Christmas With The Potters

Driving Granddad Potty

"Hold still young man, granddad's trying to help you get dressed," said Harry as he struggled to get his grandson Arthur's striped T-shirt down over his head.

"No!" protested the two year old. Harry and Ginny were looking after Arthur while Lily was at work. Arthur had recently entered that wonderful stage in life known as the 'terrible twos'. To make matters worse for Harry, Ginny had picked today to go into Diagon Alley to do the last of the Christmas shopping. Harry and Arthur, of course, had to go with her.

"Come on, nearly done," said Harry as he fished a fresh pair of socks from the bag Lily had left. When he turned back, he saw that Arthur had disappeared. Picking up his grandson's tiny shoes, Harry ran out into the corridor to search for him. He saw that the door to the cupboard was open so he poked his head inside. "Arthur? Where have you gone?"

"Lost something?" said a familiar voice from behind him. Harry turned a little too quickly and banged his head sharply on the cupboard's doorframe. A grimace spread across his face as he always tried not to shout whenever Arthur was around. Ginny was holding the giggling child in her arms.

"I suppose you think that's funny," mumbled Harry as he rubbed his head.

"Bang!" said Arthur simply.

"Yes, granddad banged his head. Poor granddad," cooed Ginny. She moved closer to Harry, who couldn't stay angry over an accident, at least not anymore. The pain faded away as he hugged his wife and grandchild. Arthur may be a handful at the best of times, but Harry was happiest when with these two. He had recently come to terms with his son's choice of sexuality but there were times when that was a sore subject.

"Would you like me to finish dressing our grandson dear?" asked Ginny jokingly. Arthur was playing with her hair, finding hours of entertainment. Harry gratefully handed her the shoes.

"Could you? I just can't keep up with this young rascal. Old age, you know."

"Please Harry, you're only forty-seven, but you're as cute now as you were thirty years ago." Harry and Ginny came together for a soft, affectionate kiss, which poor Arthur was forced to witness.

"Yuck!" exclaimed the tot, making his grandparents laugh. While Ginny finished dressing Arthur, Harry fished the pushchair out of the cupboard.

"So this is just a quick trip into Diagon Alley, right?" he called into the living room.

"Oh yes, there's only a few places we need to go. There's a new book I think Hermione would really like..."

"So that'll be Flourish and Blotts," said Harry as he brought the pushchair into the living room. To say that Arthur hated going in his pushchair would have been a major understatement. While his grandparents weren't looking, he waddled quietly behind the sofa, hoping they wouldn't find him.

"Sirius will be needing some new dress robes soon,"

"That means Madam Malkin's. We can go see mummy," said Harry as he picked the struggling Arthur up from his hiding place. Harry knew his grandson well enough to know where he hid as soon as the pushchair appeared.

"I expect we can pick up some Quidditch things for the boys,"

"Quality Quidditch Supplies," sighed Harry. He had a feeling this list of shops was only going to get longer. For the moment he was concentrating on getting Arthur to sit still while he buckled him in. Arthur had no intention of making it easy.

"Oh and I'll need to get a few things from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes..."

"So we'll probably be in there for hours while your beloved brothers test out every new product on us?"

"Yes, that's true."

"So in actuality, this is going to be a very long trip into Diagon Alley."

"Yes," admitted Ginny.

"And we have to do all this while looking after a two year old?"

"Spot on," said Ginny casually as she checked her bag for everything she needed. From behind the pushchair, Harry could see Arthur jostling it persistently in an attempt to escape.

"Bah, humbug," muttered Harry sarcastically.

~|~

As soon as Harry stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace, he had a crying toddler to deal with. He and Arthur had gone into the fireplace together and while Floo Powder is safe for travelling with children, it's hardly enjoyable for them. After moving the pushchair away from the fireplace so that Ginny could get through, Harry knelt down to try and comfort Arthur.

"Shush, it's OK. It's over now," he said soothingly. Arthur only bawled louder and pulled at the restraints of the pushchair. Harry felt very conscious of how much attention Arthur was drawing. The whole bar seemed to be staring at him. Every time Harry moved his hand forward to try and calm him down, Arthur batted it away with his own hand. Feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on him, Harry was desperate.

As Ginny stepped out of the fireplace she detected Arthur's distress like some kind of maternal radar. The fact that he was screaming his head off also caught her attention. She casually strode over to him and began stroking his forehead, smoothing his hair back gently. Arthur stopped crying instantly, a glazed look of relaxation replaced his scrunched up expression.

"How did you do that? He wouldn't even let me near him."

"It's just a matter of knowing what calms him down," explained Ginny to her dumbfounded husband.

"Yeah, sure it is," mumbled Harry. He was convinced that all women were keeping some kind of secret from men that made them more popular with children. Now that Arthur was settled they walked through the back door of the Leaky Cauldron. Arthur's eyes went wide with amazement when Ginny tapped the appropriate bricks and opened the archway into Diagon Alley.

