Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump

Chapter 1

A/N: This story was written for the Twin Travel Challenge on SIYE. The prompt was Harry and Ginny's uncanon twins, Lily and James, managed to appear from the future and our objective is to identify the children based on the description given, explain how the children got where they are, and remedy the problem. This story will have at least 3-4 chapters. Enjoy!

"So when Snape turned around, BAM!" Fred exclaimed, pounding his fist on the table. The rest of the people around the table erupted in laughter, all except Mrs. Weasley who narrowed her eyes at the twin boys.

As was typical of a Sunday evening, the Weasley family along with Harry and Hermione gathered around the table for dinner. With their dinner plates now cleared away, the group chose to pass their time reliving their time at Hogwarts. It was only a couple weeks before school would begin and Fred and George were recalling some joke products gone wrong the previous year. However, none of this seemed to amuse a frowning Mrs. Weasley. It was apparent that she did not approve of their aspirations.

When the laughter died, George sat back in his chair with a sigh. "Shame it didn't crack his skull," he muttered.

"George!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"Come on, Mum, even you think he's—"

"Professor Snape is your teacher!"

"He was our teacher, but—"

BANG!

The loud sound caused everyone at the table jumped in their seats and sent a wave panic down everyone's spines. The same thought raced through each mind causing them to freeze in their chairs except for the adults who silently pulled out their wands. Hermione shot a worried look at Harry. "Hide!" she mouthed to him, but Harry only shook his head. He understood her concern, but he wasn't going to back down from a fight. If Death Eaters had penetrated through the wards around the Burrow, they were coming for him, not anyone else. Getting to his feet, Harry along with Mr. Weasley, Charlie, and Bill crept into the living room where the noise had come from.

"What did you do?" someone shrieked.

"It was an accident!" another voice answered.

Mr. Weasley and Bill stopped in the door way, their wand arms falling to their side. Charlie and Harry, who were attempting to get a glimpse over their shoulders, gaped at their potential threat. A boy and girl, appearing no older than seven-years-old, were facing each other, each looking quite frightened. The little girl's flaming red hair whipped from side to side as she spoke to the other boy who resembled Harry with his messy black hair and glasses. At the sight of the clan in the doorway, the girl's expression quickly changed to look pleadingly at Mr. Weasley. "Grandpa!" she cried. "James did it. I was just watching to see what would happen."

"Well, Lily told me to," the boy countered. "I didn't think it was working."

The girl shot the boy a sharp look when it was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley who shoved her way into view, pushing the four men aside. Yet one look at the pair of seven-year-olds and any strength that Mrs. Weasley had promptly diminished as her form collapsed on the ground. With Charlie and Harry's help, Mrs. Weasley was moved inside of the kitchen where Mr. Weasley attempted to revive his wife. Yet, when Harry turned back towards the living room it was to find the little boy at his waist grabbing a hold of his shirt.

"Dad! You've got to believe me!" the boy cried, his messy black hair shaking wildly. "Lily made me do it!"

"I did not! Mum!" the little girl shouted, running to Ginny who had just entered the room.

Harry could only stare in disbelief at the little boy still tugging at his clothes in front of him. Dad? Had he heard him right? But that wasn't possible. Harry had barely turned fifteen and his most romantic moment was drooling over Cho Chang at the Yule Ball the previous Christmas. Dad? Him? He glanced at Ron and Hermione who had just entered the living room. Had the situation not been so shocking, it might have been comical the way Ron's face paled and Hermione's figure froze in place.

"He's lying, Mummy!" the little girl called 'Lily' piped up pointing at James with an accusatory finger. "I told him not to, but he did it anyways!"

James returned the accusation with a glare. "My fault, is it? Well, if you hadn't pressed that button, the maybe it wouldn't have—"

"ENOUGH!" Bill finally shouted causing the twins to jump in fright. "Bloody hell…? Who are you?"

The twins exchanged bewildered looks. James let his smile falter for a moment as he turned to Harry. "It's me, Dad, James," the boy said slowly, his brown eyes staring up at Harry. "James Potter. Your son."

