InsaneJournal

[fic]
Summary: Neville wakes up. Comment fic, reposted to fix random tense change in the middle.

Blossom

The first thing Neville thinks as he wakes up on the day after his birthday, the first after the Battle of Hogwarts (it gets a capital B now) and the end of the Second War, swallowing against the bitter, fluffy taste in his mouth is "Needs more milkweed."

The second thing he thinks is: "Whose hand is that?"

He opens his eyes, squinting blearily in the callous sunlight. All he can see is red and black and he has an awful moment where he thinks he's still at Hogwarts and the whole battle thing, capital or otherwise, had been a horrible, brilliant dream. His eyes snap shut again. When he tenses, there's a muffled, annoyed noise against his shoulder. The hand on his chest slides over a little. Fingers curl against his hip and Neville's pretty sure he hasn't woken up yet, because his next thought is "that's a long hand" before he realises this is impossible and says, "Um. Hi."

"Bugger," someone says in his ear. "Is it morning?"

"'s light," someone says in his other ear. It's definitely not the same someone. The voice is deeper and rougher, and rather familiar.

"Harry?" Neville tries.

"'m sleep," Harry says.

The other someone snort-giggles and the hand on his chest goes away, there's the sound of a smack, and it comes back. Neville thinks "red" and runs down a list in his head until he gets to "Ginny?"

There's a sleepy hum against his neck.

"Huh," Neville thinks, and forces his eyes open again, blinking until he can focus. It's bright. The sun is filtering in through the slanted roof of the greenhouse he suddenly remembers escaping to to avoid the press. There were robes masquerading as blankets, three empty glass (one knocked over), a smushed piece of cake and a few, scattered, half-ash leaves.

"I think," says Neville slowly, "I think the pixie puff might have been a bit more potent than I thought."

"Is that what I can taste?" Harry asks, sounding more awake. "I thought that was you two."

Ginny laughs and Neville feels himself flush. She shifts away from him, and he hears crystal clink before she rolls back, waving a glittering vial at them. "Who was the genius who thought to bring Revitalift with us?"

"You are a goddess incarnate," Harry says fervently, snagging it deftly from her hand, laughing at her noise of protest and taking a swig. He shudders. When he breathes out, it smells like spring. His body, pressed against Neville, feels like summer.

Ginny, autumn crowned, tries to grab the vial back, and Harry grins, holding it out of reach. She pouts and says, "Neville! Tell him!"

"Um," says Neville.

"I think we wore him out," Harry says in a way that isn't even slightly apologetic. He takes another swig from the vial and then, before Neville quite registers the movement, presses his lips to Neville's own.

Neville misses the taste of the potion under the taste of Harry, misses the rejuvenating prickle under the slow swipe of Harry's tongue. When Harry, an age and no time later, pulls back, Neville's gaze goes automatically, guiltily to Ginny, but she just grins at them.

"Boys," she says in an affectionate, mocking tone. Harry waves the vial at her, and Ginny snatches it back, sticking her tongue at him, before offering it to Neville.

"I already," he starts and then, "Oh, you," and, "Yeah, okay," and it's surprisingly easy to take a sip and roll them over and seal his mouth to her giggling own.

That really is some good stuff.

When he remembers to breath again, he finds Harry's hand is drawing lazy patterns up and down his back. Ginny's flushed and breathing hard and the sun is dazzling through the glass.

"Good morning," Ginny says. Neville grins back.

"You know," Harry says thoughtfully, "that means it's my birthday now."

"Would you like a medal?" Ginny asks, idly hooking an arm around his neck.

"We have some already," Neville says, and can't help laughing when the other two look at him. "Order of Merlin!"

"First class," Harry agrees, and kisses Ginny quite thoroughly, and then Neville too and someone says "Happy birthday!" and for a long while after that laughter and joyful sounds echo from the leaves and glass and out, away, over the lake, into the sun.

The dragon-bells grow exceptionally well that year.


Summary: Harry goes to the zoo. Commentfic, reposted because too long for one comment.

Animal Magic

Harry could no more explain how his plan to spend his birthday with his kids had somehow changed into him taking an entire horde to the local muggle zoo than how he had somehow lost Scorpius Malfoy somewhere between the penguins and the snakehouse, partly because he had been mediating an argument between his own three at the time, but mostly because Draco was practically shoving his wand up Harry's nose and it was rather distracting.

