Search:

SIYE Time:1:19 on 29th March 2024
SIYE Login: no


Another World, Another Time
By herekittykitty

- Text Size +

Category: Alternate Universe, Post-HBP, Post-Hogwarts
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Nymphadora Tonks, Oliver Wood
Genres: Angst, Drama, Fluff, General, Romance, Tragedy
Warnings: Death, Extreme Language, Sexual Situations
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 313
Summary: Life goes on after Voldemort's defeat, even though Harry disappears without a trace. How does Ginny deal with his return four years later, when both of them have become very different people?
Hitcount: Story Total: 117089; Chapter Total: 10047







ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter


“-so then Coach said he couldn’t believe I hadn’t immediately gotten off my broom and had it looked to. Even though they would have had to sub in the rookie, McRobbie. And he’d have been pulverized by the Bats’ defense - you know he’s not fast enough.”

Ron glared at her angrily over his coffee. Ginny had decided to come clean and tell her brothers what had happened to her hand - she was horrible at keeping things secret anyway.

“Stop making excuses, Ginny!”

“I’m not... oh hell, you’re right. I am...”

“Your coach is absolutely right! You can’t just be flying with an injury like that. If it’d been any worse, you’d have had permanent damage,” Hermione said lightly. The Leaky Cauldron was full at this hour with wizards and witches in for the Saturday breakfast special, plus Ollie was banging two spoons together and babbling nonsensically. One almost had to yell to be heard.

“And what about the bloody play-offs?” Ron moaned, burying his head in his hands.

“We probably wouldn’t have made it very far, anyways.” Ginny wiped ketchup off her son’s chin. “I still scored sixty points by the way - you’re acting as though I was bloody useless!”

‘I know...” Ron whinged. “It’s just... It’s the Cannons, Ginny! In the play-offs!”

Ginny rolled her eyes - the Cannons were some sort of religion to Ron. They were a wonderful team, it was true, her first choice in the League, but she didn’t swear unending devotion to them. She would never tell Ron, but she could definitely see herself playing for another team someday, if the opportunity arose.

“You’re right, Ron. I really should have had my hand looked to. I was just angry and I wasn’t thinking.”

“Next time...” Ron waved his fork threateningly at her.

“Next time, I’ll get off the pitch right away,” Ginny said obediently.

“You’d better,” Hermione chastised, wiping more food off Ollie’s chin. “Are you ready to go to Hogwarts, Ginny? - I noticed you didn’t bring a bag. We had all planned to leave from here, I thought.”

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it, actually,” Ginny replied casually. “I’m taking Ollie to see his Grandpa Wood for the afternoon - we’re way overdue for a visit, and then we’re at Tonks’ and Remus’ for dinner.”

“Oh, I’d thought you were coming with us,” Hermione said, disappointment evident on her face. “You’ll pop by tomorrow, right? We’re all staying the night in Gryffindor.”

Ginny searched in vain for an excuse. She hadn’t known they were there on Sunday - she’d only made plans for Saturday.

“I’ll see if I can make it,” she replied lamely.

“Oh, come early, won’t you? We’ll all have breakfast together! Dobby would love to see you, he asks about you all the time!”

“I need to fly a bit first - but maybe early afternoon?”

“You should bring your broom along - it would be good for Sean to get out on the Quidditch pitch with you and Ron. Just like old times - maybe that will help jog his memory!”

Ginny swallowed heavily and nodded. Avoiding Sean was going to be harder than she thought, at least this weekend.

“By the way, where is Sean?” Ron added, looking at his watch. “He’s awfully late.”

Sean was supposed to meet them here? Ginny almost cringed - how could she escape gracefully, without making it obvious why she was leaving?

“He mentioned something last night about going to see Chrissy- OW! Merlin, why’d you kick me?” Ron glared at Hermione, his brows knit.

“Sorry, dear - my foot slipped. Ginny do you want more tea? There’s a bit left in the teapot-”

“It’s okay, Hermione,” Ginny said. “It shouldn’t bother me to hear you talking about Sean’s girlfriend.”

But it did bother her. It more than bothered her: Ginny’s stomach was currently twisting itself into angry knots. However, she knew she had absolutely no right to feel anything resembling jealousy.

