The Hidden Truth Exposed

Harry left the room and was gone for an extended time. He did not want to interrupt their conversation. When he finally returned a while later, he had a sandwich and a tall glass of what appeared to be iced tea. Ginny, Luna, and Rolf were sitting together on the couch and smiling at him. He hoped that was a good thing.

"We've talked it over," said Rolf. "And we have a few more questions we would like to ask. However, we are ninety-nine percent ready to let the other you, Hermione along with your children join our family."

Harry's face turned into a giant smile as he sat down. His dream might just happen.

"Hermione was one of my first friends in school along with Ginny. She was always there for all of us," said Luna as Rolf nodded his head beside her. "We wouldn't be here without her. I am extraordinarily excited about her joining our family."

"So, then…" asked Harry. "What are your questions?

"The first question is," said Ginny, jumping right into things with a suspicious smile, "Will there be two of you in this new arrangement?"

"No. No. Definitely not," declared Harry in a sound voice. "There will only be one. I will become a combination of both Harrys, just like I am now."

"Good," said Ginny with an impish grin. "That was too ghastly just to consider. Two of you would be intolerable. One of you is often more than enough."

"Thanks, Gin. I love you, too," said Harry with a smirky chuckle.

"What about Hermione's marriage to Ron? You mentioned it before. To us, she is married to Ron, not you. How is that going to work?" asked Ginny, continuing to be the central scrutinizer.

"Yes, what about their children," added Luna, once again very sensitive to the thought of lost children.

"In coming here, we will merge the two timelines causing some changes. Once we are all here, then Ron and Hermione will be divorced as per my other timeline. Ron will now be married to Lavender, as I mentioned before. The result will be a new niece and nephew for you to meet."

"What about their current children?" asked Luna.

"It's a little complicated, but I know you'll approve. I'll tell you more about them later."

"But Lavender died in the Battle of Hogwarts," said Ginny. "I saw her body. It was horrible what Greyback did to her."

"You're right, Gin," said Harry. "But that was in this timeline. We saved her in the other timeline. We will explain that further when Hermione arrives."

"Ohhhh," said Ginny, trying to grasp the concept of the new timeline that would emerge after Hermione arrived.

"All of our children here will remain the same for us. Hermione and my two children will enter the mix. Billie is a sixth-year student and Randy is a seventh-year at Hogwarts. We probably will not see much of them most of the year. But that will still make us a family of eighteen. Hermione will be the ex-minister. I will be an ex-auror, but I will also blend in transparently with my current roles here.

"That sounds great," said Ginny, not letting go of her separation from Harry issue. "But I still want to know about our breakup."

"Okay, Gin," said Harry, trying to stay on topic. "Let's finish sorting this out. We can talk about our breakup later. I promise."

"Okay, but remember, we don't keep secrets from each other here."

"I know. I know."

"Tell us about your children with Hermione," asked Luna, clearly trying to defuse the conversation.

"Yes...uh...yes. Our children," stammered Harry as he tried to organize his thoughts. "Well...the youngest is Wilhemina, but everyone calls her Billie. She is a sixth-year student at Hogwarts. She is in Gryffindor."

"Nice," interjected Ginny with a show of Lion pride.

"Harry chuckled as he continued. "Billie looks a lot like Hermione, slim with a tendency to have a little too much bushiness to her brownish hair, which is often hidden under a whimsical hat or adorned with 'interesting' ornaments. Her favorite hat is a tall, scarlet top hat with gold plumes. The exception to her looking like Hermione is she has…"

"...Your mother's eyes," interrupted Ginny a second time as Luna and Rolf sat by quietly trying to listen.

"Stop it, Gin," laughed Harry. "Actually, you're wrong. Her eyes are a rich blend of honey and dark browns that are almost like Tiger's Eye stones."

"Oooo my," gushed Luna. "She must be exceptionally creative."

"Yes, Luna," said Harry. "She is very creative. Anyway, people like to ask her if her eyes are the result of a charm, which they are not. But she likes to tell them they are. It's a very Billie thing to do."

The others were smiling at his description of his daughter. They seemed to be taking an immediate liking to Billie.

"She is nerdy and introverted most of the time, but she loves to get up on stage and perform with a group of her friends. They especially love doing impromptu improv skits in the dining hall and other places. About two or three times a year they will do real stage productions for the students. She was chosen by a beech wand with unicorn tail hair which Mr. Ollivander said, 'only chooses a witch wise beyond her years'. That made him ask her if she was wise beyond her years like her mother. She just gave him a clever grin."

"Billie is quite artistic. She likes drawing, especially cartoons. Most of them are harmless and cute, but she has had her moments where one of them followed her into detention. Her real talent, however, is writing."

"Nice," blurted Ginny a second time as Billie hit her right in the wheelhouse again as a writer. "I love this chick."

