Harry made his way across Diagon Alley, glad that the crowds from last week were lesser today. Of course, it had been busy with last minute purchases before the new school year had started, but the Hogwarts Express had departed a couple of days ago, taking all the Potter children with it for the first time. The summer holidays had flown by, yet again. They seemed to go quicker every year.
Hary had hoped to join Ginny and the kids on a much needed holiday with Ron, Hermione and their two children, Rose and Hugo. but a case had come up that demanded Harry's attention, so he'd had to pass. Ginny, James, Albus and Lily had ended up going for a four day weekend in Spain with Rolf, Luna and their two boys instead; Harry had heard Ron and Hermione didn't make it either, but didn't know why. If anyone needed a holiday it was Hermione, the Minister for Magic.
Today was the first day in weeks Harry had managed to leave the Auror office before seven at night, and he decided to go see Ron at WWW before heading home. It was Friday afternoon, and Harry was taking the weekend off. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his best mate without the kids or other family around, even though he saw Hermione nearly every day at work, usually with her nagging him to stay on top of his paperwork.
He walked into the shop, his eyes quickly adjusting to the burst of colour. He saw some of the products James was looking at last week, and the love potions he'd dragged Lily away from. Looking around he saw a few patrons in the store, and Verity at the till. Knowing his way around, Harry waved to Verity, indicating he was heading to the offices.
George looked up when Harry knocked and entered. " Hey mate, good to see you. Heard Lily got Sorted into Ravenclaw. Pity you and Gin never went for four kids, you might have ended up with one in each House," he teased his brother-in-law.
Harry chuckled, but looked around. " Ron not here?" he asked.
The smile fell off George's face. "No, he's probably home. Got a lot to sort out, hasn't he? He's taken time off."
Harry frowned. " Pardon? What's he got to sort out?"
George scoffed. " You know. The house, everything."
Harry was even more confused. " What about the house?"
George eyed him. " Merlin, you really don't know, do you? Wait, you know about the affair, don't you?"
Harry's eyed widened. " What?"
George groaned. " Merlin, Ginny said you'd been too busy to notice even what day it was, but I thought Hermione must have told you, seeing as you see her all the time. Hey, Harry, wait, where are you going?" called George, as Harry stormed away.
" Going to knock some sense into your brother," growled Harry, brushing hurriedly past customers waiting at the till.
Once outside, Harry Apparated to Ron and Hermione's home, a delightful cottage in Devon. Two storey, four bedrooms – one of which they'd converted into a reading room for Hermione – Harry could remember helping his best friends move into the empty house only a month or so before their wedding.
Remembering what he was there for, Harry knocked on the door. He heard Ron's muffled, "Come in, Bill," and opened the door, stalking down the hallway, passing half filled boxes. As expected, he came across Ron in the kitchen, writing a list.
Ron looked up as Harry entered. " Harry! Sorry, I thought you were Bill. Haven't seen you in ages."
Harry felt furious that Ron was being so calm. " You bastard, I can't believe what you've done," he growled, and without realising what he was doing, he pulled back and punched Ron in the jaw.
Ron saw it coming and dodged most of it at the last moment, but still got hit. " Ow, shit, what's your problem?" He glared at Harry while rubbing his tender jaw.
"My problem? Tell me about the affair, Ron, tell me everything because I just can't believe it," insisted Harry.
" You and me both, but then...oh wait, you think it was me, don't you?" accused Ron, his eyes narrowing. "You think I had the affair."
Harry was taken aback. " Hermione?" he gasped. " No, I don't believe it!"
" Oh, so you can believe I would do something like that, hell, you punched me, for Merlin's sake," said Ron, his ears turning red, a sign he was getting angry. " But perfect Hermione, no way, you don't believe it. Well, thanks, mate," he said sardonically.
Harry sunk onto one of the barstools near the kitchen bench. " Ron, I-I'm sorry, I just – are you sure?"
Ron nodded. "She told me herself," he said quietly. " Came to me and confessed. Said it was just the once, begged for forgiveness, for another chance. But I couldn't, I just -" He swallowed and looked away, sniffing.
" Shit," muttered Harry. He looked at his best friend, noting the absolute defeated manner of his friend as he wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. " Are you okay? Why didn't you tell me?"
Ron came around the kitchen and sat on the other kitchen stool. " Well mate, when I first found out, I, er, well, I thought it might have been with you," he said sheepishly.
"What?" asked Harry dumbfounded "How could you think I would do that to you?"
Ron shrugged. " She made excuses for why she was late, when she missed dinners, or get togethers at the Burrow. Some of them coincided with times you weren't there either. I just added one plus one and got five, that's all. Ginny told me I was being irrational but –"
" You told Ginny you thought it was me having the affair with Hermione?" gasped Harry.
