"You go on ahead, Harry. I'll catch you up. I've got some things to take care of before the match." Ginny squeezed his hand before letting go of it trailing her fingers across his palm to maintain the contact for as long as possible.

Harry smiled at his wife, and continued across the wide Hogwarts grounds towards the Quidditch pitch, while Ginny headed up the drive towards the front doors. He wondered if anyone could have predicted that she'd end up a teacher at Hogwarts when she'd been expelled almost a quarter-century earlier. But having some of the highest marks on her Ancient Runes NEWT had counted for quite a lot, as had her friendship and continued contact with Professor Stone, who had sent her students to tutor and had passed translation work on to her. When Rosie had decided to retire six years ago, Ginny had been the obvious choice for the job.

Harry hadn't been on the Hogwarts grounds as often as he might have been in the past years, but whenever he had visited his old school, it had always struck him how little the place seemed to change. The students all still wore their black robes; the rivalry between the Gryffindors and Slytherins was as hot as it had ever been in Harry's time there; Quidditch was still popular; Professor Snape was as greasy-haired as ever. There may have been a new generation of students, but it still contained the requisite Weasley redheads. Ginny's brothers had seen to that.

On the other hand, contrary to the way things had been in the past, the current generation of Weasleys were not restricted to Gryffindor. Percy had four children, and each had been Sorted into a different house. His youngest, the current Head Boy, was a Slytherin. That turn of events had come as a shock to the entire family, but most especially Ron. Ron was close with Percy's chess-loving son, and it had given Ron some mixed feelings as he was forced to confront old House prejudices. But it was perhaps even better that he had, in light of the fact that Ron's first three children had been Sorted into Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff respectively. It looked like a definite possibility that the youngest would become a Slytherin when she began to attend Hogwarts in another two years.

Whenever he came here, Harry felt the only thing that had changed was he, himself. Now that he was into his early forties, his black hair was beginning to show some grey at the temples, while the laugh lines around his eyes deepened slightly every year. But at the same time there was an air of contentment about him now. It wasn't anything he would have noticed in himself, but others remarked on it, and thinking about it, Harry knew it was true. He no longer became as nervous and uneasy around new people. He'd found his place in the world and was happy in it.

He climbed the stadium steps to the seats reserved for him and Ginny. He was early, and not many had arrived for the match yet. The students were no doubt all still at breakfast, even the teams who would be playing today. It was too soon for them to have come down to the changing rooms for some last-minute strategizing.

Harry didn't mind. It was a beautiful day for Quidditch: the sun was shining among white puffy clouds, but it wasn't too hot. There was a gentle breeze blowing across the pitch… Harry closed his eyes and probed his memory. He'd have loved to be in the air today. He could remember days like this from his youth, and if he concentrated hard enough, he could still feel the wind rushing past his ears as he scanned for the Snitch…

"Harry! Good to see you!"

George Weasley's voice broke in on his thoughts. He was climbing up the steps, Pauline in tow, followed by three redheaded children. Harry knew they'd arrived early on purpose, because George's progeny could never arrive anywhere without making a scene. At least only half of his family was here. The other three were up at the school.

"Hello, George. What do you think about Gryffindor's chances today?"

"They've got Mack, haven't they?" Mack was George's second-born. "With any luck he'll hit a Bludger that'll knock Stace off her broom."

"It hasn't happened so far," Harry commented.

Stace was Anastasia Krum, a sixth-year Ravenclaw, who had played for her house team since her second year. She'd apparently inherited her father's talent as Seeker, because she'd never been beaten in any match she'd played in. Her parents had decided to send her to Hogwarts for her magical education, since they were both teachers at Durmstrang, and they didn't want anyone to be able to claim favouritism where their daughter was concerned.

Harry sighed as he thought of Viktor Krum. Harry and Ginny had gone for several years with no word from him, but then Viktor had begun sending the occasional letter. They were always friendly in nature and included both Harry and Ginny in the greeting. It soon became apparent why. Viktor had met someone; a new teacher had been hired on at Durmstrang and Viktor was utterly taken by her. Harry and Ginny had even been invited to the wedding, but they hadn't attended. Given the history Harry just hadn't been able to bring himself to go, and Ginny hadn't pressed him on the matter.

