"Ginny, love, are you ready to go?" Neville asked as he stood beside the stone fireplace in the den of their flat, gray slate standing out among the darker blue and maroon hues of the room. "We're ten minutes late already," he added, having flooed over their two suitcases while he'd been waiting.
"I'm coming!" she called from another room. "William couldn't find his other shoe and refused to wear any other pair." She emerged around the corner, freckled face flushed, holding their son's small hand as he displayed a satisfied smile. "Sorry Sweetie."
"It's all right," Neville said gently, grabbing a handful of floo powder. "I just know how your mother is when we're late, worrying and all." He positioned William between himself and Ginny as they stepped into the fireplace, each holding one of his hands, and tossed the powder down saying loudly, "The Burrow!"
With a whoosh of sound and color, the three quickly emerged into the Weasley's home.
"There you are!" Molly exclaimed as she immediately rushed towards her grandson, picking him up and planting kisses on his chubby cheek. "I was getting worried about you lot. What was it this time?" Unfortunately, her daughter, 'might as well be' son-in-law and grandson were late more often than they were on time and usually the child was the reason.
Ginny smirked at her mother's all knowing ways and glanced at Neville. "William couldn't find his other shoe and wouldn't wear any other pair," she explained a second time, shaking her head.
"A bit stubborn is he?" Arthur teased, having joined the family by the fireplace, tousling William's red hair, winking at his daughter. "Wonder where he gets that from?"
"Da-ad," Ginny whined, blushing slightly and rolling her bright green eyes. "I was never that stubborn."
"Not that stubborn? Why, I'm surprised I'm not a permanent resident of St. Mungo's because of all the stubbornness in this house!" Molly exclaimed, gently bouncing William on her hip, turning her head and planting more kisses on his cheek. "And how's my big boy today?"
"Hungry," he answered honestly, laughing as Molly tickled him.
"Are they here….," Bill began to ask as Fleur followed closely behind him. "Ah…you two just arrived then." He shook Neville's hand. "Good to see you, Mate."
"You too," Neville returned with a smile. "When are you due, Fleur?"
An arm around her large stomach, Fleur glanced lovingly at her husband of two years and answered, "Just one more month and then ze baby will arrive."
"You're smiling now," Ginny warned. "Wait until the contractions start. Bloody murder they are." Labor had been long and intense with William, something she didn't want to endure again any time soon.
Arthur clapped his hands together excitedly. "Is everyone ready then?" he asked. "We need to be leaving soon. I've got a portkey set up outside."
"Where are Ron and his family?" Ginny asked, looking around for her brother.
"Probably already there," Arthur answered, ushering everyone towards the door. "Grab your things and let's go."
The group made their way out of the house and into the front yard.
"Over here," Arthur called leading the group, stopping at a large circle of tubular plastic. "This is our portkey."
"What is it?" Neville asked curiously, studying the bright pink color.
"It's called a hula hoop," Arthur answered, picking it up. "It's a Muggle toy. You step inside, put it at your waist and spin it around. I found it fascinating and…"
"Arthur!" Molly exclaimed, quite tired of hearing about the hula hoop as he'd barely been able to put it down since he brought it home from the Ministry two days previous. "We can play later. Let's go."
Holding it out, Arthur said, "Okay Everyone. Put one hand on it and hold on."
Within seconds, everyone was whooshed to the outskirts of what was a Muggle campsite. Arthur had been excited at his discovery of the place, as he was fascinated with Muggles and their lives anyway, and had insisted that the family try it. "Isn't this wonderful?" he asked, breathing deeply and gazing out at the vast space around them that was filled with tall pine trees and clean smelling air. "Our spot is up here aways."
The group followed as they passed clearings in the canopy of trees that were clearly individual campsites, each about thirty feet apart, quickly seeing Ron waving as his five year old twins, Elizabeth and Eliza, ran towards the group, more specifically to Arthur.
"Papa! Papa!" they called, blond hair bouncing as they ran.
"There are my girls!" Arthur said, kneeling down and scooping them up in his arms. "How long have you been here?"
"About an hour," Elizabeth answered.
"Daddy yelled at us," Eliza added.
Arthur laughed as the group joined Ron and his wife of six years, Tess. "Yelled at them, did you son?" he teased, setting the girls down.
Ron rolled his eyes and pursed his lips together. "They were running all over and driving us mad," he said wearily. "I was hoping they'd settle down but it has yet to happen."
Everyone took a few minutes to greet everyone else. Arthur and Ron talked briefly about the latest at the ministry while Bill and Neville discussed a recent discovery in medicinal herbology. Molly had set William down so he could play with Elizabeth and Eliza while she chatted with Ginny, Fleur and Tess, encouraging them for more grandchildren as she always did.
