Tabitha was the first to rise; she always was. She stretched a bit and sat up. Quietly, she tip-toed out of her room to Julie’s.
Julie slept peacefully in her crib. She already had a thick head of messy black hair. She opened her eyes to see Tabby standing over her. “Hiya little girl,” Tabby whispered to the baby, who looked up at her with big brown eyes- exactly the same eyes as all of her brothers. Tabby lifted her sister out of her crib and carefully placed her in her arms.
Julie didn’t make a sound as Tabby rocked her; she was perfectly comfortable. Tabby looked in awe at her sister, who looked exactly like Trent, Chris, and Ed, she even had the same knowing eyes and the same messy black hair. Julie clasped her small pudgy hands around several locks of Tabitha’s red hair, and fell into a fitful sleep.
Tabby was trying to pry Julie’s hands from her hair when she heard a small cough come from the doorway. Looking up, she saw her mother standing there with a smile on her face. “I didn’t want to disturb you. You looked so happy holding your sister,” Ginny said to her daughter.
Tabby placed Julie back in her crib. “Thanks Mum,” she said after she kissed her mother’s forehead.
“What for?” Ginny asked, hugging her eldest daughter. Tabitha usually regarded her mother with the air of an annoyed teenager. At this age, it was odd for Tabby to kiss her mother, let alone thank her for anything.
Tabby returned the hug happily. “For giving me Juliana,” she said, using Julie’s real name. Tabby and Ginny- who were already the same height- held on to each like that for a couple of moments, until Ginny said, “Tabby, why don’t you go clean up,” she said, more of a demand than a question.
Tabby raised her eyebrows mischievously. “What?” she asked. “Do I smell bad?”
Ginny sighed. “No, you smell fine. But, by the time you get cleaned up, I can have Julie fed. Then if you watch her, I can clean up. We’ll be out of the house before eight to go shopping in Diagon Alley.” Tabby grinned. These were words she understood perfectly.
She hurried to the bathroom to take a shower. In her hurry, she slipped and fell a couple of times. Fortunately, none of the men woke up from the rather large crash that came from the bathroom. In just a matter of minutes, Tabitha was dressed to go.
She found her mother in Julie’s nursery, exactly where she left her. Her mother smiled as Tabby came in. “That was quick,” she said in surprise. “Here you go,” she said to Tabby, then to Julie she said, “Mummy will be back soon.” She strategically placed Julie in the nook of Tabby’s arm. When she was sure Tabitha had a good grip on Juliana, she headed off to the bathroom.
Tabby sighed and sat in the rocking chair in the corner. She felt content sitting there with her baby sister in her arms, and was almost upset when her mom finished so quickly. “Ready,” Ginny said. “I even remembered this time to write a note to your father saying where we went. I swear, I forget one time and he gets all upset,” she finished with a grin. Tabby laughed; the one time that her mother forgot to leave a note, her dad got all worried, thinking that they were kid napped by angry ex-Death Eaters. Even though this is a serious matter, Tabby and her mom laugh uncontrollably every time it is mentioned. Needless to say, Harry doesn’t think it’s that funny.
“Mum? How are we going to get to Diagon Alley with Julie?” Tabby asked. Babies as young as Julie were advised not to Floo, because of the lack of oxygen you receive when you travel by fireplace. A grown person, or even someone Ed’s age, could do them just fine. But a baby only a couple of days old....
“We are taking the car to London. We should get to Diagon Alley just fine if we go through the Leaky Cauldron,” Ginny replied with satisfaction.
“Oh,” said Tabby. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ she thought to herself. It was the obvious answer. Her mother wouldn’t risk Julie’s health just so they could take a pleasure shopping trip. Thinking of another question, she asked, “Did you tell dad in your note that we will be taking his car?”
Ginny chuckled. “Yes. Of course. Your father loves that thing.” She grinned. “He’s probably think some Death Eater took it if I didn’t tell him we were using it.” She and Tabby laughed at that. Ginny calmed down first. “We shouldn’t be making fun of your dad. He just cares for us, and he worries,” Ginny’s tone turned grim. “Ever since the news of the Azkaban break-outs, he’s been worried. I don’t think he’s be able to go on without his children.”
Tabby silently agreed. Her father loved all of his children, and was afraid some Death Eater will take them. “I don’t think he’d be able to move on with out you either, Mum,” she whispered as her mother clipped Julie into her car seat.
Ginny kissed the top of Tabby’s head. “I know I wouldn’t be able to even live if anything happened to any of you.”
Ginny studied the brick wall for a couple of seconds as Tabby held onto Julie. She pulled out her wand and lightly tapped several bricks. When they started to move, Ginny jumped back in surprise. “I thought it would be at least my third try until I got it right.” She laughed. “I guess my memory is better than I thought.”
Tabby sighed. “Mum, you’re a mum. Of COURSE your memory is better than you think it is.” She smiled as she thought of the time her mother first caught her kissing a boy. “Remember when you caught me kissing Josh?” When her mum nodded, she continued, “You said that you remembered me whispering something to Quinn about it the night before. So, of course you run into the room where I happen to be snogging my boyfriend.”
Ginny smiled at her daughter as they walked through the gate into Diagon Alley. “You should thank me. After I caught you two, he broke up with you. You deserve a better boyfriend than one is scared of your parents’ wrath.”
Tabby laughed so hard that Julie woke up.”Mum,” she exclaimed. “Dad defeated Voldemort! You helped! Who isn’t scared of you?” Tabby laughed even harder at the shocked look on her mom’s face. “Oh, Mum. I was just teasing,” she reassured Ginny.
Julie’s eyes opened, and she let out a soft cry. Tabby handed her over to Ginny, who gently rocked her. When Julie calmed down, Tabby asked, “Where do we go first?” She had her eyes on the new Quidditch store“ Quidditch Store.