More spectators were beginning to arrive as Harry and George continued to discuss the Gryffindor team's chances in this match. Harry looked up to crowds of students swarming down the front steps and across the sloping lawns. Here and there, he spotted a shock of red hair, but from this distance it was difficult to tell which of his nieces or nephews it might be.

Fred was helping his wife, Ami, up the steps to their seats. She was huffing and red from the effort of hauling herself up this high while sporting one of the largest bellies Harry had ever seen. She was a small woman to begin with, and being in the late stages of pregnancy with triplets had to make life difficult. It also didn't help that Fred and Ami were arguing over the outcome of the match. Since Ami was a former Ravenclaw, she must have felt outnumbered among so many Gryffindor supporters, which only served to make her voice her views all the more loudly. Once Penelope arrived, Ami, as well as Pauline, wouldn't feel quite so outnumbered.

"Nice seats you got for us, Harry," Fred commented. "A bit high up if you're expecting, but prime spots for the rest of us."

"Yeah, not like in the past where we've had to settle for down near the ground," added George. "Guess it helps to have connections."

"I don't know as how I'm any better connected than you are," Harry said to his business partners. "Only it was my idea to donate brooms to the entire school."

"And only the best brooms out there, if I do say so myself," said Fred with pride. In recent years, demand for the Phoenix, the broom Harry had so meticulously developed, had outstripped any other brand.

The others were arriving as well -- Ron and Hermione had their youngest in tow -- but Ginny still hadn't put in an appearance. Harry wondered what could have possibly been keeping her. He'd thought she'd only had some minor business to attend to before the match, but it must have turned out to be more complicated than she'd expected. Looking around, Harry noticed that none of the other staff members were present yet, either.

Ron had overheard the last comment about the broom donation. "Did you really have to donate brooms to the entire school? Seems to me you could have left out the Slytherins."

Fred and George both laughed. "That's Harry for you. He has to play fair."

"Besides, we, er, doctored the Slytherin brooms."

George had lowered his voice as he made that last comment, but Harry overheard it all the same. In any case, he knew the twins well enough to have suspected foul play. "You may have, but I replaced them at the last minute," Harry informed them, grinning.

"You're no fun, are you?" Fred grumbled.

"Speaking of brooms," Ron said, "you'll never guess who I saw the other day, Harry."

"Who?"

"Went to a Cannon's match, and well, you remember that pillock who used to work in Hermione's office? The one that got the sack right after she started working for the Ministry?"

"You mean Gervaise St John?"

"Yeah, him. Anyway, he was taking tickets at the match. Guess he couldn't get anything better."

Harry couldn't help laughing. "You'd think after all these years he'd have been able to find something better than that. I guess Mrs Mutt was right about him all along."

"Have you decided on any names for the babies yet?" Hermione was asking Ami. "I've always loved the name Aloisius, myself. If I'd had another boy…"

"What about Poindexter?" Pauline chimed in. "Or Angelo?"

"Or Ignatius?" mentioned Penelope. "I'd got Percy convinced to name our last one that, and he changed his mind at the last minute."

"Actually," said Ami, "we asked the midwife, and she said they were girls."

Harry shook his head as the other women immediately began to suggest such other creative names as Hortense and Lavinia. He had to make an effort not to laugh. Ginny had gone through the same thing both times she'd been pregnant, but she'd stuck to her guns and given their two children what Harry considered nice, normal names. Still, he didn't suppose he could expect any less from Penelope, who had named her children Prudence, Ipheginia, Theodora and Ambrose. Pauline had been just as inventive, naming her six Leonard, McCarthy, Harrison, Astrid, Stokeley and Magus, while Ron and Hermione had chosen to call their children Siobhan, Philben, Eugene and Wassalissa.

"What about Elizabeth?" Ginny had arrived at last. The other women looked at her as if she were daft to suggest such a name. "It was just an idea," she added.

