A Kiss Can Save The World

Disclaimer:all the good stuff belongs to JKR

Chapter 25

Excitement was building in the magical world as the Prophet printed pictures of the new Hogwarts, and no where more than a certain tropical island where a group of witches and wizards couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. Ginny, through her role in Stag Industries, knew what to expect but the girls were all excited about the muggle shops and café while the boys thought the pool looked brilliant. Having spent the last few days swimming in the sea, in the company of beautiful witches, they were all eager converts to the new facility. Angela Flint looked like she'd been mixing pepper-up potion with cheering charms, she was like a five-year-old on Christmas Eve.

Tonks had joined them for dinner last night and was staying until everyone left for Hogwarts tomorrow morning, Remus became a nervous wreck. He had stumbled and mumbled his way through the afternoon before spilling pumpkin juice all down himself at dinner when Tonks said she was looking forward to a day's sunbathing on the beach, Remus was visibly trembling and excused himself to go and change. Harry and Hermione followed, concerned for their adopted uncle, while Sirius had sussed the problem and asked his young cousin for a word.

The Potters found Remus sitting on the bed, with his head held in his hands, looking more miserable than they had ever seen him. "I'm really sorry you two but I don't think I can work at Hogwarts."

Harry conjured two chairs as they sat down facing their friend, Hermione took his hands so she could look at his face, and the pain was there for everyone to see. "Remus what's wrong? Tell us what we can do to help?" asked Hermione

Both were shocked at the self-loathing in his reply, "there's nothing anyone can do, I just need to go away."

Neither Potter was prepared to accept that answer and kept after him until they got the truth.

Harry thought about it for a minute, "Remus I may understand what your going through, I also found my life mate and I would rather die than be parted from her, you have to at least speak to Tonks, this is a 'once in a lifetime' deal that you can't walk away from without even discussing it with her."

Remus just shook his head, "what do I have to offer a woman, far less one who's younger, successful and absolutely beautiful. I can barely hold down a job because of my lycanthropy. I'm a werewolf and I've accepted that fact, happy ever after just doesn't feature in our lives."

"Remus Lupin I'm ashamed of you," Hermione's tone of voice and choice of words stung the wizard "you are one of the kindest men I have ever met, I would also have said smartest but your previous statement makes me doubt that. Do you think Harry wearing Dudley's cast off's changed the way I felt about him? We knew nothing of his inheritance when we got together, we loved each other and that was more than enough." She gestured to their surroundings, "don't get me wrong, this is very nice but without Harry it would mean nothing. We would rather live in his old cupboard together than be wealthy and live apart."

"Have you looked in your vault lately?" asked Harry, knowing Remus hadn't "as a member of the board, Stag Industries pays you a lump sum of one hundred thousand galleons per year, plus bonuses. That gold went into your vault on the first of January and you will earn it by teaching at Hogwarts, running the Tri-wizard tournament, organising the werewolf village and forming a community as well as providing our company with your experience and wisdom."

The Potters were double-teaming Remus and the poor man didn't stand a chance as they destroyed his objections one by one.

Hermione continued, "you are reasonably wealthy with great prospects, not 'paper bag on head' ugly and will probably be a member of the Wizengamot by this time next year. You, Professor Lupin, are quite a catch and would make any witch a good husband and will be a brilliant father to your children. When you look in the mirror you see a dark creature that doesn't deserve happiness, we see someone who is loyal, compassionate, hardworking and, even with all the shit life has hit him with, an immense capacity for love. You may curl up on the rug in front of the fire one night a month but that's a small price to pay to have you in our lives, in our family."

"Remus you have to talk to her, I know you will be brutally honest but don't sell yourself short. Tonks is a special lady who stood up for what she believed in, and threw away her Auror badge rather than do something she knew to be wrong. She won't dismiss you out of hand but she needs to know how you feel. Wolves mate for life and if this is your one chance we will not allow you to just walk away without even trying, it may not work out but surely any chance that it may is worth the risk." Harry knew he was getting through to the man.