Ron nodded miserably. " Hermione wouldn't tell me who it was, and you both work at the Ministry so I imagined the two of you – "
" Stop, all right, just stop," begged Harry, holding up his hand. " I have always, always only ever thought of Hermione as a sister. Sure, we have a lot of meetings, but that's it. That's all it was, Ron," he said, standing.
" You're going?" asked Ron, surprised. " You just got here."
" Yeah well, I want to go home and reassure my wife that there is nothing between me and Hermione," said Harry, dryly. His expression softened at Ron's crestfallen face. "How did the kids take it?"
" They don't know yet. Oh, they heard lots of fighting, although the angry silences and her absences were probably worse. Kids aren't stupid, Harry, they see more than we think they do. When I...once I know what's going to happen, what my plans are, then I'll go see them. They should hear it from one of us, at least," shrugged Ron.
He was startled when Harry pulled him into a hug. " I'm so sorry, Ron. You know you can count on me and Ginny for anything, yeah?"
Ron hugged him back, feeling relieved, but then pushed him away. " Go, go home and see Gin. I'll be fine. Not there yet, but...I'll be fine," he assured, maybe even more to himself than to Harry.
" Course you will. Look, I've got the weekend off, so if you need us for anything..." His voice stopped as Ron waved him off, nodding. " Right, well, see you," he added.
" Tell Gin I said hi...and Harry, I'm sorry for saying that to Ginny. I didn't meant to drag you into this shitty mess."
" Yeah, well, Ginny knows I love her more than anything," said Harry confidently.
" Yeah, well. That's what I used to say about Hermione," said Ron wryly. "Guess it wasn't enough, though."
Harry felt a frission of fear. " I'll see you soon, Ron," he promised, and he outside for some fresh air before Apparating.
His mind was all awhirl with all these revelations, so he wasn't really surprised when he appeared in the Burrow's kitchen rather than his own home. " Er, sorry, Molly, I've just come from Ron's, and I meant to go home," he explained at her querying look.
"Oh, how is he?" asked Molly, "I've been so worried about him, but he said he needed space to sort things out. You know I don't like to interfere in matters between my sons and their wives."
" I think he'll be fine, Molly," assured Harry. "In time," he quickly added.
" It's the children I'm worried about, too," confided Molly.
" We'll be there for all of them," offered Harry. " I need to get home, see Ginny."
Molly nodded. " Yes, she was a bit quiet at lunch today. Off you go...will we see you Sunday?" she asked hopefully.
"Probably, I have the weekend off," he replied, which put a smile on her face.
" Well I best be letting you get home then. Bye, love," she said, and this time he decided to Floo home.
He stepped out, relieved to see his own lounge. However, he quickly noted a suitcase packed and waiting by the kitchen table. Had Ginny really thought he was having an affair with Hermione? He hadn't been home much lately, and even when he was, his mind was on the case. Was Ginny – gulp – leaving him? " Gin?" he bellowed, needing to see her.
"Hey, you're home early! I'll be down in a sec," he heard her call out in reply.
Rather than wait for her, he bounded up the stairs. The kid's bedroom doors were all open, waiting for their residents to return at Christmas time. Harry checked them as he headed for his and Ginny's, at the end of the hall. "Gin," he called, not seeing her in there either.
" In here," she called from their ensuite, poking her head out. She smiled at him. "Is the case over?" He nodded and she beamed. " I didn't think I would see you before I left."
"I'm not having an affair with Hermione," he blurted out.
Her smile dropped. " Been to Ron's, have you?" she asked.
He nodded, coming into the bedroom. Ginny leaned against the door connecting the two rooms. "I just can't believe it," he said. " I never thought Hermione would do something like this."
Ginny said nothing, and he looked up at her, beseeching. " What?" she asked.
"Say something," he urged.
" Yeah, well-" She checked the time and cursed. " Shit, I have to go. The Portkey leaves in less than two minutes." She quickly returned to the bathroom.
" Y-you're leaving?" he stammered.
She reappeared, looking around. "Timing's lousy, I know. I'll be back on Sunday, but it will probably be late afternoon, you know there's no way to know. I might make dinner at the Burrow." She sounded doubtful though, as she left the bedroom and walked down the hall, with Harry following her.
" Don't go," he blurted out. " Stay here, with me."
Ginny groaned. " Harry, I don't want to go, but I'm filling in for Heidi, her mum passed away two days ago, remember I told you."
Something flickered in Harry's mind. " You're going to Greece to cover the Euro Quidditch finals," he realised.
