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Call Me Mum | ||||
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Category: SIYE Challenges new, The One Where Everyone Finds Out (2021-1) Characters:Harry/Ginny, Other Genres: Drama, Humor, Romance Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 6 Summary: Charlie, Molly, Arthur, and the twins find out that Ginny and Harry are dating, but actually it's gone waaaay beyond dating. Hitcount: Story Total: 3044 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: This story is a sequel to my entry in the Elopement Challenge, "Plans Change." |
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“Good morning, Igor.” “Buna dimineata, Charles.” Charlie Weasley yawned in the dappled sunlight flittering through the pines that towered around him; he had just stepped out of his cabin into a cool, crisp, late spring morning in the Carpathian Mountains. He ran his fingers through his unruly, bright red hair that now hung down to his shoulders. He had intended to cut it soon–he could hear, in his mini, his mother’s disapproving “tisk,” and see, in his mind’s eye, her disapproving glare–but now it was too late. He was leaving today and there would be no time. “Anything happen last night?” he asked his assistant. Igor also yawned, and scratched his nose, then twirled his large, black mustache. “The Horntail almost got out of the pen. The ward got weakened in that lightning storm we had a couple of days ago.” “Any immediate danger?” “I don’t think so. I shored it up but it needs looking at.” “Well, then take care of it right after breakfast.” “Okay, boss. Not a problem. Voi fi acolo.” “See you there.” Charlie went back inside, yawning again. He had not slept well last night, and he knew it was because of the message that had arrived yesterday in the middle of dinner, delivered by an exhausted tawny owl. The bird had landed heavily on the ridge of the cabin’s roof, making a loud thud followed by a series of squawks that brought him running outside. When he looked up at the roof, he saw the owl sprawled there, clinging to the ridge board with one claw. When it spotted Charlie, it let go and rolled down the roof like a log, then pitched over the edge and landed in Charlie’s outstretched arms. It looked piteously up at him, gave a feeble hoot, and lifted a leg, to which was tied a parchment Charlie had carried the owl inside, stunned an unlucky mouse that chose that moment to scurry out of its nest in the baseboard behind his bed, and gave the little rodent to the grateful bird. Charlie turned his back on the owl, not caring to observe the feast, and took the parchment to his desk in the corner next to the bed. He read it standing up. It was from his brother, Bill, and the news was bad, shocking in fact. There had been an attack on Hogwarts. It had been beaten off by the Order of the Phoenix but Albus Dumbledore was dead, and Bill had been bitten by a werewolf. Despite that, he and Fleur Delacour were still planning to marry later in the summer, and Bill still wanted Charlie to be there as his best man. Oh, and one more thing. Ginny and Harry Potter were married and Ginny was pregnant. At that point Charlie’s jaw had dropped. Ginny and Harry Potter? Married? When had they started dating? It couldn’t have been all that long ago, or someone would have already told him about it. And–Merlin’s beard!–pregnant? Ginny wasn’t even seventeen yet. And Harry Potter, of all people, was now his brother-in-law? What the hell was happening back home? Charlie sat at the desk. He reread the letter but he had not misread anything. Dumbledore was dead, Bill had been bitten, and his little sister was pregnant and married. Bill went on to say that it was a boy and Ginny had decided to name it James Sirius, after Harry’s father and godfather. Charlie had been planning a trip home ever since Bill had told him that he was getting married; there was no way Charlie would miss that. But now, it seemed, there was a lot more urgency. How had Hogwarts been breached? The Order had been involved, but, Charlie suddenly realized, if Dumbledore was gone, who was in charge now? Was it still fighting? Who had attacked the castle? Death Eaters? Had Voldemort come out into the open and fought with them? And if Bill had been there, what about anyone else in the family? Ginny and Ron must have been, and Charlie assumed that if they had been injured–or worse–that Bill would have said so in the letter. There were too many questions with no answers. He needed to go home right away, the next day in fact. Charlie ate breakfast and took the owl outside where it flew up to a branch on a nearby tree and settled down. “Rest as long as you need to,” Charlie told it. “You can go back any time.” He walked into the forest and down the mountainside until he came to a tall fence of solid planks that extended to the left and right under the trees. He waved his wand and an opening appeared. He quickly entered the enchanted dragon pen and the door vanished behind him. Inside the magic enclosure there were no trees; it