|
It Happened One Night | ||||||
|
Category: Post-OotP, Buried Gems Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Angst, Drama, Fluff, General Warnings: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 1042 Summary: Harry and Ginny make a decision that changes their lives.... Hitcount: Story Total: 254461; Chapter Total: 9847 |
Previous Next |
|
||||
|
A/N: Special thanks to Erin, Casi, and Trisha! Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: Do I really need to say anything? Chapter Twenty Four James was holding onto the side of the sofa, clinging on to it and bravely trying to inch his way across it. Harry was sitting on the floor against the sofa, his Defense Against the Dark Arts book propped up on his knees as he tried to do some homework while Ron and Hermione sat on the opposite side of them on the love seat. James, however did not like having his father pay no attention to him so he tried to move towards him. Once he reached Harry he reached up and began his favorite game; Pull Daddy’s Hair. Harry yelped and immediately clamped his hands over his head. He glanced over and saw his son smiling at him happily and in a clear mood to play. “You really need to stop doing this. I’m going to be bald by the time you hit your first birthday,” Harry gently scolded him. “Da!” James replied gleefully, reaching for Harry’s hair again. Harry quickly stopped him and picked up the infant. He settled him in his lap and picked up his wand, which James immediately tried to grab. Harry quickly cast a Charm to make his book float in front of him and hid his wand out of James’ reach. “Alright James, since you want my undivided attention,” Harry said, holding James in his lap with one arm. “How about we read a story . . . or rather Daddy’s homework?” “Da!” James cried and clapped his hands together. Harry smiled and began to read his text book out loud. As Harry sat with James, Ginny came down the stairs in search of her husband and son. She spotted them on the floor and smiled. Her gaze caught the book floating in front of Harry and she was sure it didn’t look like any of James’ books. “Some protection charms involve positive emotion; the stronger the emotion, the stronger the shield. For example, Protego cingo is used to protect the caster and other individuals around them. If the caster has a strong positive emotion towards the individuals, then the shield will be stronger and last longer,” Harry was reading aloud. Ginny rolled her eyes and descended the rest of the stairs. “Reading him his favorite story, are you?” Ginny said as she walked towards him. Harry looked up and grinned sheepishly at her. “Just trying to do two things at once; spend time with my son and do some homework. Besides, he’ll have an early start if I read my homework out loud to him,” Harry said and looked rather proud of himself. “At least someone does their homework. Ron, will you stop reading that ridiculous comic book!” Hermione shouted and snatched something out of Ron’s book. “Hey!” Ron cried and tried to reach for his comic book. “I was reading that you know!” “Ronald Weasley, we have N.E.W.T.s coming up and you need to study. Our whole future is based on these tests!” Hermione scolded him. “They are not! Come on Hermione, give it back,” Ron whined, trying to reach for it. “No Ron. What kind of future are you giving our children by skiving off studying?” Hermione questioned. “Children? We don’t have children, Hermione. Harry’s the one who’s got a kid and has got to provide for him. We don’t, now give me my comic book back!” Ron shouted. “No Ronald!” Hermione refused to give the comic book back. “You’re going to be a horrible father, you know that!” “Hermione, listen to me,” Ron was beginning to look quite annoyed with her, “we don’t have children,” he spoke loudly and slowly. “Now, unless you’re holding out on me, and I really hope that you’re not because I’m not ready for that yet, give it back!” Hermione gasped. “What are you saying, Ronald? If I were pregnant, you wouldn’t want the baby?” she asked. Ron’s face screwed up in confusion and he shook his head. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Just . . . just . . . give it back!” Ron lunged at her to grab the comic book. Hermione squeaked and jumped off the sofa, leaving Ron to fall face first on the sofa. He scrambled into a sitting position and glared at her. “Do your homework first and then you can have the comic book,” Hermione ordered. Ron crossed his arms and glared at her again. “Or else,” she threatened, “No . . . you know.” Whatever it was, neither Harry and Ginny didn’t know, but they had a good feeling of what it might be for Ron picked up a text book and began to read in earnest. Hermione looked satisfied with herself and sat down again and resumed her studying. Ginny rolled her eyes at them and reached down to take James from Harry. “Well I guess story time is over. Come on little one, it’s time for a bath so I can get you ready for your granddad’s ceremony,” Ginny said. James immediately reached up for her and Ginny lifted him into her arms. “Say goodbye to Daddy.” She