Facultative
A/N: Written for The Teacher's Lounge Forum Nineteen Years Later prompt. My version of what happened Sept. 1, 2017, to Harry and Ginny. Fair warning that Cursed Child lovers may not love this – read at your own risk. A post-Deathly Hallows Harry/Ginny fluff story. Sober Universe (AU). One-shot. Rated T. Everything belongs to JKR.
The train had rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight. Parents were slowly beginning to apparate away and making for the barrier. Lily grabbed Ginny's hand.
"Can we go get lunch now Mummy?"
Ginny chuckled and looked at her husband. He was staring at where the train had disappeared, lost in his thoughts, just as he had been last year when James had ridden the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Squeezing Lily's hand before releasing it, Ginny walked up to Harry and slid her arm around his waist. "He'll be alright."
Harry sighed and smiled down at her. "I know he will." His hand briefly touched his scar.
"Your daughter, however, might just waste away from hunger so perhaps we ought to focus a bit on her and worry about Al later."
"Daddy please!" Lily chimed as she burrowed her way between Harry and Ginny. "Can we go to the Leaky? I want to see Aunt Hannah!" Her brown eyes sparkled up at her father, her smile pleading.
Harry laughed as he threw Lily up onto his shoulders. "How can I say no to that? The Leaky it is!"
Lily laughed delightedly and hugged her father's head, skewing his glasses in the process.
"Hey Weasleys, up for joining us at the Leaky?" Ginny asked turning toward the trio behind them.
Hugo jumped up and down, hands clasped in front of his face. "Please, Mum! Oh please oh please oh please oh pleeeeeaaaasssssse!"
"Mate the answer was yes before the annoying begging started so you can stop that." Ron groaned ruffling Hugo's hair.
Hugo whooped and jumped in the air before grabbing Hermione's hand and attempting to run for the barrier, causing all the adults to laugh as they joined the throng leaving the platform.
Sitting at the table in the Leaky, Ginny intertwined her fingers with Harry's as they waited for their food. Hermione was explaining a recent policy change she'd purposed and while Ginny believed most everything Hermione was working to accomplish was stellar, she really didn't want to think or talk about work today. Al was off on the train and just as she had last year, Ginny felt a small sense of loss as her children grew and moved forward.
There was a light touch on her shoulder, pulling her from her melancholy, and Ginny turned. Hannah Longbottom's face met her and it wore a sad, sympathetic smile.
"Have you four read The Prophet today?" She asked holding the paper in her hand.
"No," Ginny shook her head slowly. "We were focused on getting the boys off this morning and so I didn't bother with it."
Hannah shook her head and handed the paper to her, finger marking a specific page. "You'll want to look at it. This is the biggest load of hogwash I've ever seen and I can't imagine what she had to pay to get it published but it's ridiculous."
Cautiously, Ginny took the paper and opened it up on the table in front of her and Harry. The gossip page story featured a picture of none other than Rita Skeeter, and the headline was bold across the top "Potter/Ministry Hide Dark Lord Plot to Return."
Harry groaned and pushed his head into Ginny's shoulder. "You've got to be kidding me!" He moaned.
"Daddy, can't we put the mean Skeeter lady in jail?" Lily asked looking at Skeeter's photo with disdain.
Ginny chuckled. "It doesn't work that way, sweetie. You can't put people in prison for being idiots."
"What is she going on about?" Hermione asked as she swiveled the paper so that everyone could read the story.
According to Skeeter, a future Albus Potter had sought her out to tell her that he had traveled through time his fourth year at Hogwarts. She then proceeded to paint a picture of utter nonsense. She claimed that Voldemort had a child with Bellatrix Lestrange and that a Slytherin sorted Al had worked alongside Scorpius Malfoy using time turners to save the day from Voldemort's secret love child daughter when she tried to change history to bring about Voldemort's reign by stopping him from killing the Potters.
As Ginny looked up from the story, she shook her head in disgust and had to push down her rage. "I swear to Merlin, Harry, I'm going to kill her! She can go after you and me all she wants but I will not stand for her going after my son!" Ginny seethed as she gripped her drink, trying to channel some of her fury out safely.
Harry put a sympathetic arm around Ginny's shoulders. "You know that won't solve everything Gin. However," Harry's expression was calculating, "since she had such 'detailed' information on the inner workings of the Ministry, maybe I can have her brought in for questioning or something."
Hermione hummed thoughtfully, her face pensive. Ron turned toward her and smirked. "I know that look! What amazing and devious thing do you have planned?"
"I was just thinking, that maybe it's time the world knew how Rita Skeeter gets all her information. I warned her all those years ago to behave or I'd spill that she's an unregistered animagus. I think she just crossed the line." Hermione's smile was wicked and Ginny felt a surge of youth spread through her as if they were all back in a DA meeting.
"Did I ever mention how wonderful you are Hermione?" Ginny beamed at her friend.
"I'll second that!" Harry said raising his glass.
They cleared the paper from the table as the server placed their food down and Hermione briefly mapped out her plan.
The group left the Leaky Cauldron after finishing their meals and dropped the kids off with Molly. Then Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron spent the rest of the day putting Hermione's plan into motion. Late that night Ginny and Harry collapsed into bed.
"Well done Auror Potter," Ginny whispered as she nuzzled his neck.
"You were brilliant Gin!" He brought his arm around her, pulling her close and kissing her.
"Why thank you, kind sir! I think this calls for a celebration of some sort, don't you?" And she laughed at the spark in Harry's eye and the crooked grin that crossed his face.
Setting the kettle to heat with a flick of her wand, Ginny went to the window where two owls waited. The first owl had The Prophet clutched in its claws, the headline facing out read "Skeeter's Bug - Unregistered Animagus Scandal". The second owl was a Hogwarts owl. The letter in its claws bore a handwriting Ginny knew by heart. Quickly opening Al's letter she saw that the first thing at the top of the page was one word in all caps - GRYFFINDOR!
A/N: I really really didn't enjoy Cursed Child and have honestly read time travel fics on this site that I enjoyed more than it, and I don't like time travel fics! I'll just leave it there since I could write a few thousand words outlining my distaste. So on the actual date of the Epilogue and the start of said play, I have given you my rebuttal to what I consider an absurd addition to HP canon.