If one was to peer into the Potter's lounge just then, they would have thought the occupants had been hit with a Petrificas Totalis spell. Nobody moved. James Sirius and Lily each occupied an end of the sofa, and Harry and Albus had a chair each. Ginny was the only one missing, having just dropped a bombshell on the family before Flooing to an appointment.

Albus was the first to speak. "Did I just hear mum say that? Like, aloud?"

James snorted. " She was kidding, right? Dad...right?"

Harry sat, dumbfounded.

Lily piped up. "Is it April Fools?"

Albus grinned. "Lil, it's July and we're home on summer holidays." Albus was a sixth year at Hogwarts, James, seventh and Lily third.

"Mum does have a weird sense of humour, though," mused James.

"About this, though? This is more than just weird...it's...ugh," complained Albus.

"How could she be?" asked Lily, still taking it in.

James smirked. " Dad, you want to explain to Lily how Mum could get into that...situation?" Then he scowled. " On second thought, don't!"

Harry opened his mouth then shut it, stunned. Speaking was impossible right now.

His children eyed him worriedly. "Dad, you had no idea?" asked Albus.

Harry turned glassy eyes at his second son. "Ba...ba..." he stuttered, lost in his own mind.

James stood; somewhat angry. "How could you two be so irresponsible? You're constantly telling me to respect my girlfriends, to always think with my big head, not my little one," he ranted at his father. "You drilled that damn charm into me so I could do it blindfolded, and now THIS!"

Albus sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin Scorpius and I don't have to worry about that."

Scorpius Malfoy was his boyfriend of a year now. Both families had been supportive when they had announced the change in their relationship, from best friends to boyfriends.

"What charm?" asked Lily, curiously.

"Never you mind," chorused James and Albus, fiercely protective of their little sister.

Besides, third year was the year the witches got the talk from the school's healer about the changes they could expect to their bodies.

"Dad, is this why Mum's been sick all week, every morning?" asked Albus.

Harry swallowed, nodding. "P-possibly."

James came to sit on the arm of his father's chair, no longer angry. He patted his shoulder. " Poor guy, you had no clue, did you?" His tone was one of both sympathy and amusement. Not much could turn Harry Potter to stone.

Harry gulped, shaking his head.

James nodded sympathetically. "Personally, I thought you were too old for that."

Harry snorted. "Do you know me and your mother?" he asked, rhetorically. They were well known amongst the family and their friends for being unable to keep their hands off each other, even after all these years of marriage. But this?

James sighed. " I know, but I mean, you're old! Like, heading for fifty!"

Harry shot him a scorching look. "I'm heading for forty-five, James, and it's not uncommon for witches to have babies even in their fifties."

They all stilled. Harry had said it, the B word.

" A baby," breathed Lily. She brightened. "I won't be the youngest any more." She perked up. "It might be another girl!"

Harry groaned. Even at thirteen, nearly fourteen, he could already see Lily was going to become a beautiful woman, and he apparently wasn't the only one. On their return from Hogwarts, he'd heard James mention the many Gryffindors who were keen on his daughter. Harry had gone into full blown protective mode, until Ginny calmed him down. Could he handle another daughter? What if she was as fierce and stubborn and beautiful as his wife and daughter?

James shook his head. " No, it'll be a boy, it has to be. There are already enough Weasley girl cousins, we need more men."

Lily stood, her hands on her hips. " Well, I want it to be a girl."

"Boy," protested James.

"You're both being ridiculous. It's Dad's sperm that decides if it's a boy or girl," noted Albus.

All three Potter children turned to look at their dad. He shifted uncomfortably. "That's true, Albus," he finally said.

James screwed up his nose. "Ew, I don't want to think about Dad's sperm."

Harry closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. A tension headache was looming, he could feel it.

"Well, I don't want to think about mum and dad still having sex!" announced Lily, screwing her nose up, even though she thought it sweet how much they kissed each other.

And there it is! Harry now rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the sudden throbbing. He wished Ginny were here, she was a perfect foil for James' sense of dry humour, could reassure Albus that everything would be all right with just a few words and assure Lily that they would have a 'girls' talk. "We may be old-ish, but we're not dead," retorted Harry.

"You'll be close to sixty when this one starts Hogwarts," remarked Albus. "Oops, I mean, fifty five."

"Ha, everyone will think you're his grandpa, not his dad," laughed James.

"But she'll have us, too," reminded Lily. "I can braid her hair when its long enough."

"He might be a Slytherin...or a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. I can let him...or her, know it will be okay to be in a different House," realised Albus.

"I'll be old enough to babysit. I can share some of my stuffed toys with her...and you boys wanted me to throw them away," Lily scoffed at her brothers.

"Scorpius and I can buy him books, and we'll read to him...or her," he added, as Lily opened her mouth to contradict him.