" Yes, I told you it might be a possibility on Tuesday, then again Thursday and even this morning over breakfast," she said dryly, walking down the stairs and over to her bags, shrinking them and putting them into her pockets.
" I remember," he insisted, silently adding vaguely. Doesn't mean he liked it, though.
" I'll miss you," he said, meaning it.
She walked over to him and kissed him lightly. He held her to him, deepening the kiss. A need to prove to her how much he loved her overcame him, but the Portkey was beginning to smoke.
"Why don't you spend some time with Ron this weekend...or go talk to Hermione," she suggested, breaking away to grab the Portkey.
"I don't want to talk to Hermione," he said instantly. "Not after what she did to Ron and the kids."
" You should talk to both of them," she said quietly. She held up the Portkey with an apologetic look, and before he knew it, she was gone.
He stared at the place she had just been. " But I wanted to talk to you," he said softly, "not them."
The weekend loomed ahead as a lonely one.
Harry returned upstairs, shedding his work clothes and deciding on a shower. Ginny's scent filled the small room and, more than ever, he wished she were here. He was still trying to process the situation with Ron and Hermione, and Ginny was a great listener and understanding. She could help him sort out this tumult of emotions he was feeling about this recent turn of events.
But more than anything, he wanted to reconnect with his wife. He and Ginny had been married longer than Ron and Hermione. Had Ginny ever thought about an affair? She travelled a lot for her job; this weekend a perfect example. Had she ever been tempted? Had she wondered about him? Had she – even for the tiniest moment – ever thought he might be the one Hermione was having the affair with? Come to think of it, who was Hermione having an affair with? Did it really even matter? His two best friends, inseparable in his mind, were now separated, and Ron betrayed. He felt guilty that he had accused Ron and didn't think he was ready to talk to Hermione just yet.
He finished his shower, and went to his bedroom, dressing in some training pants and a teeshirt James had given him for his birthday. It read, " If You Can Read This, My Invisibility Cloak Isn't Working!' Ginny had received a funny one too, for her birthday. ' On A Scale Of One To Ten, How Much Do You Love Harry Potter? 9 ¾' Their son was a mischeivous lad who delighted in giving humorous presents.
Harry's heart was full as he thought about the three great kids he and Ginny had raised together. Albus, just starting his fourth year. Sorted into Slytherin and trying not to let the Potter name overwhelm him as he strived to find his place. Their youngest, and only daughter, Lily. Eager to finally get to Hogwarts and prove herself, sometimes feeling overshadowed by her older siblings and cousins. His brilliant and wonderful kids, his family. They meant everything to him.
He heated up a meal Ginny had pre-prepared for him. He ate on the sofa, with his feet up, listening to some Quidditch match that he really wasn't interested in, for it only reminded himself that Ginny wasn't there with him.
He must have fallen asleep for when he woke the match was long over and he had a crick in his neck. He stood, rubbing his neck before he took the plate to the kitchen, then doused all the lights and locked the Floo. He headed upstairs, hoping for a good night sleep where he wouldn't need to wake too early to go to work.
Instead he tossed and turned, hearing Ron accuse him of having an affair with Hermione. Of George accusing him, of even Molly accusing him. But worst was Ginny, watching him with those big brown eyes of hers, saying nothing. Blindly he reached out to her side of the bed, needing to feel her but of course, she wasn't there. He gathered her pillow to his side and finally fell asleep properly.
He woke feeling thick headed, and burning his toast didn't help. He flicked through the Daily Prophet, noting the story on the case he had just closed. Hermione was quoted as congratulating the Auror department on a job well done, but even that left a bitter after taste in his mouth. He shut the paper, rinsed his plate, finished his cup of tea and pondered the day ahead of him. What to do, what to do?
He thought about going for a fly at the Burrow, but he liked to fly with Ginny, who both challenged him and made it fun. He thought about going to see Ron, and thought about – and quickly dismissed – going to see Hermione. He debated whether it was a good idea to go to Hogwarts to check on his kids, and surreptitiously check on Rose and Hugo, but realised it would seem quite suspicious when they had only left home days ago.
He missed Ginny. The house was empty; for the first time in a long time there were no kids at home. This should be their time to be together, to re-connect as a couple. That was hard to do when one of them wasn't even there.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind, gaining momentum the more he considered it. Deciding to go for it, he raced upstairs to dress and pack light. If Ginny couldn't be here, then he would go to her.
A quick firecall to the Daily Prophet office, and Demelza Robbins confirmed what hotel Ginny would be staying at, and where the matches were being played. Thanking his former school mate, Harry ensured the house was secure he Flooed to Shell Cottage, where Fleur had a Portkey to Paris he could use. From there he'd Apparate to Greece...and Ginny.