CHAPTER SIX
Special thanks to deadwoodpecker for beta reading this chapter
It was Molly's turn to catch Arthur as he swayed on his feet and nearly fainted into her lap.
Hermione's trembling hands were clapped firmly over her mouth, her eyes bulging to the size of saucers and darting around the room, unsure of who to start questioning, lecturing, or comforting first.
Ron was standing comfortably looking very pleased with himself, taking his turn to give Hermione his best "I told you so" look.
Fleur was silently beaming.
George's face was turning red and his lips were pressed together so tightly they were turning white, he was trying so hard to keep his flippant comments to himself.
Percy had an intense, focused look on his face like he was trying to solve a maths problem or get a joke.
Bill and Charlie were glaring at Harry with a renewed quiet venom that was more intimidating than the unrestrained threats of a few minutes earlier.
But Harry wasn't even close to caring, because his brain was too busy with listing to him all of the reasons why he was a terrible person and how he had ruined Ginny's life and how he had no business being responsible for a tiny helpless human. With the deathly silence of the kitchen, he could perfectly hear his pulse pounding in his ears.
Ginny was still just staring at the blue potion with a completely blank expression. Finally, she was the one who broke the silence.
"...Huh."
That sound was like a dam breaking, and the entire family erupted into a new flood of noise, all shouting over each other.
"Okay, okay, nobody panic!" Hermione shrieked, flapping her hands and clearly panicking, "We can handle this, I'll help Ginny make a plan! I'll start a baby binder!"
Molly darted across the kitchen and tackled her still-stunned daughter into a crushing hug.
"Remember Ginny dear, this is a good thing and we're all happy for you, even though I'm so sorry I failed you as a mother," she cried.
"By that she means you both are always accepted by this family and we'll help any way we can," said Arthur seriously.
"Yes, feel free to floo over if you ever start feeling sick, dear," wept Molly, clasping onto Ginny's hands for dear life, "and I know you starve yourself for your team, but you need to eat whatever you have a craving for as soon as you crave it, even if those trainers don't like it. I'll be happy to cook it for you. In fact, I'll just start coming over every day to make sure you have everything."
Behind her, Fleur was silently fist-pumping in victory at the new target for Molly Weasley's doting.
"Not that anybody cares," said Ron pointedly, staring up at the ceiling with his arms crossed, "But I'm still waiting for my apology."
That was enough to shake Ginny out of her trance and she actually chuckled. "Ronald, it's going to take a lot more than the immediate vindication of the wanker things you say for that to happen."
Bill and Charlie's faces had turned a shade of purple that reminded Harry entirely too much of Uncle Vernon.
"The rising star junior Auror can't handle rudimentary contraception magic?" Charlie growled through clenched teeth.
Harry gulped loudly enough to be heard over the cacophony. "No! This potion batch is just a dud, we're always safe!"
Ginny gasped and grabbed Harry by the sleeve. She pulled him close and whispered, as if there were a chance everyone wouldn't hear. "Wait, Harry, you did remember to do the Charm...erm….that time, right?" She glanced sideways at Ron and Hermione. "That time...you know...at that thing? That thing three weeks ago?"
Harry's insides felt like they had been frozen. Apparently the look on his face betrayed him, because Ginny looked to be going through the same revelation as him.
"I….I thought you had," he mumbled weakly.
Ginny winced and closed her eyes. "Noooooooo," she moaned, "Harry, we established this, the one who initiates it needs to do the Charm!"
"Exactly!" said Harry, "You were the one who grabbed me and dragged me to the bathroom!"
"Only because you hadn't taken your hand off my thigh the entire bloody dinner!" said Ginny frantically, "What was I supposed to do, just keep eating cake?"
"Wait!" said Ron loudly, and Harry and Ginny froze like trapped rabbits.
Ron glared back and forth between the two of them, the gears in his head working. "Dinner? Cake? Three weeks?"
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Hermione seethed dangerously. "Seriously? At our engagement party!?"
Harry shrank away from her like a child caught in the sweets jar. "Er….would you believe that we got caught up in the romance of the moment? You know, because you two are so in love, it's inspiring?"
"Exactly!" said Ginny, "Really, you should take this as a compliment."
Ron had his hands over his ears and his eyes clenched shut. "Welp. I can never use that bathroom again. We have to move flats. Better yet, let's just burn down the building."
"So what is the Harpies' maternity plan?" Percy asked studiously, as if this were simply a bureaucratic issue, "how soon do you plan on going on leave? Assuming, of course, you...you know….intend to go through with it"
Tense silence fell, as the misunderstanding that caused all this chaos was suddenly relevant again. Every face was looking toward Harry and Ginny with baited breath.
Ginny swallowed and cleared her throat.
"That," she said forcefully, crossing her arms, "is none of your business. None of this is any of your business. So if you'll excuse us, the only people whose opinions matter right now will discuss this alone."
Without waiting for a retort, Ginny grabbed Harry by the hand and led him up the stairs. After they entered Ginny's old bedroom and Harry closed the door behind him, she paced back and forth several times before turning to face him.
"Did you put a ward on the door?" she asked.
"And several more on our way up the stairs," answered Harry. "We should have a while before an Extendable Ear sneaks in here."
"Good. Very good. Cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcool."
An uncomfortable silence fell over them, both hesitant to look the other in the eye. Harry wanted to hug her and start reassuring her, but he also didn't want this conversation to start, because he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to hear what he suspected Ginny would say.
