Somewhere in Between

by Sekai

“Ginny had separated herself from them today, instead choosing to be an observer from the small hill close by, watching all her brothers each with his one special girl, laughing and talking with each other.”

A/N: This is a rewrite of an earlier fic I've got uploaded here.
I've been reading trough the ones I've got, and they're not any good.
But hopefully this one is better :-)
Please review!

The last and most unexpected of Molly and Arthur Weasley's children was Ginevra. She was the first female Weasley to be born in generations and had six older brothers as well as all male cousins, to prove it with. She was loved and protected by all her brothers and she loved them in turn, but at times she felt strangely alone. She never had a girl to talk to through her childhood years, and when she entered her first year at Hogwarts excited to finally be there and looking forward to making friends, she was ensnared by a Horcrux and was nearly killed by Tom Riddle, who, under the pseudonym Voldemort, had been a longstanding threat to the Wizarding world.

But on this day Voldemort wasn't a threat anymore. At the beginning of the summer that same year, he had been defeated through sheer luck, it seemed. And now everyone and everything Ginny knew was in that place similar to the blissful sleep between the catastrophic night and the morning of cleansing that followed. Voldemort was defeated, but his supporters were still out there and his victims. This was a fact, and everyone knew it, they had just chosen to forget it at this moment.

And now there was a party in the backyard of the Burrow, and all of Ginny's brothers were there and again, as so many times before, she felt a pang of relief in her chest as she thought of the fact that they were all alive. Yet, Ginny had separated herself from them today, instead choosing to be an observer from the small hill close by, watching all her brothers - each with his one special girl, laughing and talking with each other.

Bill was gracefully displaying his quarter-Veela wife, who looked positively stunning at eight months pregnant. They discovered she was pregnant barely a few months into their marriage, and Bill feared for both her and the baby's life. After surviving an attack, he had convinced her to retreat to her family's home in France. She had only recently returned to England, and now one was rarely seen without the other.

Charlie had found love in a colleague. Moira, redheaded and with an anger to match Molly, had been a Slytherin in Percy's year and her Scottish accent had Charlie like butter in her hands. She was the most adorable person imaginable, and even Ron, a self-proclaimed Slytherin hater, had warmed up to her. Charlie, however, had yet to pop the question, although Ginny suspected it was in the close future. Moira was now comfortably dancing with Arthur, while Charlie helped his mother carry out baskets of fruit. Ginny could tell by her father's excitement that he was discussing something muggle, the subject most likely being about the Muggle radio that poured out the music they were dancing to.

Ginny's third brother had been a wild card during the past years. Upon leaving Hogwarts he had acquired a steady job in the Ministry, going against his family's opinions, and instead decided to join the Minister and his beliefs. He had even remained vacant after the return of Voldemort, and it was only an event half a year ago that had brought him back. During an attack at The Burrow the previous winter, Percy had been impossible to restrain, and had followed the Aurors into the building. Had it not been for his bravery, Bill would have lost his wife, and they would have all lost their mother. Consequently, the family had slowly, but surely, been pulling him into their folds again in the months that followed. He had been quick to announce his engagement with Penelope Clearwater, his steady girlfriend for several years, and they would be having a fall wedding soon. They had also recently discovered a complimentary baby was on the way for the late winter. They were currently sitting in the shade of the monstrous parasol one of the brothers had conjured earlier, comfortably talking with the others that surrounded them.

Even Fred and George had found someone, Ginny thought, as her gaze continued to jump between her brothers. Fred had been on-and-off with Angelina Johnson for the past few years, and they were presently on. She was the same height as Fred – rarely seen with heels – and her dark skin contrasted to his pale skin very splendidly. George, on the other hand, had ended up with the pale Verity, who had worked in their shop during the summer before Ginny's fifth year, and had become permanent after she graduated from Hogwarts the year after. Neither twin had said anything specifically, but she secretly believed that they wanted a joint wedding, and both had, though separately, confided to her that they would want to marry their present partners some day.

