I thought I'd be posting later than I am, but what can I say? I'm a review slut. Plus, I've written more than expected. And to answer a few questions...
Ginny does have her wand, but magic really isn't the emphasis of the story, although, obviously, it does play a part.
It kinda follows the epilogue, but not in every way. I take some characters and ideas from it, but don't follow it to a T.
There is some small romance going on, but I'm terrible at writing romance (not the romantic type myself) so there's more of a look at other relationships besides ones that give googley feelings.
The rest of the questions are answered as the story goes on, and I gotta say, good questions. They've all had an impact on later chapters.
And a big thanks for reading and especially reviewing! It totally makes my day. :)
Turn the knob, Ginny. That's how doors work, you turn the knob and push, and it swings open and you step in and then you start this life back up and everything becomes hunky-dory. Ginny Weasley thought to herself. The last time she was on this doorstep she was on the verge of tears, eighteen, and had been rejected from her family, as far as she could tell, due to a nose stud.
Seven years later, the nose ring was now accompanied by a few more piercings and a few tattoos, along with stories that were meant for bars, not family homes, but she was at the latter, not the former.
With a deep breath, Ginny grabbed the door knob. With an even deeper breath and a bit of prayer, it turned, and finally, with a feeling of boldness that not even she was sure was possible, she pushed it open and stepped in the doorway.
"I'M HOOOOME!" she yelled at the absolute top of her voice. Instantly she wished she had double checked that her family still lived there before hand. Also, it didn't help that it was two in the morning, their time, Ginny was on a completely different clock. Not a different time zone, she had hopped time zones so many times that she didn't follow a standard internal clock anymore.
She walked around the front room as she heard what she could only hope was her parents scramble from their bedroom to the noise. The house hadn't really changed, the pictures were different, and the old clock that told where everyone was now had a few more hands to it. As it had for the past seven years, Ginny's hand just kept spinning round and round, unsure what exactly she was up to, much like the person it represented.
"Ginny! Gods! It is you!" Ginny spun on her heel to face her two bewildered parents, as usual her mother the one doing the talking, staring at her in their bedclothes, her fathers glasses askew, and streaks of grey in her mothers hair.
"Hullo!" Ginny chirped happily, ecstatic to see them. It had been a very, very long journey working her way back to the Burrow.
"Where the hell have you been?!" her mother asked sharply.
As if on cue, there was a rush from the fireplace and the cracking sound of people Apparating. All around her, her now adult brothers appeared, all in nightclothes, wands drawn.
"What? Did you tell them I broke in? Because that's just not fair, the door's unlocked." Ginny said, before her brothers even realized was going on.
"Actually, we have an alarm system, alerts them when someone comes in without warning." Arthur explained, surprisingly calm for the situation.
"Really? Why? I thought all the big bads were dead, or are they making a comeback?"
"No, the neighborhood kids have been throwing rocks at the house."
"Are you serious? It's an awful long bike ride to get here."
"They seem to think it's worth it."
"Brats."
"Yes, they're almost as bad as CHILDREN WHO DISAPPEAR FOR SEVEN BLOODY YEARS AND THEN COME BACK WITHOUT WARNING AFTER NO WORD OR WARNING!" Molly finally exploded.
All around her, Ginny could see her brothers trying to figure out what was going on.
"Good to see you, too, Mum. Oh, I've been everywhere, it was wonderful, how have you been?"
"Seven years, Ginny! Seven! Do you know how long that is?"
"Well, if there's no leap year, 7 times 365 would be…2550--no, 2555 days. Although I doubt you're being as literal as I am, I'm not gonna lie, it took a wee bit of liquid courage for me to come here."
"So, after SEVEN YEARS you decide to waltz back in, a bit drunk, at two in the morning! You're legally dead, being missing for seven years!"
"Legally, not literally, c'mon now, let's focus on the positive. It was just a bit of a holiday! That turned really super long!" Ginny replied, regretting her decision to return. "You're right, you're right, I should go. This was a bad idea, I'm a bit drunk, and you're angry, and all of you look…awful. I mean, really. Buy new pants to sleep in, Ron, showing up at your parents place in your skivvies, I'll just go."
Ginny once again whirled on her heels, this time almost falling, and to face the door. She was about to take a step when a hand that was much larger than she remembered grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Oh no you don't," Charlie had his hand on her still as she spoke, "you're not doing that again."
"Charlie! How good of you to come! Have you always had gigantic hands?"
"Off to bed with you, you're not leaving again."
"Ever?"
"Maybe."
"This is drastic."
"You are drunk."
"I am! And I can still do maths! I'm a skilled drunk!"
"Er, sure. Gin, tomorrow, you will definitely regret all this, but I'd be lying if I said that this is not a highly amusing way to come back into the family."
"Aw, that's sweet, Charlie! Where are we going?"
"We are going upstairs, to your room, where you are going to sleep tonight, and possibly for awhile."
"It'll be nice to sleep in a bed, Charlie, don't tell Bill, or Percy, or George…you can tell Ron, but I'm pretty sure you're my favorite. Oh, shite! They're all here! Do you think they heard me?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure. That's why you're going to sleep this off, into your room you go, now crawl into bed, and try not to vomit on anything with sentimental value."
"Thanks, Charlie."
"Not a problem, Ginny."
"And Charlie?"
"Yeah, Gin?"
"Will you always be this nice to me when I'm drunk?"
"How often are you drunk?"
"Well, that is a dangerous question, so I'm just gonna sleep now."
Charlie Weasley quietly closed the door, and headed back to his stunned family.
"Committed." was the first thing he heard upon returning, and it was of course said by his youngest brother, Ron.
"Now, that's just not fair." George responded, "Eight years, you can have her committed, but seven? Too extreme."
"Don't forget, she's also intoxicated." Percy pointed out, his glasses askew from the dash to get there, missing George's joke completely.
"I'm sure once we talk to her she'll explain what's really happened and everything will work itself out." Bill stated, always the oldest, wisest, optimist.
"I dunno," Charlie sighed, remembering what she had said about the dangerous question over her sobriety, "I think she might need a bit more help than talking."
"She's gonna flip her lid when she finds out about Harry." Ron pointed out, his voice almost sounding pleased.
"Oh, Merlin, that's gonna be a problem." Arthur sighed, dreading the thought.
"Well, it's her own damn fault!" all the Weasley men jumped at their mothers casual swearing, "If she didn't want him marrying someone else, she shouldn't have disappeared for seven bloody years!"
There were mumbles and nods of agreement. Ginny Weasley had amazing timing. After waiting seven years, with no contact of any kind to her friends or family, she had shown up out of nowhere, with the wedding of her ex-boyfriend right around the corner and set to be held in the backyard of her parents home.