CHAPTER 26

Ginny had gone back to Hogwarts after her talk with Hermione. She found Harry and Emma together, alone, practicing Quidditch. The wizard was teaching her daughter some broomstick moves. That was just what they needed, Ginny thought, something that would make them connect naturally. Harry had been putting too much pressure on their relationship and Emma wasn't responding to well to it.

While she watched them fly on the air, Ginny smiled. She was happy to see her daughter having fun with Harry. That was something that had distressed Ginny a lot throughout the years; she had worried many times about the father-daughter encounter.

After some minutes, she saw them stop mid-air. Ginny watched as Emma told Harry something and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then she went back to ground and ran back to the inside of the Castle, without realising her mother was there on the field. Harry, however, didn't get down, instead, he flew higher and higher while giving cheerful turns in the air at great speed.

Harry felt like the happiest man alive, Emma had just told him "thanks, Dad." He couldn't erase the smile on his face, even some laughs came out involuntarily from his mouth. Harry had been waiting for that moment for months, and it was finally there, he was Emma's Dad.

He had reached a tall height and with a sharp movement he started descending at high speed. That was when he noticed Ginny. Harry dismounted his broomstick before it had even stopped, he let it fall on the ground and with determined steps he walked to where the redhead was standing. He lifted her by the waist and whirled a few times before letting her back on the ground. And without even thinking it twice he kissed her.

It was way better than he remembered. Kissing Ginny was like becoming alive again. He kissed her with all the passion and love he could muster. At first she was too shocked to reciprocate but she quickly surrender to him and her lips kissed him back with the same ferocity. Harry drew her closer, hugging her by the middle. She grabbed his robe with one hand while the other travelled from his neck to his thick hair.

After what seemed like hours, they broke the kissed and took a breath. Their foreheads rested on each other's. Harry was at that moment the definition of happiness, his eyes were brighter than ever and his smile looked as if in any moment would break his face in two. Ginny, on the other hand, was turmoil of emotions that didn't let her think in peace, her heart was beating at an alarming speed.

"She called me 'Dad'!" Harry announced with joy evident on his voice. He tried to kiss her once more but their lips barely touched. Ginny had regain conscious and gave a step backwards, realising herself from his arms.

"Don't you ever do that again." She said before running back to the castle.

In spite of Ginny's escape, Harry couldn't make himself feel bad. His daughter had finally recognised him as a father. Furthermore, he was aware that he still had a long way for his and Ginny's relationship to be better. At least, she had kissed him back. That was a good start.

Ginny closed the door of her bedroom and slide down to the ground, letting her tears free. She didn't know exactly why she was crying. That kissed was the best she had ever had. She didn't remember Harry to be so passional with his lips. He had always treated her with the utmost care and used to be kind of shy when kissing. The only kissed Ginny could compare the one she had just have, would be with their first one. That had been a great one, Gryffindor had just won the Quidditch Cup and they were celebrating at the Common Room when Harry arrived. Ginny had gone to hug him and he had surprised her with the kiss she had always dreamed of.

That side of Ginny, the one that she had been trying to bury in the deepest depths of her being since she had found Harry, was ecstatic. She felt more alive than she had felt in years. Her heart had beaten with joy and pleasure. Being in his arms, kissing him, touching him, had been like something from another world and she wanted to do it again. Her internal little eleven year old girls was screaming in delight.

On the other hand, Ginny couldn't stop thinking if someone had seen them, especially Theodore. Her ex had demonstrated to know everything that she had been doing, if he had seen that kiss, she had not only put herself at a major risk but also Harry was now on his list.

There was a little part of her that wanted to go back in time to her first years as a married woman, when she had been happy and thought that nothing more could be asked to make her life better, except maybe, she had to be honest, Harry.

She had thought to have loved Theodore, at least at first but, now, after having felt that way about Harry's kiss, she was starting to doubt it. Maybe Ginny had fooled herself. Though, when she thought about Thomas it seemed impossible to think that her son hadn't been born out of his parent's love. It was unthinkable. Theodore and Ginny had wanted him with fervour. Nonetheless, when she thought about Haley, she couldn't believe she had loved a man like that.

It was overwhelming. Ginny didn't know what to think, what to do, what to feel. All she could do was cry and cry, and hope that thing would fix themselves.

"Mom?" a knock on her bedroom's door made her come back to earth. The voice of her youngest child was on the other side. Making an effort to breathe deeply and calm herself, she talked to her.

"Yes, Haley, is something wrong?"

"I heard you crying." She answered worriedly.

"I'm okay, nothing happened, I was just feeling a little emotional." She assured her. Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time one of her kids found her in that state, Theodore had always had something to do with it, so she understood her daughter's concern.

"Mom, open the door." That time was Thomas who spoke with a demanding tone of voice. Ginny knew that he wanted to make sure that nothing too bad had happened to her. That was why she did as told. Once she did, Ginny saw her three children watching her worriedly.

Thomas helped her stand up and once she did, her son started an examination on her. Haley was grabbing Emma's hand while holding 'Hedving' close to her chest. Emma was on guard, standing near the door. It was a well-known picture and it broke Ginny's heart.

"I'm fine, kids, don't worry. Nothing bad happened" she tried to calm them down but they were still too rigid.

"Then why were you crying?" Thomas asked her after having finished his examination.

"I was a little sad, that's all. I swear to you I'm okay" she said while caressing her son's back to make him relax and making Emma get her wand down, she needn't to be on guard.

"Why are you sad?" Haley gaze her with her eyes full of worry.

"Those are problems that older people have and a princess like you shouldn't have to worry." She answered and lift her up on her arms smiling at her. "But now that you are all here I'm not sad anymore"

Haley smiled now believing her mom was okay and hugged her by the neck, resting her head on Ginny's shoulder. Emma and Thomas relaxed a little bit but still eyed her with concern. They knew that nothing physical was wrong but they hadn't like it a bit to have found their mother crying, it had been like going back to their old life. Horrifying.

"How about we eat something?" she proposed trying to distract them.