Title: Day 12
Author: tarotgal
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: PG
Pairings: Many. Highlight to be SPOILED: Past Harry/Ginny, Charlie/Neville, Oliver/Marcus sort of implied, and eventually (but not in this part) Snape/Harry
Disclaimer: Not my characters, not my 'verse. I don't get paid a cent to play. Please don't sue and make things worse.
Summary: The first section of a longer WIP which is a sequel to The Night Before Christmas.
Note: Part of the 12 Ficlets in 12 Days project 2010-2011. I only got 11 requests this year, so I'm using the 12th day for a sneak peek at a long fic I've been working on.

DRAFT

Harry rolled over in bed, noticing the way his head throbbed still. He'd managed more than eight hours of sleep that night, which was more than he got regularly. He'd been trying to beat this cold the kids had brought back with them from Hogwarts. He'd suffered through Christmas with the sniffles and sneezes in his nose, and he'd expected it to go away eventually. But now it was January and the kids would be going back to school soon and he still felt ill. What in the world was wrong with him? Was this merely a tenacious head cold or was it something else?

After pulling himself out of bed, Harry headed down the stairs to the kitchen. Charlie was there, making a big breakfast of eggs, sausages, and pancakes. Harry liked a lot of things about Charlie Weasley. He liked that the man had stayed around past the holidays to help Harry look after the kids. He liked that the man talked freely about Ginny, not walking on eggshells around him. And he liked that the man had a thing for big breakfasts. He was getting spoiled by all this, and he knew it. But he felt too ill to do anything but enjoy the help. And the pancakes.

“Bordig,” Harry said stuffily, sliding into his seat at the table. The kids had already eaten most of what was on their plates and they were deep in discussion about what fun thing Uncle Charlie was going to do with them today. Lily wanted to go to the zoo, but the boys wanted to go see a Quidditch match. Puddlemere United was playing the Chudley Cannons and the boys had inherited their Uncle Ron's love of the Cannons. Lily didn't mind them either, but she loved the zoo and wouldn't give that idea up, no matter how appealing the match sounded.

Charlie shrugged, “Look, if you lot can't decide on which one we're doing, we'll just have to do both. We'll go to the zoo in the morning and then go to the game in the afternoon.” That seemed like all there was to it. Charlie smiled at Harry from across the table. “You sound better this morning.”

Harry sniffed and coughed and pressed the back of his hand to his nose. “hahh… hahChoo! hehChoo!” Harry eyed him suspiciously.

Charlie shrugged. “Believe me. Still better. So you do want to come with us?”

Harry shrugged. He knew he didn't sound any better and he knew he should probably stay in bed. But he was sick of being in bed; he was sick of being sick. “Okay,” he said weakly. “I'll cobe alog.” He pulled out a handkerchief and sniffled into it. “Let be just sedd a bessage to the office.”

It was doubtful that anyone at the Ministry expected him. They all knew that he was ill and he'd taken time off to be with family for these weeks anyway. But the beginning of the month was always especially busy, because that's when they performed extra “surprise” visits to the families they'd placed children in, and he wanted to be sure they knew he wouldn't be there for those.

He could have sent an owl, but his owl, Rexal, was out—probably off hunting or something. And there were no fireplaces in his department, so he couldn't use the Floo network to connect there directly to speak to someone. He could Floo over and leave a note on the desk, but that seemed like a waste of time. So Harry did what he did almost every morning; he sent a patronus. The stag burst from the end of his wand, waited a moment to listen to Harry's short message, then it took off toward the Ministry. His patronus was such a comfort to see; it always made Harry smile. He wondered if it would change once he married Ginny, the way Tonks had when she'd fallen for Remus. And he had wondered if it would change after she died. But it hadn't. It was still a stag—powerful and noble. It reminded him of his father, of course, but it was as much a part of Harry as it was of James. Harry could not wait until his three children were old enough to perform the Patronus charm, in order to see what theirs would be.

Harry put on an extra jumper, stuck a few extra handkerchiefs in his various pockets, and put on good walking shoes. He had been stuck in bed so long; some fresh air and fun would probably do him some good.

However, the day did not go quite as anyone had planned. They had summoned the Knight Bus in order to take it to the zoo. It certainly did nothing to make Harry feel better. If anything, his stomach was churning for an hour afterward so that it took his mind off his sneezes. But the person they bumped into on the Knight Bus was none other than Neville Longbottom.

As he watched his children's demeanor change from excited little things to responsible young children in the company of one of their school professors. Harry's demeanor changed as well, because he couldn't help but think of his first trip on the Knight Bus, when he had given his name as Neville Longbottom. Twenty-five years ago seemed like an entire lifetime away.

Sensitive and considerate as he was, Neville didn't come right out and ask Harry how he was doing. But he did ask, “How are your holidays going?”

Harry sniffled and cleared his throat so that he could reply properly. But Charlie answered for him, “As well as can be expected. Harry's a bit under the weather, I'm afraid.”

