November 24
Harry was sleeping peacefully in his and Hermione's bed. Hermione, however, was not. She was looking at her boyfriend, taking in every detail of his face. She saw how, when he was asleep, he looked much younger. The way his long hair would cover his eyes when he'd toss and turn around, looking for a comfortable position. She saw the way his lips would part slightly, snoring slightly. One arm would lie under Hermione, the other resting on his chest. She thought he was wonderful, even in his sleep. She knew that he'd do no harm to her, nor his children.
She gazed at the clock, three forty-four, and decided that she should get some rest. The first task was after lunch today, anyway. She turned her body around slightly, facing Harry and snuggling closer.
0—0—0—0
Harry woke up and got out of bed. He walked out of the room and into the nursery; perhaps James and Lily were awake already. He walked in and saw Hermione there already, fresh and changing James' diaper.
"Morning," Harry said, walking into the nursery and picking up his daughter; he always did have a soft spot for her.
Hermione turned around and looked at him. He had a major case of bed-head, he was carrying Lily, and he was wearing nothing but his boxers. To her, he couldn't get any cuter. She smiled, picked up James, and walked over to Harry, giving him a kiss.
"Good morning, Harry." She walked out, putting James in his swinging chair. "Why don't you take a shower, I still need to feed and change Lily, anyway."
"Alright." He kissed his daughter's forehead and his girlfriend before he left.
He walked back, taking a pair of black jeans and a blood red shirt before going to the bathroom to take a shower. There weren't any classes, so he wasn't going to bother changing in his uniform and then change again for the first task. Fifteen minutes later, Harry emerged, hair dripping wet, and walked out to see Hermione. He saw her dressing Lily in a periwinkle sweater with black sweatpants. He went to his son, who was sporting a shirt that said 'Mommy spoils me' shirt and jeans. He smiled at his son, who just blinked and clapped his hands, and picked him up.
Hermione walked out from the nursery with Lily in her arms. "So, am I taking James and Lily to see the first task?"
"No, I don't think that'd be a good idea. I mean, you're only one person, and you have two kids. Don't you think that'd be a little hard to carry? Plus, what if something happened to them?" He asked.
"Well, true. I just thought that you'd like to see them once you've gotten whatever it is you've got to get from the dragon," she said.
"Might not even get it," Harry muttered.
"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, glaring at him.
"I said … nothing, doesn't matter," he said, hoping that she wouldn't ask further questions.
She sighed and walked over to the couch to get the baby bag.
"So, do you want to eat in the Great Hall today? We might miss out on a few announcements if we don't," Hermione said.
"Sure."
He walked over to her and took her hand, while carrying James with his other arm. Together, they walked out of the room and into Gryffindor Common Room. They saw Seamus sporting a huge grin, Dean looking at the twins, the first year girls looking at Harry, and Ron, staring at Hermione. Shrugging it off, Harry and Hermione walked toward the Great Hall.
On the way there, they bumped into Draco. He looked better than yesterday, that was sure, but his pin was still there.
"Hello," Hermione said smiling.
"Hey," Harry said.
Draco nodded and walked away, not sparing them another glance. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, wondering the same thing. Then, did they realize, that the Slytherin's weren't too far behind from Draco.
They sniggered at Harry and Hermione, and walked into the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione went in after them, sitting in their usual spots, near the middle of the table.
James instantly reached for everything that Harry piled on his plate. Harry laughed and repositioned him so it'd be harder for him to reach it. Lily was sleeping contently on her mother's lap, Hermione holding her securely with one hand, while she used the other to eat.
Dumbledore stood up and silenced the students. "Students, today is the day of the first task. It shall be held today after lunch, do not be late if you wish to attend. Champions, see me after breakfast. That is all, you may finish." He sat back down, going back to his toast and jam.
"What do you think he wants?" Harry asked.
Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe he just wants to wish you good luck, perhaps."
Suddenly, Lavender Brown came and sat next to Harry (a bit too close for Hermione and Harry's taste).
