Summary: Ginny's 17th Birthday involved a lot of food, friends, and Firewhisky... now she and Harry awake to the aftermath. They have some tough choices to make.
Rating: PG-13
Categories: Post-DH/AB
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 2009.05.28
Updated: 2011.11.26
Index
Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Scottish Summer Mornings
Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Mum
Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Love
Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Strange Muggle Ways
Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Victory Ball part 1
Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Unexpected
Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Teddy
Chapter 8: Chapter 8: The Daily Prophet
Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Quidditch
Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Choosing and Epilogue
Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Scottish Summer Mornings
Her head was throbbing; pounding out the slow beats of her heart, making her want to vomit with each beat. She refused to open her eyes.“Ginny?”
Too loud! She tried to tell him to bugger off but the words wouldn’t leave her mouth.
“Come on, drink this.”
Something was put to her lips, but she wouldn’t open her mouth. If she opened her mouth she was sure she would retch.
He pinched her nose.
“Hey!” Ginny squawked and then started to gag as a foul tasting liquid burned a trail down her throat. Immediately her headache went away and she was able to crack her eyes. Harry’s pale face was directly in her line of vision. “What?”
“We have a problem,” he said, his voice flat as he sat down next to her on the bed.
Wait… bed? Ginny turned her head slowly to see a room that she didn’t recognize. It was shabby, and looked to be furnished with only a chamber pot; besides the bed, of course. Slowly she turned back to him and then looked down at herself and let out a huge sigh of relief. Her clothing was still on! She glanced back to Harry. “Where are we?”
“Scotland, I think.”
She frowned and panned the room again, trying to look for clues. “Budge over,” she said, poking him so she could sit up. Ginny ran a hand distractedly through her hair and felt the knots that she always woke up with. The bed creaked as she made to stand. It was a small bed, no bigger than her bed at home. “What…” her voice trailed off as she padded a few steps from him, turning back, “what happened?”
Harry looked ill and she saw belatedly that his hair looked even messier than usual. “I don’t know. I woke up and we were sleeping cuddled up. I thought I was have a really great dream at first and wasn’t going to move, but then my head started to pound, so I slipped out of bed and saw where we were and there was a bottle on the floor that said “hangover potion” so I drank it and that’s when I decided to wake you up.” He said it in one long breath as if trying to get it over with.
Ginny looked around suspiciously, trying to decide what she thought of this place. The potion may have taken away her headache, but her brain still felt a bit wooly. “So why do you think we’re in Scotland?”
Harry cleared his throat and she glanced over to see him holding up his left hand.
“What?” she asked, not understanding what he meant.
“Look at your hands, Ginny.”
She held out her hands in front of her and then she saw it. A simple gold band on the ring finger of her left hand. Oh sweet Merlin Her eyes flew back to him and saw the glint on his hand before she dropped heavily back onto the bed, wanting to crawl back in. “What did we do?” she asked, looking at Harry whose face must mirror her own lost expression.
“I think,” Harry said slowly, reaching for her hand, “that we drank just a bit too much firewhiskey.”
Ginny narrowed her eyes, trying to recall and then suddenly it hit her. Her 17th birthday had been yesterday, at least she thought it was yesterday. She, Ron, Hermione and Harry had sat outside drinking down a bottle of firewhiskey, or two… or had it been three? She shook her head, and went back to the memory. Hermione had told them of the rash of marriages that had taken place that week.
Couples had Apparated up to Scotland…
And then Ron had said he was going to escort Hermione home because her parents had something going on the next day…
Then Harry had said something and… that was it. “I remember until Ron left with Hermione and then I go blank.”
“That’s about where my memory fizzles out too,” he said, running his large, calloused thumb along her knuckles. “So what are we going to do?”
Ginny looked up quickly and wished she hadn’t. A shot of pain rushed through her head, but just as quickly faded. “What do you mean?”
“I mean… Ginny we’re too young to be married.” His eyes were steady but he looked terrified. “I mean, aren’t we?”
“I…” Ginny faltered. He was right, of course, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it. They were… married. It was scary to even think it. “I don’t know, but we’re… we’re in this. It’s not like it can be undone.”
Harry hesitated briefly before asking, “What about an annulment?”
“A what?”
“An annulment, you know, since we didn’t, uh, consummate the marriage.”
Ginny just stared at him blankly. “I don’t know what that is.”
His eyes seemed to fill with something. “I think that it’s a Muggle thing. Muggles, if they don’t have sex, can get the marriage dissolved.”
Ginny felt her heart constrict painfully. “You want to dissolve our marriage?” It came out shriller than she wanted it. Hold it together Ginny.
“No! Well…” he stopped and got up to pace. With each step he took she felt her heart break just a bit more. Harry spun back to her and held his hands out. “You’re going back to school in a few weeks.”
Ginny groaned. She’d completely forgotten about Hogwarts. “I don’t think I can, now. I don’t think married people can attend.”
Harry’s face paled. “Oh.” He came back to the bed and sat back down. “I don’t want you to lose out on finishing school.”
She didn’t want to either, although she wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. Still, she’d always thought that she would take her NEWTs. Now, however… “It’s okay.” Or it might be, if he actually wanted to be married. “Maybe we could pretend this didn’t happen.”
“Do you want to do that?” Harry asked, his voice void of emotion.
“I don’t know… oh Merlin, we have to tell my parents.” Ginny wanted to cry. This was not going to go well.
Harry reached for her hand again. “All right, so we’re in this then, yeah?”
Ginny raised a questioning eyebrow but kept silent.
“I mean,” Harry stammered, “I kind of thought we might get married someday.”
Ginny knew she looked surprised, and couldn’t stop herself from blurting out, “You did?”
“Yeah, well,” Harry’s cheeks turned pink and he looked away embarrassed. “You’re the only one I think about in that way.”
Ginny felt a breath leave her body that she didn’t know she’d been holding. It wasn’t that Harry was regretting this with her, it was that he was regretting it right now. She could understand that. “So what should we do?”
Harry turned back to her and leaned in to kiss her. He had morning breath and he needed to shave, but she didn’t care. When he pulled back it was with a smile. “If we’re in this together forever, then we deal with whatever comes.”
Ginny knew what he meant and dread settled into the pit of her stomach like bad fish. “We have to tell my parents.”
"Too bad they can get past the Fidelius at Grimmauld or we could hide there for the next twelve years,” Harry muttered dejectedly, to which Ginny had to agree.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Mum
Author's Notes: Dedicated to the memory of my son, Zachary. I posted before that I was pregnant and at 15 weeks, we found out that he had passed. I was able to birth him peacefully at home and have a funeral and burial at our church. I dedicate the rest of this story to him. Do not feel like you have to console me, just please be patient if it takes me awhile to update.
This has been beta'd once but the beta I am working with and I are having issues sending material. Please be patient with my "dust" as we work out the kinks.
They made their way slowly down the stairs, Harry clutching at her hand in a way that he had never done before and that told her plainly that he was as nervous as she was. The stairs creaky as they entered a tiny pub, with several small, well scrubbed wooden tables. A small man, with wispy gray hair was sitting at the one closest to the bar. He looked up and smiled pleasantly at them. “Good morning, then! How are the newlyweds?”
“Uh, okay,” Harry said weakly. “We’re just going to head home now, I think.”
“Fine, fine,” the gentleman said jovially. “You two Apparated last night, but you both look as though you’d rather floo home.”
“Thanks,” Ginny whispered, completely unsure of what one would say in a situation like this. She headed for the fireplace, following the man. He took a pot from the mantle and held it out for Ginny. She took a pinch and turned to Harry. “See you at home then,” she said.
“Good luck,” the man told her, “but I’m sure you two will do fine. Haven’t seen two so committed as you are in awhile.”
Ginny wasn’t sure that her smile reached her eyes but it didn’t matter. She wanted to get home, and for once, she wanted her parents helping trying to make this right. Taking a deep breath, she threw the floo powder in and said “The Burrow.”
~*~
“Ginny!”
Her mother’s shrill voice was enough to bring her hangover back. Ginny stumbled out of the fireplace, straight into her Mum’s arms. “Mum… I…” Ginny didn’t know what to say but she knew she was in for it.
“I’ve been so worried! You and Harry just disappeared! Where-”
With a small whoosh Harry flew out of the fireplace after her. He looked about as green as she felt. “Mum, can we sit down? I feel sick.”
“Ginny!” She felt her mother lead her over to the table, and heard a chair scrape next to hers as Harry sat down.
She looked up into her mother’s lined face and saw the hours of worry etched there. She glanced once at Harry and then back at her mother. “Mum, we, uh, we…”
Harry cleared his throat and Ginny fell silent, not knowing what to say anyway. “Mrs. Weasley, we got married last night.”
Molly Weasley stared at them hard, and the tirade that she was sure was imminent did not come. “What happened?”
“We don’t know,” Ginny said in a small voice. “We woke up this morning in a pub in Scotland, at least,” she ran a hand over her face, trying to clear her foggy mind, “I think it was Scotland and we had rings…” her voice trailed off at the look on her mum’s face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I don’t know what happened or what made us do it.”
Harry took her hand under the table. “We were drinking firewhiskey last night, to celebrate Ginny’s birthday and we must have had too much to drink.”
Her mother stood and walked over to the stove, not looking at them. “I see. Let me call your father.” She walked quickly out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
Ginny turned to Harry. “She didn’t yell.”
“I noticed,” Harry said dryly. “I wish she had. It would have made me feel better.”
Seconds later Mr. Weasley came striding into the kitchen, his face ashen. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Dad,” Ginny said plaintively. “What do we do now? Can I go back to school?”
Her mother came in, went to the stove and started a pot boiling for tea. Mr. Weasley sat down heavily across from them. “I’m afraid you can’t. Married students aren’t allowed at Hogwarts. Another school might take you, if you want to go abroad, but-”
“No!” Harry and Ginny said together.
“So what do we do?” Ginny said again, hoping for a magic answer.
Mr. Weasley thanked his wife as she handed him a cup of tea and then looked back at his daughter. “Now, you go pack your stuff unless you don’t want to move in with your husband.”
~*~
Harry had taken up residence at Number 12, Grimmauld Place right after his birthday despite the many protests of Mrs. Weasley. The funerals had been difficult, but after they had finished burying the dead from the final battle, Harry had felt like he needed to be on his own. He’d asked Ron if he wanted to move in as well, but Ron had ended up moving in, temporarily, with George to help manage the store.
Harry cleared his throat nervously as he set a suitcase down in the upper hallway. Ginny, set another one down. “Which room do you want to use?” He asked, extremely nervously.
Ginny stared down the hall and it seemed to elongate before her… weren’t she and Harry going to share a room? Hadn’t she had to quickly ask her mother about the birth control spell while Harry and her dad had been transporting her stuff over to London? Actually, her mother had been very relieved that they hadn’t already been together and said it was a blessing. Ginny couldn’t agree more. There was no way she was ready for a baby right now. “Uhm, which room are you sleeping in?”
Harry shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve been sleeping in Sirius’ old room but if you’re not comfortable with that, then…”
“No, that’s fine,” Ginny said quickly, hating the awkwardness that had sprung up between them. “Where’s Kreacher?”
“Out,” Harry picked up her bag again and walked down the hall towards their room. “I told him what had happened and he’s gone out to get supplies for a special lunch.”
“Right,” Ginny replied, following behind him. She set her bag down in the room and looked around at all of Sirius’ old things. She jumped when she felt Harry’s hands on her shoulders. Turning to face him, she saw the same worry that she felt reflected in his eyes and she smiled. “This is bloody weird.”
“It is,” Harry agreed. “So what do we do?”
Ginny sighed and put her arms around his waist. “We do what we think is right.” She didn’t know where that had come from, but she felt good saying it.
He hesitated for a moment. “Are you ready to have-”
She cut him off. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t either,” he said in a small voice. “And I can’t believe I’m admitting that.”
“Harry,” Ginny pulled back enough so that she could see his face. “I’m your wife. For better or worse, we’re in this together, right?” He nodded. “So if you can’t admit that to me, then who can you admit it to?”
Harry grinned, his first genuine grin. “You’re right. So we’ll just be honest, then, yeah?”
“Definitely.” Ginny agreed. “All right, let’s go down and see if Kreacher’s ready with lunch. We didn’t have breakfast and I’m starving.”
~*~
Molly Weasley had decreed that they would be back at the Burrow later that night for dinner and Ginny had a sinking suspicion that she was going to invite the entire family.
She was right. When she and Harry arrived at 5:30 that evening, her brother Bill and his wife, Fleur, were sitting at the kitchen table, along with George, Ron and Hermione. Her mother was bustling around, fixing dinner.
“Oh good, you two are here. We’re going to have a little celebration. Percy should be here soon, as will your father.” When she turned, Ginny could tell that she had been crying but she was hiding it well.
Bill, George and Ron stood up, all three looking very serious. “Harry, we’re going out into the garden,” Bill said casually, much too casually. “Why don’t you join us.”
Ginny shot her eldest brother a warning glance, and then looked at Harry. He seemed nervous but he nodded. He’d clearly been expecting this. “Okay,” he said, walking over to the kitchen door.
Ginny caught Ron’s arm as he passed and hissed at him. “Don’t hurt, him, okay? This is just as much my fault as his.”
Ron patted her shoulder. “We have no intention of hurting him.”
George, who was standing behind Ron, piped in. “No, we just want to scare the piss out of him.”
Ginny raised her eyebrow. “Good luck with that. Compared to you three Voldemort is just a fuzzy little kitten, right?”
George gave her a weak smile and together, he and Ron left the kitchen.
Ginny sat down in Ron’s vacated seat. Silence filled the kitchen for several long, tense moments.
Finally Hermione blurted out, “This was my fault, wasn’t it?”
Ginny shrugged. “I think it was our fault for drinking too much firewhiskey.”
“Yes, but I told you about the rash of marriages and-”
“You didn’t force us to Apparate to Scotland. We did that all on our own. I think- I can’t remember it all that well.” Ginny sighed and rested her head on the table. “I can’t believe I’m married. I’m not ready to be married.”
