Chapter 9

"Alright, well, before we start dinner, I have something important I would like to discuss with the adults. So if you kids don't mind…" Harry looked around at some of the frustrated faces, especially on Fred who, at the age of 15, thought that he should be privy to all inside information. "And don't worry, you'll be allowed back in and we'll let you know what we've been talking about then."

Fred seemed to be grudgingly accept this and got up and left the kitchen with the other children following his lead. Teddy and Victoire didn't seem to have any inclination to leave though. Harry chuckled at them, "Sorry guys, just because you are legally of age doesn't mean that you are adults in the family. You'll find out soon enough." Victoire thankfully accepted this as she seemed to inherit Bill's easy going nature. Teddy, on the other hand, scowled like Tonks used to at his godfather before Victoire dragged him from the room.

Finally, it was just the Weasley children in his generation and their wives. And, of course, Molly and Arthur. They were all looking at him as he sat in a chair trying to find his words.

"Alright, spit it out!" George laughed at Harry's uneasiness.

Harry took a deep breath and looked at the table. "I found Ginny."

Silence.

Staring.

More silence and staring.

"Pardon?" Arthur finally said breaking the awkwardness.

Harry looked up at the family and repeated himself louder, but this time looking in the Weasley's faces. "I found her. Ginny."

All at once noise erupted from almost everyone in the room, except for perhaps Percy's wife who didn't get to know Ginny well before she disappeared. Molly seemed to be saying something about how her daughter was finally found and how she knew she was safe. Arthur was trying to ask how Ginny was and where she was at the same time and failing to get anything out properly. All of the Weasley sons were trying to yell at Harry and shake him and get it out of him why he didn't tell them including various physical threats. Both Hermione and Fleur seemed to be shrieking about how this could have happened.

Tired of all of this craziness, Harry whipped out his wand and cast silencing charms on everyone in the room, except for himself.

"LISTEN TO ME! Don't you want to hear more than that I found her?"

Everyone looked rather ashamed of themselves and silently nodded. Harry took off the charm.

"Ok, so why don't you tell us then?" Ron demanded.

"It was completely random. I saw her a few days ago through a friend of a friend of a friend type thing with that old Auror who likes to venture off into the muggle world." Harry told them using almost the same words they had decided on earlier. "I've talked with her a lot in the few days since I saw her. She is perfectly fine, although she missed all of you of course, and she has actually been living as a muggle in the outskirts of London this entire time."

"Why did she leave? Why didn't she come back?" Bill questioned wisely.

Harry took another deep breathe and looked guiltily at all of the men, especially George. "You know how all of you guys were giving her a hard time about her – er – being with me?" They nodded looking confused. "Well, it turns out she thought it was about something completely different. She, well – she felt guilty about Fred's death." Harry ended awkwardly.

George blanched. "You mean, when I was glaring at her about YOU, she thought I was blaming her about Fred!?" He said incredulously. "Oh Merlin! I never, ever meant for that to happen!"

"Does she know that we don't blame what-so-ever?" Charlie asked almost timidly.

"Yeah, I laughed pretty hard when I heard it was all because of the mean looks." Harry reassured him.

"I guess it is kind of ironic when you think about it," Percy stated. "I mean, here we were trying to protect her and she thinks we are attacking her."

"Man do I feel terrible." Bill said looking at his water glass. Pretty much all the males mumbled their agreement.

Finally Hermione spoke up, "How is she? Is she doing alright? Like, with a job and everything?"

Harry nodded. "She runs a restaurant and plays football for a women's league. I guess her team always does well because of her fearlessness. Ginny was laughing when she told me that because, to her, it's a piece of cake compared to quidditch."

"She always was a tough one." George said proudly.

"Don't say it like she's dead George! Harry has seen her so that means we will get to see her soon!" Ron said while giving Harry a nervous glance. After that, everybody seemed to get quiet.

Finally Molly spoke for the first time since Harry activated the silencing charm and her voice was both anxious and excited at the same time. "Harry dear, did Ginny say when she will be coming back?"

The noise in the room went from quiet to an eerie silence as it seemed that everyone was holding their breath to hear what Harry was going to respond with. He smiled at them "She can come as soon as you guys are all ready for her."

