[A/N: WOW okay so it has been a hot minute since i updated this, hasn't it? i do have a reason for the absence, though: i've been completing my degree at uni, complete with a dissertation and several essays that have had me SWAMPED. i am officially Done with University, though, so hopefully i can get back to a semi-regular updated schedule! i hope you enjoy this chapter, and feel free to hit me up on tumblr (lazyweekendmornings there as well) to talk about university, this fic, or how underrated ginny weasley is as a character! 3 thanks so much for reading, and for leaving the loveliest comments/reviews that i go back to re-read whenever i'm having a particularly difficult day. hope you enjoy the chapter, and - as always - i'd love to know what you think!]
viii.
"Thank you for coming to meet me," Kingsley said. He sat down at his desk, rubbed a hand over his face. Harry noticed that his earring, which he'd taken out when presiding over the Carrow trial yesterday, was back in.
"How are the trial preparations going, Minister?" Ron asked as he sat at the seats Kingsley gestured tiredly towards.
Kingsley waved his want. Three cups appeared before him, Ron, and Harry; another wave, and a teapot came flying in and poured out a cup of tea for all of them. Harry was suddenly reminded of Mrs Weasley.
"About as well as can be hoped, I think," Kingsley answered Ron. "Letting the press in to the Carrow trial meant that the public knows the trials are being conducted fairly—"
"Like those bastards deserve a fair trial," Ron muttered. After everything the Carrows had done to Ginny, Harry was wont to agree.
"—and now it's just a case of putting our heads down and getting through it as best as we can," Kingsley continued, unperturbed.
"Is that what you wanted to see us about? The trials?" Harry asked. They had gotten an owl sometime after breakfast, he and Ron, from Kingsley, asking that they come in to see him at their soonest convenience.
"No. Well, not just that," Kingsley amended. "How is Ginny doing?" he added, his tone less professional and more concerned.
"She's alright," Harry said.
"She got angry with everyone yesterday, stormed into her room, and acted like nothing happened at breakfast. Normal Ginny behaviour," Ron snorted. "But that's the Carrows, innit. Reckon they'd be enough to unsettle anyone."
"Reckon we're all going to be very unsettled the next couple weeks," Harry said quietly. The Carrows had only been the first trial. He was already dreading the Malfoys' one. He knew he would be called to testify, as would Ron and Hermione, and possibly Dean and Luna, after what happened at Malfoy Manor; truth be told, he had no idea what he would say at all, and was doing his best not to think about it.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Kingsley agreed, and let out a sigh. He sipped his tea, and then straightened in his seat, as if forcing himself to pull it together. "Anyway, as I said, that isn't what I called you both in for."
"Is everything alright?" Harry asked, shoving his hand into his pocket and gripping his wand tightly. He could see Ron tense up beside him from the corner of his eye.
"Yes, yes. Everything's alright. I received an owl from Robards this morning. I expect him to be back in a day or two," Kingsley told them. "I know this is a lot to ask and, after everything, you two deserve some time off, but—"
"What is it?" Ron asked, when Kingsley hesitated.
"I had spoken to you earlier, about designing a new Auror training program with Robards," Kingsley said, setting his cup back down. "Well, it seems like I was being overly optimistic with how much time I had. The trials are taking up more of my time than I thought, especially as it seems like I need to be presiding over every single one, or the Wizengamot will not be satisfied as to its fairness." To Harry's amusement, he rolled his eyes. "But we intend to send around a sign up form after the trials conclude, which means we need to have the program more or less ready by then. Now, I know Hermione intends to go back to Hogwarts in September, but you both want to join. So, I was hoping you two would meet with Gawain in my stead, to help design the program."
Of all of the things Harry was expecting, it wasn't that. To his left, Ron looked as surprised as he was. "Er – Kingsley, we're not really qualified for that sort of thing," Harry pointed out.
Kingsley surprised Harry when he laughed. "Who better than you two and Hermione to know about what we need to prepare for?" he pointed out, still laughing. "I can't think of more qualified people."
Harry supposed he had a point.
