Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A brand new story just for you… I've written a few chapters in advance so as soon as you review I'll update.
Chapter 1.
Ginny
Looking at him now and the way he is holding the woman beside him, I realise that he hasn't held me like that for some time. That he hasn't felt that way about me for some time. It's been months since he has even touched me. Not even a glance with his hand. When we were first together he couldn't not touch me. He was constantly holding me and kissing me. Every chance he had to be near me he took, whether it was late at night in bed when he would pull me flush against him, or over breakfast when his hand would graze mine when we reached for the same thing. Now he has someone else to touch. He doesn't need me anymore. I don't even flinch when I see him kiss her. I've known that this was coming. If I had any self preservation at all I would have turned around and gone home the moment I saw him leaving the restaurant. But I couldn't not stay. I was drawn to this betrayal like a woman possessed. I needed to know... and now I do.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
I wait for him to get home that night. I sit at the kitchen table with a mug of cold tea in my hands and I wait. I feel as if I am in a trance, as if what I am about to do is out of my control already. I'm about to ruin everything. But I will not sit back and be made a fool. He's not expecting me to be there when he walks through the door. He startles slightly before speaking. "You're up late."
I don't say anything as I take him in. In some ways he hasn't changed a bit, and in others he is completely different. For the first time in a long time I notice how old he looks. At 35 he shouldn't look so worn out, so unhappy. Is this how I look? His hair is slightly tousled and he's still in his Auror robes. He thinks nothing of it when I sit silently as he drinks a glass of water and begins to make his way to the hall. It's not until he's almost out the door that I finally utter the sentence that has been plaguing me for hours. "I saw you."
He stops dead in his tracks and it takes almost a minute for me to continue. His back is still turned towards me as I ask the ultimate question. "Do you love her?" He turns to look straight at me and I know his answer before he says the one word that will crush me forever. "Yes."
My face crumples and I try to get a hold of myself. I can feel my chest heaving as I try to take in a breath. My heart feels as if it is breaking in half. Although I'm sobbing openly now, I continue to speak. "Why?"
His face contorts and he tries to come towards me. But I push the chair back and step out of his reach. "Why now?"
"Because it was time Gin. I couldn't do this anymore. I couldn't stay and watch you do this to yourself anymore." I feel as if we've had this conversation a million times and I don't want to relive it.
"How long?" I can tell he doesn't want to answer."I deserve to know!"
"Almost six months." More tears escape my eyes as I do the math in my head. I don't want to think about it but I know what he is saying.
"I wanted to wait until Mia was at school before I left. I thought it would be easier that way."
"You know what would have been easier?" I spit out at him. "If you had been here to protect me. If a year ago, you had come home when you were supposed to. That would have been easier."
"Ginny!" He moves to take my hand.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I scream slapping him across the face. "You never get to touch me again Harry."
He is staring at me hard...trying to read my thoughts. "I'll be gone as soon as I've packed." I say nothing as he continues. I only want him to leave. "The kids will have to know. I can tell them. I didn't want it to be this way. I- I'm sorry."
When the door shuts an hour later I want to die. I want to stay where I am sitting on the floor and just curl up. He's gone. He's left like I knew he eventually would and all I want to do is die.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
Mia
"When are you going to admit that I am the Wizarding Chess champion?"
My brother frowns slightly at my words before moving his rook. "You shouldn't be so cocky little sister. Checkmate." he says triumphantly.
For a moment I'm in shock. I never loose. "Hmph."
"James stop tormenting her." I turn to the sound of my older sister's voice, smiling.
"Why are you still up? It's Quidditch tryouts tomorrow. You should be getting some sleep."
"I can't. My stomach is churning. What if I make a fool of myself? What would Daddy say?"
"You know as well as I do that you could never make a fool of yourself. Quidditch is in our blood. Your going to be a chaser just like mum!" Lilly always knows what to say to cheer me up. She's so like mummy... sometimes it makes me laugh. Out of all of my siblings she is the most like my mother. She looks almost the same as she did at 16 - her hair is bright red and her eyes are the same as mummy's brown. We all share our mother's complexion too - fair with only a sprinkle of freckles. My other sister Antonia is much the same as Lilly, except she has more of Daddy in her. She is the only one of us to wear glasses. She is only a year younger than Lilly but sometimes it seems like a whole lot more because of how mature our eldest sister is. But our brother James, the oldest of us at 17 is definitely my partner in crime. He and I are the most similar in personality. We share Daddy's looks too. His dark hair and bright green eyes. It's funny that we share so many similarities and yet are so far apart in age. I'm only 11. I'm pretty sure I came as a bit of a surprise to my parents. Another daughter didn't seem to be on their mind.
Looking up at James and Lilly I know that she is right. "Yeah you're right. I'm going to rock it tomorrow. You just wait and see!"
"That's our Mia! Now up to the dorm. You look exhausted." I hug both her and James and throw a quick "We'll play again tomorrow." to James before running up to my bedroom.