"Ready for her?" Hermione squealed.

"Of course we are ready for her Harry. Please send her over." Arthur said calmly.

"Alright. I just want to make sure that no one will attack her or anything. She is pretty scared at how you will react to her disappearing."

"Well, of course we are upset about it. But that doesn't mean we don't want to see her or that we don't love her!" Ron said indignantly.

"Yeah, I promise to be good." George added and everyone else nodded in agreement.

Harry grinned and sent over his patronus.

After only a moments hesitation, Ginny apparated into the Burrow. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, she could see her entire family around the table all looking at Harry who stood the farthest from her across the room. He quickly noticed Ginny and grinned at her. She tried to smile back but failed as fear overcame her for the entire room fell deathly quiet. Every head turned t look at her, mostly with faces of shock.

It seemed like eternity had passed to Ginny in utter silence. Finally Bill, who was closest to her, stood and smiled. She smiled weakly back nervously making eye contact with him. The next thing she knew, she was engulfed in a hug.

Ginny heard Bill whisper in her ear, "I'm glad you're back Gin. We've missed you."

Tears of happiness mixed with regret rebelliously fell from her eyes. Soon, she was hugging and crying with everyone in the room, save Harry who just stood in a corner grinning from ear to ear.

Harry was quite proud of Ginny. During the small gap of time from when he sent the patronus and when he saw Ginny in the doorway, he was afraid that she would go back into hiding. But she was a Gryffindor, even if she forgot for a while.

He watched as she was passed from person to person: Bill was first. George apologized over and over again to her while she shook her head into his chest telling him that she should have talked to him. Percy said nothing but hugged her fiercly while he wife stood next to them with a head comfortingly on Ginny's shoulder. Katie, George's wife, hugged her next and Ginny cried even harder. Of course, only she and Harry knew why: Katie was pregnant when Ginny left and their children would be about the same age. Next, Charlie grabbed her and even ruffled her hair like he did when she was little. Fleur managed to hug Ginny next telling her what a beautiful woman she had become.

Finally, only four people remained: her parents, Ron, and Hermione. The latter two reached her Ginny first hugging her at the same time. Ron kept repeating how much he missed her over and over again while Hermione and Ginny both sobbed uncontrollably, unable to get any words out. When Ginny was released, she turned to look at her parents with tears silently falling down all of their cheeks. In the quickest movement seen all evening, the three were suddenly together. Arthur was running his hand down her head and back like he used to soothe her as a child. Molly, on the other hand just hugged her fiercer than she had ever hugged anyone before sobbing that her baby girl had finally returned home.

When the hugging and crying stage of the reunion was over, everyone took their seats again around the table with Ginny placed in between her mother and father. But before she sat down, she went over to whisper "Thank you Harry" in his ear.

Back around the table, silence fell again. Ginny felt everyone stare at her as she mostly looked at her hands in her lap.

"Er, well, how have you been Ginny?" Hermione asked, finally breaking the lack of noise.

Ginny paused to think of the answer to the question. "I've surprisingly made it pretty well so far. I have a house, a job, a few friends. It's lonely, but I've been okay."

Charlie spoke next, "Harry said you've been living as a muggle?"

"Yeah." She replied slightly ashamed. "My name is, or was, Eliza Finch. I drive a car, I'm a chef, I play football. Things like that."

"Without any magic?" Ron asked amazed.

Ginny smiled at him. Some things never change. "For the first ten years, I didn't once touch my wand. But for the last four and a half years, I have been getting back into it."

Both Percy and Hermione asked a question at the same time: "How did the ministry not find you?" came from her brother while the other said "Why did you suddenly start up again?"

Ginny answered Percy's question first because Hermione's would end with Lily. "The first thing I did was cast a ward that would prevent magic from being detected. They probably thought that one bit of magic was a fluke." She shrugged but made eye contact with Hermione and instantly knew what was coming.

"But that doesn't explain why you started up again" Hermione said slyly.

Ginny saw Harry tense in preparation for her response. She sighed knowing that she could no longer delay the inevitable and she did, in fact, want to tell them about her amazing daughter.

Ginny spoke quietly but with everyone else being silent, they could still easily hear her. "Because four and a half years ago was when my daughter Lily started at Hogwarts."