All eyes shot towards Harry who stood thunderstruck. None of this made sense. It was not physically possible for an individual to father a child when he was only seven or eight-years-old. What kind of joke was this?

"Mummy? Daddy?" Lily spoke with tears glistening in her green eyes. "Don't you remember us?"

On the other side of the room, Ginny was shaking her head looking just as dumbfounded as everyone else. It made Harry feel relieved that she had no more idea about what was going than he did. This just couldn't be possible, he thought. Yet, here they were, two seven-year-olds standing before them looking extraordinary like Harry and Ginny. Except for their eyes.

It was Hermione who finally kneeled down at the children's level and spoke gently to them. "How exactly did you two get here?" she asked.

James gave Lily a nervous glance. "It was her fault, really…"

"What?" his sister cried. "It was your idea to touch it, so how can it be my fault?"

"It was your idea to play in the living room!" James retorted.

Lily responded with a laugh and in that moment, Harry caught a brief glimpse of his mother. It was the same laugh that Lily Evans gave in her wedding picture the day she became 'Lily Potter'. That picture was in an album that Hagrid had given Harry at the end of his first year. Unless she was a reincarnation of Lily Evans, this Lily could be no one else but his own daughter. His and Ginny's daughter.

"Prove it!" Lily shot back at James as their argument escalated.

James looked ready to pounce on his sister when two hands shot out and grabbed both of them by the ears. Mrs. Weasley had regained consciousness and though her face was still chalk white, she managed to find the strength to take control of the situation. "That's enough bickering for one night," she muttered. "It's late. You children should be in bed. Arthur, could you get the extra blankets out of the upstairs closet?"

"But Molly, we still don't know how they got here," Mr. Weasley answered.

"It's midnight," Mrs. Weasley snapped back. "You can question them in the morning."

"Midnight?" James interrupted his grandmother. "It can't be midnight! We only just had lunch!"

"Lunch?" Ron echoed. "You're barmy!"

Hermione threw her arms in the air. "Oh honestly! Can't you see? They're not from here!"

"What are you getting at, Hermione?" Bill asked suspiciously.

The young witch bit her lip and examined the twins' faces. "I think…I think they're from the future."

The lame ending of the statement sounded ludicrous even to Hermione's own ears. Yet, there seemed to be some truth in her words even if she sounded barmy herself. How else could Harry and Ginny possibly have two children together?

"Fr-from the future?" Ron stuttered. "Is that possible?"

"It is," Bill answered after some time. "It would just take a time-turner or something equivalent."

James and Lily exchanged glances. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry watched James tuck something into his back pocket.

"I will send a letter to the Ministry," Mr. Weasley added. "This is in clear violation of the law concerning time travel."

Mrs. Weasley looked worriedly at her husband. "And what will happen?"

Her husband adjusted his glasses, avoiding his wife's gaze. "I can't say, but at least they will be sent back to their time period."

"At least?" Mrs. Weasley echoed. "And what is the most?"

"I would rather not say," Mr. Weasley responded.

"Arthur!"

"Molly, it's up to the Ministry—"

"Then don't inform the Ministry!" his wife returned stubbornly. "We'll—we'll figure it out."

Everyone in the room gawked at Mrs. Weasley. This must have been the first time in history that the Weasley matriarch had ever supported breaking the law. Mrs. Weasley turned away from her family and motioned the two children towards the stairs.

"No!" Lily whined. "Mummy and Daddy put us to bed!"

"Always," James added glancing over at Harry and Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley did not catch the insinuation, but stared baffled at the two. "But your parents aren't here," she began.

"Yes, they are!" James argued. "They're right there!"

With an arm pointed in his and Ginny's direction, the obvious became even more obvious. Harry wanted to melt on the spot and from the way it appeared, Ginny was trying to transfigure herself into the doorway. Yet, neither attempt prevented the two children from running to their "parents" again and begging for Harry and Ginny to take them to bed. After several minutes of their whining, Ginny finally threw her arms up and followed Lily and James up to the stairway.

"Are you coming, Dad?" James called over his shoulder.

"I—"

"Yes, you are," Ginny inserted sharply. "Dad."