"Hello, Harry," she said, batting her eyelashes.
"Err, hi."
"Ooh! Let me hold James, please?" She asked. Harry looked at her doubtfully. He looked over at Hermione, and with the look on her face, he knew the answer.
"Um, sorry, I think it'd be better if I held him. He's still not used to having other people hold him. He's too young, you know," he said, trying not to be too harsh.
She snorted. "So you won't let me hold him, but you'll let Draco Malfoy hold him?"
"He-he never held him," Harry stammered.
"Yes he did, right before that Hogsmead trip.
"Lavender, he just doesn't want you to hold his son," Hermione said, joining in the conversation.
"Whatever," she mumbled. "Can I hold your daughter, then?"
"No," they both said in unison.
"Lily's sleeping, and I don't think everyone would fancy a loud cry with their pumpkin juices," Hermione said.
"Fine. If you didn't want me to hold them, all you had to do was say so," Lavender said. "Well, I'm going to go. Bye, Harry!" She kissed his cheek again and trotted off to Parvati Patil.
"She really needs to stop doing that," Hermione hissed.
Harry just nodded.
The usual morning owls came in, swooping down and sending letters. Harry saw that there was a letter, though, that was swooping towards him, but it wasn't Hedwig. It was a brown owl with white feathers on the wings. It swooped down, just barely missing James, and stuck out his leg.
"Stupid bird, almost hurt my son," Harry muttered, getting the letter. It nipped at it, making Harry's finger bleed. He opened the letter and read.
Harry Potter,
I didn't have an owl, but I got a howler a while back, and the owl hasn't left since. (I still don't know why, though.) I have been talking to Vernon, and he said that you, your girlfriend, and children will be able to stay for Christmas. I know you probably don't want to go, but I want to see the twins (yes, I want to see them, you haven't read it wrong), and Vernon promised that he won't touch your children.
If you wish to stay, you'll be able to stay for a week, and then stay with your… Godfather, if I remember correctly?
Oh, and tell Hermione hello for me?
Bye,
Aunt Petunia
Harry looked at it, shocked. He certainly had not been expecting a letter from his Aunt. He wondered, though, why she had gotten a howler. He looked over at Hermione, who, too, had gotten a letter, from her parents most likely. He tapped her shoulder and they switched letters. He saw that she looked near tears, and decided that it was because of the letter. He opened it and read:
Hermione,
A MURDERER?! AMURDERER?!HERMIONE JANE GRANGER, HOW—WHY—UGH! I'M NOT EVEN ABLE TO MAKE A PROPER SENTENSE ON PAPER BECAUSE I'M THAT OUTRAGED. I'm going to let your father write now; I need to calm down.
Hermione, why did you do this to us? Were we bad parents? What had we done that made you do such a thing? I understand that you were probably under the influence of something, but that doesn't mean you can stay with the boy. If only you had taken the abortion.
Your mother is here again, I'll let her talk now.
Hermione, dear, I can never hate you, remember that. Please, maybe you can find it in your heart to, perhaps, visit us for Christmas. You can leave those brats with your boyfriend and we can go skiing. Please, Hermione, none of this is your fault. I know that boy had something to do with your pregnancy (and not only in the natural way, either).
Please, love, realize what you're missing. You won't be able to make it through life when you're a mother at fourteen. Imagine what people will be saying. What about your career, your schooling? What about your chance at true love? I know that you can't find true love this young, you just can't. That boy was just taking advantage of you, Hermione. Please, listen to us.
Please, Hermione,
Mum & Dad
Harry forced himself to take deep breaths, knowing that blowing up wouldn't be good to do in the Great Hall, let alone in front of two infants. He looked over to Hermione and saw that she had tears in her eyes, threatening to fall from her eyes. She looked at him and silently asked to leave; he nodded and they got up. Suddenly, they heard a mad cry.
