Hey there, hi there! I am back with my third story and I have to say, I am pretty excited! I have a ton of new ideas circling, and I actually have a more serious (hopefully more suspenseful and riveting) plot this time. It's even more exciting because two days ago when I finished my previous story I had absolutely no ideas in mind at all, yet here I am at my loyal compy only a few days later!
If you have read my first two stories, you'll know they were both about Ron and Hermione's relationship, but I decided to mix it up and write a fic about Ginny and Harry Potter, about or three or four years after the war. Now, just as a warning, I won't be following some of the things that happened in the epilogue of DH. So please don't be alarmed if some of my facts are horribly incorrect! For example, Harry is an Auror, but Ron is not yet. Ginny just left playing Quidditch a year and a half ago, and is currently trying to find what to do for a career. Hermione is working at the Ministry of Magic but not in Law Enforcement as J.K revealed after the book was finished, she works for my own original character, Mac Tebz as a secretary. Tebz is in charge of monitoring Time Control and regulating it. Ron works in a Quidditch supplies shop south of London for now.
This story will be focusing on Ginny and Harry's relationship and some of the troubles they are dealing with. My last story called: Time Heals All wounds, left off right as Hermione and Ron were reunited again, this story will start a bit before that… and you'll see why soon. If you never read my other stories, you can still read this one… you won't get confused at all, I will be extra careful in explaining anything that gets complicated. Wow I know this intro is long, and confusing but I hope I got everything!
Hope everyone enjoys this! Wishing you all happy reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, the author J.K Rowling does.
Chapter 1- January Storms
A light snow dusting had covered the peaceful countryside of Britain one chilly morning. The month of January was upon the country, a lovely time of year when snow fell gracefully from the clouds often and everyone was still chipper from the holidays. It was the perfect time of year for hot cocoa, luxurious woolen sweaters, and snogging someone by the flickering flame of the fire.
And on this chilly, blustery morning, just on the outskirts of London, over the rolling hills and snow sprinkled lawns; Harry and Ginny Potter were just sitting down to have breakfast. The couple had bought a charming house in the suburbs of London about three years ago, after their marriage.
They had married young, just after Ginny finished school at Hogwarts, and not long after they purchased a two story, gray house with black shutters with a large fenced backyard. It was the prefect place to raise a family, and Harry and Ginny had been lucky to get such a great place to live. Before they lived here, they moved in together in Harry's small flat in the heart of London. It was quaint, but very small and often cramped with all of the couple's possessions. So, just after their marriage they set out to find a better, more spacious place to start their new lives together.
They had been married just under four years now; Harry worked as an Auror and had already made history several times over for his skills of Dark Wizard hunting. Ginny played Quidditch professionally for about two years, and had recently left the team to focus on her and Harry's life. She planned to find a new career soon, but so far nothing had come up; this however didn't worry Ginny much.
They were still the best of friends with Ron and Hermione, and visited them often. Ron was working in a Quidditch supplies shop temporarily, and Hermione was working at the Ministry of Magic as a secretary for Mac Tebz, head of the department of time monitoring and illegal use of time travel. Ginny and Harry also spent a considerable amount of time at the Burrow, with all of the Weasley relatives. Mr.Weasley still worked at the Ministry, and Mrs.Weasley was like always at home. George ran the joke shop he had opened with Fred and it was very successful even after so many years. Percy was working at Hogwarts, Bill and Fleur where still married and hadn't had any children yet either, Charlie still worked with dragons in Romania, though they didn't hear from him as much as they had liked.
Today was a regular day, it was a Thursday morning and Ginny and Harry had just awoken to start another new day. Just like usual, Ginny trudged down the staircase about a half hour before Harry and set to work making breakfast. Though, she wasn't much of a cook and didn't have the patience to become 'a chef'' she still cooked up a tasty and nutritious breakfast to enjoy.
Harry shuffled lazily into the kitchen; his dark hair very untidy and still dressed in his nightclothes. Ginny was pouring over a hot frying pan cooking up some eggs and toast, wearing a dark blue silk robe over her pajamas. She took a quick glance over her shoulder as Harry's coffee cup landed with a 'chink' on the counter, startling her for a moment.
"Morning Harry." She smiled while buttering a slice of toast.
Harry gave his usual grunt in response. Ginny still laughed nearly every morning. Harry wasn't, never had been, and never will be: a morning person. Most days, if he didn't have his cup of coffee he still wasn't technically awake. Harry had gotten hooked on the drink just after they moved in together; Ginny had never tried it until then and didn't much care for the taste. Harry on the other had, was totally addicted these days. Ginny had even gone to the length of purchasing a novelty t-shirt from a Muggle store once which read: "Instant human, just add coffee." It still made her smile a bit when she thought about it.