“I looked you up today while I was at work,” Hermione said and Ginny looked up at her questioningly. “After I got an owl from Ron saying what had happened,” she explained. “I went down to the hall of records and looked and your marriage is there. Thankfully I don’t think anyone else has noticed.”
Fleur, whom Ginny had been expecting to speak before now, piped in. “Congratulations, Ginny. This is ‘appy news.”
“Thanks,” Ginny replied automatically.
“Now,” Molly said, sitting down with a roll of parchment and a quill. “I’ve been waiting for your wedding for years, young lady.”
Ginny slowly sat up and stared at her mother. She didn’t like the sound of where this was going.
“I won’t throw a large party, as we did for Bill, but I do want to have a wedding and party for you and you will cooperate young lady; do I make myself clear?”
She nodded. “But, Mum, we’re…”
“No, no buts!” Her mother interrupted. “You owe me.”
Ginny put her head back down on the table and sighed. She did owe her that much. After all, at the grand old age of 17 she’d just eloped with Harry and her mum hadn’t once yelled at her. “Just no pink, all right?” Ginny said resignedly.
“Let’s get to work, then.” Mrs. Weasley said, sounded more cheerful than she had in years.
Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Love
Author's Notes: Thanks to Wolf's Scream for beta'ing for me.
I am going slow, the chapters are relatively short, and that's all I can do. I'm about 8 weeks pregnant and I have almost ZERO energy, so I'm doing what I can! :-)
Harry had known from the moment that Mrs. Weasley has ordered them to come back for dinner that he would be in for some kind of interrogation. At least it would be over soon.
“Harry,” Bill said as they reached the back garden. “We need t have a little chat.”
“Yeah,” George chimed in. “Since you ran off and married our baby sister.”
“I didn’t mean to!” Harry protested, somewhat lamely. “I… I mean we weren’t in our right minds.”
Ron rolled his eyes. “Hermione and I were just as sloshed as you were and we didn’t elope.”
“That’s not saying much,” Harry retorted. “Hermione never does anything without thinking it through.”
“Except dating Ron,” George said dryly. “Clearly she didn’t think that one through.”
Ron made a rude hand gesture and said something that would have turned his mother’s face purple with rage.
“The point,” Bill said loudly, before Ron and George could get into it, “is that you married our sister. We don’t need to ask how you’re going to support her, as you are in Auror training with this git.” He shot Ron a warning glance to shut him up. “But we want to know that you’re going to treat her the way she deserves.”
“Of course I will!” Harry said forcefully. The look on Bill’s face made him look away. When he looked back, he said more confidently, “We might not have been ready for this but we’ll make it work.”
“Okay then,” Bill said eyeing him shrewdly. “I trust you with her and I wouldn’t say that of many men.”
“So we’re not going to threaten him?” George asked.
“Nah,” Bill said, clapping Harry on the back. “He’s family now and besides, he already knows that if he messes up with Ginny that she’ll kill him herself.”
“That’s true,” Ron agreed. “Think of that Bat-Bogey hex.” All four of them shuddered slightly. “Anyway, let’s go in- I’m starving!”
“You… you go in, I’ll be there in a minute,” Harry told them. He needed a minute to himself to think. He turned and walked a few paces, and Bill caught up with him, matching his stride.
“Want to talk about it?” Bill asked.
Harry hesitated for only a minute, but after all, Bill was married. “I don’t know how to be married.”
Bill’s scarred face cracked into a wry smile. “No one knows how when they first get married. You learn as you go.”
“So what should I do?”
“Talk and listen mostly. Talk everything out and don’t go to bed angry.” Bill stuck his hands in his pockets as they stopped walking, facing out to the orchard. He rocked back on his heels, clearly lost in thought. Finally he said, “Don’t be afraid to be yourself and show Ginny how much you love her. Life is too short.”
Harry shifted uncomfortably. “We haven’t said we love each other yet.”
Bill raised one eyebrow. “You two really weren’t ready to get married, were you?”
Harry shook his head, trying to fight back a sudden rush of panic.
“Do you love her?”
“Yeah, well,” Harry stopped, trying to think. “I mean I’m pretty sure I’m in love with her. I think about her all the time and I want to all of my free time with her.” He paused, trying to puzzle it out. “When we were on the run, I had dumped her because I wouldn’t have been able to stand her getting hurt because of me, but she was always on my mind. Being with her is the happiest I’ve ever been. She gets me and doesn’t care that I’m Harry-bloody-Potter.”
Bill didn’t say anything for a long moment. Finally he said, “You should tell her all of these things and that you love her. Go from there.”
~*~
Dinner was not as uncomfortable as Ginny had expected. After their initial awkwardness had worn off, it was just like every other dinner since the war had ended. They had heatedly debated the new head of the Auror department, talked about what Harry and Ron were doing in their training, and complained about the lax treatment that the Malfoys had received. Lucius Malfoy had been sent back to Azkaban for 25 years for his war crimes, while Draco had only been given community service. “Malfoy scrubbing bed pans at St. Mungo’s without magic!” Ron had crowed. Narcissa Malfoy, thanks to Harry’s testimony that she had saved his life by not giving him away in the forest, had only been fined 10,000 galleons. Harry wasn’t sorry about Narcissa’s punishment. He knew she’d only spared him to save her son, but after all, what mother wouldn’t do anything for their kid? In the end, she’d saved him too.
Ginny swore up and down that Draco should have gone to Azkaban. “He’s a foul little wart,” she’d grumbled.
“At least he was convicted,” Mr. Weasley reminded her. “It’s on his permanent record now.”
“Serves him right,” Hermione had sniffed.
“Life in Azkaban would have served him right,” Ron had muttered darkly.
By the time they had had gotten home, though, Ginny’s stomach was in knots. She didn’t know what was going on between Harry and her.
Kreacher brought them a tea tray in the library and left them to talk.
Harry sat stiffly next to her on the couch, slowly twirling his cup between his hands. “Ginny?”
“Yeah?” She asked, trying to decipher what he was feeling from the look on his face.
“Tomorrow’s Saturday.”
“I know that,” Ginny said, cracking a small smile.
Harry grinned back sheepishly. “Well, it’s my day with Teddy and I was going to take him to the park tomorrow.”
“Oh right! Uhm,” she hesitated briefly. “Do you want me to stay home?”
“No, I was going to ask if you wanted to go.”
They were so formal with each other and Ginny didn’t like it, at all. “I want to go. I haven’t seen Teddy since the funerals- I bet he’s huge.”
“And green haired,” he added. “I get a lot of nasty looks from mothers at the play parks who think I dye his hair that color.”
Ginny laughed. “Well they can glare at me, then, thinking that I’m the one who let you dye it.”
Harry turned slowly to her and the butterflies that had started to go away came back in droves. “I love you,” he said simply.
She felt as if she’d received a blow to the stomach. Where had this come from?” “I love you too.”
“Do you really?” he asked, hesitantly.
“Of course I do!” Ginny said, shocked. “Why wouldn’t you believe me?”
He sat quietly for a minute and then said, “Because we never said it before now.”
The corner of her mouth twitched. “I didn’t want to scare you off, but now that you’re stuck with me, I suppose I’m safe.”
“Scare me off?” Harry spluttered.
“Why didn’t you say it before?” Ginny asked.
He shrugged, “I guess I didn’t think about it in that way. I just thought about wanting to be with you”
“This whole situation feels really weird,” Ginny said, shifting around in her seat. “I don’t know exactly how to act or anything.”
“I don’t know either,” Harry sighed. He put his cup down and pulled her to him. He remembered what Bill had said. “I guess we’ll learn together.”
Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Strange Muggle Ways
Author's Notes: Thank you to Wolf's Scream for beta'ing!
If you want to see the cloth diapers/nappies that they use, google: "bumgenius" and you can get a visual
Ginny had several funny dreams that night. In one she fell 50 feet from a broom only to have Harry catch her at the last second. In another, she was locked in a room and she kept running around in circles, trying to find a way out. They were all unsettling and by the time she awoke she felt more tired than she had when she went to sleep the night before.
Harry was still sound asleep next to her. She turned slowly to look at him; to study his face while he slept.
Most people looked relaxed and peaceful when they slept but not Harry. He looked right now as if he was ready to take on a Death Eater. There were frown lines across his brow and his mouth was in a thin, hard line. Is he having a nightmare? Ginny reached her hand up and put it on his shoulder gently. “Harry?”
He didn’t move, but his face relaxed fractionally.
“Harry,” Ginny whispered, a bit louder.
Slowly his eyes blinked open and he turned his head to focus on her. “Hey,” he said groggily.
“Were you having a dream?” she asked curiously.
He brought his hands up to rub the heels of his hands into his eyes, barely suppressing a yawn. “Yeah, yeah it was the Mirror of Erised in my first year.”
“The what?” Ginny questioned, not sure what he was referring to.
“It was this mirror and when you look into it, it shows you your heart’s deepest desire.” Harry explained, stretching languidly. I found it my first year and Dumbledore told me what it was. When I looked into it I saw my family.”
She smiled at the content she saw on his face. “That must have been great, seeing them like that.”
He nodded and turned to her, studying her face carefully. “It was. I never wanted to stop looking at them. I… I’ve always dreamed of having a family.”
This didn’t surprise Ginny in the least. She knew Harry’s deepest desire was to have a family. It was obvious with how he was around her family. “I suppose with us getting married, it makes sense that you’d dream about your parents again.”
A strange expression fell over his face, almost as if it was painted on. “I didn’t see my parents in my dream.” His cheeks flushed, clearly embarrassed.
She tried not to laugh, but as she was usually the one blushing around him, it was difficult. “What did you see then, Harry? What’s is the deepest desire of your heart?” It was tough not putting a lot of inflection in it, as she teased him.
Harry rolled his eyes and then pushed her back onto the bed, rolling half on top of her. His eyes were intense as he stared down at her. “I saw you.”
Now it was Ginny’s turn to flush. Completely surprised, she stammered, “You saw me?”
“Well, and a couple of kids.” Harry’s eyes did not falter as he watched her intently, as if he was waiting for her reaction. “I saw our family.”
Ginny wasn’t sure what to say. She was shocked, although she wasn’t sure she could have said why. Completely out of nowhere she asked, “How many kids?”
Harry laughed and bent his lips to hers with a gentle kiss. “Three.”
“Oh good, I always wanted three. No more than that, mind.” She wasn’t sure why she said it, as she hadn’t actually ever really thought about how many kids she wanted. Instead of letting her big mouth blunder on, though, she put her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a hug. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
The alarm went off.
Harry rolled off of her to smack it with his hand. “Time to go get Teddy.”
“I still don’t know how you got that thing to work in this house,” Ginny said as she rolled out of bed and went to her dresser to get some clothes. “It shouldn’t work.”
“It’s magic,” Harry said through a yawn as he grabbed his own clothes. “You want the loo first?”
Ginny nodded and scooted out the door. “I’ll only be a minute.”
It was more like 4 minutes, but Harry didn’t seem to mind. He was waiting outside with his own clothes as she came out and he kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll see you downstairs for breakfast.
Nearly 45 minutes later they were on a muggle bus, headed for Andromeda Tonks’ home. “I’ve been thinking,” Harry said as he ran his thumb along her knuckles. He had been holding her hand ever since they had left Grimmauld Place and Ginny was not going to complain. “I think I want to buy a car.”
Ginny’s mouth fell open. “A car? Do you know how to drive?”
“Well no,” he grinned sheepishly, “but I can take lessons. It’s just really hard getting around with Teddy being so small. I honestly don’t know how your parents did it.”
“Brooms,” she said quietly so the muggle across from them wouldn’t hear her, “or the floo.”
“Yes, but still- it’s not all that easy and eventually we’ll have our own kids and we’ll want a way to transport them.”
She just stared at him. “I’m not sure I’d trust my child to be in one of those things. I’ve heard stories about them crashing.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “We could easily solve that. I’d just let your dad tinker around with it a bit.”
“But,” Ginny began slowly, “but aren’t they rather expensive?”
He looked at her oddly as he thought about how to reply. “Yeah, I suppose. But we have enough money.”
She leaned back in her seat, completely nonplussed. He’s said we have enough money. “Uhm…” She honestly didn’t know what to say.
Harry brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. She’d always loved when he’d done that, back when they were at Hogwarts and he knew it too. It simply made her insides melt. “It’s your money too, you know.”
Ginny shook her head. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”
Harry reached up and pulled a cord above her head and the bus began to slow. “This is our stop.”
~*~
Teddy had grown a lot since Ginny had seen him last. He was now four months old and Ginny wasn’t sure she’d ever seen a happier, or more colorful, baby. His hair was a shocking shade of orange today. The moment they had walked in the door, Harry had swooped down on the baby and picked him up. Kissing him once on the cheek, he lifted him in the air blew a very noisy raspberry on his belly. Teddy simply shrieked with laughter.
Ginny was dumbfounded. Where on earth had Harry learned how to be this good with a baby?
Andromeda patted her arm. “The first time he came, he wouldn’t move from the couch. He just sat there, holding him and looking terrified. He’s been watching me and learning, though.”
“I’m amazed,” Ginny admitted.
“Well, he comes every Saturday and he’s with him for most of the day. He’s been doing this for months.” Andromeda smiled sadly. “I don’t think Dora or Remus knew how good he’d be, but they couldn’t have chosen a better godfather. Now, come dear. How about some tea?”
Ginny followed Andromeda into the kitchen and helped her make a pot of tea, all the while studying her husband as if he had suddenly sprouted two heads. First he played with the baby on the floor, trying to help him roll over and then changed a nappy.
She couldn’t believe her eyes and had to go watch. But it wasn’t a nappy like her mother used- these nappies had Velcro and had cute little patterns on them. When Harry got up to put the nappy in the wash bag, he grinned at her sheepishly. “What?”
“What were those?” Ginny asked, pointing and looking over at Andromeda.
Andromeda laughed. “Newest muggle invention in cloth nappies. Dora hated the old kind that I used on her so she went to a muggle library and went on the, what do they call it? Interweb? Anyway, she was able to order them from a muggle store. They’re really fantastic, too. Better than that disposable rubbish that most muggles use now. And no pinning anything. I wish they’d had them when Dora was little.”