The shops were teeming with wizards and witches, all doing their Christmas shopping. Harry had a hard time actually getting anywhere with the pushchair. By the time they reached Flourish and Blotts, Harry must have run into the heels of twenty people. One glance into the bookshop told him there was no chance of getting the pushchair inside.

"You stay here with Arthur, I know what I'm looking for so I shouldn't be long," shouted Ginny over the noise of the crowd. Harry manoeuvred Arthur out of the way of all the coming and going people. Arthur had given up trying to escape and just seemed bored now. Harry tried to amuse him by tickling him with his finger but Arthur only made grumpy whines of protest.

"What's the matter with you? I just can't seem to do anything right today can I?" sighed Harry. After about twenty minutes Ginny emerged from Flourish and Blotts with a large book in a bag. She quickly showed the title to Harry.

"It's all about this new transfiguration spell that works like the Polyjuice potion."

"Uh huh, fascinating. Can we move on now?" asked Harry bluntly. They made their way back through the crowd. Arthur was only made grumpier by all the noise. Ginny was hoping that seeing Lily would cheer him up.

When they arrived at Madam Malkin's, Harry almost didn't go in. It was still difficult for him to see eye to eye with his daughter, but he went in anyway to please his wife. It was surprisingly quiet in Madam Malkin's. Lily had just finished serving a customer when they spotted her.

"Who's that over there Arthur?" asked Ginny.

"Mummy! Go see mummy!" chimed the toddler as soon as he caught sight of his mother. Harry moved the pushchair over to the cashier desk. Lily's face lit up when she saw them.

"Mum ...dad ...Arthur!" Smiling broadly, she knelt down in front of her son and planted a kiss on his cheek. Arthur giggled and patted the side of her face lovingly. Lily then stood up to hug her mother. It suddenly dawned on Harry how awkward his situation was. Should he go to hug her as well? Was she going to hug him? They hadn't spoken during her seventh year at Hogwarts, back when he and Ginny were looking after Arthur full time. If there was one thing other than green eyes that Harry had passed on to his daughter, it was stubbornness. They had a terrible row when her dismal N.E.W.T. results came through, but she had got a job at Madam Malkin's because of her talent for robe design. This was a talent Harry was too busy arguing with her to notice. The fact was, she was supporting both herself and Arthur on her wages. She had done well, but Harry still felt awkward. He didn't want to say anything that might cause another argument.

Harry and Lily embraced each other briefly. Harry thought he detected a flicker of a smile on her face, he was unsure of whether to return it or not.

"How can I help you two?"

"Well, your brother needs some new dress robes so we thought we'd get him some for Christmas."

"OK, we've got some new purple ones, just in!" she said with a cheeky smile.

"Don't be mean Lily, you know full well your brother can't stand purple," scolded Ginny while smiling herself. The two women laughed as they went to look at the dress robes. Harry suddenly noticed a robe hung up on one of the stands. Taking the pushchair with him, he looked at the tag.

Lavender Lace Evening Robe

Designed and handmade by

Lillian Molly Potter

150 Galleons

Harry was astonished that his little girl could make something so beautiful and so pricey. He wished that he had paid more attention to her talents, instead of criticising her for her poor schoolwork. About half an hour later Ginny had finally picked one out and paid for it.

"My shift finishes at six. I'll pop round to pick Arthur up," said Lily as they headed for the door.

"You may be there before we are, if your mother takes us into anymore shops," joked Harry. Lily laughed heartily at his joke, a sound Harry hadn't heard in a long time. Perhaps there was some hope for the two of them after all.

"Sta wi mummy!" protested Arthur from his pushchair.

"Mummy will see you later sweetheart," said Lily soothingly. Not wanting to hold Lily up any longer, Harry and Ginny made their quick goodbyes and went back into the street.

It was busy in Quality Quidditch Supplies, so Harry was stuck waiting outside with Arthur again. He pushed the pushchair back and forth slowly in a vain attempt to rock Arthur to sleep. He was, of course, disastrously unsuccessful. When Ginny came out of the shop with two large bags full of Quidditch gear, Arthur was complaining very loudly that he was hungry.

"Shall we get a bite to eat?" asked Harry. The ice cream parlour served hot drinks and snacks during the winter, seeing as no one in their right minds would want ice cream in December, not even in the wizarding world. Harry bought two coffees for Ginny and himself and a Danish pastry and some juice for Arthur.

Harry sat down at a table where Ginny was sorting out all the shopping bags engulfing her feet. Arthur began munching greedily on his pastry as soon as it was handed to him. Ginny fished a pair of brand new goalkeeper's gloves from one of the bags and handed them to Harry. He examined them closely.

"These are top quality gloves, who are they for?"

