Henry and Sarah couldn't hear. "I think she's still shaken from the whole ordeal."
Helen nodded understandingly. "Edward and I will bring the children `round tomorrow, then?"
"I think it would be best," replied Harry, "I'm going to stay here with her tonight if she wants me too."
"And how's the baby?" asked Helen warmly.
"Fantastic," said Harry, beaming. "Came out kicking and screaming. Not as bad as James was when he was born … He was a quiet baby … Lily screamed her head off for a good five minutes."
Helen raised an eyebrow. "Lily?" she asked. "You're naming her `Lily'? Isn't that a flower?"
"After my mother," replied Harry coolly, "It was Hermione's idea."
"I see," said Helen as she passed James to Edward as she lifted Lily into her arms and sighed, "well, she is as beautiful as a Lily."
"Daddy?" asked Sarah softly.
Harry smiled and bent down and lifted Sarah into his arms. "She's tiny," frowned Sarah. "You said I would be able to play with her."
"I said you'd be able to play with her a while after she's born, love," explained Harry. "Do you remember what James was like when we first brought him home?"
"All he did was eat, sleep, and poop in his diaper," grumbled Sarah. "He wasn't any fun."
"Well, honey, Lily's going to be like that too. You were like that when you were born, but Henry was too young to remember."
"Oh. How long is it going to take for her to grow up, daddy? I want to play with my sister."
Harry laughed. "It's going to be a while, Sarah. I'm sorry, but you're going to be stuck with your brothers for almost a year."
"What!?" She exclaimed. "That's not fair!"
"That's life, darling," said Harry, as she wove her arms around his neck, "but I'm sure your mum will definitely want your help with Lily, though. Remember how you liked helping her bathe and dress James when he was born?"
"Yeah. It'll be funner because Lily's a girl," said Sarah finally as she peered at her sister's sleeping face. "Her hair's brown like mine and mum's," she commented happily.
"She's got green eyes like James and I. She's going to grow up to be very beautiful, like you," whispered Harry as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Dad?" said Henry finally.
"Yes, Henry?"
"She's not going to be as boring as James was when you brought him home, is she?"
"I'm afraid so."
"That stinks."
"I'm sorry, Henry. But all babies are like that."
"When are we going to get to see mum?" he asked finally.
Harry exhaled as he took Lily back in his arms. "Tomorrow, Henry. Your mother's very tired."
"How come we can't see her tonight, daddy?" questioned Sarah innocently. "Doesn't she want to see us?"
"Of course she does, Sarah … but like I said, she's very tired and needs a lot of rest. She'll be feeling a lot better in the morning, and will be more up to it."
"Oh. Are you staying at home with us?"
"I'm probably going to come home after you're in bed, sweetheart," whispered Harry as he bent down and gave her a one armed hug. "But if you want to sleep in the big bed in our room, you can, okay?" he whispered in her ear.
"Really?" she whispered back excitedly.
"Yes," nodded Harry, "Just be very, very quiet."
"Okay." She whispered, hugging her father and placed and extremely gentle kiss on her sister's cheek.
"See you later, dad," said Henry as he hugged Harry briefly around the middle before turning back to his Martin: The Mad Muggle comic, which had been disguised as a Muggle Superman by Harry before they left England.
"Tell mummy I love her," called Sarah as a nurse appeared at the door to lead Harry up to Hermione's hospital room.
"I will," Harry said as he tightened his grip on his tiny pink daughter. .
Hermione opened her eyes as Harry entered her hospital room, Lily clutched protectively in his arms. He quickly ignored the nurse and bee-lined towards her. She smiled faintly as she took a quietly fussing Lily into her arms. Hermione gently stroked the top of her head, silently enjoying the feeling of her soft wisps of brown hair against her palm.
"She's amazing, Harry." She whispered finally.
Harry nodded and wove his arm around her shoulder and buried his face in her neck.
