When James said he had extra space at home to fit Ginny into, she was not expecting to walk up to one of the nicer homes in London. "James, my boy, are you holding out information on me? This is your place?" Ginny asked.
Looking up at the brick town home that towered at four floors, not including the slightly sunken level that housed the kitchens and former servants' rooms, he merely shrugged as he opened the door.
"Now, let me give you the grand tour of the most important places and then we'll get you settled."
He led her through the ground floor which was a bit like a museum with a sitting room, library, and a few others for which Ginny forgot their original purpose. The next floor held more comfortable living spaces. There was a casual sort of living room with soft, overstuffed sofas and chairs in warm, creamy colors. A den with more books meant to be read and not dusted was also there. Climbing up to the second floor, James said that this was where she would be staying but that he would show her the top floor first. The third floor contained a small sitting area, a bedroom, a luxurious W.C. with a huge spa sort of tub in it, and a stunning view from the rooftop garden accessible through the glass doors from the sitting area.
James then ushered Ginny back to the third floor. Here she found a space which cold have been designed for her. The cozy sitting area was eclectic, yet comfortable. The items were in various colors and had hints of being purchased from around the world. She would enjoy hearing the stories of all of these items. Then she was shown her bathroom. Expecting a more sedate version of what she had seen upstairs, she was surprised to find a shower, another spa style tub, and all the rest. Her new bed room had a huge bed with a soothing, cream colored duvet. The sheets had sprigs of flowers on them and there was a slight hint of floral in the other decorations in the room.
"That's all the important things. I can show you the kitchen, laundry, and so forth later, but as it is now getting a bit late, I propose we find ourselves some supper and get your items settled in here."
"Well, it will be easy moving out of my brother and sister in law's place. They are out of town on a mini-holiday so I can move out and leave them a note. The explanation can wait for a couple of days. I don't suppose you like Thai food?" Ginny asked.
"We are going to get along famously," James said as he took Ginny's arm and the left the house yet again.
They ate first at a small restaurant not far from Diagon Alley. As they were heading to Ron and Hermione's flat, she felt a bit odd, but figured it was just the day's excitement. She packed up her clothes and few belongings in a couple of boxes and such. Using a simple charm she shrunk them down and tossed them to James to carry. "Your servant, mum," he said as he caught them with a bow.
They were able to Apparate from Ron's flat to James' house as they were out of sight from Muggles. Ginny put her things away in her new room. James sat in the chair by the door chatting with her as she did this.
"We haven't talked about how much you want from me for staying here," Ginny stated.
"My dear, we'll figure that out later. As you probably have surmised, money isn't a huge issue for me," James brushed the issue away temporarily. "Are you feeling alright, dear?" he asked.
"I guess it was just a busy day. My stomach is bothering me a bit. I think I'll just go to sleep early," she said as she glanced at the bedside table and saw the time was only nine in the evening.
"Sounds like a fine idea," James said. He got up, kissed her on the cheek and left. She heard him climb the stairs and settle into his own rooms.
Ginny put on her nightgown and climbed into bed. At ten o'clock, she launched out of bed and ran for the W.C. Sparing the reader details, it was not merely a busy day, but a terribly severe bout of the stomach flu. She then rinsed out her mouth, splashed cold water on her face and started back to bed, she was a bit shaky at this point. James had come down stairs to check on her having heard the noises; old houses are not always the best at providing sound-proofing.
"Are you alright?" he asked yet again.
Ginny was going to try to brush it off, but merely groaned out, "No."
"Come here, love," he guided her over to her bed and tucked her under the sheet. Checking her forehead he noted she had a fever. He sat down beside her and began running his hand through her hair to help soothe her. The exhaustion from her illness and the calming effect James' presence had helped her to drift to sleep quite quickly. However, nearly once each hour throughout the night, she would launch out of bed and rush for the W.C. again. In her ill state of mind she did not always register each time she was sick and all that James did for her. He, at various times during the night, held her hair while she was ill, wiped her forehead with a cool damp cloth, pulled the covers over her when she kicked them off, and other soothing ministrations. It was a long night, and it must be said, morning.
Finally just after noon, Ginny was coming out of the worst of it. She stopped rushing off to be ill and the fever had dropped to a barely noticeable state. She felt thirsty and no little bit grimy. She also became aware that James had spent the night caring for her. Having a near stranger see her through what was quite possibly the sickest she had ever been made her a bit uncomfortable and made her think that she would be asked to leave today. As she would come to know, James often defied expectations.
She was waking up for the first time without feeling desperately ill, James sat up from the plush chair by the doorway. "Good morning there. How are you feeling?"
