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"Elaine, home from the Ministry already?" Harry called to the parlour room when he heard the Floo activate.
Silence initially greeted him, the lack of reply making him wonder if it was one of their children getting up to no good again. He was about to walk over and investigate when he heard the cracking sound that signalled apparition.
"Mmm, husband," Elaine cooed into his ear, her arms wrapping around him from behind. "Are the children in their rooms? I recall telling them they need to study with my old school books."
"They are," Harry confirmed as he turned in her grasp, the soft exhale of her breath tickling his neck. "You look tired today, is everything alright?"
Elaine kissed his nose and leaned slightly back, her eyes darting over to the recently delivered copy of the Daily Prophet. "There was a snag in one of my recent machinations before it could be realised — the lack of a majority share in the Prophet makes our 'democracy' challenging to maintain when plans leak. I'm tempted to cull them again, Abraxas could do the same as he had last time… possibly cull the entire population of those who seek to challenge our positions."
Harry closed his eyes at hearing her words.
He'd held back the murderous nature of her by in large. It was a good thing he had too, for he'd seen the darkness she had within her. So many times, Elaine had told him of plans she wanted to initiate; many of them involved disappearing her opposition or the family members of them. When those plans were constantly put down by him, her love and possessive nature toward him too strong to throw away for murder, she'd changed those plans.
Abraxas, Reinhard and other schoolmates of theirs were called in. First, she would bribe or coerce those opposed to her. If that failed, intimidation or buying out of all personal assets would be the go-to. For those who refused that too, a blacklisting from most of wizarding of society and the fabrication of evidence to make them appear evil would surely handle them.,
Ensuring that she stuck to that rather than coldblooded murder, either by her wand or those of her loyal followers, was a tough thing — one that required concessions from him too.
If someone tried to hurt any of her followers or themselves, a life sentence to Azkaban would be given. Should that person or group go after their children, the four that they had thus far, it would result in accidental deaths that were easily covered up.
He may have disagreed with her means of coming to and keeping power, but going after their children when he ensured she didn't do so to others was a step too far.
"You appear critical of the term cull," Elaine observed, her face so close to his that their noses were touching.
"It's a bit much, especially with our children going to Hogwarts soon," Harry sighed and ran a hand across the back of his neck to wipe at the perspiration from cooking. "You'd like them to have a simple time, one with friends as we had, wouldn't you?"
Elaine scrunched up her nose. "Corene and Daphne were as close to the term as possible, though even then they weren't particularly close. Still, I suppose your words have some merit, daddy."
"Again?!" Harry asked, his eyes wide and focused on her stomach as her hands went down to cradle it.
"Yes," She purred, her hands grabbing roughly at his hair and collar. "That's what happens when you relieve my stress, and I yours. Every. Single. Evening."
"That's a bit graphic, isn't it, mum?" Kyra, their oldest and soon to be Hogwarts student snarked from her spot in the door.
Harry nearly laughed at the quickness with which Elaine whipped around. Her face, last he'd seen it, had been quite the image too. Without a doubt, had anyone else the cheek to say that to her she'd have thought something more of it; be it a plot or blatant disrespect, she would've seen something in it.
With their daughter, however, there wasn't any such reaction similar to that.
"Where'd you learn that cheek?" Elaine asked, an eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips.
"From you," Kyra shot back, her stance a miniature version of Elaine's.
Merlin, she looks so much like her, Harry thought.
She did too. Kyra had Elaine's black hair and pale skin, his green eyes, a mixture of their facial features and finally, Elaine's personality only with his courage. Of all their children, she was the aptest to cause them trouble as she grew.
"And the graphic comment? You're too young to know the minute details of your creation, daughter," Elaine held her raised brow and challenging stance as she spoke again, but when their daughter's confidence faltered as the moment dragged on, she broke it and moved toward her. "You're too precious for your own good, my lovely. I suppose that's the reason your father lets you stay past your curfew."
Harry held back the laughter when he realized Elaine had caught them — he didn't mind when their children stayed up past their bedtime. They hadn't started Hogwarts and so long as they kept up with their studies and didn't stay awake too long, he saw no issue with it. Sure, one could also argue there wasn't a chance he could say no to any of his kids when they looked at him so innocently. He never thought across his years of living, conflict-filled as they were, that he or Elaine would ever live to have four, soon to be five children in a mansion with guards posted at all times.
Guards that loved their children as much as they did, and instructors before Hogwarts that were experts in their fields. Cade, Corene, Daphne and Ophelia were all professionals with careers of renown… all of them gave that knowledge to their children alongside Harry and Elaine. They'd have the best children at Hogwarts for sure.
Kyra pouted and looked up at her mother as the woman closed in on her. "How'd you know mum?"
Elaine scoffed and glanced at Harry, a mischievous glint in her eyes. When she leaned in and whispered something to Kyra, the girl's laughter was all the sign he needed to know it involved him.