Ron was the last of Ginny's brothers and her dearest. During their childhood years they had been hard to separate, standing united against the twins' pranks. He would forever be her saviour, she knew, after he alone of her brothers had descended into the Chamber of Secrets, attempting to save her when she was taken. Although the glory had later fallen mostly on another, namely Ron's best friend, Harry Potter, Ginny loved him for it. He had at last found enough courage for himself and had confessed his feelings to Hermione Granger, one of his best friends since he started Hogwarts. The whole world knew they loved each other before they did, and everyone was thrilled to see the two of them together, including Harry, the third of their clover. Ginny definitely approved as well, and couldn't imagine a better girl for her best brother than her best friend. Presently, the couple was sitting by the table, arguing –which they oddly enough seemed to favour – about pears. Ron was arguing strongly that the shape of the pear offered the slimmer part as a perfectly useable 'handle', leaving the broader part as the top, and saying that's why one should eat that particular part first. Hermione, on the other hand, firmly stated that the slim part of the pear was the top because that's how nature intended it, by letting it grow that way, and she was purposefully not listening to Ron. Ginny could easily tell they weren't going to make any progress anytime soon.

Even Remus and Tonks had been invited, Ginny remembered, as her gaze moved to the odd couple. But then again, they had practically become members of this family during the last years of the war. Tonks had even donned Weasley-red hair for the evening.

Ginny, however much she wanted to, couldn't make herself join the festivities. Not even two months had passed since Harry killed Voldemort. After he'd tracked down and destroyed all the Horcruxes, helpfully aided by Ron and Hermione, he had gone after Voldemort. Unfortunately, the snakelike man had turned to Hogwarts in search of vengeance, and too many had been hurt or killed before the three of them even arrived. Voldemort had summoned everything in his power as soon as the Order and the Aurors arrived, and the battles were being fought in the forest, on the grounds, in the castle . . .

The minute they arrived, Harry set after Voldemort. Ginny hadn't even known he was there until she saw Ron battle a Death Eater. When she found Harry, he was magically strapped to a tree to the amusement of a handful of Death Eaters. Ginny, in her fury, had knocked them all down with her knowledge from the DA, and carefully levitated him down.

The clothes on his back were torn, and from the wounds and blood, Ginny could only guess that they had amused themselves thoroughly, having him slide up and down the rough bark, slowly shredding him to pieces. As Harry passed out, Ginny did her best to patch up the wounds and numb the pain, before she pulled on his magically mended robes again and shook him awake.

While she searched the area for his wand, he produced a small bottle of Pain Relief Drought. He almost left without her, Ginny recalled as she moved further away from the Burrow. But she had blatantly refused. So the two of them continued his search after Voldemort, and were soon rewarded.

What followed had barely stuck in Ginny's head, and whenever she tried to recall it, all she could remember was Harry and Voldemort lying in lifeless heaps on the ground, and then silence. Harry stirred when she softly whispered his name, but the heap that had been Voldemort never moved again.

How she had pleaded with Harry to wake up, to respond to her, but for all he moved or spoke, it was as if he were sleeping and couldn't wake from his dream. As voices approached, Ginny had no choice but to haul Harry away.

Partly carrying him, partly levitating him, she wove a path between the trees, past bodies that moved and bodies that were still, past people who fought and people who mourned, always speaking to Harry, in a soft steady voice, urging him to wake up, telling him stories, explaining how Hogwarts had been the past year. She even told him how much she missed him, and how she still loved him.

She didn't recognize any of the people they passed on the way, so she didn't try to contact them, she just continued, using every ounce of her strength trying to bring Harry to safety.

And when she had collapsed to the ground with Harry halfway on top of her, his green eyes flew open for a second as they might do when someone is startled in their dream, before closing with the soft promise of forgetfulness. But those piercing green eyes against her brown, although looking far beyond her had been the motivation she needed to pull herself to her feet, and move on.

The next time she collapsed, she could even see the school. But her vision was darkening, and although she desperately tried to stay conscious, she plunged into oblivion, with the desperate wish to keep Harry safe being the last string of thoughts to fade.

The next time she woke up, she was in St Mungos.

The picture that was strung across the Prophet was one of Harry walking proudly out of the Forbidden Forest, Ginny safely cradled in his arms. That one hurt, Ginny had to admit that, as she headed for the river. The story the Wizarding world had been told so far, had Harry made out to be the same hero he had been ever since Ginny knew him, still being the same hero who had carried her out of the Chamber of Secrets in her first year. Not anywhere could she read, nor anywhere could she hear, about the agonizing hours she spent trying to save the boy they all loved. She even wondered if Harry knew the full extent of it.

