Author's Note: Okay, okay so this chapter is a little bit longer. I hope it is not too cheesy there at the end but what can I say. Obviously this is a work of fiction but I am trying my best to keep it as realistic and plausible as I can. I don't want anyone to worry though because I am a girl that loves a happy ending but yes, we've got a long way to go before we get there. Again my many thinks to those of you that continue to comment, favorite and follow this story, I continue to be shocked at the response. I'm especially grateful to all my repeat commenters, I love you all! You are the ones that keep me going. :]

Chapter 33

Weeks passed with no real change in the situation. Hermione was still in Australia helping her mother get everything in order to close the Grangers' dental practice. Ginny was spending most of her time locked in her room at the Burrow. The children had made no attempts to contact their parents. Ron was still staying with Harry.

Ron had actually taken a leave of absence from being an Auror, well a forced leave of absence. Had Harry not been his boss he probably would have been fired on the spot. There had been an incident where Ron had used "excessive force" to apprehend a dark wizard they were pursuing. The man was still in the secure ward at St. Mungo's and would be for quite some time before he could be transferred to Azkaban. Harry had contested with the minister that the wizard they'd been searching for deserved everything he got and worse and that Ron should be commended for apprehending him so quickly. But the minister reminded him that this was not wartime and that the laws did apply and that disciplinary action needed to be taken. Harry didn't have the heart to fire his best mate, especially given their current situation, so he suggested he just take some time off until he could smooth things over.

The papers naturally went crazy over Ron's outburst at work, especially Rita Skeeter. She was in heaven with this whole Weasley/Potter sex scandal and was coming out with new material almost every day. Granted 99.9% of it was complete rubbish but since when did that matter? Which was exactly why Ginny spent most of her time locked away. The only time she would emerge was at night to go flying. She had a received an owl a few days after her return from Australia from the team manager of the Holyhead Harpies saying that they were still very much expecting her to join the team this spring despite all the recent happenings. Ginny had been afraid they would rescind the offer with her new sullied reputation but the team manager was quick to remind her that the quidditch league would go out of business if they let go all off the players who had their sexual affairs talked about in the papers. Not that that had made Ginny feel any better but at least she still had quidditch to look forward to so she poured any bit of energy she had into that. Often she would return from flying until dawn, always wind burnt and frost bitten, then she would lock herself away for the rest of the day. Of course Molly disapproved greatly thinking she needed to be focusing her efforts on fixing her family but her daughter's stubbornness only seemed to get worse the more she pushed her so she eventually gave up trying.

Despite not hearing from the affected children directly, there were still plenty of Weasleys at Hogwarts that were talking to their parent so updates did come often. Ginny did find solace in the fact that her kids had so many cousins that they weren't being picked on as much had they if been on their own. That however did not mean they were doing well. Louis Weasley, Bill and Fleur's son, had written home saying James, Albus and Lily had become very withdrawn from everyone, hardly spending any time with anyone outside themselves. But Hermione's children certainly weren't faring any better. Poor Hugo seemed to be taking the brunt of it simply because he didn't have the crowd of Weasleys protecting him all the times. Another distressing piece of news was that Rose had quit the quidditch team, claiming she wanted to be nothing at all like her Aunt Ginny, whom she had always looked up to.

Even though she wasn't entirely ready to admit all of her mistakes and fully apologize to the woman, Ginny thought it was up to her to keep Hermione in the loop because she knew no one else would. She wasn't really on speaking terms with her parents, or anyone really, but had always been good at eavesdropping on her parents, so she would write to Hermione any time any news about the children reached her and of course about Ron. Ginny never heard back from Hermione.

One morning, after a particularly intense night of flying Ginny heard a soft tapping on her window. She begrudgingly opened one eye and saw an owl perched on her windowsill. She immediately sprung from her bed, her heart racing thinking it was a letter from Hermione but it immediately sank when she saw the official Hogwarts seal on the document. Given the stationary she figured it wasn't from her children either, another disappointment.

Dear Mrs. Potter,

Please come see me this morning at 9:30 for a meeting regarding your daughter Lily. I have arranged through the Floo Network for the Burrow to be connected with my office at precisely that time.

Sincerely,

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall

Ginny panicked. What was wrong with her daughter? Was she hurt? Surely not, there would have been more detail if it had been urgent or serious right? She glanced over at the clock and it was 8:45. She calmed a bit. If something were terribly wrong her presence would have been requested immediately. Ginny wondered if she should owl Harry but she figured he would have been notified already and probably didn't want to talk to her. Though she loathed the thought of getting out of bed after not having slept the potential to see her daughter, and maybe even her sons, motivated her to get ready.