Hermione continued, "Remus, regardless of what happens you will not just walk out of our lives, we have three children on the way who will want to know their 'Uncle Remus.' You signed on to change the world and that's a lifetime commitment, but changing the world starts with changing the individual, if you want this you have to put your heart out there. Even after Harry asked me to be his girlfriend I wanted, no needed, to know why because in my eyes I wasn't worthy of the man I love. We could have continued for years dancing around each other and may even have ended up with someone else had Harry not taken the risk. I am happier than I can say with the way things have turned out and hope you can find this to but it can't happen if you run away."

A thoughtful Remus replied, "if I take 'not paper bag ugly' as a compliment then you two said some nice things about me, we'll discuss the salary issue later. I have been down for so long it's hard to think further than my next meal but being here with you, and our extended family, has been the best time of my life since before your parents were murdered. I know your right and that I must talk to the girl but just a whiff of her scent drives me crazy, I'll need to stay well away from her as the moon nears full. I've been given good advice so know it's up to me to act on it, thank you."

Chairs were vanished and hugs were exchanged, as Remus now knew what he had to do, he just had no idea how to go about it.

In another room Sirius was having a talk to Tonks, "I'm being serious here Nym and need you to be as well, can you honestly tell me what you think of my friend Remus?"

"He seems a nice guy but it's hard to tell when he falls to pieces every time he comes anywhere near me, quite funny actually to watch someone else trip for a change."

"Nym this is anything but funny, if I'm reading this right Remus is telling Harry that he can't work at Hogwarts."

Tonks let out a shocked 'What?" before thinking for a few seconds, "it's because of me, does he dislike me that much? Well I'll leave if he feels that strongly."

"Nym, Remus doesn't dislike you, he's head over heels in love with you!" this news actually shocked her into silence so Sirius continued, "Remus is a werewolf and his senses are far more developed than ours, these senses are telling him you're the one. This is biology at its most basic, for him it's you and only you for the rest of his life. All I'm asking you to do is talk to Remus and get to know him, if it works out great, if it doesn't just please let him down gently. Do not toy with his affections, Remus is the most decent guy I've ever met and I would never stand by and watch someone hurt him. Here is a man who will love Nym, not who she can morph into, I know we don't know each other very well yet but you respect Harry and Hermione's judgment and they both think of him as family."

Tonks didn't no what to say, "Sirius as I said he seems like a nice guy and I would be quite happy to get to know him better but this is heavy, for life scares the shit out of me. Well at least he's not likely to ask me to turn into his mother like the last man I went out with, the only impression he got was my knee hitting his groin at speed, sick prick. Everyone I have ever went out with wanted me to change to be their ideal date or some fantasy of their twisted mind, I haven't dated in ages because of it."

Sirius was smiling, "well I can assure you Remus is a gentleman, in fact if you do get serious you'll probably have to say 'hey wolfie, wanna make some pups?' to let him know your interested." He was laughing now while dodging the blow she aimed at his head.

They left the room and walked right into Remus and the Potters, "Hi Tonks, can we go somewhere for a chat?" asked Remus

They decided a walk along the beach would offer them the best chance of some privacy and set off. Sirius found himself pinned to a wall and looking into the smiling face of Hermione Potter, "Sirius if you even think about teasing or pranking them while they sort this out then you will have me to deal with, do I make myself clear?" she asked sweetly.

"Merlin Hermione, you're scarier than Lily and she was terrifying when angry," said a chastised Sirius.

"Oh she's no where near angry yet Sirius," said Harry, "when the building starts shaking then she's getting angry."

They had watched as Remus held her chair as she sat for breakfast and now both were chatting quite happily, Tonks was being treated like a lady which was a whole new experience for her and definitely something she could grow to like. Remus had his emotions under a lot more control, he knew that friendship was going to have to come before anything else could develop and was in no hurry now he had the one thing missing in his life for so long, hope.

