Chapter 20

How did you do it?

"I cannot believe that you guys got caught! I cant believe that he sold me out to Lupin! You parents are going to flip! Your brothers are going to kill me!" Hermione exclaimed hitting her hands onto the cafe table, making their silverware clatter against their plates. Some people at the surrounding tables craned their necks around to see what the ruckus was about, including a pair of grandparents who had brought their grandkids out for breakfast. Others like the love struck couple in the corner and the tall businessman behind his newspaper couldn't be bothered with being nosey.

"You need to calm down. People are staring. And I think you are being a little selfish considering what I just went through and considering that right now, Right Now, as we speak, Lupin is telling my parents," Ginny tried to keep her voice level. "Do you even know how stressful that is? How am I supposed to be happy about what happened with Harry if I am panicking about whether or not my family will kill us when I get home?"

Hermiones face softened a bit, "Aw Gin, Im sorry. I forgot how big a day this should be for you. I remember how excited I was when me and Ron first did it..."

"Nooo," Ginny groaned. "I never wanted to actually hear that out loud."

"What did you think that we weren't going to even after all this time?"

"He's my brother. Ugh," Ginny scrunched her face up and tried to rid her head of any imagery that came up.

Hermione laughed, "Look whos the insensitive one now!"

Ginny just slumped and put her head in her hands, "I'm sorry I'm being stubborn. We've dealt with worse than this I suppose."

"Well I don't think Lupin is going to tell them about the state that he caught you guys in. He's smart enough to leave that bit out. But look at the bright side, maybe now that Lupin knows he may trust you to go see Harry on your own?"

They laughed a bit and the mood lightened as they finished their coffee and breakfast. Ginny braced herself for what was waiting for her at home as they pushed their chairs in and walked out of the cafe, apparating away to The Burrow.

The businessman let his newspaper drop to the table as he watched them walk away. "You ladies are getting a little sloppy, you are making this way too easy," Draco Malfoy thought to himself. The Dark Lord would be very pleased to hear that the youngest weasel will start traveling alone some time soon.

Lupin wasn't exactly sure how he was going to go about telling Molly and Arthur about Ginny's secret excursions to see Harry. It was best to keep everyone calm so he made sure to make it seem like she had only been to see him three times. He was right in believing that they would be angry, though Molly had begun to expect something was up. He explained to them as best as he could of the positive affect that it was having on Harry. Everyone knew how poorly he had been doing all alone there, and she seemed to be the best medicine.

"But its so dangerous, Remus. How can we let our daughter travel in and out of the woods on her own when every one of You Know Who's followers are devoting their every second to get where she is going!" Arthur said holding tight to his wifes hand.

"You let most of your other sons go out and take that risk. In Ginnys eyes that was the most insulting part."

"She is so young. Only 16..." Mollys eyes began to tear.

"She may be young, but she is also very brilliant and set in her ways," Lupin was trying his best to be convincing not only to the Weasleys but to himself as well. Though he knew that this was what was best for Harry and Ginny emotionally and mentally, it was difficult to let himself believe that was enough to overpower the risk of putting her in danger physically. "It seems that she fully understands the risks and repercussions that go along with wanting to be able to see Harry on a weekly basis. And as much as its hard to hear, she was going to see him whether we wanted her to or not. It would be pure cruelty to try and stop her now."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, "How could Harry let her be put in this position. Doesn't he want her to be safe?"

"From what I hear, Harry reacted just as you have when she showed up at his door. Angry, upset, confused...." Lupin looked into the Weasleys eyes very seriously. "Harry loves your daughter. He would never want any harm to come to her. But these are dark and terrible times they have to grow up in, and young or not we cannot stop them from loving each other."

Just as he was finished speaking, the door creaked open and Ginny peaked her head in timidly. Mrs. Weasley stood up from the kitchen table, stalked right over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oh, Ginny, you are so brave," Mrs. Weasley sobbed.

The top of Ginnys face and head was the only thing visible to Lupin, crushed by her mums hug. She bugged out her eyes at him, her look clearly asking, "How did you do it?"

Lupin just shrugged and smiled a little. He was more convincing than he thought.

Alright everybody, I dont know if any of my old readers are still around reading this now that Ive updated, but I would like to say Im sorry for leaving you hanging for years. Literally. To all of you new readers, thank you for giving the story a chance and I hope to try to keep posting more regularly. Review please :)