The Boy Who Bitched

Chapter 20

"Molly  come walk with me," Harry said it almost pleading though the woman would have come along either way, having Molly around made everything so much easier, her company was so warm and she was always so eager to be helpful.

She added a good feminine touch to the manor that it was so desperately lacking. Molly was quick to place down her knitting supplies, which were making a beautiful silver blanket for the babe in Harry's stomach. They then walked hand in hand down to the far West wing of Potter manor (their rooms where in the East wing) which was currently being used as an orphanage. It was supposedly temporary, but Harry didn't mind if it stayed there forever. The manor was plenty big enough to share, and he had an easier time overlooking the operation, staying vigilant for signs of neglect. He knew especially when Hadrian came getting out was going to be a bit more difficult, the guard business was already annoying but Tom would somehow manage to get even more protective with his own son in the flesh.

Harry had personally hand picked all the workers, sitting through many interviews before he was certain that the poor parentless children would be in good hands. Of course they were still working on the wizarding foster care system, but that was almost completely in the Ministry's hands, Harry only sometimes having to sit in meetings or read bill ideas.

Tom was off near Poland, if Harry remembered correctly. Pregnancy brain had been getting the worst of him, basic things like where his wand or glasses were becoming a daily mystery, remembering whatever foreign alliance his husband was dealing with, the boy might as well not even try. Harry was much too far along to go anyway, any sort of magical apparating physically and mentally exhausting him. Tom would be back in a few hours anyway, hating to leave Harry alone any longer than necessary. He was realizing the last 2 months of his pregnancy were going to be grueling, all of his energy both magically and physical going towards developing Hadrian. In all honesty he was a waddling hormonal mess, but he was doing his best to handle it in stride. He didn't want to rush his pregnancy, the fear of his previous loss still lingering, but he was so excited to be unpregnant it was unbelievable, of course he would never vocalize these feelings. Colette assured him that future ones should be quite a bit easier, the boy's suffering being quite prominent, and that the first pregnancy was typically the worst. Either way Harry could handle being apart from Tom for a few hours, but he still eagerly awaited his husband's return.

Despite the cold, Harry and Molly decided to take the outside route, thoroughly enjoying the naked trees and barren garden. However underneath the beauty of the garden, truth be told, Harry still got lost when roaming the inside of the manor. With his swollen feet and aching back he was not trying to walk anymore than he had to. The two walked side by side, Molly mother henning something awful especially with Tom gone, one of her hands staying placed on the small of his back. Harry had one hand placed under his large swell, trying to alleviate some of the pressure from his wide and aching hips. He was dressed very muggle, a large t-shirt, sweatpants, some beat up sneakers, and a thick jacket that was left unzipped (not by choice) charmed with a warming spell.

The cold air and empty trees reminded Harry that Christmas and Yule would be coming around soon, Harry wondered how Tom celebrated, if he had ever celebrated a proper Christmas outside of Hogwarts. It just didn't seem like the type of thing Tom would have put his energy towards before, but now they had a child on the way Harry was determined that his son would have the best holidays. He was certain Tom must have felt the same way, he was certain orphanage Christmas' were just as bad as the ones with the Dursley's. He then got lost in another train of thought of potentially celebrating Yule at the orphanage, but he would talk to the Headmistress Applefield once he arrived.

Molly was diving into some story about how difficult Percy was to potty train, the stubborn child refusing to use anything but a diaper, (Harry wasn't really listening lost in his train of thought) when suddenly they were both surrounded. A few faces were recognizable, Mad-Eye Moody had survived this entire time apparently, his magical eye swirling back and forth over Molly and Harry. Most of them however seemed sort of recognizable his time in the Order seeming like a lifetime ago to Harry, others completely foreign. "Grab em boys quickly, we don't have much time," Mad-Eye said gesturing towards the two. Molly had her wand drawn pointing it at Mad-Eye," I don't know who you are but you need to leave us alone now, you don't want to touch Harry the Dark Lord would be very angry."