"Ginny," Harry took a steadying breath. He was twenty two, she was twenty one and they had been married for two and a half years now. Ginny had just walked into the kitchen in their too small apartment and her head snapped up when he called her name.
"It's not working, our marriage." Harry deadpanned. He had spent weeks unhappy at home and weeks thinking about why, worrying about why and then he realized; Harry just wasn't happy anymore.
"I'm pregnant." Ginny whispered, her eyes were wide and her skin was pale. Harry's head snapped up, in that moment he forgot all about his unhappiness and smiled brightly at her, eyes wide.
"We can work on it," he rushed forwards and swept her up in his arms. It was the most affection they had shared naturally for months - apart from their occasional sexual activities. Ginny was shaking her head and pushed him away.
"I'm not keeping it," she said, "Harry I was going to ask for a divorce, then I found out and stalled, I'm not happy with you." Ginny shoved him, hard and stormed around the table, pointing an accusing finger at him.
"You are always at work, Harry, we don't have sex unless you're tipsy, you never talk to me, hell, you hardly look at me. Then you go and get me pregnant!?" She was so angry she shook and Harry just shook his head.
All their arguments were like this. He was quiet and she yelled. Sure enough she shoved the kitchen chairs to the ground and swept a pile of clean plates onto the floor where they splintered and spread over the kitchen floor. Then she stormed out. Screaming.
Harry sighed and slumped his shoulders. He walked up the narrow hall and into Teddy's room.
The little boy was sitting up in bed clinging to his white stuffed dragon which he had named 'Draco' after Draco Malfoy himself, viciously questioning Harry about the man after a short conversation they had in the new ice cream parlour in Diagon Alley.
"Hey Teddy," Harry smiled softly at the little boy and he looked at Harry with his big green eyes.
"Ginny left again didn't she?" He asked quietly Harry nodded.
"Why?" Teddy asked, "She loves us."
"Yeah," Harry told him, "she loves you. And she loves me but she just doesn't love me enough."
For once Teddy left the questions unasked and went back to sleep with a little yawn. Harry went into his and Ginny's room, over to the desk cramped in a corner and pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill.
Ginny, he wrote with the eternally messy chicken scratch that hadn't improved since school
I do love you, and I will always love you but I do agree a divorce will be best, but please don't terminate your pregnancy. I'm willing to accept full custody of our child. You may visit at your own convenience and I know how large a request it is, for you to carry and birth the child but I…
Harry paused in his writing. Not sure of the words to finish the sentence.
I've always wanted a family, and I will cherish him or her if you will let me.
I know this is the end and I've moved back to Grimmauld Place with Teddy, and I will always be a friend to you should you need it.
Harry signed his name and whistled for their owl. The animal swooped in and landed in front of him, he tied the letter to the leg of the bird and carried it to the window, then he walked back to their bedroom with slumped shoulders to pack his things.
The marriage was always bound to fail. The amount of times Ginny had referred to the silly hero-worship crush she had in school or casually told Harry the fairy tales her mother told her before bed - ones that were about him. It was creepy.
But it was just down to the point where he wasn't happy with her and that was that.
But he would love a child, it would make him the happiest man alive.
He poked his head into Teddy's room and waved his wand and the room stripped itself of all the six year old's things. The spell threw them messily into a trunk. Harry gently picked up Teddy after shrinking the bags and stuffing them in the deep pocket of his robes. He stirred when Harry scooped him up, but didn't wake and Harry headed towards their fireplace.
Grimmauld place was clean, at least; Harry had lived here since after the war. Hermione had gone back to Hogwarts but Harry hadn't, he and Ron went straight to their Auror training. In the end Ron never finished the course, choosing instead to work in the shop with George. He had managed to become George's source of amusement, the older brother encouraging children to fire various joke items at Ron while he worked the till and re-stocked the shelves.
Harry loved his work, at first Ginny had loved him being an Auror too but the long hours meant he had less time for her really. She loved going to dinner and shopping in Diagon Alley and even took him to muggle pictures and café's; Harry had hated that, anything Muggle now just reminded him of the Dursleys and Harry was left with the phantom taste of blood in his mouth.
But ultimately he was uncomfortable in public with Gin. She would stop and smile for the cameras and talk to the reporters even after Harry asked her to ignore them. The majority of things she said were twisted around and the prophet made her out to be a trophy wife.
Harry sighed as he set Teddy down in Regulus's old room – it was re-painted and was Teddy's room entirely now, Sirius's room remained the same but Harry liked it that way. Perhaps not the women in next to no clothing on the walls but he had never gotten around to painting over them.
That was how he had managed to make Walburga co-operate. They had a very strained truce. She was not to spill her verbal filth – ever - and he would restore the house in favor of redecoration. When her sneaky whispers continued he'd brought out a can of bright red muggle paint – that shut her up, it now stayed on a hall table he brought specifically for the purpose of making sure she could always see the can.
Harry sighed and thought how nice it was to be home – another reason his marriage was so strained. Ginny hated Grimmauld Place – she had tried to make him sell it but he refused. It reminded him of Sirius, and Ron and Hermione and Dumbledore and even Snape and the rest of the Order, and that made him smile more than Ginny would be able to.