“It’s perfectly understandable if it does bother you, Ginny,” Hermione said, as though she was reading her friend’s mind.

“You don’t have to hide it. I mean, it’s Harry-”

“But that’s just it,” Ginny interrupted tersely. “He really isn’t Harry, is he? Sean might look exactly like Harry, but who you are, your personality, is based on your environment, on what you’ve perceived from the world around you, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is, but-”

“-And Sean’s completely unaware of the things that Harry experienced. He doesn’t have those memories. He hasn’t any idea what shaped Harry and made him into the person he was. He hasn’t felt the things Harry has felt, or known the people Harry has known. Therefore, he’s not Harry. He’s a completely different person.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “That’s... logical.”

“I know it is. It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“I guess, in a way...”

“How ‘bout when he remembers everything?” Ron interjected, his mouth half-full again. “What then?”

Ginny shrugged. “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Well, you were his girlfriend. I suppose he might want that bit of his old life back.”

“I was his girlfriend. But that was a long time ago. I chose to marry someone else, didn’t I?”

“So when you married Oliver, those eight odd years of Harry Potter, your first true love, singing valentines and all, just vanished - OW!” Ron rubbed his side again. Hermione had elbowed him, rather obviously this time obviously.

“Ronald Bilius Weasley, where is your sensitivity? Do you even hear the ridiculous things you’re saying?”

Ginny looked seriously at her brother. “Imagine you’ve been kidnapped or something for four years, Ron, and you come
back to find Hermione’s gone off and married... oh, I don’t know... Anthony Goldstein! How would you feel?”

“But, Ginny-”

Ginny shook her head. She didn’t want to delve any deeper into the debate. “Let’s get back to the point here. I have no reason to be jealous of Sean - or Harry, for that matter. He can date anyone he pleases. So can I.” She crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest.

“Hermione would never marry Goldstein,” Ron declared. “He was at least an inch shorter than her. She likes tall blokes.”

The two girls looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you avoiding the real question, Gin!” Ron waved the remaining half of his sandwich at her.

“There is no real question,” Ginny replied aloofly, casting a cleaning spell on Ollie’s messy jumper.

“So if Harry walked in here right now, and asked you out again, tell me you wouldn’t jump on him like a flobberworm on rotten lettuce!”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Brilliant analogy, Ron. But there is no Harry.”

“Bloody hell, Sean, then! Whatever you call him!”

“I don’t know Sean well enough to jump at anything.”

“Mommy! Potty!” Ollie hollered, clambouring across his mother’s lap. “I gotta go!”

“Excuse us,” Ginny said tersely, picking up her son and quickly dashed towards the bathroom. Ollie had excellent timing. But if her thick-headed brother had noticed last night’s attraction to Sean that meant everyone else in the family had probably noticed too. How pathetic she must have looked.

She helped her son wash his hands, looking at herself appraisingly in the mirror. Ollie had been extra hyperactive that morning, and she’d spent most of her time chasing him around the house while he screeched with laughter - she hadn’t had any time for cosmetic charms. Her long hair was tied back in a messy ponytail, and during breakfast Ollie had somehow left a ketchup handprint on the shoulder of her blouse. She felt exhausted and looked awful.

She held the bathroom door open for her son, who ran back towards the table cheerfully. Ginny’s heart plunged into her stomach when she spotted the new arrival at their table. She watched Sean pick her son up in his arms, swinging him around in a big hug. He smiled over at her, as Ollie giggled with delight in his arms.

Ginny smiled back vaguely, and reached towards her robes on the coat rack. This plan to avoid Sean, it was starting now.

“Are we leaving for Hogwarts already?” Sean asked, looking curiously at the robes in Ginny’s arms as he sat down, Ollie’s arms still glued around his neck. Sean’s hair was sticking up on the back of his head as though he’d just woke up - he looked as though he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. Ginny remembered the reason he was late, and a bitter flame of jealousy shot across her chest.

“They’re not coming with us,” Ron looked over at her. “Are you, Gin?”

“I’m afraid we can’t,” Ginny said, hoping she sounded apologetic.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” Sean said. He looked genuinely disappointed.

“Another time, maybe.”

“She’ll be at Hogwarts tomorrow though,” Hermione quipped. “Won’t you, Ginny?”

