A/N Hello ducks. I'm writing this without a terribly clear direction, more of a way to clear my head than anything else. I'll take suggestions and all that jazz if you want to see something or if you feel like I'm running out of intrigue and mystique. I'm really anal retentive about grammar, spelling, and mechanics, so if you see any errors, feel free to call me on it and slap me with a dictionary. Ouch, on second thought, maybe not.

Chapter One: Introducing a Muggle Family

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess and a dashing prince. They grew up as friends, and later became engaged. They had an exquisite wedding, several gorgeous children, and never fought a day in their lives. Their story was perfect. This is not one of those stories.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh for the love of-" Ginny snorted, juggling the files in her arm as the heel of her shoe refused to remove itself from a crack in the pavement. Growling to herself, she slipped her foot out of the shoe and bent down to retrieve the troublesome item. 'I don't have time for this,' she thought, resuming her trot into the foyer of her office building. She saw a dark head of hair emerge from the men's room a few paces to her left and sighed in relief.

"Had too much coffee this morning, Harry?" she called, moving to catch up.
"Ginny don't laugh," Harry Potter moaned, running a hand through his messier than usual mane. "I was so tired this morning that I downed the whole fucking pot before I could consider the consequences…I've been to the loo every bloody thirty minutes."
"Well you'd better control yourself, the partners' meeting is in two minutes and we have three pitches this morning," Ginny joked, not for the first time feeling happy that she didn't party. At the thought her lips turned down slightly; muggle partying always left her with a sour taste in her throat. As did wizarding partying, for that matter.

"Oh stop, you harpy," Harry grunted. "I didn't laugh at you when you went around for a whole day with two different shoes on!"

"YOU-" Genny started to bellow, but then stopped herself when other people started to look over. "You swore you would never bring that up again, you traitor!" she hissed as Harry smirked at her. "Who do you think you are, exactly?"

"I'm the Boy Who Lived, or didn't you get the memo?"

"Prat."

"Cow."

"WHAT?"

"Oh and look at that, we've just arrived at the meeting. Looks like I got the last word, Ginny." Ginny grumbled under her breath as she paused to ensure that her hair and clothes were in place before taking a breath and following Harry inside.

Pushing open the glass doors that led to the conference room, Ginny paused to reflect on the past five years of her life as a muggle. The investment firm, the flat she lived in with Harry, her son Thom, they all seemed so solid that she couldn't remember what life had been before.

"Ah, Miss Weasley," she heard a booming voice call out and she forced a smile. "One of our most industrious principals!"

"Thank you, sir."

"Well, have a seat, Miss Weasley. Oh and hello Mr. Potter. We're just about to get started here."

Ginny organized her folders and started her laptop, looking at her boss, the incorrigible Jack Yorke, one of the two partners at the Yorke Ramsay Venture Capital Fund. Jack was a big man with a large stomach and a larger personality. He was like the father of the firm, quite jolly, particularly at company parties, and could usually be seen wearing a smile. There were many people who took him at face value, and those were the people who eventually flushed out of the investment industry. Part of Ginny wondered if Jack's "Jolly Giant" demeanor was nothing more than a façade; the man was shrewd and would test any entrepreneur thoroughly before deciding to enter negotiations. He may have taken Ginny under his wing and openly praised her, but it was only because she had earned it.

"What's the first pitch of the day, Potter?" the other partner, Michael Ramsay asked.

"A bloke from London who wants to revolutionize the online music scene…" Harry continued, but Ginny didn't listen. She had helped him write up the briefing, knowing that Ramsay would expect both the main principals to know the details. Michael was Jack's opposite; a rather quiet, but powerful man. He had made millions in venture capital, and while he never seemed to brag about his success or even speak about his personal wealth, he was always being written about on some economic blog. Ginny herself liked Ramsay, he was always very focused and saw her as a principal, not a woman. As one of the only women in the business, Ginny was all too used to being differentiated. 'As if having a penis makes you smarter,' Ginny thought to herself, smirking. She returned her attention to the meeting, diligently taking notes on the business propositions.

"Harry, would you just-"

"Ginny! Put it down, I can handle it!"

"You can not, just look at what a mess you're making!"

"Well I would have been fine if your bloody son hadn't-"

"My son? I'll thank you to remember he's yours too!"

"Not really, it's more like you're sharing him with me, don't you think?"

Ginny rolled her eyes in frustration, snatching the cup away from Harry and deftly fitting the top on. Harry watched her ruefully, holding Thom in his arms as the toddler snoozed away, despite the argument. Ginny's frustration melted as she looked at her child.

"Look at my baby! Hello Thom! You look just like your mummy!"

Harry snickered, earning a glare from his best friend. "Honestly, Gin. And he looks nothing like you, he's adopted remember?" Ginny giggled, rescuing Thom from Harry. "And how long has it been? Two years, and you're still talking down to him? Will you still be cooing over him when he goes off to-" he suddenly stopped talking and looked down.

Ginny sighed. "It's fine Harry, I slip up too sometimes. We knew it would be like this when I decided to adopt a muggle baby, not a wizarding one. And it's fine. I love him anyway, and you do too, even if he doesn't go to Hogwarts."

"Of course!" Harry said, putting on a shocked expression, one hand to his heart. More seriously, he said, "Gin, you know that I don't care that Thom is a muggle. Hell, we're muggles now!"

"Do you ever regret it?" Ginny asked softly. "D'you ever want to go back, just pretend like we never ran off, blame it on childish emotions after the war?"

"'Course not," Harry said loyally. "You've always been there for me, always. Besides, I don't have a whole lot to go back to. Here, I have you, I have Thom, I have a great job, and I finally have some peace." Seeing that Ginny still looked dejected, Harry scooted closer and nudged her with his elbow. "Hey, remember streaking through that park in the nuddy pants yelling 'God save the Queen!' last Christmas? Think we could have gotten away with that in the wizarding world?"