She headed up to a screened part of the slow river, and clambered out on a low willow branch that was perched over the water. She gently pulled her strappy shoes off, tossing them back onto the bank, before letting her feet drop into the soothing stream of water.

Harry had been extremely busy ever since the battle, always having to attend meetings and discussions, all between sittings with the media, and having to take care of his affairs. She could count the number of times she had talked to him on one hand, and on all the occasions he had been brief and uncomfortable.

Ever since the break up at Dumbledore's funeral, Ginny had been stupid enough to expect Harry to come running to her once Voldemort was dealt with. But now that it actually had happened, Harry seemed to be moving away from her. And she still had feelings for him!

With a groan she let her face drop into her hands. She sat like that, in silence, listening to the wind in the trees and the water in the stream until she suddenly heard the distinctive sound of branches being moved. She looked up to see Harry making his way towards the river, weaving between the hanging willow branches and rubbery tree saplings. When his eyes landed on her he stopped suddenly, and Ginny let her gaze drop. Although she had looked away, her ears remained perked and soon she heard him make the first tentative step towards her. She heard the ruffling of cloth, and then silence. When she looked up, he was gone.

Feeling puzzled, she balanced along the branch, and making her way to solid ground. Scanning the area with a familiarity that a girl her age shouldn't have been able to muster, she soon spotted the familiar dips in the soft ground that stated the presence of an invisible person. Ginny, who was well aware of the fact that Harry owned an invisibility cloak, straightened as though she hadn't seen anything and vaguely walked around, pleased to see the small dips in the ground move accordingly to her. She fought the urge to roll her eyes as he foolishly moved closer to her, and quickly made a few well chosen steps, forcing him to step back to stand between her and the river.

Acting on the agility and speed that had saved her more times than she liked to count, Ginny stepped forward and pushed, careful to grasp a pinch of the fabric from seemingly empty air. Green-eyed and black-haired, Harry tumbled from the invisible realm of his cloak, and sailed straight into the river. Ginny remained, his cloak hanging limply from her hand, and only gave him an amused look as his head broke the surface spluttering and coughing. With an air of indifference she draped the cloak across a branch, retracing her steps, until she was back on the solid branch that ran across the watery width of the river.

Harry's eyes followed her, and once she'd seated herself he begun swimming against the soft stream towards her.

"That was mean," he stated.

"You deserved it," Ginny said simply. He had reached her branch, but instead of grasping it and hoisting himself up, as she would have expected him to do, he took hold of her ankles, and pulled her straight from her safe perch into the bubbly depths below.

When she reappeared a second later, Harry was grinning madly at her, and she, unable to hit him or yell at him, or do anything to unleash the anger that had been burning inside her for the past time, hit a spray of water against him, before swimming towards the shore.

"You're not mad at me are you?" Harry asked, following her, "I mean, you did push me in first!"

"That's not the point," Ginny said stiffly, as she stepped out of the water, "The point is; you deserved it." Ginny was standing on the shore now, looking at him, as he swam around in the river.

"You've been staying at the Burrow for a while," she said, and he gave an odd sort of shrug as he swam.

"Haven't got anywhere else to stay at the moment," he said, and clambered out if the river, shaking water out of his hair in a very doglike fashion. "You don't mind, do you?"

"It would have been better if you actually spoke to me," she said bitterly, turning away from him.

"Ginny," he said.

"Don't – don't bother."

"Gin," he began, "It – it's been difficult."

"I could have helped you!" She said angrily, as she swivelled around.

"You already had," he said softly, and awkwardly dropped to the ground.

"What?"

"That day, in the forest. The battle. You do remember, don't you?"

"I – Of course I do. I actually thought you had forgotten. After all, it hasn't been mentioned."

"Well," he said, waving his hand vaguely, indicating she should sit down beside him, "I wanted to talk to you first. It's all sort of vague."

"Oh?" She asked, as she lowered herself to the ground next to him.

"Yeah. I remember you barging in on those Death Eaters who had me," he said, and gave a shudder. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"No problem," she said, and gave a small smile.

"Then I don't quite remember what happened, but you healed me, and I tried to split once you handed me my wand. But you-"

"Beat some sense into your thick skull, that's for sure. Go on."

"Yeah, well, we found Voldemort and we stunned a few of the Death Eaters there before we got discovered. Then you threw yourself amongst them like some wild Amazon, and I had no choice but to follow you."

