Parallel

Chapter 23 - Inquiries/Harvest Festival/Sleepless Night

In the end, Harry did indeed return to the Wizarding Genealogy Office by himself to print out more of the stuff on his family--or specifically, his grandparents--and the home they and his father had lived in. He also took steps to find out just who owned Spinner's End now, if anyone ... and if it was currently unoccupied and for sale, he intended to grab it himself, which was only fitting, considering it was his family's ancestral home.

After this the two couples returned to their original flats, but Harry knew that given Ginny's pregnancy, their current residence would not be enough. Once the baby arrived, they would definitely have to move elsewhere. Hopefully by then he would have managed to purchase Spinner's End. The original flat was all right for now, though, and that's what mattered.

He was also contacted regarding his, Ron's and Ginny's use of Unforgivable Curses in their triumphs over Voldemort and Nagini, but upon Harry's explaining the circumstances under which they'd been obliged to use them, the penalty which would ordinarily stand against them was suspended ... this time. However, they were warned not to use them unless it was a dire emergency, as it had been this time; otherwise the ordinary penalty would apply and they would each end up in Azkaban for life. Harry assured them that they wouldn't, and so it was all right--at least for now.

* * * * *

Not too long after they had returned to their own flats, it was time for the Harvest Festival, the UK version of Thanksgiving, which usually took place in September. Harry could just imagine what it would be like if all the married Weasley brothers and their wives and/or families (those who had them, that is--like Bill) came to the Burrow for the holiday. Arthur and Molly might even have to magically expand the Burrow to hold everyone.

Even then, there would be some trick to pulling that off, especially since rooms would be needed for Ron and Hermione, himself and Ginny, Bill and Fleur (and their son) ... and possibly Charlie and his new wife, if they decided to come. Percy would likely spend the holiday with his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater--his fiancée now, if what Molly reported was correct--and her family.

Ginny's relationship with Fleur was still somewhat strained (even now, she still called her erstwhile sister-in-law "Phlegm" on occasion), but at least now they had something in common ... they were both pregnant--Fleur for the second time. Harry personally got along well with Fleur, so if interactions between the couples were necessary, he was usually the one who handled it. Just the same, it wouldn't surprise him if Ginny and Fleur got together at some point, if only to discuss their mutual pregnancies. Animosities between women could be and often were at least temporarily suspended if they had something in common to talk about.

Harry had gotten Hedwig back just recently, so he used her to owl Molly that they would be coming for the holiday. Molly owled back that she had heard from Bill and Charlie and both would be coming for the holiday with their wives and/or families. Percy had even said he would drop by briefly with Penelope to greet everyone and catch up on the latest news on the home front, but not to expect him to stay long because Penelope's mother would be waiting dinner for them.

Molly also said that she hadn't heard from Ron and Hermione yet, but knowing the latter as he did, Harry was sure she would, very shortly. He wondered whether or not Fred and George would come; Molly hadn't mentioned them. Just the same, Harry was sure they would show up, if only long enough to stuff their faces with their mother's cooking, brag about their latest business ventures, if not give out samples of same, then leave.

By this time, Harry and Ginny had used Portkeys enough so that they weren't thrown to the ground every time they let go of them, which was a good thing, especially considering Ginny's advanced pregnancy. She was now seven months along and looked ready to pop, even though her due date wasn't until mid-December. The Healer who was her regular physician hadn't mentioned whether or not she was carrying twins, although she was certainly big enough to be doing so ... at least to Harry's eyes.

The one good thing about the advanced pregnancy was that Ginny's volatile moods seemed to be all but gone, for which Harry was thankful. She also had a sharply increased appetite; fortunately no really strange food combinations, as he had heard pregnant women sometimes had, like pickles and ice cream or chocolate with pizza or something. Her most unusual craving had been for Pumpkin Pasties, macaroni and cheese and Chocolate Frogs with butterbeer. (More than once Harry had had to Apparate to the nearest store to get her more of each.) Molly said her worst had been pickles and ice cream with Honeydukes peanut butter fudge sauce, and that had been when she was pregnant with Fred and George.

