Epilogue - 4

"Merlin, I hope they don't get Ron pissed. That's all he needs to completely send Hermione over the edge," Bill said, shaking his head. His expression belied his words, however. Harry suspected that he really did hope Fred and Charlie got Ron pissed.

Harry snorted. "Hopefully they've practiced their Sobriety Charms."

"If not, I'm certain Mum will sort them all out – she certainly had to take care of you after your stag night," Bill said, laughing fondly.

Harry scowled at the memory. "You lot left me outside wearing nothing but my pants!"

"It's your fault for getting so pissed. The Savior of the Wizarding World and all – you should be able to handle your Firewhisky better than that," Bill said.

"Everyone has their flaws," Harry said, disgruntled. "It's not as if it's Ron's real stag night, anyway. We took care of that last weekend. Fred and Charlie just needed to get away from all those hens."

He scowled at the 'Savior of the Wizarding World' comment. He still hated the vast number of titles that were used when referring to him. The anniversary of the date when Voldemort had fallen had been proclaimed as Potter's Day and was celebrated the way Muggles celebrated Bonfire Night. Harry usually tried to escape the festivities by taking a seaside holiday during that time each year.

This past Potter's Day, Fred and George had invented t-shirts depicting Voldemort's downfall. They'd been unable to sell it, however, because Harry's image refused to remain in the shot.

"Heh, Charlie's always run when the witches start to cluster, but I think Fred is closer to wanting George's lifestyle than he's ready to admit," Bill said sagely.

James shifted his attention from Harry's collar then reached out and grabbed his glasses, making cooing noises all the while. It took Harry a moment to pry them out of the baby's little fingers and readjust them on his face. When he did, the world was distorted through a hodgepodge of smeared fingerprints. Harry quickly cast a spell to clean them.

"Papa, you promised to fly! Take me! Take me!" Claude said, tugging on Bill's hair to regain his attention.

"Ah, a promise is a promise," Bill said, smiling and disengaging his ponytail from his son's tight grasp. "Care to join us?"

Harry shook his head ruefully. "I promised Ginny not until his first birthday," he said, regretting that vow more and more. "We're going to continue our stroll."

Harry hoisted James more securely on his shoulder and walked along the fence surrounding the Burrow's property. The crisp October wind caused James to shiver and cuddle closer to his dad. His little eyes widened when the wind gusted in his face, and Harry laughed out loud at the shocked expression.

James's first Halloween was approaching, and Harry wanted to make it special. He knew the baby was really too little to appreciate it, but Harry was enjoying experiencing all the childhood things he'd missed through his son.

He'd been so terrified when he'd first learned that he was going to be a father. What did he know about raising babies? He'd certainly had no experience to base anything on. If he'd thought Ginny would be a great source of information, he was sadly mistaken. Ginny was the baby of her family, and she was nearly as clueless as he was about what to do.

After several long and calming conversations with both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, they had relaxed – a little. Harry still worried about how he'd handle it when it came time to discipline his son. He certainly didn't want to do anything to follow Uncle Vernon's example. He'd begun paying much more attention to how Mr. Weasley interacted with his sons, and closely watching Bill and George and how they related to theirs.