She placed the eggs and toast on two plates and set them on the table gently. Harry who was now fully awake and attentive gave a dry smile and looked up at Ginny pleasingly. She smiled in return and sat down in the seat next to him. Slowly, they began picking away at the breakfast.
A long silence hung in the air before Ginny braved her usual question, "Any work today?" She asked biting into the toast.
Harry's face fell instantly, he knew the question was coming but she had caught him off guard, he paused for a moment before replying grudgingly, "No, not today."
Ginny sighed heavily, " Well then whe…"
"I DON'T KNOW GINNY!" Harry snapped abruptly.
Ginny looked down at her plate quickly, Harry had regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. He set down his fork and placed his hand over Ginny's.
"Look, Gin, I'm sorry. You know how it's been. There's just not much out there for me right now." He said this time more calmly.
She didn't lift her gaze; she only gave a small nod. Harry continued, "I'm sure it won't be too much longer."
"It's been over three weeks Harry!" She said sternly.
"I know, I know. But, ever since you-know-who, the other Dark Wizards have been laying low. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing you know? Someone will call soon. Everything else has been taken or assigned to someone else."
"I don't understand why you can't help them."
"It doesn't work that way. We've been through this. Most people work alone, it's easier and safer too. They don't want us doubling up on assignments unless we need to." Harry told her, still clutching her hand.
Ginny decided to drop it and again looked down, staring intently on the floor. Harry inched closer and sandwiched her hand in-between both of his own. "Hey." He started nervously, "I was thinking…and well… erm… that is, maybe we should….you know… start trying again."
Ginny's eyes flew upwards to meet Harry's, Harry continued on, "Think…. It's practically perfect, with you not working, and me… not very busy. We'd have time to plan everything out and even better we could…."
"No Harry!" Ginny said firmly, not allowing him to finish his thought, snatching her hand away.
Harry paused, "Well, then maybe we…"
"No! I am not doing that. I won't." She said angrily, getting from her seat and gathering up the plates.
"Well why not Ginny? Honestly, I don't understand why your so against this, it's not a bad thing." He argued, getting to his feet and following her across the kitchen.
"Harry it isn't something we should have to try for, it should just happen!" Ginny yelled loudly, temper flaring.
"What else are we supposed to do?" Harry yelled back.
"I don't know! But not that." She concluded, slamming the plates into the sink and shoving past Harry, rushing back upstairs.
Harry leaned against the sink, scratching his neck. He had thought for a split second he had heard the distinct cracking sound of someone apparating in, but soon dismissed it, getting lost in his thoughts.
He and Ginny had been blessed several months back with the wonderful news that they were going to have a baby. They had both been so excited for it that they had rushed to get everything together. Ginny was given a baby shower and received so many things that they would need for the baby, it had been the happiest time in their marriage yet.
Tragically however, only about four months into the pregnancy, Ginny miscarried. The doctors reassured them that it was perfectly normal for the first time, and was nothing more than an accident that couldn't have been prevented; but they were devastated nonetheless. Ginny cried for weeks on end, sometimes Harry would wake up in the night to hear her sobbing quietly to herself even in her sleep. He too had been devastated, he was so eager to have a child of his own, even though he had never given it much thought before. What was even worse was that they had already purchased so many things for the baby, and began to paint a nursery. Every time Ginny walked past the door she would burst out into tears and sit for hours crying outside the room. Harry was even forced to keep the door shut all the time, but it didn't help much since they both knew what was inside.
It was rough and tough, but eventually Ginny and Harry both came around and recovered from their loss. They were happy again, Harry admired Ginny. She was tough, she was strong, she was a Weasley woman. And soon they were getting the go-ahead from the doctor, clearance to start trying again. Ginny had been told she was perfectly healthy, and their chances would be much greater the second time around. At that time though, they had only brushed over the subject and both had decided to wait a bit longer. Then not long after, they went on a vacation to a tropical resort for the holidays. It had been wonderful, romantic, and unbelievably fun, like a second honeymoon even. But when they returned back home, all their problems stood waiting.