The next thing either saw, though, was a new owl they had never seen before tapping at their window, a honey-coloured one with brown eyes and a pale green envelope in its beak. It turned out to belong to Rose Shacklebolt-Black, who was inviting them to spend Christmas with her and young James, since he would be home for the holidays. Ginny wanted very much to accept, but Harry was hesitant, since he had no idea of how her pregnancy was going to turn out and didn't want to accept, then have her give birth in the middle of everything. The best they could promise would be that they would drop by and spend a few hours with them, perhaps have something to eat while there and a talk with her and the boy about Sirius. Longer visits would have to wait until after the baby was born.

* * * * *

The Harvest Festival feast went pretty much as expected. Molly had said to him shortly after he and Ginny had arrived that she'd never heard from Fred and George, yet they had Apparated in at virtually the last moment, laden with samples of their newest products and kisses on the cheek for each Weasley lady, including ... especially ... their mother. Bill and a very pregnant Fleur showed up next, Bill (still with a ponytail) carrying their two-year-old son, Pierre Sebastian, a beautiful little blond boy with crystal-blue eyes, who Molly positively doted on and was carrying around virtually every moment she wasn't cooking.

Next came Ron and Hermione; Harry had been right about her getting him to come early, even if she'd had to literally drag him out of bed and Apparate them both here in their nightclothes. Even at that, Harry was as sure as anything that they didn't wear nightclothes any more than he or Ginny did; that was just a figure of speech. He hadn't noticed the arrival of Charlie, the other elder Weasley brother, until Molly's scream of delight brought him back to reality. He turned around to see her hugging the stuffing out of Charlie while a lovely woman with deep blue eyes and white-blonde hair smiled beside him. At first Harry was sure she had to be a Veela, but he had never heard of Veelas also being Animagi ... and Charlie's wife was reportedly an Animagus (could turn into a Persian cat).

Charlie deftly extricated himself with a smile. "Good to see you too, Mum. This is my wife, Rosabelle. Rosabelle, this is my mother Molly." The two women nodded and smiled at each other in acknowledgment.

The next few minutes were spent introducing Rosabelle to everyone else present. When they reached Harry and Ginny, Charlie hugged his sister as best he could and kissed her on the cheek. "Lookin' good, little sis."

"Charlie, don't be disgusting. I look like a weinie ready to pop," Ginny dismissed.

"But a very cute weinie," Charlie teased in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Now I want to introduce my wife. Rosabelle, this is Ginny, my sister, and her husband, Harry Potter."

Rosabelle's eyes widened. "The Harry Potter, the famous Auror who killed the Dark Lord?"

"The same," Charlie confirmed before Harry could speak. "I hear you and Gin also got rid of You-Know-Who's snake singlehanded, Harry."

"That's right," Harry confirmed. "But it was very sudden and there was no way for us to call for help, so I knew our only chance would be to catch Nagini and her guardians by surprise. Gin used the Imperius Curse to control the Death Eaters while I went after Nagini."

Rosabelle gasped, stunned, upon hearing that. "You ... used an Unforgivable Curse?"

"Two, actually, but we had no choice. It was the only way to beat them. I then used Parseltongue to lull Nagini into a false sense of security long enough to destroy her."

Rosabelle went white. "You ... can speak ... Parseltongue?"

"Yes. I've been able to do it for years; I've just never needed to use it very much until now," Harry explained.

"I've never heard of anyone who can speak Parseltongue other than the Dark Lord."

"Well, I ... had kind of a ... history with him, so it's sort of a ... natural talent," Harry continued, reluctant to reveal it but knowing it was necessary.

"A ... history?" Rosabelle questioned.

"It's a long story ... and if you don't mind, one I ... don't care to relate at the moment," Harry made himself say, clutching Ginny's hand tightly for the strength to speak.

Rosabelle looked disappointed and crestfallen, but didn't pressure him further ... fortunately for her, especially since Ginny was giving her a fierce look and Charlie was pulling on her arm, intending to go over to Ron and Hermione next and introduce her to them.

Many times over the course of the next few hours Harry caught Rosabelle giving him lingering looks, but she never spoke to him again. During that time, he once again heard Molly scream with delight as Percy and Penelope Apparated into the living room. She again hugged the stuffing out of her son while smiling a greeting to his intended.

"It's ... good to see you again, Mum." Percy looked around and spotted Harry, visibly stiffening but making himself go over to greet his brother-in-law, if only for his sister's sake.