Ginny could see the sorrow in her eyes, so she pressed on. “My mum is going to have kittens when I tell her about those! I can’t tell you how many times I heard her complain about the pins, even if she could charm them on. Fred and George always managed to escape from the nappies.”
Harry looked between them, bouncing Teddy in his arms as the baby reached up for his glasses. “Don’t any wizards use disposable nappies?”
“Nah,” Ginny said, shaking her head. “That’s just muggle nonsense. Why not reuse something if you can?”
Harry shrugged. “So do you want to hold him?”
She laughed and reached for the baby. “I’d love to! I haven’t held a baby this small in years. Hi handsome boy.” Ginny gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek and he smiled at her. She could seem Remus’ eyes staring back at her and it was comforting, although it made her heart ache for their lost friends.
She watched Harry walk around, gathering up a few things and grabbing a bottle from the fridge. Not all wizards had them but Ginny rather liked the idea. “Is that Tonks’ milk?” Ginny asked Andromeda.
Andromeda nodded, smiling sadly as Harry froze. His eyes flashed between them. “This is Tonks’ milk? Really?”
“Yes,” Andromeda answered, looking surprised. “Who’s else would it be?”
“Well,” Harry said slowly. “I mean… muggles use formula. How do you still have so much?”
Ginny rolled her eyes and grinned at Teddy. “Harry, she’s a wizard. I’m sure Tonks pumped before,” here she faltered and her eyes flashed to the older woman, but Andromeda smiled sadly and nodded, knowing where Ginny was going. “Before she left. Mrs. Tonks has simply been increasing the quantity. Mother’s milk is best.”
He still looked a bit confused, but let it go. He picked up the bag and grabbed the pram from the corner. “Well, I expect we won’t be gone too long. Just down the play park and back.”
Andromeda nodded and waved. “You three have fun.”
Once they were out the door and Teddy was safely in the pram, Harry said, “I think I have a lot to learn about how witches and wizards have babies.”
Ginny couldn’t help but giggle. “Harry if you don’t know how then I am certainly not going to explain it to you. You’ll have to ask my dad, because I am not giving you the talk.”
He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean! Muggles use disposable nappies and formula, you know! I didn’t know that we didn’t.”
She shrugged as they walked down the sunny, tree-lined street. “Yes, I know all about that. Hermione told me. They also have their babies in hospitals.”
Harry nearly tripped over his own feet. “What?” He stopped, staring at her, completely stunned. “You… you won’t have our kids at St. Mungo’s?”
Ginny shook her head, enjoying this more than she should. “No Harry, I won’t! Pregnancy is not an illness. There are some times, you know, when a Healer might be needed but there is only one healer at St. Mungo’s who does birthing part time and she comes to your house. Otherwise it’s just the father and another experienced mother. It’s best to keep the new babies out of the hospital where all the sick people are.”
“But…” he stammered. Teddy was starting to fuss that they weren’t moving, so Ginny took over pushing the pram. “But,” Harry said again, catching up with her. “But, you know, muggles have to have surgery and such, all the time.”
“They don’t need to all the time, they just do,” Ginny said shrugging. “Honestly, Harry. Birthing is no different for witches than it is for muggle women. There are some witches who have a complication that requires a healer to remove the baby and then close the mother back up, but I’ve only heard of it happening a few times. It’s not very common.”
They arrived at the play park and Harry looked like he wanted to argue more, but Ginny forestalled him. “Look, you’re not a muggle Harry so you need to accept that things aren’t done the same way! Muggles can do things however they like, but mum’s told me about giving birth to all of us and the way she talks about it, they were the best experiences of her life. She said it was amazing to give birth to her children in her home and with no pain potions. The way muggles talk about it you’d think it was a horrible chore to be dreaded and not celebrated. That’s now how I want to give birth to our children. I want what my mother had.”
Ginny pulled Teddy out of the pram and walked over to a swing. She sat down, holding him as she gently swung back and forth. Harry was staring at her and she smiled, knowing he was still shocked. It didn’t matter, though. They weren’t ready for a child any time soon and by the time they were, he’d be used to it.
Finally he walked over behind them and began to push them slowly. Teddy loved it. The baby smiled and cooed for them and she couldn’t help but smile back. Even though his hair was horribly orange, it didn’t look too bad next to hers. The muggles around them might just think it was natural after all.
~*~
It was nearly five hours later before they were on the bus back home. They had worn Teddy out at the play park, given him a bottle while sitting under a large oak tree on a blanket, and he fell asleep on the walk back to Andromeda’s house.
“This was fun today,” Ginny said, giving Harry’s hand a squeeze. “I really enjoyed it.”
“It was,” Harry said, somewhat pensively.
Ginny looked sideways up at him. “What’s up?”
He shrugged, “Just thinking about him. I miss him all week.”
She knew that soon enough she was going to be missing Teddy too. “Maybe we can go see him more.”
Harry nodded and let go of her hand to put his arm around her shoulders. “It’s best that he’s with Andromeda. I mean, I’m only 18 and I don’t know the first thing about raising a baby, but still…”
“We’re not ready,” Ginny said softly. “If, Merlin forbid, anything happened to Mrs. Tonks then, you know, we could do it, but you’re right. He is better off with her full time. Maybe we can have him for an overnight next summer, when he’s older.”
Harry’s face brightened considerably. “I’d like that.”
“I would too.”
“I still want to look at getting a car.”
Ginny snorted and shook her head. “If you say we can afford it, then have fun. Just make sure you take those lessons. I don’t want to explain to my mum that you’re in St. Mungo’s for crashing a muggle car.”
Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Victory Ball part 1
Author's Notes: I know I have left this story for a long time. I want to thank wvchemteach for the small nudges to get back on the horse even though I was bruised and battered, and to my Mom for looking this over for me.
“I do not want to go,” Harry grumbled as he pulled on his left sock.
Ginny rolled her eyes in the mirror as she fastened on a locket that her parents had given her for her birthday. “It’s only one night, Harry. Honestly, I’m surprised that this is all they’re doing.”
“They gave me the Order of Merlin, too,” Harry grunted. “That was also a big to do that I could have done without.” He finished tying his laces and stood to pull on his dress robes. “I hated the last ball that I went to.”
Turning, Ginny put her hands on her hips in a manner that exactly mimicked her mother. “Yes, but this time you’re going with me. I didn’t have a bad time with Neville.” Her eyes were twinkling with mischief. “Unfortunately, you’re nearly as bad of a dancer as Neville, so it’s not much of an improvement.”
He laughed, and crossing the room to her, pulled her into a quick hug. He planted a kiss on her lips and grinned down at her. “You’re a definite improvement over Pavarti. Although she’s nice, I didn’t really want to go with her.”
“No, you wanted to go with Cho. Harry,” Ginny leaned back and looked up into his face very seriously. “I think she’s going to be there tonight, and I do not want you to dance with her. I don’t care if that makes me look jealous. I am jealous.”
“Why would she want to dance with me?”
“Harry! You’re the hero and it’s the Victory Ball! Of course she’ll want to dance with you, but as your wife, I’m putting my foot down.” She was really starting to enjoy saying your wife. She smiled just thinking about it.
“All right,” Harry said slowly. “Why are you smiling?”
“Nothing really. Am I presentable?”
Harry looked her over and nodded. “You look really nice. Why are you jealous?”
“The flattery in here is overwhelming,” she grumbled as she stepped away to grab a wrap.
He snagged her hand, kissed her hard on the mouth and whispered, “You look great,” in a gruff tone that said more than his words. “Don’t change the subject. Why are you jealous?”
“Because you liked her first.”
“I like you best, though,” he reminded her. “I got tired of her really quickly. I’m never going to get tired of you.”
Ginny’s face lit up brilliantly and for a second Harry’s breath simply stuck in his throat. “All right, then. Let’s get this ball over with.”
“I still don’t want to go.”
“Mum said you had to go or there is no more treacle tart.”
Harry sighed and walked out of the room with her. “I guess we’re going.”
~*~
On the whole the ball was not as bad as Harry had imagined it. It was certainly better than the Yule Ball. He’d danced with Ginny, Hermione and Molly. He’d even danced with Fleur once although she didn’t look well and had opted to sit at a table most of the evening. Ginny was eying her suspiciously now.
“What’s up?”
“I think Fleur is pregnant.”
The butterbeer that Harry had just raised to his mouth sloshed. “What?!”
“She’s looking green,” Ginny said calculatingly. “And Fleur always looks perfect, so it’s very noticeable…” her voice faded off as they both watched Bill walk over to her with a glass of water. Crouching down, he spoke quietly to her. “Yes, see the way that Bill is hovering and taking care of her? Definitely pregnant.”
Harry shook his head, not seeing what she was, but willing to take her word on it. “Do you want to dance again?”
Ginny spun and had opened her mouth to speak when Luna stepped up behind Harry. “Hi, Luna.”
“Hello Ginny, Harry,” she glided over and smiled dreamily. “This party is quite lovely, but I will be glad to be heading back to Hogwarts in a few days. I heard that you’re not going back.”
Harry and Ginny were both startled. “Where did you hear that?”
“Daddy told me. He read it on the wire.”
“The what?” Harry asked.
Ginny had more pressing concerns than answering that question. “Do you know who reported it?”
“I believe it was the clerk at the registration office. Marriages, births and deaths are all sent out to the papers.” Luna cocked her head to the side. “You didn’t want anyone to know that you got married? Is that why you didn’t invite anyone?”
Ginny groaned. “No, actually Luna… you can’t tell you father this, but Harry and I got drunk and eloped in Scotland. It was sort of an accident. Mum’s going to throw a party for our wedding and of course we’re inviting you.”
“Oh good,” Luna said airily and smiled. “I won’t say a word to Daddy about it.”
Harry grabbed Ginny’s arm. “Rita Skeeter is going to know.”
Their eyes met and a look of understanding passed between them.
~*~
An hour later the party was in full swing. Harry had stolen away with the Minister for a quick meeting, leaving Ginny talking to Ron and Hermione.
“I’m sure it will be all right,” Hermione said as her fingers twisted through her shawl. “I haven’t seen Rita all night, and she’s usually at the center of something like this.”
“Oh no!” Ron groaned. “What is he doing here?”
“Who?” Ginny and Hermione asked together, but Ginny saw right away. Viktor Krum was striding towards them.
Ron took Hermione’s hand and pulled her to the dance floor, leaving Ginny by herself. Krum faltered as he looked after them but continued on towards Ginny.
He took her hand when he reached her and kissed it, smiling charmingly down at her. “I remember you from Fleur’s wedding. Ginny, right?” Oddly enough his accent wasn’t as thick as she remembered it being.
“Mmm,” Ginny agreed with a tight smile as she tried to pull her hand back. Reluctantly, he let go. “Right, I’m Bill’s sister.”
“I could tell from the hair,” Krum agreed as he reached up and touched a lock that was loose at her cheek.
Ginny had to fight not to back away from him. “Have you started training again, or are you on holiday?”
Krum nodded. “The season won’t start for another few weeks, so I have some free time. I’m working with England’s teams to help rebuild. They lost a few players in the last battle.”
Ginny knew that. She knew all about Quidditch, but she smiled as though it were all news to her. “I must say that your English has improved in the last year.”
“I have been taking lessons often to improve it,” Krum informed her. “You’re even prettier now than you were at the wedding. Is this the same dress?”
Her insides squirmed uncomfortably. She did not want Krum flirting with her. She definitely didn’t want Harry to see Krum flirting with her, either. “Uhm, yes. I forgot all about the ball and didn’t have time to get a new one.”
“You forgot about the ball? I thought all girls wanted to go to balls?”
“I had other things going on,” Ginny sidestepped. “I really must-”
“Let’s dance,” Krum said, taking her hand dragging her towards the dance floor. “Unless you still have that large boyfriend from your brother’s wedding.”
Completely nonplussed, it took Ginny a second to dig her heels in. “I didn’t have a boyfriend at the wedding, and I don’t have one now, I’m-”
Krum halted and she would have fallen flat on her face if he hadn’t righted her. “Your cousin at the wedding told me you had a boyfriend.”
“My cousin?” Her momentary distraction hadn’t put him off. He pulled her another few steps and they were on the dance floor. “How did you remember something like that?”
“It was a memorable night, to say the least, and I never forget the details about a beautiful girl.” He gave her a roguish grin. “You will like it. I’m an excellent dancer. I even took lessons.”
Krum took her waist and Ginny reluctantly put her hand in his to dance. He wasn’t half bad, either, but she’d rather have been anywhere else. She also knew that if Krum knew she was Harry’s wife, he wouldn’t be chatting her up. It was obvious that Krum had a lot of respect for Harry. Best to get it over with. “Viktor, I’m married.”
Krum froze on the floor, his face going pale. “To the large, jealous man?”
Ginny snorted. Whatever he’d been told it must have been a good one. “I have six older brothers and you’re worried about one husband?” It hurt her heart unbelievably to think of Fred now, but he deserved to be included in the six. He’d always looked after her.
“Six?!” Krum backed a step up from her and shook his head. “How could any man get close enough to marry you?”
“Well,” she said pensively, “if he’s tougher than the rest of them...” She let her voice trail off.
Krum nodded warily and asked, “Who is your husband?”
A voice behind Krum answered for her. “Me.” Harry walked calmly up and put his left arm around her waist. She grinned at him and he extended his free right to shake Krum’s hand. “How are you?”
Krum shook his hand and grinned. “Disappointed that she’s taken, but if I had to lose out on someone so enchanting, I’m glad it’s you. Ginny, thank you for the dance… Harry.” He inclined his head and walked away.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Ginny burst out laughing. “He was flirting with me shamefully!”
Harry grinned and kissed her softly, whispering against her lips, “Of course he was flirting with you. He likes beautiful women.”
Ginny’s cheeks flamed bright red, and she ducked her head. He’d never said she was beautiful before and it gave her stomach a funny little ache. His finger tucked under her chin and lifted her gaze back to his.
“Blushing.” Harry commented as he kissed her again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Ginny whispered before pulling him further onto the dance floor to dance.
Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Unexpected
Author's Notes: Thank you for your patience. I had my third 2nd trimester miscarriage in the past few months and it's been difficult to get much done. I'm going to try to push through and get this story finished soon.
The ball was never going to end, Harry was certain of that. Witches and wizards floated around on the dance floor while Harry did his best to remain out of the way. Horace Slughorn had seen Ginny and had snatched her up to talk to Gwenog Jones. At first Ginny had looked pained, but from what he could see now, she was actually starting to look excited.
Harry sidled over to where Fleur was sitting alone and sat down. “Hey, are you feeling any better?” he questioned.
Fleur sighed heavily. “Non, I ate something zat deed not agree weeth me. Bill is checking with the house elves who prepared the food. Veela are not supposed to have a certeen type of fruit, and I am afraid zat I ate some in the tart. If eet had been my grandmother, she could have died, but as I am only part Veela, it will just make me feel sick.”
“Oh,” Harry said, thinking back to Ginny’s earlier comment about Fleur being pregnant. Guess she’s not, he thought, thankful that he hadn’t said anything about a baby. He didn’t know much about women, but he could guess that they did not like being mistaken for being pregnant when they weren’t.
Bill came striding back to the table, a grim expression on his scarred face. He held out a hand for her. “Bad news, Fleur. The tarts did have agave in them. We’re going to take a trip to St. Mungo’s.”
“No, Bill. I will be fine,” Fleur protested.
Bill shook his head. “I’m not taking any chances with you,” he said solemnly.
Fleur smiled faintly and nodded. She stood, and Harry could see that she wobbled on unsteady legs. Harry instinctively stood but Bill had her. He thought Bill was right to insist, and it seemed now so did Fleur. She leaned into him and they walked away.
Hermione hurried over to him. “What’s wrong with Fleur?”
“Uh, agave I think Bill said.”
Hermione’s face instantly contorted with deep concern. “Oh no! Are they going to St. Mungo’s?”
He nodded. “She didn’t want to, but she doesn’t look well.”
“No, agave is very dangerous for Veela’s, although I suppose because she’s only part Veela that she’ll have a better chance of recovering quickly.” Hermione said quickly as she looked around and smiled. “This is a good party, otherwise. I saw Ginny over with Slughorn and Gwenog Jones. Do you know what that’s about?”
“No, I was dancing with Mrs. Weasley when he dragged her off.”
“I wonder,” Hermione mused.
~*~
Ginny was not happy to have been snagged by Slughorn. She’d never liked the man or his pretentiousness. The second he’d walked over he’d told her that he’d heard that she and Harry were married. How on earth had he know?!
“Which means, of course,” Slughorn said jovially,“that you won’t be returning to Hogwarts. It’s a shame, Miss Weasley- well I should say, Mrs. Potter. You are a fine student, but an even better Quidditch player, and the school will miss you. That’s really what I wanted to talk to you about and also reintroduce you to Gwenog. Tryouts for the new Harpies reserve team will be held in a week’s time, and I thought you might be interested in speaking to her about getting a tryout slot. She’s not seen you play, but she trusts my judgment and was excited to- Ah Gwenog!”
All of that was said while he dragged Ginny by the elbow over to where Gwenog had been standing.
Gwenog smiled haughtily, but politely enough. “Horace has been telling me about your playing. He says you’re good.”
Ginny tried to force more than a tight lipped smile, but it wasn’t happening. “I am good. I’m a decent Seeker, but an good Chaser, for a Hogwarts’ team anyway.”
“You’re being too modest, Ginny!” Slughorn admonished. “She’s excellent,” he assured Gwenog.
“We have tryouts next Thursday,” Gwenog said. “If you would like a chance, be at our practice field in Holyhead at 7pm sharp. If you’re late, you don’t get a chance.”
Although Ginny disliked Slughorn’s maneuvering, especially because she was sure it was for his own gain, and he’d call on her for favors someday, she still felt a flutter of excitement creep into her belly. Her favorite Quidditch team, and she was being given a chance to tryout… “I’ll be there.”
“Good,” Gwenog said, although she didn’t actually seemed pleased, merely bored. “I once saw Potter play. If he were a woman, I’d have put him on the team in a heartbeat.”
“He is very good,” Ginny agreed.
“Still, I believe we’ll have a decent team this year. It’s a rebuilding year as we lost two players. One was killed, and the other had a baby.” Gwenog said ‘baby’ with the same tenor that most people would use to say ‘death eater’. Ginny had to stop herself from laughing. “How long have-”
Whatever Gwenog had been about to say was interrupted by a cry from the far side of the room. Ginny spun and saw a Patronus streaking straight for Harry. She didn’t stop to think, just ran straight for him along with several Order members and most of her family.
“Under attack!” the owl said in what Ginny realized was Andromeda Tonks’ voice. Ginny felt her heart freeze.
Harry seemed to take in everything instantly. “We have to go to Andromeda. She’s under attack.”
“Let’s go” and “move” were shouted around her.
She made to follow, but Harry stopped her. “Go home.”
“No! I want to-”
Harry shook his head once, his intense green eyes staring hard into hers. “I need you at home. Hopefully.” With a fast, hard kiss to his mouth he was running towards the hall which would allow them to Apparate out of the Ministry.
Ginny was stuck between livid and defiant. She couldn’t believe he’d ordered her home, and couldn’t believe even more that she was half considering following his orders! It was galling, but… but Andromeda was under attack.
Teddy was in danger. It stopped her cold. That little baby should not be put in harm’s way, not anymore. She would go home and wait as he asked.
Almost in a fog, Ginny made her way quickly to the hall and from there Apparated to Grimmald Place. She opened the door and went straight for the kitchen. Kreature wasn’t there, so she set about putting tea on for herself and anyone else who may floo in.
The fireplace sprung to life, and she moved swiftly over to see someone spinning out of the floo. Harry stumbled out carrying a bag and a crying Teddy. He dropped the bag and handed her the baby. “Andromeda is hurt.”
He was gone a second later, back into the floo.
Ginny looked down at the squalling baby and choked back a sob. She hoped fervently that Andromeda would be all right.
She heard Kreature’s voice ask her if she needed any help and she asked him to get some cloths so she could clean Teddy up.
“Is there anything Teddy could sleep in?” She asked and heard him say there might be a cot up in the attic.
She cuddled the baby to her shoulder, shushing to calm him. She snagged the bag that Harry had dropped off the floor with the hand that wasn’t holding the baby to her shoulder. She plopped it on the scarred kitchen table to search through it. To her immense relief she saw the containers that meant Harry had grabbed the breast milk for the baby. She’d need to increase the quantity but for now it could go safely into storage. After thanking Kreature for the cloths to clean Teddy off, she asked Kreacher to take care of the milk and then see about the cot.
Ginny felt sick all the way to her toes. If Andromeda was really hurt… and what if they hadn’t gotten Teddy away in time? She swallowed past the lump in her throat and kissed is downy blue head. She hoped Harry was all right.
The floo flared to life again and she turned in her seat, only slightly disappointed to see her mother. She half rose, but her mother motioned her back into her seat. “Thank you, Kreature,” she said, taking the cup of tea from the elf.
“You’re welcome, Missus. I goes to see about the cot now.”
Ginny thanked him again before turning towards her mother. “Mrs. Tonks?”
“I got a message from your father. She’s at St. Mungo’s, and they’re patching her up. She may be there for a few days but she’ll be all right.”
Ginny let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “Harry?”
“I don’t know, dear. The Aurors are all looking for whoever attacked the house. Your father said it was a horrible mess, but expected it could be put to rights well enough.” She reached a hand over and patted Ginny’s cheek. “Would you like me to keep Teddy?”
“No,” Ginny answered firmly. “I need to do this, although I certainly would welcome the help.”
They worked together to put Teddy to bed and Ginny asked a lot of questions. As predicted, Mrs. Weasley fawned over the cloth nappies saying how they would be lovely on her grandchildren, whenever it was that she had them. Ginny put Teddy’s cot in their room, and her mother taught her a monitoring charm so that she could hear Teddy if he cried.
They quietly made their way back to the kitchen. It was nearly 2 am, and she knew her mother was staying because they hadn’t heard from Harry yet. “You can go, Mum.”
“I don’t mind staying.”
Ginny hugged her, reveling in the familiar feel and smell. “I know and thank you. I’ll floo in the morning and let you know how it’s going, all right?”
“All right, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said. With another quick hug and a kiss to the cheek, she was gone.
Ginny sat down at the table, in the silent kitchen to wait.
Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Teddy
Author's Notes: You will save yourself a lot of confusion if you google "ergo baby carrier" before reading and look at the picture of what I'm describing. I tried my best to describe it, but a picture is worth a thousand words.
Ginny fell asleep at the kitchen table, her head on her arms. She jerked awake when she heard the small cry. It took her a moment to realize that it was coming from her wand and it could only mean that Teddy was awake.
Teddy…
Ginny stood and groaned as her body protested the hours of sitting in the hard chair. She staggered over to the counter to make a bottle, thankful to note that her mother had increased the quantity of the milk so there would be enough.
She stumbled up the stairs, changed Teddy’s nappy and sat down with him in the rocking chair that Kreacher had found shortly after her mother had left, and had quietly moved into their bedroom. She propped him up with a pillow and fed the hungry baby, rocking and humming tunelessly to him.
That was how Harry found her. She glanced up to see the small sliver of light peeping from around him as he silently moved into the room. She looked exhausted and worried.
“You’re okay?” Her voice a hoarse whisper.
“Yeah,” he said softly. He moved almost without thought to kneel in front of her. He kissed his godson’s soft cheek and breathed out silent thanks that Teddy was all right. Andromeda had protected him, but at her own expense.
As if reading his thoughts, she asked, “Andromeda?”
“Hurt badly, but she’ll be all right. We didn’t catch them,” he said bitterly. “We got there and they fought for a short time but as more back up arrived they Apparated away. We weren’t able to follow.”
He carefully took the sleeping Teddy in his arms and moved him over to the cot he’d spotted. He put him down and ran a hand over his cheek. Then he turned and pulled Ginny up and into his arms, kissing her neck and holding tightly. “Thank you for being here. I… I got Teddy. He was crying and grabbed his things while the others held the attackers off, then to know you’d be here when I brought him to you… thankfully they hadn’t blown up the fireplace.”
He felt her relax against him and she whispered into his chest, “I’m sorry you couldn’t catch them.”
Harry nodded. “Why don’t you get some sleep? You look like you could use it.”
“So do you. Let’s both sleep and hope he doesn’t get up for another few hours.” Ginny sat heavily on the bed and pulled Harry down with her. They both fell instantly asleep in each other’s arms.
Teddy slept for almost five hours and they both awoke when he did at 9am. Harry rolled over and muttered about getting a bottle.
Ginny dragged herself over to the crying baby, groggy but still managing to change him before Harry got back with the bottle. He sat down in the rocker and held out his arms for the baby. “I’ve got this. You can lie down again.”
She didn’t argue, even though she knew he had to be exhausted. Ginny imagined that he, like her, wanted to feel the baby’s solid warmth and soak in the fact that the baby was okay.
Ginny snuggled back into the warm covers and fell asleep.
~*~
Harry should have been drained from the night’s events, but he was wide awake. So was Teddy. His godson smiled at him and waved a hand towards his face. Harry stood up from the rocker, cradling Teddy and placed the baby on the bed next to Ginny. He carefully lay down as well, so that the baby was between them. He was going to have to leave soon. He told Kingsley that he’d be in after lunch, but he didn’t want to go. He wasn’t too fond of having to work on a Saturday.
He had an odd sensation in his chest, almost as if a fist had hold of his heart, as he looked between the cooing baby and his wife. He’d not made the conscious choice to marry Ginny. He’d been so out of it that he couldn’t even remember them getting married. He couldn’t change what had happened, but he wasn’t sure now that he’d want to. Selfishly, Harry reflected, she was now with him all the time and wouldn’t be going back to school on Monday. They would be together forever.
Ginny looked so peaceful and beautiful while she slept. He could see the bags under her eyes and knew she had to be exhausted.
Teddy was staring at her, concentrating in a way that was rare for the baby. Very slowly the baby’s hair started to turn to the same copper color as Ginny’s amazing hair. His breath caught in his throat. They looked like mother and child.
Teddy reached out his chubby little hand and grabbed Ginny’s nose. She squeaked and her eyes opened while Harry chuckled. “Good morning.”
She stretched and smiled at him, “morning. What time is it?”
“Almost noon. I have to get to the office for a bit today.”
Ginny nodded, and reached out her small hand to tickle Teddy’s belly. “Let’s get some lunch then.”
~*~
After Harry left for the Ministry Ginny took Teddy up to the sitting room and lay out a blanket so they could play on the floor. She sat next to him and he giggled happily up at her, his fat little fists waving in the air.
“Ginny?”
Ginny looked over her shoulder, up at Hermione. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I have a present for you,” Hermione said happily. “My favorite cousin has one and said it saved her sanity when her daughter was a little. Here.”
Ginny eyed the shopping bag skeptically, but took it from her and peeked inside. Ergo baby carrier? She pulled it out and looked at it more closely. “Oh, I see. It’s so I can have Teddy with me and have my hands free.”
“Exactly! Plus it’s comfortable so you can wear him in it for a long time, hours maybe.”
Ginny snorted, “I hope I don’t have to wear him that long. Thanks Hermione.”
“No problem. I was thinking we could go visit Mrs. Tonks today. I flooed over to St. Mungo’s and her Healer told me that she would be up for visitors.” Hermione ran a finger along Teddy’s cheek and smiled. “He’s adorable.”
“Do you have the time today?” Ginny asked. She’d wanted to take Teddy, but didn’t want to take him out by herself.
“Yes, I’m free till Monday.”
They fed the baby and changed his nappy before packing a diaper bag and Ginny tried out her new Ergo. “This is really comfortable,” she said as they headed out of Grimmauld Place for the London underground. Although Ginny had used the underground several times to go see her father, it had been a few years and she was thankful to have Hermione along.
“I will probably be able to do this myself next time,” Ginny commented as they got off at the correct station.
