Ginny stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. She stomped across the yard to the orchard where she promptly burst into tears.
Curling up next to her favorite tree, she wrapped her arms around her knees, a wave of familiarity washing over her. How many times in her childhood had she sat in this same place in this same position, crying her eyes out? It had been years since she had hidden in the orchard, but her mother hadn't forgotten where to find her. Mere moments later Ginny heard the inevitable: "Ginerva Weasley, get back here this moment!"
Ginny didn't move. She had no intention of going back in to the house ever again. As far as she was concerned the Burrow had become a place of personal torture. She wiped her eyes, knowing that her mother would not be sympathetic. Sure enough, there was Molly Weasley, rounding the corner with a large wooden spoon in one hand and her wand in the other. Ginny shrunk down as small as possible, though she knew she would not be able to escape notice.
Molly didn't even pause to look around. She walked right over to Ginny's tree, pointing her spoon at Ginny furiously. "Young lady, you go back in there this instant. I do not have time for this nonsense."
Molly's anger brought the stubborn side out in Ginny, and she found she no longer felt like crying. Instead, she stood up and glared back at her mother. "No." Molly's eyes widened in momentary shock. Ginny stood a little taller knowing she was probably the first of Molly's children to ever stand up to her. "No, I won't go back. Teddy is not my responsibility. I didn't sign up for any of this, and I can't take any more crying. You take care of him, god knows you have plenty of experience."
To Ginny's surprise, her mother's expression softened, and she lowered her spoon. "Oh baby." Molly's tone was gentle, comforting. "I know this is hard for you."
But Ginny wasn't done shouting. "No you don't! You have no idea! I shouldn't have to take care of a baby, I'm not even seventeen yet! I was responsible, and here I am, still stuck taking care of an infant like any idiot drop-out. And he just never stops crying!" She burst into tears again.
When she felt her mother's arms wrap around her, Ginny cried even harder. "That's right sweetheart, let it all out." Her mother's hands stroked her hair.
"You're right, it's not fair. It's not fair that Remus and Nymphadora died so young. It's not fair that Teddy has nobody in the world but Andromeda. And it's not fair that Andromeda should have to raise a child at her age. None of this is fair."
Molly pulled Ginny away from her, wiping her daughter's eyes. "But honey, Harry did the right thing bringing Teddy here. Andromeda has enough to deal with, losing her husband and daughter all in one year. She'll take Teddy again in a few months, but in the meantime we need to help Harry take care of him."
"You're right Mum," Ginny said, sniffling. "But why did Harry volunteer to take Teddy if he's going to be gone all day?"
Molly laughed. "Men aren't known for thinking ahead sweetheart. I don't think he thought about how time consuming auror training would be."
"Well he should have," Ginny grumbled.
"We can complain about men all day long," Molly chuckled, "but right now we need to get inside. Goodness only knows what's going through poor Teddy's little mind right now."
"He probably doesn't even realize we're gone. How could he even notice through all that screaming?"
"All the same, we can't leave a baby alone in the house."
As they walked back to the Burrow together, Ginny turned to her mother, feeling suddenly very vulnerable. "Mum?"
"Yes Ginny?"
"Please don't tell Harry."
Back inside the Burrow, Ginny dragged her feet back to Percy's old room. She couldn't hear any crying. That was strange. Was Teddy okay? But as she peered over the crib she found him fast asleep. She gaped stupidly. The baby had been awake for almost six hours, and he'd cried for most of it. I guess he finally wore himself out. She collapsed onto Harry's bed in relief.
As she lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, Ginny noticed yet again how much the room had changed since Harry moved in a month ago. Of all her siblings Ginny had been closer to Percy than anyone, which had made his betrayal hurt all the more. She was the only one in the family who hadn't really forgiven him yet, but then he hadn't even bothered to apologize to her. Still, she thought back on the times she had spent in Percy's room, watching him work, with some fondness. Back then he had been a caring big brother, always looking out for her and protecting her - or trying to - from Fred and George's pranks.
Back when Percy had lived here the main piece of furniture had been a desk, tidy, yet full of parchment and books. Percy had kept all of his old school notes and assignments in boxes next to the desk. Hermes's cage had sat near the window, so clean you could eat off the bottom. And on the small dresser his prefect badge always sat next to a faded old picture of the family, taken when Ginny was only a baby. And, for a year or so, a picture of Penelope Clearwater had been there as well, she remembered with a smile. But there had been no posters or old toys or any of the other clutter that usually fills up a room.
