Chapter 7

"I don't understand, Arthur, where did we go wrong with Ginny?" said Molly as she sat at the kitchen table with her husband. She told him what had occurred that evening and what she heard from their son-in-law, Harry.

"You can't blame yourself, Molly, no more than I can blame myself. Ginevra is a grown witch now and she will have to face the consequences of her actions."

"I told her she could stay here, of course that was before I knew what was going on," she said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"I don't like what she did or how she has conducted herself, but she is our daughter and I won't kick her out. However, I will let her know how I feel about this situation," said Arthur as he held his wife's hand.

Molly sniffled, "Oh she will hear what I have to say very clearly, have no doubt of that."

Arthur laughed, "I'd venture to say everyone within the vicinity of our house will hear you. Let's go to bed, Molly, we both have a long day ahead of us."

-----------------------------------------

The next morning Harry entered the Diagon Alley office of his solicitor, Mr Muldoon. "Good morning," he said to Mr Muldoon's secretary.

"Good morning, Mr Potter, please have a seat and Mr Muldoon will be with you in a moment. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No, thank you," he said as he took a seat.

A few minutes later the door behind the secretary's desk opened revealing a short, stocky wizard, with a peppering of grey in his dark brown hair.

"Mr Potter, come in please," said Mr Muldoon.

Harry entered and took a seat in front of the large desk that dominated the room.

"What can I do for you today, Mr Potter?"

"Well, I need to know what I have to do in order to divorce my wife."

"Mmm, well…that is not very easy to do, as you should well know. There are very few grounds for divorce in the Wizarding world."

"Yes, I am aware of that, however, I do believe adultery is one of the grounds, is it not?"

"Yes, it is, but there must be irrefutable proof of the spouse's infidelity."

Harry reached into his the pocket of his robe and pulled out a parchment, "Would this letter from one of my wife's lover's suffice? I can also give you names of at least two other wizards she has had affairs with, though I'm certain there were more."

Mr Muldoon took the parchment and read it a sly grin appeared on his face.

"This Draco is…?"

"Draco Malfoy," said Harry.

"This will indeed suffice, Mr Potter, it would also 'seal the deal' as they say if you could give me the names of these other wizards."

"Their names are Marcus Flint and Simon McLaggen…from my understanding there are more," Harry said turning his eyes away from the older man.

"Do you have any children by your wife, Mr Potter?"

"No."

"Good, that will speed up the process. No need to settle child support and such."

As Harry sat there answering his solicitor's questions his thoughts turned to something he had read years ago while researching a case. He wondered if that particular law was still in effect.

"There's a law I read about, many years ago, I don't know if it is still on the books but I think it might pertain to my case."

"Which law would that be, sir?"

"I don't remember the title of it but it involved a charm cast on the adulterous spouse and a scarlet 'A' appearing above his or her head. The charm supposedly lasted for a year."

"Yes, I know the one you refer to and as far as I am aware that law is still on the books. Of course, I would have to check. Are you considering petitioning the Wizengamot to invoke this charm on your estranged wife?"

Harry considered the question for a moment it would be a fitting penalty for his errant soon to be ex-wife.

"Yes, yes, I am."

------------------------------------

Molly was in the sitting room having a cup of tea, after seeing Arthur off to work. She was up earlier than usual that morning as she had a hard time sleeping last night, her thoughts firmly fixed on what she was going to say to her daughter. She looked at the clock, the hand showing the likeness of her daughter moved to 'Waking up now'. Molly started to steel herself for the talk she would have to have with Ginny. This isn't going to be pretty, she said to herself.

-----------------------------------

Ginny opened her eyes wondering where she was for a moment, until she realized she was in her childhood bedroom. The events of the previous evening came back into focus.

Bloody hell, how could I have been so stupid, I should have made sure that blasted letter was burnt to a crisp, she thought, chastising herself.

What to tell mum and dad…I could just tell them that Harry and I had a misunderstanding. That could work for now, anyway.

She pulled back the covers, got out of bed, and made her way to the loo for a quick shower before heading downstairs and the undoubtedly million questions her mother would have for her.

Molly waited patiently as she heard the water running in the shower stop and footsteps above her in what was Ginny's room. Soon she heard the footsteps coming down the stairs. "Good morning, Ginny, did you sleep well?"

"I guess. Is there any tea made, mum?"

"In the kitchen, get a cup and come back in here and join me," she said her voice giving away nothing of the emotions welling up in her.

Ginny returned shortly with a teacup in hand and sat on the couch next to her mum.

"Now, Ginny, perhaps you could explain to me what happened last night?"

"It was just a big misunderstanding, Mum, really. I'll give Harry a day or two to calm down and then I'll go talk to him and everything will be fine again."

"A big misunderstanding? Is that what you call committing adultery, Ginny?"

Ginny felt all the blood rush from her face, "What are you talking about?"

Molly saw her daughter's face go pale.

"I was worried about you, so I went to see Harry last night. Imagine my surprise when he told me about your extracurricular activities. Of course, at first, I didn't believe it, after all I didn't raise my children to do such things, but then he showed me an interesting letter."

Ginny felt a lump form in her throat, I Oh, Gods/I she thought, I Think fast, Ginny /I . "It's not true, Mum. Draco wrote that letter just to cause problems between Harry and me."

Molly looked at Ginny and sighed heavily, "I might have believed that at one time, but I doubt Draco wrote that letter with that intent after confessing his affair to Hermione. I heard she has taken their children and moved out of Malfoy Manor. There is also the fact that your husband overheard two of the men who work under him talking about their indiscretions with you. I'm very disappointed and ashamed of you, Ginevra."

Ginny hung her head, she couldn't look her mother in the face. "I'm sorry, Mum."

"I don't think sorry is going to make this mess all better. Neither your father nor I blame Harry for telling you to leave. It's my understanding, after talking to him last evening, that he intends to divorce you…he's heartbroken by what you've done and quite frankly so am I."

"Do you and dad want me to leave, too?"

Molly stayed silent for a moment, watching Ginny's discomfort at the silence.

"You're our daughter, of course we'll allow you stay here. However, you will find yourself a job and eventually your own place to live. You know the divorce laws, since you're the one who cheated on Harry you will get nothing when he divorces you."

Ginny began to cry, partly out of relief that her parents would not kick her out, and partly because of their disappointment in her actions.

Molly wanted to console her daughter, everyone made mistakes in their lives, but Ginny kept making this one repeatedly. She had to let her stew in her own misery.

"I have to go out for a bit and do some shopping," Molly said as she rose from the couch. "I'll be back in time for lunch. Meanwhile, Ginevra, you have a lot to think about, you've not only destroyed your own marriage, but you may have caused the destruction of another. Those poor children," sighed Molly. "Then there is Hermione, having to deal with the betrayal not only of her husband but her friend, too. I really don't know how you can live with yourself," she said as left the room.

-----

A/N: The idea for the scarlet A, that Harry referred to when speaking to Mr Muldoon came from the Hawthorne novel, The Scarlett Letter.

A/N/N: Many thanks to my beta, Nicky. To all those who have reviewed, I do appreciate it and hope you will continue letting me know if you're enjoying this story. (hugs)