There was a collective gasp around the table and Ginny felt her mother's hand reach over and grab her own.

"That was how Harry actually found me. He came to talk to Lily's mother about extra Defense classes for her. She's amazing." Ginny continued without looking anyone in the eye again.

There was some more silence until Molly spoke, "Why don't you tell us about her, dear. How old is she? What does she look like? Who – who is her father?"

Ginny took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Upon opening, she glanced at Harry who smiled gently at her, supporting her. "Lily is fifteen, in her fifth year at Hogwarts, of course. She has the Weasley hair. She is tall and skinny like Ron, although not quiet as gangly, so kind of like Bill. She also has a strange combination of being mischievous like George and – and Fred while also being studious like Percy. And she has a soft spot for anything dangerous like Charlie. You can tell I've thought about this a lot." She chuckled before adding the last detail. "Also, her eyes are a brilliant green."

Both Arthur and Hermione gasped at the last word while everyone else looked at them confused.

"She is fifteen years old… Lily…" Arthur said slowly.

Ginny nodded to confirm his suspicions. And, to her surprise, Hermione leapt up and swung her arms around Lily's father.

"Oh Harry!" She cried out. "Did you know?"

"Um, I found out when I found Ginny," he said uncertainly.

"Wait a minute…" This came from Ron. "You mean that Harry is the father of Lily?" A look of realization crossed his face when he said the name Lily. "Oh…"

Everyone else at the table now had their mouths open and eyes wide. Ginny felt tears coming down from her eyes again. The last time she had cried so much was when she found out she was pregnant and Harry wasn't there because she left.

"I didn't know I was pregnant when I left. And by the time I found out I felt like it was too late. And I was scared of what I was doing but I was also scared to come back. I was trapped. Lily was raised without a family. She didn't even know that I am a witch until Harry came. I'm an awful person… I'm an awful mother!" Ginny started sobbing uncontrollably with her head in her hands.

No one knew what to say. The table sat in absolute awkwardness until Harry stood up and walked over to where Ginny was sitting. Turning her gently, he squatted in front of her taking her hands away from her face.

"Ginny, listen to me, I've seen the two of you together, but more importantly, I have known Lily for the past four and a half years at Hogwarts not knowing anything about her parents. She is an amazing girl, Ginny. Lily obviously loves you and you clearly love her. She was well taken care of and you taught her well about life and what is right or wrong. I already told you she is my favorite student and I decided that a few years ago! You have nothing to worry about with her and your mothering abilities."

When Harry stopped his lecture, Ginny was just staring at him. Harry let go of her hands, regretting the loss of contact the moment he did. He stood up to return to his seat and suddenly Ginny flung herself up to Harry and hugged him tightly. She looked directly into his eyes and thanked him again. This time, though, she kissed him full on the mouth, both not caring that they agreed to keep things a secret for now, and then returned to the hug, her face pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped protectively around her.

Arthur gently coughed and they released each other. "So when can we meet this amazing Lily?" He asked his daughter smiling.

Ginny grinned back. "As soon as possible!"

"How about Christmas? That is in a few days," George suggested.

"Sounds absolutely perfect," Ginny agreed.

"Alright," Harry said in a business-like voice. "Why don't I get the kids back in here so we can all eat and introduce Ginny to the many additions to her family?" And with that, he left the room.

Ron then quickly turned to Ginny. "Are you two back together already!? That was awfully quick." He said half accusingly and half amused.

Ginny smiled embarrassedly in response. "That is a long story for another time."

Just as Charlie was about to make a comment about that, he was interrupted by over a dozen children walking noisily into the room, ranging from the ages of 19 to 7, all of which were curiously looking at Ginny.

A/N: Here is part 2. I'm not 100 percent sure how I like that "lecture" of Harry's. I was trying to show that he thought she was amazing and was raised well before he found out she was his and Ginny's daughter without it sounding so cliché… but oh well. I hope you enjoyed it and I really hope I write the next chapter soon. And that will be the Christmas reunion. And notice how the young Fred is 15 years old also? Teehee. I was so NOT planning on having Ginny and Harry kiss but the story kind of has a mind of its own! And at the high risk of being repetitive, let me know what you thought…