Truthfully, I am exhausted.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
James
"James! Wake up you oaf!" I pretend like I don't hear her. Maybe if I lay still enough she'll let me sleep for another 10 minutes. "I know that you're awake so there's no use pretending." No such luck.
"What's up Lil?" I grunt rolling over on my four poster, while she hops onto the bed next to me.
"Do you think Mia will be alright today? She seemed pretty nervous last night."
"Lilly you worry too much. She's fine. Trust me. She's just as nervous as anyone else who is trying out."
"Yeah but-" she is interrupted by a voice from across the room.
"Lilly as much as I love seeing your beautiful face, could it not be at 7am on a Saturday?" My roommate Ace calls out.
Lilly throws a hand to her mouth. Moving off the bed she whispers her apologies as she makes her way out the door.
"Merlin she is a fine looking woman James."
"Watch it there. That's my little sister you're talking about." I say rolling out of bed. There is no way that I'm going to get back to sleep now.
"I know mate. I'm just saying that - "
"Yeah yeah OK I get it, but that's enough for this morning."
Ace laughs lightly. "Where the hell are you off to Potter? Bloody hell I thought you'd be grateful that I bought you an extra hour or so of sleep!"
"Got to go check that Mia is ready for tryouts today. Knowing her she'll already be up."
Ace is typically asleep before I finish my answer. Once downstairs I see my that all three are my sisters are up. "Breakfast?" I question.
"Finally! You and your primping James. I swear..." Antonia says. She's always grumpy until she has something to eat.
"Is Ace mad that I woke him?" Lilly asks on our way out of the portrait.
"Calm down Lilly. I'm sure he's still madly in love with you!"
"Shut up Ant! He is not in love with me. I felt bad for waking him is all."
Having three sisters is definitely a challenge. I'm so used to the bickering that I don't even notice it anymore. What I do notice however, is their constant mood swings. Looking at my youngest sister next to me, I can see the energy and nerves coursing through her. "You'll feel better once you eat. Trust me... it's just like flying at home" I say "but here we get to show off our skills!" She gives me a grin. Lilly's worrying has me worried now too. Great!
Although we're all famished - us Potters always are - we eat quickly. The more time we spend flying this morning the better Mia will fly. Not that she really needs the practice. She's definitely inherited the most Quidditch genes humanly possible from both our parents. She can almost out fly all of us already. A year on the team and she'll be unbeatable.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
Mia
The breeze hits my face as I kick off the ground. Nothing on earth feels as good as flying does. When I was at home I flew everyday. The past couple of weeks here at school I've really missed it. But unless I'm on the team there isn't much chance of regular flights. I fly as high up as I can before my chest starts to tighten, before falling straight into a nose dive towards the ground. Just as the pitch comes up to meet me however, I pull up into a sharp turn and catch the quaffle that I just know James is passing me. Lilly and Ant both grin at me as I sweep underneath them and straight towards the goal post. Catching the quaffle on the other side I turn to my brother and sisters. "Let's play!"
I don't even notice the game turning into a tryout. The other players just seemed to meld into it. All of my focus is on the quaffle and the goal. I loose count of how many times I score after 30. All I can hear is the pound of the ball against our hands. James thinks it's strange. He reckons its impossible... but it's how I know where it's coming from. The pounding - it lets me know where I am. I can't explain it. Daddy gets it.
Before I know it Lilly is calling me down to the ground. I'm the only one still in the air and I've only just noticed. Slightly embarrassed I swoop down to the grass, landing with a light thump. "Well guys, what do you think? We told you she was good!" Lilly says.
"You didn't tell us she was that good." says a short pixie like girl facing me. I recognise her as one of the beaters. I think she's in James' year. They all laugh at that and I can feel myself blushing.
James notices my cheeks and takes charge. "Alright so I know that I'm captain but I still want everyone's opinion. You guys know that I don't give any special treatment to my sisters when it comes to Quidditch. Now I think that Mia is the best I've seen today. In truth she's the best I've seen in a long time, so I'm giving her the spot. Are we all in agreement?" All five of the other team members nod their heads.
"Welcome to the team!" Lilly shouts before picking me up for a full body hug. She's soon joined by Antonia and James.
"Never doubted you for a minute!" whispers Antonia from behind me.
Then I'm being formally introduced to everyone. No need to really considering all but two of the team is family. Lilly and my freckled cousin Kellan our the other two chasers. Ant is the keeper. James is seeker. Really its just the beaters who i don't know. The pixie girl is introduced as Emily Price and the incredibly handsome boy is Leo Barnes. They both ignore the blush that creeps up my face when we're introduced.
"You're good little Potter!" the pixie girl calls on her way to the changing room. "You're gonna win us the cup!"
James frowns slightly at the beater before turning to me "No pressure or anything." I laugh openly at his expression.
"None whatsoever James. Let's get some lunch. I'm hungry... again." As if to prove my point, my stomach rumbles.
As we make our way to the castle I notice a figure walking towards us from the castle. Coming closer I can see his robes, his hair, his eyes. "Daddy!" I yell rushing towards him.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~