Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing I tell you! All the characters, places etc. belong to JKR.
A/N:

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HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
Chapter Nine

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A scream woke Hermione from her sleep. She fumbled for her wand and lit the candles in her room. At first she wondered why Harry wasn't there, but then she remembered that he, Seamus, Ron and Lavender had gone out for the evening. Ginny had claimed she was too tired to go out.

Pulling her dressing gown tightly around her, she walked down the stairs to Ginny's room. That was where the scream had come from. She gently pushed open the door and looked in, her wand lighting her way. "Ginny?" she whispered. Looking at Ginny's bed, it was obvious the girl was still asleep. She moved around then woke with a start. She looked shocked at seeing Hermione stood in her doorway.

"Seamus said there was something going on with you, Ginny," Hermione said, moving towards her. She sat on the edge of the bed. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You screamed in your sleep," Hermione told her. "That usually means something is going on with someone."

"I had a nightmare, that's all," Ginny said, in a tone which told Hermione she didn't wish to pursue the matter further. Hermione, however, persisted.

"Then that would explain the bruises on your arm."

Ginny looked at her arms. Her upper arms and wrists were covered in bruises. "It was an accident. I fell over."

"I don't think falling over gives you those sorts of injuries."

"Why aren't you out with the others?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Harry told me to stay at home. He's very protective of me recently. It can be overbearing sometimes, and I'd appreciated it if you didn't change the subject. No, Ginny, tell me how you got those bruises or I will go against my better judgement and use a truth potion on you."

Ginny looked away from Hermione, her head bowed. "He didn't mean to," she whispered. "He didn't. It was just a joke to start with."

"What was?"

"He flirted with me, I told him no," Ginny told her, still whispering, as though talking loudly would make it more real. "But he kept doing it. He kept getting more forceful. He does... things." Ginny looked up, tears streaming steadily from her eyes.

"Oh God, Ginny," Hermione said, taking the girl into her arms. Ginny was sobbing uncontrollably.

"You can't tell anyone, Hermione. I'll lose my job - he's my boss," she warned.

"Ginny, you can't keep this a secret! He could be thrown in Azkaban for this!"

Ginny moved away from Hermione. She wiped her tears shaking her head. "I like my job, Hermione." Hermione reached out and grabbed Ginny's shoulder. Ginny winced in pain. "You're hurting me."

"I'm just reminding you how much your job means to you," said Hermione standing up. "If you know what's best for you, you'll... well, I'll leave it up to you what you do Ginny. You're old enough to make your own decisions." With one last look at Ginny, Hermione strode from the room, closing the door behind her. Through the door she could hear Ginny start sobbing again.

***

As was usual on a Saturday afternoon when neither was working, Harry and Hermione spent their free time together in the living room, just enjoying being together. They lounged on the couch, Hermione's head resting on Harry's stomach, talking quietly. "How are you feeling?" Harry asked her softly, stroking her hair gently.

Hermione closed her eyes. "Tired," she admitted. "But I'm with you so it doesn't matter."

Harry smiled. "You mean the world to me, you know that right?"

Her eyelids snapped open, and she looked up at him, her brown eyes looking slightly amused. "Of course I do, Harry. I married you, didn't I? You mean everything to me, too."

"Good," he told her, kissing her.

After a moments silence, Hermione said, "I want children, Harry." She sat up slightly, turning so she could look him. "I want a big family. I never thought about having children seriously until... recently. But I do."

"You mean it?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded, biting her lip.

"Yes," she whispered. "More than anything."

Harry's smile grew and he leaned in to kiss her, but as he did so, there was a commotion in the fireplace. A fire suddenly ignited and a few seconds later, a figure appeared, swirling in the flames. He stepped out of the fire and looked around, coughing slightly from the ash. It was a couple of seconds before he spotted the couple.

"Sirius?" asked Harry, amazed. It had been months since he had seen his godfather, as he had taken to travelling the world after being acquitted of the charges which had put him in Azkaban several years before.

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Sirius with a cheeky grin. He looked completely different than the first time Harry had met him. His skin was no longer sallow, instead, it was rather tanned and his hair was shiny and well-kept, though he still wore it long.

"Hey, Harry," said Hermione suddenly, resting her head on Harry's shoulder. "Does he know?"

"Do I know what?" Sirius asked.

Harry cast a sidelong glance at Hermione. "I don't believe he does. Shall we tell him?"

"Tell me what?" asked Sirius impatiently.

"I'd rather keep him in suspense," Hermione said with a sly smile.

"But that's mean," pointed out Harry, grinning. Sirius was starting to get impatient now.

"What's your point?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, stop playing games, you two. What's going on? What's your big secret? I already know you're getting married, so don't bother stringing me along."