"I was so frightened," he whispered, "When your father called… I was so scared I lost both of you…"
"I think they over exaggerated," admitted Hermione quietly. "I know they were just being cautious by inducing my labour, but I'm positive I could've carried Lily to term…"
"You're both fine," said Harry finally, "and that's what matters most."
"How did everyone react?"
"Your mother got strangely defensive when I said we had named her Lily," said Harry.
"Really?" replied Hermione, clearly surprised.
"Yes. James was asleep, Henry and Sarah were ecstatic, your father was well, emotionless as usual-"
"-Harry-"
"And your mother was happy otherwise."
Hermione exhaled and gazed fondly down at Lily, who gazed back at her with the same startling green eyes as her brother and father.
x-x-x-x-x
Three days later, Hermione and Lily were permitted to return home. Now, two weeks later, they had finally gotten used to having a new baby again in their household. To her parent's utmost relief, Lily was perfectly comfortable in her nursery, with its large bay window that over looked the ocean. Like most babies, she never slept all night. Harry got up with her most nights, so Hermione could have some much-needed rest. On occasion, they both got up with her, and Hermione secretly cherished these moments.
Lately, she had noticed that Harry seemed troubled. She hadn't had a chance to inquire him about it, as they were constantly busy with their children, and her mother seemed to be popping up at the most inconvenient of times. Hermione soon found herself guiltily counting the days until her parents returned to Scotland.
Hermione was brought out of her musing by Harry's slightly chapped lips on her shoulder as he slid into bed beside her.
"I tried not to wake you," whispered Harry.
"I had to use the loo," she explained.
"Is everything alright, Hermione?" he asked worriedly as she slid comfortably into his embrace.
"I should be asking you that, love," said Hermione snuggling into the comforting cradle of his chest.
She felt Harry tense.
"What is it, Harry? Don't think I haven't noticed…"
"When Henry and I went into the Ministry the other day, Seth Green … he's the assistant head of the Department … he sort of flaunted that the Head position was opening up here and hinted that I should take it … I brushed it off because Henry was with me, and I didn't want him to come back here and mouth off to Edward and Helen about it. But Seth sent me a package the other day via owl, and it contained the application form and the informational packet. I wanted to talk it over with you to see what you thought about it. I didn't want to make any decisions without your input."
"It would require us to move here, wouldn't it?"
"No," said Harry honestly. "We could stay in England, but I would be here for two weeks, and home for two weeks. I couldn't live like that. I couldn't be away from the kids for that long, you know? It wouldn't be fair to the department. It'd be my luck that something happened when I was in England."
Hermione pulled away and propped her head up on her elbow and studied her husband's face.
"You miss it here, don't you?" it seemed more of an accusation than a question.
Harry chose this moment to roll on his back and gently rub his eyes with his fingertips.
"I do, sometimes," he said finally. "I just got so used to the climate and the way of life here. I know I don't have to worry about someone hounding me for an autograph or trying to get a picture of my baby. That's why I stayed here for so long."
"Take pictures of your baby?" repeated Hermione.
"I don't have problem going out in public with James or Lily here. Because no one gives a flying fuck about Harry Potter."
"I see," replied Hermione as she slumped back into her pillows. "Do you want to take the job?"
"I honestly don't know, darling," said Harry as he inched towards her and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "We have a life in England. It's a wonderful life. I couldn't ask for anything more."
"I want to enrol Henry and Sarah in Grammar School," Hermione suddenly blurted out. "I want them to have muggle friends. I don't want them just interacting with wizards all the time. We don't have many Wizarding friends with children their age. It'd do them good."
"I think that's a wonderful idea," said Harry, looking up at her, smiling. "I don't think they enjoy being home schooled."
"They love it here, you know. Sarah told me last night when I tucked her in," she whispered as she ran her hands up her husband's bare back.
"Do you want me to take it, Hermione?" Harry breathed in her ear as he pulled her closer to him.
"Perhaps," she admitted. "It'd be a welcome change for all of us. We'd just leave that … that bullshit behind us."
"What about your store, love? You adore it."