was open to the sky, and above he could see several dragons wheeling and soaring high in the air. In front of him was another cabin, this one with a metal roof, and inside it he found his young assistant Igor standing in front of a large tub in which lay several large golden eggs. Igor was pouring a bubbling liquid over the eggs, which sizzled and shook as the liquid hit them. Igor turned when Charlie closed the door behind him. “Hey, boss,” he said. “What’s up? I didn’t expect you so soon. I fixed those wards, and the eggs are almost done.” “Don’t stop,” Charlie said. “Something came up last night. I have to leave right away. Big problems back home.” “Dumnezeule! Ce? Is your family okay?” “I don’t know. Bill might not be. And my sister . . . Well, she got married.” Igor grinned at Charlie as he poured the last of the molten liquid over the eggs. “But that’s good news, isn’t it? My sister got married last year and now I am an uncle, Unchi Igor.” He laughed. “Yeah, it looks like I’ll be Unchi Charlie.” “And who is the lucky guy?” Charlie let out a breath. “Harry Potter.” Igor’s eyes grew wide and he stared open-mouthed at Charlie. “Alesul! The Chosen One! And he chose your sister, Ginny!” He grinned once more. “You must have a very special sister to catch Harry Potter. And beautiful!” “I’ve always thought she was special, but I never saw this coming.” He watched as Igor picked the eggs out of the tub with a set of long tongs and gently placed them in a large metal crib. He then covered them with a layer of glowing coals he retrieved from the fireplace with the tongs. “That’ll keep ‘em for another three or four days,” he said. “One more fire bath and they should be ready to hatch.” Charlie came over to take a look. “She never came back?” “Nu. I think she was hurt or even killed. She liked to fly too close to that Muggle military base.” Igor gazed sadly at the eggs, sighed, and shook his head. After a moment Charlie spoke. “Well, I have to get ready to go. My family needs me, or else Bill wouldn’t have sent an owl all this way.” “Yes, I saw it coming in yesterday. Don’t worry, my friend. I’ll look after things here. You go take care of your family.” He grinned. “And tell Harry Potter that he’s famous even in far-away Romania.” Hundreds of miles to the west, the famous Harry Potter sat in his bedroom window looking out onto Privet Drive, watching Vernon Dursley packing up his car. In Harry’s hand was a note, written in purple ink on a sheet of pink parchment, smudged with a half-dozen lipstick kisses; Hedwig had flown in the window with it a few minutes before. Harry couldn’t believe how much he missed Ginny, and notes like this one only made it worse. Of course, it wasn’t really worse, it was divine, but he wanted her so badly! He wanted her voice and he wanted her smile and her lips and her sweet fragrance and her curves. Especially her curves . . . Well, he thought with a deep sigh, it was only a few hours until he would see her. What would happen then, though, was anyone’s guess. Ginny had decided not told her parents that she and Harry were married and pregnant, although, Harry thought with a little smile, not in that order. Only four people in the family knew. Ron and Hermione had somehow managed to keep their mouths shut, and Bill and Fleur had been busy setting up house at their new place somewhere on the coast. Ginny had said that she was waiting for Harry to be with her when she told her parents. Down below the window in the driveway, Vernon swore as he hefted a large suitcase and shoved it into the boot. The Dursleys were getting ready to go into hiding. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mr. Weasley had come and, somehow, convinced Vernon that he and his family were in danger and had to get out. Kingsley had also told Harry to be ready to leave, and now he was: ready to leave this place of lifelong misery and go to Ginny. He got up from the window and went to Hedwig’s cage, sitting on his desk. She was sulking, hiding her head under her wing, because Harry would not let her out. He tried feeding her an owl treat, but she ignored it and it fell to the floor of the cage. He shrugged and turned back to the window, but at that moment he heard the front door slam and Vernon Dursley’s snarling summons come up the stairs: “Oi! You!” Many harrowing, horrible hours later, Harry stood in the parlor of the Burrow, holding Ginny’s hand while Molly, Arthur, and Fred hovered over George who was lying on the sofa, a bloody rag pressed to his ear. Hagrid, Remus, Hermione, and Kingsley were outside in the front yard, waiting for the others, the rest of the rescue team that Mad-Eye Moody had brought to Privet Drive. Harry kept glancing at Ginny. Her lower lip was quivering as she watched her mother tend to George. Harry was in shock, along with everyone else, but he wanted more than anything to be alone with her She finally looked at him. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. She pulled on his hand. “Let’s talk.” They went into the kitchen, and as soon as the door closed behind them Harry took her in an embrace and kissed her. Ginny clung to him and they didn’t break apart until they heard shouts from outside. “Someone else must be back,” Harry said, a little breathlessly. “Wait!” Ginny held his arms. “We need to say something to my parents. My mum is going to notice something soon.” Harry looked down at her middle, then back at her face. “Are you . . . is it . . . ?” “I’m not showing yet, but there are other things.” She turned pink. “I’m not . . . you know, my monthly . . .” “Oh.” Harry turned pink. “So . . . what do we do?” “We’ll tell them after everyone gets back. Everybody’s got too much on their minds right now.” “Okay, but we have to do it soon.” They went into the sitting room. Ginny’s parents were still there with Fred and George, who was now sitting up, although he didn’t seem very steady. He looked at Ginny and Harry “You’re okay, Harry,” George said. “Good. You didn’t happen to see an ear lying around, did you?” “Hush, George!” Molly said. “Harry almost got killed by You-Know-Who.” George nodded. “That’s okay, as long as he made it here with two ears.” Fred groaned. Ginny and Harry looked at each other, and Ginny shook her head. They left the sitting room and went out the front door, where everyone else was gathered with the latest arrivals. Later, after a few more stressful hours, Ginny and Harry finally got away from the buzz, from the tears, from the accusations, from the turmoil. They went out the front gate, walked down the lane, and turned off into a clearing in the woods that Ginny had always used as a refuge from her brothers. They sat under a tall oak tree and listened to insects chirping and toads croaking, and watched bats flit in the sky above the clearing. It all seemed bizarrely normal. Ginny sighed in the darkness and Harry put his arm around her and pulled her closer. “What are we going to do?” she said. Harry was silent for a moment. “I don’t know,” he finally said, “but is there any way we could, um, you know, be together tonight?” Ginny sighed again. “Oh, Harry, I don’t see how. I mean, everyone will be here. Won’t you be sleeping in Ron’s room?” “But we’re married. Married people should, um, sleep together.” Ginny looked at him in the dim light, then smiled. “Of course they do. But first we have to tell Mum and Dad that we’re married. You can’t just walk into my room with me when I go to bed.” “Yeah, I know.” He stroked her cheek, then kissed her softly. It turned into a lengthy snog. After a few minutes Harry stood and pulled Ginny up. “Come on, let’s do it.” Back at the Burrow everyone who had stayed was sitting in the parlor. There was a fire, but no one was talking much. Ron and Hermione were sitting on the hearthstones. Bill and Fleur were there, as was Fred but not George. Ginny’s parents were sitting together on the sofa. Harry and Ginny paused inside the door. “Where were you?” Molly asked. “You shouldn’t go far from the house, especially you, Harry.” “We weren’t far, Mum,” Ginny said. “But we have something to say.” She paused as everyone looked at her. “Harry and I, erm, I mean–” She stopped when a low rumbling sound like distant thunder rolled over the house. It didn’t fade away, but seemed to be circling overhead. Everyone pulled their wands, ran outside and looked up. There, circling the Burrow was a dragon, and astride it, waving at them and grinning, was Charlie. The beast circled down as Charlie tapped it with his wand, first one side, then the other. Lower and lower it came; the people on the ground backed up to the house, and with one final beat of its mighty winds the dragon landed next to the garden. It lowered its massive head and sniffed the ground, and a dozen garden gnomes bust out of the weeds and shrubs and ran shrieking away and into the woods. Charlie dismounted and everyone came cautiously forward. They stopped well away from the dragon. “You need a haircut, Charles,” Molly said. Fred snickered; Charlie rolled his eyes. “Hi, Mum. It’s great to see you, too.” Everyone laughed and Molly came and hugged him. He hugged everyone else but when he got to Ginny he held her at arm’s length and looked her up and down. “You look terrific, Ginny.” He turned his grin on Harry. “You, too, bro’. Do you have the date yet?” he asked Ginny. Molly whirled to face her daughter. Ginny turned scarlet; Harry had a stricken look, but he took Ginny’s hand. “What does he meant?” Molly said; she and Arthur were standing together but she pushed past her husband, whose mouth was hanging open. Molly planted herself in front of Ginny and bent her head towards her. “What date?” Ginny took a gulp of air and a firm grip on Harry’s hand. “I’m pregnant, Mum. It’s a boy and we’re calling him James. He’s due in February. And Professor McGonagall married us right after Professor Dumbledore’s funeral.” “Oops,” said Charlie, and this time Fred guffawed; Molly shot him a look and he stopped. No one else spoke. The dragon, lolling on the ground next to the garden, turned its head away and belched an orange flame. It then gazed back at the family, blinked