"Been better, been worse though too," Ginny replied. "James, I can't thank…"
Ginny's thanks were cut off, "Ginny, it's what friends do. We might only have met yesterday, but you need to learn that you can rely on me. Do you feel like you are not going to be ill any more?" he asked.
"My stomach is not sure which way is up, but I think that it's done being problematic," Ginny managed through her dry mouth and rather disgruntled appearance.
"Right, love, then here's what you do. You pop in the shower and put on some comfortable pjs. I'll send Mrs. Reynolds up to change the linens, oh, sorry; she's the housekeeper who has been here for ages. Yesterday was her full day off so you didn't get to meet her. She's a surrogate grandmother for all of us. Then I'll be back to check on you." He concluded his plans by getting up and kissing her on the forehead again and left her room.
As he left Ginny was a bit astounded, but being too weak and groggy to do anything but follow the highly logical directions, she headed to the shower. It was amazing how a shower helped and brushing her teeth. When she entered her room again, she saw a woman in her sixties finishing fluffing the pillows. The woman was dressed in a simply grey skirt, but wore a bright scarlet sweater edged in gold.
"Good morning," she said softly. "I certainly hope that you are feeling better. Fresh linens are on your bed. Why don't you give me your dirty night gown? We'll get that cleaned up for you so you'll be right as rain again. While a good 'scourgify' will clean it, a bit of muggle washing leaves such a fresh scent."
Ginny looked a bit befuddled at this. "Oh, did that silly boy forget to tell you I'm a witch too? I've been looking after the family and the house for years. Not so much just the housekeeper and caretaker and a bit of whatever else is needed. I've been in this house taking care of the Weavers and their home since the end of the first war when my Jake died. Love that rascal James like my own grandson and Charles is just what he needs to keep him grounded too. I've gone on long enough, you should settle in for a quiet day to finish recovering," Mrs. Reynolds concluded.
"Thanks," Ginny managed to get out as the woman headed back downstairs. The exertion of the shower had just about sapped her strength and going to sleep or relaxing on some comfortable piece of furniture was what she needed.
At this point James entered. "All clean?"
Ginny barely nodded. "Well, we need to wait a bit before we start you on some water and toast, so the Weaver Express is here to carry you to the exceedingly comfortable sofa downstairs where you are to spend the remainder of the day watching incredibly pointless muggle films and sleeping," James said.
He then picked her up and carted her down the flight of stairs. With as little jostling as possible, he settled her on the largest sofa. He pulled out a few pillows from an oak chest in the corner, held her head up gently, and put them comfortable supporting her head. Then he went back to the chest to get a light-weight throw which he spread over her. Ginny did not even get to thank him for this as she was asleep before the blanket was tucked around her.
When Ginny awoke a few hours later, around two in the afternoon, she saw James sitting on a chair reading.
"Hi," she croaked out as the dehydration was really starting to bother her.
"Sounds like it is time for some water there," James said. He reached over to the side table where a liter of water and a glass were waiting, apparently for her to wake.
"Now, even though this is water, you need to drink it slowly," he said as he handed her a glass about half full of water.
She took the glass and sat up a bit to help her drink it more easily.
James sat back down and observed her. "You don't take well to other people caring for you, do you?" he asked, not really looking for an answer. "I realize I may be crossing some lines and bringing up uncomfortable things, but hear me out. I've learned about people as I've traveled and observed and interacted with them. You my dear have an issue about being strong, invincible even. From how deep rooted it is in your personality I will hazard a guess it began long before you were even tossed into the fray of the War. Something started you putting up a brave face for others to hide your insecurities, fears, and doubts. Then you started being strong so you could care for others and that others would not need to worry about you. That is something I would say you finely tuned during the War. Then dealing with the grief I know you did, you continued to be strong, but changed it into shutting yourself off from your feelings. And given your feelings toward men, I would also hazard that your heart has been broken and the pieces are not yet all in your possession to allow you to heal."
The water was nearly forgotten as Ginny listened to this awfully accurate rendition of her personality and life story. This near stranger managed to see through the masks that her closest friend, dearest brother, and even her mother never noticed. She stared down at her glass.
"Ginny," James continued, "You need to allow yourself to be weak. You need to allow others to care for you and care about you. Yes, there are times to be the strong one and to play the heroine, but now, in a world where you do not need to fear the dark, those times are few and far between. You seem lonely and lost. I've been fearfully presumptuous over the last twenty four hours, but I'm going to continue forging on in a similar manner. Once you are all better, by tomorrow or Tuesday, I would say, we are going to go about discovering the Ginny that lies buried under all those tough shells you have built up over the years."