"Hello, Harry," Percy greeted him, stiffly but politely, Penelope at his side, their hands linked and the diamond in her engagement ring catching the light, making multi-colored streaks in the air as she moved her hand to show it off.

"Percy. Congratulations on your engagement. Every happiness to you and Penelope," Harry returned, politely but every bit as stiffly, still not fully trusting him after the way Percy had treated him during his fifth year.

"Thanks, Harry. I understand I'm going to be an uncle." He darted a look at Ginny, who dared him to say anything against her husband.

"Yeah. Ginny's due in December."

Percy looked his sister over questioningly. "Looks like she's carrying a whole litter, not just one baby."

"So what if she is? What business is that of yours?" Harry had had about as much as he could stomach of Percy and his superior attitude.

"Nothing wrong with that, Harry. Just making an observation," Percy tried to apologise. "It frankly wouldn't surprise me if Ginny was as prolific as Mum."

"Let's go, Percy," Penelope entreated. "We still have other people to greet." She attempted to steer him toward Ron and Hermione, watching from a short distance away and concerned that Harry might decide to lash out at him. Couldn't blame him if he did; Percy was acting his usual stuffy self.

Once they finally left, Ginny stared daggers after him, wishing she'd had her wand. If she had, she would have hexed him into the middle of next week for being such a stupid prat and talking to Harry as he had, brother or not.

"Are you all right, luv?" she asked, noting that Harry's hands had balled into fists, as if he were restraining himself from striking Percy. "Don't mind Percy, he's just being his usual thick-headed self."

"I didn't like the way he compared you to a cat carrying a litter of kittens. Stupid git," Harry muttered. "Just the same, I think you're too big to be carrying just one baby. Ask your personal Healer to check you for twins."

"I was considering that," Ginny revealed. "Mum said the only time she remembered being this big when she was pregnant was when she was carrying Fred and George. I think she also said she'd had them six weeks early, too."

"You don't have much time left, then, if that's any indication," Harry remarked. "You'd better have a checkup tomorrow."

"You need an appointment, Harry," she reminded him. "I'm not my Healer's only patient."

"No time for that," he insisted. "In fact, I think we better consider booking you a room at St. Mungo's, if only to be on the safe side."

"You worry too much, luv," she tried to soothe him. "I'll be fine."

"I come by it naturally," he threw back. "And I'm going to be a father soon, so you'd better get used to it."

They didn't speak further, for it was at this point that Molly called everyone in to dinner ... but both of them knew they would be discussing it later, possibly even after they'd gone to bed.

* * * * *

Unfortunately, they weren't able to sleep well, for their bedroom was located right next to that of Fleur and Bill, and the walls were quite thin. If their little boy wasn't crying, they were able to hear the creaking of the bed springs; Ginny winced as she listened, knowing what Bill and Fleur must be doing. As for herself and Harry, they were simply lying in each other's arms, listening to the goings-on in the next room, unable to do anything else.

"Oh, for pity's sake, can't they stop it even for one night?" Ginny groused. "Even we don't do it that much!"

"Obviously not," Harry observed, answering the first part of her comment. "I think part of it has to do with the fact that Fleur is part Veela. It wouldn't surprise me if they're even more ...highly sexed than we are."

"That would be saying something, that's for sure," Ginny opined even as Harry tightened his arms around her, gently pressing her head close to him. "But I don't think we dare do it much any more, if what Mum said is any indication."

"Don't say that," he entreated. "We'll figure something, even if we can't do it the regular way."

The creaking of the bedsprings increased both in volume and frequency; Ginny closed her eyes, seeming to be in actual pain. "Just block it out, luv," Harry advised. "They'll stop eventually."

"Can't be soon enough for me," she retorted. "Fleur's pregnant, too; you'd think she'd need some sleep. Merlin knows I do, but how can I with that going on?"

"I can put a Silencing Charm on the wall if you like," Harry suggested, even then reaching for his wand, tucked just under his pillow.

"You'll probably have to, at this rate," Ginny opined. After that had been done, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Much better. Now maybe I can get some sleep ... and you can, too." She looked up at him and they shared a tender smile before sharing a lingering good-night kiss. "Sleep well, luv."

"You, too." With that, they both fell asleep.