one yellow eye, lay its massive head on the ground, closed both eyes, and began snoring; puffs of smoke came from its nostrils with each snore. “He needs a nap,” Charlie said as everyone gaped. “We’ve been in the air for seven hours. I’m taking him up to the Forbidden Forest so Hagrid can look after him, but I wanted to stop off here first. I’m sorry, Gin, I thought you had told everyone.” “And we’re all glad you’re here,” Fred said. “Especially Ginny and Harry.” He snickered again. This comment snapped Molly out of her befuddled state. Without a word, she took Ginny and Harry by their arms and marched them back into the house. Arthur followed. In the sitting room, Molly sat Ginny and Harry down on the sofa and stood over them, hands on hips. “Explain yourselves,” she ordered. Harry couldn’t meet her eyes, but Ginny’s blazed back at her. “I told you, we’re married. What’s to explain?” “Don’t get smart with me, young lady. You’re underage. And you’re pregnant?” She turned her glare on Harry who shrank back into the cushion. “You had relations with my daughter? My underage daughter? What in Merlin’s name were you doing? Thinking? Obviously you weren’t thinking. Well? What have you got to say for yourselves?” “We’re married,” Ginny repeated, still defiant. “And we’re in love,” Harry finally spoke. “And in six months you’ll have a grandson.” The back door opened and Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Ron, Hermione, and Fred entered. They stopped and looked at the tableau: Molly and Arthur, Ginny and Harry “I’m sorry,” Charlie said to his parents. “I thought that everyone knew. I didn’t mean to surprise you.” “Oh, it’s alright–” Arthur began, but Molly cut him off with her hand raised. “No, it’s not alright,” she snapped. “Think! All of you! Our daughter, our underage daughter, is pregnant, and Harry Potter is the father! We just lost our new leader, two months after Albus Dumbledore, trying to rescue Harry Potter! What do you think people are going to say? How is this going to look?” Once again she whirled on Ginny and Harry. “I’ll tell you how it’s going to look, like children are running amok at Hogwarts, like Hogwarts is a brothel!” “Molly,” Arthur said, trying to calm her, “that’s not reasonable. No one will say such a thing about Hogwarts.” “Yes they will! And if they don’t, you can be sure that You-Know-Who will tell them, and he’ll blame it all on Albus Dumbledore.” No one spoke. Harry glanced around; everyone was staring at Molly Weasley, uncertain. He knew he had to say something. “Mrs. Weasley,” he began, keeping his voice quiet, “Ginny and I love each other. We’re married. Believe me, it didn’t happen like you’re saying.” Fred made a noise in his throat and Harry shot a scowl at him. “I don’t know what other kids do,” he went on to Molly, “but whatever we did, we did because we love each other.” He reached his hand out and Ginny took it; they both rose and stood before Molly. Ginny kissed him on the cheek. They stood there holding hands. Finally Bill walked to them and took them in an embrace. Then Fleur joined him, then Charlie, then Fred and Ron and Hermione, and finally, with a gentle look at his wife, Arthur walked to Harry and Ginny and embraced them. Molly was standing alone, twisting her hands together. Her expression was not hard, but serious. She blinked several times; her eyes seemed moist. “Mrs. Weasley,” Harry said, but before he could say more, Molly put her hand up to stop him. “Call me Mum,” she said. Beside Harry, Ginny wiped a tear from her cheek and went to her mother. After the celebration, after they had finished off the bottle of champagne that Fred retrieved from its hiding place in the ghoul’s attic, Harry and Ginny stood by the garden with Charlie. His hand was on the neck of his dragon which was resting its head on the ground, its yellow eye watching him. “I’ll be back in a day or two,” Charlie was saying. “I need to get this guy settled in with Hagrid.” He grinned at Harry. “You said the right words, mate. It’s been a long time since I saw Mum this happy.” He turned his grin on Ginny. “Watch out, Sis, or she’ll bury you in baby clothes and nappies.” Ginny laughed. “She already told me we’re going into Diagon Alley next week to look for a crib.” Charlie also laughed. “Well, time to be off. The beast will be getting hungry soon and I don’t want him starting to notice the local livestock.” He gave Ginny an embrace and a kiss, then Harry got a bone-crunching hug, and Charlie mounted the dragon, using its elbow and front leg as a stepladder. Harry and Ginny backed away to the shelter of the Burrow. As soon as Charlie was aboard, the dragon raised its head, lifted its snout in the air, gave a roar like a peal of thunder, spread its wings and sprang into the air. It circled the house once and soared into the sky. Before it banked and turned north, Harry and Ginny saw Charlie wave at them. They stood gazing up into the sky, watching the dragon become a speck in the moonlight. Harry took Ginny in his arms. “You know,” he murmured into her neck where his mouth had