There was silence, they were all lost in thought. "We can teach him to play Quidditch," suggested James. "We can teach him to play Chaser, then we only need two Beaters, unless... hey, Dad, any chance it's twins?"

Harry stared at his eldest son in horror. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?Your mum just drops this bomb on us, that she's going to the healers for a pregnancy test, and now you're asking if it's twins?" He actually put his hand on his heart.

" Dad, aren't you happy? Excited? Amazed?" asked Lily.

"I really don't know what to think, Lil?" admitted Harry. "I thought our days of nappies and sleepless nights with a baby was behind us, at least till we became grandparents. I certainly didn't expect this!"

" Dad, this is a good thing, really," said Albus. "I, for one, am excited. Can I tell Scorpius?"

"Me too," nodded Lily. "Babies are so cute!"

"Yeah, when they're not crying during the night, or pooping their pants," scoffed James.

"Actually all you kids were pretty good sleepers," remembered Harry, " especially you, James. It was all so new for your mum and me, and we'd heard all the horror stories about being woken during the night. Three days after we brought you home from the hospital you slept for close to eight hours straight, much longer than we thought you would. Ginny actually poked you to, to make sure you were still alive."

" Is that how I got my dimple?" teased James, putting his finger on the indentation on his cheek.

"And you, Albus, you were such a good toddler. Always keen to chase after James and Teddy, you were walking before you were nine months old," chuckled Harry.

"What about me, Dad?" asked Lily eagerly.

Harry looked fondly at his daughter. "You were an angel, sweetheart," he said, winking at her. She had fit so perfectly in the crook of his arm, he had never wanted to put her in her cot.

"Well then, what's wrong with having another one?" asked Albus.

"Yeah Dad, look at how fabulous we are!" smirked James.

"And we're old enough to help you and mum when we're home for the holidays," offered Lily.

"Woah, woah, for the record, I will not change any dirty nappies," protested James, holding up both hands. He smiled. "But I guess would be nice to have a little one around at Christmas." He held up his hand to cover his mouth before mock whispering to his father. "I don't think Lily believes in Santa any more."

Albus chuckled while Lily squealed. " Oh yes, we can tell her about Santa, and grandma and grandpa Potter, take her to Godric's Hollow – "

"Show her the snow for the first time...I mean him. Teach him to skate on the pond at the Burrow," suggested James, ignoring his sister's triumphant cry at his slip up.

"Looks like the Potters are ready for baby number four," exclaimed Albus.

Harry smiled, looking around at his kids. Suddenly things didn't seem quite so bad at the thought. "How about an ice cream sundae?"

They all headed for the kitchen, with Lily jumping on Albus' back. They teased each other over toppings, but Harry was suddenly in such a good mood, so they all ended up having all the flavours as well as nuts and marshmallows.

"To Baby Potter," toasted James.

"Baby Potter," toasted Harry, Albus and Lily. They all clicked their ice cream sundaes together.

They were just finishing up when Ginny came in, looking for them. "Here you all are, ooh, ice cream."

She bustled around the kitchen, grabbing a bowl, opening the freezer to get out the ice cream and added chocolate topping, nuts and marshmallows. All the while unawares that her family were watching her closely.

She grabbed a spoon and sat at the table. She took a big scoop of ice cream and brought it to her mouth when she finally became aware. " What?" she asked, shoving the spoon in her mouth.

"Ginny!" cried Harry in exasperation, while the kids cried, "Mum!"

"So, what was the result?" asked Harry, expectantly. James nudged Albus, while Lily looked excited.

" Oh, right. I'm not pregnant. Whew, right?" she teased, wiping her brow.

There was silence, then Lily asked, " So, no baby?"

"No baby," confirmed Ginny, scooping a big serve of ice cream on her spoon.

" But..." Lily looked at her dad, then back to her mum. " Excuse me." She quickly left the room.

Ginny watched her go. " Is she all right? What have you guys been doing since I left?" she asked.

"Making plans for the future, but I guess they don't matter any more. I-I'm just going to go and fire-call Scorpius," said Albus, tearing up. He hurriedly got up and left the room.

Ginny watched him go, looked at Harry, then James. Her eldest son eyed her with scrutiny. "So, when you say 'no baby', do you...could you really mean, there's actually two? You can tell me, now the young ones are gone."

Ginny started coughing as her ice cream got stuck half way down her throat. "Merlin, are you trying to give me a heart attack, James?" she teased, unknowingly echoing Harry.

"Damn," sighed James. He slid off his chair. "I'll be in my room, practising a certain charm if you need me."

Ginny smiled at her son, then returned to her ice-cream. Harry nodded at James, then eyed Ginny as she finished her dessert, and went to rinse the dirty bowl in the sink.