"You said you needed a distraction," Ginny said simply, "And I gave you one."

"Right," he said, with a raise of his eyebrows. "Anyway, you seemed to be somewhat in charge of the Death Eaters, so I decided to go for Voldemort. And this is where I get a bit puzzled."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Because we did some regular duelling, taunting each other, and checking out strengths and boundaries, you know the drill." She nodded as he explained. "I was pretty damn angry by then, but the next thing he said almost made me explode, so I trained the wand at his heart, ready to throw the Avada on him. He must have known what I was going to do, because he smiled smugly, and threw the Expelliarmus against it. Just like I did when – after Cedric died."

"So – did it happen again? The Priori Incantatem?"

"That's what puzzles me," he said, "Because it didn't. I threw the Killing Curseon him and I'm still not sure how I managed to do it, but it sailed straight at him, ate through his Expelliarmus, and killed him."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. Its simplicity surprised me. You don't…you don't know why it happened, do you?"

Ginny gave a sheepish shrug.

"I gave you my wand," she mumbled.

"What?"

"Do you have your wand?" She asked, and he gave a nod before pulling it out. She pulled out her own, and held it up next to his. They looked disturbingly similar.

"You gave me your wand," Harry said with an amused smile.

"Yeah. I didn't mean to, and didn't realise until later."

"That's probably what did it then."

"Hm?"

"Voldemort threw the Expelliarmus because he expected a brother wand. When he faced yours, my spell overruled his."

"It's strange, isn't it, that a simple mix-up of wands could affect everything? Imagine what would have happened if you had had your own wand."

"I'd rather not," Harry said with a dry laugh.

"So what happened next?"

"I fainted," he said simply.

"That's how I found you. Two wizards heaped inside their own robes, neither one moving," Ginny said, her voice breaking slightly, "I wasn't sure which one of you was alive, if any of you were at all. But then you stirred, and it's probably the most relieved I've been in my entire life." Harry grasped her hand reassuringly, and she suddenly realised it didn't bother her. She had spent the past weeks since the war ended, suspecting that she'd make Harry's life a living hell for a while if he ever decided he still cared for her. But his hand around hers felt strangely soothing.

"And then what?"

"I heard someone coming, and dragged you away. I wasn't exactly in a state to be fighting for my life over your nearly dead body. Do you remember any of it?"

"Maybe," he said, secretively.

"What?" She inquired, playfully squeezing his hand.

"You talked to me," he said, and Ginny felt a blush spread steadily across her face.

"You remember that?"

"How could I not? You said you –"

"Yeah, I remember," she said briskly, and they lapsed into silence for a while.

"So," Harry said.

"What?"

"Do you still?"

"What?"

"Love me?" Ginny bit her lip, and let her gaze drop to their still-clasped hands.

"You've been an ass for the past year, Harry, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I guess," He said, with an odd look.

"You broke it off with me, trying to keep me safe, forgetting that I already was in danger by simply belonging to my family."

"Ginny-"

"I know. But I always thought that you'd come back to me once you'd defeated Voldemort, and now it's been over a month-"

"I needed to sort some things out."

"Have you finished your sorting now?"

"I guess," Harry said, stroking his thumb across Ginny's knuckles.

"And will you?" She asked intently.

"What?" He asked, locking his eyes with Ginny's.

"Come back to me?"

"I was always going to come back to you Gin," He said with a smile, and she felt the pounding of her heart lessen somewhat.

"You were?"

"I love you Ginny," he said, "You know that right?"

"Now I do," she said, and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. "And I love you."

"Good, because I'm not letting you go again." And he leaned towards her, giving her a soft kiss. When they broke it off, he let go of her hand, wrapping both of his arms around her and held her. Ginny relaxed into it, and before she knew it he had manoeuvred her into his arms, and stood up.

"What -?" She said, protesting slightly, but he broke her off with another kiss.

"Shh," he said, and moved towards the river. Before her brain had registered what happened, he had gathered together every ounce of what made him an excellent seeker, and balanced them both halfway across the branch Ginny had occupied earlier. With a mischievous smile, and an unheeded warning from Ginny, he determinately dropped her into the water.

She broke the surface, finding him still balanced above the water, laughing good-naturedly. She had half a mind to swim over to him and pull him into the water like he had with her, but before she could do anything he dove into the river, and appeared a few feet downstream of her.