held James low enough for Harry to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Are you going to get ready soon?” she asked. Harry flipped through his book and looked up at her. “Yeah, once I’m done with this,” he said. Ginny frowned and looked at the clock as Harry looked back down at his book. “Well hurry up. We have to be ready by six and it’s nearly four. You know how long it takes to get him ready for anything,” Ginny said. “Ginny, we have plenty of time. We’ll be ready in time for the ceremony,” Harry said, keeping his eyes on the page. Ginny sighed and glared at him. “Fine. Stay here, but don’t come crying to me when it’s time to go and you’re not ready,” Ginny said. “Yes dear,” Harry said indifferently. Ginny rolled her eyes and went up the stairs, leaving Harry to his homework. Once Harry finished his homework he had come up the stairs and offered to dress James and let Ginny get ready for the ceremony. She had agreed and left to take a shower and get ready. Only after she left had Harry realized that he should have listened to his wife earlier. It was that mistake that had him running up and down the hallway after a very playful and fast infant. James was giggling as he crawled as fast as his little baby hands and knees could take him. If he was this fast at crawling, Harry dreaded to think how fast he would be once he mastered walking and running. Harry had finally caught James as the infant rounded the corner that lead to the twins’ room. He scooped him into his arms and held him firmly. “Finally!” Harry muttered under his breath as he made his way back to Ginny’s room. He fought to keep James still as he tried to dress him in his new robes. Once he fastened his robes on him, he stood up and picked up James to take him to his own room. Harry put him in the crib and sighed. “You wait here until your mum and I are ready,” Harry instructed and left the room, leaving the door open. He knelt in front of his trunk and searched for his dress robes. Harry groaned as he pulled them out and found that they were very wrinkled. He realized that he didn’t know many spells to help him out for that had been the lesson where James had decided that he was a fun toy. He looked at the clock on the bedside table and frowned. He only had about half an hour left. Harry decided to find Hermione to help him and turned to leave the room, but ran into someone, realizing it was his wife. “Ginny! Do you know any spells to take these wrinkles out?” he asked quickly, holding up the clothing. Ginny cocked her head to once side and smiled at him. “Yes,” she replied and pushed past him. Harry watched her head towards her vanity and she sat down in front of it. “Well?” he prompted. Ginny looked at him in the mirror, holding her hair up on the top of her head with one hand. “Well what?” she asked innocently and picked up her wand. She muttered a spell and her hair stayed in place. She set her wand down and began to style her hair. “Aren’t you going to help me?” he asked desperately. Ginny stopped for a moment and shook her head. Harry’s mouth hung opened and he stared at her. “I have to get ready! I can’t go with wrinkled dress robes,” Harry said in an almost whining voice. “Then say I was right,” Ginny replied, picking up her wand again and shooting another spell at her hair. “Right about what?” Harry frowned. “About not having time,” she said, sending him a glare as she continued to style her hair. “Fine, you’re right!” Harry gave up. He just really wanted his robes to be wrinkle free and she was giving him a hard time. “Now say I’m always right,” Ginny said, enjoying watching her husband squirm. Harry sighed. “You’re always right,” Harry said. “And admit I’m the better one in bed,” Ginny said, grinning wickedly at him. “Ginny!” Harry cried. She giggled and finished with her hair. She stood up and took her wand and muttered a spell towards his robes and they were instantly wrinkle-free. “Thank you,” he said. “And I’m the better one in bed.” “I’ll just let you believe that dear,” Ginny sighed and sat back down in front of her vanity. “Just remember who was screaming my name last night. That definitely was not me, seeing as my mouth was occupied.” Harry scowled at her and quickly put his dress robes on. Once he was finished he went over to the vanity and checked his hair and was grateful to notice that his black eye was almost gone. He made a note to thank Molly for giving him a Healing potion before he went to bed the night before. Harry looked at Ginny and couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her hair was piled on top of her head with a few curled tendrils of hair falling around her face. Tiny stars were woven into her hair and twinkled softly every now and then. Her dusky rose colored dress robes suited her nicely. From what he could see it, it showed off her curves and had a low cut neck line but was still tasteful and elegant. He watched as she fiddled with her locket and lost patience with it. “Can you put this on me?” she asked. Harry stood behind her and took it from her. Her skin was smooth beneath his hands and he felt her