"I know. I'll still own it … but I have been thinking of getting a new job … something more challenging."
"At the Ministry?"
"I was thinking Foreign Affairs. Since I'm not a native Australian, I ought to be perfect for the job."
"I'll think about it," said Harry finally as Hermione shifted her position and wove her arms around her neck and rested her head comfortably in his chest.
"I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you, love." Whispered Hermione.
"You're not," assured Harry. "I've been thinking about it for months … I started missing Sydney … I wasn't sure of how you'd take it."
"Why is that?"
"I over reacted, I guess," he admitted laughing softly, "I wasn't sure what you'd think. Me coming back here…" he gestured helplessly.
"Might have made me think you were leaving again," finished Hermione.
Harry nodded.
"You're wrong. I would've understood Harry. You lived here for nearly eleven years. You had a life here."
Harry remained silent.
"Harry?"
"Sometimes I think about what it would be like if I hadn't have left," he confessed, not meeting her gaze, "and not once did I ever see myself living past twenty."
Hermione stared at him, obviously shocked. "Why would you even think like that?"
"I didn't think it, Hermione … I know it. During the war … you were what I was fighting for. I couldn't stand to see you live in a world like that … everyone living in constant fear that someone was going to show up on their doorstep because of what their blood-linage was or whom they were married to. I just couldn't. For a while, I had this dream that somehow we both came out of that whole thing unscathed, and I just pulled you into my arms and …"
"And what?"
"…Told you I loved you."
Hermione smiled sympathetically and gently stroked his rough cheek with her palm.
"I would've left him for you in a heartbeat. You know that."
"And I was seventeen, your boyfriend had just proposed, what did you expect me to do? He was my best mate for Christ sakes!"
"Harry…"
"I'm going outside for a fag," he muttered, sliding out of their bed, leaving her staring at him wide eyed.
Harry quickly slid into his discarded jeans and shrugged a light button down over his shoulders and produced a pack of cigarettes and matches from his jacket and left the room without another word. The entire house was dark as he quietly walked down the steps past James's room and out the front door.
He stopped momentarily to ignite the flame and he inhaled deeply. It must've been months since his last one. Harry walked further down the beach and slowly lowered himself into the sand and calmly stared out across the ocean.
"You know it's not smart to come out here alone at night, in spite of how many dark wizards you've killed," came Hermione's soft voice from behind him.
Harry lifted his head as Hermione carefully sat herself between his legs for warmth.
"You shouldn't be out here. Not in your condition," he said quietly as she leaned back into his chest.
"Fuck off, Harry," she whispered taking the wilted cigarette from between his fingers and lifted it to her lips. "You're not the only one around here who smokes in secret, you know."
"I quit for the longest time," he argued, "just recently with all the stress…"
"I know, Harry … I know."
"You didn't while you were pregnant with Lily or James, did you?"
"No, love, I didn't. I haven't been that desperate."
"Alright," whispered Harry as he took a final drag and threw it out into the waves.
"It's beautiful out here tonight," commented Hermione.
"Yeah," said Harry distractingly.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm sorry about earlier," he said, "I just… I don't know. Just the whole thing with Ron is starting to get to me, you know? I can't help but feel just a little guilty."
"You shouldn't."
"I can't help it, sometimes … I mean, I just showed up one day after being away for ten years, and three weeks later I'm fucking his wife."
"We weren't married then."
"You know what I mean."
"I understand, Harry. I felt horrible for the longest time. I was so much happier with you, and Ron saw it. He saw me light up when you walked into the room; smile when you spoke … I never did that for him. I didn't feel the need to when I was married to him. How do you think that made me feel? I would've left my husband of ten years- whom I had two children with- for a man I hadn't seen or heard from in almost eleven? It was almost as if I had been cheating on him, not the other way around. Merlin, Harry … every time I kissed him I wished it was you. Every time I made love to him, I closed my eyes and it was you I saw. I felt like I was betraying you every moment I was with him. And when you came home … I would've been with you in a heartbeat. I would have just taken Henry and Sarah and left.