“Ollie’s a real terror in the morning, but if I can get him calmed down-”

“He can run around the castle with us - that’ll keep him busy,” Ron said, glaring pointedly at Ginny. “We’ll be waiting for you.”

“Sure. Well, we really should get going then. Come on, Ollie.” Ginny said brightly, reaching out for her son, who reluctantly let go of Sean’s neck. He stared up at his new favourite uncle, his lower lip wobbling as though he were about to cry.

Sean crouched down in front of Ollie and ruffled his hair gently.

“It’s okay, little guy, I’ll see you tomorrow. We can play all day long if you want.”

There was tenderness in his voice that made Ginny’s heart ache. She couldn’t look at Sean with his perfectly scruffy bed- head, with the smile on his face as he hugged her son. Why did he have to be so bloody gorgeous?

“Buh Bye, Uncle. I love you!”

Ron shook his head in amazement. “The guy’s back for two weeks and he’s already begun the campaign to displace me
as favourite uncle. Feeding the kid candy secretly, I’ll bet.”

“I love you too, Ollie,” Sean laughed. Ginny couldn’t avoid meeting his eyes as he stood up. “See you tomorrow, Ginny.”

“Yeah,” she said quietly, feeling short of breath as she picked up her son to Disapparate. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. “ ‘Bye everyone.”

She arrived with a snap in front of Mr. Wood’s house, the house her husband had grown up in, set back on a quiet street on the edge of Hogsmeade. Ollie, who seconds ago had been sniffling into her shoulder, clapped his hands delightedly.

“Grampoo!” he yelled, waving at the front porch. She set him down and watched him run across the grass and leap into his grandfather’s arms. Mr. Wood was waiting for them, of course. He lived alone - Ginny knew they didn’t visit him often enough - sometimes it felt as though visiting every day wouldn’t be often enough to comfort this man who had lost his entire family. Ollie was his only tie to his only son.

“Ginny, dear, you look so lovely... Well, maybe a little tired, but you’re always absolutely beautiful.” Mr. Wood fussed, wrapping an arm around his daughter-in-law’s shoulders. Ginny grinned - her father in law reminding her where Oliver had gotten his sweet- talking skills from. “Would you like some tea?”

“Oh, no thank you. I just had some.”

Mr. Wood nodded. “Well, I think you should go have yourself a nice rest. Or go shopping, dear! Buy something that makes you feel as pretty as you are. I can handle this little one for a few hours.”

“You know, I’d really appreciate that,” Ginny replied warmly. Ollie was running up and down the porch, waving a stick he had found on the ground like a wand. A day of quiet would be wonderful - Ginny could think a little, make a concrete plan to clear her head of this Sean nonsense for good. “I’ll be here around tea time to get him. Is that okay?”

“That sounds perfect - enough time for me to spoil my grandson rotten with Chocolate Frogs, and even enough time for him to wear off the sugar rush so as not to drive you crazy later.” Mr. Wood hugged her, and she laughed.
“He’s becoming a real handful, even without the chocolate.”

“It keeps me young, dear.”

Ginny tried to kiss her son goodbye, but he kept giggling and running away, not disturbed one bit by the prospect of being left with Grandpa and his supply of chocolate. With a shrug and a wave, she Disapparated.

***

Ginny let Ollie toddle ahead as they reached Hogwarts’ grounds the next morning. The school was quiet - students wouldn’t be arriving for another week. She had decided to walk to the castle from Hogsmeade in hopes that it would put a dent in a certain little boy’s persistent supply of energy, but the fresh air seemed only to invigorate him. Ginny chased a breathlessly giggling Ollie, up to the front doors, which swung open in welcome at their approach. She took a deep breath as she picked up her son and headed inside. She could do this.

Yesterday, Ginny had decided she should use her free time while Ollie was with his grandpa to make a list of reasons that reinforced why Sean was bad for her. After avoiding the task by cleaning her house, and even going shoe shopping with Tonks, Ginny had sat down and set to it. The list wasn’t all that long - only five reasons, admittedly - but she definitely felt her inner resolve strengthened.