shiver with his touch. He clasped the two ends of the locket together and let his hands stay on her skin for a few moments longer, taking in the faint scent of orchids. Slowly he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You are the most beautiful woman to ever grace this earth,” he whispered. A slight pink tinge came to her cheeks and she smiled. “Thank you,” she said. “Well are you ready?” she asked. Harry looked in the mirror and frowned at his hair. “Give it up love. It’s a lost battle and you’ll never win,” she teased. Harry rolled his eyes at her. “I guess I’m ready then,” Harry said and went to get James. Once they had come downstairs, a group of women flocked over to them. Molly whisked James out of Harry’s arms and cooed over her grandson. Hermione and Penelope gushed over him and Harry noticed that Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet were there as well as Fleur Delacour and to his surprise, Cho Chang. Harry glanced at Ginny and she wore a very furious look on her face. Cho reached out to tickle James and Ginny leapt into action. She rushed over and took James from her mother who looked at her in surprise. “I don’t want his dress robes to get all dirty,” Ginny excused herself and glared at Cho. She smiled back sweetly, her eyes sweeping past her and landing on Harry. “Harry!” Cho cried and rushed over to him. She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him. The other women in the room glanced at Ginny who was still glaring at Cho. “Oh it’s so wonderful to see you again!” Cho said, smiling at Harry. “What are you doing here?” Harry asked without greeting her. “Well, I’m Charlie’s date. We ran into each other in Diagon Alley and well one thing lead to another and the next thing I knew we were having lunch. He invited me to come tonight. It’ll be so much fun to catch up with you,” Cho said, smiling at Harry in a sickening sweet way. “You know each other then?” Molly asked, slightly surprised. “Oh yes, we do. Well, we were more than friends at one point, weren’t we Harry?” Cho said, smiling sweetly at Harry. Harry wore a nervous smile and pulled away from Cho, quickly going to Ginny’s side and taking James from her. The other witches were looking at him for an answer and he quickly racked his mind for one. For some reason, Harry knew that whatever he said, Ginny would not be happy. Harry was saved from replying for Arthur had come down the stairs, grinning broadly and wearing brand new dress robes of a deep blue color. “Ah, I’ve never been in a room filled with such beautiful ladies before,” he said, descending the stairs and smiling at the small gathering of girls. He stopped in front of his wife and bowed deeply to her. “The loveliest of the lovely,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it. “Oh Arthur,” Molly giggled and Harry saw the familiar Weasley blush come to her cheeks. Ginny smiled at her parents. “And what about me Arthur?” Alice was coming down the stairs dressed in expensive gold dress robes. She held her head up high in grace and wore a look on her aged face that emitted dignity. Arthur looked up and smiled at his mother. “You look radiant Mother,” Arthur said, offering his arm to her. She took it and stepped off the last few steps. Alice looked her son up and down and smiled. She placed a motherly hand on his cheek. “My little baby boy, the Minister! Arthur, I’m so proud of you,” she said. Arthur smiled at her. “Thank you Mother,” Arthur replied. James had taken the opportunity to grab attention to himself. He began to whine in Harry’s arms, looking between his mother and father. Harry began to bounce him gently in his arms to get him to stop, but James didn’t seem to like it. “Perhaps it would be wise to feed him before we go,” Ginny suggested. Harry sighed and nodded. “Come on James,” Harry said and headed to the kitchen. “And don’t get his dress robes all dirty! We haven’t time to change him,” Ginny called after her husband. “Yes dear,” Harry said, before entering the kitchen to pacify his son. “You’re going?” Alice questioned, walking towards Ginny. Ginny tore her gaze from the kitchen and looked at her grandmother. “And you’re bringing that child with you?” “Of course we are Grandmother Weasley. That is why we are here,” Ginny said sweetly, putting on a fake smile. “Don’t you use that tone with me, young lady. Arthur, you can’t let her go. She’ll ruin your entire reputation with that bastard child of hers. And what if the news gets out that she was involved with You-Know-Who when she was eleven? I knew there was something wrong with her to begin with! They’ll eat you alive Arthur before you even step into office!” Alice said, scolding Arthur. “My private life has nothing to do with my being the Minister. What goes on in my family is my business and no one else,” Arthur said sternly. Alice stared at her son in shock, but Arthur clearly wasn’t going to take it from her. He turned and smiled at the other ladies in the room. “You all look very lovely tonight. My sons are very lucky to have such beautiful women accompanying them tonight,” Arthur said, ignoring his mother completely. His eyes rested on Ginny and he smiled softly at her. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Don’t you worry about your grandmother, Pumpkin,” he whispered. Ginny smiled at him and nodded. “You look great Daddy,” Ginny said. Arthur smiled and slowly turned away from her. “Molly, where’s the boys?” Arthur asked his wife. Molly looked up the stairs and sighed. “They should have been ready by now. Boys! Hurry up you lot!” she shouted and trudged up the stairs to gather her sons. “Right, well I’m going to see if the cars are here yet. Ladies,” Arthur said, nodding politely to them and went to the front door. Ginny decided that she wanted to make sure that Harry was alright with James and turned to go to the kitchen. She paused momentarily when she heard Cho speaking to Alice. “I absolutely agree with you, Mrs. Weasley. How horrible of her to do this to her own father. I’m sure she doesn’t even know who the father is. And poor Harry! She’s ruined his life. I would never do anything like that!” Ginny felt her blood boil and she knew that her night was going to be absolutely horrid. * * * * * * Eight Ministry cars had been sent to pick up the Weasley family and guests. It had been chaotic getting everyone into cars. It didn’t help that Fred and George had charmed Ron’s jet black robes into lime green and bright yellow stripes. Molly had quickly taken control over the situation and threatened the twins in a quiet and harsh tone. Ginny wasn’t sure of what her mother had said to them, but they looked pale and had quickly went to their dates. Two couples were put into each car, leaving Arthur and Molly to their own with two Aurors. The additional three cars were filled with Aurors that were to follow the other five. It was obvious that no one was going to risk the safety of the Minister this time. The car Harry and Ginny were to occupy had to be expanded from the inside to fit James and his car seat. Once this was done, Harry struggled to strap the car seat in while Ginny held James and waited outside. Ginny was not very happy with the arrangements. Somehow, Cho had convinced Molly and Arthur to ride with Harry and Ginny claiming that she wanted to catch up with old friends. Harry did not seem happy with this at all but wasn’t given the chance to oppose. So now Ginny was glaring at the back of Cho’s head as she chatted with Alice. She turned around, a large fake smile on her face and strode gracefully towards Ginny. “We’ll see whose bed he ends up in tonight,” she whispered to Ginny. Ginny held her head high. “I guess you’ll be very lonely tonight then,” Ginny replied and turned her back to the girl. Finally things were ready to go and they were off to the ceremony. The trip was long and for Ginny, dreadful. She was forced to watch Cho make moves on her husband and was furious to see that Charlie didn’t notice it at all. She couldn’t wait for the night to end. The ceremony was held in a huge old abandoned warehouse that was among the many shabby looking offices and across the street from the visitor’s entrance to the Ministry of Magic. They piled out of the cars and in small groups they strode through the barrier, much like one would do to get onto Platform 9 3/4. The venue was decorated elegantly. There was a glass ceiling that reflected the slowly darkening sky and the reds, purples, and golds of the sunset shone brilliantly down into the ceremony. A hundred or so small circular tables were lined around the perimeter of the room, white crisp table clothes lining them with candle holders in the middle, and there was a large dance floor in the middle of the large room. Off to the right was a long bar where several bartenders were serving drinks. In the back of the room was a large raised platform with a podium on top and off to the left of it was another circular table, that was much larger than all the others, meant for the Weasley family and their guests. Crystal chandeliers hung in mid air with lit candles around the tables and tiny fairies were fluttering around them. Hundreds of people were in attendance as well as many reporters and photographers. They especially were interested in Harry’s arrival with Ginny and James happily sitting in his stroller, and both found it very annoying that many of them were focusing on their family rather than Arthur. Once everyone had been seated, Arthur was introduced by none other than Percy himself and he began his speech. He talked about his plans of reorganizing the Ministry and how he was going to fix up all of Fudge’s blunders. He talked about how he wanted to modify laws and strengthened relationships with foreign countries. The main focus of his speech was how he planned to win the war against Voldemort and how he wanted to protect the people of the country. And during this time his eyes kept wandering to his own family. Dinner had followed afterwards. There were fancy dishes that the family rarely had the opportunity to have. There was duck l’orange, filet migon, lobster, caviar, shrimp cocktails, and more. Dinner was also a fairly quiet affair. There was very little talk between the members of the Weasley family and their guests. Many high ranking officials came to congratulate Arthur and the Weasley children were forced into pleasantries. On more than one occasion, Ginny, Harry, and James were eyed carefully whenever Arthur introduced them and several made comments such as “It’s true then?” and “I thought it was just a hoax!”