Now the room showed clear signs of young male habitation. Clothing was strewn about the floor, mostly in need of washing by the look of it. Harry's old school trunk sat propped open in the corner, books thrown in haphazardly, while carefully propped against the wall was a well-kept broomstick. The small dresser was now littered with pieces of parchment that appeared to be old birthday cards, and on the walls were tacked several Chudley Cannons posters that Ginny suspected had been gifts from Ron. The only thing out of place was the crib next to the bed.
It even smells like him, she thought, turning her face into his pillow and inhaling. Her heart fluttered as she remembered vividly one summer day on the Hogwarts grounds. Closing her eyes, she smiled and let the memory wash over her.
The next thing Ginny knew, Harry was standing over her, scratching the back of his head absentmindedly and smiling. She'd forgotten how cute he looked when he did that.
"Did I fall asleep or something?" She looked around for a clock. What time was it?
"Ron would kill me if he knew you were sleeping in my room." Harry looked sheepish.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Ron can get over himself. I spend the entire day taking care of a baby that sleeps in your room."
"Your mom probably wouldn't be thrilled either."
Ginny stood up and stretched. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
Harry grinned. Ginny was suddenly aware of how close they were, alone for the first time in almost a year. Her heart pounded in her chest. Harry took a step closer to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He held her face in his other hand, and as she leaned in-
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Ginny flinched, her eyes flew open. She sighed. "Oh, Teddy, not again."
"I'll get him." Before Ginny had a chance to protest Harry was lifting Teddy from his crib.
Teddy's face was beet red, his little hands balled up into fists as he screamed as loudly as his little lungs would allow. His hair, which while he slept had been mousy blonde, was now the same red as his face. But the moment he saw his godfather's face he stopped crying and his hair turned the exact shade of bubble-gum pink Tonks had always worn.
"Hey Teddy." Harry always spoke to Teddy is his normal voice, no baby talk. "You hungry?"
To Ginny's utter disbelief, Teddy actually smiled at him.
"Let's go get you a bottle."
"Uh, Harry?" Ginny said, snapping out of her momentary stupor. "He probably needs to be changed first."
Harry lifted Teddy in the air and cautiously sniffed his butt. Ginny knew she was right when he made a disgusted face. "How did you know?"
Ginny shrugged. "What else would have woken him up?"
While Harry changed Teddy, Ginny headed downstairs to help her mother set up for dinner. Up the stairs she could hear the sounds of baby screams again, and she thanked her lucky stars that Harry was home and dealing with it. You know things are bad when you would rather help Mum set-up for dinner, she thought dejectedly.
Dinner was a subdued event that evening. For once there were no guests, just Ginny, her parents, and Ron and Harry. It was a strangely small party for the Burrow, and they didn't fill the large table even halfway. Teddy, who Harry had somehow managed to get to sleep again, was in his crib, which Harry had conjured in the kitchen.
"Harry, have some more potatoes." Molly stood up and spooned them on his plate before he had a chance to accept.
"Oy, what about me?" Ron complained halfheartedly.
"Shut up Ron, you've already had three servings," Ginny snapped.
"There's plenty for everyone to have more." Molly shot Ginny a look before serving Ron as well.
"He's old enough to get his own potatoes," Ginny grumbled to herself.
"Well so is Harry, and you don't see anyone complaining about Mum serving him," Ron shot back.
The bickering had become almost an evening ritual. Ron was irritable and Ginny was impatient. Every little comment could set them off, and Molly was too weary to bother telling them off.
"You know perfectly well that Harry is too polite to take seconds even if there was enough to feed an army," Ginny retorted. "Although you would probably eat it all before the army could even get near."
"We're working hard all day, I need nourishment," Ron complained. "What are you doing, just sitting around playing with the baby?"
"Ron and I found a place," Harry interrupted before Ginny had the chance to say something nasty.
Molly looked up from her food. "A place?"
"Yeah. We want to get out of your hair in September. Ginny'll be going back to Hogwarts, and Teddy will be back with his grandmother by then, so we figured we'd give you and Mr. Weasley some space."
Arthur smiled. "Well, I can't say it won't be nice to have some peace and quiet in here again." But Molly looked closer to tears.
"We'll still come over for dinner all the time," said Ron, looking alarmed.
