A/N: Absolute pure fluff. As part of a Harry Potter-themed game I'm playing, I was instructed to write an Epilogue for the series to replace the actual epilogue. It could be either serious or ridiculous; I went for the more straightforward kind. I do not consider this an alternative epilogue piece, however; just a little good-natured Harry and Ginny fluff. I hope you enjoy!

Little Troublemaker

The sun peaked over the horizon, cresting the craggy mountains in a blaze of orange and yellow. It was a familiar sight that never ceased to be spectacular. As he watched it, Harry vaguely wondered how many people over how many centuries had watched this exact sunrise from this exact spot on this exact tower.

Funny, he thought. The best view in all of Hogwarts has to come from here, and considering where here is—

"I thought I'd find you up here," a breathy voice said from somewhere behind him.

Jarred out of his thoughts, Harry spun around, jumping slightly in surprise. He recognized his wife's voice as well as his own; he just hadn't been expecting her. He didn't think that she would have rolled out of bed and trekked all the way up here this early in the morning.

He smiled as his eyes fell on Ginny's familiar form standing at the top of the stairs, looking a little winded. She really did look as though she had just rolled out of bed: her hair was a fuzzy red halo around her pale face and her eyes were still bleary with sleep. She had pulled a thick cloak around herself for extra warmth. Draping around her small frame, it was obviously a little too big for her, even with her current condition.

Ginny eyed Harry almost gleefully and then hobbled across the tower, one hand resting on the small of her back, the other on the front of her distended belly.

Harry started to move towards her, but she waved a hand. Even when she was this heavily – and noticeably – pregnant, she wouldn't accept help from anyone. She wobbled over to the edge of the tower and leaned against the battlements, gazing out at the dark line of trees that was the Forbidden Forest.

"You know," she said, exhaling loudly, "those are a real pain to climb." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the stairs. "Trust me, I know."

Harry chuckled and placed an arm around her shoulders. "You didn't have to climb all the way up here."

"Oh, but it just wouldn't be any fun if I didn't!" she protested mockingly. She winced and rubbed her stomach. "Besides," she added, "our rather impatient son wanted to see the sunrise, just like his father."

"You don't know that it's going to be a boy," Harry objected. He caught hold of a strand of her hair and brushed it behind her ear. If prospective motherhood made her glow, the morning sunlight was making her look positively radiant.

"Uh uh," Ginny said. "I've had long talks with Mum about this. We both know it's going to be a boy."

"I'm still holding out for a girl. Never say never."

Ginny patted his cheek. "Give me a break. You're not the one who's pregnant, dear."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "So, let me get this straight. A mother's intuition is always more correct than a father's?"

"It's not just motherly intuition!" Ginny said. "It's Weasley instincts. This one's a troublemaker and it's a boy. Otherwise he would have let me sleep a little longer instead of insisting on tagging along after his dad." She heaved a sigh and pressed her hands into her back. "Definitely a troublemaker."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I would be surprised if you were."

"Well, after all, he does have the right—"

"—the right genetics for it," Ginny finished with an impish little grin. It was a saying that had come up over and over again in the past few months. "Which is perfect because I'd be awfully bored if he wasn't a troublemaker."

"Careful, Ginny," Harry said, "don't curse us just yet. I'm kind of hoping he won't be a completely wild child."

She blew out a puff of air, ruffling the stray strands of hair on her forehead. "But wild children are fun!" She rolled her eyes and combed her messy hair back with her fingers. "Don't worry, if there's trouble, we'll just have to take discipline lessons from Hermione."

Harry laughed. "I'm sure she'll give them to us anyway, whether we want them or not."

Ginny smiled and stood on tip-toe to give him a kiss. "I noticed you just started calling the baby 'he' now. Did I convince you that fast that he's a boy?"

Harry held up his hands in his defence. "Hey, I'm just humouring your Weasley instincts. I still think it's a girl."

"May I ask why, oh dearest one?"

He frowned. "You know, some day I'm going to have to figure out how you manage to say things like that with a straight face."

She patted his cheek. "But you're just so much fun to tease. If I stopped, it wouldn't be any fun anymore." She wrapped an arm around his waist and pressed herself tightly against him. "So, why do you think it's a girl?"

"Because of you, silly. You're the most troublesome girl I know."

Ginny batted her eyes. "Why, thank you, kind sir."

The smiles and laughter lasted for a moment, but then faded. Ginny stepped away, her hands clasped around his. Together, they walked across the tower, moving away from the spectacular scenery.

"I don't know about you, but I think all this sweetness is starting to get to me and the baby doesn't like it," she said. "Would you mind telling me what's wrong?"

Harry momentarily toyed with a lock of her hair before answering. "The baby probably just doesn't like watching his parents flirting."

Ginny stuck out her tongue and made a face. "I know. Go figure."

He stroked his fingers through her hair. "Nothing's wrong, Ginny. God knows that I've had enough of situations where something's always wrong. I kind of like having nothing be wrong for once."

"Maybe that's it," she said, gently brushing his hand away. "Incoming parenthood. You're expecting something to go wrong because that's typically what happens to Harry Potter."

He shook his head. "No. No, I don't think that's it—"

"Really? Then why is it that whenever we talk about the baby, it turns to jokes and games?"

"Because we're funny people who actually have a decent sense of humour?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows. Harry knew that look. It was her "You have got to be kidding me" look.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. That was kind of lame."

"More than kind of."

"Take pity, please?"

"I already do."

She waited, observing him quietly as he glanced away from her. He looked out at the extensive castle grounds, trying to sort through the jumble of thoughts in his head. Hand in hand, they walked back to the edge of the battlements and gazed out at that spectacular morning view the castle had to offer.