. Neither Harry nor Ginny liked it very much but Arthur was quick to steer the conversations away from them. During dessert, Arthur and Molly opened up the dance floor with an old fashioned waltz, which led other couples to join them, including Alice and Elijah. This in turn sparked each Weasley boy to take turns with their mother while Arthur danced with each of his sons’ dates. Once Ron had escorted Molly back to her seat Harry stood up and bowed deeply to his mother-in-law. “Would you do me the honor as well, Mum?” he asked. Molly smiled, slightly out of breath and nodded. Harry extended his arm towards her and she took it. Her sons were glaring at Harry, some with surprised looks at the way he addressed her, but Harry ignored them and escorted her to the dance floor. Once the song was over, Harry led Molly back to the table and sat down next to his wife. Ginny looked at Harry expectantly. Harry smiled at her, knowing that she wanted to dance, and took a piece of chocolate cake. He took a tiny forkful and gave it to James. Ginny cleared her throat pointedly and looked at Harry. Harry looked back at her. “What?” he asked, innocently. “Aren’t you going to ask me to dance?” she asked sweetly. Harry frowned. “Am I supposed to?” he asked. Ginny’s eyes widened at him in surprise. “Harry James Potter! I’m your wife!” she scolded and glared at him. “I know, I know. I’m only joking with you,” he said quickly before she could get angry. He made to stand up so he could offer her his arm. “Actually Harry, if you don’t mind,” Arthur said and Harry saw that he was standing on the other side of Ginny, “Would you like to dance with your dear old dad Ginny?” Ginny smiled and stood up. “I would love to.” She took her father’s arm and looked at her husband. “That is how a gentleman acts,” she said smugly. Harry raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ll show you what a real gentleman is later,” he said in a quiet voice so only she could hear. She blushed slightly and gave him a suggestive smile. “I’ll hold you to that,” she whispered and took off with her father. Harry watched as Arthur whisked his daughter around the floor gracefully. Ginny looked up at him, her face alight with joy and love for him. Harry smiled and gave James another small bite of cake. It was then that he noticed how hard his son was concentrating and he grimaced as an unpleasant smell wafted to his nostrils. Harry put the fork down and reached over to pick up James. “Oh, give him here Harry,” Molly offered and stood up. “I’ll change him for you. You stay here and enjoy yourself.” She didn’t give Harry any room for protest. She picked up the baby bag, took James from Harry, and took off in the direction of the washrooms. He watched as she disappeared around a corner, cooing at James the whole way. He turned back around and noticed that Ron and Hermione and Ginny’s grandparents had left and were dancing. He was left alone with the rest of Ginny’s brothers and their dates. Now that he was alone with them, he felt compelled to explain what he had done to Ginny. He cleared his throat. “Uh,” he began, “I want to thank you all for kicking my arse yesterday.” This caused all present at the table to look at him. “No really. I do. I had been a huge jerk to Ginny and she didn’t deserve that. But none of you know why I did what I did,” Harry continued. “As your father was saying in his speech, he’d do anything to protect his family. Well, I’d do the same. I thought that by leaving Ginny and James they would be protected. Voldemort —” (nearly the whole table flinched at this point), “— Voldemort wouldn’t get them. They’d be safe and Voldemort wouldn’t take another child from me.” Each brother was now looking at him. It was apparent that the last phrase was news to them. “Ginny miscarried,” Charlie said with a look of confusion on his face. Harry looked down at the table. When they had owled the family to tell them about the loss of Bryce they didn’t say exactly how Ginny miscarried; they only said that she did. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Someone slipped her a potion that forced her to miscarry. Voldemort has a spy at Hogwarts. We’re sure that’s who did it,” Harry revealed. Pain twisted in his stomach and he could feel hot tears forming in his eyes. He closed his eyes to stop himself from crying. He opened his eyes again and saw that everyone at the table was staring at him, horrified looks on their faces, all except for Cho. “He won’t take my family from me. I won’t let him touch them. I love James and I love Ginny with all my heart and I hope that people understand that.” He directed this last part towards Cho, who shifted in her seat and reached to take a sip of her wine. Harry suddenly didn’t feel like being there any longer. He felt the pain of losing Bryce swell up inside him and he felt like bursting into tears all over again. He stood up quickly and strode towards the washrooms. He ran into Molly on his way. James squealed at the sight of Harry and reached out for his father. Harry smiled and lovingly rubbed the top of his head. “Harry, dear, are you alright?” Molly asked with a look of concern on her face. “Yes, I’m fine. Just going to the loo,” he excused himself. “Well, alright then,” Molly said and continued to make her way to the table. Harry watched her for a few moments before going into the men’s loo. When Harry left the loo and went back to the table, he spotted Ginny sitting there again, leaning over James with a toy in her hand. Harry smiled at the sight of them. “Harry?” Harry turned and saw Arthur standing next to him. “I was wondering if I could have a word with you,” he said. Harry nodded and followed Arthur across the room. They reached the bar and Arthur ordered two glasses of firewhiskey. When the drinks came, Arthur pushed one towards Harry and took one for himself. He took a sip and set the glass down. “Go on. Have a taste,” Arthur encouraged him. Harry lifted up the glass and examined the amber colored liquid. Slowly he raised it to his lips and took a drink from it. It burned going down his throat and Harry began coughing violently. Arthur chuckled at him and called for a glass of water. Harry gratefully took the water and gulped down half the glass. “All right there?” Arthur asked, taking another sip of his firewhiskey. Harry nodded and tentatively took another small sip of the drink. It still burned going down his throat but it wasn’t as bad this time. Arthur’s eyes lingered past Harry and he slowly looked back at Harry. “How do you feel about my daughter?” he asked. Harry was surprised at the question. Didn’t his father-in-law know how he felt about Ginny? “I love her, sir,” Harry replied, not quite sure if he could call him by his name anymore. Arthur regarded him for a moment and a small smile appeared on his face. “Good, good,” he said. “Now, care to tell me why you had the need to leave the woman you love and your child the way that you did?” Harry took another drink of his firewhiskey, quickly adapting to the taste of it and looked at his father-in-law. He suddenly found himself spilling out all his fears and telling Arthur every feeling he felt while making the decision. He told him about the spy and how he felt after he had pushed his family away and how much pain it caused him to do it. He ended with telling him how he and Ginny worked things out, leaving out the details that occurred after the kiss. He was sure that his father-in-law didn’t need to know about their nocturnal activities in the common room. Arthur had remained silent the whole time, taking in everything Harry had to say. He sighed and looked at Harry. “It seems to me that you did it out of love for them Harry. And if the spy was watching, he would have picked up on that very quickly. It made them no less of a target,” Arthur said. “I know,” Harry said, looking down at the ground. “Right now Harry, with the way things are going, we need to stick close to our loved ones. We need to cherish every moment we have with them because you don’t know if they’ll be there the next moment. I know that this is very hard for you. I know that in the end it is you against You-Know-Who, and yes he will more than likely use Ginny and James to get you. I know that scares you, and it scares me. If I could I would lock up my whole family to keep them from getting hurt, but I know I can’t do that, just like you can’t do that to Ginny and James.” Arthur said. “I know, I know. I just don’t want anything to happen to them. I couldn’t live without them,” Harry admitted. Arthur placed a fatherly hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I know how you feel, Harry,” Arthur said. “All you can do is love them and hold them close to your heart. I have a feeling that the end of this war is coming soon and keeping your loved ones close will be very important.” Harry nodded and sighed. Arthur smiled and finished off his glass. The pair made their way back to the table together. Harry went towards Ginny, ready to ask her to dance, but Cho cut him off. “Let’s dance Harry!” she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and dragging him off. Ginny glared at the black-haired witch. Harry seemed to be struggling to get away from her, but she gripped onto him tightly, preventing him from going anywhere. Harry shot Ginny an apologetic look. Ginny glared at Cho, wanting nothing more that to rip every hair off her body and rearrange her nose. “What a wonderful husband you have there Ginny,” Charlie said. Ginny looked at him. “What does that mean?” she asked. “He hasn’t danced with you once,” Charlie said, taking a sip of his wine. “Maybe if your date didn’t drag him from me, we would be dancing right now,” Ginny retorted. “She did nothing of the sort. Charlie you have a splendid date tonight. Just the perfect granddaughter I’ve always