Ginny got out of bed and rummaged around the room for the cleanest clothes she could find and made her way to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and groaned. She looked like hell, complete and utter hell. She tried to remember when the last time was that she took a shower and she couldn't remember which probably wasn't a good sign. Between that, not sleeping and nearly freezing herself to death every night she certainly didn't look like her usual gorgeous self. Not that she needed to look good for anyone but she at least needed to pull herself together for Lily.

The red head emerged from the bathroom 30 minutes later looking as well as she could manage. Not much could be done about the bags under her eyes or her red, frostbitten skin but at least she was clean and appeared presentable enough. She grabbed her wand from her room and sneaked down to the kitchen, wanting to avoid her mother at all costs.

"Hold it Ginevra, where do you think your going?" Molly Weasley came from out of nowhere and blocked Ginny's path to the fireplace.

"Mum, I really don't have time for this," the younger witch said trying to side step her mother.

"Like hell you don't have time. I think I have been plenty patient with you these last few weeks. I haven't complained about your late night flying, or your refusal to do anything productive to help your situation. But I am still your mother and the least you can do is show me some respect," Molly stood firm not allowing her daughter to pass.

Ginny swallowed hard, she owed her mother something. "Mum, I am going to Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall owled me saying I need to meet her about Lily. I don't know what it is about but I need to go."

"And Harry? Will he be there?"

"I haven't spoken to him about it but I am sure he was contacted too, Lily is after all his daughter," Ginny hadn't meant to sound sarcastic but was starting to get anxious about this meeting. "Mum, I'm sorry, I just really need to get going."

"Fine," Molly said moving out of her way. "I expect a full report when you return however. And I will not tolerate any more moping either. Agreed?"

"Yes Mum." Ginny stopped and pulled the woman into a tight hug. "Thank you, for everything. I know I've been a right little shit but I know you are right and I need to start taking responsibility for all this."

"Good luck Gin."

Ginny grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the hearth, the clock indicated it was 9:30 and she shouted "Hogwarts Headmistress's Office!"

The flash of green light caused Minerva McGonagall to look up from her desk. Ginny Potter stepped tentatively into her office dusting herself off.

"Mrs. Potter, please have a seat. I am glad you received my owl." Minerva stood up and pointed to the chair in front of her desk.

"Thank you Professor, and please it's Ginny. You have known me far too long to call me Mrs. Potter." She actually choked over the name; she certainly didn't feel like 'Mrs. Potter.' Ginny looked around the office, "so what is going on with Lily, or should we wait for Harry to arrive."

"Mrs. P- Ginny, Harry isn't coming. Lily wanted me to contact you with this matter and for the time being leave her father out of it. Considering your current home situation, I thought it best to respect her wishes."

Ginny shifted uncomfortably in her seat waiting for the woman to continue. The only spark of hope she held on to was that her daughter had wanted her and not her dad. Of course she immediately felt bad again at the thought of taking something away from Harry, something he certainly didn't deserve.

"Which brings me to why we are here. Now, as you can imagine your children have had a bit of a difficult time lately, and a certain amount of acting out is to be expected but this most recent incident surprised even me."

So her children had been acting out at school? Excellent, Ginny was feeling better by the second.

"I will get to the point, Lily had a physical altercation with another student this morning in the great hall."

Ginny's jaw dropped. Lily? Her sweet little Lily? "Wh-What exactly did she do? Is she hurt?"

"No, she is not hurt, the other student didn't attempt to retaliate. Some words were exchanged and Lily hit the other student in the eye. Quite forcefully I might add."

She couldn't believe it. Lily had punched someone. In the face.

"I don't understand. Lily would never do something like that. Is the other student ok? Who was it if I may ask?" Ginny was stammering, still in shock.

"Yes she is fine. Mrs. Potter the other student was Rose Weasley."

The blows just kept coming. The thought of her daughter hitting anyone was already hard enough to expect but the fact that it was her own cousin, a girl who she looked up to as an older sister, a girl who was only two years older but quite a bit stronger and more athletic and could have easily beat her into the ground, was all the more shocking.

"Rose? Rose? She hit Rose? Why in Merlin's name would she do something like that?"

"Like I mentioned before the girls exchanged some words which led to your daughter's actions. I feel it would be best if I had Lily explain everything to you herself." Ginny simply nodded in agreement.

