A/N: As you can tell, Chapter 10 wasn't the last chapter. I thought about the way it sounded after I posted, (and didn't want to go through the hassle of pulling it down and posting an Author's Note) but if you've read my stories, you'd know for sure if it was the end. I'm an Epilogue "Queen" and I promise I will end my story with "The End" just so you know & are certain there will be no more "Accio Life"! Hope you enjoy this chapter; it was fun to write.
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Chapter 11-Adjustments
"Is it true you're dating Hermione Granger-Weasley?"
"How long have you been keeping this relationship secret?"
"How do you plan on telling your deceased wife and brother-in-law when you see their portraits?"
"Does your daughter understand what's going on?"
"Is it true your daughter was in the hospital months ago?"
That last statement made Harry stop in his tracks. He gave Hermione a little push meaning for her to head on in with the children and stood watching her disappear into the heavily guarded entrance. Once they were safely inside he then spun around, anger blazing in his eyes, to face the different wizarding press reporters gathered in front of the Ministry. The throng of reporters stopped talking as if a silencio spell had been cast.
"I think I've had my life analyzed enough for several lifetimes. I will not answer any questions and I will not talk about my daughter to anyone who doesn't have a vested interest in her. I don't appreciate your lot whinging about my house either and if you don't start showing some respect for me, my family and my friends I won't show any respect for you. I have only interviewed with one reporter, one time, and intend on relaying any pertinent information through that same reporter."
With that being said, Harry spun around in a manner that would've made Snape proud and headed into the Ministry.
His only job today was to fill out mounds of paperwork to establish his security clearance and officially tap him as an
employee of the Ministry.
He walked into the Day Care facility and with a sense of relief found Janie absorbed in a story that Lavender was reading to the fifteen children that were there that Friday morning. Still fuming slightly he walked briskly to Hermione's office, taking notice that the portraits were once again empty. He stopped short as he entered the office and wondered if there was anything magic couldn't do.
His eyes took in a room twice the size as it had been the day before. The walls were now paneled in a dark cherry and behind Hermione's desk was an entire wall of bookshelves. Their desks were pushed together so they could face one another and each had their own space behind them. Harry had a smaller bookshelf that took up a quarter of the wall, an area to hang pictures and a large bulletin board. All the furniture was new, made out of a solid, warm wood that leant a slightly cedar smell to the air. His chair was leather and when he sat down in it, he found it was one of the most comfortable chairs he had ever sat down in. He wondered if that made productivity go down the tubes since he figured he could certainly take a nap with his feet on his desk.
"Well?" Hermione appeared in the doorway with a pile of papers in front of her which flew slowly over to Harry's desk.
"Wow!" Harry breathed taking another look around the new office.
"I meant outside," Hermione laughed and perched herself on the corner of her desk. "But I'm glad you like it. I actually had input from Ron and Ginny on this."
"Ah, I see. I do remember complaining to Ginny about how uncomfortable Hogwarts chairs were as you got older."
"Yep, this chair was her idea. Ron's idea was leaving a space for pictures you may want to hang one day. Mine of course was the bookshelf and bulletin board. So, what did you say outside to everyone? I can't believe they found out so fast. I just got the paperwork to change my address as I walked in. I wonder who leaked it?"
"Well, seeing as the only reporter I talk to is Lee Jordan, which is what I said outside along with, "Leave me and my family alone," I'm sure that Ron knew, who told Fred, who told George who told Katie who told everyone else, and I'm sure Lee knows too, since his office is right down the street. So, definitely not long until people heard. I am happy I didn't see Lee in that melee outside. He sure has kept his promise to not bother me." Harry spun around in his chair once, quite thrilled with his office and momentarily forgetting his anger he felt five minutes ago.
"A sign of a true friend," Hermione philosophized nudging the paperwork in his direction then laying a bright yellow Quill on top. "Here's a Repeating Quill. It'll remember the answers to all the routine questions such as address, name, next of kin and automatically fill it in for you. Makes paperwork go much quicker."
"Thanks," he smiled at her and saw a flicker of movement over her shoulder. Ron's portrait was visible from his desk and he wasn't sure if he liked that or not. "What do you think should be done about-," and he inclined his head towards the two portraits out there.
"Well, I reckon they already know what is going on, but we should really talk to them ourselves, don't you think?" Hermione slid off his desk and quietly closed the door, giving them a bit more privacy. "Molly took it well, but I'm sure she said something to Ginny's portrait in her room. She couldn't let a piece of gossip like this go unsaid."