"We were fighting so much towards the end. There were nights I used to take Henry and Sarah and stay at the flat above my shop because I couldn't stand to look at him. I almost bought tickets to come down here to you. I wouldn't have made you come home, I would've stayed down here and started a new life with you…"
She finally looked up at Harry expectantly, and he stared back at him, his expression incredibly softened, making him look far younger than his 29 years.
"If I had known…" he choked out as he pulled her body closer to his, "I would've flown you down here myself… We could've had so many years…"
"That's why we need to stay," she whispered quickly wiping her tears out of her eyes. "I love England to death, but I need to get out of there. No Weasleys. I can't be around them right now. I can't keep making up excuses to not go to dinner on Sunday. They must be catching on … It's too awkward."
"They'll think we're taking Henry and Sarah away from them."
"I know. And I don't want to think like that. But if their father isn't going to be around… I can't be around his family. It reminds me too much of him, and I don't want to be reminded of that period of my life…"
"Hermione…"
"I'm serious, Harry. I want to start over. Here. With you and our children."
"When do your parents leave?'
"The day after next."
"We'll tell Henry and Sarah after they're gone. I'll put in my final notice in England. We can look for a home here, then go back to England and sell the house there…"
"I want you to show me the place where you lived while you were here."
"It's not big enough for all of us."
"I don't want to live in it, I just want to see it."
"After your parents leave."
"Alright."
"We should go back inside. Lily might wake."
Hermione nodded and allowed Harry to carefully lift her into his arms.
"Thank you," she whispered gratefully as he draped his arm over her shoulder.
"No problem," he replied, kissing the top of her head as they headed back towards their home. "So, darling, where would you like to live? In the city or in the outskirts?"
"I like it where we are. We're close to a beach, there's proper schools in the area…"
"We can look at all of that later, love."
"We should check on Lily and James before we turn in."
"Yes," agreed Harry.
Hermione smiled and laced their fingers together as they crept silently into their villa. Harry laid his hand on the doorknob and swung it open and stepped into his son's room. His face visibly softened upon seeing his son's sleeping form. He and Hermione silently walked into the dark room and looked into the crib and smiled upon seeing their son sleeping peacefully.
"He's wonderful, Harry, he really is," whispered Hermione as she smoothed out his black hair.
"I never thought we'd have him, or Lily." Replied Harry honestly.
"Do you want to have more children?" she asked him, arching an eyebrow.
"Do you want to have more children?" he repeated seriously. "Henry's nearing eight, Sarah's nearing six, and James is almost two, and Lily's barely two weeks old. Do you think this is the time to discuss this? At two am at that?"
Hermione laughed softly, "I suppose you're right," she said, "But I would like to have at least one more, for the record."
Harry smiled and held her close to him in the corridor, "I'll be happy to oblige."
Hermione giggled. "I'm happy you are. It'd be incredibly tough to do it alone."
"We won't go into technicalities, love."
"Let's not."
"It's amazing how she suddenly feels the need to sleep all the time when we're awake, but as soon as we fall asleep, she's screaming her head off," said Harry conversationally as he picked up his sleeping daughter and slowly sat down on the small sofa that had been placed in the room.
"When Sarah was born, she was exactly the same way," explained Hermione, "mum said I was like that too."
"Then it's a Granger thing," said Harry, grinning, "James sleeps practically all night now."
"And that's a Potter thing," Hermione replied mockingly, "all Potter men can sleep through anything."
"I've been blessed," said Harry dryly as he passed Lily to Hermione, who smiled down at her fondly. "Your hair looks nice."
"I didn't think you noticed," replied Hermione without looking up.
"Of course I noticed. I went to run my fingers through it earlier and half of it was gone."
"It was getting a little to heavy so I had it cut while I was in town with mum today."
"It looks lovely."
"Did you not like it long?"
"I loved it long. I love it this way … just don't cut it any shorter."
"The same goes for you, Mr. Potter."