"Michael," said Ginny as she took a sip of coffee. Harry froze at this. Trying to stay calm, he slowly put his cup down.

"Why are we buying presents for Michael all of a sudden?" he asked carefully.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Oliver's abroad for the Christmas holidays, I think he's meeting with some people to arrange a friendly match with New Zealand or something ...anyway, I thought it would be nice if Michael came and spent the holidays with us, instead of being all alone, so I invited him," explained Ginny. Harry couldn't believe how relaxed Ginny was about this. Suddenly a thought struck him that calmed him down. He picked his cup up again.

"Well, I can't see any harm. We could always set up the spare bed," he said as he took a sip.

"I don't see any need for that. Sirius and Michael can sleep together." Harry went wide-eyed with shock as he unwittingly took a very large gulp of scolding hot coffee. He spluttered and coughed while patting his chest.

"Go down wong way?" offered Arthur, taking a short break from his pastry.

"Granddad's fine, honey. He's just overreacting," said Ginny as she threw Harry a dangerous look. That was all Arthur needed to hear, he went back to scoffing his treat. Harry finally regained his composure.

"For crying out loud Ginny," he whispered, trying not to attract any more attention. "Do we really have to encourage them?" Ginny's scowl faded into a smile as she put her hand on his.

"Harry, I know it's been hard to accept, but they're in love. They've been sleeping together for a couple of months now. Besides, with everything Sirius has been through in those few months, I think we can cut him some slack."

"Yeah ...sure. You just surprised me when you actually said it, that's all."

"It's not as if they're going to start talking about their sleeping habits in front of all our friends and family, just like we don't talk about what we get up to." She gave him a suggestive look. Harry loved her subtlety; it was what kept him on his toes in his old age. They leant closer over the table, closing in for a kiss when ...

"Juice! Maaaa juice!" Arthur was having trouble getting into his carton of pumpkin juice. He was working on it though, by banging it on the frame of the pushchair. Ginny smiled as she opened it for him. Now that Arthur had his juice, he didn't care that his grandparents were smooching.

Ginny had just one shop to visit, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Harry explained that there was somewhere he needed to go as well, though he wouldn't tell her where. Ginny offered to take Arthur if Harry would take some of the shopping. They then arranged to meet in the Leaky Cauldron in twenty minutes.

Harry went back to Madam Malkin's, where Lily was serving a customer. He wandered over to the evening robe he had seen earlier. He gently took one of the sleeves in his hands. The material was amazingly soft and light. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily approach him.

"It's beautiful," he breathed. "Lily, I'm so sorry I didn't pay more attention to this talent of yours. I had no idea, mostly because I was too busy being a grouchy bugger." He wiped the tear from his eye before facing his daughter.

"I'm sorry too, dad. I know I haven't exactly been easy to live with ..."

"Don't say that, I'm the one at fault here, not you." He pulled Lily into a hug and he felt her blissful tears moisten his shoulder. Stepping back, she dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

"You really like it?"

"I certainly do. In fact I'd like to buy it ...for your mum."

Lily pursed her lips. "My robes aren't cheap you know. 150 Galleons."

"Your mum means the world and more to me. Just like you and Arthur." Lily smiled as she took the robe from the hanger and brought the price up on the till. After Harry paid, Lily said she could have it transported to their house magically so that Ginny wouldn't see it. That suited Harry perfectly. They shared one final hug before Harry had to leave to meet his wife.

As it turned out, Harry needn't have hurried. Ginny and Arthur had been hard pressed to leave Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes seeing as Fred and George insisted on showing their great-nephew all their new products. Harry had time for a quick drink at the bar before they finally arrived. Ginny looked exasperated, mostly because Arthur was so excited from everything he had seen in the shop. He pointed a toy wand at his grandfather.

"Zaaappp!" he cried playfully as the wand turned into a Christmas candy cane.

"I see Arthur enjoyed himself," observed Harry.

"Good for him," sighed Ginny. "Honestly, if you didn't know it, you'd think Fred and George were my younger brothers. They're like a couple of kids." Although they were ready to go home, there was still the matter of how to get there. The last thing they wanted was to upset Arthur by using Floo Powder again. In the end, Harry offered to take the shopping home via the fireplace while Ginny and Arthur took the Knight Bus. It was getting dark so there was little chance of them being seen by anyone in their street. After a quick kiss goodbye, Harry took the ton of shopping and stepped into the fireplace.

When he came out of their own fireplace, it was a miracle that he didn't drop any of the bags. Ever since he first used when he was twelve, Harry still felt queasy when it came to travelling by Floo Powder. He set the bags down and went up to his bedroom. His present to Ginny was lying neatly folded on the bed. As he hung it up in the back of the magically expanded cupboard, he sighed from fatigue.

"Christmas," he muttered. "Thank god it only comes once a year."