The kids sat in front of them, holding tight to their sliding chairs. Charlie sat in the middle of the other row, with Neville on one side and Harry on the other. So Neville had to lean forward and turn to speak to Harry. “I'm sorry to hear that. Colds have been making their ways through Hogwarts lately. Have you tried Pepper-up for it?”

Harry nodded. “It did't touch it.”

“Sorry.” Neville looked it. “I heard there are some new potions at the herbalists in Diagon Alley. Maybe you should try those out.”

“Baybe.” Harry rubbed at his nose, wishing he didn't sound quite so stuffy saying it.

“Neville, you should come with us to the zoo!” Charlie suggested, with such strong enthusiasm that Neville could hardly turn the offer down.

“Well, if no one else minds… Harry?” Harry had been looking forward to spending time with his children out and about, but he could still do that with Neville along. He smiled as welcomingly as possible. “Kids?” They seemed less excited than Charlie did, but they weren't going to say no. Al looked a little disappointed especially, but even he agreed.

Harry was nervous when they got to the zoo, but the kids seemed to burst to life. It was a good thing they had three adults along, because all three kids wanted to go in completely different directions. Harry had to keep reminding himself of what he'd been up to at their ages in order to keep from worried when one disappeared around a corner or off around the other side of an animal's enclosure for a few seconds. After what had happened to Ginny, Harry still felt jumpy and paranoid out in public. And he'd die before letting anything like that happen to his children. Having an extra set of eyes was a relief. Lily usually pulled Harry along, holding tight to his hand. But James was all over the place, no matter how Charlie tried to keep him still. He was sure he knew the best route to take to the lions, which of course was what the group of Gryffindors had to see first.

But they also couldn't avoid the reptile house. Lily wasn't so thrilled with it, but the boys were still boys and loved looking at the lizards and frogs and snakes. Harry had never told his children about his trip to the zoo when he was just ten and he'd talked to a snake there, and he always avoided the reptile house on trips to the zoo since then. One day his children would understand… but he didn't want it to come out at the wrong time. So Harry gave the house a miss. He found a bench within sight of the exit door where he could wait. And, a few seconds later, he was joined by Neville.

“I don't know about you, but if I never see another large snake, it'll be too soon.”

Harry chuckled and coughed. “That's for sure.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. “Thadks for cobig alog today, Deville.”

Neville shrugged. “It's been fun so far. And I can't ever say no to Charlie.”

Harry's eyes flew open.

Neville met Harry's gaze and then his cheeks went bright red. “Um, I take it he hasn't mentioned to you that he and I…”

“Doe,” Harry said, shaking his head. “He hasd't. Dev?”

Neville nodded. “We met properly when I was doing my herbology apprenticeship in his neck of the woods. I stayed on his dragon reserve for a while. But it wasn't until he moved back a month ago that we really made a proper go of it. Charlie said he was waiting for the right time to tell you. I guess he didn't find it?”

“Guess dot,” Harry squeaked, which caught against a scratchy part of his throat and threw him into a fit of coughs. He bent over, fist to his mouth, body jerking with coughs. Harry felt Neville's hand thumping his back. Though Harry wasn't coughing from choking on a bite of food or anything of the sort, the touch still felt good, reassuring. Harry caught his breath at last and sat back up. “Thadks.”

Withdrawing his hand, Neville rubbed the back of his neck. “So… you're not upset about this?”

“Upset?”

“About me and Charlie. He didn't want to go broadcasting our happiness until you felt a little better, considering it hasn't been a full year since you lost Ginny. And he didn't want you to think that he was staying with you just so he could be closer to me.” Neville was starting to ramble now. “And, frankly, I don't know how you'd feel about this. I never told you I was gay, let alone attracted to your brother-in-law now. I used to share a dormitory room with you and I didn't want you to get all worried or anything. It isn't as though I was attracted to you back then. Well, maybe a little because, Merlin, Harry, you were amazing. Not that you aren't now, but you know how crushes are when you're a young man, and I didn't know how to tell you then, especially as you grew up with muggles and sometimes they have trouble with this sort of thing.”

Harry stopped Neville by taking his hand. “Hush,” he said. “I'b habby for you both.”  

“Are you really?”

“Of course I ab. I always woddered why it did't work out betweed you add Haddah.”

Neville lowered his head, smiling shyly. “Hannah was lovely. She was sweet enough to offer me a place to stay while I was getting over a particularly bad breakup. I needed a change of scenery and someone to listen and who the heck knows where Luna is most of the time—and don't even try to say 'crumpled-horn snorcak' with that stuffed-up nose of yours.”

They laughed together until Harry's children came running up to him with Charlie in tow.

They ate lunch at the zoo restaurant and Harry took particular satisfaction in the polite way his children requested a knickerbocker glory to share. Harry bought one for each of them, though only Albus finished his entirely.

They saw a few animals on their way out of zoo, and then they headed to the Quidditch match by way of another ride on the Knight Bus. This time, it was packed full of others heading to the pitch as well. The fans were rowdy and several had been into the fire whiskey already, it seemed. Harry felt a strange, overprotective streak come over him as he was jostled about. He clutched Al's hand tightly and kept his gaze alternating between James and Lily.