"Two, can you imagine?" she asked, chuckling. She turned back to her husband, running her hand across his broad shoulders. " So, do you – oh, Harry!"

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap. Laughing, she wove her arms around his neck. He nuzzled her throat. "Would it have been so bad?" he asked quietly, not even sure he wanted to hear her response. "Another one?"

She pulled slightly away from him, to look into his eyes, his beautiful green eyes that still melted her heart when he looked at her like that. " After all this time?" she asked him. He nodded slowly. "Oh, Harry," she said softly, drawing his head to her breast.

Just then, the doors to the kitchen opened and all their kids returned. " So if you're not having a baby, what's wrong with you?" asked James.

"Mum, are you all right?" asked Albus, worriedly.

"Merlin, its something bad, isn't it?" cried Lily, coming to her mother's side.

" No, no, I'm fine. It was just a badly made potion, is all," reassured Ginny. " Should be out of my system in a couple of days."

" A potion for what?" asked Albus.

Ginny hesitated. "My contraception potion," she admitted.

"Wait-what about the charm?" asked James, to Harry.

Ginny answered for him. "Your dad doesn't always remember the charm," she admitted.

Harry blushed under his son's accusing eyes. James crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head at his father.

"Merlin, I'm so glad I'm gay," announced Albus, making everyone laugh.

"So what did I miss while I was out?" asked Ginny, curiously.

James, Albus and Lily exchanged looks, almost having a private conversation between them. Finally Lily spoke up. "We decided we'd like to have a baby in the house."

"Oh, you did, did you?" asked Ginny, amused. She looked at Harry. " What do you say, want to go upstairs? I'm good for two more days?"

"Ew, Mum!" cried James and Lily.

"Don't tempt me, witch," whispered Harry.

Ginny kissed him quickly, then turned to look at their kids. "You'll simply have to wait for Vic and Teddy to have one," she shrugged.

"They only just got married!" cried Lily. Now that she had thought about it, she wanted a baby around, and she wanted it now. She looked at Albus. " You and Scorpius could adopt...after Hogwarts, I mean."

"Psst, want to freak our kids out a little?" whispered Ginny to Harry, a look of mischief in her eyes.

Damn, he could never resist her when she had that look in her eyes. " Always," he grinned.

"Hold on," she ordered, and with a silent pop, she Apparated him away.

Albus had been mulling over Lily's comment. "Yeah, I guess we could. I hadn't really thought about it before."

James nodded. "You two should totally do that. You'd both make great dads."

Albus smiled. "Thanks, James."

"Don't you agree, Dad? " asked James. He looked around when there was silence. "Dad? Where did they go?"

They all looked around the kitchen, then at the sound of a bed squeaking, looked up at the ceiling. Their parents' room was right above the kitchen.

"They wouldn't," said Lily, looking at her brothers in horror. "Would they?"

"Course not," agreed Albus, somewhat doubtfully. He looked at his brother. "James?"

James was shaking his head. "It's one thing to want another brother or sister, it's another thing to be here listening to it happen. Merlin, make it stop!" He put his hands over his ears as the squeaking became louder.

"Yeah," agreed Albus. "I'm out of here. I'm going to Malfoy Manor. See ya." He quickly hurried to the lounge to use the Floo.

"Oh no, you don't get to leave us here. We're coming to Malfoy Manor with you," announced James, grabbing Lily's hand and dragging her along.

"What will I tell Scorpius' dad?" asked Albus in despair.

"Anything but the truth," despaired James. "Mum, Dad," he yelled. "You're setting a terrible example for your children, so we're going to go and visit Scorpius. We'll be back by tea time. Hopefully, you'll be done by then. Ugh." He cringed at his last words, and Flooed away after his brother and sister.

Upstairs, Harry and Ginny stopped jumping up and down on their bed. "That will teach them," panted Ginny. "Twins! Merlin, I think I am having a heart attack. Harry, feel my heart, it's racing," she announced.

Harry lay panting on the bed, but reached out to lay his hand on her chest. " Racing," he agreed. His hand slid lower, caressing her breast.

"Ha-rry," she purred, arching into him. "Wasn't it clever of us to get rid of the kids for the whole afternoon?" she asked, laughing. Her fingers reached for the bottom of his tee shirt, and she grazed her nails against his skin.

He suddenly needed to feel her against him, skin to skin. He quickly pulled his tee shirt over his head, then lay over her, his hands working hers slowly up her body.

"Harry, love?" she breathed.

"Hmmm?" His mouth was busy laving her neck.

"Don't forget the charm, love," she reminded him, in a husky tone.

He hesitated, only to feel her smack his arse.

"Harry!"

~end~

LOL, did Harry do the charm or did Ginny become pregnant? Let me know what you think!