Here Ginny was finally releasing nearly ten years of tension and hidden emotions as the tears began to fall. James got up and went to the sofa where he held her. As the soft tears stopped falling he asked, "I didn't think you would have enough water in your system for tears. Finish that water and lie back down, let's watch a movie. Do you happen like Jane Austen?"
The two of them watched Emma as Ginny continued sipping water and finally was given a piece of toast with a bit of butter. Once the film was done she was able to graduate to a banana. They watched another movie until Ginny fell asleep for the night.
Ginny awoke the next day still feeling a bit weak, but not quite ill any more. Since she awoke in her bed, she guessed James had carried her up the stairs. She took another shower and thoroughly brushed her teeth. She pulled on her comfortable pair of old khaki pants and one of the famous jumpers her mother knitted her for last Christmas. Not quite stunning, but a very comfortable look for someone who was recovering from her illness.
She padded down the stairs wondering where she would find James and Mrs. Reynolds. Not seeing them on either the living floor or the museum floor as she was already calling them, she continued down the stairs to the kitchen. There she found both of them chatting and eating some breakfast.
"Good morning, child, I hope you are felling more yourself this morning," Mrs. Reynolds called from the far side where she was busy with some sort of food preparation.
"You do look much better, your cheeks are pinker this morning," James said as he put his tea cup down.
"I do feel better. And I have a bit of an appetite, too," Ginny replied.
"Sit down here and we'll make everything right again," Mrs. Reynolds assured Ginny as she placed her in a chair and put a tea cup, napkin, plate, and utensils in front of her.
"Here's a spot of weak tea, herbal to be lighter on your stomach. Honey is in the pot on the table," she said as James pushed the earthenware jar across the seemingly ancient chopping block table. "Here's a bit of nectarine and some toast for you. Finish this and if you want more, it will be ready. Just remember to go slowly, your stomach is not quite itself yet."
Ginny gratefully took a sip of the tea after adding some honey. She had a bit or two of the sliced nectarine and munched on her toast. Once she took the edge off her hunger, her curiosity began to exert itself.
"So where is the elusive Charles, may I ask?"
"He should be returning later today from a business trip to France. While he is also a wizard, like me, he is a muggle-born so he opted to take a muggle job. After finishing at Hogwarts, he went to Oxford. With all my travels I went to school in Australia where I was living during the War. The ever accomplished Mrs. Reynolds was a nurse at St. Mungo's during the Second War. She even got a commendation from the Minister of Magic," James said with great pride.
"I knew you were familiar. I was there when my dad gave you that award along with a few other staff from the hospital who went above and beyond the call to service," Ginny said with due admiration. Mrs. Reynolds was part of an impromptu first response team that went into Diagon Alley after it was attacked before it was even cleared of Death Eaters to help the wounded. Many Aurors and innocent civilians were saved due to their selfless actions.
"Mercifully, that was done and now I am back to my preferred quiet life here. I am much more a domestic creature than you young folks," she said.
Ginny kept eating her toast. When she finished, her plate was whisked away by a swish of Mrs. Reynolds' previously unseen wand.
"Ginny, while that is a charming jumper and pants look you have going on there, you will need to look at a slightly different wardrobe if you are going to come to Rome with me," James stated from across the table.
"Rome?" Ginny reviewed the conversation from the previous day and this morning. Despite the haziness of her memory from the flu, she was fairly certain no mention of Rome was yet made.
"That's right. I need to head to Rome in a week to shoot some spreads for an American fashion magazine. I need an assistant for the trip. As it is a fashion magazine and a bit warmer in Italy, you will quickly roast or be roasted should that sweater be packed. You do write on occasion for Witch Weekly don't you?" he asked.
"Umm, yes, but I write under a pseudonym," Ginny replied.
"My friend is the editor since I do some of their photo spreads, I was there to meet her for lunch. You were leaving the assistant editor's office talking abut a story you wrote. You're familiar with the magazine business, have a good eye, and happen to be free. So how about Italy?" he persisted.
"Umm, okay?" Ginny said, dazed again.
"Right, well, first you'll need to tell you family and friends that you're off to join the jet set for a few weeks. Then we'll have some fun finding you some clothes for the trip. We'll hold that until you're back to your normal self tomorrow or so…" James continued verbally arranging Ginny's life for the next week and she sat back a bit fazed, sipping the tea that Mrs. Reynolds had just refreshed. For the first time since she was eleven, Ginny was handing over control of her life and found it was not such a bad experience.