Harry and Hermione had a chat with Ginny after breakfast, "Ginny I owe you an apology," said Harry "I have asked you to try and control your temper, yet at the first provocation I lost mine."

"If she'd called mum a bitch in front of me I would probably have reacted worse than you did."

"I know but the point is she may still be recovering from what that old bastard did to her and on top of that she thinks we stole her daughter," Harry held his hand up to stop Ginny's protestations "from her point of view that's what's happened, she still thinks you are her 'little girl' and me bouncing her off a wall is not going to help. We think you may be able to get through to her where I couldn't, but it would have to be today as we're all at Hogwarts tomorrow."

"What's going to happen to them now?" asked Ginny.

Hermione answered, "We really don't know, one things for sure they aren't coming here now."

Ginny gave a sneaky smile before saying, "I had an idea and I wanted to see what you thought of it"

-oOoOo-

Ginny stood outside the room that held the Weasleys and took some deep calming breaths, she was Ginny Potter – she could do this.

She entered the room, noticing that Bill and Percy as well as Arthur were there, but her eyes never left Molly. The woman tried to spring out of bed to hug her daughter but found she couldn't move. The water jug on the bedside cabinet flew across the room, missing Arthur's head by mere centimetres, and loudly smashed into the wall. The four Weasleys watched in amazement as the jug then repaired itself before gently gliding back onto the cabinet and even refilled with water. Ginny hadn't used a wand or uttered a spell, it was a tremendous display of magic well beyond the capabilities of anyone else in the room, and her control was unbelievable.

"Ok, anyone calling mum and dad names now knows what to expect though I may not do the repair half of the spell. I'm Ginny Potter now by my own choice and if everyone here can accept that we can move on, if not then there's really no point of me being here." You could have heard a pin drop as Ginny spoke. "If everyone stays nice and calm then we can discuss anything that anyone wants but Ginny Potter is non-negotiable, it's who I am now."

'Was being Ginny Weasley so bad? What's so special about being a Potter?" asked a tearful Molly.

Ginny pulled out her emerald pendant to gasps from Molly, "this is not what you think, could you explain it please Bill."

"That pendant is worth a fortune but the protective charms on it are the best I've ever seen. Harry said what it was protecting was priceless."

"Thanks Bill, this may look like an expensive identity bracelet but its real function is as a voice-activated portkey that will take me to mum and dad no matter where we are. Ginny Weasley would be a prisoner of Dumbledore and used as a tool for whatever he had planned, Ginny Potter had the tools not only to escape but got the elves and goblin artefact out of there as well. I sat this morning with friends as they swooned over the Hogwarts pictures in today's Prophet, what they didn't know was that I was responsible for some of them. Dad wants me to be in charge of the new shops in the non-magical annex, mum, gran, Winky and I were the ones who set them up."

"But you shouldn't have to do that, why do you have to work?" interrupted Molly.

"I am on the board of Stag Industries, this means I get paid a salary that's more than Bill's, Charlie's and Percy's combined. To earn that gold my job is to help bring the young purebloods and full bloods willingly into our changing world by showing them the advantages of embracing the non-magical world."

Molly was looking at the young woman in front of her and not seeing the little girl she thought she knew, and it wasn't just the smart way she was dressed. This Ginny exuded confidence and was talking about changing the world the way Molly spoke about a treacle tart recipe. Molly was renowned for her stubbornness but she was not totally stupid, Ginny's continual use of 'mum and dad' was there to see if she could handle this situation. She had spoke long into the night with Arthur and had decided they needed Ginny in their life as much as they could get. She would still push to get her daughter back but never cross the line like she did yesterday, Percy's quip of Ginny getting married and Molly not being there would break her, that was not going to happen.

She was still Molly Weasley though and had to say something, "but when do you have time to have fun? Your still only thirteen and shouldn't have to be bothering with stuff like this, can't you leave it to the adults?"