"We're not getting married," Harry told him.

"You called off the wedding?" Sirius asked in amazement. He looked incredibly disappointed, probably as much as he felt.

"No, Sirius. We're not getting married, because we're already married." Hermione held up her hand. Her wedding ring glinted slightly in the afternoon sun which streamed in through the windows.

"I certainly wasn't expecting that," Sirius said, beaming now, though looking shocked at the same time. "Next you'll be telling me Hermione's expecting."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione shrugged and gave a wave of her hand to show she didn't care. "Uh, Sirius? Hermione's kind of had a miscarriage a couple of weeks ago," Harry told him.

Sirius's face fell. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry." Hermione gave him a weak smile.

"Please, don't be," she told him. "I didn't even know I was pregnant."

"Cup of tea?" Harry asked Sirius, who nodded gratefully. Harry quickly left the room, presumably to put the kettle on, while Hermione told Sirius what had happened in Australia.

When Harry came back carrying a tray laden with the teapot and three cups, Sirius, who had sat down in one of the large armchairs, was asking Hermione, "So do they have any idea why it happened or why you were in so much pain."

Hermione took the cup of hot tea that Harry offered to her and smiled at her husband. She turned back to Sirius. "There's nothing definite, by my doctor, Dr Hammerclean, thinks I was in so much pain because I've had the Cruciatius Curse performed on me about fifteen times." She thought for a moment. "And that's just the times I remember." She sipped her tea slowly. "My insides are kind of messed up," she said.

"Which is yet another reason to hate Voldemort," said Harry. Hermione smiled.

"Yeah. There's not much proof to it, but the doctor thinks that women who've been placed under the curse are about seven times more likely to miscarry." It a quieter voice she added, "It's also harder for them to conceive." Harry put an arm around her and she leaned against him. Their discovery of this had been almost as hard on their relationship as the actual miscarriage.

Sirius, too, looked downcast. Then, after a second, he grinned mischievously, and asked, "But I'm sure you're making up for it?"

"Sirius!" exclaimed Hermione, slightly shocked at Sirius's implication. She blushed heavily and Sirius just raised an eyebrow.

"If you weren't my godfather, I'd curse you," said Harry. He was blushing slightly as well. Sirius merely grinned. "I don't think you've matured at all since you left Hogwarts," Harry commented.

"And people wonder why he's never got married," Hermione added, her face returning to it's normal pallor.

Sirius looked slightly annoyed at the mention of his non-existent love life but he soon recovered and spent the rest of the afternoon teasing Harry and Hermione.

***

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," apologised Hermione taking a seat across the table from Ginny. Even though it was breakfast time, everyone else was at work; Ron had taken a Portkey to Melbourne, Lavender was at Hogwarts teaching, Harry was at Quidditch practise with the Magpies and Seamus was at his work, whatever he did for a living.

Ginny stirred her cup of coffee, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I wouldn't call it yelling," she said. "More like talking loudly in a stern voice." She grinned at her friends.

"No hard feelings?" asked Hermione.

"None whatsoever." She sighed deeply. "Actually I'm glad you did. If you hadn't I'd probably carry on doing this job for the rest of my life?"

Hermione's brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"I'm quitting. I, I can't keep doing this. I can't keep going to work and have this happen to me. I can't keep getting... I don't know how to put it."

"Raped?" said Hermione bluntly.

Ginny smiled slightly. "Yeah. Have you told anyone?" she asked nervously.

Yawning, Hermione shook her head. "No. It's not my place to tell anyone. I'm glad you've done something about. I couldn't stand too see one of my friends get hurt again."

It took a few seconds for what Hermione said to register with Ginny. "Again?" she asked curiously. "Hermione, has this happened to someone before?"

Hermione stared at the table for a second, she stood and walked over to the kettle which had just boiled. As she poured the boiling water into the teapot he said, "When I was younger, about... six or seven, I had a friend. She was my best friend actually. Every time that we did PE, I noticed these bruises on her arms and legs. She'd always cover them, but I'd see them." Hermione leant against the work top. "One day she slept around my house and she had a nightmare or something. She was struggling and saying things. Her stepfather was abusing her."

"You mean he..."

She shrugged. "I don't know what he was doing to her. All I know is that she was deeply traumatised. About a month or so later, she just disappeared. I never saw her again. My mum thought that Social Service's had intervened."

"Why don't you ever talk about when you were younger?" Ginny asked as Hermione poured out her cup of tea.

"There's nothing to talk about really," said Hermione.

As they slipped into idle chatter, neither noticed a figure slip away from where he had been listening to their conversation outside the kitchen door.

***

"Hey, Ginny, have you had time to look at my manuscript yet?"

A pale-faced Ginny Weasley looked up from the cardboard box she was filling with the clutter that covered her desk. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Eva."