"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY, HOW COULD YOU?! ATTEMPTING TO SLIP A LOVE POTION; HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING?! YOU. DO. NOT. SLIP LOVE POTIONS INTO ANYONES ANYTHING! I AM DISGRACED, I FEEL ASHAMED TO HAVE RAISED SUCH A GIRL."
The howler then turned to Ron.
"AND YOU, RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY, HOW DARE YOU?! YOU AND YOUR SISTER, BOTH?! I FEEL SO DISGRACED, DISHONERED, SHAMED! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER, RONALD! IF YOU TWO STEP ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, NO MORE HOGWARTS FOR YOU TWO!"
The howler blew several raspberries before shredding itself up and falling to the table. Everyone suddenly burst out laughing, while the teachers looked shocked, all but two, though. McGonagall sat there, happy that Molly had such power of her children. Dumbledore sat there, unaffected by anything, yet affected by everything. He had told Malfoy that it was just a scheme to expel the two Weasley's, knowing that he just wanted to ruin Potter and Granger's lives. Though he could do that himself, having allies wasn't that bad.
Dumbledore saw that Harry and Hermione were just about to leave, so Dumbledore decided to cut breakfast short. He waved his hand, making all of the plates (most of which were half eaten) disappear. He stood up and silenced the Hall.
"Champions, now that breakfast is over, we need to speak to you. That is all," Dumbledore said, sitting down, looking at Harry once more.
Harry groaned. "I'll take James with me. I'll see you later."
She smiled a small smile. "Okay." He kissed her, lingering a bit, and kissed Lily's forehead and walked away.
Harry met Cedric, Krum, and Fleur on the way towards the vacant room.
"You know, now I never see you without your kids," Cedric commented.
"There ees notheeng wrong weeth haveeng to walk around weeth your cheeldreen," Fleur said.
"But then there is the diapers, those smelly diapers," Victor said, making a face.
"Well, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Harry said, playing with his son's hair, again.
They walked a little while more. Somehow when they were talking, someone had forgotten to put their hand on the rail, so they were now on the wrong floor. It'd take them a good ten minutes to figure out how to get back to where they were supposed to be.
"Arry, do you mind eef I hold your leetle baby? Eet had been so long seence I 'ave held one. I know how to hold one, eet is quiet seemple," she said, looking at James lovingly.
"Um … I'm not too sure, Fleur," he said, holding his son more securely.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought that you might just want to geeve your arms rest," she said, diverting her eyes.
Now that she had mentioned it, his arms were getting a bit tired. Holding a ten pound baby for hours at a time did tend to tire his arms out. He decided that since she was a girl (and probably had a lot more experience in babies than he did), that she could hold his son.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything. Here, you can hold James, just please be careful," he said, handing his son over to the blond.
She held him expertly. She balanced him at her hip, putting her left arm behind the small of his back, and her right arms placing his small head on her shoulder. James just blew spit bubbles.
"Vhy does he do that?" Krum asked, opening the door which led to Dumbledore.
"Baby thing, I guess," Cedric said, shrugging it off.
"Ah, Champions! Took you long enough!" Ludo Bagman said. He noticed the bundle of clothes that Fleur was holding and thought that it was one of Harry's children. He walked up to James and held out his hands, asking for permission. "May I?"
"Don't ask me, I'm not the mother. Ask the father," Fleur said, handing James back to Harry. Since James was sleeping, Harry had to be careful as to not wake the infant up. He brought his small head to the nape of his neck, while their chests were facing each other, Harry's arms wrapped securely around him.
"I'm sorry, he's sleeping. I don't want to wake him up," Harry said lamely.
"Oh." He paused. "Okay, anyway, today is the day of the first task. It shall be held today after lunch. Now I presume you've your uniforms?" At seeing every ones nods, he continued. "Today you shall be facing," he paused for dramatic effect, "dragons."
"What weel we be colleteeng from the dragon?" Fleur asked, not affected at all by the fact they were about to face dragons.
"An egg," he said, smiling widely.
