Author's Note: Thanks to my wonderful betas, Rea and Jess.
Chapter One: June 2005
Well I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder; children get older
I'm getting older too....
-Fleetwood Mac
"Doctor… before you go in there… there's just been an owl for you."
Ginny stopped with her hand hovering above the doorknob, and turned to the young orderly, trying to remember his name. "Oh! Thank you… Thomas?"
"Timothy," he replied with a cheeky grin.
"Oh, dear… sorry." With an apologetic smile, Ginny took the offered parchment, and thanked the young man before opening the letter. When she saw the rows of Hermione's neat script – followed by a few lines of Ron's horrid writing – she smiled in delight.
Dear Ginny, the letter began:
I hope you're doing well. We're doing quite all right, all things considered. Jamie is sitting up on his own now. Your mum says that we should count our blessings, as once he begins to crawl we're not going to have a moment's rest. I don't think I'll mind very much.
Ginny skimmed through the rest of Hermione's talk about the baby, deciding to read that later, after she had seen her patient. She continued reading when she got to Ron's part of the note:
As your birthday is coming up soon, you will of course be coming home. (Don't try to argue with me, Ginny… you don't have any excuse, your lack of apparating skills withstanding.) Don't tell them I told you, but I have a sneaking suspicion that mum and dad are planning a party. I know you're not overly fond of surprises, so I figured I'd give you fair warning.
What do you want, anyhow? I have no idea what the bloody hell is going on with you anymore; you work far too much. I was thinking something along the lines of… well I wasn't thinking along the lines of anything, seeing as how I have no idea.
Can't wait to see you on the 24th, little sister.
-Your caring, affectionate, handsome, favourite brother,
Ron
Rolling her eyes, Ginny folded the letter and shoved it into the pocket of her robes. She opened the door to the small room where her patient was waiting with a cheerful, "Hello, Sam! What can I do for you today…?"
-*-
When Ginny came stumbling out of the fireplace into her mother's kitchen, she was greeted by a thunderous "Surprise!" before she had even gotten her bearings. Blinking the soot from her eyes, she put on her most startled face and avoided Ron's eyes.
"What's all this, then? Mum? Dad?" She exclaimed, rapidly making an inventory of all the family members who were in attendance.
"We just figured that you'd been working so hard, lately, Ginny dear, so what better to relieve stress than with a birthday party!" Mrs. Weasley said, grinning so hard that it looked as if her face was about to fall off.
"Oh, Mum, you didn't have to do all this..." Ginny murmured, eyeing the decorations that covered the walls. Seeing the look that started to work its way onto her mother's face however, she quickly recovered herself. "But I appreciate it just the same, so thank you! It's wonderful to see you all," she said, a little too perkily. She started across the room, brushing soot away from her clothes as she went, and began hugging people, starting with her mother.
When Ginny had completed the circuit, she sent a meaningful glance at Hermione and threw her bag over her shoulder. "I suppose I'd better put this upstairs…" she murmured, hoping Hermione got the hint.
Well, she wasn't the smartest witch Hogwarts had ever seen for nothing.
"Oh, I'll come with you. I need to get up there to check on Jamie, anyhow."
Ginny paused on the third stair and waited for Hermione to catch up with her. When Hermione did, she muttered, "I hope you're not upset with Ron for telling you about this… I told him not to, but he told me he knew you better than I did…"
As they continued up the stairs, past her brother's bedroom doors and crooked paintings on the walls, Ginny grinned. "No, I'm not upset with him. He's right you know," she murmured, carefully looking away from Fred and George's old bedroom. "I don't like surprises much."
They'd reached Ginny's old room. Tentatively, Ginny opened the door, as if checking to make sure there were no unseen attackers present. It looked exactly the same as it had at Christmas; the pale yellow paint on the walls beginning to chip in the corners, the once-cheery curtains on the two small windows faded, a single photograph on the bedside table. The bookshelves were full, full of great Muggle and wizarding classics alike. The two of them entered and Ginny dropped her bag next to the bed.
"So how's work, then?" Hermione asked, more to break the silence than anything else.
"Oh, all right I suppose. Things have been quiet for a while, ever since the battle at Surrey." Ginny sat down on her bed, looking down and tracing the paisley swirls on the duvet cover with a slender finger.
At the mention of the Battle of Surrey, Hermione shivered. Ron had been stationed there, recovering from a minor injury, and she'd gone to visit him when the Death Eaters had attacked. Months later, Hermione still had nightmares of Blaise Zabini, a cruel smile on her beautiful face as she directed her squadron to leave no quarter. The Alliance had taken Blaise prisoner, at the end.
"How have you been?"
"Oh, fine," Hermione said, sitting down next to Ginny. Leaning close, she whispered, "I have a surprise to tell everyone tonight, but I figured I should tell you first."
Ginny glanced at Hermione, a slight frown creasing her brow. "What is it?"