Ginny was keeping the first two reasons at the forefront of her mind that morning. The first reason was that Ollie would be confused by the entrance of a man into her life. He still had problems with the concept of Daddy - Ginny had spent countless hours showing her son photos of his father, and she thought that Ollie understood who he was to some degree. He could point to a photo with Oliver in it and say “Daddy!” but he thought of Daddy as a name, not a concept. Another name, just like Ron or Charlie or Bill or Remus. There was no emotional connection to the word like there was with Mommy. She couldn’t introduce that now - not if it wasn’t a permanent situation. Certainly not with someone she’d only known for a matter of days.

The second reason was so obvious it had already become her mantra. She would continue to repeat it inside her head every time Sean was in the same room as her: He’s not Harry. That pull she felt, that magnetism - it came from the part of her that still dreamed of Harry, the secret piece of her heart that had still thought longingly of him Harry, even while she’d been married to another man. It was dangerous and headstrong, but Ginny knew she could keep herself in check. Sean was not Harry.

Ginny and Ollie walked across the entrance hall, footsteps echoing on the stone floors. Hogwarts was different when it was empty of students - it was almost lonely, as though the old castle missed its’ halls being full of boisterous laughter. Even though it was only a building, it did sort of feel like a living thing, a caregiver that embraced each and every student that made its halls their home away from home.

Ginny picked Ollie up and headed up the staircase towards Gryffindor Common Room. Ollie pointed at everything he saw in great interest. He’d never been to such a big place before.

“And who else do we have back with us - oh, of course, it’s the littlest Weasley, the pretty little girl!” the Fat Lady sang from within her painting. She had two shepherdesses from a nearby pastoral scene over for tea, and they all craned their necks to look down at Ginny and Ollie, the latter of whom shrieked and clapped his hands, waving at the painting in excitement.

“Why, thank you!” Ginny said, smiling warmly. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“What a darling little boy!” The fat lady cooed, reaching down with her chubby fingers as though she’d like to have pinched Ollie’s cheeks. “You and Harry Potter have started a family already, have you? How sweet!”

“Um, no. Not exactly.” Ginny said, her cheeks becoming pink. “Actually, my husband was Oliver Wood. He was a Gryffindor, too.”

Ginny watched in alarm as the voluminous painted chins started to quiver. The Fat Lady threw her hand across her face dramatically and collapsing in a heap at the bottom of the canvas, burst into a violent sobbing fit. It was so high-pitched and awful that Ginny cupped her hands over Ollie’s ears.

“OH, OH! I HEARD WHAT HA-HAPPENED,” she howled, as the shepherdesses tried to pick up her wilting body, prodding at the crumpled pile of painted scarlet silk and muslin with their herding staffs. “His loss - It was all the students would talk of for weeks! Your husband was adored by so many.”

“Thank you for your condolences,” Ginny said, with a demure smile, trying to hide the horrible face her son was making at the fat lady in protest of her hysterics.

“And so you’re here to see your friends! To take solace in the familiar halls of your childhood! To forget the awful, awful tragedy which your life must have become, now that you have lost your companion and lover!”

“Uh, sure-”

But the Fat Lady wasn’t finished. “... to stem the awful tide of loneliness! To help you overcome the overwhelming worry you must constantly feel as a young widow, even if it’s just for a moment. How I pity you, dear! Oh, the horrible HORRIBLE pressure of such a life-”

“Something like that, yes,” Ginny interrupted loudly, trying not to laugh. “I should be getting in there, then, before the... uh, agonizing loneliness overtakes me. Hermione owled me the password. It’s-”

“-memories,” A voice behind her said. Ginny spun around.

Sean, Hermione and Ron were standing right behind her. They had obviously overheard the Fat lady’s ranting. But Ron was doing a much poorer job of hiding his amusement with the Fat Lady than Ginny. His face was positively purple with laughter, his hands clamped over his mouth. Hermione elbowed him, smiling graciously at the Fat Lady.

The painted women all glared at Ron as the door swung open. As she passed, Ginny heard the Fat Lady mumbling about how stupid brothers could be, and then the stupid brother in question pushed past her and Ollie and through the doorway, bursting into laughter.

