Chapter 14: Answers

Nine days had passed. Nine long days of worry and of fear. Ginny didn't know how much more she could take. Even during the war so many years ago, when Harry had been hunting Horcruxes, she didn't worry this much. Perhaps it was her youth that had kept panic at bay in the past, or perhaps it was that no matter what dangers Harry had been in, he had never been alone. He had Ron and Hermione to help him.

Harry was alone now. The place in her heart where she kept him seemed to have been stolen away from her, leaving her with a gaping hole, a wound that should surely have bled out long before now.

Every day she feared that she would receive word that he had been killed. She dreaded having to tell her children that her father was never coming home, having to hold them as they cried, having to be strong when all she wanted to do was lay down next to him and die.

Scolding herself for allowing it, she shook those thoughts from her mind and forced herself to concentrate on her children. She was thankful that her parents had allowed her to stay with them until this ordeal was over. Arthur had taken the children into the garden to play any time she felt her strength waver. In those times, Molly had stayed with her, consoling her as she cried, assuring her, though neither believed it, that everything would be perfectly okay just as soon as they found Harry.

On one such occasion, as Ginny lay in her mother's arms weeping softly, Hermione leapt from the fire in front of them. "They've found something!" she pronounced victoriously. "It's some sort of tunnel network near Leeds! They haven't been able to break through the enchantments yet, but they think he might be there." She flopped down in an old armchair, panting slightly. "Sorry, I'm a little light-headed, I ran all the way to the fireplace I used to get here."

Ginny leaped up from the couch. "I'm going. Where exactly is it Hermione?"

Hermione stopped her almost immediately. "Sorry, Ginny." She replied. "Only trained Aurors are allowed. It's too dangerous."

"DANGEROUS? DANGEROUS! After what we've been through in our lives? Hermione we fought in the war! We can handle…"

Hermione cut her off. "We don't know what to expect in there. You don't know what they might find. You can't risk leaving your children without parents Ginny."

Ginny glared at her, fiery red hair matching perfectly the blazing look on her face, but when she spoke her tone was icy cold. "That is my husband in there."

Hermione gazed into the fireplace. "We don't know if he's even in there. Come on Ginny, think about it. If you go tearing out of here like this, you'll scare the children. Ron's leading a team of highly trained professionals. Let them do their job. How would Harry feel if you left them here to risk you life unnecessarily."

Ginny was panting now. On some level, she knew that Hermione was right, but it didn't make staying behind any easier. Finally, she flopped down on the couch next to her mother, hoping against hope that what they found in that tunnel brought good news to them all.