Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K.R.

Author's notes: Again, a big thank you to Shygui for editing this chapter. You have no idea how much work he puts into this. Remaining errors are mine, not his.

Chapters 8 and 9 - 11/3/18

8

Ginny pushed down the handle of her bedroom door. She pulled the door open ever so slightly and peered out into the hallway through the small gap.

The hallway was dark and quiet. No strip of light was visible at the bottom of the door to mum and dad's bedroom. Did she dare to slip out of her bedroom? Or should she wait some more, to be sure that they both were asleep? She strained her ears. The faint snores that came from the direction of mum and dad's bedroom were a sure sign that dad was sound asleep. She didn't need to worry about mum. Ever since Fred's death she took a Dreamless Sleep Potion at night.

She opened the door just wide enough to slip out into the hallway. From long experience she knew which boards of the wooden floor creaked when someone stepped on them, and how to avoid them. The part from the bathroom to the landing was tricky; almost each board in that area creaked if stepped on in the wrong way. She hesitated. Should she take the route alongside the wall of the bathroom door, or hop from board to board, leaving out the creaking boards?

The bathroom door opening took the decision from of her hands. Ginny pressed herself flat against the wall and held her breath. Her heart hammered. Harry wouldn't tell on her, but he'd want to know where she was going. While a nightly flight was a failsafe excuse, he'd want to join her, and then she wouldn't get to leave the grounds tonight.

Harry stepped out of the bathroom. He didn't look in her direction as he closed the door. The next second he turned his back on her and walked to the landing. A few seconds later the steps of the stairs to the upper floor creaked.

She waited until she heard the door to Ron's bedroom shut behind Harry. The moment the soft click echoed through the silent house, she scurried down the hallway and the stairs.

One look at his sullen face had been enough. He was brooding - again. Why couldn't he give it a rest? The war was over, for Merlin's sake. Yes, they had both lost people they loved; she was still crying for Fred at least once a day. None of her tears would bring him back; she'd accepted that. It was time to move on. Harry, it seemed, was incapable of letting go. No surprise there. He'd always brooded too much for his own good. There'd been a time when she felt attracted to that. Nowadays it was just annoying.

She left the house, ran to the gate and Apparated away. Her body tingled, and she wet her lips as she knocked on the familiar door a few minutes later. Was he at home? He didn't expect her tonight.

The door opened a small crack. The war had made them all cautious. The next second, the door was yanked open, and he pulled her inside.

'I didn't expect you tonight.' He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her.

She was where she belonged; her world was whole again.

'I've got news about Harry and his inheritance,' she said, much later, as they laid snuggled together under the silver covers of his bed.

He searched her face with his eyes. 'That sounds as if it isn't good news then.'

She made a face at that. 'Unfortunately, you're right.'

'Tell me,' he said, and pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

The tender gesture melted her heart, and she turned her head and kissed his hand. She hated what she had to tell him right now.

'The Potter fortune is under executorship. Cyrus Greengrass, Merlin shrink his underpants, has his own agenda for Harry. He wants him to marry his mousy daughter, and to become his successor at the company. To ensure that Harry complies with his wishes, he informed Harry he wouldn't get any money out of the estate before he turns thirty, unless he bows to his demands.'

His face didn't move while she delivered her news. Didn't he care about them?

He took his sweet time to ponder her words. 'That's … unfortunate,' he said.

She shot bolt upright in the bed. The covers slid off her upper body and revealed her chest; she didn't care. 'Unfortunate? That's all you have to say?'

'Sorry that I don't have your inclination for drama.' He grinned at her, and his eyes roamed her body.

She let out an irritated huff, pulled the covers up to her breasts and laid back. 'Quit looking at me as if I'm your dessert.'

He turned towards her and propped his head on his hand. 'Oh, but you are, love, and a very delicious one on top of that.' The grin he gave her this time was roguish and wild.

'Prat,' she said. It sounded half-hearted in her ears. 'You'd better tell me what I'm supposed to do about Harry. Shall we pursue this plan with him or look out for another fish to catch?'

'That depends how big the other fish in the pond are, don't you agree?' He traced the outline of her jaw with the tip of his index finger. She trembled under his touch and hardly understood his next words. 'Pursuing Potter means you'll be caught in that marriage for a longer time than we estimated, but the outcome will be worth it. On the down side, he probably will be pestering you for little Potters sooner than you're ready.'

'That'll be the day hell freezes over,' she said, and shuddered. She might be a Weasley, but she had no intention of becoming a mother, if she could help it. At least not the mother of Harry's children. She looked at the young man beside her. His children, however, would be something different...

He smiled at her. There was a lot of understanding in his eyes. 'Looking for other fish means that you will have to do that marriage and divorce thing a couple of times, since there aren't many wizards as rich as Potter.'

She made a face at that. 'Great. I can already hear my mother screech into my ears. It'll be hard enough to sell one divorce to her. A couple of them means I'll be relegated to the ranks of a scarlet woman.'

Their eyes met, and they burst out laughing.

He was the first to sober. 'Better a scarlet woman than a Black Widow.'

'Yeah, probably.' She let out a deep sigh. 'I guess I'll have to put up with Harry for the foreseeable future. At least I know what I'll be getting myself into with him.'

t.b.c.