Even though he was completely panicking and sure he would find a way to spectacularly mess up raising a child, there was no doubt in his mind about at least trying his best at it. But he knew how dedicated Ginny was to her career, and how difficult this could be for her. He was sure what she was going to say, but he wasn't sure he could withstand hearing it.
Ginny was chewing her lip, but finally broke the silence. "Look, Harry….this is a lot to take in. Neither of us planned on this happening so soon, obviously. I understand if you want to focus on your job—"
"What?" Harry couldn't help but laugh. "You're a professional athlete who has another human growing inside you, and it's my job we need to worry about?"
Ginny shrugged. "Well, I could keep playing for the next few months. The team healers put a ward around your abdomen for bludgers. I would have to take a break eventually, but I'm on contract now, so I'm secured in my roster spot while on maternity leave, and they always give players a chance to earn their starting spot back."
"Oh," said Harry, surprised. "Well that's….that's good. I thought it would be more cutthroat."
"Well, the Harpies' whole brand is having the very best female players in Britain," said Ginny proudly, "and having a reputation for the best maternity plan in the league makes them pretty attractive to all their prospects. It's hard to build a core team if you permanently lose a player every time someone gets pregnant.
"So…" she said assertively, looking him in the eye. "I feel like...we can do this. I want to keep this baby. But ultimately I feel like it's both of our decisions. I'll understand no matter how you feel. So….what are you thinking?"
Harry felt like he was in a tug of war, between exploding from happiness or imploding from terrifying nerves. Dementors, dragons, Death Eaters, nothing was as scary as this, but he also didn't have to think about his answer, even for a second.
His hand drifted into his pocket and he toyed with what was inside. This wasn't how he imagined doing this, but she asked him what he was thinking, and this night had already flipped all their plans upside-down, what was a bit more?
Harry focused on Ginny's brown eyes, still earnestly waiting for his answer, and he found the courage he always found there.
"Here's what I'm thinking," he said bracingly.
He dropped down to one knee.
Ginny made a high-pitched squeak and her eyes widened in shock. Harry smiled at himself, pleased that he could still catch her completely off-guard.
"I wasn't planning on doing this soon. I was afraid you would think I was being pushy. Was going to wait a few years. Or maybe a few months. Okay, I was probably close to cracking already. And in the meantime, it still felt good to have this on me, as a good luck charm I suppose."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black box he had bought weeks earlier.
"Harry…." Ginny whispered, her eyes welling with tears.
"Ginny," Harry answered. He opened the box to reveal the ring. "Will you mar—guh!"
He was cut off by a crazed redhead tackling him to the ground, grabbing his face and kissing him hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Harry's head was spinning, but he reluctantly pushed her back.
"Gin — Gin!" he grunted between kisses. Finally, Ginny pulled back, frowning at him.
"There's kind of a part you forgot?" Harry said pointedly, raising his eyebrows.
Ginny looked lost for a moment, then rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. Yes. Obviously yes, you idiot."
She kissed him again, and he lost track of time. Eventually, his back started to get sore on the wood floor, and he pushed himself up and pulled them both to their feet.
"We can finish our own celebration later," said Harry, smiling so wide his face was sore, "but we should probably put your family's worries to rest. And I can't wait to show the world your hand with this on it." He slid the ring onto her finger, and Ginny bounced on her feet like she was eleven years old again, practicing signing the name "Ginny Potter" in a diary.
Then, her smile slipped and she groaned loudly. "Ugh, this will make my mum even more of a nightmare now. I thought she was bad in the lead-up to Bill's wedding, she'll be even worse since she has to be the mother to both of us."
"Well, Bill's wedding was nice, wasn't it?" said Harry diplomatically.
"I mean, I guess," Ginny shrugged, "but not nearly nice enough to be worth all the hassle. The months of my mother stressing over everything and making sure I know my part. And I was just a bridesmaid! Being the center of attention of a hundred people while wearing a cumbersome dress might be Fleur's dream, but it sounds like the worst day of my life."
She wrapped her arms around Harry's waist and pulled him close. "I just care if I'm the center of your attention."
Harry smiled even wider. "Well don't worry, you could be wearing a burlap sack and I still won't be able to take my eyes off you."
"So you don't mind backing me up when Mum breaks out the bridal magazines?" Ginny asked pleadingly. "I was never one of those girls that fantasize about an extravagant wedding; in fact, the smaller the better. We've never really talked about it, but I know you, so I assume you would be okay with that?"
Harry laughed loudly. "Are you kidding? Yes, absolutely. You know I'm not exactly a social butterfly. As far as I'm concerned, we could jusy floo over to the Ministry and take care of it right now."
They both erupted into a fresh round of laughter, holding each other and clutching their sides at how funny and ridiculous the idea was.
Then, their eyes met, and their laughter faltered, growing more and more quiet until tense silence descended on the room. Their smiles dropped, and their suddenly serious eyes held a wordless conversation.
Finally, both their mouths crept back up into wide smiles, this time being full of mischief.
A/N: Sorry about taking so long between such short chapters, this fic has proved more frustrating than my others. I want to impart a lot of information about facial expressions and body language, to convey exactly how the scene looks in my head, but the more descriptions like that are in the text between the quotations, the slower the dialogue flows, and I also want the dialogue to come off as really fast, with people firing back and forth at each other and talking over each other.
Basically, the way I picture this story in my head is as a play or a multi-camera sitcom. Maybe as a comic, just something with a visual component. and the inherent limitations of text means I'll never be completely happy with it. I need to win the lottery so I can hire actors to act out my fanfics lol. Or maybe I'll learn how to draw just so I can turn this into a comic.