"An egg?" the three men echoed, dumfounded.
"Not just any egg. No. It shall be a goldenegg, which shall, if you get it, hold the hint to the next task." He looked at the Champions and then to Dumbledore, who hadn't said a word at all. "Dumbledore, anything you have to say?"
He looked to be in thought for a moment, but then answered: "Yes, I do, actually. I wish you best of luck. And remember, do your best, Champions." He looked at everyone, lingering on Harry and James.
Dumbledore had a plan, but he wasn't going to act on it until Harry and Hermione had left for the first task. Hopefully by then, the house-elf (he certainly hoped that it wouldn't be Dobby) would let him in.
"Okay, I believe that you have people to see now," Ludo said. "You may leave," he said, smiling widely.
0—0—0—0
Harry sat on the couch, practicing his acciospell. The first task was in about one hour, and Harry still had to get ready. Hermione was feeding Lily and Dobby was already there, watching James.
Harry got up and went into his room, looking for his clothes. He looked under the bed, nothing. He searched the dresser and saw that only his uniform and muggle clothes were there. He knew that he had gotten it, he just 'forgot' where it was. He walked outside and saw Hermione smirking at him.
"Where-" Harry started, but was cut off by Hermione.
"Did you check behind the door?" She asked, smirking.
"Err… no." He smiled sheepishly and then ran back into the room. He checked behind the door, and there it was; the maroon jersey with 'POTTER' on the back, and the black pants with the thick maroon stripe running down the side of the pants. He took his leather gloves that were cut at the knuckles, and laced up his trainers and pocketed his wand. He walked out and nearly ran into Hermione.
"Oh, sorry!" she said. She picked off some imaginary lint off of his jersey and gave him a quick peck.
"What was that for?" he asked, smiling. She shrugged and went into the room to change. He rolled his eyes and went into the nursery.
"Mister Harry Potter sir! Harry Potter babies sleep a lot," Dobby stated his eyes wide.
"Yes, Dobby, that's usually what babies do. Eat, sleep, and … well, you know…" he said, turning red.
"Yes, yes, Dobby understands. I wish Harry Potter sir luck today. You shall certainly win, you are very powerful wizard." He went over to Lily's nursery and smiled. "Harry Potter sir is very lucky to be having little Harry Potter babies. Dobby do everything he can to make sure Harry Potter babies are okay."
"Thank you Dobby," Harry said earnestly.
"No, no, Mister Harry Potter sir. Thank you! If you had not saved Dobby, Dobby would not be here now," he said, huge eyes glistening.
"Dobby, listen. You have been taking care of my children since they were born; I think you deserve a lot thanks." He smiled at the small house-elf. Dobby nodded and went back to watching the twins.
Harry went up to the cribs and watching the sleeping infants for a moment. They were so peaceful, if only they were like that at nights. Lily and James never did like to sleep at night, always crying up storms because they were hungry, needed to be changed, or if they just liked the sounds of their cries, Harry didn't know. He bent down and kissed Lily's forehead, loving the feel of her silky skin on his lips and the tickling of his nose from the little patch of brown hair on her head. He walked over to James and gave his a kiss on his forehead and smiled. He really did love these kids. He didn't care how old he was; he loved them to death. The article that Rita Skeeter had written had one thing correctly, at least.
He sat on the couch and waited for Hermione to get out so they could leave together. She arrived a few minutes later and they left.
0—0—0—0
Harry was currently in the tent with the other champions and Ludo Bagman.
Fleur was talking with Cedric and Krum, while Harry was fidgeting with the hem of his jersey. He was nervous, that much was for sure. He wasn't too sure that he could get the golden egg now. Hermione had told him to summon his Firebolt, but now he was thinking of summoning something else. Something shiner; golden.
"Champions, gather around. We will find out what order you'll go in and what dragon you shall be facing," Ludo said. The Champions gathered around in a circle as Ludo brought out a small velvety purple bag. "Here, Diggory, take one first."