Harry groaned a bit as he climbed into the bed and smiled when his head hit the pillow.
His thoughts wandered again to his pending divorce. He should have never married her. The long camping trip had changed him a bit, especially after Ron left and he was left alone with Hermione.
She had insisted on being very close after they danced together that one night – it was one of his most favorite memories – and he was worried about many things, like she might try to fill the hole Ron left and Harry felt like he was falling for her, hard.
She was such a wonderful person who wouldn't love her? He managed to shake the feeling over time so it was gone before Ron returned.
A bell rang through the house and Harry sat up, startled. His Holly wand was gripped in a death grip in his hand and he half rolled to his feet.
Teddy wailed from the next room and a second later he was flinging the door of Harry's own room open and leaping into Harry's arms.
"It's okay Teddy," Harry slid his legs off the bed and stuffed his wand into the waistband of his boxers and hefted Teddy onto his hip.
"You're really too big for this," Harry said, leaving the room hurriedly to see who had flooed at this time of night.
"Harry, I'm so sorry!" Hermione ran to him in the hallway, tears in her eyes but smiling at Teddy's exclamation of 'Aunt Hermione!'
Teddy wriggled out of Harry's arms and hugged Hermione. Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her to the couch.
"Off to bed Teddy, please." Harry told the boy, he pouted but yawned widely.
"Okay." Teddy went to leave but Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him in for a hug.
"I love you Harry!" Teddy said with a laugh – a tired laugh.
"I love you too Teddy." Harry smiled at his godson who had changed his face to look exactly like Harry.
"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asked her. She sniffled and smiled at him sadly.
"Ginny came straight to our house yelling and screaming and the like. How she hated you and how you ruined her life, then when your owl came she calmed down for a whole thirty seconds before going into hysterics. She eventually fell asleep and I rolled my eyes at her – throwing a tantrum like that, after," Hermione took a deep breath and smiled through it. "You know, after everything," she finished much calmer referring to Harry's failed marriage.
"Well Ron," Hermione started, she gladly accepted Harry's handkerchief and cleaned herself up as she spoke. "Didn't he go off?" She asked him rhetorically. "Started on about how angry he was that you'd leave her and how you want to steal her baby away and how you used her to get children. I told him you have Teddy and love him like your own, she was just being unreasonable."
"Thank's for defending me Hermione," Harry said quietly, "I didn't mean to cause problems-"
"Harry James Potter don't you dare play the hero." Hermione said narrowing her eyes. "Ron's being unreasonable, I'll just ask you for a place to crash tonight to avoid them in the morning." Hermione smiled. "I hope to not insult you by saying but you were never fully committed to Ginny after Voldemort."
"I know," Harry replied – he was committed physically, he would never cheat, but just not emotionally. "I changed, she didn't." he said matter-of-fact. Hermione calmly nodded her agreement.
"She never grew up, still hasn't," Hermione added for him. "Even after her sixth year."
Harry exhaled; "Exactly. I think Neville sheltered as many of them as he could."
"She complained about the sex too." Hermione said abruptly.
Harry nodded.
"I'm not attracted to her, she's pretty but-"
"Are you gay?" Hermione asked quite bluntly. Leaning forwards. Harry was shocked by the question but only for a minute.
"I don't think so," Harry said honestly. "I mean, I've never really had crushes – maybe Cho, I've more been fascinated with people, Luna, Cedric, Ginny, Neville, hell even Malfoy. I'd never call it actual attraction though, I need to love someone before I can call them beautiful."
Hermione gave him such a wonder-filled sincere smile he blushed.
"Looks really don't matter to you?" she asked. He nodded.
"Exactly."
"Damn," Hermione muttered, "First time I've been wrong."
"You thought I was gay?" Harry asked shocked. She shrugged.
"So you just don't like Ginny anymore." Hermione said with a trace of amusement in her voice. "I'm a little relieved; she was ruining our group dynamic."
Harry burst out laughing at that.
"Not the golden trio!" He said mocking the little name Ginny referred to them as Hermione laughed along with him. Then her face fell.
"You know I think she was seeing someone," Hermione said, Harry shook his head.
"She wouldn't do that-"
"Harry," Hermione pressed, "I don't know if it was serious but I-"
"I don't want to think about it then, its her business now. Come on then," He said stony. "It's almost four." Harry pulled Hermione up by the hand and dragged his feet up the thin staircase. He cracked open one of seven bedrooms and beckoned Hermione inside. With a wave of his wand the lamps were lit and linens were floating onto the double bed.
"I'm shot," Harry said with a yawn. "I'll see you in the morning Hermione, thanks again." She smiled at him and yawned out a goodnight, touching his arm before flopping into bed, fully clothed. Harry sighed and went back into the room.
He gently slipped her shoes off and she smiled at him.
"Thanks mum." She laughed, Harry could see the strain in her eyelids to keep them open.
"Goodnight Harry," She whispered.
"Night Hermione." He carefully shut the door and hastily made it up the stairs to his room where he flopped onto bed and barely had enough energy to crawl up to the pillows and put his head on them.
It's my birthday today! Here's a story, give me reviews plz.