Harry could not help but puff up with a bit of proud father feelings hearing Ginny's reaction. "She does have a secret, though. She is the editor, publisher, writer, everythinger of a notorious underground newspaper at Hogwarts. It is called The Dungeon Times. It's a tabloid full of the biggest and most controversial, juicy gossip and news. I think it is a collision of The Quibbler and Rita Skeeter."

"That seems incredibly unusual," said Luna. "I cannot imagine my father ever working with her."

"Neither can I, Luna," said Harry as he laughed. "But if he did, it would look like The Dungeon Times."

"Oooo my," said Luna, giggling at the notion.

"There is actually a bounty on her as the editor by the administrators of the school. They find her humor a tad bit offensive at times."

What are her plans for the future?" asked Ginny.

"I'm not sure. I don't think she is sure, either. She loves acting and being on stage, but I think her real skill is writing. Maybe she will be a playwright or even a critic," suggested Harry.

"We could help her with that," said Rolf, whose credentials include having written several published books on magical creatures."

"Yes," agreed Ginny, the former sports journalist. "That would be a wonderful career."

"But what about Randy?" asked Luna. "Tell us about him. I'll bet he is surprisingly interesting, too."

"Okay," said Harry, breaking the flow. "Randy is the oldest. He is a seventh-year student and a member of Slytherin House."

This caused Ginny's eyes to widen and her ears to perk as she sat up. She remembered all too well the problems faced by Albus Severus at school and outside. She was hoping Randy fared better.

Harry saw Ginny's reaction and said, "Don't worry, Gin. He has a pear wand with a Phoenix feather. Mr. Ollivander said there are no known cases of a pear wand ever being found in the hands of a dark witch or wizard. He's a good kid."

"Okay. If you say so," replied Ginny as she settled back.

"Randy is tall and slim," continued Harry. "I don't know where he gets it from, but he is. His hair is a lot like mine, but the color is more Hermione's. However, it comes down to the middle of his back and is usually dyed black. He has my grandmother's eyes."

"Oooo. You mean your eyes," said Luna.

"Yes, you're right," he replied. "I never seem to think of it that way. Weird. He likes to wear black, but he has a few gray shirts with a little, goth girl who skateboards and plays guitar on them. He calls her Emily the Strange. He has a few piercings, but nothing too weird. He has some tattoos...ummmm,..let's see...there's a Slytherin crest, Hogwarts crest, the Deathly Hallows, a snake that goes from his elbow down around his arm and ends on the back of his hand, and...uh...oh yeah, a skeleton playing guitar because he wants to be a guitar player in a rock band."

"Oooo my," said Luna, the talk about tattoos causing her to unconsciously rub the eagle tattoo above her left breast. "Does he know about The Wailing Wandas?"

"Everyone knows about the Wandas," replied Harry as Ginny stood up. "And he knows his mother, you, Ginny and his aunt Angelina were part of them. He says he wants to 'jam' with you one day. But more about the Wandas in a minute."

Ginny looked around for a moment, then sat down. She started drumming her fingers rhythmically on her leg, clearly having a flashback to her days as the drummer of the group.

Like I hinted at, Randy plays guitar in a rock band and is really excellent. His first band, The Horcruxes, never really accomplished anything, but his current outfit called Eternal Rust is doing exceptionally well. They just signed a deal to be the openers for the reunion tour of The Weird Sisters...and, if things work out, The Wailing Wandas."

"What the bloody hell!" exclaimed Ginny as she jumped back up.

"That's our band!" said Luna, equally surprised.

"How come I don't know anything about this? How can there be a tour of our band without us?" yelled Ginny, fired up and ready to fight."

"Easy, Gin. Easy," said Harry in an urgent voice as he motioned his hands at her palm first in an effort to get her to calm down and take a breath. "That is happening in the other timeline. When we combine things and Hermione gets here she will explain it. I think you and Luna will both be very excited."

"We better be," said Ginny, once again taking her seat.

"Oooo. It sounds extraordinarily intriguing," said Luna. "I want to hear more."

"Hermione will explain it all when she gets here," said Harry. "But to get back to Randy's band, they have been getting a lot of work and are selling songs on the muggle Internet. Hermione let him have a muggle computer when he was young and he has become exceptionally proficient at using it. When he found out we do all of our books by hand, he said he was going to bring us into the twenty-first century and computerize all of it. Of course, that caused Billie to call him a Slythergeek, to which he called her a Gryffinsnore. So yup, they act like pretty normal teenagers."

"Well," said Ginny with Rolf nodding in agreement. "If he can make doing the books easier, then get him here immediately. I hate doing them."

"But what happens when we combine the timelines?" asked Luna in a way that indicated she might have detected something…perhaps, a problem. "Will Randy's band and Billie's newspaper still exist? Will they still be at Hogwarts?"

"Ohhhh," breathed Harry as he made an 'Oh crap' face. "Hermione and I never discussed that. We were so busy with the rest of things. That's a discussion for us to deal with when I go back to get them. But thanks, Luna. I think you have given us a chance to get in front of the problem."