Hermione nodded. “It isn’t hard, just takes a bit of practice. You’ll probably have more trouble with the Muggle money than anything else.”
~*~
Teddy had fallen asleep on the train and was still asleep as they made their way into Mrs. Tonks’ room. She looked exhausted and frail, Ginny thought, but she smiled as they came in.
“I’m so glad you came to see me. How’s Teddy?” Her voice was hoarse. She held out her hand and Ginny went to sit carefully on the bed next to her. Ginny pulled back the carrier a bit so Andromeda could see her grandson. “Oh, he’s so peaceful and asleep.”
She had been whispering, but still Teddy woke up at the sound of her voice next to him. Ginny unbuckled the carrier and took him out, cautiously placing the baby in his grandmother’s arms. She leaned down to kiss the baby and a tear streaked down her face. “I thought for sure that he wouldn’t make it. I sent the Patronus and put up shields and then everything turned to chaos. Then Harry was there and he grabbed Teddy and was gone through the floo and the rest of the Order was there and… things went black after that. I woke up here. Thank goodness Harry got him out.”
“He brought Teddy to me,” Ginny told her quietly. “He’s been an angel, but I’m sure he’s missing you.”
Mrs. Tonks laughed softly. “Well, it will be good to have you spoiling him for a few days till I can get out of here. Thank you, Ginny. Thank you for taking care of him.”
“Any time,” Ginny assured her.
Leaving the hospital did not go well. When Ginny took Teddy out of Andromeda’s arms, he started to cry hard. They put Teddy back in the carrier, which calmed him a bit, but he still snuffled unhappily the whole way home. When Ginny got him out to feed him, he fussed some more, and then screamed bloody murder when she laid him down to change his nappy.
~*~
When Harry walked in the door 7 hours later, close to midnight, he headed straight down to the kitchens to grab a snack. He froze in the door way. Ginny, wearing Teddy in some kind of baby carrier, was rocking back and forth, her arms around the baby, and humming tunelessly to Teddy. She looked beyond exhausted.
“Ginny?” Harry whispered, not wanting to wake the baby.
She turned to look at him and her eyes looked like a zombie from one of those Muggle movies. They were completely blood shot. “Hey,” she said. Her voice came out as a whispered croak.
“What happened?” He hung his cloak up and moved towards her. He looked down into Teddy’s sleeping face. His face was blotchy from crying and he didn’t seem to be deeply asleep.
“Hermione and I took Teddy to see Andromeda. She was so glad to see him, and he was happy to see her. Then he got really mad when we left. Honestly, I didn’t think babies this little could throw temper tantrums but Hermione floo’ed Mum to ask and she assured us that they could. If I take him out of this carrier he starts to scream. Hermione only left a little while ago.” She closed her eyes and gently rolled her shoulders, trying not to jostle the baby. All the while she kept swaying. “I’ve been wearing him for hours. Hermione, Kreacher and I even figured out how to clean his nappy and give him a bottle without taking him out. My back is killing me and I have a new appreciation for what it must feel like to be 9 months pregnant. Oh and if I stop swaying he wakes up.”
Harry looked down at her with sympathy. “I can take over now.”
“I’m hoping since he knows you better than me that you’ll be able to sooth him,” she said, reaching behind her back to undo the top clasp. She held onto Teddy and let the carrier fall from her shoulders. Harry unhooked it from around her waist and lengthened it to fit his. Teddy started to cry a pitiful mewing cry as Ginny passed him over to Harry, but once the carrier was back in place he calmed down again and went right back to sleep.
“I need a very long, hot shower or I’m not going to be able to move tomorrow. That thing is not meant to be worn for nearly 9 hours straight. It saved my arms, though.”
Harry watched her hobble out of the door. He looked down at his godson and couldn’t blame him for being upset. Both his parents had died, and now his grandmother was hurt and he was staying in a new house. He leaned his head down and kissed the top of the baby’s head, which was neon blue at the moment.
“Would master like some supper?” Kreacher croaked softly behind him.
Harry nodded. “Thanks Kreacher. It’s been a long day here, yeah?”
“Mistress Ginny and Miss Hermione did an excellent job with the baby Master Harry. Mistress never once lost her temper, but she’s tired and needs a rest.” Kreacher handed up a plate to Harry.
“I’ll take over from here, then. Thanks,” Harry said again taking his plate. He’d thought his day had been rough, but right now he was feeling like chasing down escaped Death Eaters and trying to squeeze 3 years or Auror training into one was a cake walk compared to this.
He had to eat carefully to not spill on the baby’s head, and he still had to sway or Teddy started to make noises. After he’d finished, he wandered up stairs and into their bedroom. Teddy was now completely asleep and Harry risked taking him out and putting him into his cot. Thankfully he slept through the transfer.
He turned when he heard Ginny enter the room and froze when he saw that she was clad only in her knickers, a towel in her hand as she dried her hair.
Harry breath caught and she looked up. Ginny squeaked and clutched the towel to her chest. “I thought you were still downstairs.” Her entire face was beat red and what he could see of the rest of her was blushing as well.
“Uh,” his brain seemed to have frozen solid while the rest of him heated up. He spun back around again and let out a ragged breath. “Sorry.”
He heard her rummage around for clothes. “I’ll finish getting dressed in the loo.”
He waited a beat before walking over to the bed and sinking down onto it. He put his head in his hands and tried to slow his heart. He’d just seen Ginny nearly naked for the first time. Sleep was not going to come easily tonight. His hands shook as he reached out for his pajamas which were lying on his pillow. He changed quickly.
Ginny came back in dressed for bed and not meeting his eyes. She crawled into their bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Harry walked out to use the loo and brush his teeth without saying a word. When he got back to the room he got the lights lay down next to her. “I feel bloody awkward right now.” He turned his head to look at her. A ray of moon light showed down, gently illuminating her face.
“You weren’t the one who was starkers.”
He couldn’t think of what to say other than “if you want to see me naked to even it out, we can do that. I can guarantee that you look better.”
Ginny snorted. “That was a given.”
And just like that the uncomfortable tension that was blistering between them broke. Harry laughed and leaned over to kiss her. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Harry.”
“Goodnight.”
“Night.” Ginny was quiet for several moments. “Harry?”
“Hmm?”
“If Teddy gets up in the middle of the night he’s all yours.”
“Fair enough.”
Chapter 8: Chapter 8: The Daily Prophet
Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews! The story is done. I'm going to post it all either today or tomorrow.
By the next day Teddy was back to his happy baby self. Ginny took him to see Mrs. Tonks at St. Mungo’s again right after lunch. She did have a bit of trouble using Muggle money for the underground but got it sorted out quickly. She was thankful not to have a pram when she saw another mother struggling to get one on the train. Ginny rushed over to help and the woman thanked her. There were perks to having her hands free, even if her back ached a bit from her marathon of baby holding the day before.
Teddy had changed his hair color to a brilliant yellow that would never pass for natural, so Ginny put the sleeping hood on the Ergo baby carrier up over his head while they were on the train so as not to attract too much attention. He was starting to pull off all the baby hats that she attempted to put on him.
She was already getting quite a bit of attention as it was. One older woman in a brilliantly scarlet hat kept staring at Ginny. Ginny stared right back. Finally the woman asked, “How old is he?”
“Four months old.”
“How old are you?”
Ginny sighed at the rude question. “I’m 17, but he’s not mine. He’s my godson.” She didn’t feel bad about lying to the woman. She was so nosey. And really, Teddy was pretty much her godson. She was, after all, married to his godfather. “I’m taking him to visit his grandmother who is in the hospital.”
The woman flushed. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
Ginny bit back the retort that was on her lips. It wouldn’t do to go insulting the woman. Instead she spent the rest of the trip looking out the window as they sped through the tunnels.
This visit went a bit better than the last. Mrs. Tonks had improved greatly overnight and she happily told Ginny that she should be able to leave by next Wednesday.
“Of course the Healers don’t want me to be doing anything for at least another week. Will you and Harry be able to keep him for that long?” She looked pained as she asked. “I know it’s an imposition and it’s been thrust on you, but-”
Ginny shook her head and held up Teddy who was trying to stand on his pudgy little legs. He kept plopping back into her lap and cooing. “It’s not an imposition. I’m happy to keep him. It gives me something to do.” She didn’t mention the sleepless nights or the hours upon hours of crying he’d done the day before. Mrs. Tonks didn’t need to know that right now. When she was better, Ginny would tell her about it.
“You’re really good with him. I know you and Harry will be excellent parents.” Mrs. Tonks held out her arms and Ginny passed him over again. “Are you thinking about having children any time soon?”
It must be the day for awkward questions. First the woman on the train, and now… “I don’t think so. We weren’t really ready to get married, you know, so we’re taking it slow. We have to figure out this marriage thing first before we can really have a kid.”
Mrs. Tonks looked concerned. “How is that going having Teddy underfoot?”
Ginny thought of Harry seeing her starkers last night and sighed. Nothing was going to happen anyway, but it helped having Teddy in the room. He kept them in check. “It’s okay with Teddy. We’re making it work.”
Mrs. Tonks nodded and cuddle the baby in her arms. “I’m glad he’s got Harry… and you of course, but especially Harry. He’s going to need a father figure in his life. I just can’t fill that role for him.” She kissed Teddy’s cheek and ran a hand over his canary yellow hair. “What are you going to do with yourself now that you’re not in school?”
“I have a spot to try out for the Harpies’ reserve team this year,” Ginny said suddenly remembering about Slughorn cornering her at the ball Friday night. “We’ll see where that goes.”
They chatted for another half an hour and when Teddy started to droop Ginny put him back in the carrier, slung the diaper bag over her shoulder and kissed Mrs. Tonks’ cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
She exited the hospital and headed back towards the underground. As soon as she got a block away from the hospital she started to feel uneasy. Something didn’t feel right to her. Looking around Ginny didn’t see anything but just to be safe she doubled back to the hospital. She inserted herself into a group of Muggles and walked with them back to the entrance. She asked the dummy to let her in again and she stepped in the glass.
Ginny walked over to the grumpy looking welcome witch. “Can I send a message to my husband at the ministry?”
The woman scowled at her. “Do I look like a delivery service?”
Ginny wanted to smack the woman, but held herself in check. She didn’t know that anything was wrong, but she wasn’t going to take any chances- not with Teddy. It was time to lay all her cards out on the table. “I’m Ginny Potter.”
It only took a moment for the woman to register what her name meant. “You mean, the Potter?”
“Yes, now can I please get a message to my husband?”
In no time at all Ginny was sitting in the director’s office sipping a cup of tea while the director personally floo’ed over to the ministry to contact Harry. Teddy was completely passed out for which Ginny was thankful.
Within five minutes Harry came bursting into the office looking panicked. The director and Ron following close behind him. Ginny hastily put her cup on the director’s desk and stood up as he rushed over to her. He pulled her into a hug, careful not to squish the baby between them. “What happened, Ginny?”
“Nothing,” Ginny said biting her lip. She felt stupid even thinking about what she was going to say, but it needed to be said. She didn’t believe in premonitions, but every once in a while she got these niggling feelings. Ginny had found through the years that it was best if she listened to them. “I left the hospital and started to walk back to the underground and I suddenly felt like I was being watched, like something might be wrong. I didn’t want to keep going since I have Teddy with me.”
Harry rested his forehead against hers and took a deep breath. “I’m glad you came back. We don’t know why Andromeda was targeted and there is no sense in taking any chances.” He reached down and snagged the diaper bag from the floor. Ginny and Harry both thanked the director and they walked back out to the exit, holding hands.
When they got to the underground, Harry took the money to buy their tickets leaving Ron and Ginny waiting off to one side. “You scared him, you know. We got this message saying to get to the hospital, that you needed him. He went all white and rushed out. I had to run to keep up with him.”
“I feel badly about doing this, but I just didn’t want to take a chance. I can’t really defend myself with Teddy strapped to my front.” Ginny sighed and leaned into Ron as he slung a comforting arm around her shoulder.
“You did the right thing, Ginny. Don’t take chances on safety.” He gave her a squeeze and let go. “It’s no trouble for us to see you home and then go back to work. Kingsley understands. Or at least he will when we get back and explain it to him. Harry wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind to stop and tell his boss why he was leaving work early.”
Harry came back with their tickets and they boarded the train. Ginny sat next to Harry, Ron across. Harry kept his arm firmly around her and she knew both he and Ron were constantly sweeping the car looking for anything unusual.
It was a relief to finally get back into the house at Grimmauld Place. Harry sent Ron back to work and told him he’d be along in a few minutes. Ginny went upstairs to put Teddy in his cot and cast the monitoring charm on the sleeping baby before heading back down to the sitting room where Harry waited for her.
She flopped next to him and he kissed the top of her head. “You scared me,” he said softly.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I’m really proud of you, Ginny. Even a year ago you’d have probably gone on by yourself.” His tone was low and his voice was gentle. He sighed heavily. “You’re just like me that way.”
Ginny wanted to argue but she knew what he said was true. “I might not have a year ago if I’d had Teddy with me.”
“True,” Harry agreed. “It wasn’t just your safety in question today. Ron will alert Kingsley of what happened and he’ll get a few Aurors to sweep the area. We didn’t seen anyone, but it doesn’t mean they weren’t there. I didn’t even tell Kingsley we were leaving. I just wanted to get to you two.”
Ginny looked up into face, into his amazingly beautiful eyes and he leaned down to kiss her. The kiss started off slowly. He cupped her chin and then slid his hand into her hair. Ginny turned until she was facing him fully. She sneaked a leg over so that she was straddling him, and put her hands into his hair. The kiss deepened and his hands slid down to her waist, holding onto her firmly.
A feeling of utter rightness swept through her and she knew somehow that Harry felt it as well.
When they broke apart Ginny rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes, just as he’d done in the director’s office.
“Last night makes it a bit more difficult to say ‘let’s stop here’,” Harry told her. “I’d feel bad about the fact that the picture of you naked keeps popping up in my mind, but then you’re my wife so I suppose that’s allowed.
She tilted her head until their lips met again and she smiled. “I think once Teddy goes back home that I’ll be ready for that next step.”