“Oh MERLIN, Gin!” Ron gasped.! “Thanks a heap for coming all the way out here! We all do understand the heart-ripping loneliness you’ve been feeling as a widow. That is, when you’ve not been playing your fancy professional Quidditch games, or trouncing about your fancy house, or shopping for shoes with your army of girlfriends-”

“Oh, be quiet, Ron!” Ginny said, through her own laughter, putting her son down and noting with dismay how he made a beeline for Sean, his little arms outstretched gleefully. “What army of girlfriends?”

“Well, just Tonks, really. And Hermione. They’re both bossy enough to make up an army.”

“Oh, quiet, you twit!” Hermione swatted her husband and moved to hug Ginny. “It’s good you’re here. We’ve just been on a walk through the castle. Sean knows where everything is - he basically led the tour.”

“Wow! You remembered?” Ginny said brightly. “That’s amazing!”

Sean shrugged moodily, a bit of a feat given that Ollie was climbing him like a tree. “I don’t remember anything else. Just where things are, not what they are. Rather defeats the point, I think.”

Hermione looked pointedly at Ginny, her voice extra cheery. “Ron was thinking you three could go out to the Quidditch pitch for an hour or two this afternoon.”

“That sounds good, actually. I brought my new broom - it was just delivered this morning. I haven’t even taken it up yet.”

“Cookie!” Ollie yelled, planting a wet kiss on Sean’s cheek. “Uncle, pweeze! I want a cookie!”

“Ollie barely ate breakfast this morning - a little snack might be a good idea. Can we head down to the kitchens?”

“Yes! Dobby would love to meet Ollie! You should see how well he’s doing supervising the other free elves in the kitchen! They have a union and everything!” Hermione replied, her face glowing. Sean and Ron exchanged a look - Ginny could tell they’d probably both already had their fill of house elves and SPEW on this trip.

Hermione pulled on Ginny’s arm. “We’ll meet you boys down there,” she yelled back over her shoulder, yanking Ginny through the portrait hole.

“What the-”

“Ginny, you have got to talk with Sean,” Hermione whispered urgently, looking back over her shoulder.

“What? Why me!”

“He’s... he’s so frustrated and aloof! Untouchable! I thought the trip would bring us all closer, but it’s not helping. Neither Ron or I can say or do anything to help anymore - he just seems tired of this. He’s sick of not remembering his old life, and worse, he’s sick of all of us expecting him to.” Hermione pulled her down the hallway. “I think, if we don’t act fast, we might lose him.”

“You do?”

Hermione looked at her seriously. “I really do, Ginny. He could disappear back into Muggle London one day, and we’d never hear from him again. What’s stopping him?”

“Nothing...” Ginny replied quietly. It was true. Without memories, he had nothing tying him to them. He could very easily leave without a word to anyone, this time for good.

“Well, I’ll talk to him,” Ginny replied in a whisper, hearing the boys heading down the hallway behind her. “Not sure what good it’ll be, but I’ll try my best.”

“What are you lot whispering about?” Ron asked, running a little bit to catch up with them. Sean strolled behind them, Ollie’s little hand in his. Ginny could hear her son chattering away to his new favourite uncle, nonsense and half words.

“Oh, just girl talk!” Hermione said brightly, glancing pointedly over her shoulder at Sean. Ron caught the message behind the look, and nodded seriously at Ginny.

“Ron, love, remember this corridor!” Hermione said, yanking on her husband’s sleeve. “The broom closet at the end?”

“How could I forget?” Ron grinned smugly, as his wife pulled him down the corridor. “Now’s your chance! Talk to him!” he mouthed as his wife pulled him away.

Ginny blanched. She had to talk to him now? Part of her wanted to follow Hermione and Ron. She had absolutely no clue how to convince Sean to stick around, if that was even what he needed convincing of. The last thing Ginny wanted was to be left alone with him, and it had already happened, only minutes after she arrived. She leaned against the wall resignedly, waiting for Sean and Ollie to catch up. She closed her eyes and repeated her mantra in her head. He’s not Harry.

“I sure hope you’re serious about remembering where things are, Sean, because after the turn here, I get all confused, ” Ginny quipped brightly as he approached.

“Sorry we fell behind. Ollie’s been telling me stories, haven’t you?” He grinned down at the little boy.

“What kind of tall tales have you been telling your uncle Sean?” Ginny asked her son.