Hermione tried to keep from smiling, but it was impossible. "Well, Ron knows… but… I… I think I'm pregnant again. Isn't that amazing!"
Ginny's jaw dropped, and she gave her sister-in-law a hug.
"Hermione! That's wonderful. How long have you known?"
Shrugging, Hermione sent her a sly grin as they drew away. "A while. But I wanted to wait and tell everyone at once, and now is the perfect opportunity."
"Have you thought of any names yet?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Hermione confessed with a giggle.
"Oh right, like I believe that."
"Ron and I haven't decided on anything yet…"
"Just tell me what you would name it, if you could choose anything."
"Weeeell… at the moment, my favourite name is Jacqueline. But I'm sure Ron could find something to whine about… I can hear him now, 'You've already got one 'J' name, you don't need anotherrrr…'"
"I like Jacqueline, it's pretty," Ginny said with a laugh. "And if Ron says that, you tell him to shut his horrid trap." As Hermione laughed, Ginny continued. "Any favourite boy's names?"
"No… those are so much harder, have you ever noticed that?"
Ruefully, Ginny shook her head. "Never really thought about it." She sobered rapidly, a sad look on her face. "And the way things are going, I most likely never will."
-*-
Later that evening, after Hermione had left her to check on the baby and Ginny had unpacked her meagre belongings, she once again sat on her bed. Thank god I'm only going to be staying here a few days, Ginny thought. She cast a pessimistic glance about her room, trying to suppress unwitting memories of happier times.
Was it a bad thing, she wondered, that a vast majority of happy memories from her life were shared with Harry? Was it a bad thing to have built your life so; around just one single person?
Sighing, she thought about how long it had been since she'd gotten a letter. It wasn't his fault, of course, it wasn't as if he could just attach a letter to some random owl and send it to her. Just the same though… she wished Dumbledore would make visits a bit more frequently. Dumbledore had been granted – unknowingly – position of Trans-Atlantic letter carrier. When he had been about to embark on his first visit to see Harry, nearly a year and a half ago, Ginny had pressed a stack of nearly twenty letters into his hand, begging him to give them to Harry. When he had returned, it had been with a dozen and a half letters addressed to her.
Ginny glanced out her window and saw that it had begun to rain. Unbidden, a memory streaked into her head and she lay down, pressing a hand to her temple as a scene – so long ago now, after her fifth year at Hogwarts -- began to unfold.
Lightning flashed, causing everything to glow with a greenish light. Ginny's sopping hair was plastered to her face and the back of her neck, but she didn't care. All she cared about was finding the snitch before Harry did. She could see him, just barely through the sheets of torrential rain, hovering near a tall pine tree, obviously scanning the area.
Everyone else had long since gone inside, starting with Ron and Hermione at the first drizzle. Then the twins had decided they'd had enough, and finally Charlie had given up on his seeker position and relinquished it to her.
Gold flashed past her left ear, and she was so startled she jumped slightly. There it was, no more than ten feet away. Right in front of her. Okay, Gin, think about this, she thought, all you have to do is play dumb. He hasn't seen it yet… just move slowly… it's practically yours for the taking.
When she was hovering about five feet from it, she was shocked to see a flash of denim and red swoop down and snatch the snitch. Her mouth dropped open and she stared through the rain at Harry, as he grinned at her with an infuriatingly arrogant smile, holding the snitch above his head for the entire world to see.
"What?" Ginny exclaimed. "I had that! How on earth did you see that thing?!"
Harry started to fly towards her slowly. She was disgusted with herself when his smile made her heart rate speed up. "Youngest seeker? One hundred years, I believe it was?"
Oh, he was maddening.
Maddeningly perfect, was more like it. "Rrrrgh," she enunciated, and began her graceful descent to the forest floor, trying her best to ignore him as he laughed and followed.
They flew back to the house in silence, as close to the ground as possible, figuring that no sane Muggle would be outside in this weather, and if an insane Muggle saw them flying, it didn't really matter. They landed as close to the back door as they could, propping their brooms against the side of the house. Ginny wrung out her hair while Harry took off his glasses, squinting a little as he rubbed the fog off them on his T-shirt.
"Good game Gin," he muttered, looking up at her. "You've gotten better since last summer." He grinned, but suddenly, he blushed and looked down at the ground.
Confused, Ginny murmured, "Thanks…" Why was he so scared of her? She'd thought that she'd stopped acting like such a prat around him, but apparently she still made him uncomfortable. Dammit, she thought, I could hex myself.
Sighing, she fiddled with the latch on the back door for a bit before it finally swung open, into the kitchen. She stumbled up the two steps and let the worst of the drips fall down onto the threadbare rug before continuing into the house, a few steps ahead of Harry.
Her mother bustled into the room just as the two were about to leave it, saying, "I don't know what's wrong with the two of you… out there while it's pouring the rain, honestly, what were you thinking to not come inside?" Molly Weasley turned and smiled at Harry. "What would your relatives say if you caught your death while you were here?"