Minerva got up from her desk and walked to the office door. Lily had been waiting just outside, "Miss Potter you may come in now. I will give you two some time to talk things over." The headmistress held the door open for the young girl before excusing herself from the room. Ginny saw her daughter enter, looking at the floor, and all she wanted to was run to her and hold her in her arms. But she didn't. She had no idea what the girl was feeling towards her at the moment.

"Lily? Lily are you ok?" Without realizing it, tears had come to Ginny's eyes. The little red head looked up, her own face streaked red from crying.

"Mama, I'm so sorry," Lily choked out. Ginny couldn't take it any more and closed the distance between the in three long strides, bent to her level and wrapped her shaking daughter in her arms.

"Oh baby it's ok, it's ok. Shh, don't cry, Mama's here. I'm here." Ginny couldn't stop herself from crying as she hugged her daughter. They stayed like that a few minutes in the embrace before Lily pulled away. Ginny wiped away her own tears and smiled at her daughter. She decided she wasn't going to question the girl, she'd let her talk in her own time.

"I hit Rose," was all she said, looking away from her mother's eyes. Ginny reached for her daughter's hands and squeezed them lightly. Apparently it gave the girl a little bit of courage to continue, "but I only did it because she said some very mean things and I don't know I just go so mad I couldn't take it and before I knew it I had hit her in the face. I'm really sorry, really truly."

So her mild mannered daughter had inherited a touch of the Weasley temper after all, not that that was a good thing. Certainly not in this instance. Ginny cleared her throat a little, "Lily, you know it is never right to hit someone. But what did Rose say to you to make you do it?"

The girl shook her head side to side and her eyes were getting wet again, "Mama I don't want to say. I don't want to make you sad again."

"Oh Honey, it is ok. I won't be sad, you can tell me." Ginny was getting choked up again at the thought of her daughter trying to protect her after everything she had just brought on the family.

"I don't think Rose meant to say it, she's had a hard time too so don't get mad at her okay?" Ginny couldn't help but smile at the girl as she nodded in agreement. "We were sitting next to each other at breakfast and some boys were trying to get Rose angry, talking ab-about y-y-you and Aunt Hermione. They said they had heard how much she was like you and since Aunt Hermione was her mum that Rose had to be a-a" Lily was really struggling with her words, Ginny gave her hands another squeeze forcing herself to stop her on tears from falling, "a les-lesbian. And so she stood up and turned around and yelled at them to not talk about her mother like that and that she was absolutely nothing like her aunt, well you." Lily paused again to take a deep breath but then all the words she didn't want to say just came pouring out, "she, she said that you had obviously put some sort of spell on her mum and that's when I stood up and said that you hadn't. And she told me to stay out of it and I said no and that I wouldn't let her talk about you like that.

"Then Rose said that if it weren't for my slut of a mother that we would still have our families and that no once would be sad and that it was all your fault and that she would never be the whore you were. I-I didn't know what I was doing but I just hit her as hard as I could in the eye and she shut up. She-she didn't do anything but stand there and look at me and everyone else was looking at me. Hugo got up from the Ravenclaw table and ran over to Rose but she shoved him away and ran out from the great hall. That's when Headmistress came and she took me here."

Ginny could tell how hard it had been for her daughter to tell her all that, to rat out her cousin and even just to repeat the things that had been said. Lily just hung her head, clearly ashamed for what had happened and Ginny didn't really know how to respond. How could she explain her situation to her 11-year-old daughter? She didn't blame Rose, she had every right to be upset and she certainly didn't blame Lily either. She hated that it had gotten to the point that her children and Hermione's were starting to turn on one another; Ginny knew the only way they'd get through this was with their family at their sides.

"Lily, I'm not mad at you, or at Rose." The girl still wouldn't meet her eyes. Ginny gently tilted her daughter's head up with her had under her chin, "baby look at me. I'm sorry that you've had to go through all of this. Rose was right though, it is my fault and I have to take responsibility here."
"No Mama! It's not your fault-" Lily started but Ginny shook her head and cut her off.

"Yes, Lily. It is. I- I don't know how to explain this to you really but I am going to try ok?" Lily nodded. "I love your father very, very much, for so many different reasons. He is a very good man and an excellent dad to you and your brothers. With out him I wouldn't have you or James or Albus and for that I am very grateful, you have no idea." Ginny stopped, the lump hardening in her throat, the tears damming in her eyes ready to flow forth.