"Actually, we've already decided what to call them," said Ami. "Although Fred insisted one of them be Suzette, but I don't like that. I want to call them Buffy, Magenta and Buttercup."

Harry rolled his eyes at Ginny as she took her seat next to him. She smiled back at him and patted his knee as if they were sharing a private joke.

"What kept you?" he asked.

Ginny let out an exasperated sigh. "You know, I only needed to run to my office for a moment and pick up some papers I'd forgotten yesterday. It should have been a simple matter of going to get them. But I was halfway up the stairs when all this smoke began pouring out of the Great Hall. It seems as if someone--" here she jerked her head in George's direction "--decided today would be a good day to play a joke on all the teachers."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You think George…" he began in a whisper, leaning closer so she could hear him.

"No, not George," Ginny hissed back. "Lenny."

"Just Lenny?" asked Harry. "Don't you mean Lenny and Mack?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so. Lenny always manages to drag Mack into his schemes, but you know it's Lenny who thinks most of it up, don't you? Then he convinces his brother to go in on it with him, and arranges things so Mack gets all the blame. That's what you get when you put a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor together. One has the brains to think the pranks up and the other has the nerve to follow through. It's a dangerous combination if you ask me."

"What makes you so sure it was Lenny?"

"It had to be Lenny in this case. I don't think Mack's marks indicate he's quite up to this level of prank. It was quite complicated. It involved explosives and enhancing spells, and it was designed to make a huge mess without causing any real damage. And you know pulling something like that off involves some pretty delicate work."

Harry nudged her. "I suppose you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, shut it." But she was smiling as she said it. "In any case I don't think Mack could get away with a prank like that."

"So are you going to give Lenny a detention?"

"Oh no, just a good talking to. He thinks he can get away with putting his brother up to things like this, but he needs to realise someone's on to him. The start of the match is going to be delayed because of this," Ginny added.

"They're not going to try to stop Mack from playing, are they?"

"No, I don't think so. I tried to smooth that much of it over. If they'd been playing Slytherin today it might be another story. Severus wasn't very happy when his breakfast blew up in his face. But since it's Ravenclaw, and Filius is a bit more easygoing, there shouldn't be a problem."

Harry smiled at her. It was still strange to hear her refer to their former professors by their first names. As they continued to wait for the start of the match, Harry looked out across the pitch. He spotted his eleven-year-old daughter, Catherine, sitting with her Weasley cousins when the sunlight glinted off her glasses and her bright red hair.

As time dragged on and the match still hadn't started, Harry began to lose track of the conversation around him. For some reason the sight of his daughter's hair brought to mind a memory of the day she'd been born.

*

"You can go in now, Harry," Molly said as she emerged from the bedroom.

"Is… What… How…" Harry stuttered.

"Ginny is doing just fine. She's done this once before, you know. And you have a lovely, healthy little girl. Go on, they're waiting for you."

Harry didn't need to be asked a third time. He hurried into their bedroom to find Ginny propped up among the pillows, smiling but tired-looking. She held a tiny bundle to her breast.

"Hi," he said softly to his wife, as he moved to sit beside her and look over her shoulder. "Your mum said it was a girl."

"Yes, and she's going to have my hair, I think." Ginny moved the blanket aside so Harry could see a tiny red-faced new-born suckling hungrily. Her head was covered with sparse reddish fuzz in direct contrast to the full head of black hair Alexander, their two-year-old son, had come into the world with.

There was a knock on the door, and Molly stuck her head into the bedroom. "If you think you'll be all right, I'll just pop home for a bit. Make sure Arthur is getting along all right with Alex. I've seen to the midwife already."

"That's fine, Mum," Ginny replied. "Thanks for everything."

"It's nothing, dear. I'll be back after a while with some supper for you both." Then Molly was gone, leaving Harry alone with his wife and the newest member of their family.

He put an arm around Ginny's shoulders and watched his new daughter nurse. It was amazing to him that such a tiny baby would soon be growing, and that this time next year she'd be walking and talking. "She's beautiful," Harry said at last.