"We should set up camp, Dad," Bill said. "And then work on something to eat. I'm starving."
There was a mumble from the group as everyone agreed.
"Very well then," Arthur said, rubbing his hands together again. "Ron and Neville, you two prepare the spikes while Bill and I unfold and prepare the tent."
The last time they'd done anything resembling camping was at the Tri Wizard Tournament when Ron and Neville were fourth years. The women stood aside while they watched the men, wondering why they didn't use magic. And after laughing at their attempt for thirty minutes, Molly had decided the tent would never be pitched without magic.
"That's enough, Arthur!" she exclaimed, pulling her wand out from her robe. She pointed at the mess of aluminum and canvas and muttered an assembling spell.
Arthur crossed his arms as he watched the pieces flying into place. He wanted to put it together himself but had agreed that if he couldn't do it within thirty minutes, they would use magic. "Maybe next time, Boys," he said, disappointment in his voice.
Bill, Ron and Neville glanced at each other, all faces flushed. They didn't mind Molly using magic. Not one bit.
"Everyone in!" Molly announced, making sure to usher everyone inside. "Lunch will be served shortly."
Inside the tent looked similar to their home, complete with four bedrooms and bathrooms, a full size kitchen, dining room and sitting room. Molly had told Arthur she flat out refused to sleep on the ground when he'd suggested camping the "Muggle way". Instead, he was allowed to cook steaks on something called a "grill".
"We're grilling steaks!" he announced happily to the young men, gathering the tools he borrowed from the Ministry.
"Grilling?" Ron asked. "Can't we just flame them like we usually do?" His father's antics exasperated him when it came to his Muggle fascination.
"This is how Muggles cook their steak," Arthur answered excitedly, dumping his armful into Ron's reluctant arms, heading for the large oven with wheels. "They put spices on it and turn it over a few times….something about the smoke too…and charcoal…anyway I've heard it's excellent."
Bill, Neville and Ron looked at each other, sharing worried glances as they followed Arthur back outside, while the women sat at the table, each with a wand in hand, preparing the rest of the food the easy way.
"And I told Arthur that I was not going to sleep on the ground," Molly was saying as she gathered ingredients from the refrigerator, levitating them to the counter. "But he insisted on cooking the steak outside so I figured he couldn't hurt much with that." She laughed and shook her head. "Imagine! Sleeping on the ground!"
"Mum, that's what Muggles do when they go camping," Ginny said matter of factly as her wand was preparing salad. "And their tents don't have rooms and kitchens. They're just tents." She briefly worked with a Muggle girl whose family camped often so Ginny heard many stories from their outings.
"Well we're not Muggles and we're not camping that way," Molly said with a tone that told everyone the topic was not open to discussion. "Tess, aren't the girls starting school soon?"
Ron's wife, who was preparing bread with her wand, answered, "Yes they are and I just don't know what I'll do. The house will seem so empty." She paused, thinking this was as good a time as any to share her news. "But it won't last long."
All wands stopped as all eyes focused on her.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"I'm pregnant again," Tess answered with a grin spreading across her face. "Two months already."
Molly squealed like a schoolgirl, dropping her wand and rushing over to where she sat, hugging her tightly. "Another grandchild! Oh how exciting! I can't wait…oh I hope it's a son this time…Ronald would love a son!"
"Congratulations," Ginny told her with a genuine smile. She'd liked Tess from the moment she met her years ago when she saw she wasn't putting up with Ron's childish behavior. Tess was a beautiful woman with flowing blond hair and bright blue eyes and always looked like she was smiling. Ron, Neville and Ginny had gone to a professional Quidditch game in France when he spotted her, not knowing at the time she was the cousin of the visiting team's captain. Ron, wanting to impress her, borrowed the captain's broom when he'd set it down to sign some autographs and took off, promptly falling to the ground as the captain had placed a spell upon the broom so no one could do exactly when Ron had tried to do.
Tess, completely unimpressed with his behavior but thinking he was rather cute, approached him to take back her cousin's broom, seeing for the first time the reddest blush she'd ever seen on anyone's face. Ron apologized profusely over and over, beginning a conversation that led to dating and eventually their marriage and family. She was the one that kept everyone in line, including Ron.
"Ze baby will be close in age to ours," Fleur added. "Zis is vonderful news!"
Molly gathered herself and returned to her chair, picking up her wand and continuing, gathering what she needed for baking potatoes. "How exciting," she said, hardly able to stand it. "Another baby. I love babies."
"We know," Ginny quipped as everyone laughed.
"And why aren't you married yet?" Tess asked her, motioning her wand to slice the bread. "You've been with Neville how long now?"