"If you don't want to talk now," Ginny said after a moment, "that's okay. I'm fine just… standing here." She cocked her head. "Though it still feels a little strange, I guess. Especially—"

"—especially here," he finished. "I know."

His hand was resting on the edge of the battlements. She covered it with her own.

"Seven years really changes a place."

"And yet not at all."

"I know what you mean. Hogwarts is… well, Hogwarts."

"Nothing changes it. Tear it down, burn it up, it'll rebuild itself if you give it enough time."

"There's immortality for you," Ginny murmured.

"Immortality…" Harry glanced sideways at her. She met his gaze, as if she were almost anticipating what he was about to say, waiting patiently for him to go on. "Sometimes it's almost like he's still alive, when I'm up here. Even though this is where it happened. It's as if here, he is immortal."

Ginny nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder. "He was almost like a father to you, wasn't he. That's why you're here now."

"Maybe. I don't really know. I just came up here because I felt like it."

"And here I thought our sole purpose in coming was to congratulate Neville on becoming Herbology Professor and to enjoy the castle while school's still out."

"Hm. Can't it be both?"

"Of course." She raised her chin, looking up at him. "I think I know what's bothering you," she added quietly.

"And what do you think it is?"

"You're scared, Harry," she said simply. "You never had a father when you were growing up, so you don't think you can be a good father."

He sighed. "Really, Ginny, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it out."

"What's there to figure out? Harry, I know you. You'll be an amazing dad."

"It's not as easy as that," he said. "I never really considered being a father. I mean, back then I didn't even think I'd be a dad. I didn't know if I would live past seventeen. I guess since I'd never thought much about it then, I still didn't think about it – until now."

She smiled. "And that's you, isn't it? Always living in the moment. Maybe that's why I love you so much."

"Thanks," he said, kissing her cheek. "… how do you be a good father? It's not like I had the best example in the world—"

"Harry," Ginny said, "stop worrying. Trust your instincts. Just because you didn't grow up with parents doesn't mean you won't know what to do." She pressed her hand against his cheek and stood up on tip-toe again to kiss him fiercely. "So stop worrying, okay? Baby is going to have the best dad in the world."

A shadow rose up out of the Forbidden Forest. Harry and Ginny turned; it was a Thestral. The dark, winged horse soared up into the air, circling – searching for something, or perhaps merely enjoying the freedom of flight. Then it dove back down beneath the eaves of the trees.

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other.

"I would potentially say that was ominous," Ginny said, "but then Luna would kill me."

They tried to keep straight faces, but the imminent, bubbling laughter was impossible to contain.

"I think," Harry said after a moment, once he was able to disperse the laughter.

"What?" Her lips were still twitching, unable to hide her grin.

"We really need to think up a name. Calling him 'baby' call the time is going to get annoying."

"I see you really believe in the Weasley instincts now," she said with a grin. "I've totally won you over."

"I am defeated by your motherly intuition, yes."

"Well," Ginny said, tapping her fingers lightly on the battlements, "I think we can come up with something suitable for our little troublemaker."

Harry paused. "If you don't have any objections, I'd like to name him after my dad."

Ginny smiled broadly. "I would love to. 'James' is a perfect name for a troublemaker. After all, he did help create the Marauders' Map." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Can his middle name be Prongs then?"

"Ginny!"

"What?"

"Please, be a little serious—"

"Harry, you know my serious face," she interrupted. "You don't want to see my serious face. A little fun with names is good. Otherwise everything gets bland and unoriginal."

He stared at her.

"I am the girl who named her brother's owl Pigwidgeon," Ginny said with a straight face.

Harry ruffled her hair. "Trust me, I remember that one. Ron's had to live with it forever, or else get another owl."

"Well, I've always had a way with names."

"Oh, ha ha. But no Prongs, okay?"

"You're ruining my fun. You know I was kidding, right?"

He decided not to answer that one, lest he get into more trouble. "What about your dad's name as a middle name?"

Ginny squinted. "Harry, there are six Weasleys and plenty of opportunities for my parents to have great-grandchildren named after them."

"I was just thinking—"

"I know." She pressed a finger to his lips. "But I also think 'James Arthur' doesn't sound right. I have a better idea."

"What?" he asked.

"Sirius," she said simply. "Don't look at me that way; I know you've been thinking about it ever since I got pregnant."

He shifted uncomfortably. "If we're going with the whole naming our kids after people we knew, people we loved – well, I don't want to take all of the naming business away from you."

"You're not," she interrupted. "What's important to you is important to me. I knew Sirius. Not as well as you, maybe, but I'd be honoured to name our son after him. And it is, as you'll probably point out, a much, much better middle name than Prongs."

Harry smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Thank you."

"Really, Harry," Ginny said, "if you had just said 'James Sirius' to begin with, I'd've jumped up and down in agreement." She winced, a look of discomfort flitting across her face. "Well… I'd jump up and down as much as I could. Not that it would be that much."

Harry laughed and embraced her tightly. Arm in arm, they turned and walked back towards the tower stairs.

"While I'm thinking about it," he said, "you know Hermione and I once shipped a dragon to Charlie from this tower?"

"Now why would you be thinking about that?"

"Because the look on your face tells me that you're about to say something about the evilness of the Astronomy Tower stairs, which reminds me of how evil I thought these stairs were when I had to climb them in first year." He paused. "Say, let's go get something to eat."

Ginny closed her eyes, a rapturous look crossing her face. "That would be wonderful. I'm starving. Little James Sirius is hungry and he's making me crave chocolate éclairs." She pulled on a lock of red hair. "Please don't mention that to Mum. I'd never hear the end of it. Chocolate éclairs are no replacement for breakfast, no matter how delicious they are."

"I'll ask Kreacher and see what he can come up with." Harry kissed her cheek. "And I swear, I won't tell your mother. Your secret's safe with me."

fin