"I can have you arrested, you know," he announced over Draco's frothing fury.

"Arrested?! Arres--" Draco swung around, still stabbing at Harry with his wand, and bellowed, "Arrest this man! Roughly!"

The zookeepers looked at him in confusion.

"You're surrounded by cages," Draco sighed. "Just throw him in one. Throw him in that one, with the sonic torture device." He pointed.

Everybody looked. Harry sighed.

"That's the ice-cream van," said the zookeeper.

"It's the stress," Harry said. "It's gotten to him." He grabbed Draco by the elbow and dragged a few steps away. Lowering his voice, he hissed, "International Statutes of Secrecy!"

"Of course I'm stressed," Draco yelled at him. "You've killed my only son. I demand bloody vengeance!"

"I haven't killed him," Harry insisted. "He's just temporarily misplaced."

"I'll temporarily misplace you!" Draco bellowed.

There was a pause that would have been quiet if there hadn't been a bunch of watching Weasleys cracking up in the background.

"I'm really not sure what to say to that," Harry admitted, trying not to grin.

"Why are you all hanging around here?" Draco complained. "You should be out, throwing yourself in the face of danger and rescuing my son from whatever mortal peril your incompetence has left him in."

"He's fine," said Hugo, licking carefully at a ridiculously large double-coned ice-cream. The others stared at him. "You said I could spend my Muggle money on whatever I liked, Uncle Harry."

"I didn't really mean all at," Harry started.

"Fine?!" Draco cut in. "How do you know he's fine?!"

"If he wasn't, we'd've noticed," Hugo said, pulling one of the Flakes out of his ice-cream and considering it for a moment. "I mean, he has his wand--"

Half the kids chorused "Hugo!" at the same time, while the other half groaned.

"I thought I told you all to leave your wands at home," Harry said. James quickly shoved Albus forward and then looked at the sky, whistling innocently. Harry sighed. "How many of you have--" Every hand except James's and Hugo's went up, although Hugo's were occupied and James was casually edging. Harry sighed again. "I really have to learn not to leave the house without Ginny."

"She's never lost Scorpius," Draco said primly. Albus opened his mouth to speak, clearly thought better of it, and closed it again. Draco eyed him suspiciously before adding, to Harry, "Where is the little woman anyway?"

"Oi!" complained James. "Don't call mum little, baldy!"

"James Sirius Potter!" Harry snapped.

James blinked at him. "Yeah, mum does that full name thing better."

"I," said Draco furiously, "have a fine and distinguished head of hair and anything you have heard to the contrary is lies -- scandalous lies!"

"Can't we go looking for him?" Rose asked. "There are lots of us. We can spread out, and search in areas, and then report back."

"And then I would have a dozen missing children, not just one," Harry said, "and you can stop right where you are, James, that includes you. I don't care that you are the oldest. No, what we're going to do is... Um."

They waited.

"You don't have a clue, do you, Potter?" Draco asked. "I knew that Auror training was a lie."

Harry sighed. "Look--"

"Can we have an ice-cream?" Lily asked. "People think better on a full stomach."

"I've definitely read that," Molly agreed.

"Me too," Fred chimed in, and there was a rising chorus from the others, before Harry waved them quiet.

"I will get you ice-creams, if you promise to stay here while you eat them, so we can go and find Scorpius." There was a chorus of agreement. "And give me your wands." There was a pause and then a grumble of agreement. "Okay."

"Bribery and corruption," Draco said. "Your parenting skills astound me."

Harry ignored this, digging in his pockets for money. "Who wants what?"

"Ooh, are we having Muggle ice-creams?" Scorpius asked from behind him. "I like the ones with the chocolate stick things in them. They make them out of kemmy-cools!" Everyone stared at him. "No, really."

"See?" said Hugo.

"Scorpius!" Draco cried. "Where have you--"

With a mighty trumpet, a pair of elephants buldozed past, shaking the ground with their footfalls, and scattering the monkeys that scampered up to jump from cage to cage, hooting and howling.

"Right here?" tried Scorpius.

"...well, good luck with that," Draco said, grabbing Scorpius. "Happy Birthday, Potter!"

They apparated away as Harry sighed, Albus patted his arm, and the lions roared, bounding majestically past...