It was pitch black when Harry Apparated back to the home he shared with Ginny and his son. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand to the door handle and hesitated. "What the bloody hell am I supposed to say?" he mumbled, running a hand through his disheveled hair. He stepped back from the doorway and began to pace back and forth, snippets of possible scenarios running through his head. He stepped back to the door several times, only to hesitate at the last moment, cram his hands back into his pockets and resume his pacing.

As he took a deep breath and reached for the door handle for what must have been the sixth or seventh time, the door opened and Hermione stepped out. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest and she was glaring daggers at him. "You should probably go inside," she said coldly. "Pacing out here isn't doing you any favours."

"She knows I'm here?"

Hermione nodded.

"Bollocks…" Harry ruffled his hair once more.

"You're an idiot, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"Good. I'd open with that." Her voice remained cold, so Harry was surprised when she uncrossed her arms and hugged him quickly. "I'm glad you're back." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and Disapparated with a slight 'pop'.

He was caught off guard by her sudden change of demeanor and stood in place for a moment feeling like he would never understand women in the slightest. He quickly remembered that Ginny was inside waiting for him, probably growing more and more irritated with each passing second, so, with a deep breath, Harry finally pushed open the door and stepped inside. Resisting the urge to cast a shield charm he called out softly, "Ginny?" He could see light glowing faintly down the hall and heard the clatter of dishes. Bracing himself, he made his way towards the kitchen. Ginny stood at the sink with her back to him, washing dishes in a rather aggressive manner.

He cleared his throat softly. "Er, Ginny, love? I'm home…"

She turned sharply to face him , wand clutched tightly in her hand and fury burning in her eyes. "Oh, how nice of you to join us. I'm sorry, but you're just a bit late for dinner." Sarcasm dripped heavily from her words.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. I was being an idiot. I just…I just needed to get away for a bit…"

"Oh, well, that's ok then. All's forgiven. You abandon your family, but its fine because you 'just needed to get away for a bit.' You stupid, sodding, prick!"

Harry ducked out the doorway, narrowly missing the curse she fired his way. Bat Bogey Hex, Harry grimaced. She always goes back to the basics when she's really upset.

Harry cast a shield charm before inching his way into the kitchen again. "Careful, you'll wake James."

Ginny laughed high and derisively, wand still aimed directly at Harry's face. "Oh, so now you care about your son?"

"I've always cared about him, Ginny," Harry replied, rather defensively. "You and James are the most important people in my life, you know that. The two of you are more important than anything!"

"Well, you sure have a brilliant way of showing it." She crossed her arms again, her wand no longer aimed in his direction. Harry decided to take this as a good sign, despite the fact that her grip on it hadn't slackened in the slightest. .

"Please, Gin," he pleaded, releasing his shield charm and taking a hesitant step towards her, "you know I would never really leave you. I couldn't do that to either of you. I know it was stupid. I just went for a walk and…"

"And what? Forgot your way home? Got kidnapped by Death Eaters? Ran into an ambush and were killed? What?"

Her arms remained clenched, but Harry could see the tears brimming in her eyes, and suddenly he understood Hermione's quick mood change. Making a mental note to apologize to her later, he stepped forward and took Ginny in his arms, grateful that she didn't try to push him away. "Ginny, I'm sorry that I made you worry, but I'm right here now, ok?"

Now she did push him away, "No, it's not ok. What was I supposed to think, Harry? I wake up and you're just gone, and you don't come back for hours. You can say you would never leave, but you left today. Nothing you say can change that."

"Gin—"

"No," she held up her hand to stop him from speaking, "I sat here all afternoon, waiting for you to come back, telling myself that you just stepped out and that I was over reacting. When you weren't back by dinner I floo'd everyone I could think of, but no one knew where you were. Now I find out that you just needed some time away, away from your own son, from me?" A few tears escaped her eyes and she brushed them away harshly.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. I know that doesn't fix it, but I just…I got scared, Gin. I don't know how to be a parent."

"And I do? Harry, this is as new for me as it is for you. I'm scared too."

Harry was quiet for a moment. He took a step backwards and leaned against the wall, shoulders slumped. "I just…I felt like I was letting you both down. He was crying, you were crying, and there was nothing I could do about it."

"You could've talked to me, Harry. We're in this together, and that's the only way we'll ever make it. And the only way you will ever let me down is by leaving. I need you beside me. I can't do this on my own."

"You won't have to," Harry responded, swallowing around a lump in his throat and wrapping her in his arms. "Not ever."

"You can't promise that," she murmured into his shoulder. "What if something really does happen to you? There are still people out there who want you dead, Harry."

He held her in his arms for several moments. He didn't have a response. She was right. He took precautions, he tried to be careful, but he was in a dangerous line of work, even more so because of who he was.

"Would it help if I promised that if anything happened to me, I'd come back as a ghost?"

Ginny pushed away, looking horrified.

"Well, at least then, I could still help with some of the yelling, although, I must admit you're much better at that than I am."

Ginny swatted him lightly on the shoulder and rolled her eyes, but Harry was glad to see that she smiled slightly as well.

"You're terrible, Harry Potter."

"But you still love me, Ginny Potter."

"God knows why," Ginny replied, but she leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Harry smirked at her, but became serious again almost at once. "I really am sorry, Ginny. I love you, and I never meant to make you worry. I didn't think…"

"Obviously," she sighed. "I know, Harry, and I forgive you, but you need to know that if you ever pull something like this again, James and I won't be here when you get back."

He looked her directly in the eye. "Understood."

She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, James has about forty minutes until he's due to wake up again. I'd suggest you take me upstairs and show me exactly how sorry you are. After which, I plan on having a lovely night of uninterrupted sleep as you spend some good quality time with your son.

Harry smiled at her, and grasped her hand, allowing her to lead him out of the room. He felt amazed that he had gotten off so lightly.

"Tomorrow, you can go talk to Ron."

Or maybe not…