"She is. And just think. This time we'll be able to send out birth announcements."

Harry had to laugh at that. Hedwig had mysteriously disappeared when Ginny was about six months along with Alexander. Harry had been worried as the months had bone by and Hedwig had not returned. He'd considered getting another owl, but he reckoned there was no point to it. Any other owl but Hedwig wouldn't be able to find him or Ginny, he was certain. Plus it had seemed like a betrayal to him. By that autumn, Harry had resigned himself to the fact that she wouldn't be coming back.

It came as rather a shock when, on Halloween, there came a familiar tap at the window. Hedwig had returned, dishevelled and exhausted, followed by eight smaller, greyer owls of varying sizes. The nearest Harry had ever been able to reckon was that Hedwig had decided it was time to have a family of her own and had gone off to have one. It had made all the more sense when, with the passing of the years, it became apparent that Hedwig's children were also able to find Harry and Ginny wherever they might be.

"Are you all finished?" Ginny was saying to the baby. "Are you ready to meet your daddy?"

She handed the tiny bundle over to Harry, who placed a hand carefully behind the child's head. Harry couldn't stop the broad grin from spreading across his face, nor would he want to. "Hello there."

He held her so he could study her face for a moment, taking in the tiny turned-up nose, the rosebud mouth, the slate-grey eyes as they opened for a few seconds before she closed them again. It was difficult to tell whom she took after at this stage. Alexander had been born with the same eyes, but his had darkened to brown by the time he was a year old.

"What are we going to call her?" Harry asked Ginny, as he brought the baby up to his shoulder and began to pat gently.

"I think she looks like a Catherine," Ginny replied.

"Catherine Lily Potter, welcome to the world," Harry said to his daughter, although he had no doubt she'd already dropped off to sleep by now. "Do you want to have a nap?" he asked Ginny. She'd been up most of the previous night in labour.

"Oh, I might drop off, but I'm fine right where I am," she replied, snuggling up against his chest.

Harry sat for a while, holding his wife and child, thinking that while little Catherine had barely looked at him now, soon she'd be able to focus on him, to recognise him and know who he was. Her father. He remembered Alexander looking at him like that, with a baby's wide, trusting stare, perhaps breaking into one of those early smiles. It was difficult for him to fathom, a child's love for his parents, a love that came from nowhere, from no previous experience. Why would he be worthy of such simple and complete trust?

He'd been rather intimidated at the prospect of parenthood when he and Ginny had first begun to discuss the possibility seriously. They'd begun to talk about it off and on once they'd been married several years, but they'd kept delaying their decision. Their first years together hadn't always been easy, as they adjusted to both married life and getting by with no magic, so they'd thought it best to wait before having children so they could enjoy themselves once they'd settled in.

Then Molly had begun to drop broader and broader hints, but Harry had still been hesitant for a while. How could he -- someone who'd grown up in a loveless environment -- possibly be a good father? But upon reflection, he realised he didn't have any problems around his nieces and nephews. Feelings for them had developed in him surprisingly easily. And when he'd held his son for the first time, they'd been far, far stronger.

Now with his daughter it had happened again. He was capable of love. He should have known that, considering how long he'd loved Ginny and her family. Perhaps he wasn't the freak after all. The Dursleys had been the freaks.

"Ginny, do you think she's…"

He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. He felt that if he said it out loud he'd jinx something. But Ginny knew what he was talking about. "Time will tell, I suppose," she replied groggily. "Remember Alex?"

"Yeah, I remember…"

*

As he did at the end of every work day, Harry activated his Portkey and after a few moments appeared at the front door of Knightstone. He opened the front door, not quite knowing what sort of state he might find the house in but not really caring, either. Since the birth of his son almost ten months previous, the living room was more often than not in a state of happy chaos with all manner of toys strewn about the floor. The fact that Alexander was now crawling and pulling himself up into a standing position on anything handy hadn't helped matters. It had increased the mess potential by several hundred times, in fact.