He was nearly ready to go over and join them, a tickle war possibly on the horizon when three more figures sprinted until they bumped into Kyra.
"More trouble makers," Harry said with a laugh as he stopped himself beside Elaine, his wife too busy looking with incredible fondness at their children to reply, much less register his words in the first place.
"Dad!" Their next oldest and only boy, Laurent, whined. "They won't let me play chess!" He pointed accusingly at his two youngest sisters.
"Nuh-uh."
"No!"
Their twins in looks only replied immediately, guilt easily read in their tones; Lolanthe, the older of the two by a minute had replied first in a controlled manner while Lalanthe, the younger of the two had exclaimed her answer.
"They get that from you," Harry said with a teasing smile shot at Elaine.
"Referring to selfishness when it's simply being protective is punishment worthy, Harry," Elaine glanced toward her stomach again, a sly smile on her face at her coded message. When he looked away with a cough, she addressed the three new arrivals. "Laurent, should they not allow you to play I'll personally triple your allowance and seek out one of those… game-boxes that you were speaking about. Would that please you?"
Laurent's eyes went incredibly wide as the boy emphatically nodded at Elaine, his face was completely and utterly awe-filled. "Thank you, mummy! I love you!"
Elaine smiled and raised Laurent in her arms, the strength of her body as well as the age of it not having changed since her twenty-first birthday. With the number of rituals she'd done and the safeguards in place, it wasn't too terribly surprising that neither of them had gotten physically older or weaker. She really was the greatest magical being to live since Merlin — he wouldn't be surprised if she could rival the old man either.
"I love you too, my sweet," Elaine pressed a kiss to Laurent's forehead and swung him around for a minute or so until she let it back down to the ground. Once he was there, she addressed the three youngest of their children. "Lolanthe, Lalanthe, studies will be suspended for a week should you continue to exclude your brother — Laurent, do tell me if they continue to do so. Now, off to bed, sleep is necessary for your continued growth."
The Twins pouted at their mother but murmured a unified 'Goodnight'.
Laurent looked incredibly pleased and said a very happy and loud 'Thank you, mummy!'.
Her looks softened in a way that it only would when facing their children, Harry himself or their two closest friends as she responded to them. "Goodnight, my loves. Don't forget to set your wards upon entering your bedroom."
All three of them nodded and skipped off, Laurent giggling happily this time.
"They're awfully troubling, aren't they?" Kyra asked, her tone arrogant as she watched her younger siblings bolt down the numerous halls of their home.
"No more so than when you were their age," Harry said with a shrug, chuckling when his eldest glared petulantly at him.
"I'm mature! Mum takes me to work with her, she even gave me an Undersecretary position!" Kyra looked to Elaine now. "I'm years older than them too, that counts for something, doesn't it?"
Elaine nodded. "Yes, my love, it counts — now off to bed, I've a special plan on the morrow and everyone will need their rest for it."
Kyra huffed, looked between them, went in for a hug and then finally, made her exit at a leisurely pace.
As soon as she was gone, Elaine looked at Harry with a sly, suggestive smile. "To think she was our first when we were fresh out of Hogwarts. I hadn't the feelings to tell her she wasn't necessarily planned for as her siblings and the next two are."
"Two more, is it?" Harry looked over to the oven where the baked goods were safely tucked away and then back at Elaine. "I hope you've planned an expansion for the home and a way to convince me."
"Please," Elaine said with a girlish giggle as she prowled towards him. "You like the process as much as I, the result too."
"What of the new issues you mentioned? Our kids haven't even visited Diagon yet, much less anywhere else aside from Corene or Daphnes' homes," Harry looked unconvinced despite his wife's seduction attempt — he supposed a certain immunity had formed as time passed them by.
Elaine didn't respond until she was pressed against him as she'd been earlier. "Those issues will be dealt with, all of them, always. You've not a clue how many preemptive strikes happen a month, the few dissenters won't be free for much longer," Elaine's tone shifted from serious back to loving and calm, her ability to shift emotions still prevalent years later. "Wouldn't you rather our children stay at home, with us, where they belong? Who else could treat or teach them better than us and those loyal to us? At Hogwarts, harm could come to them… it would be horrible of us… no, no they'll stay until everything is taken care of."
"Elaine," Harry said, expressing how he felt on the matter with but one word.
"Shhh," Elaine said, pressing a finger to his lips as she placed kisses all around his face. "We can come to a compromise later. Tomorrow is important to us, it marks the date of Dumbledore's fall to Grindelwald and Grindelwald's fall to us — it's how we locked away the wand, for who could best us when we're together?"
Harry narrowed his eyes, suddenly playful as he deduced what she'd gotten for their children. It made sense, she'd found the specifics of it recently and he'd come across the largest one yet towards their final year of Hogwarts.
"Did you get our children Basilisks, Elaine?"
"Not really… they'll belong to us until they come of age… kiss me?" Elaine's pout and tugging at his bottom lip with her teeth silenced any further conversation.
He could bring it up later.
Much later.