“I’m thinking the same thing,” he agreed huskily.
Ginny kissed him again and he tightened his arms around her, pulling her in closer.
Her wand started to cry. She broke away and looked at it, confused for a second before remembering that that meant that Teddy was awake. “Duty calls,” she said grinning. She kissed him quickly, one last time, and got up.
“I’m heading back to the office, but I won’t be late tonight.” He snagged her arm and pulled her into a quick hug and kiss before letting her go. “Thanks.”
“For what?” she asked quizzically.
He grinned down at her. “For being you.”
~*~
“Mum?” Ginny looked around empty Burrow kitchen and hoped her mother would hear her calling. She only had a few minutes to fire call didn’t want to have to floo over to find her. “Mum?” She called again louder.
She heard someone coming and her mother arrived in the kitchen seconds later. “Oh Ginny! You gave me fright. Have you seen-”
Ginny cut her off as she heard Teddy start to cry. She knew Kreacher was watching him, but she needed to get back. “I have a favor to ask and Teddy’s crying.”
“Go on dear, I’ll floo through to you.”
Minutes later her mother had floo’ed into the kitchen at Grimmauld Place. She came over to pluck Teddy from her arms and to coo at him while giving him a bottle.
“Mum, I have Quidditch tryouts Thursday night at 7pm. Harry’s got training till 8. Can you watch Teddy for while for me?” Ginny sighed and sank into one of the chairs. “I hate to ask, but Mrs. Tonks won’t be ready to take him till at least this weekend.”
“Of course I will, it’s no trouble at all. Your father and I are just itching to have grandchildren, not that I’m pressuring you.” She winked at her and Ginny was heartened to see her so happy. It had been awhile. “No, I keep dropping hints to Bill and Fleur.”
“Isn’t Fleur already pregnant? She looked green at the ball.”
Her mother shook her head and frowned. “No, she accidentally ate some agave. It was in one of the dessert. Poor lamb was in St. Mungo’s overnight just to be safe.”
Ginny vaguely recalled that a few different fruit could make a Veela very ill or even kill them. In all the uproar from Mrs. Tonks’ attack, she’d somehow missed that her sister-in-law had been hospitalized. She was about to ask something else when Mum gasped.
“I nearly forgot to show this to you.” She carefully maneuvered a folded up newspaper out of her apron pocket. “It came today. Your secret it out, and Rita skewered both of you- complete with a photo.”
Ginny took the Daily Prophet with trepidation and opened it up. On the front cover was a large photo of her and Harry walking hand in hand out of St. Mungo’s the previous day. Teddy’s little sleeping face could be seen clearly in the shot. “How did they get this shot? I didn’t see a photographer anywhere!”
“It gets worse, Ginny. Read the story.” Mrs. Weasley moved over towards the sideboard and asked, “Kreacher, would you be a dear and get a pot of tea going for us please?”
“Yes Missus Weasley.”
“Thank you.”
Ginny started to read.
Harry Potter, the boy who lived and the man who killed You-Know-Who is Married! By Rita Skeeter
Yesterday afternoon this Daily Prophet correspondent received certain proof that Harry Potter has married his longtime girlfriend, Ginevra Weasley in a quick wedding ceremony in Scotland on August the 11th of this year.
“I can confirm that they are married, yes,” says an unnamed Ministry official. “I’ve seen the official record.”
It suddenly struck Ginny that her wedding anniversary was also her birthday. That was going to make it easy to remember. For some reason she’d thought they’d gotten married on the 12th. She kept reading.
Why the sudden wedding? What was the rush? Your Daily Prophet Reporter wanted to get the full story before going public and now we have it! As pictured above, a baby was clearly involved in their decision to wed hastily.
One source close to Ginevra Weasley Potter (sometimes known as Ginny) at Hogwarts School confirmed to me that Ginny left school during the Easter Holidays this past year.
“It was all most suspicious,” said the source. “We never knew why. She didn’t look pregnant, though.”
Had Ginny reached a stage in her pregnancy where she was no longer able to hide it? Did she knowingly put Harry Potter’s baby in danger by continuing her magical education? Did they hurriedly marry just before she gave birth?
We at the Daily Prophet think the evidence is clear.
We reached out to Neville Longbottom, a friend of Harry and Ginny’s. He initially refused to give a statement, but when asked about the baby he stated that Ginny had not been pregnant and the baby could not be hers. He refused to say how he knew this or to give any details on who the child might be if it isn’t theirs.
Why were they visiting St. Mungo’s? Is the child ill? Sadly, it appears that their child is not magical. This reporter made a trip last night to meet a source that has access to the records of all the magical births. This information is not normally released but we were able to get proof that no magical baby has been born to Harry Potter or Ginny Weasley or Ginny Potter.
What a thing to happen to our world’s hero! Just in the prime of his life his freedom is snatched from him and he’s left with a child that will never truly fit in to our world.
The man who defeated You-Know-Who was raised by Muggles and was likely not aware that relations outside of marriage are not done and that no one would have a baby outside of marriage. Perhaps Ginevra mislead Harry in an effort to trap him. Certainly her parents would have insisted on them marrying or taken the necessary legal steps to force a marriage between them.
Continued, see page 2
“We merited more than just the front page?” Ginny spat out.
Her mother put her hand on Ginny’s shoulder. “The picture is huge. They wanted to make sure that everyone could see Teddy. Clearly no one at the Prophet can tell that Teddy is much too big to have only been born a few weeks ago. Read the next page, it’s ever worse.”
Ginny flipped the page and saw another huge photo, this time of Harry laughing with an extremely attractive blonde woman who was nearly as tall as him. “Uhg.”
It does not seem, however much we at the Daily Prophet hate to report this particular truth, that Harry Potter is not happy in his marriage. We have evidence that Harry has been spending a lot of time lately with Summer Abbott, secretary to Minister Shacklebolt.
“Always really friendly around each other,” says a ministry employee. “I think they like each other.”
Summer must not be aware that Harry Potter is married. We, at the Prophet, want to extend our sympathies to her and to hope that she is able to recover from this inadvertent duplicity on Mr. Potter’s part. We can only hope that for Harry Potter’s sake and for the sake of the new world that we are trying to rebuild, that he will find contentment in the life that he has been forced in to and not suffer the consequences of relationships outside of marriage.
Ginny threw the paper onto the table and ran a hand over her brow. A tension headache was starting to build there. She’d met Summer at the ball, just briefly, but she was certain Summer had eyes only for Kingsley and unless she was much mistaken, the feeling was mutual. Not only that but Summer was at least 10 years older than Harry.
There was truth in the article, though. Not much, but one salient fact. They hadn’t chosen this, not any of it. Well, except for the excess of firewhiskey, but Harry really hadn’t chosen to marry her.
She heard the front door and looked over to see Harry running into the kitchen. He had a Daily Prophet clutched in his hands and he spotted the one on the table. “Oh, you already read it.”
“Why don’t the two of you go out to dinner?” Mrs. Weasley suggested, although it sounded like more of a command. “You can find a nice Muggle restaurant and have a chat, away from the prying eyes of the Wizarding world. I think it would do you both good.”
“Mum, are you sure?” Ginny didn’t want to impose. “What about Dad?”
“I left your father a note on the table telling him where I would be. He’ll floo over when he gets home. Go on you two! Let me spoil Teddy for a while.” She chivvied them towards the door.
Harry didn’t wait. He grabbed Ginny’s hand and dragged her out the door. “There is a place about two blocks down,” he told her. His voice sounded strained so Ginny didn’t comment. She simply held his hand and walked.
After they were seated at the restaurant Harry reached over the table and took her hand. “Ginny, that article…”
She looked at him quizzically. “What about it?”
“Summer and I- we’re not anything, you know?”
A smile crept over Ginny’s face. “I know that. When you introduced me to her at the ball she kept looking over towards Kingsley.”
A weight seemed to lift off of his shoulders and he slumped back in his chair looking relieved. “I didn’t want you to think that. It’s only you for me.”
Ginny felt herself slowly flushing; she hated how easily she blushed. “I know, Harry. When you first brought her over to meet me I thought ‘oh great, another stunningly gorgeous woman in Harry’s life’ but then it became so obvious that while she admired you, you might as well be twelve to her.” She shook her head. “First Cho, then Fleur, and Gabrielle and now Summer Abbott, but I knew you didn’t think of her that way.”
Harry was staring at her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. After several long moments of silence, he said, “You aren’t jealous of them, are you?”
She spoke without really thinking. “It always felt like a dream, you know? I was so happy with you when we first got together. It was a dream come true and I couldn’t quite believe that you felt the same way about me that I’d always felt about you. But I kept waiting for the other wand to drop. Then it did. I’m not jealous, exactly, I just never felt like I was…” Ginny shut her mouth at the look on Harry’s face. “It doesn’t really matter, not now anyway. It was a while ago.”
“I think it matters,” he said softly. “Finish what you were going to say.”
She steeled herself to admit this embarrassing truth. They were married and he was stuck with her, warts and all. She might as well fess up. “I didn’t feel like I was enough to be able to keep you, like if I was prettier or something you wouldn’t have ditched me.” She went on before he could say something. “I didn’t really get it then! I was 15 and hurt and it just seemed like it was me. I get it now, though. I know that you were right and that if we’d have been together that I’d have been in more danger. I didn’t like it, but I came to realize that it was safer for me that way.”
“Ginny…”
“I also believe now that if I’d have been hurt that it would have been horrible for you, and that it might have been more difficult for you to continue on hunting horcruxes.” She gave a wan smile. “You needed to concentrate on what you were doing and I was just a distraction.”
“You weren’t just a distraction,” he said firmly. “You were the best distraction and the promise of what my life could be like with Voldemort dead. You have no idea how many times you were on my mind while we were gone that year.”
Ginny smiled wryly, “Probably just as much as you were on my mind.” While she was at it, she decided to get the whole truth out. “That morning we woke up in Scotland, when you suggested we get the, uhm, the annulment?” He nodded confirming that she had the correct word so she continued. “I thought ‘here we go again, I’m still not enough’ but then you explained and I understood that you didn’t want me to miss out on going back to school. I think that may pop up a few more times in our lives but I’m working on it. I trust you and I know you love me.” She closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep, steadying breath. “I don’t really care about the famous part of you, but the beautiful women throwing themselves at you- it gets old because it feels like I’m having an old wound ripped back open. At least it will stop now that the public knows we’re married.”
“It will stop?” Harry asked hopefully.
Ginny had to laugh. He looked so relieved and who wouldn’t be flattered by that? “Yeah, well it’s not done to be with someone who is married. The ministry can punish the cheaters severely. Once your souls are bonded for life you’re pretty much stuck. It isn’t good to mess with a soul bond, magically speaking.”
“I can see that,” he said and thanked the waiter as he dropped off their food.
Once they were alone again, she asked, “Did you know we got married on my birthday?”
“That’s going to make it easier to remember,” he commented before forking a bite of his chicken into his mouth.
“That’s exactly what I thought.”
Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Quidditch
Author's Notes: Just one more chapter!
After dinner they walked down the road a bit, holding hands and enjoying the early evening cool. Hogwarts had reopened that day and right now the kids would be nearly to Hogsmeade Station. She would have been on the train right now, but on the whole she liked how things had turned out.
Without warning Harry pulled Ginny into a small shop that they had been passing. “Harry, what-” her mouth fell open. They were in a jewelry store. “What are we doing in here?”
He grinned down at her sheepishly. “I know this is a little backwards, but you need an engagement ring.”
“No I don’t,” she protested as he dragged her over to a glass display that held rings.
A polite salesman came over and asked if they needed any help. It was clear to Ginny that he thought they were just a couple of poor teenagers.
Harry was looking down into the case, but Ginny refused to look. Her cheeks were on fire. “Harry, no.”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “We’re looking for an engagement ring. It’s a little backwards cause we eloped a few weeks ago.” He grinned at the salesman.
“I see your wedding bands are gold, so you’ll want something to match that I expect,” the guy who’s name tag read Matthew suggested. “What would you like for an engagement ring, madam?”
Ginny sighed at the hopeful look on Harry’s face. He clearly wanted to do this for her so she gave in and finally glanced down into the case. Everything was beautiful. Some of them were clearly not for her, though. “Something simple and not too big, I guess. I play sports a lot and wouldn’t want to get it caught on anything.”
“Do you want a diamond?” he asked carefully.
The green of Harry’s eyes flashed into her mind and she blurted out, “maybe an emerald?”
The man beamed. “I have the perfect ring for you, I think.” He reached down and unlocked the case. He pulled out a small ring with an emerald as the center of three stones, flanked on either side by smaller diamonds. It was beautiful and it sparkled as he held it out to her.
Ginny couldn’t move, so Harry took it and slid it onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
“It’s perfect,” Harry agreed. He gently kissed her and turned to the salesman. “We’ll take it.”
Harry moved off with him to pay and Ginny saw him pull a wad of Muggle bills from his pocket. The salesman was clearly surprised, but glad none the less. Ginny thought that he was assuming they wouldn’t be able to afford much since they looked barely older than kids.
She looked down at her ring again and let out a shaking breath. It really was perfect and it suited her. It wasn’t flashy and it wasn’t so tall that it would get caught on things. She was small so anything too large would look odd on her.
“All set,” Harry told her. He put an arm around her and bent to kiss her neck. “We’ve got one more place to go.”
Once they were out on the street Ginny said, “Thank you. It’s lovely.”
“It doesn’t hold a candle to you, but I’m glad you like it.” He paused and she stopped as well, looking up at him curiously. “I know you wouldn’t have ever asked for one, but I wanted you to have it, to have everything that you would have had if we’d gotten properly engaged.”
“I don’t need one. I really love it, but I would have been okay without a ring.” She pulled him on to continue their walk. “Actually, I don’t have any other jewelry besides my wedding band. That was not a hint!” She added forcibly. “I’m more of a useful present sort of person.”
Harry laughed and squeezed her hand. “I know which is why we’re heading for Diagon Alley for your next present.”
“I don’t need anything else, Harry!” She told him exasperatedly. “I’m all set.”
He pulled her into an alleyway and before she knew it he’d Apparated them to right outside of the Leaky Cauldron.