You're welcome, Deer. I can still call you that, can't I?" asked Luna.

"Of course, Jady."

Before long, the conversation turned to other lodge business. Eventually, a house-elf appeared and asked if they were ready for dinner. The look on everyone's faces said they were definitely hungry, so they all got up and headed to the dining table where a Kokanee salmon on a bed of wild rice pilaf appeared in front of each of them as soon as they were seated. The salmon was accompanied by a bowl of corn chowder and some vegetables from the greenhouses, everyone was more than satisfied.

As they finished their meal, Ginny got up and headed for the front door to take her customary post-dinner walk. Harry stood up and hurried to follow her. Luna also rose to join them, but Rolf urged her to sit back down.

"I think they have things to discuss," he said.

"Oooo," said Luna, realizing what he meant. "You mean they need to talk about why they are separated in the other timeline. Yes, they do need to talk."

Harry caught up with Ginny as she stepped off of the porch into the darkness that comes early this time of year at these latitudes. "Can I walk with you, Gin?" he said, trying to sound anxious to talk.

"Do you want to tell me about us, now?" she responded, expecting to hear a yes.

"Yes, Gin. I want to talk about us."

"Okay. Get on with it then."

"We got married in the other timeline just like we did in this one...at that group wedding with Ron and Hermione, and with George and Angelina. We had the same three children and the same life for many years. But there is something about our lives you don't know…"

"...And I trust you are going to tell me," she responded, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Yes, but it will not be easy to take," he said, taking a breath before continuing. "Way back in your third year, Ron told your mom how he felt about Hermione and his fears of losing her to me. Your mom never told anyone, but she started giving Hermione a love potion she created in the biscuits she sent us at school. Do you remember them?"

"I do," said Ginny, clearly recalling it. "She was always insistent that I didn't mix them up. Each package had a name on it."

"Now you know why she was concerned with who got which biscuits."

"I guess. But if that is true, what does it have to do with us?

"The next year, after the second challenge of the Triwizard Tournament, Hermione hugged and kissed me on the head. A picture taken by Rita Skeeter in the Champion's Tent already had Ron on edge. This made Ron even more paranoid about us. He told your mom and she responded by starting to put that love potion in your biscuits and mine, too."

"Are you saying our getting married was a result of my mom's love potion in some biscuits?"

"I think it was a contributing factor. I always liked you. It could have happened even without them," he said in a very earnest voice.

"Then, what happened? Why are we divorced?"

"A few months before Ron and Hermione broke up, you discovered what your mom had been doing all of these years. You know how her mind has started slipping. She spilled the details of what she had been doing while both of you were baking biscuits. You were very upset. So, you brought an end to her love biscuits without her knowing it."

"Then I caused Ron and Hermione to break up. Is that what you're saying?"

"No. Definitely not," said Harry in a firm voice. "You may have made it possible for them to live their real feelings without the complication of the potion. But breaking up was their decision. They are solely responsible for their breakup."

"Then what about us? Did the same thing happen to us?" insisted Ginny.

"It's painful. Once the effects of our biscuits wore off, our true inner feelings were unstoppered. Things we didn't know about ourselves, or things we were suppressing were free to come out."

"Is this when you fell in love with Hermione? Did you…"

"...NO!" said Harry in an uncharacteristically loud voice. "Someone did come between us, but it was not Hermione."

"Who was it?" demanded Ginny, clearly expecting it would be Harry, not her, who crossed the line. "Who was she?"

"Aeraca McBain."

Aeraca McBain? The freaking superstar seeker of the Irish National Team. What the...uh...uh...How the fu…" ranted Ginny, all of the anger in her red-haired head ready to explode in a ball of fire. "You left me for her?"

"No," said Harry. "You, Gin...you left me for her."

'That's….that's impossible," said Ginny as she abruptly seemed ready to collapse. "I'm not…"

"...That's in the other timeline," cut in Harry. "It didn't happen here. You would remember it if it did."

"So when Hermione gets here then, I won't...uh…"

"No, nothing like that is going to happen. We are going to move forward."

"Well, I guess then…"

"I know, Gin," said Harry as he hugged her. "But it is no weirder than what we have already been through."

"I suppose you're right," replied Ginny as she returned his embrace. "But I'd have been the best one you ever saw."

They kissed for several moments before preparing to head back inside.

"What will we tell Rolf and Luna about this?" asked Harry as they walked in the direction of the porch in the twinkling, moonlit snow.

"We can tell them about Ron and Hermione," she replied. "But...well, I think we can keep this one little secret to ourselves."

"If that's what you want Gin Blossom, then we'll keep this as our little secret. I will make sure Hermione doesn't let anything slip about it, either."

"Thanks, darling," she said as they stepped back up onto the porch. "Let's go back inside. I think I need a glass of something."