Ginny gave a wry smile while shaking her head, this was the argument that she was sure would come up, "since Christmas I've spent my time shopping, swimming, sunbathing and snogging Neville, if that's not having fun then I don't know what is."

Bill and Percy burst out laughing, both had seen her on the island and the way the family looked after her, and the chances of anything more that the occasional snog happening was nil. Molly felt as if Ginny was deliberately pushing her buttons to see how she would react, Arthur's hand was squeezing her shoulder reminding her to think before speaking and that shouting was a definite no-no.

"What do Harry and Hermione think about you being so young and snogging a boy?"

"Mum and dad know Neville and I will be married and we are trusted to keep our relationship at a level appropriate to our age, and I never want to disappoint them. Those two are some act to try to live up to but I aim to do my very best that they never regret their decision to adopt me."

"I don't think there's any danger of that Ginny, I signed those papers and have no regrets. Never doubt for one minute that Harry and Hermione love you, so do the Grangers and Winkie threw herself in front of you, saving your life. Your new family are something else and I'm proud to know them," said Bill

Percy's eyes were tearing up as he spoke, "I'm very proud of you Ginny, I always thought you were the smartest of us all and am delighted to see you prove me right."

"Thanks Percy, mum and dad want to talk to you today about a job offer so you can come back with me. A word of advice though, leave Percy the Prat at home, we don't need reports on cauldron bottoms but someone who can think for themselves."

"Do you know what the job offer is?" asked Molly.

"Of course I do and it's very good but they'll tell you about it, I'm here to see what's going to happen to you two" replied Ginny.

You could now cut the atmosphere with a knife as Ginny continued, "this is my idea and I want you to consider your situation before dismissing it. Arthur is still serving his time for the crimes he committed and you Molly are homeless and broke. You burned your bridges with the person who wanted to help you when you insulted mum, had you insulted him you may have been forgiven but insulting his family is the worst thing you could do."

Molly at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

"My idea will get Arthur out of here, give you an apartment as well as all your meals thrown in, and two salaries that will allow you to save for a place of your own again."

The Weasleys were all of the same opinion, this offer was just to good to be true and there must be a catch somewhere.

"Since you're all obviously waiting on the catch I'll tell you what it is, you have to put up with the twins all year. Hogwarts needs caretakers and I am authorised to offer you both the jobs, with the new non-magical annex and the chamber facilities it will take two to handle the job. At the moment the elves have been working very hard but they're now starting on their own village and then the werewolf settlement after that. You'll see Charlie every day as well so, what do you think?"

Arthur's fingers were nearly meeting through his wife's shoulder with how hard he was squeezing, he was desperate for her to think before opening her mouth. They had decided last night that Arthur wouldn't speak to Ginny unless asked a direct question, she had serious issues with him and recovering any sort of relationship was going to be a long slow road. The dream of walking his daughter down the aisle had gone forever, at the moment he would gladly settle for a 'hello.'

Molly took her time answering; she knew that her answer had to be right. "Wouldn't that be an embarrassment to you for us to work there as caretakers? I mean it's not as if Flitch was well liked."

"This is the new Hogwarts where everyone is equal, there will be a fair number of Slytherin students wearing the Potter family crest on their robes at their own request. Any form of antagonistic behaviour by anyone will not be tolerated and I can guarantee that Arthur will learn more about non-magic people and devices than he has in all his time at the ministry. Getting Hogwarts up and running is a massive task with everyone helping in anyway that they can. Dan, Emma and Amanda Granger are all going to be helping in the annex while mum and dad will be everywhere as usual. Changing the world starts with Hogwarts, if we can change the attitudes of the future generations then we have a chance. If not, then Bill and Percy have seen the Potter Island, we could live there perfectly happy while the magical world destroys itself."

Molly just had to let out the question that had been on her lips since the start, "when did you get all grown up?"