“Come on,” he said. He sounded like a kid on Christmas.
“Harry!” Ginny tried to protest but before she knew it they were standing in front of Quality Quidditch Supply. “I don’t need anything. I’ve got all the stuff I need.”
He snorted and dragged her into the shop. “Your broom was okay for Hogwarts Quidditch but it’s not going to get you onto the Harpies’ team.” He went over to the man behind the counter who started to splutter as he recognized who it was. “My wife needs the best broom you’ve got.”
Pulling himself together with obvious effort, the man showed them the latest version of the firebolt. “Just came out this summer. The firebolt line is really making a name for itself in professional Quidditch. England, of course, didn’t make it to the World Cup this year but the Australians’ who did take home the cup were all playing on this broom.”
Ginny listened intently as the man described all of the upgrades to the broom and how fast it could fly. She glanced longingly at the broom but then said, “I can use my broom, Harry. I’m a good flyer. I don’t need a new one.”
Harry turned to the man and asked, “Could you give us a minute?”
“Of course, of course!” He grinned and went off to help another customer who had just walked in.
“Ginny,” Harry said softly. “We are rich. My parents were well off, Sirius was bloody loaded, and I got 50,000 galleons with my Order of Merlin for killing Voldemort. It’s not going to even make a dent in our savings, okay? I want you to make the team and except for a few games with your brothers this summer you haven’t played Quidditch in months. You’re going to need an excellent broom until you get back in shape.”
“But-” Her brain was frozen on just how much money he, no they, had. She’d never had more than a galleon to her name.
He shook his head. “Plus you have Teddy and you can’t get in any meaningful practice this week before the try outs. I want you to make the team and I think you can, but let’s give you an edge over the competition just in case. Come on, Ginny. Just give in.”
She really wanted to give in. The broom looked amazing.
Harry chuckled and kissed her solidly on the mouth, knowing he’d won. “We’ll take it,” he called over to the salesman.
A few minutes later they walked out of the shop with the fastest broom in the world. Ginny’s head was spinning as she thanked him. They went down to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes to say hello to George.
“You got a firebolt?” George said with amazement. “Bloody hell, Harry. If I marry you, can I get a firebolt too?”
“You’re not exactly my type,” Harry said evenly.
George shrugged. “Had to try, mate. Ginny’s better looking than I am, anyway. Not sure I’d be able to compete for your affections.”
Ginny rolled her eyes. “It helps that I have both of my ears.”
“Too right it does,” he said, tugging on her ear with affection.
“And,” Ginny added, “I didn’t talk him into it. I tried to talk him out of it.”
George looked stunned. Harry backed her up. “She did.”
“What on earth is wrong with you?” George asked a glint in his eyes that she so rarely saw these days. “You deserve at least a firebolt for having to put up with this git.”
Harry chuckled and Ginny grinned. “It’s not so bad.”
“Did you see the Daily Prophet article about you?” George asked and when they nodded he asked, “Where is Teddy, by the way?”
“Mum came over and kicked us out of our own house so she could spoil him,” Ginny told him.
George nodded sagely. “Yeah, she’s itching for grandkids. I heard her giving Bill a good lecture about it. Has she started in on you yet?”
“Nope, I’m trying out for the Harpies this week.” Ginny told him. “No babies in Professional Quidditch.”
They talked to George for another few minutes before making their way back down the street. It was nearly time for the shops to be closing, but Harry paused in front of the Magical Menagerie. “We really need an owl,” he said softly, almost to himself.
“It can wait, Harry,” Ginny replied gently. “If you’re not ready, it can wait.”
“I am,” he said more confidently and they entered the shop.
Ginny let him look over the owls by himself, knowing that he needed to do it alone. He still missed Hedwig terribly. She made her way over to a crate full of kittens that were marked as part-Kneazle, just like Crookshanks. A particularly cute black fluff ball batted a paw at her and she laughed and picked it up, cuddling the little baby up to her face. She’d missed Arnold, who had died over Christmas during her 6th year.
“This one,” she heard Harry say to the proprietor of the shop, a witch in heavy black spectacles.
Ginny turned to look and saw it was a tawny owl who was gazing down at Harry with what could only be described as a soppy expression. It was clearly love at first sight.
Harry looked over to her and said, “and that kitten as well. Boy or girl?” he asked the saleswitch.
“Girl,” she replied as she run up their order.
Ginny huffed, “You can’t keep buying me things!”
“Can you really stop me?” He asked inquisitively. “You love cats, Ginny.”
“Yes, but,” she said patiently, “we have rather a lot going on right now.”
“Only for another few days,” he reminded her and she knew he meant that Teddy was going to be going home. As much as she’d enjoy getting a full night’s sleep again, her heart twisted in a horrible way at the thought of not having him with them all the time. “The kitten might help us both with the, uh, separation.” He walked over and took the kitten out of her hands to cuddle her to him. She rubbed her head against his chin. “Teddy is going to have a lot of fun pulling your fur.”
“She’s part-Kneazle,” the saleswitch said and they moved over to the counter. Ginny took the kitten back so Harry could pay. “They’re rare and very clever.”
They left Diagon Alley with a broom, an owl and a kitten in a basket. Harry hailed a taxi and they climbed in, getting a very odd look from the driver. Harry gave him the directions to Grimmauld Square and sat back.
“I’m going to take driving lessons soon. Your dad’s hooked me up with a teacher. I spoke to him about it. I start next week.” He kissed her cheek and swore under his breath. He began to whisper in her ear so the driver wouldn’t hear. “I forgot! With everything else that has been going on, I forgot to tell you that I’d scheduled your apparition test for tomorrow at 11am.”
Ginny had forgotten that she’d asked him to do that for her a while ago. They’d been a little busy. “I can’t go tomorrow, Harry! I have Teddy, and…”
“It’s fine,” he assured her, speaking normally. “I’ll meet you at the underground station at 10:45 and I’ll walk you into the Ministry. You should be safe enough getting there, but if anything goes wrong then get back home or send your Patronus to me. I’ll keep Teddy in my office while you take the test.”
Ginny raised an eyebrow at this. “You’re going to have a baby with you in the office?”
“Yep, just make sure you bring that carrier thing,” he told her. At her continued look of skepticism he said, “No one is going to mind having Tonks’ son there. All the Aurors have a soft spot for him.”
Ginny relented and they were back in Grimmauld Square shortly after that. “Mum?” Ginny called when they entered the house. She was extremely thankful that Mrs. Black didn’t start screaming anymore. Harry put Muffliato on her every morning and she didn’t seem to know that anyone was about. Bill had also gotten rid of Mad-Eye’s curse for Harry months before. It made the house more habitable.
“In here, dear,” Mrs. Weasley called happily.
They walked down to the kitchen to see her mother and father finishing up a late supper. “Teddy is asleep upstairs. We had a marvelous time with him!” She assured them. “You should go away more often.”
Harry snorted and Ginny rolled her eyes. “Thanks Mum, I can feel the love.”
“What all did you buy?” Mrs. Weasley asked, eyeing all the packages.
“Too much and it’s all Harry’s fault!” Ginny said with amusement. She set the basket down and took her new kitten out of it.
“Thanks, Gin,” Harry said dryly.
Her dad reached out for the kitten. “She’s very cute, Ginny.”
“Is that an engagement ring?” Her mother queried.
She nodded and held out her hand, her cheeks slightly pink. “He insisted that I needed one so we stopped into a place right after dinner.”
“Of course you need one,” her mother agreed, nodding approvingly at Harry. “You also needed that owl, but I know you miss Hedwig. Any names yet?”
“Ginny decided on Cassiopia for the kitten,” said Harry, “but has already shortened it to Cassie. I’m nearly set on Rowena for our owl. She seems to like it.”
“I see you wanted to replace your broom, too, Harry,” she said looking at the long brown package.
Harry shook his head. “Nah, that’s Ginny’s broom. She’s going to need it for the try outs on Thursday.”
Mrs. Weasley raised a questioning eye brow at Ginny. Ginny got instantly defensive. “I told him not to buy any of this stuff! I tried to talk him out of all of it, but he wouldn’t listen!”
“She’s right, Mrs. Weasley. She did try. I’m sure she’ll let me borrow it once or twice, though.”
Ginny smirked up at him. “If you’re really good, maybe.”
“Ginny!” Mrs. Weasley said clearly horrified, but Harry and Ginny only laughed.
~*~
The next day Ginny made it through her Apparition test with no trouble. She went back up to the Auror office to find several women cooing over Teddy, who was lapping up the attention. Ron, who was holding the baby, seemed to be enjoying the attention as well.
“You little flirt,” she said lovingly to the baby as she walked over to them. Teddy saw her and beamed which effectively melted her heart into goo. “Where’s Harry?”
“Having a quick word with the Minister,” Ron told her, handing the baby over. The woman patted his soft head, and one kissed his cheek before they all went back to their desks.
She looked around and saw Summer Abbott coming towards them. “I’ll see you later, Ginny,” Ron said and he went back to his desk.
Summer looked anxious. “Ginny, I wanted to say something to you about the article.”
“It’s okay, I know it isn’t true,” Ginny assured her.
Summer looked relieved. “Good! I didn’t want any trouble between you. Honestly, Harry is completely crazy about you. We had a couple of women come in to file a report. From the look of them I’d say they were part-Veela! They were trying every charm in the book to get his attention but he didn’t even seem to notice! When he talks about you… well it’s clear to see that you mean everything to him.”
Although Ginny knew these things it was still nice to hear it confirmed by someone else.
“Hey!” Harry came over to them, grinning at her. “How did it go?”
“Aced it on the first try,” she said tilting her head up to kiss him.
“I knew you would,” he said, his eyes only on hers.
~*~
By Thursday evening Ginny’s stomach was in knots. She gave last minute instructions to her mother, who was clearly humoring her. “Yes dear, I’ve got it. I know how to take care of one little baby.” Her mother was currently wearing Teddy in the Ergo, and making supper. Her father chuckled.
“Okay, I know… sorry. I’ll be off then and Harry will be here in an hour and a half.”
“Good luck sweetie,” her Dad said, kissing her cheek.
Ginny Apparated with her new broom to the try out field for the Harpies. She was directed into the changing room and changed into the uniforms that they had for all the new hopefuls. Several of the women eyed her new broom longingly. She hoped it worked. She hadn’t had a chance to even fly it yet.
When she left the changing room it was to see, to her great surprise, Harry talking to Gwenog Jones. She walked over to them. “What are you doing here?”
“Come to watch the try out. Normally people aren’t allowed to watch, but Gwenog has agreed that I can stay, just this once.”
“We start in 2 minutes, Potter,” Gwenog told her as she walked away.
“What about Teddy? Your training?” She asked him.
Harry leaned in and kissed her. “I got out of training since it was Patronuses and your Mum and I worked it out already.” He gently turned her and whispered in her ear, “You’ll be amazing, Ginny. Go make the team.”
Ginny felt bolstered as she walked over to the others. The women trying out were in yellow, while the current team was in their customary dark green uniforms. There were about 20 other women trying out. Only one member of the current team needed to be replaced, a Beater. They had lost their Beater to the Death Eaters. The reserve Keeper had already been given a spot on the team just before the end of the last season when the previous Keeper got pregnant. She was expected to keep her spot on the team. The reserve team was completely up for grabs. “Although,” Gwenog assured them, “if you’re good enough you can knock a current team member off the team.”
They were evenly split among whom was trying out for one spot so Gwenog divided them into 3 teams of 7, with a Keeper, Seeker, 2 Beaters and 3 Chasers in each group. Ginny was placed on the second team. The teams would each compete against the current Harpies team for 20 minutes so that Gwenog could get a feel for them and then they would switch to the second team, then the third. At the end they would start over again and Gwenog would cut them from the team if they didn’t keep up, and someone from the next team would fly into the game, face being cut, until they had wittled it down to only the 7 players. If they had a tie they’d have a face off at the end.
“Now, several of the reserve players from last year are trying out again so they have a slight advantage over you, so make sure you newbies put your best efforts forward.
They got started. The first team wasn’t bad, but Ginny could see a few players that she knew wouldn’t make it through the second round of play. Next her team was up. She got up onto her broom and after a clumsy she fell right back into the groove of play. It was wonderful! She’d never flown that fast and the sheer delight of flying again beat out her last bit of nerves. She scored several goals, dodged Bludgers, stole the Quaffle more than once, passed the ball enough to make sure the other hopeful Chasers scored as well and was sorry when their time was up. She landed on the ground next to the first team breathless and elated.
“You were great,” one of the women from the first team told her. She had brown hair and was about a head taller than Ginny. She’d been one of the better Beaters trying out.
“Thanks! You too,” she told her.
After the third team had played, the first team went back up again. Within minutes Gwenog had cut the Keeper, one of the Beaters (not the brunette that Ginny had just spoken to) and one of the Chasers. Another Chaser from Ginny’s team flew up. Ginny would be called up third if she made it that far. Soon enough they’d been through all the players and Gwenog had recalled a few of the cut players back. Ginny didn’t leave the game once, and she remained there for the rest of the try outs. In the end Gwenog called a halt and told them all to land and immediately named the players that were staying.
Ginny’s heart was soaring. She had made the reserve team! The brunette, whose name she found out was Amber, had also made the reserve team. She stood on the grass and listened as Gwenog dismissed the other players who hadn’t made the team. She felt bad, looking at their disappointed faces, but it couldn’t dim her own happiness at having made it.
“Now,” Gwenog said as she turned back to the Harpies team and her new reserve team. Ginny saw that the regular team was looking wary. “Potter, you’re going to try for the regular team.”
Ginny’s mouth fell open in shock, but she quickly snapped it shut.
Gwenog continued. “The way we play this is my current Chasers will join forces with the Beaters and Keeper reserve team, including you, while the reserve team’s Chasers join the regular team. This way you’re playing against our best Keeper and Beaters. Our regular Seeker and reserve Seeker will fill in for Chasers to even out the numbers. Four Chasers against four.” Gwenog looked around to see if everyone got it. “I’m looking for how many goals you score and also how well you work as a team. This is a team sport and if you can’t be a team member, you won’t be moved up.” She stared hard at her current Chaser. “You know the drill, same goes for you.”