To his surprise, however, he entered a perfectly tidy house. The silence in the room led Harry to conclude that Ginny must have taken Alexander outside to play in the late afternoon sun. Walking into the kitchen towards the back door, he was surprised to find Ginny sitting calmly at the table, sipping at a mug of tea and reading a magazine.

"Harry!" she said in surprise, looking up. "I didn't know you were home already!"

"I'm a bit earlier than usual," he said, smiling as Ginny got out of her seat and came over to welcome him home properly. "No sense in being part owner of your own broom-making outfit if you can't set your own hours from time to time, is there?"

Ginny nodded her agreement and settled into his embrace. Harry laid his cheek on the top of her head and enjoyed the moment of calm. It was actually unusual for him to get home this soon. In the early years of getting the business off the ground, he hadn't been able to afford to take too much time off. Now that their operation was becoming more and more successful, he still didn't have a lot of free time. But today had been different. It was almost as if he'd had a premonition that he ought to go home to his wife and son.

"It's quiet," Harry remarked after a few moments. "Has your mother taken Alexander for the afternoon?" He suddenly wondered if this had been the reason for his feeling he should come home. An empty house and several hours alone with his wife were beginning to sound like a very good idea. He pulled Ginny closer and began to move his hands in slow circles over her back, while bending his head to nibble at her ear.

"Don't get any ideas, Harry," Ginny said, ducking away. "He's here. He's still napping."

"He is?"

"He must be. You know that if he were awake he'd be sure to let us know about it."

Harry couldn't disagree with that. Alexander had recently decided it was great fun to pull up to the side of his cot and throw all his plush toys onto the floor. Unfortunately his fun only lasted as long as there were toys to throw. As soon as he ran out of entertainment, he'd begin to make his dissatisfaction known to everyone in the house.

"Shouldn't we get him up? He'll never go to sleep tonight at this rate."

Ginny sighed. "I suppose you're right. I just lost track of time. I'm not used to the quiet anymore."

"Sit down and finish your tea, Gin. I'll go get him."

Harry headed out of the kitchen and down the corridor to the nursery. This was an addition to the house they'd bought over ten years earlier. When Harry and Ginny had first discussed having children, they'd wondered about moving into larger quarters, but both of them had become attached to this little house. They'd gone as far as to buy it from their landlord, so that they now owned it outright, and they'd both agreed it might be better simply to add on to what they had here.

As Harry approached the closed door to Alexander's room, he thought he heard a giggle. So the little imp was awake after all and amusing himself with his latest favourite game. Harry braced himself for the howling that was almost sure to begin any moment now, but it didn't come. Alexander must have just woken up.

Harry eased the door open. "Hello there," he greeted his black-haired son.

The sturdy boy was holding onto the bars of his cot with one chubby hand and clutching Ginny's old stuffed dragon in the other. Upon seeing his father, he smiled, showing his two front teeth and exclaimed, "Da!"

Harry's smile broadened. "Yes, that's right. Daddy's ho-" His words were cut off as the dragon hit Harry squarely in the forehead. Harry laughed. "With an arm like that…"

He stopped, horrified. He'd been about to say his son was a Chaser in the making, but he couldn't allow himself to think in those terms. He couldn't see any reason his and Ginny's children would possess any magical ability when neither of their parents did. He couldn't let himself entertain the idea that his own son would ever know what it was like to fly on a broom his own father had designed, the wind in his hair.

Harry forced a smile back to his face. Alexander was out of toys to throw. It was time to get him out of his cot before he decided to complain. But then Harry caught the look on his son's face and stopped. Alexander looked as if he was concentrating very hard at something, and Harry waited, resigned to having to deal with a soiled nappy in a few minutes.

But Alexander wasn't working at filling his nappy; he was staring at the dragon on the floor. Harry followed the baby's gaze, and his own eyes widened in amazement as he thought he saw the dragon move slightly. Harry shook his head. He must have imagined it.

In the next instant, Harry knew he hadn't imagined it. The dragon levitated a few inches off the floor before falling again. He looked back at his son; Alexander's brow was furrowed in concentration.

