| Firecrab
Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: melbourne
Posts: 887
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Chapter Sixty Six
He sighed waking up to James crying,
‘Hello son’ he wandered over ‘I’m here, mummy will be back soon’
He gurgled and reached out with little arms,
‘Let’s get you some breakfast before your sisters wake hey’ he made it to the door with him in the bassinette before there was giggling from the girls room,
‘Scratch that Jamie’ he looked in on them sitting on the floor with dolls and teddies. ‘Hello princess’ we’re going to have breakfast, are you two hungry?’
‘Pancakes’
‘Strawberries’
‘Bumpkin juice’
‘Pumpkin juice’ he corrected with a smile, ‘Ok’ he levitated James up in front of him, knelt for Faith to hop on his back and took Patience’s hand to help her down the stairs.
He placed James in his arms to heat up the milk with his free hand and feed him first as the girls occupied themselves with toys.
‘Daddy – Daddy?’
‘Yep’ he turned to Patience burping James on his shoulder,
‘Where’s Mummy?’
‘Mummy’s with Grandma’
She pouted nearly crying ‘In the fire?’
‘Erm… yeah’ he reached to comfort her with smile, ‘she’ll be back soon, don’t worry’
‘I want Mummy’
‘She’ll be back soon, I’ll have to do for now love’
‘I want Mummy!’
‘So do I love, you need to just sit down and I’ll get you some breakfast; then we’ll go and see her ok?’
‘I want Mummy!’ they both said loudly and James started to bawl in his ear,
‘Just sit down will you’ he jiggled James to quieten him down, ‘You’re upsetting your brother’
They pouted identically, held hands and cried.
He shook his head set James in the crib and knelt in front of them,
‘Sweethearts, stop crying, you’ll see Mummy after breakfast, I promise’ he lifted them up together and placed each in a high chair,
‘I’m going to make you some pancakes, drink some juice’ he poured it out into the cups replacing the lids,
‘Red’ Faith reached out, as Harry tried to hand her the yellow one, he switched them and then made for James giving him a hug and a soothing jiggle to ease his throaty crying.
Faith looked up ‘Daddy?’
‘What honey?’
‘Whys Mummy not here?’
‘She’s just gone for a rest, she needed some sleep and to see grandma’ he replaced James in the crib and searched for the ingredients for pancakes in the cupboard. He didn’t know where anything was and rubbed his forehead, eventually finding and mixing the mess in a bowl.
‘Daddy’
‘Yep’
‘Hungry’
‘I know, I’m making it now’
He lit the stove with his wand and held James as he cried pouring out the mix in small circles in the pan. He was forced to change James nappy on the mat until he smelt the burning.
They both called ‘Daddy!’
‘I know’ he sighed cleaning up James and having no doubt about how much Ginny was struggling, ‘Girls let’s get you dressed, we’ll have breakfast with Grandma ok?’ he threw the pan in the sink and turned off the stove.
He managed to have them both dressed and playing in the pen as he sorted out James again. He was sleeping as they all got on the knight bus to leave.
He hesitated at the door with James in the sling at his front and the twin’s hands in each of his.
Molly spoke ‘Harry?’ the door opened, ‘Come on in’
‘Is she here?’
‘Still asleep; Harry, come in’
‘Can you take them, just for a half hour, I need to tell work, they won’t let me take leave unless I do it in person’
‘Won’t you just stay for five minutes, see her for five minutes?’
‘I can’t until I’m certain I can be there for her full time, I don’t want to upset her, I’ll go and sort it out and then I’ll be straight back’
‘Ok’
‘Erm… I attempted breakfast and failed miserably’
‘I’ll sort it, don’t worry’
‘Thank you Molly, I won’t be long’ he handed over the girls as Arthur came out and smiled ruefully, gesturing for him to give him James’
‘I’ve got him; he’ll sleep right though if he’s with me, I’ve got all his stuff so she doesn’t have to worry about him’
He transferred him to a pram, settled him with blankets and a mobile before nodding as they apparated.