"Of course you will." Arthur patted Molly's hand reassuringly. "So where is this place?"
"It's an apartment in London, near Diagon Alley." Harry fiddled with his watch. "It's kind of small, but compared to living in a tent for almost a year I think we'll be fine."
Ginny smirked. "I have a hard time picturing you and Ron keeping any place clean enough to live in without Hermione picking up after you."
"Kreacher's going to live with us."
"You found an apartment with a servant's quarters?" Molly asked, surprised. "How unusual."
"No." Harry shrugged. "I just got a third bedroom for Kreacher."
Ron grinned. "It was the only way we could get Hermione to agree to letting Kreacher keep working at his age. He's going to hate having a room all to himself."
"If it has three bedrooms it can't be that small." Ginny thought aloud.
"Well to fit three bedrooms in we had to give up almost all the living space," Harry explained, "and the bathroom is about the size of a closet."
"It's perfect," Ron said. "Exactly what you would expect from a bachelor pad." Ginny snorted.
"What about Grimmauld Place?" asked Arthur.
For some reason, Ginny thought she saw Harry blush. "Well, I figure Kreacher won't be able to fill his entire day taking care of such a small apartment, so I thought he could spend the rest of the day cleaning Grimmauld Place."
"But that place is a total dump," Ginny said. "Even if it was clean, you wouldn't want to live there with that horrid tapestry, and Mrs. Black screaming all day, and all the elf heads on the wall."
"I'm going to use my parents' gold to pay experts to come get rid of all that stuff once Kreacher gets it clean," Harry explained. "I think that's what they would want."
"I think that's a wonderful idea Harry," Mrs. Weasley said. Ginny thought she saw Harry blushing again, and he definitely wasn't meeting anyone's eye.
"Thanks Mrs. Weasley."
After dinner, Ginny thought about Harry's strange behavior while she helped Molly clean. She had known Harry for a long time, and the only time she could ever remember seeing him blush was when he had talked about Cho Chang. Ginny glowered. She knew it was silly to still be jealous, Harry had hardly even looked at her the night of the Battle of Hogwarts, but she still hated Cho.
Why was he acting so weird? she thought again. Is there something going on at Grimmauld Place?
The longer she thought, the more she realized that she didn't really care. What was really bothering her was that Harry was leaving the Burrow. He had been living there almost a month, and Ginny had gotten used to seeing him every morning at breakfast and every night before bed. The last year had been so terrible, not knowing where he was or if he was even alive. From now on Ginny wanted to keep him as close as possible.
Well you need to get over that as quickly as possible, she reprimanded herself. You have to go back to Hogwarts this year, and Harry won't be there.
For first time in her entire life Ginny wasn't looking forward to going to Hogwarts. Sure, Hermione would be there, but it just wouldn't be the same without Harry. Besides, she knew that everywhere she turned she would be faced with terrible memories. How could she eat in the Great Hall ever again after crying over Lupin and Tonks and -
She stopped thinking. She couldn't allow herself to continue. If her mother saw her crying over Fred she would be in tears for the rest of the night. Ginny had to be strong.
"Mum? I'm going to go help Harry give Teddy his bath. Do you need any more help with the dishes?"
Molly didn't even glance up. "Go ahead dear."
Ginny trudged up the stairs. She loved Teddy, but taking care of him all day was really starting to take a toll. He was a real handful, and he was having a lot of trouble adjusting to life without his parents. Listening to him cry was exhausting in a way she had never experienced before, and she expected he would cry through his bath. He usually did.
But when she opened Harry's bedroom door all weariness evaporated. Harry lay sprawled on the bed, fast asleep, his glasses askew and a textbook open on his chest. Teddy snuggled next to him holding Harry's finger in one hand and sucking on the other, his hair back to its mousy blonde color.
Ginny felt a pang of guilt as she realized how tired Harry must be. She knew Teddy still woke him up in the middle of the night, hungry. And auror training must be very difficult, even more so for Harry and Ron since they hadn't finished their N.E.W.T. level classes. She wondered how late he stayed up each night studying. And after all he had been through in the last year... Yet Harry had never complained or let on how exhausted he was.
As she watched the boys sleep, Ginny resolved to stop feeling sorry for herself and to take care care of Teddy without complaint.
She tip-toed into the room and gingerly pried Teddy's fingers from Harry's hands. She slowly lifted him off the bed, careful not to bump Harry, and carried him down the hall for his bath.