Cedric reached into the bag and pulled out a Swedish Short-Snout, with the bold number 1 on the back of it.
"Ah, yes, you shall be first. Mister Krum, you next." Krum pulled into the bag and pulled out a Chinese Fireball with the number 3 on it. Fleur went next and pulled out a Welsh Green. "And last but not least, Harry Potter." Harry, a bit hesitantly, knowing what his dragon was going to be, pulled out the Hungarian Horntail with a bold 4 on the back.
"Yes, well, now that you know what your order and dragon shall be, let's get this started, shall we?"
0—0—0—0
Dumbledore coolly walked into the Gryffindor tower, knowing that no one was there. He walked said the password to Harry and Hermione's room (being the Headmaster did have its perks), and glanced around. The living room looked like it would with any new parents; messy. The books on the left side (most likely Harry's side) were scattered around, forming messy piles of homework, scrolls, and quills. The right side was much less messier, with neat piles of scrolls and parchment and quills. There were baby things everywhere, unused diapers scattered the floor (on the left side, of course), and with the twins swinging chairs and cribs by the walls.
Dumbledore smiled. This was going to be easy. If only there wasn't a house-elf in the nursery. He walked in there and saw Dobby.
"Headmaster Dumbly!" Dobby exclaimed. "Pleasures to see you!"
"Good afternoon, Dobby. I suppose Harry and Hermione are treating you well?" He asked kindly.
"Yes, yes! Harry Potter sir and his miss treating Dobby very kindly! Dobby is very happy to be helping them with little Harry Potter babies! Dobby is going to be doing everything to be making sure Harry Potter babies are unharmed," Dobby stated proudly.
"Yes, I see," Dumbledore muttered. He was going to have to distract Dobby. "Dobby, we are in dire need to clean some of the bathrooms. Do you suppose you could help clean? I will take the honor of watching young Mister and Miss Potter for you." He smiled slightly, eyes twinkling away.
"Dobby will not be doing that, Mister Dumbly sir. Other house-elves can be cleaning without Dobby. I want to watch little Harry Potter babies," Dobby said, stomping his thin foot.
"Dobby, please, I promise I shall do no harm to the children."
"Mister Dumbly sir, Dobby is sorry, but Dobby will not be doing any work besides watching little Harry Potter babies," he said stubbornly, grapefruit eyes narrowing.
Dumbledore sighed. "Dobby, may I hold Mister or Miss Potter?" he asked kindly, as to not raise any more suspicion.
"Sorry Headmaster Dumbly, but Dobby cannot allow that. Little Harry Potter babies is sleeping right now, so you don't need to hold them." His eyes narrowed a bit more. He might've been a house-elf, but he certainly wasn't stupid. He knew that the Headmaster wanted to distract him from something and have the babies, but Dobby wasn't going to be letting him do that.
"Please, Dobby. I won't do anything, I promise," Dumbledore said, walking towards James' crib.
"Dobby says no!" the house-elf shouted, snapping his fingers, letting an invisible dome appear over the twins' cribs. Dumbledore still stuck his hands towards James' crib, but instead, got burned, fingers turning black. He brought his hands back, as if they had been burnt, which in a way, they had.
He inspected his fingers; they had been turned almost fully black, except his nails, which were nearly purely white. His palm, which had turned a light shade of blue, had started turning bright red. His hands hurt, though, a lot. He shouldn't have been acting towards Dobby like that. He should've known that Dobby was going to do something to him; going against a stubborn house-elf's wishes were not good.
"Headmaster dumbly, please leave. Dobby does not wish for headmaster to be here. Maybe when Mister Harry Potter sir and his miss arrive," Dobby said, looking down, as if just realizing what he had done.
Dumbledore sighed and turned. He was thinking of firing the house-elf, but then Harry and Hermione might get suspicious. Plus, Minerva would never allow it; she was already keeping an eye on him as it was. This was going to be even complicated than he thought.