He pushed it through the building ignoring the strange looks and hurrying to avoid cooing receptionists. He arrived at the department. It was chaos as usual but always organised. He looked for his boss heading to see his own secretary first,
‘Emma’
‘Morning Harry, we have the – oh… is it bring a baby to work to today?’
‘I need to put in a request for immediate leave I’ve – I’ve kind of got a family crisis at the moment’
‘I can see that with you left holding the baby’
‘Can you get me a meeting with him?’
‘Sure’ she scrolled down a piece of parchment, ‘Give me James and he can squeeze you in now for ten minutes’
‘Life safer’ he handed over the bag, ‘He’ll sleep, just don’t disturb him but if he wakes, he’ll just want a cuddle’
‘Harry potter using cuddle in a sentence, never thought I’d hear it’
He knocked and went through to the office,
‘Sir’
‘Potter’
‘I have to step down, I can’t really say anymore on it, I need to help my wife and I can’t look after three kids under three and do the job, they’re my priority’
‘You have sick leave and some paternity leave available, take it; you have six weeks to sort this out’
‘It’s going to take longer than that’
‘I can’t have you leaving for any longer, your one of my best men, they look up to you; they follow you without hesitation’
‘I can’t do that while my family is at stake’
‘After six weeks I can offer you a job, part time so you still have some money coming in, consulting - no field work, no long hours, you just need to be available to profile, come in for some meetings and write reports for cases’
‘Sure’
‘I’ll fill out the paper work, take care Potter’
‘Thanks’
He made to apparate back to the burrow with James but changed his mind. He found himself at Sophia’s door and knocked.
‘Hey Harry’ she smiled holding her little one in her arm his little head poking over her shoulder, ‘You look like someone’s died’ her face fell, ‘What’s happened?’
‘Ginny’
‘Come in’ she gestured behind her and wandered inside burping little Harry as she paced. He closed the door and sat down with his head in his hands, James beside him in the pram.
‘Harry’
‘She’s depressed, ill, she can’t cope and it’s my fault, I just ignored that she needed help – what’s wrong with me that I can’t see my own wife struggling, that I don’t recognise she’s in pain and she needs help!’
‘It’s no good to worry about it, do what you can to help her; can you take some time off?’
‘I have, just been and organised it’
‘Where is she, and the girls?’ she shifted the babies weight in her arms and soothed his gurgling before it turned into a cry,
‘The Burrow, she left last night while we were asleep, I tried to manage them this morning and I had no idea how difficult it is, how hard, I’ve been letting her live in hell for the past how many weeks and she won’t tell me because she’s scared I’ll leave her instead of try to work things out, do I seem like I could do that, I couldn’t ever abandon her or them’
‘It’s depression, it’s not rational Harry, go to the Burrow, tell her you’ve sorted out time off to help’
‘It’s not just time, I get six weeks, and then I’m demoted to a consultant, a favour from my boss to keep some money coming in’
‘You have to sacrifice what you want to be there for them, it’s hard at first… but when you see how much better off they are with you around, I’ve come to terms with the fact I won’t be doing that much traveling for a few years and so has Charlie, I mean he already gave up dragons for me I had to be able to give something back and Harry Junior is now my priority – you have to keep in mind Ginny never had a choice’
‘She said she wanted them and now – it’s just James, she doesn’t feel connected to him, it’s like he’s just a screaming baby she has to deal with not her baby boy’
‘Once you’re there to help things will get better, she just needs support’
‘I know…’
‘No you don’t, not really’ she frowned, ‘But you will, being surrounded by kids is not it’s all cracked up to be, it’s hard enough work with one’
‘She said you don’t have any problems with Harry?’
‘You think I know what I’m supposed to be doing – he sleeps well enough now and I’m lucky for that but once he’s the same age as the girls I’m gonna be lost, she has that to deal with times two and a baby that won’t settle, no wonder she’s depressed and stressed out’
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RIP JD Salinger |