When the bus came to a halt at one stop, someone fell against Harry's back, spilling fire whiskey on both Harry and his son. Harry shivered and turned around with his wand up. This wasn't the place for a duel and he certainly wasn't at his best physically. “Watch what you're doig!”

“S-sorry, mate.” The man burped quietly and backed off, falling into someone else in the process. Harry knelt down and used one of his few clean hankies to wipe the alcohol off Albus.

“I'm okay, Dad,” Albus whispered to him. And Harry was aware of both Charlie and Neville close-by, watching him overreact. But he was mostly aware of the dozens of people around them. Harry wrapped his arm around Albus, hugging him close and refusing to let go until they'd reached their destination and people started to disembark.

Chudley Canon games never sold out, but their seats weren't the best as they bought them at the door. They managed to get six seats in a row together in the relative center of the stadium.

The game went badly. It wasn't just that Puddlemere United ran the score up almost too high for the Canons to come back from. But twenty minutes into the match, a bludger hit Oliver Wood, Puddlemere United's keeper and Harry's old Gryffindor team captain. Oliver was knocked off his broom, falling to the ground. It was only the work of his team's healers that kept him from striking the ground at full force. Marcus Flint, the old Slytherin captain and another Puddlemere United team member, went a bit crazy at this. He played recklessly for the rest of the game, committing several penalties before finally being thrown out of the rest of the game. Even without several of their best players, Puddlemere United ended up winning. But it took them a long time to get there. It was nearly three hours before the snitch was caught. The seekers were both slowpokes.

By then, Harry was nearly dozing off in his seat. Quidditch usually gave him a rush, but it had lost its beauty lately. When Ginny had played for the Holyhead Harpies, Harry went to almost every match. And then, when she became the Senior Quidditch reporter for the Daily Prophet, Harry still went to some of the games with her. And the kids got dragged along to them as well. When they were young, they didn't understand the rules or they sat there bored. But then they decided they were the luckiest kids in the world to get to see so many Quidditch games so often. Their first game as a family after Ginny had died had been the hardest; they'd just gone through the motions, thinking of her the whole time. Now at least they somewhat enjoyed the experience, but it just wasn't the same for Harry as it once had been.

Not to mention the fact that it was an especially cold day of winter, and the cold made his already troublesome nose run. The game was slow and the crowd quiet; he knew no one was actually watching him, but he felt like everyone was paying attention and listening to him. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck and lower half of his face, and that muffled the sound of his almost constant sniffing pretty well. But he was still forced to dig his hanky out periodically to blow his nose or catch a stray pair of sneezes. After a while, he felt too cold to shiver, and just sat there, wedged between some stranger and James, who kept jumping to his feet to see more of the game. He reminded her of Ginny… and of himself, of course.

In the end, it didn't matter who caught the snitch, because Puddlemere United had such a tremendous lead. Even if the Chuddley Cannons had caught the snitch two times over, it still wouldn't have been enough for them to come out ahead.

He didn't get a chance to say hello to Oliver before they left, because the man was still being cared for by healers. Oliver was conscious and talking, apparently, but Flint wouldn't allow anyone to get close to him apart from the healers, and Harry knew better than to cross Marcus Flint when there was something the man wanted.

Charlie, Neville, and the children discussed going out to dinner together somewhere. The kids had some place in particular in mind, but Charlie and Neville each had their own opinions about what would be best. Whatever they decided, Harry didn't think he wanted to go. Getting out of the house had been a noble and worthy experiment, but now he felt tired and ill and he just wanted to go home and get into bed.

Charlie took Harry by the arm and Harry gave a start. “Where did you decide to go?” he asked, his head pounding and body hurting with every step. He felt far, far too old to be in his late thirties. He suddenly realized how his old professor, Remus Lupin, might have felt.

“We decided to take you home,” Charlie informed him. “C'mon, Harry.”

Harry started to object, “Doe, if you lot wadt to go eat subwhere, I…” but he trailed off, feeling the need to sneeze and not feeling up to stifling it. He got a handkerchief out and promptly buried his nose in it. “heh-Choo! HahChoo! Sniff! Hah… hah-CHOO! TChoo!” He felt someone take hold of his free hand and squeeze it. By the feel, he guessed it was James. Harry tried to open his eyes to see, but he snapped forward with another set of sneezes. “hah-Shoo! hahChoo!”  Harry blew his nose thoroughly then lowered the handkerchief. It was James, all right.

The boy seemed to be asserting his authority as eldest. “We are taking you home,” James stated, squeezing his father's hand again. “Uncle Charlie, we can get him home safe if you and Professor Longbottom want some time alone.”

Harry didn't have time to marvel at the fact that his children had picked up so quickly on what Harry had apparently completely missed. His children flanked him on both sides and in front and Albus called for the Knight Bus. Soon Harry had been installed in his bed with spaghetti on a tray on his lap and his children around him. He felt thoroughly miserable, but strangely happy at the same time. Like on Christmas, they slept in bed with him that night, to keep him warm and keep him company. And the fact that he didn't hear Charlie come home in the middle of the night assured him that Charlie was having a happy time as well.

To Be Continued...