Now it was Lily's turn to squeeze her mother's hands, "Mama? Were you sad all summer because of Aunt Hermione? Because you love her more than you love dad?"

Dammit, how was Ginny supposed to answer? The girl was 11 for gods' sakes. "Yes honey I was. But your mum did something very stupid a long time ago. Way before you or your brothers were born, before dad and I were married, before Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron were married, I fell in love with my best friend. But I was too afraid of what everyone else would think so I broke her heart. And I loved your dad, I did, I do but not the same but I wanted to be happy with him so I forgot everything about Aunt Hermione and me. But something happened to make me remember." Ginny tried desperately to collect herself.

"Right before summer? When you cut your thumb in the kitchen, is that when you remembered?" Lily asked remembering her mother's total breakdown, all Ginny could do was shake her head yes. The girl squeezed her mother's hands harder, "Mama, I don't want you to be sad like that anymore."

Ginny couldn't get over how incredibly mature her daughter was being, how strong, how sensitive, how caring. It made her feel so proud to call her her own yet so guilty at the same time.

"I know baby, and I don't want to be sad either but what I did hurt a lot of people. Your dad, your Uncle Ron, you, your brothers and cousins and grandma and grandpa and even Aunt Hermione."

"Do you wish you'd never hurt Aunt Hermione in the first place? Do-do you wish you'd been with her all along?" Lily had a hard time asking her mother this, knowing what it meant.

This was exactly the question Ginny had been dreading from the beginning. She looked straight into her daughter's eyes and said, "no. I don't. I know that may be hard for you to understand. I certainly wish I had thought things through better before acting on anything but I don't wish that I stayed with Aunt Hermione from the beginning." Lily started to cry again, just slightly. "I would never, in a million years, go back and change that because then I wouldn't have you or your brothers and I couldn't live with that."

Lily was of course extremely bright and intuitive for her age so she stopped her mother saying, "but you would have been happier. And you never would have known about me or James or Albus so it wouldn't have mattered, and none of this would have ever happened and Dad would be happy and Uncle Ron would be happy and Aunt Hermione and Grandma and Grandpa. You wouldn't have known us so what would it have mattered?"

Ginny's heart broke at these words. Lily was shaking and bawling at this point so her mother hugged her as hard as she could. "What I'm saying baby is that things, no matter how crazy they may seem at the time, things happen for a reason. You may be able to control your own fate to some degree but I firmly believe that some things are supposed to happen to us no matter what. You and your brothers were meant to happen to me, I know that. I partly knew it back then, some part of me told me I had to be with your dad and I am very glad I listened. I know it is beyond confusing for someone your age, hell even my age, but I don't want you for a second to think that my life would have been better with out you in it. I love the three of you more than anything, which is why all of this is so hard. Because this isn't just my life, it is everyone's."

Lily had calmed a bit in her mother's embrace and pulled back a bit to look her in the eye, "do you think you are meant to be with Aunt Hermione?"

Ginny just looked back at her smiling weakly, "Yes baby, I do."

"Than why aren't you with her now then? Hugo says she's been in Australia." Ginny looked slightly confused at this, and Lily picked up on it, "Rose and James have been stopping us from writing to you and dad because they're angry still but Hugo had a friend of his from Ravenclaw take his letters to the owlry and has been writing to his parents. So if you're meant to be with her, then why aren't you?"

Still not entirely believing this was how her daughter was choosing to respond to this, but still very thankful for it, she replied, "it's not that easy-"

"Why not? You love her right?" Ginny nodded, "She makes you happy right?" Again Ginny nodded, trying to get a word in but was cut off, "And if you think your supposed to be with her then why not?"

"Oh Merlin Lily, I wish it could be as simple as that but not everyone is going to take this as well as you are. Not everyone is as unfailingly kind and compassionate as you are being to me and my actions have hurt a lot of people, and I don't expect those people to forgive me. Like your dad. Even Aunt Hermione."

Lily just looked at her mother with so much warmth and tenderness Ginny thought she could just burst, "Mama, Dad is unhappy when you are unhappy. James, Albus and I are unhappy when you and dad are unhappy. I think that you and Dad are unhappy when we are unhappy. And I'm sure it's the same for Rose and Hugo and their parents. So, if someone doesn't start being happy soon then well, I guess we'll all be unhappy forever."

She couldn't help it, Ginny just let out a hearty, wet laugh that put a smile on both their faces. She hugged her daughter again, "Oh Lily, you are simply amazing you know that? How did you get to be so wise?"

"Easy, I have an amazing family."