wanted,” Alice said. “She’s a proper lady, she is. Knows where her priorities lie. Charlie I hope you marry this girl. She is lovely young witch. You can learn a thing or two about her Ginevra.” Ginny couldn’t take it any longer. All evening, Alice had been insulting Ginny and comparing her to Cho. This had caused Cho to act very smug and shoot seductive looks at Harry, which, Ginny was pleased to see, he ignored. Alice had constantly told Ginny she should be more like Cho and learn how a proper lady acts. Ginny wasn’t going to take it any more. “Proper lady? Cho? That’s a riot,” Ginny muttered. Charlie who was sitting next to her turned to her. “What exactly do you have against her? She hasn’t done anything to you,” Charlie said. “What hasn’t she done to me?” Ginny retorted, glaring at him. Charlie frowned at her. Ginny sighed. “She’s been trying to take Harry from me ever since we started dating. All because they had one date and shared one kiss years ago, she thinks he is her property and doesn’t seem to understand that he doesn’t want her. She’s been hitting on him all night!” Charlie raised his eyebrows at his sister and looked out towards the dance floor, where Cho was holding onto Harry tightly. He looked back at Ginny. “Oh really?” he asked. “Yes really, Charlie. Would I make something like that up?” Ginny said. Charlie seemed to be thinking over what she said. He looked back out the dance floor and stood up. Ginny watched as Charlie made his way to Harry and Cho and cut in. Within a few moments of dancing together, Cho’s smile faded and Ginny was sure Charlie was having a nice chat with her. “So do I get to dance with you now?” Ginny was so into watching Cho and Charlie, she didn’t notice that Harry had returned to the table. She smiled and took his offered arm. “I’d be delighted,” she said and stood up. Harry led her to the dance floor and took her in his arms. They swayed to the music, forgetting about everything in their lives except for the two of them. Nothing else seemed to matter. All that mattered was that they were together and they loved each other. Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry’s neck and he snaked his around her waist. They gazed into each other’s eyes, the world and music fading around them. Slowly, Harry leaned towards her. They lips met each other, but just at Harry was about to deepen the kiss, something overhead interrupted them. A raven had flown through the window and was circling around the room, something clutched in its talons. It swooped low, its wings flapping, and cawed. It flew straight towards Ginny and Harry and dropped a blood red envelope at their feet. The raven cawed again and flew out an opened window. The music had stopped and everyone was staring at the Potters and the envelope at their feet. Slowly Ginny stooped to pick it up. “No,” Harry said, throwing an arm out in front of her. He bent down and examined it. The Dark Mark was on the seal and Harry swore it was moving on the envelope. He didn’t know if picking it up was a good idea. It could very well be a Port Key to wherever Voldemort was hiding. Without warning, the envelope violently shook and the seal opened on its own. A high pitched laugh echoed and filled the room. Smoke began to rise from the envelope and rose into the air. The smoke swirled around them in the air, quickly turning a bright green color and slowly began to form words. I hope you enjoy watching your loved ones die. One down, two to go and victory shall be mine. Just as the words began to disappear, the smoke formed again and a fresh set of words appeared in the same bright green color. I can’t wait to see you again Ginevra. You won’t get away this time. The words faded again and the smoke swirled around them once more. The envelope seemed to be sucking the smoke back into it and as soon as the last wisp of smoke was gone, it burst into the flames and left behind a small pile of ashes. * * * * * The sky was pitch black now, the moon barely visible through the haze of clouds. Everyone at the Burrow was asleep by now, except one and no matter how hard Ginny tried to sleep she couldn’t. She continued to run her hand through Harry’s hair as he slept next to her. She knew he wasn’t sleeping well. She could tell by the way his arms were wrapped around her waist and how his face was contorted. She hoped he wasn’t going to have another nightmare. After the message from Voldemort had disappeared, pandemonium struck those in attendance of the ceremony. The Weasley family and their guests were quickly escorted out of the building while Aurors tried to keep calm and evacuate the others. The Weasley family was rushed back to the Burrow and security around the property was quickly doubled. Harry had taken a very long shower that night. She had put James to bed and got ready for bed herself and waited for Harry. Just as she was about to check on Harry, he came into her bedroom and she joked about if he was trying to drown himself. Harry didn’t find it funny. He stared at her for a few moments before climbing into bed. Ginny hadn’t been sure of what to say to him. He