"Five years," she answered with a smile. "But we've known each other eleven years. Almost half our lives really."
"So what are you waiting for?" Tess teased. "William will be starting school next year."
Ginny shrugged, glancing at her mother and thankful she was remaining quiet as it was a sore spot of conversation for them. Molly didn't understand why they hadn't planned a wedding years ago and had stopped asking about it. "I don't think we're really waiting for anything," she told her sister in law. "We're happy together and basically consider ourselves married so we don't think about it really. And people that don't know us see our rings and assume we're married anyway. Neville and I used to talk about it but once William came along, we concentrated more on him."
Their conversation was interrupted by two shrill girl screams and one boy yelling, "Let me have it!"
"Ah speaking of my son," Ginny said with a laugh. "Excuse me a moment."
Ten minutes later, as Ginny returned holding a very mad looking little boy, the men entered the tent.
"What happened to you?" Molly asked when she saw they were covered in black dust.
Bill put down the plate of dark colored steaks onto the large kitchen table. "Don't ask," he said disgusted as Fleur stood up to attend to him.
"Arthur?" Molly said exasperated. "What did you do?"
"Nothing really," he answered, his fair face tinted red under the layer of charcoal powder. "Just tried to cook them quicker than I should and…"
"He didn't know the bloody coals could explode," Ron finished as Tess began to perform a spell to clean him up.
"Oh Arthur really!" Molly continued, turning her wand on him as well. "This Muggle fascination is getting a bit out of hand."
Fifteen minutes later, everyone was seated at the table and finally eating. There was a bit of conversation but most were too hungry to stop eating to talk. Even the children were quiet.
Not long after dinner, Ginny whispered to Neville, "Let's go for a walk. I need to get out for a bit." She loved her family dearly but sometimes just needed a break for a few minutes. And since the entire group was staying a couple days, she'd need all the breaks she could get.
He smiled in understanding. He loved her family as he'd known them for years but sometimes it got to be a bit much with her mother fussing over everyone and everything, even if in a caring way, and her father trying to get away with whatever he could. "I'll get William," he told her with a wink, looking forward to a few quiet moments with his family. It still amazed him that even after knowing Ginny since he was twelve, he always looked forward to seeing her and spending time with her. He didn't think he would ever tire of her and had recently been thinking of making that official. Maybe this would be a good time.
William walked in front of them, heavy clumsy steps, sometimes jumping and landing on a leaf as Neville and Ginny held hands behind him, just enjoying time together.
"Tess is pregnant again," she told him as they walked, not really paying attention to where they were, enjoying the crickets and frogs that surrounded them in the trees. "Sometimes I can't believe Ron is a father."
Neville laughed. "I seem to remember he couldn't believe you were a mother at eighteen," he said, remembering how Ron had been extremely angry when he'd first found out about William but soon realized that Ginny was happy and very much in love with Neville as he was with her.
"He wasn't too happy was he?" she said with a smile. "It's funny how things work. Sometimes Hogwarts seems like a dream, you know?"
Neville nodded. "I know," he agreed. "Some of the best times and worst times of my life happened there."
His parents had died his seventh year but it was more of a relief for him, knowing how they weren't really living anyway. His grandmother had died two years later, just after William was born. Ginny had always been the highlight for him as they were close friends through school but didn't realize how he truly felt about her until after he graduated.
"Guess who else is pregnant again," she continued, trying to keep the subject from becoming sad.
"Who?"
"Hermione."
Neville laughed and shook his head. "Now there is a relationship that no one can believe," he commented.
Ginny laughed then too. "I will admit that when she told me about them," she began. "I was extremely skeptical." She shrugged. "But I've never seen her happier. And as I've said before he is a completely different person."
"I'll always take your word for it," Neville said, not having seen him since graduation. "I don't need proof." Professor Snape was not someone he wanted to see and stayed home with William each time Ginny went to visit Hermione. Once in awhile he would meet the girls for lunch, just to spend some time with his friend, but that was it.
Hermione and Severus had kept their relationship a secret through her seventh year until after graduation when she announced that not only had they been together for months but that she was also pregnant. Everyone was shocked and a few threatened to turn them in but nothing ever happened. With the relief of Voldemort's destruction earlier that year and Severus' key part in sending his followers to Azkaban, the nay sayers realized that he had earned a little happiness.
Unfortunately, Hermione's parents had been sought out and killed by death eaters before Voldemort was destroyed, leaving her with distant relatives that she really didn't care to spend much time with. They'd always looked down at her and her parents because of Hogwarts, causing her to never forgive them for it. Hermione moved some of her belongings to Severus' house and some to Hogwarts as she began teaching immediately after graduation. She taught first, second and third year potions while Severus taught fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, allowing him a little more time to spend on NEWT students for their last two years.