The raven-haired boy frowned in response, but followed the other three up the stairs with Mrs. Weasley trailing behind them. "They can sleep in Percy's old room since…since he's not here," she said as they arrived on the second floor. When they reached the room, she conjured two cots for the children and, after some hesitation, left Harry and Ginny to do the rest.

"Aren't you going to tuck us in, Mum?" Lily asked as she lay down on a cot.

"Er…yes, of course," Ginny replied, kneeling next to them and tucking each child in. Once they were well tucked in, she got up quickly and was about to leave the room with Harry when James protested again.

"Daddy!" he shouted. "A story!"

"Er…" Harry began.

"James, dear, I think your father is tired," Ginny interrupted, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Maybe he'll tell you a story tomorrow night."

The twins pouted quietly, but made no further attempt to prevent Harry and Ginny from leaving the room again. Once the light was out and the door was shut, the two "parents" exited and made a quick journey to Ron's room. Just as they predicted, Ron and Hermione were waiting eagerly for them.

"Father?" Harry repeated once the four were situated on the floor in Ron's room. "Honestly, Ginny, do you really think it's possible?"

"Did I feel like arguing with a pair of seven-year-olds?" Ginny snapped back. "If it wasn't for me, you would still be down there telling those kids all about Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump!"

"What?" Harry and Hermione chorused, both with blank expressions.

Ron threw his arms up in the air. "Don't bother, Ginny," he told his sister before she could launch into an explanation of who Babbitty Rabbitty was. "They were raised as Muggles."

"I beg your pardon!" Hermione flushed.

"I only meant that you never heard those stories!" Ron defended himself.

Ginny rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at Ron. "Don't you think we have more pressing matters?" she broke in. "I don't know about you, but I don't think random children appearing in the living room is normal."

"They must have used time travel, obviously," Hermione mused, turning her attention back to Harry and Ginny. "But it's not possible for a time-turner to turn back years."

"Right," Ron added with a hint of sarcasm, "so they just decided to appear out of thin air for no reason."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "That's not possible, either, Ron," she argued. "Things just don't disappear and reappear on their own!"

"I don't think they did," Harry agreed with her. "They must have been playing with something."

"And how would they get a hold of something with that much…power to send them back in time?" Hermione returned. "I can imagine that you and Ginny were excellent parents, Harry, but leaving an object like that lying around is criminal! Your future selves could land a place in Azkaban!"

Harry gave a dry laugh. "Oh, is that all? That's only if I'm not murdered first by Voldemort. If you can't remember, Voldemort is back."

"But Harry!" Hermione protested, her brown eyes suddenly lighting up. "If…if you have kids in the future…then…you definitely know what this means, don't you?"

"That Harry shagged my sister?" Ron interjected, casting a dark look in his best friend's direction.

Hermione swatted Ron on the arm. "Not that! Harry, you're going to survive!"

No words could describe the sudden relief that filled his heart and moved across his whole body. Could that really be true? Was he really destined to defeat Voldemort, marry Ginny, and have children with her? Was that really the way it was going to end? Was he going to have the family that he never had?

He glanced at Ginny who had an unreadable expression on her face. There was no indication of whether she was happy or upset with this new information, and for a moment, Harry slightly panicked. "Maybe they're wrong," Harry said after a moment. "Maybe…maybe that's not how it will be."

"How else can you explain this?" Hermione questioned.

"I don't know," he said, his green eyes still fixed on Ginny. "We'll…we'll have to ask them in the morning. I think it's time we turned in."

Hermione looked slightly disappointed, but chose not to argue as she followed Ginny out of the room. When the door was closed, he faced Ron who still appeared angry. "I know she's your sister, mate," he began, "but I swear I never thought that about her."

Ron bit his lip, but did not respond. The light was turned out and both boys lay silently on their respective beds. Maybe in time, Ron would be able to swallow the idea that his sister and best friend had joined in marriage. Hell, Ron didn't mind the idea now. His best friend shagging his sister and having two children? Well, that was going to take years…and yet time seemed to be the last thing Ron had at that moment.