had barely spoken a word since they received the message and it was starting to frighten her. He had leaned over her, his eyes boring into hers. Ginny saw a feral look in his eyes. Anger and fear and love swirled in the sea of green and before she knew it he was kissing her fiercely. He didn’t keep his promise of showing her what a gentleman was. When he had made love to her, she could feel all his pain and anger and fear. He poured it into her and she took it, wanting to do whatever she could to take it all away from him. Now she watched him sleep a fretful sleep and she was scared. She didn’t know what he was going to do and the fear of waking up one morning and not having him next to her was quickly being planted in her mind. Sleep was not going to come for her. Ginny sighed and carefully slipped out of Harry’s grasp. Carefully she got out of bed and shivered as the cold night air hit her skin. She pulled her dressing gown around her and went to check on James. She found that he was sleeping peacefully in his crib, completely oblivious to everything around him. Quietly, she shut the door to his room and decided that maybe a warm cup of tea would help her sleep. As Ginny descended the stairs, she heard voices coming from the kitchen. “I wish you would just accept her the way she is. So what if she isn’t the perfect lady? She’s perfect the way she is. I wish she would have waited until she was older to have a child, but I can’t change that. It was Ginny and Harry’s decision on what to do and we support them. Ginny’s a wonderful mother and a wonderful person. She has too much on her plate right now to deal with the way you keep treating her. I just wish you could get past your image of what she should be and love her the way she is.” Ginny froze on the stairs. Did her mother just speak out against her grandmother? She had wanted her to do that for so long and always wondered why she never did. She felt proud of her mother and, in spite of her previous evening, smiled. Quietly, she entered the kitchen where she found her parents and her grandparents settled around the kitchen table. “Ginny,” Arthur said upon seeing his daughter in the doorway. “Everything all right?” Ginny nodded and made her way into the kitchen. “I can’t sleep,” she said. “Let me get you some tea then,” Molly said and stood up. She went to the stove and began making Ginny a cup of tea. “Well, we were going to bed. Good night Ginny,” Elijah said and stood up. Alice followed and they left the kitchen. “I think I’ll be going as well,” Arthur said and stood up. He kissed Ginny on her forehead and left the kitchen as well. Molly set a cup in front of Ginny and sat down next to her with a cup of her own. Ginny stared into her cup, her thoughts running through her mind and she wished she had a Pensieve. “Knut for your thoughts,” her mother said. Ginny looked up at her mother and sighed. “It’s nothing,” Ginny dismissed it and took a sip of her tea. “If it was nothing, then you wouldn’t be down here right now and look like the weight of the world is on your shoulders,” Molly said. Ginny looked at her mother. There was no use in hiding it from her. “I’m worried about Harry. I’ve never seen him like this before and I’m so scared that I’ll wake up one morning and he won’t be there. I’m so scared that he’ll leave in the middle of the night and go after Voldemort. And what am I supposed to do then? Let him go and let him get himself killed? I want James to have his father,” Ginny said in a rush and didn’t realize that she had begun to cry. Molly gave her a sympathetic look and placed a motherly hand over hers. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I do know that it’s going to come down to Harry,” she continued. She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from crying. “And I know that I’ll be with him. I won’t let him go through this alone. I want to protect him just as much as he wants to protect me.” Molly didn’t say anything. She just stared at her daughter, holding her hand and listening to her. A thought came across Ginny’s mind. It was something she didn’t want to think about, but she knew it would come up eventually. “Mum,” Ginny began, not sure how to get the words out. She took another deep breath and pushed on. “Mum if anything happens to Harry and I promise me you’ll take care of James.” Molly’s eyes widened in surprise and she stared at Ginny. “Ginny,” Molly said and it was clear in her eyes that she didn’t want to make a promise like this to her daughter. “Please. If something happens to me and Harry, I want you and Dad to be his guardians. I want him to be with someone who will love him and take care of him and give him the childhood he deserves. Please Mum. Promise me,” Ginny continued. Molly seemed to be robbed of speech. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she nodded. “Of course we will,” Molly whispered and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. “I promise.” Ginny felt grateful. She hugged her mother back tightly and hoped that her mother wouldn’t have to keep that promise. |
| Reviews 1042 |
Previous Next
|