Eight months into the pregnancy, Severus and Hermione performed a marriage blood rite, a ritual popular in ancient circles of magic but one that they both felt held more commitment and honor than other vows. Ginny had thought at first that Hermione was becoming a little 'darker' than she had been in school, but after spending time with her, realized it was just Hermione growing up. It was who she was inside. After everything she'd been through with Harry and Ron, then losing her parents and the war and constant fear during that time, it was a natural progression really, not to mention she had a natural understanding of potions that could only be compared to that of her husband.
Ginny had seen them together just a few times but knew without a doubt how much they loved each other. Severus and Hermione were not silly or giddy. They did not giggle and kiss and hold hands as young lovers would. Expressions of their intense love and respect for each other were found in their eyes when they would look at each other or in the subtle touch on the arm or shoulder. No man had ever been more protective of his expectant wife than Severus, making sure every student fully understood their demise would not be far behind should they give her a difficult time in class while she was with child. No one did of course.
And after Malachai was born, Severus changed. He would still sneer at his students when he was displeased with them, but as soon as he held his son an unusual smile would appear on his face. When Malachai began walking and talking, immense pride could be seen and felt from Severus, no one being happier to see this than Dumbledore, who was the child's godfather.
Malachai was the most intelligent child Ginny had ever seen. Everything he did seemed to be a year ahead of when any other child would be able to do it, although given who his parents were, she wasn't surprised. 'He was five going on twenty five' she often said. And cute…oh he was terribly cute. Fair skin accented by black curly hair and dark brown eyes; a complete blend of Severus and Hermione. She hoped their second would be a girl.
Ginny stopped walking when she heard what sounded like twigs snapping, immediately looking around, forcing her back to reality. "What was that?" she asked cautiously.
"Probably just someone's dog running around," Neville said, slipping his arm around her small waist to pull her closer. "You know how Muggles let them run loose."
For the first time in twenty minutes, Ginny looked around, realizing they'd walked farther into the forest than she had planned, far from the other campsites, tall thick trees now surrounding them. "It's getting dark," she said nervously, looking around, thinking she saw something in the shadows. "Let's go back."
"William," Neville called. "Come on. We need to go back." He saw his son staring at something on the ground. "What are you looking at?"
"This," he said pointing to some kind of paw print in the soft earth.
Ginny and Neville looked at each other, alarm in their eyes, immediately understanding what made that print.
"We need to get..." Neville began.
In a split second before anyone could move, something jumped out from behind a large tree, growling, clawing and snapping his jaws.
"William!" Ginny screamed when she saw blood trickle down the boy's leg, realizing the werewolf had bit him. She grabbed him and started running as fast as she could, acutely aware of his cries of pain. "Neville, come on!"
Neville had his wand in hand, casting spells towards the creature and trying to run at the same time. The werewolf was too fast, lunging and knocking him to the ground, taking a chunk from his leg as he screamed.
Ginny turned and gasped in horror, panic coursing through her. She was torn between drawing her own wand to help or running back to the site so her father and brothers could help him. She saw Neville still had his wand and was attempting spells so she chose the latter and continued running towards the tent.
She ran into the tent, panting and screaming, still trying to hold a wailing William. "A werewolf...attacked...Neville...in the woods...straight ahead...help him please!"
Arthur, Ron and Bill scrambled to fetch their wands, running from the tent to locate Neville. Molly and Tess grabbed William, fighting with the writhing child to tend to the wound that was bleeding profusely.
"It bit him!" Ginny wailed as they gathered around the crying child. "The werewolf bit him! Mum, what do I do? And Neville...it bit him too!" She ran her hands through her red hair, frozen in panic and having no idea what to do.
"Oh goodness! Oh my…ok…ah…Fleur, get the medicinal magic kit from my bathroom," Molly instructed. "Tess, place a calming spell over Ginny and William please."
After a muttered spell and swish of Tess' wand, William's cries subsided while Ginny felt a cooling sensation pass over her body, slumping down to the couch beside her son in a sort of calm haze while Fleur and Molly rushed to clean and dress his wound.
Moments later, Arthur, Ron and Bill returned without Neville.
"Where is he?" Molly asked worried, eyes wide. "What happened? What's going on?"
All three men were white with fear as Arthur turned away to hide his spilling tears, still unable to believe what he saw.
"Mum," Ron said sadly. "Neville's gone. We couldn't save him. All three of cast spells but it was too late."
I've decided to try my hand at a Remus/Ginny pairing. Please let me know what you think. Reviews are wonderful! And no I haven't forgotten to end my other one; working on it as we speak!