"I wonder if portraits feel jealously and such? I'm already nervous trying to figure out what to say to them," Harry told her as he took the first set of paperwork off the pile and placed it in front of him.
"I can go talk to them if you want?" Hermione offered settling herself across from him. Harry smiled but shook his head.
"I can do it. You already told their parent's and that was hard enough. I appreciate you doing that."
"We can do it together, Harry." Hermione offered and he looked up meeting her serious look.
"Okay, together it is. After I finish this," he reached out and she met his hand halfway. Linking their fingers together for a moment he squeezed her hand in thanks. She understood how nerve-wracking it was going to be telling Ginny and gave him a reassuring squeeze back, reluctantly letting go of his hand so they could finish their paperwork.
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Harry was done within an hour and together he and Hermione went out to the hall to talk with Ron and Ginny. Seeing how they both knew already made it a bit easier for Harry although it was still a bit awkward and embarrassing to tell his deceased wife he was now hooked up with his sister-in-law. Both Weasley's wanted what would make their loved ones happy and after twenty minutes of talking with them, Harry truly believed they were sincere. Another weight he didn't know he had was lifted off his shoulders, but still not comfortable with public display's of affection he bid Hermione goodbye with a smile, who was still putting in a full day. In order to get Janie used to a full day in the Day Care, Harry decided to keep her there until he would normally be done, four o'clock. That meant he had six hours to himself and he was entirely unsure what to do.
He stopped at the front doors, seeing a crowd still gathered and then made the snap decision to floo to Diagon Ally. It was time to pay George a visit and see how his shop was doing.
Once he got going, he found there was quite a bit to keep him busy. George wasn't in but Harry did see Fred's portrait and chatted with him awhile. Then he ran into Seamus who was shopping for new dress robes for a wedding he was in and they had a quick lunch together, rehashing pleasant memories while Harry shared his pictures of Janie. Talking with Seamus made him think of Hogwarts so he paid a surprise visit to McGonagall who was working hard in the Headmaster's office getting OWLs and NEWTS ready, which were to be taken in three weeks.
He chatted with her for an hour, telling her about Janie's hospital visit and the reason behind it and everything that led up to him being there. It was rather like a therapy session having an avid listener just listen and not offer any advice on how to run his life. If anyone could do just that, it would be his former head of house. He made a promise to come back to teaching if being an Auror didn't work out to his expectations.
Not wanting to face the same reporters again he received permission to floo into the Ministry to pick up Janie, who was with the other children in the napping room. Lavender gave Harry a detailed report about Janie's day, which he appreciated and was happy to hear. She had done tremendously well to the adjustment of being home with daddy and now being around other children. He even met Lavender's assistant which was her younger sister, Autumn, barely 19 years old. She stammered hello to him then made excuses to go get snack ready, blushing the whole way. Harry figured he was going to have to get used to that after hearing Lavender tell him that he was now a whole section in "Defense Against the Dark Arts" and has even earned a chapter in "Hogwarts, a History"…the newest edition which Harry was fairly certain Hermione didn't have yet.
He waited until Janie woke up, let her have snack with everyone then left via floo for the post office where he posted an owl to order the newest "Hogwarts, A History" straight from the magical publisher. As he and Janie sorted through the cooling cabinet looking for something to make for dinner he thought about how this book he ordered was the first gift he'd ever bought Hermione outside of her birthday, her and Ron's wedding and Christmas. The book had just come out today, June 1st, and with her being so busy and it not being available for pre-order he was fairly sure Hermione hadn't ordered it. A warm, settled feeling came over him knowing that he could give her something she could use and it was a "thinking of you gift", not a day she expected to receive something.
He listened to Janie jabber about her day, understanding only half of what she said. When she got excited she had a tendency to talk faster and interrupt herself to tell him about another thought. Her interest in watching him magically cut up vegetables for a salad lasted only minutes and soon she was upstairs playing house with her doll Wendy. A watery sounding "pop" came from the entrance downstairs and he soon heard Ben's footsteps running up and into the kitchen.
"Snack? Please?" Ben asked seeing Harry near a bowl of carrots.
"You just had one. I saw you!" Harry laughed at him remembering Ron's voracious appetite.
"Hungry!" Ben demanded, stamping his foot then seeing Harry stare steadily at him he mumbled "Please?"
"Can he have something else?" Harry asked looking up as Hermione walked into the kitchen.
"Something small, Ben. Here's an applesauce," she lifted him into his booster seat and took a small dish out of the cabinet. In seconds Ben wolfed it down, squirmed off the chair and was making his way upstairs.