Harry hadn't had any work for nearly three weeks, which wasn't a long time, but with Ginny not having a current job, the bills had begun to accumulate. Just before they left for their vacation, Harry acted to be on call if he was needed, but no one ever called. Then when they returned home a few weeks back, work was still un available. Nearly everyday, they found themselves quarreling over nothing at all. The stress was starting to buildup, and it didn't help any when they were constantly bothered or interrupted by Ron and Hermione. The couple loved their two friends dearly, but to be quite blunt, they were tired of dealing with Ron and Hermione's relationship problems in addition to their own.
Four years ago, they had finally gotten together and had been very happy, but Ron abruptly left one day just before Harry and Ginny's wedding. As you could imagine, Ginny was not happy but did the kind thing of helping her friends, just before her own big day. Hermione was in a right state, and no one could even get Ron to talk.
Three years past, no one had really seen Ron, but they had written him. Hermione drifted away as well, and they didn't see her nearly as much as normal. Then, when Ginny was going to have her shower, Ron came to stay and with him he brought his new fiancée.
Hermione was terribly upset, knowing nothing about it. It launched another roller coaster of fights and dramatic scenes. They were always changing their minds about if they wanted to be together, Hermione had been hurt all over again, and Ron had started to feel guilty. In the end, Ginny had tried setting them up certain it would be a success. She ended up getting into a heated fight with Ron's fiancée, and Hermione and Ron had been reunited for one night only. Then suddenly, Hermione changed her mind and Ron was the one who was broken hearted. Shortly after Hermione rejected him; his fiancée broke up with him as well.
Now, two months later, Ron hadn't spoken to anyone until Harry had convinced him to fight for Hermione. So far, he hadn't been successful, or at least if he had been neither Harry nor Ginny knew about it.
It was quite dramatic, and really tiring to deal with. But nonetheless, they still cared for them a great deal. It was just one more stress Harry and Ginny had added to their lives though, and the very day they returned from their vacation, Harry had approached Ginny about trying for another baby.
Ginny had refused strongly, she wouldn't hear of it. She firmly believed in 'whatever happens, happens.' And insisted that they had not discussed it. Harry felt differently, he wanted to have a baby, he didn't see why it mattered if they 'tried' or not, but when he mentioned this to Ginny, it had started another fight.
Things had just begun to calm down, and Harry bravely threw it out at her that morning, obviously his attempt failed. Now he was left wondering what to do, he couldn't go talk to his wife it would only enrage her more. But he also hated standing around, doing nothing, fighting all the time with Ginny.
It was all just one big headache for them. Both were starting to notice a change in their relationship, they weren't as happy it seemed ever since they lost their child. They were starting to drift apart, of course they still loved each other fiercely, but would it be enough to get them through the hard times?
Ginny rushed upstairs frantically and slammed the door of their bedroom behind her. She couldn't understand why Harry was so determined on trying. She wanted it to just happen on it's own, as it was supposed to. Yet Harry never seemed to get the message, he was always brining up the touchy subject in hopes of changing Ginny's mind. Every time he approached her about it she would get even angrier with him. It wasn't good for anyone and she was starting to notice that something was missing from their lives.
She, like Harry, had wanted to have a baby, but she just didn't feel she was ready yet. Having to try for it just didn't seem right to her in some way. In the back of her mind however she couldn't silence one tiny thought: "Four years of marriage, and nothing to show for it."
Ginny sat down on the bed, and kicked a nearby chest in anger. "What a perfect way to start the day." She muttered to herself. She didn't know what to do with herself, the house was spotless and had already been cleaned regularly for the last week straight. Harry of course would be hanging around, which made her feel even more uneasy about staying in the house that day.
It had all snowballed into a huge mess so fast, they were fighting over nothing, and their financial status was in shambles, and with neither of them having any work to do, it all added up to be a sticky situation for them.
Ginny took a deep breath before getting to her feet and opening the door again. She walked a ways down the hall and couldn't help but think about the particular door she had just passed. It was supposed to be the baby's room. Everything that they had bought or received as a gift was still inside it, untouched. Ginny felt a pang of sadness drift through her suddenly as she remembered the awful day they had gotten the news that their baby was dead. She pushed the thought out of her mind as soon as she could, but the sadness still remained.
After she had taken a shower and gotten dressed, she decided to go back downstairs. Harry was still sitting in the kitchen near the sink, looking bewildered. She rounded the corner and looked in, Harry must have noticed because at once her rushed over and began to apologize for his actions.
"Harry, forget about it. I'm fine now." She told him as calmly as she could.
Harry looked taken aback by her sudden change of heart. She spoke again, "I'm going to go out for a bit today. I need to get out of this house for a few hours. Is that okay?" Harry only gave a small nod.