"Of course," Kingsley added, composing himself with visible effort, "it wouldn't just be you. I've also written to Professor McGonagall to ask her for her advice. And Hermione, even though she doesn't want to join us yet, is more than welcome to help, as well."
"She's already started placing orders for the books she reckons she'll need for Hogwarts," Ron told Kingsley, shaking her head. "I really don't think she'll turn down any option for extra work."
"Good," Kingsley said, and looked down at a piece of parchment on his desk. "If you could let me know by tomorrow what her decision is, I would appreciate that. Now, I've heard that you two still don't have your Apparition licenses," he said, with another amused smile. "I can't have any members of my Magical Law Enforcement team breaking the law, can I? I've scheduled for you both to go take your tests now, just so we can get it over with and it's one less thing to worry about."
"Thank you," Harry said, genuinely touched.
"It's really good to have a Minister who's actually decent," Ron said, giving Kingsley a grin as he and Harry stood up. Harry nodded fervently in agreement.
"Well, it certainly helps," Kingsley agreed, standing up and shaking each of their hands in turn. "Go down to Level Six, Wilkie Twycross is waiting for you there. And don't fail," he added with a smile, "we've got enough on our plates to deal with at the moment already."
A couple of hours and an encounter with Wilkie Twycross later, Harry Apparated onto the outskirts of the Burrow with a loud crack!, Apparition licence clutched firmly in his hand.
"It's good we don't have to worry about getting arrested for that anymore," Ron said a moment later, when he Apparated in next to him.
"Well, to be fair, I think I was more worried about being arrested for being Undesirable Number one than a licence," Harry said dryly. Laughing, the two of them began walking back to the house.
"It's insane, isn't it? That Kingsley wants us to help," Ron said after a moment.
Sensing that Ron was in the mood for a chat, Harry stopped on the grass of the orchard, by the apple tree. He was becoming far more familiar with the orchard than he was with the inside of the Burrow.
Ron took out his Deluminator and clicked it. A spherical ball of light floated up from inside it and hovered over them. The sun had set half an hour ago or so, and it had been hard to see or focus on much in the dim dusk light. In the sudden light the Deluminator provided, Harry could see Ron's freckled face, the way he was frowning thoughtfully.
"It is insane, yeah," Harry agreed.
"I honestly didn't think we'd be here," Ron said. "Helping the Ministry. Joining it. After the way they acted last year…"
"It isn't the old Ministry, though. It's Kingsley," Harry pointed out. "Not… I dunno, Fudge or Thicknesse or summat."
"Yeah. He isn't a tosspot, not like the rest of them," Ron said. "I mean, look at the way he's handling all of the trial stuff."
The two of them fell silent; Harry knew they were both thinking of yesterday, of the Carrow trial.
"I think he's doing a good job," Harry said, and cleared his throat.
"He is. Sent those fuckers straight to Azkaban like they deserve," Ron muttered. Harry could see that the tips of his ears were red. Harry couldn't blame him. "Hermione reckons we need to be a part of it as much as possible. Rebuilding the Ministry and all of that," he added after a minute.
"Yeah?" Harry said.
"Yeah. She'd be happy about this. Well, she'd be happy Kingsley asked us to help. Still don't think she's happy that we're not going back," Ron said.
Harry didn't bother asking going back where? "Well, yeah, it'll be weird, her going back without us. I don't want to go back, though. I don't think I'm going to change my mind," he admitted.
"Yeah. Me neither," Ron agreed.
"It'll be weird, though," Harry said again. Come September, Hermione would be at Hogwarts. Ginny would go, too.
"Have you thought about what we'd do?" Ron asked.
Harry turned to look at him, nonplussed.
"What we'll do without her. When we start Auror training. Can't go on staying here, can we?" Ron said, like it was obvious.
"Well – er, no, I suppose not," Harry agreed. He hadn't thought about it, but he didn't know if he'd want to stay at the Burrow while Hermione and Ginny were at Hogwarts, when it was no longer the holidays. "Could always stay at Grimmauld Place," he suggested. "It's close to the Ministry and all that."
"Yaxley and the others got in, though," Ron pointed out.