They got playing. Ginny couldn’t imagine that it was easy for the current Harpies Chasers to want to play with her, but they all did, knowing that if they weren’t including her in the game that they also wouldn’t make the cut.
In the end Ginny scored the 2nd highest number of goals and she was placed on the Harpies team. She felt dazed as the woman she’d beat out shook her hand and told her that she deserved it. “Thanks and I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” the blonde woman said, smiling. “You really are much better than I am!”
Harry was waiting for her as she walked off the field. She ran to him, dropped her broom and flew into his arms. He caught her and swung her around, kissing her until they were both breathless. “I’m really proud of you,” he told her.
Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Choosing and Epilogue
Author's Notes: This is the last chapter and I think I'm done with fanfiction, at least for a good long while. Thanks everyone for your support through this story. It's been a struggle to finish it, but I kept going because of you the readers. Thank you!
~ywg
They set out to take Teddy back home to Mrs. Tonks the Monday after try outs. Harry took a few hours off of work to accompany Ginny and the baby. The wards on Mrs. Tonks’ house had been beefed up heavily by the Ministry and they had a solid lead on who had attacked her in the first place.
They were back on a Muggle bus bound for Andromeda’s home, this time with Harry wearing Teddy in the carrier, when Harry told her about the first arrest in the attack. “It was a bunch of the snatchers, remember them? One of them got drunk at the Hogshead and boasted to Aberforth what he’d done, saying he’d taught the blood traitor a lesson. Well, Aberforth stunned the bloke and got in touch with me.” Harry shook his head. “We arrested him, brought him in for questioning. He’s a bit dim. It was nine of them against her and they were losing! I’m actually amazed that they got away from us that night.”
“Do you know who the others are?” Ginny asked, swaying into him with the movement of the bus.
“Yeah, like I said, he was stupid. He told us everything to get out of trouble. We threatened him with 50 years in Azkaban.” Harry shook his head. “We have a lead on finding at least two of the others, and will hopefully round up the rest shortly.”
“That’s great,” Ginny said with relief.
“Oh, and I called Rita Skeeter in for questioning this morning. She admitted that she had photographer following you last weekend and that he’d seen you leave St. Mungo’s and then turn around and go back into the hospital.” Harry grimaced. “The bloke thought it was odd behavior so he got in touch with Rita and she showed up just in time to watch him snap the photo of the three of us. Not sure how Ron was left out of the shot since he was right on my other side the whole way. So in a way you weren’t in danger, but you were right that you were being watched.”
Ginny let out a breath that she didn’t know she’d been holding. She was extremely thankful that it was nothing more than Rita Skeeter even though the fallout from her stupid article had caused more than one headache. In the end Rita had had to print an apology and a retraction, on page 17, stating that the baby had been proven to not be theirs’ and that Ginny was merely babysitting. They kept Teddy’s name out of the press. It was small comfort because hardly anyone would notice the blurb, but it was a victory none the less. “How did you get the truth out of her?” From what Ginny knew of the situation Rita had been furious at having to do the retraction and had threatened to quit.
“Oh, it was easy,” Harry said casually. “I just reminded her that we were doing a criminal investigation and it wouldn’t be good for us to look too closely at her as a suspect. She fessed up immediately and gave me the name of her photographer. I sent him an owl asking for a color print of the picture to frame for my desk. It’s a great shot of the three of us.”
Ginny laughed.
~*~
Andromeda looked much better when they got to her house, which had been restored while she was in the hospital. Harry had seen to that. She held her grandson tight and kissed him at least a hundred times. “I have missed you!” She assured Teddy.
Mrs. Tonks was pleased to hear that her attackers were going to be rounded up soon. “I’m glad to know we’ll be safe from them.”
They spent another hour with her before taking their leave. Mrs. Tonks hugged Ginny and whispered in her ear, “any time you want to come over please do.”
Ginny nodded but didn’t trust herself to speak. They walked out and found a good place to Apparate. They landed on the top step of Grimmauld Place. Harry unlocked the door and they went inside. Ginny felt numb as she walked up the steps in the quiet house. Too quiet. She moved in a daze to their bedroom and sat down heavily on the bed.
Teddy’s cot was still in there.
Without warning she burst into tears. Strong, solid arms went around her and she cried into Harry’s shoulder. “This… is stupid,” she sniffed, trying to get it under control. “I can go see him tomorrow if I want! I can’t believe I’m crying over this.”
Harry ran a comforting hand down her back and squeezed her to him. “Do you want to forget Quidditch and have a baby now?”
“No,” Ginny said, giving a watery laugh. “No, that’s not what I want. I just got used to having Teddy here.”
She felt Harry nod. “I know. I miss him too. Maybe we can start taking him on weekends when you don’t have games. Andromeda mentioned that to me a while back. She wants him to spend time with me.”
“I’d like that,” she said quietly.
“Me too.”
She pulled herself together and went to the loo to wash her face. When she came back to their room she saw Harry hadn’t moved. “When do you have to be back at the Ministry?”
“I’m on call from 8pm to midnight tonight so I have a few hours yet.” Harry was looking at her in a way that told her he was wondering the same thing that she was wondering. “Are you ready?”
He didn’t have to elaborate. She knew what he meant. “Yes,” she replied simply.
“What about birth control?”
“Mum taught me the charm.” She moved closer to him and took out her wand, performing it to show him how it was done.
Harry took a deep breath and snagged the waist band of her jeans, pulling her towards him. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Epilogue, November 1st, 2004- 6 years later.
“Time for physicals; the medi-witch is here,” Gwenog called to the team as they were getting changed after practice. She was no longer the team captain, having retired two years before due to injuries, but she was now their manager. She’d only gotten haughtier throughout the years. Ginny respected her, but had trouble liking her personally.
“I hate this,” grumbled one of her team mates, a woman named Sarah Tidewater. “We’re all physically fit. This is just an excuse to make sure we’re not pregnant and since I’m not married I find that insulting. Gwenog has gone off the deep end.”
Ginny laughed. “For the two of us who are married it’s useless since we both took the year-long potion to prevent pregnancy.”
The previous year they’d lost yet another member of the team to an accidental pregnancy (the charms could be easy to forget) and Gwenog, fed up with losing her players to those ‘wretched babies’ (Gwenog’s exact words), decreed that from then on the married team members would be required to take the potion that prevented pregnancy for an entire year or they wouldn’t be allowed to come back for the next season.
Ginny and Harry had spent weeks talking it over. She’d nearly made the national team this past season, and her whole family had been disappointed that she hadn’t. She’d been injured just a few days before the national try outs and she hadn’t played to the best of her ability. This year, however, there was a good chance that she’d make it. Certainly the Harpies were favored to win the league. Harry had prodded her into agreeing, reminding her that they had years to have kids but that she couldn’t play Quidditch forever. And they had Teddy to help fill that place in their lives. Reluctantly she’d agreed.
“Ginny,” Melinda, the medi-witch, called and Ginny rose, following her into the room that they set aside for the exams.
Ginny knew the routine. She’d been on the team for 6 years now and had had this exam more times that she could count. She hopped up on the table and answered the questions mechanically. “Yes my arm is still feeling fine.” And “No, no bad Bludger hits in the last month.”
“All right,” Melinda said, “lay back and let’s get this over with. I don’t know why they require me to check you each month. You can’t get pregnant.”
Ginny shrugged and lay down on the table and lifted up her shirt. She stared up at the ceiling, but not really seeing it, waiting for this part to be over. She felt Melinda slide her practice pants down a bit and mutter the spell.
Then, unlike every other time, Melinda didn’t say “not pregnant, you’re done.”
Instead, she was silent.
Ginny glanced at her and saw a look of surprise. “What?” She sat up a bit and looked at her stomach.
There, low on her belly, was a single, small glowing light. She was pregnant. Ginny’s brain froze.
“But… but… I only took the potion in July! It shouldn’t have worn off yet!” Ginny sat up and swung her legs over the table, trying to put some order to her racing thoughts. “How did this happen?”
Melinda shook her head, clearly at a loss. “I don’t know. It shouldn’t have happened, Ginny. St. Mungo’s is going to want to investigate this. I’m sorry. I mean,” she flushed, “I know you wanted kids eventually, but not now. You’re about 4 weeks along, still really early.”
Ginny put her head in her hands. What was she going to do now? She’d just lost her job! Then all at once it hit her… she was having a baby. Harry’s baby! Who the hell cared about Quidditch anyway? Ginny giggled at the thought and Melinda looked startled.
She had to tell Harry and Merlin knew how he was going to react. Probably he’d be happy after the initial shock wore off, and he got used to the fact that their timeline had been thrown out the window. This was definitely not in the plans. Ginny sometimes felt like their entire lives had been a series of events out of their control.
“Can you not mention this to Gwenog until tomorrow?” Ginny asked. “I need to make sure that Harry hears about it first and that the Evening Prophet doesn’t get hold of the story before I get a chance to tell him.”
“Of course,” Melinda agreed.
She Apparated to their new home on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole; they were on the other side of the village from The Burrow. She let herself into the house and hung up her coat. Kreacher had died the year before and they’d both agreed after that they didn’t want to stay in Grimmauld Place with him not being there. The house was now used as a safe house for the Aurors.
Ginny went to the kitchen and began to cook dinner, trying to think of how she was going to tell Harry. Somehow ‘hey I lost my job because I’m knocked up’ didn’t sound right. Once supper was finished and she’d set a warming charm on it, she moved into the sitting room to plop on the couch and brood.
She stared into the unlit fireplace, not really seeing it. They had a house that was perfect for kids. They’d bought it from a nice older wizarding couple who was planning to move to America to be with their daughter and grandchildren. It had four bedrooms and a large yard. Teddy loved coming to stay with them. Now they’d be adding another little person to their family.
But the timing! Ginny wasn’t sorry. She’d been unsure about coming back to the team this year. Teddy was 6 now, a big boy, and she missed all of his baby and toddler times. She was ready for a baby.
But Harry… the tears started to spill down her cheeks.
“Ginny?” She turned to see him standing in the doorway, looking concerned. He crossed to her in an instant and knelt before her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“You didn’t get a choice in any of this!” Ginny cried before falling into his arms to sob hysterically.
“What?” he asked clearly confused.
“You didn’t choose to be the chosen one, you didn’t choose for your parents to die, or to be famous, or to have to kill Voldemort or to marry me and you didn’t choose to have a baby!”
Harry rubbed her back. He said tentatively, “I’m really lost here Ginny.”
She only cried harder, which made the words even more difficult to force out. “You… you didn’t cho… choose your life. It just thrust on you and you’ve just had to… to accept it!”
“I don’t feel that way,” he said slowly. “What’s upset you?”
“Me! I did it again! Another instance when you don’t get what you wanted.” She sat back and looked into his poor, confused face. Ginny couldn’t believe that she was crying and feeling so miserable when she was really happy about the baby. Did hormones really hit this early? Was that why she’d felt a bit ill the past two days?
“I still don’t-”
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered, staring into his eyes.
Harry rocked back on his heels, staring into her eyes. His expression was blank. “I didn’t think that could happen. The potion…”
“It shouldn’t have been able to happen,” Ginny agreed.
His brow furrowed. “You’re not happy about this?” His tone was carefully neutral.
“I’m happy!” Ginny assured him, although the tears continued to roll down her cheeks.
“Then, uh, why the water works?”
She sighed and lay back into the couch, not wanting to stare into his penetrating eyes any longer. “I told you why.”
“Because you don’t think I had a choice in this?”
She nodded. “You wanted me to take the potion.”
“You had to take the potion or Gwenog was going to kick you off the team,” he reminded her quietly. “I wanted you to have your dream and to make the national team.”
“I didn’t want that,” Ginny told him, finally meeting his eyes again. “I was ready to quit last year.”
Harry studied her for a long moment. “So you agree to continue because you thought that’s what I wanted?”
She shrugged. “Everyone was really disappointed that I didn’t make the national team, but I’m sort of tired of getting injured.”
“Ginny, you should have told me,” Harry said, taking her hand. “I’ve been ready to have kids for years now.”
She blinked, completely stunned. “What?”
“Hell, if you’d told me that day way back when we took Teddy back to Andromeda that you wanted to quit Quidditch and have babies then, I’d have been fine with it.” He let out a sigh. “I may have been drunk when we got married, but you were my choice all along. I’d already chosen you my sixth year, even if I hadn’t totally realized it yet. I was fighting the war so I’d have the choice to be with you.” He smiled at her stunned expression. “It’s like Dumbledore told me when we were discussing the prophecy. Just because I was the one fated to kill Voldemort didn’t mean that I had to do it. I could have walked away. I chose to hunt him down and to face him in the end. When we married the timing wasn’t the best, but we both chose to make it work and I think it’s been great. I could have walked away, but I didn’t because I wanted to be with you. We chose to put Teddy in our lives and we’ve taken on his care when Andromeda hasn’t been able to through the years and it’s been wonderful. We chose early on in our marriage to have children someday. The ‘when’ of having them, like the ‘when’ of getting married may not have been something we decided on consciously, but I’m sure that it’s going to be amazing.”
The tears were now flooding from her eyes, streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” she shut her mouth and tried to gather her thoughts while swiping at her tears. “I seem to have turned into a watering pot.”
“How far along are you?” he asked.
“Melinda said just four weeks or so,” she replied. She smiled tentatively and he grinned back at her. He leaned forward, cupped her cheeks and kissed her. “It’s probably too early for me to blame the tears on hormones,” she whispered against his lips.
“I won’t contradict you if you do,” he promised her. “This is amazing Ginny.” He bent down and rested his head against her stomach, his eyes closed and a contented, happy smile on his face.
She ran a hand through his hair. “This means I’m fired.”
“Gwenog is a pain anyway.”
“Harry?”
“Hmm?” He looked up with her, his joy clear in his face.
“I chose you and the baby. I love you.”
He kissed her stomach before moving to sit on the couch. He pulled her onto his lap so he could hold her. “I love you too. Both of you. I will choose you, us, every time.”