They playfully chased each other down the river, but as Harry felt the current tug a little strong he swam to shore, and made his way to dry land. Ginny, who was more comfortable with water, and knew the river, didn't pay any attention to his pleading for her to come up as well, and began swimming downstream. She was vaguely aware of him jogging beside her, and purposefully kept her eyes away from him.

"Ginny! Stop!" She heard him scream, "There's a waterfall ahead, you've got to stop!"

Bobbing up and down against the surface of the river, Ginny suppressed a smile.

"I'll be fine, don't worry!" She yelled at Harry, and saw him standing frozen at the end of the river. Where a river ends, a waterfall begins, Ginny thought with a smile, and swam further, with strong, even strokes.

Just as she reached the point where the water decided to turn vertical, she kicked off strongly and shot into the air. She could hear Harry's terrified scream behind her.

But instead of tumbling down, as one normally would, she gently floated in the air, and descended slowly, her arms stretched out on her sides, and her feet straight behind her. She could see her family somewhere ahead of her, and saw that they were already making their way towards her, smiling and laughing as they ran.

Not long after, she softly made contact with the water again, and began treading it as she looked for Harry. He was standing some way above her, white as a ghost.

"I'm sorry Harry," she said, "I guess you didn't know about this!"

"I sure as hell didn't!" he exclaimed, "What happened?"

"Dad put up an enchantment after Charlie nearly drowned," Fred, who had just arrived by the water's edge, explained, "It's rather complicated."

"He had to do a fair bit of cushioning as well," George said, picking up where his twin left off. "Mum almost had him six feet under after Ron broke three ribs when he crashed into a couple of rocks."

"Try it!" Bill encouraged as he appeared with the rest of Ginny's brothers as well as Tonks; their significant others walking with Arthur, Molly, steadily accompanying the pregnant Fleur, still some distance behind.

"No way!" Harry said, shaking his head.

"Come on, it's fun!" Ron said.

"Then how come you've never told me about it?"

"Never occurred to me, actually," the youngest brother said with a shrug.

"Yeah, Harry," Angelina said with a smile, as the ladies appeared. "Try it. Show us some of that Quidditch nerve you're famous for!" There was some silence, as everyone awaited Harry's response.

"How do I do it?"

"Head back a little," George said, as he draped one arm across Verity, pulling her close.

"Then you get into the water, and pretty much do what Ginny did!" Harry bit his lip, and his eyes travelled between the Weasleys and their extended family.

"Go on Harry!" Remus shouted encouragingly, and was soon chorused by everybody else. Ginny could see Harry's shoulders slump in a sigh, and he disappeared from view. She carefully swam away from any area he might land in, and eagerly turned her eyes to the top of the waterfall.

Not too long after, Harry shot out in a gleam of water, and was left suspended in the air for a second, before the magic slowly guided him down. He opened his eyes, which had been clenched shut, and smiled as he noticed everybody cheering.

"Great job, Harry!" Tonks called, and gave him the thumbs up.

"Call it!" Moira and Angelina shouted at the same time, turning to face each other. With a theatrical air, they pointed their wands at each other and – promptly turned each other's clothes into bathing suits. They handed their wands over to their respective boyfriends, and just as Harry touched the water, they were racing each other up the hill.

As other members of the group decided to try the magical 'slide', Harry and Ginny stepped out of the water, and magically dried each other's clothes.

Harry wound his arm around Ginny's waist as they watched the others.

"You know how I did it?" Harry asked suddenly. Ginny looked up at him, but his eyes were still fastened on her brothers and their girlfriends. She turned back to look at the waterfall.

"What?"

"The Killing Curse," he said, "In the forest."

"You hated him," Ginny said simply, "He killed your parents."

"Yeah, he mentioned that."

"What?"

"He was taunting me. Telling me about my parents, about other people he'd killed. And then he mentioned you." Ginny turned to look at him again. "That's what did it. That's how I managed to do it."

"Oh, Harry," Ginny whispered, and leaned into his embrace. "I'm sorry I scared you just now."

"I'm sorry for not trusting you with it," he replied and wrapped his arms securely around her.

"I should have realised you know your own home better than me."

"I want you to know it, too Harry," Ginny said, smiling, "I want you to be a part of this family."

"So do I, Ginny, so do I."