Ginny caught where her daughter was looking. “We can go there, but I want to go visit your uncles for sure. They haven’t seen Julie yet.” Ginny’s twin brothers, Fred and George, were the co-owners of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, the best place to buy jokes, gags and wags (Tabby never really understood the wags part, but her uncles said that all the time).
Tabby grinned. “Look who it is, Mum,” she said, after she spotted a tall and rather horsey-looking woman approach them.
Ginny groaned. “Don’t tell me it’s Brita again. I swear if she bugs me one more time, I’ll give into the temptation of slapping her.”
Tabby laughed. Ginny was a popular writer and editor for The Daily Prophet, and Brita Crippen was her biggest fan. Trent and Tabby often laughed about this, and they swore Brita was stalking their mum. Ginny didn’t think it was very funny, though.
“Let’s walk really fast and pretend we don’t know her,” Ginny whispered to Tabby. Ginny grabbed Tabby’s wrist and started walking as fast as she could with an infant on her hip.
Unfortunately, they didn’t walk fast enough. “Yoo hoo! Over here,” cried out Brita as she tried to walk faster to catch up to the Potters. When she was right behind them, she said, “Ginny, you silly coot! I know you’re there.”
Ginny spun around with a look of fake surprise and happiness on her face. “Brita! Oh, I didn’t hear you! Silly me, I must be going deaf.”
Brita laughed her horsey laughter, then she spotted Tabby. “Oh, Tabby!” she exclaimed. “You’re getting taller and taller every time I see you!” Tabby couldn’t help but notice her overuse of exclamation points when she talked.
“Well,” said Brita, “I must dash. Hopefully I get to see you again. I want to talk to you about your article on the elf movement,” she added to Ginny. She gave Ginny and Tabby a hug, kissed Julie on the cheek, then ran back into the crowd.
Ginny sighed and Tabby grinned. “That lady needs to get a life,” Tabby told her mother. Ginny pinched her lightly on the elbow, although she was laughing at the same time.
Ginny looked at a small building with signs flashing in the windows. Tabby opened the door as her mother, with Julie in tow, walked into the cramped joke shop. In a flash, Fred and George Weasley appeared at their side.
Fred tickled Julie’s toes. “Another one that looks like Harry, eh? C’mon Ginny, you can at least give us ONE Weasley.”
Tabby gave her uncle a look of mock hurt. “What am I now? You talk about me like I’m the family’s owl.”
George laughed. “Good going, Fred. You just insulted the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes heir.” He messed the top of Tabby’s hair.
Ginny laughed. “What about your own children? Wouldn’t Zach and Casey like to take over?” Zach was Fred’s ten year-old son, and Casey was George’s three year-old son.
Fred sighed. “Zach is to much like his mum. All serious about school work. Hard to believe I married that woman, actually. And Casey is to small to tell, although he already seems like a more reasonable candidate than Zach.”
Tabby looked at her watch. “Mum, we need to get going if we want to get everything on our list done.”
Fred and George kissed the top of Julie’s head. “Bye,” they said in unison. They each gave Ginny and Tabby a hug and went to go attend a boy who looked like he might shoplift a fake wand.
Ginny and Tabby slowly made their way out of the shop, letting the door’s bell ring behind them.
Mother and daughter pulled into the drive to find Trent trying to teach Chris Quidditch in the front yard. Harry walked out the door and waved. Tabby noticed that he was holding a crying Eddie.
Ginny got out of the car to go attend Ed, while Tabby unhooked Julie from her car seat. Harry kissed Ginny, then handed her Ed.
“I’m making lasagna for dinner. Is that okay?” Harry asked as Ginny tried to calm Ed down, but it was Tabby that answered.
“That sounds delicious. I’m starving.” She handed Julie to her mom after Ginny put Ed down. “I’m going to go join Trent and Chris, tell me when dinner’s done.”
She left her parents and two youngest siblings to grab her Hummingbird. It wasn’t as fast as Trent’s Lightningbolt 130, but it was faster than the ancient Firebolt her father refused to get rid of, even though he had a much faster broom than that one.
She ran out to join Trent as he tried to show Chris how to mount a broom the correct way.
“No, Chris,” he said. “If you mount it that way, it makes it hard for you to be comfortable on a broom. Especially if you’re a bloke.”
Tabby mounted her broom and took off, calling out from the air, “Come on, Chris! You can do it. Live up to the Potter Quidditch Legacy!”
Chris sighed loudly, so loudly that Tabby could hear him from where she was floating in the air. Then he said, “I don’t want to play Quidditch! I want to just focus on my schoolwork.”
Tabby held her hands out, palms forward, in a dramatic fashion. “Please, say no more. You’ll make my heart give out and I’ll die.”
Chris threw his broomstick aside and stormed into the house. Trent picked up his broom and set it up next to the fence. He mounted his broom, the proper way, and flew up to join Tabby. “Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team this year?” he asked. “You completely bombed it last year.”
Tabby stood up straighter. “I didn’t bomb it, precisely. I just had a little problem with nerves.”
Trent threw his head back and laughed. “A little problem? You were about as green as moss. I was tempted to call you the Lochmoss monster for awhile, but decided against it.”
Tabby was about to retort when she heard her father’s voice call, “Time for dinner!” She flew down as fast as she could, just to prove she could fly better than Trent.
Tabby, Trent, and Chris walked into the common room. Immediately, Tabby went to sit next to Nikki and Quinn, who were playing chess.
“Hullo,” Nikki said. “How was your weekend?”
Tabby grinned. “It was great, yours?”
AN~ This chapter goes to ginger_sporty_gal for her great review. It made me feel special :D
Also, a big thanks to my beta, butterflykisses. You two rule!!