ended up following the snog, “now that your Mum and Dad know that we’re married, they’ll probably be okay if we sleep together in your room tonight.” “Mmm, maybe,” Ginny said, then she gave a little moan as Harry ran his tongue inside her ear, then a giggle as he nibbled her earlobe. “You should ask them?” “Me?” Harry pulled his head away and looked at her; she was grinning at him. “They’re your parents and it’s their house. You should ask them.” “They’re your parents, too, now. She’s your mum, remember?. All you have to do is go up to her and say, ‘Mum, do you mind if I sleep with Ginny in her bed tonight? After all, we’re married, just like you and Dad.’” Ginny laughed at his stricken look. “Merlin’s balls,” he said, “she’ll hex me into oblivion. Voldemort won’t need to do anything.” “So?” She looked up at him with teasing eyes. “What are you going to do, lover?” Harry slid his hands down Ginny’s back onto her bottom. “I’m going to grab the bull by the horns and insist on my marital rights.” Ginny kissed him and pushed his hands away. “Come on, then, big boy. Show me how you do it.” They went inside, passing Bill and Fleur who smiled at them on their way upstairs. “Bon soir, sleep well,” Fleur said, and gave them a fetching, veela smile. In the parlor Fred, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in front of a low fire; no one else was there. “Where is, um, everyone?” said Harry, looking around. “Mum and Dad went up to bed,” Fred answered. He arched his eyebrows at Harry. “Did you want to ask them something? I’m still here, so you can ask me.” He grinned evilly. “That’s okay, Fred,” Harry said. “Say, Fred, isn’t it past your bedtime?” “Now that you mention it, it is time to turn in. It’s been a busy day, rescuing you and all that.” He stood, stretched and yawned. “I’d better go check on George, too. Have a nice night.” He smirked at Harry and Ginny, and sauntered out the door. They heard him climbing the stairs and then a door open and close. The house was quiet. Ron cleared his throat. “Listen,” he said, glancing at Hermione who had started straightening the pillows on the sofa, “I’ll be up in the attic room, and Hermione can sleep, erm, I mean will be sleeping in Percy’s room. So, uh . . .” He suddenly turned a bright crimson and took Hermione’s hand and pulled her quickly out of the room. At the door she looked back, smiled and winked. Ginny turned to Harry and put her arms around him. She peered up into his eyes and kissed him. “I never thought my honeymoon would be in my own home,” she said, “but it’s as good a place as any.” “I agree,” said Harry, kissing her back. “Especially today.” They went upstairs into Ginny’s room. Harry looked around; he had never been in it before. It was small, and there was a desk, a chest of drawers, a tall wardrobe, and a bed, a narrow bed . . . Ginny went to the window and closed the curtains but left the window open. Harry came behind her and put his arms around her, pulling her back against him. He buried his nose in her hair, took a deep breath, and began unbuttoning her blouse. Ginny turned around and kissed him and it went on while Harry’s hands were all over her inside her clothes and their breathing became faster and he pushed her down onto the bed and they crushed themselves together in their embrace and– A loud howl came through the open window. It rose and fell and rose, then another howl joined it. It sounded like two wolves, coming from right under the window. Harry jumped up, his clothes all disarrayed, grabbed his wand from the floor, and peered out the window; a second later Ginny joined him, also holding her wand. Standing right below the window were two figures wearing the clothes of Fred and George, but in place of the twin heads were two wolf heads, one of them with a bandage covering a missing ear. When they saw Harry and Ginny, they began howling louder, their heads thrown back, their arms outstretched. “Oh for Merlin’s sake,” Ginny said as the howls rang out around the Burrow. “What a pair of idiots.” “Shut up!” Harry yelled at the twins, but that only increased the volume. “What are we going to do?” he said to Ginny. Another window right above them banged open. Fleur’s voice called, “Alors, qu’est-ce que c’est? What are you two idiots doing? Allez! Allez! Shut up and go away! Leave them alone!” “Canis expellere!” came Bill’s voice. There was a flash and two bolts of light shot from the window above to the two figures on the ground. The spells hit both Fred and George in the chest, and they both suddenly fell to their hands and knees. A bushy tail sprouted from the seats of their pants and they both started barking. They jumped up and ran off into the woods behind the garden, still barking loudly. “That’ll hold them for a while,” came Bill’s voice from the window above as Fleur’s silvery laughter trilled. The window closed. Harry and Ginny grinned at each other. Harry shut the curtains, took Ginny’s hand, and led her back to the bed. “Now, where were we?” he said. |
| Reviews 6 |
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