When he was late, she got worried.

She couldn't help it. Not after all they had been through. Not after all it had taken to get them to where they were now. But she had put the kids to bed as if nothing was wrong, that it was just another day as usual. That their father was not late from a potentially life threatening mission just to serve and protect the world in which they lived. After fighting a war for more than seven years, you'd think Harry Potter would have given up chasing down evil, but here they were more than ten years later.

Ginny supposed life could have been worse; he could have been out against Voldemort still, true evil in the shape of a man could have still walked among them... But Voldemort was gone and all that was left were those who once called him Master. And even they were mostly gone. But, she knew Harry would not rest until every last one of his followers, or any other wrong-doer, was behind bars where they deserved to be. Fighting evil was a part of him. She'd known that since the day she'd met him.

But, that didn't make it any easier some nights.

This night in particular Ginny woke from slumber with a start, as if something out there compelled her to wake. Reaching out a hand, she trailed her palm along the surface of his pillow, the cotton cool against her skin. He'd still not come home.

Suddnely, the darkness of the bedroom seemed thick and heavy, so much so that she could stand it no longer and so she pushed back the blankets and slipped from the bed. Tugging on her robe, she moved across the room and out into the hall, silently making her way down the hall. She paused only a moment to look in at James and Albus, finding both boys soundly asleep in their respective beds. She moved on then, heading down the staircase and into the living room. The room was dark but her eyes had already begun to adjust, focusing on the figure that was sitting alone on the couch. "How did you know I'd come home?" Harry's voice was tired and worn down, a voice she'd not heard in a long time. A wand tip flared and lit up the room, revealing Harry's battered face to her. His jaw was bruised, his temple bleeding; his cheek swollen, stained with old blood. For a moment, Ginny did not move, but rather blinked against the bright light of his wand and took in the sight of her broken husband. She thought once she might grow used to seeing him in such a state- but in truth, she hadn't. Though she hid it well, every time she saw him like this reminded her of the time she had almost lost him.

"I just knew," she answered simply, moving forwards to gently pry his wand from his fingertips, the light fading the moment the wand left his hands. There in the darkness, she climbed onto the couch behind him, gently wrapping his body in her arms, pulling him close to her chest. He settled into place against her without a word, his body radiating heat through her thin white robe. For a long while they sat like that together, Harry's deep, even breathing the only sound in the room. "You should let me clean you up." She finally spoke softly, her breath warm against the nape of his neck. Harry felt a chill rush down his spine as her gentle hands trailed across his bruised body.

"Don't let the kids see me like this," he murmured as they shifted, he turning towards her on the couch, his hand straying to the exposed skin of her thigh. Their eyes met in the darkness and she gave a single nod, needing no more words; she rather raised her own wand, speaking soft incantations that spread warmth and relief through his battered limbs. When she had finished, she rose up from the couch and offered him her hand- which he willingly took- and together they made their way up to their bedroom. Once she had him settled into their bed, Ginny climbed in beside him knowing they had but a few precious hours before the kids would rise and the selfish part of her wished they had days. But she clung to him as gently as she could, knowing her healing magic only went so far- but Harry slung his arm around her, drawing her close, her leg sliding into place between his as she turned to face him. He was asleep long before she was and so for a while she merely lay there, listening to him snore and thanking Merlin he'd come home to her that night.

When she untangled herself from him a few short hours later, she pressed a kiss to his temple before closing the door behind her, offering a small barrier between him and the real world. For a few more hours, he needed to rest. And so it was she who greeted the kids when they woke an hour later, embracing them one by one as they traipsed down to the kitchen, sleepy eyes and tousled hair. "Is dad home yet?" James asked as he settled into his usual place at the table, his dark eyes finding his mother's, eyes that burned with the same intensity as her own. The oldest of their children, but still only yet ten-years-old, was wise beyond his years sometimes, but then he would shove Albus and a fight would ensue, reminding Ginny that they were all nothing but kids. "He didn't come home last night..." His words elicited a gasp from the two younger Potter children, both of whom turned big, round eyes to their mother, both expecting an answer to their big brother's questions.

"Didn't I?"

The family all turned around in their chairs, only to find Harry there in the doorway of the kitchen, a lopsided grin twisting on his mouth. To her surprise, his bruises had mostly faded and the swelling on his face had gone away completely. A smile settled onto her own lips as the kids nearly upended the table in their mad rush to reach their father, Lily throwing her arms around Harry's middle, clutching at him tightly. They met eyes over their children's heads and he just gave a little shake of his head as if to say everything was fine. He scooped Lily up into his arms, the giggling girl letting out a shriek of joy as her father swung her around, both of her brothers dancing around them. Ginny had to say she much prefered this sight to the one she'd had the night before. But, being married to Harry meant there would probably be many more nights like the one before in their future.

But... Lots of moments like this one too, and for that... She was thankful.