"It's okay," said Eva, taking a seat opposite Ginny's desk. She was dressed in usual day wear, comprising of a pair of rather faded flared jeans and a Muggle rugby shirt. Her blonde hair had been pulled away from her face in a loose ponytail. Looking at her it was hard to believe she was one of the most popular romance novelists in the country. "You get busy, I understand that."

Ginny shook her head. "It's not that. I, um, I've quit."

"Come again?"

"I've quit. I can't stay here any longer. The moment I packed up I'm leaving."

Eva looked worried. She had known Ginny since Ginny had begun work there. She often chose Ginny to be the editor for her manuscripts. "Why? I though you loved here?"

"I do. But I can't stay here. My boss, Mr Johanasson, he... does things to me."

"What kind..." Eva started to asked, but then she realised what Ginny meant. "Oh, God."

Ginny gave her a wry smile, and placed the last photograph of her family in the box. She sealed it with her wand and picked up her cloak from the back of her chair. "I guess this is it, Eva," she said holding out her hand.

"Not necessarily," said Eva, standing up. She pulled something out of the backpack she had slung over her shoulder. It was a small business card. She grabbed a quill from a nearby desk and scribbled something down on the back of it. She handed the card to Ginny who took it and looked at it curiously. On the back of her details, Eva had written a time and an address. "Can you meet me there and then?" she asked.

Ginny nodded. "Why?"

Eva smiled slightly. "I have a rather interesting proposition for you." She Disapparated before Ginny could ask her anything about this 'proposition', and with a shrug, Ginny put the card in her bag.

Just as she stood to leave, the door to the office opened with a bang. An angry-looking Seamus stormed in. He didn't just look angry, he looked absolutely furious. He marched over to the door of the office of Ginny's boss and went in. Scooping the box up in her arms, Ginny dashed over to the office, along with the rest of her now ex-co-workers.

She arrived there just as Seamus swung a punch at her boss, planting a punch on his jaw. The thirty-year old staggered back, holding onto his desk for support. "That is for assaulting my girlfriend," he told him angrily. He punched him again with an impressive right-hook. "That is for all the times I haven't known about." Yet again he punched the man, whose face was now bleeding and bruised. "That is for anyone else you've done those things to." Seamus was livid by now. "And this," he added, "is just for the hell of it." He punched him one last time, before storming back out of the office.

Ginny followed him. Outside the building she grabbed onto his arm. "What was that for?" she demanded.

"All those things he did to you, Ginny," Seamus told her. The anger seemed to be leaving him. "I heard you talking to Hermione in the kitchen this morning." Ginny thought back. He was right, she had confided in Hermione about her decision to quit her job.

"You didn't have to beat him up!" she cried.

"Right, because quitting your job is dealing with your problems? I cll it running away from your problems!"

"And I call it dealing with my problems in a mature and sensible way," Ginny retorted. "What you did was unacceptable. It was immature, it was selfish, it was downright foolish and it was probably the worst thing you could have done!" Her face softened, as did her tone. "It was also incredibly sweet," she said softly, reaching up to touch his face.

Seamus smiled slightly. "Thank you," he told her, kissing her gently.

***

A/N: Sirius is back! Yay! Also Seamus was the knight-in-shining-armour; I hope that pleased some of you. There'll probably be a bit more on Ginny's assault storyline in the future... Please review.

Here's a thanks section for Chapter Eight:
ms. potter - Thanx!
sugar-n-spice - I promise I won't make up spells to explain things. Anyway, I think that's tacky.
Emili Potter - Thanx. Strange coincidence, huh?
Arwen Potter - Virginia is Ginny.
evil666 - Thanx!
Hermione1909 - Thank you. Different is... well, it's not my middle name, but anyway, I like to be different.
E. C. R. Potter - I agreed. Waaaaaaay too much angst in the last chapter. I must be stopped!
Geneathen - I wrote the knight in shining armour scene after I read your review. 'As the Quaffle Turns'? Cool title. Sounds like a very cheesy soap opera *lightbulb flashes* fic idea!
AznGolDragonGod - Was Seamus as the knight in shining armour good enough for you? draco's princess - Thanx. Ginny was the only one I could think of to put in the situation.
Sonata - Favourites? Aww... that's so sweet.
hermioneharry4ever - Thanx!
Oliverwoodschic - Yeah, I know it was a short chapter. This one makes up for it, though.
Harry + Hermione 2gether 4ever - It's easy: I just stop typing. :)
Kaitzee - Thanx, emotions aren't really my favourite thing to write, especially angsty ones. About Sirius, yes, he does send the occassional owl, but he's too busy travelling to come and visit very often.

Review, Flame, Whatever.

silverphoenix