"Whatever, darling."
Hermione shook her head as Harry stood up and stretched, causing his shirt to ride up over his abdomen. She stared.
"What?" said Harry, clearly amused.
"N-n-nothing…" she said incoherently as he lifted Lily out of her arms and lovingly placed a kiss to her forehead.
Damn him for having this type of effect on her.
"You were staring at my abdomen, weren't you?" questioned Harry innocently, "I haven't got sand on me or anything-" he continued, slowly lifting up the hem of his shirt past his navel.
"Harry, we're in our daughter's bedroom," Hermione cut in, grabbing him by his arm and roughly shoved him into the hallway.
"I didn't do anything wrong," he whispered in her ear as she loosely took his hand and led him into their bedroom.
"I've missed you," she murmured against his lips, her fingers resting on the buttons of his shirt.
"I've been with you for nearly three years straight, how could you miss me?" he replied as he rested his fingers on her hips.
"You know what I mean."
Harry grinned wickedly and pressed his lips to hers and slowly picked her up and carried her to their bed. Hermione sighed contently inwardly as she allowed Harry to slip his fingers into the waistband of her grey cotton trousers and slide them down her legs. Hermione temporarily broke their kiss to unbutton his top and push it roughly off his shoulders and throw it across the room to an undisclosed location. Harry smiled lazily at her before reclaiming her mouth with his.
x-x-x-x-x
The next few days seemed to be going by agonisingly slow. Finally, Hermione's parents said a tearful goodbye to their grandchildren, daughter, and son-in-law before returning to their home in Scotland. It was that night they decided they were going to tell Henry and Sarah they were going to stay.
Hermione wanted to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible. The last thing she and Harry needed were two upset children, on top of James, who was starting to enter the "terrible two's" phase, and Lily, who had been giving them sleepless nights. It was apparent that Harry and Hermione Potter had their hands full.
When they sat down to dinner that night, Henry had sensed some unease and discomfort with his parents, and had a hunch that it had nothing to do with his new baby sister. He silently watched as his father slid into the chair beside his mother at the end of the table and exchanged a glance with her, and almost immediately an unreadable expression graced her face.
"How was Lily?" asked Hermione softly.
"She was wonderful," replied Harry.
"Henry … Sarah, there's something your father and I want to discuss with you," said Hermione seriously.
"We didn't do anything, mum," said Sarah immediately.
"It's got nothing to do with you, darling," assured Harry. "On the contrary, it's us."
"Okay," said Henry slowly.
"I've been offered a job back here in Australia," began Harry seriously, "it's the same job as I do in England, just probably with more benefits. I've already talked to your mother about it, and I'm going to accept it."
"So are you leaving?" said Henry immediately.
"No. Of course not." Said Harry. "It would involve all of us moving here."
"Oh."
"What about grandma Molly and papa Arthur?" asked Sarah.
"We can go back and visit them," promised Hermione. "As much as we can."
"Okay … what about your job, mum?"
"I've applied for a job in International Affairs in the Ministry," explained Hermione, "it's something I've always been interested in."
"Oh."
"Are you two okay with this?"
"Yeah, we like it here, mum," said Henry, shrugging as he took a large bite of mashed potato.
Hermione exhaled with relief and looked at Harry, who smiled faintly at her.
"Second item on the list … after we get settled in here, we were thinking about enrolling you two in school," said Hermione.
"Like, regular muggle school?" asked Henry.
"Yes, love. It'll be the same thing that Mrs. Lyle teaching you at home. You'll just be with other children."
"That'd be great, mum." Replied Henry honestly. "So are we like, staying here, in this house? Or are we going to move into a different one?"
"We're not sure yet, Henry," said Harry as he tried to feed James a small spoonful of squash. "Your mother and I will look around the area for one. If not, we'll just keep renting this place until we find something we like."
"Oh. We're not going to live in another flat, are we?"
Harry laughed, "No Henry. I think we've all lived in enough flats."
"Good. I like having the yard."
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