As if someone was outside watching and waiting for Hermione and Ben to come home, a delivery owl swooped in the open window that Harry had left open just for this reason. The owl dropped a brown wrapped package on the table then took off again, not having time for a snack.
"What's this?" Hermione asked tiredly, settling herself down with a cup of tea.
"For you," Harry said simply, turning back to his salad and dumping the cut up carrots and cucumber into a bowl with the lettuce.
"Harry! You didn't have to do this! How did you even know it was out?" Hermione jumped up excitedly immediately flipping through the book.
"I can't tell you. It's a secret…can I see it for a second?" he took it from her outstretched hand, very curious as to what it said about him. He found his name in the index and just smiled at Hermione who asked what he was looking for.
On Page 479 he found a chapter entitled: "The Defeat of the Dark Lord: The story of how Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley tracked down the most feared person in Magical History and how Harry Potter destroyed him."
"We're in here?" Hermione stood at his elbow and looked down at the book. "I want to go relax in the bath, do you mind if I take it with me and read it?"
"Be my guest, I'll read it tonight," Harry folded down the page, got reprimanded for it, and received a quick kiss at the same time before she ran upstairs, with him watching fondly until she moved out of sight. Their first full day of living together had started off rocky enough but seemed to be finishing rather smoothly.
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The children had been in bed for two hours by the time Harry made his way upstairs. Hermione had gone up there before him saying she wasn't feeling well and waved off his worry with a roll of her eyes. He watched a bit of television and read the five pages dedicated to his defeat of the Dark Lord. It was fairly accurate, unemotional and factually correct, but it still dredged up mostly unpleasant memories for him. He wasn't sure how he felt about being a subject in the classroom but as he entered his bedroom and saw Hermione curled up under his covers, in his bed he immediately realized everything they had all gone through was worth it.
He had married his first true love because he defeated Voldemort.
He had a wonderful daughter with that woman, because of what he and his friends had managed to do.
And now he had someone akin to a soul mate that had gone through life's worst moments with him and celebrated some of life's better ones, all because Voldemort was no more.
Slowly, he rubbed his hand across his scar, taking enjoyment in the fact that it never hurt anymore. Quietly he shed his clothes, turned out the small light over his dresser and climbed into bed reminding himself that he couldn't sleep in the middle anymore.
Hermione's sleepy voice interrupted his musings about the past few days.
"Good night to you, too. Are you feeling any better?" Harry asked concernedly as he rolled to his side touching her shoulder gently. He felt her turn over and heard the pause in her voice. Was this something he should be concerned about?
"I guess since we live together now you should know this. I get very tired, crampy and a bit nauseous right before I start my period. That's why I don't feel well," she said with an embarrassed note in her voice. Harry couldn't see her face in the very dim light, and even if he could she more than likely would be blurry. He remembered Ginny and how moody she got and how much she complained about cramps…having a girlfriend, then getting married had quickly made him come to terms with that part of a female and that there really wasn't anything that could be done to make her feel better, except something they had discovered quiet by accident.
"Well, I don't own a Muggle heating pad but Ginny had this same problem…kinda…and we found something that made her feel better. I can show you, if you'd like," Harry began hesitantly not sure on the protocol on talking about his dead wife to his quite new, quite current girlfriend/sister in law.
"This doesn't involve some sort of torture does it? Because I feel bad enough now."
"No, not at all," Harry laughed at her comment. "Ginny's cramps were mostly in her back for some reason…are yours?" he asked feeling embarrassed but knowing he was going to have to learn this part of Hermione if he was to be living with her.
"No, mine are in the front," he could hear the guarded note in her voice as he sat up and crossed his legs.
"Okay, well lift up your shirt just a bit. Like past your belly button."
He realized at this moment he still hoped he could do this. He hadn't tried this trick since Janie was five months old; he had never had a reason to until now.
"Okaaay." He felt her shift then settle down. Reaching out his hand found her side and he pressed his palm against her skin, moving towards the center of her body.
"Here? I can't really see," Harry asked quietly feeling her belly button under his ring finger.
"Lower," Hermione pushed his hand down a bit, then set her hand on top of his as if telling him that was far enough.
Harry conjured up the spell he and Ginny had made up then whispered it softly, "Calefacio minima". He felt a tingling at the base of his fingertips that slowly crept up to his wrist then stopped.
"Bloody hell," Hermione whispered her hand tightening around his. "Where did you learn that?"
"No idea," Harry murmured, "Ginny jokingly said one day…she wondered if there was a spell that could mimic a Muggle heating pad. We started pulling out words at random and this one worked. Is it too hot?"