"Tom Riddle ended my childhood but I think it was mum and dad when we saved Neville's life that past us some of the maturity they've been showing. Dad has been helping me to control my temper and actually apologised to me because he barely held his yesterday, that's how our family works, we talk to each other and sort the little problems before they become big ones."

Molly looked to her husband, who was nodding his head enthusiastically, before telling Ginny they would accept.

"Good, now I know you have only the clothes on your backs but there is a Potter account set up at Madam Malkin's so get yourself kitted out, and not from the used items. You will each need five or six sets of robes depending on the circumstances so don't scrimp – dad's loaded. When we bump into each other in Hogwarts by all means stop for a chat, as long as you can remember I already have a set of parents for guidance we will be fine. We haven't forgotten about you Bill it's just that nothing has come up that would require your set of skills yet but if you have an idea before us don't hesitate to contact us."

They chatted for a while longer before Ginny left with Percy in tow and desperately trying to wheedle information regarding the job offer. There were no parting hugs or kisses, that was a long way off, it was more like a business meeting but the ice had been broken.

Arthur was hugging his wife while silently crying as Bill said, "that went much better than it had any right to and that job offer was totally unexpected."

It was Arthur who spoke for the first time, "she still loves us, but she just can't forgive us yet. We now have the means to rebuild our lives while getting to see our children every day; it's better than perfect. It's going to take a while and we must be patient but I've never been prouder of one of my children than I was today. What saddened me was that I couldn't take any of the credit for it; if I had any doubts that she was better off being a Potter they were dispelled today and I think she's smart enough to have planned it that way. We could never have taught her to act like that, it was a superb balance of being extremely confident without ever seeming arrogant and she has the clout to back it up. I'm positive that water jug was supposed to just miss me; her control was far to good for there to be any doubt but her point was well made, she could have taken my head clean off if she wanted to."

"I keep yearning for my little girl but she doesn't exist any more, she has been replaced by that beautiful and intelligent young witch we met today. We have been given another chance and I don't care if you have to hit me with a silencing charm or even a stunner Arthur, just don't let my big mouth ruin it for us again."

With that sentence Bill thought Ginny had pulled of a miracle of biblical proportions, he just wasn't brave enough to test this theory by mentioning it out loud.

-oOoOo-

Percy Weasley sat staring at the sea while nursing a brandy supplied by a laughing Narcissa Black, apparently this was the usual requirement after a meeting with the Potters. He was going over the meeting in his head and still couldn't believe it, Percy Weasley, former Head Boy was now administrator for Hogwarts.

Minerva McGonagall was first and foremost a brilliant teacher and Percy was there to allow her to continue teaching first year students how to turn matches into needles. She, along with the Potters would make all the decisions and it was Percy's job to see them carried out. It was made abundantly clear that the return of 'Percy the Prat' would not be tolerated, to be efficient one didn't have to be efficacious and approachability was going to be a big part of his job. Between Crouch getting arrested for smuggling his son out of Azkaban and his mother and father for what they did to Harry, Percy thought his career was over before it even began yet he had just been handed a dream job.

He knew that he had a tendency to stick rigidly to the rules but here there were no rules as they would be making it up as they went along, something Harry and Hermione seemed quite comfortable with. He silently swore not to betray the trust they had placed in him, he was now earning enough to propose to Penny and he definitely knew she made him a better person to be around. He was doing it again, why couldn't he just admit that just thinking about her made his heart race, he wondered if he had time to get her a ring today.

Harry and Hermione were getting ready to go down to their last dinner before returning to Hogwarts, it would be the largest gathering yet as the Dursleys were there as well. Harry brought them this afternoon and they were staying in the guest house as with everyone leaving tomorrow they would have the island to themselves for a few days until they came back. Harry knew this would be a fun meal but he couldn't get the thought of impending doom out of his head. Tonight felt less like a celebratory dinner and more like the last supper, just as well none of the Potters believed in divination.

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