0—0—0—0
Harry stepped out of the tent and into the huge open arena. Students were cheering, mostly for the other three Champions, but he didn't care. His biggest goal was to make it through the task alive. He looked around, searching for the mass of bushy hair. He saw her, the only one cheering for him, standing next to a few of the other Gryffindors. He ginned and walked further more into the ground, wondering where the dragon was.
He saw the golden egg and knew what to do. He started walking towards it, keeping an eye out for the dragon (where ever it was). The crowd started getting quieter, knowing that it'd be a matter of time until the dragon showed up.
Harry was getting nearer, thinking: This is easier than I thought. He was getting closer, a smile forming on his face. But he knew that it was too easy; the dragon had to be somewhere.
Suddenly, a great fireball erupted from no where and nearly hitting Harry. He jumped back and took out his wand, pointing it at the Hungarian Horntail. The dragon was chained, so hopefully it wouldn't be able to move too far.
Harry ran towards the egg, the dragon blowing fire from its mouth. Some of the fire caught on to Harry's pants, but he wasn't paying attention. He wanted to get to the egg—now. He ran towards the crowd and the dragon blew another fireball, heading in his direction. He ran out of the way and started running towards the golden egg again.
"HARRY! HARRY! YOUR WAND!" Hermione shouted from the stands. Even though the crowd was loud, he could hear Hermione quiet clearly, as if she were a few feet away.
He took out his wand, dodging another fireball, not paying attention to the extreme stinging emerging from his right calf, and shouted, "Accio golden egg!"
The golden egg came zooming towards him and Harry caught it. The crowd suddenly went silent as the dragon trainers came in and stunned the dragon.
Harry held the egg securely, as if scared it might fall from his arms. He suddenly noticed that his right pant leg was on fire and jumped, throwing gravel and dirt on to the pant leg. Once the pant had been extinguished, he lamely limped back to the tent.
"Harry," Cedric said, walking over and helping Harry to the seat.
"Oh move over, Mister Diggory," Madam Pomfrey said, shoving the young man away. "Oh Mister Potter, no matter what you do, you always seem to get some injury." She put some clear blue liquid on to Harry's leg and then started looking around her bag, seeing if anything else would be needed.
Harry hissed as the pain struck him; the burn was bad, that was for sure. He saw the burn slowly vanished and emitted a soft white glow, and his skin appearing after the glow dimmed more.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted, running inside the tent over to her boyfriend.
"Miss Granger! Wait patiently," Madam Pomfrey said sternly. Hermione sighed and sat next to Harry. After a few minutes, she got up and left, muttering about teenage girls and romance.
"Harry," Hermione said, hugging him tightly.
"Mione," he said after they had let go.
"Your numbers were posted. You were tied in first place," she said smiling.
Harry nodded and looked at their intertwined fingers. "So, how do you think I did?" he asked nervously.
"Well," Hermione started, "I must say I was surprised. I thought that you'd summon your firebolt, not the egg itself. But it was smart of you, Harry. No one else did that. I thought you did wonderfully," she said as she kissed him.
He smiled into the kiss and deepened it. He slid his tongue across her bottom lip, asking for permission. Hermione opened her mouth slightly, granting him it. His tongue probed her mouth, exploring, testing, tasting. Their tongues played for a few moments until they heard a loud cough. They broke apart quickly, both blushing madly.
"Now you don't want anymore children around here, do you?" Cedric asked teasingly.
Harry grinned and Hermione blushed even more.
"Well, good job, Harry. I must say, summoning the egg didn't even come to my mind. Smart," he said, patting Harry's shoulder.
"Thanks," Harry said, smiling. Cedric nodded and walked away, towards the other champions.
"Well," Hermione said after a few moments, "do you want to go now? I'm sure Dobby is tired of watching the twins for nearly the whole day."
"Sure," he said, getting up. Hermione got up and they laced their fingers together and walked out of the tent, not noticing that Dumbledore wasn't there even for a moment.