Ginny snatched up her purse from the counter, and quickly reached the door. Only a few seconds later, she was gone.
Harry was left staring blankly after her, thinking she would come back a moment later, but when she didn't he let his thoughts race again. "She left without saying goodbye. There is no way she is fine about all of this, I just know she is still mad. What am I going to do? We can't keep living like this, fighting all the time over nothing really…. She left without her usual goodbye kiss."
His thoughts rushed around in no real order, one after another they occurred to him. He couldn't help but feel the slightest bit troubled by the fact that Ginny had neglected to both say goodbye to him and hadn't given him a kiss.
But maybe he was making a big deal over it. After all, she was just leaving for a bit, she'd come home again very soon just like she always did.
Ginny had decided to walk back into the city, the fresh air couldn't do her any harm. She could finally be alone with her thoughts without being distracted or interrupted. The walk to the city was considerably long, but she didn't mind, it would be nearly a half an hour before she reached it on foot, and she would be cold in the January air. But none of that seemed to matter to her all of a sudden. She was just glad to be out of that house, and back on her own.
She felt more independent this way, she hated not working, and she hated counting on Harry to bring in all the money while she sat around as nothing more than a housewife. It didn't help that when Harry did get work, it proved to be dangerous. Ginny was constantly worrying about him, sometimes he would get assignments that required him to be away for long stretches of time, and this made her worry even more. In a way, she was almost glad to have him not working. This way she knew he wasn't in any life threatening situations, or away for a long time. On the downside, he was always home. She didn't have any privacy, Harry was always lurking about the house, more often than not, skulking about something behind her.
It really was quite annoying. He was there when she woke up, there when she was trying to do her daily chores, and there when she was trying to sleep. She loved being married to him, but couldn't help but feel she needed her own space and time to herself. This always made her feel guilty, she was lucky to have Harry there with her, it was more than a lot of people had; but still she wished that Harry had some sort of hobby other than his work.
Later that night, Ginny was in better spirits. Her walk to the city had indeed helped her organize her thoughts and calm down. Harry too had seemed to feel better, but was keeping to himself and not saying much. Ginny found him sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine of the latest Quidditch gear. Ginny smiled, he didn't play the game any more but he still loved to look at the magazines.
She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Harry looked up at her startled. "Well, what's this for?" he asked, a smiled creeping across his face.
"I just.. Wanted to apologize for this morning. I overreacted and I'm sorry."
Harry set down the magazine and turned to face her, "Ginny it's not your fault. I shouldn't have said anything. I should be the one apologizing." Harry could tell that she was about to protest so he quickly started to speak again, " I think that, well we need to talk about this. I mean we never did really talk, it was more of just… well you know."
Ginny blinked, "So what your saying is… you're sorry, but yet you want to talk to me about having a baby again?"
'Yeah, I think that we should, maybe it would be good.
Ginny shook her head, "Harry. Don't you understand? I don't want to try to have another baby. I want it to happen, like it did the first time."
The tension was rising again between them, "You saw what happened the last time!" Harry shouted at her. He couldn't help it, whenever the subject came up, he couldn't help but get frustrated.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny scoffed angrily, crossing her arms.
"Nothing…" Harry stammered, "It's just you remember what happened last time. I think we should do things differently the second time around."
"Yes, I haven't forgotten what happened last time Harry! The doctors told us that it wasn't anything we did or didn't do, so why would you even say something like that?! That has nothing to do with what we are even talking about.!"
"That's what the said. But you never know with them, It could have been something that we did wrong. Maybe you didn't eat like your supposed to. " Harry snorted.
Ginny's eyes widened, "So…." She began very slowly, "You're saying that, it was all my fault?"
Harry twitched uncomfortably, he had defiantly just made a big mistake, "I…."
Ginny cut in, "Don't answer that. It doesn't matter… I'm going to sleep at the Burrow tonight." She told him sternly before getting up and grabbing her purse from the table.
"Ginny! Wait come back here! You don't need to go!" But it was too late; Ginny had already disappeared from their home.
This was bad. It had never been this bad before; Ginny had never left the house when they fought. Harry had spent a considerable amount of nights on the couch, but never did she leave.
Harry stared at the place where his wife had just stood, he become worried, very worried.
"What if she didn't come back?"
A/N: End of chapter one, I can't help but feel it lacks excitement. But please stick with me, I am just getting warmed up it takes awhile! Lol, the next chapter will be better and filled with more interesting things to read! Please leave me any thoughts you have, and don't be shy…. REVIEW PLEASE!! :D