"No. It's perfectly warm! And relaxing too."
They were quiet for a moment as Harry moved his hand in small, slow circles around her abdomen.
"I don't think I can even do a wandless spell. This is pretty amazing."
"Leave it to you to analyze it."
"I was just saying--."
"I know, I know. Besides turning on and off the lights without a wand, this is about it, I'm afraid. Nothing else exciting to discover about me."
"Oh, I bet there are plenty, Harry," Hermione's hand wrapped around his as she moved it a bit higher then let her fingers rest lightly on the back. He could feel her flinch as his hand skimmed closely to her side and he wondered if she was ticklish. No, this wasn't the time to be thinking about doing anything other than what he was doing, his sensible side scolded. However, he couldn't help the grin that came to his face as he felt her nudge his hand higher.
"You can't possibly have cramps up here," he said amusedly as his fingers brushed the base of her sternum.
"Many women get very sore chests," Hermione said a bit haltingly as her hand fell away from his.
"I thought that was just with nursing," Harry mentioned, remembering Ginny doing that with Janie for the first two months of her newborn life.
"And for a few days around that time of the month," she reached up and pushed his hand to the side where his hand skimmed over her breast. He froze, not quite sure what she wanted him to do.
"Don't stop," Hermione twitched under him as he pulled his hand across to the other side of her chest and began rubbing in slow circles. It slowly filtered into his brain, which was busily trying to calm his body down, that she was enjoying this and had found out another use for this warming spell.
"How're your cramps?" Harry asked, letting his fingers drag slowly back to the other side. She shuddered under him and let out a soft breath with the word "fine" trailing on the end of it. Her hands finally came up to his arm, tracing the contours up to his shoulders where she tugged gently. Carefully, Harry moved over her, not resting all his weight on her chest, but having to move his hands in order to do so.
"Hermione, I didn't mean--," he began then stopped abruptly as she leaned up and brushed her lips with his.
"Shh, I know."
"I mean, this time of the month-," Harry started not quite sure how to say that having sex wasn't something he wanted to do, during her time, without offending her.
"Won't start until tomorrow…always been like this," Hermione whispered, her hands mapping the dips and curves of his back. "Won't start until tomorrow night…promise."
Harry smiled against her lips, taking his time in kissing her, whispering, at her request, the warming spell for the other hand. He found as his hands touched and caressed her body, they were much more sensitive, and according to her soft sighs and movements, so was she.
Wanting the first time they had sex--the first time with her officially living under his roof (for last night he had fallen asleep before she returned from Molly and Arthur's) -- to be special and momentous, Harry moved slowly. Also, taking into effect she wasn't feeling a hundred percent made him move slower, more gently, taking his cues from her on how to move.
"I'm so warm," Hermione moaned as she bucked beneath him and instantly Harry said "nox" in his head, his hands cooling down immediately. The result they withdrew out of Hermione was one he'd never forget. He slid his hands under her back, tilting her hips up to meet his. The contact of his cool fingers against her warm skin and the deep thrust that went with it made her cry out so loudly he dipped his head and fastened his mouth over hers. He never thought to cast a spell around their room and now wasn't the time for any child to walk in. Her thighs gripped his sides and she went still, hands digging into his backside and holding him to her. Harry didn't mean to collapse on her but that he did, finally tearing his mouth away from hers to draw in a ragged breath.
"My God," Hermione panted (and Harry mentally agreed), suddenly going limp under him. "Don't move for a moment."
He listened and followed her demand, letting his mind come back to the present and feeling his heart return to a normal rhythm.
"You should patent that." She finally breathed in his ear, shifting slightly under him. Understanding her movements already he rolled off of her, gently pulling down her nightgown which had gathered around her chest.
"Patent what? The hand warming spell?"
"No, silly. I mean, yes, but that combined with…everything you just did."
"Oh." Harry grinned uncontrollably feeling his ego soar. "Well, if I did that, it may end up in "Hogwarts: A History" and it's already embarrassing enough now being in there."
Hermione laughed and snuggled up against him. Protectively, he wrapped an arm under her shoulders and pulled her closer.
"Alright. Just our secret. You'll have to show me how you do that hand-warming thing. I think you'll enjoy it, being on the other end," she murmured sleepily.
"Yeah, I bet I would," Harry replied feeling her fall into a state of blissful sleep. He soon followed her into the dream world only to be rudely awoken before dawn by a dark haired girl wiggling her way, sleepily, between her father and Hermione.
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