"Ginny," Harry called hoarsely, taking a step backwards. He could barely get his voice to work. "Ginny, come here."

The dragon was hovering off the floor once again. It was rising into the air. Alexander was holding out a hand to it.

The sound of Ginny's footsteps sounded in the corridor. "Harry, what is it?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"Look," was all Harry could manage to say.

The dragon was now in Alexander's hand. The baby was smiling and holding out his toy.

"What happened?" asked Ginny. She hadn't seen it, Harry realised.

"I… I don't know," Harry said. "I… It looked like a Summoning Charm."

"Harry…"

"I'm serious, Gin. Look."

Alexander was doing it again. He was staring hard at a plush bear, which was lying in the corner. After a few attempts, the bear levitated off the floor and floated into the baby's chubby hand.

Ginny let out a gasp of amazement, and Harry felt his throat begin to burn. Ginny stepped over into Harry's arms, the tears already beginning to leak from her eyes. Harry's own eyes were beginning to water as he held his wife tightly against him. He'd never thought it possible.

"He's magical, Gin. He's magical," Harry whispered into her hair. He began to shudder in his amazement. He felt a sob rise in his throat, but he allowed it escape. It was a sound of joy.

He'd always known there was a chance that his and Ginny's children might be magical, but he really didn't know enough about it to be able to say how great the chances of it happening were. There was also an ever-present sense in the back of Harry's mind that if he voiced his hopes aloud something might happen to keep them from coming true. At times he'd wondered if Ginny felt the same way, because it was a subject they'd never discussed before. It looked as if they'd have to now, and they would. As soon as Harry recovered the use of his voice.

*

The announcer's voice brought Harry back to the present. The Ravenclaw team was filing out to the field as they were called upon. The names of the two final players announced echoed through the stadium as the Ravenclaw supporters went wild. Anastasia Krum walked out onto the field behind Beater Irene Finlay, her black hair flowing out behind her in the breeze. She moved gracefully over the ground in direct contrast to her father, but she was every bit as deadly in the air as Viktor had been.

"And now the Gryffindor team!" roared the announcer.

Harry, Ginny, and the rest of the assembled Weasleys shifted forwards in their seats.

"Weasley!"

George let out a loud whoop as his son McCarthy came onto the field in his scarlet robes, his Phoenix clutched in one hand, and his Beater's bat in the other.

"Hackett!

Harry felt Ginny lean closer to him and grasp his hand. "You know, when I look down and see this, I know it was all worth it," Ginny whispered in Harry's ear.

"Johnson!"

Harry was shocked at her words. Even though he'd heard her say them in the past, he still had trouble believing she really meant them. "You do? But… You lost so much."

"Bloom!"

"But I got more than I gave, didn't I?" Ginny said.

"Sawyer!"

"How do you reckon that?" Harry asked.

"Miller!"

"Harry, I may not have my powers anymore, but I've learned to live without them. And I have you and Alex and Catherine. What more could I want? Gefinn may have cheated me out of my magic, but in the end she gave me what I needed most. Because I don't think we'd have been able to stick it out the way we have if I hadn't lost my powers. So, yes it was worth it. I wouldn't change a thing."

"And… Potter!"

Harry's heart swelled with pride as he watched his thirteen-year-old son file out onto the field, the last of the Gryffindor team. Something told him that Stace Krum's perfect streak for catching the Snitch in every game she played in was about to end today.

THE END

I owe the largest debt of thanks to Maid Marian, without whose help I would have become stuck way back on about, well, chapter one, really, and I'd have never finished this in a million years. She didn't want me to put her name on this, but in all honesty she is the co-author of this story. She stood in the background, blocked scenes with me, role-played dialogue, and basically cracked the whip, saying, "I want 1000 words in the next half hour." And believe me when Marian says jump, you jump.

Secondly to my betas. A huge thanks for all the time you put in reading through my huge chapters and offering suggestions. All my betas are excellent authors in their own right, and I urge you to check out their work: Amy, Firebolt909, Harpinred, Jo, and Magoo.