Ollie shrieked and ran over to hug his mom’s leg.

Sean grinned. “Oh, something about a sandwich and a cookie and his mommy and a dragon.”

“He’s got a great imagination when he’s hungry,” Ginny said, reaching down to tickle her son’s belly.

“Where did Hermione and Ron go, anyhow?” Sean asked, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“They... uh, they took a little detour at the last corridor.”

“But all that’s down there is a broom closet, isn’t it?”

Ginny smirked. “Oh, that’s not just any broom closet.”

Sean just looked at her blankly. Everyone who’d been to Hogwarts, whether they had a significant other or not, knew almost instinctively that broom closets were designed not for brooms, but for snogging - the closet Hermione and Ron were in was especially popular for Gryffindors, being that it was the closest to the common room.

Ginny tried to act casual, ignoring the fact that her blushing cheeks would betray her anyhow. “Well, uh... by this point they’re probably... you know.”

Sean blinked and his mouth crooked in a smile. “...I see.”

“That’s the real use of the closets around this place. Co-ed school and all,” Ginny shrugged. She was a grown-up, or at least she was pretending to be one. Teenage snogging was no big deal.

“Right,” Sean said with a grin. “There’s another closet just up here, isn’t there? To the right. Strange how I remember the location of these closets almost better than I do the classrooms.”

“Oh, we spent loads of time in these closets,” Ginny quippedjoked casually.

“Oh? How... interesting?” Sean said, a mischievous smile dancing at the corners of his mouth.

Ginny froze, her chest suddenly burning with embarrassment. What in Merlin’s name had she just said? She clapped her hands over her mouth. Ollie pointed up at her and laughed.

“It’s okay, Gin,” Sean said, now grinning widely. “We were going together when we were in school. I already knew that.”

“Right,” Ginny replied, hoping they weren’t passing any more closets on the way to the kitchens. She pushed her hair behind her ears and tried to regain her composure, which was basically impossible at this point. Her cheeks felt as though they were on fire. Time to change the subject, she decided.

“But I was serious when I said that I hoped you knew your way to the kitchens. I get lost down these particular corridors after a certain point,” she said.

“I think I know where I’m at.”

“And.. uh... how are you at with the rest of it? Are we driving you totally bonkers with all these things you’re to remember?”

Sean swung a giggling Ollie up onto his shoulders and then looked over at her seriously. “Ron and Hermione, they asked you to talk to me, right?”

“Not really...” she began lamely. “Okay, so maybe they did. Is that a bad thing?”

“I guess not,” he said. “I’ve been a bit of a chore to be around this weekend, I think. I should have told them what happened Friday night...”

“What happened? Maybe I can help...”

He shook his head. “I don’t think you can help.”

“Try me!”

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story really.”

“I’m all ears. You'll probably feel better if you talk to someone.”

He looked a bit nervous. “Well, I went to visit Chrissy on Friday. I’d been doing some serious thinking about where our relationship was headed - and there was something important I needed to ask her.”

Ginny’s blood suddenly ran cold, and her brain filled in the blanks. He was going to ask her to marry him. Or maybe she was going to move in with him at Grimmauld Place. Did Chrissy even know that Sean was a wizard? If she did, was she suspicious of their world? Maybe that’s why he was acting distant, she’d said she’d marry him, and right now he was planning on leaving the Wizarding world, going back to his other life-

“I dropped in at her apartment Friday, around ten.” he continued. “I knocked, and nobody answered, so I used my key. I thought I’d just wait around for her a bit - figured she was probably out with her girlfriends at some club. I turned on the telly and just lazed about on the couch for awhile, waiting. She came back around midnight. And, uh, she wasn’t exactly alone, if you know what I mean.”

“You mean...”

Sean looked at her significantly.

“She didn’t bring another bloke home, did she?” Ginny’s jaw hung open.

“She sure did. One of my football mates.” Sean replied.

“Oh Sean! That must have been awful.”

“It was. It was strange, I almost laughed at first.”

“How could you laugh?” Ginny asked, shocked.

“Well, she’d made it so easy for me! There I was sitting there in her flat, trying to figure out a nice way to let her down, and she went and did all the work for me.”

“Let her down?”