Ginny's face picked up a little. "Yeah, I can just see what Rita Skeeter would've written: The Boy Who Lived Goes Insane, Tears Clothes Off in a Fit of Madness." She giggled, rocking Thom so he wouldn't wake up. "Thanks for coming with me, Harry. I reckon I wouldn't have made it without you."

"Don't mention it," Harry waved her off. "It's not like I'm not better off here. Or did you forget, 'gay' doesn't exist in the wizarding world? And sure, it's not all- all sugar and roses in the muggle world, but at least I won't be sent to St. Mungo's for 'fixing'." He was smiling, but Ginny was too familiar with her childhood friend to miss the glint in his eyes that belied his bitterness. With a sigh, she hoisted Thom up on her hip and wrapped her other arm around Harry's waist.

"Now, look you, what do we always say?" she asked, sticking her bottom lip out, hoping she could coax Harry out of his brooding. Reluctantly, Harry rolled his eyes and chorused along, "The ones who care don't matter and the one's that matter don't care. I know Gin, I know. But still-"

"But nothing, Harry Potter! Do you think you're somehow inferior?"

"Well, no, but-"

"And who does, the sodding Ministry?"

"Yes, and-"

"And since when has the great, Harry bloody Potter care one whit what that sorry excuse for a governing body, excluding my dad, thinks?"

"Never, I suppose,"

"Damn straight!" Ginny announced triumphantly, pointing her finger in Harry's amused face. "Besides," she added, tossing her hair and sticking her nose up in the air, "you know that I'm the only one who really matters, and if I don't care about your sexual orientation, well, that's really the end of it, isn't it?" Finally, Harry let out a real grin, shaking his head.

"Still the same obstinate Ginerva Weasley, eh?"

"Shh! I changed it to Virginia! Honestly, what muggle goes by Ginerva anyway?"

"Now, now, Gin," Harry mocked. "The ones who care don't-"

"Oh shove it, you twat," Ginny mumbled, slapping his shoulder.

"You're a doll, you know that?" Ginny said affectionately, mussing Harry's hair. "C'mon, bring that research on online gaming, you can bone up on your reading while Thom and I are at the zoo." Grumbling, Harry scooped up the packet Ginny pointed to.

"Whatever, blondie. I don't see why I have to be reading while you get to hang out with Thom."

Ginny's hand reflexively flew to her hair, feeling the curls as if she could feel the difference between her previously red locks and the new golden ones. "I'm not reading because I already did, last night when you went out and left me all alone. And leave my poor hair alone. It's not like yours is any better."

"You know I didn't mean it. I mean, I realize we had to do it, you know, after all, the famous Weasley red hair would give us away in a crowd if anyone looked for us." Ginny snorted and grabbed the car keys, motioning for Harry to grab the backpack and open the door.

"Reckon they're still searching for us?" she asked as they loaded Thom into his car seat. "Or do you think five years is enough for them to catch on?"

"It has been a long time, we could send an owl or a Patronus-"

"No, Harry."

"Gin, it's been five years. Your family must be-"

"No, Harry."

"Look, I know they always thought we'd end up together, but-"

"Drop it."

"Maybe if we just explained things, it would be okay."

"Look, Har, we've been over this time and time again," Ginny said wearily, backing out of the driveway and turning onto the road. "I won't let my family tell me what to do now. I mean, I'm 24, Harry, bloody 24! If I'm not allowed to make decisions for myself now, then when? I'm not a hag, I'm not stupid, I-I-" with horror, Ginny realized she was starting to tear up.

"Gin, calm down, it's okay. They didn't try to force you to marry me because they thought you couldn't get anyone else." Harry patted Ginny on the back, staring at her intently.

"I know, it's just that they were all so angry at me. Not you, but me, like I did something that screwed it up, like I somehow wasn't enough."

"Well technically, Gin-"

"Okay, I know I don't have a dick, but that's not what I meant." She smiled, silently thanking fate for Harry Potter, the best friend in the world. "Harry, I'm not ready to go back yet. Because as soon as I step foot through that door, I'm exposing us to the same bullocks we had to go through five years ago. I'm not going to out you Harry. I don't want you to have to expose yourself to protect me."

"And I'm sure I never want to hear anyone badger you for not trying hard enough to ensnare me with your womanly wiles," Harry said lightly, although Ginny knew he was serious.

"Right, then," she said. "So since we're both so bloody hung up on protecting one another, we have no choice but to leave them alone. Besides, I don't even want to know what Mum would say about Thom."

"Or Ron," Harry said grimly, his grip on the back of Ginny's headrest tightening. Ginny remembered how the two former best friends had separated; it hadn't been pretty. "Yeah, the git would probably say I was helping you harbor asecret Death Eater love child." Ginny contemplated this, and decided it might not be too far off the mark. Ron was ever one for theatrics, and he'd say anything out of anger. 'How could I bring Thom back to that,' Ginny thought, glancing at her son in the rearview mirror. 'My darling, sweet son. I won't let them control him too.' Setting her jaw firmly, Ginny decided to put her thoughts of the Weasley clan behind her for the time being. She'd go back when she was ready, and if five years wasn't enough, then maybe ten years would be. Either way, she wasn't going to trifle with the thought anymore, she had a day at the zoo to enjoy. With her little, muggle family.

A/N So I realize this is dry and boring, probably, but I need to set things up so we can get cracking. The first few chapters are looking like they're going to be similarly introductory, but bear with me kids, and I'll try to pick things up once we know what's going on. Cheers!