"Yeah, they did. We'd have to go check on it," Harry said. He had no idea what state Grimmauld Place was in. The Death Eaters had gotten in, and Harry somehow doubted that they had been very careful when going through the place. At the same time, it was Sirius's house, his own house. He didn't know if he could avoid it forever.
Ron shrugged. "We could ask Kingsley or my dad to come look at it with us. And we could look for other options, too" he suggested. "Even if we, you know, start fixing it up, we don't have to live there."
"Yeah. Let's do that, then," Harry said, immensely relieved.
Ron clicked the Deluminator once more, and, in silent consensus, the two continued their walk back into the house in the dim light of the dusk.
"But where would you live, then?" Ginny asked.
They had just finished dinner, and Harry had made his way up to Bill and Charlie's room. He hadn't been surprised when Ginny had joined him a short while later. They were both sitting on the bed, Harry leaning back against the wall, Ginny cross-legged at the foot of the bed and regarding him with an intense expression as he filled her in on everything that had happened today.
"I don't know," he admitted, and reached his hand out, stroking over her bare knee. All she was wearing was an old, oversized Weasley jumper and her underwear, and Harry was finding it quite difficult to focus on the conversation without letting his mind wander back to memories of this morning, where he and Ginny had been alone in the orchard, and they had—
"You couldn't just stay here?" Ginny asked, interrupting his very pleasant thought process.
Harry shrugged. "I dunno. Might be easier, being closer to the Ministry. And I reckon it'd be weird, staying here without Hermione and you," he said.
Ginny moved closer to him, settling down next to him and tugging the duvet up over them. Harry wrapped his arm around her, resting his hand over her slim waist.
"Suppose it'd be fun, if you had your own place. We wouldn't have to worry about my brothers or parents sneaking in and interrupting us," Ginny murmured. She leaned over and kissed at his jaw in a way that made a shiver run down Harry's body.
"I'd be living with your brother, though," he couldn't resist pointing out. "And he'd almost definitely walk in on us. And interrupt us."
Ginny groaned. "Thanks for that, Potter. Proper spoiled the mood," she said.
Harry laughed, tugging Ginny in a bit closer to him. He tugged his glasses off, setting them aside on the bedside table before he settled back against the pillows. He could feel Ginny's breath against his neck, warm and reassuring. "You could come stay with us. Over your vacations," he suggested.
"I could, yeah," Ginny said.
Harry knew something was wrong by the way she went quiet after, instead of directing a teasing comment towards him. Instead of saying anything, he moved to stroke her fiery hair, waiting for her to speak.
"I'm… worried, about going back," she said after a moment. "After the Carrows, all of that shit, I… I'm scared," she whispered.
He didn't know if she would have admitted it to anyone else. He didn't even know if she would have admitted it to him if they hadn't been lying down in a dark room, if he'd been able to look into her eyes. Still, it felt monumental, somehow, Ginny trusting him with this admission. He really, really didn't want to mess it up.
"I think it'd be a bit insane if you weren't," he said, and turned his head to the side, pressed a kiss into her hair.
"Yeah. Suppose you're right," she said. Her voice sounded suspiciously thick, but Harry didn't comment on it.
"Besides," he said, when she didn't say anything else, "who's going to captain the Quidditch team if you don't go back? McGonagall survived Voldemort, but I dunno if she'd survive losing the Cup to Slytherin."
He counted it as a victory when Ginny started to laugh. With the way he was holding her, he could feel her relax into his side. "You've got a point," she said, once her laughter had subsided. "She'd go insane."
"She would. Really, you'd be doing her a favour by going back," Harry agreed.
"I definitely would," she said, and then, "we should get some sleep. Long day tomorrow."
"What's happening tomorrow?" Harry asked, bringing up his free hand to muffle his yawn.
"The Dolohov trial, for one. And Andromeda and Teddy are coming over for tea after. She wrote to Mum while you were at the Ministry," Ginny told Harry.
Smiling at the prospect of seeing Andromeda and Teddy again, Harry settled down in bed with Ginny, letting himself drift off to sleep with her held securely in his arms.