“I was going to break it off, obviously. I’ve been considering it for a while now, trying to figure out how I could end the relationship with the least drama, and now - well, there’s not much we have in common at this point, is there? If she found out the truth about my past, well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. She likes things to be normal, you know? She couldn’t handle that - I was already pretty off- the- wall for someone like her anyhow.”

“You’re not off- the- wall at all, Sean,” Ginny defended him.

“Thanks.”

“So that’s why you’ve been upset this weekend?”

“Yeah, I can’t believe she’d go off with a friend of mine. Even though I’d had my suspicions for awhile - I was planning on confronting her about it on Friday, ironically. - I never thought she’d stoop so low as to carry on with one of my mates.”

“So that was the important thing you needed to ask her? Whether she’d been mucking around with other blokes behind your back?”

“Yeah,” Sean nodded. “Why - what did you think? That I was going to ask her to move in with me at my scary wizard mansion?” He laughed.

Ginny laughed too - a bit too loudly, maybe.

“Ha - of course not!”

“She wasn’t really my type of girl anyhow-”

“Right. She seemed-”

“Overbearing,” he interrupted. “Bossy. Not all that smart. Really into herself, mostly. She didn’t give two pence what was happening to those around her. Plus, she was spoiled, loved spending her Daddy’s trust fund on the most absurd, frivolous things.”

“So why were you even together in the first place?”

“It’s stupid, really. You’ll just laugh at me for being such a git. And rightly you should, I suppose...”

“C’mon!” Ginny poked him in the ribs playfully. “I won’t laugh!”

He feigned injury. “Well, if you’re going to get all violent...”

Ginny laughed, pretending she was winding up to throw a punch. Sean cowered, and Ollie giggled.

“I’ve got a mighty strong left hook, Sean Collins,” she warned.

“Okay, fine!” he said. “I’ll tell you, but only because I’m deathly afraid you’ll beat me senseless.”

“Fair enough,” Ginny said, shrugging. “I permit you to speak.”

Sean laughed. “Okay, but no judging me! I admit I was an absolute git.”

“No passing judgement here, I promise!” Ginny made a cross over her heart.

“Well, I was at this club with some other footballers one night, and I saw her across the room. It was madness - there was something about the way she looked that I found so irresistible. So I went and talked to her, bought her a drink. I thought she was so beautiful, with those big brown eyes and that long red hair, so I just ignored the silly airhead things she kept saying constantly.”

“Oh, boys,” Ginny groaned.

Sean smirked. “Hey, we can’t help it!”

“Oh, likely excuse! You’re not going to be like that with girls, are you Ollie?” Ginny asked her son. “You’re a smart boy!”
“I’m VERY smart!” Ollie said assuredly. Ginny and Sean both cracked up.

“But it was never serious with us. It was a silly distraction: I think maybe I just wanted someone pretty to cheer for me at football games or something. And she just wanted a bloke around to tell her how nice she looked.”

“Well, it doesn’t give her the right to cheat on you.”

“No, it certainly doesn’t.”

“So, you’re okay?”

“I am, Ginny. I was just angry. I guess I owe Hermione and Ron an apology.”

“Just tell them,” Ginny said. “I’m sure they’ll understand.”

They turned a corner and arrived at a fork intersection.

“Which way do you want to go?” Sean asked. “Both take us there.”

“I don’t know. Which route is better?”

“Well, if we take the right fork, we’ll pass by three broom closets; on the left, there’s only two...”

“Oh, shush,” Ginny replied with a laugh, shoving his shoulder as they headed down the right hand corridor. “But seriously, Sean, the picture perfect way you remember the castle is amazing. Two broom closets versus three? Are you serious?”

Sean nodded, just as Ginny saw the painting of the fruit bowl appear ahead of them. “I think I might have had a good reason to know where those closets were, once upon a time.”

Ginny looked straight ahead, unable to ignore the little shiver down her spine.

Ollie yanked on the the pocket of her jeans. “Momma, I’m hungry!”

“We’re there, little guy,” Sean said, tickling the pear and watching the door to the kitchens swing open.
Reviews 313
ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter




../back
‘! Go To Top ‘!

Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
Design and code © 2006 by SteveD3(AdminQ)
Additional coding © 2008 by melkior and Bear