Grinning ruefully, Harry said, "I doubt they'd mind much."
"Of course they would, dear. Now go upstairs and get changed, you're dripping all over my clean floors. Go on!"
A few seconds later, they parted ways, when Ginny started for her bedroom door and Harry continued up the crooked stairs to Ron's room. Ginny smiled at Harry one last time before he disappeared out of sight. Trying the handle of her door and finding it locked, she frowned. She knocked softly and waited a few moments, finally putting her ear against the door. Hearing nothing, she murmured, "Alohomora," and the door sprung open.
Hermione was lying on the spare pullout bed, mostly obscured from Ginny's vision.
Obscured because Ron was lying on top of her, snogging her like there was no bloody tomorrow.
Ginny slapped a hand over her mouth, willing herself to close the door silently. She would positively die of embarrassment if either Ron or Hermione noticed her, and she was quite certain that either of them would be horrified as well. As quickly and quietly as possible, she closed the door, praying that it wouldn't squeak on its hinges. When it was shut, thankfully with the bare minimum of squeaks, Ginny mumbled another locking charm on the door and was back on the stairs before she knew where she was going.
When she was outside of Ron's door, she didn't even bother to knock before barging in with a loud, "Harry!"
Later, when she thought back on this moment, she was never sure if she was glad for it or horrifyingly embarrassed.
In any event, she was greeted with the sight of a wet and shirtless Harry, who whirled and stared at her for a quick minute, before responding. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Dragging her eyes away from his lean torso and back up to his face, she began to feel stupid at her panic. "Well…"
"Well?"
"Alright." She began to talk very fast, her voice shrill and panicky. "I tried to open my door but it was locked so I knocked but no one answered and then I said alohomora and the door opened and oh my god…" she wailed.
"Harry, did you know that Ron and Hermione were snogging?"
The worried look on his face slid into a slightly disgusted smile. "Well, yes. I try not to think about it, but once, last year, I couldn't find the two of them anywhere…"
"Where were they?"
"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, if you can believe it. You'd think that they wouldn't have been desperate enough for a snog to go do it in there…"
Ginny shuddered, and walked across the room and sat down on Ron's bed.
"I'm just glad that neither of them saw me…"
"Bloody hell… they were snogging so hard they didn't notice you?"
Ohh… put your shirt on please, Ginny thought as she nodded absently. I can't concentrate on anything until you put your shirt on…
"Gin?"
Her cheeks flushed deeper than the Gryffindor Quidditch robes as she looked away, at the wall, at the floor, anywhere but him. She chanced a glance at his feet. Was it just her, she wondered dazedly, or did he seem closer to her than he had been before? Her hand flew up to her hair, and she tugged it out of its ponytail. It was starting to dry, and she finger combed it a bit spastically.
"You need to get out of those wet clothes."
Her head snapped up, eyes wide. Harry's cheeks tinged with colour. "I… I didn't mean it like-"
Giving him a small smile, she said, "I know what you meant. I'll just grab one of Ron's shirts…" She started for the bureau, turning suddenly when something hit her in the back. Frowning slightly, she bent and picked up Harry's T-shirt. "You want me to wear yours?"
Harry shifted uncomfortably, no more than two feet in front of her. "Well… I just thought you might not… you don't have to if you don't want to."
"No," she muttered, avoiding his eyes. "I'd rather wear yours than a smelly old one of Ron's."
She stood up to go get changed in one of her other brother's rooms, but a hand on her elbow stopped her. "What is it Harry?" she asked breathlessly.
He was looking down at her, his green eyes darkening. "I… never mind."
Ginny felt her heart sink with disappointment. As he moved to let her go, she grabbed his hand. "Wait."
She was so close… Do it Ginny, do it… he was leaning towards her, and she leaned towards him… She took a deep breath, slid her right hand around his neck, pulled his head down, and kissed him, just as lightning illuminated the room.
Very dramatic, she thought fuzzily, as her mouth opened under his.
-*-
The setting sun was rather spectacular. It bounced off all of the Weasleys' hair, making their heads seem to glow. Dinner had been a casual affair, with all the guests seated around the long set of assorted tables in the garden. Ginny sighed contentedly, looking at her brothers and the spattering of friends that had also been invited.
Ismene O'Connell, Ginny's best friend from school, stood next to Charlie by the fish pond. It was painfully apparent that she was flirting with him, and Ginny winced when she saw the bored look on Charlie's face. She resolved to go over and rescue him as soon as her American Great Aunt Hillary finished talking about the current state of affairs in Atlanta.
Of course… Charlie might have to suffer for a few more hours. Ginny tried to stifle a yawn, but Aunt Hillary saw. She stiffened noticeably and Ginny groaned inwardly. "Well, sweetie pie, I s'pose I'll let you go see your friends. I'll just go over and talk to your sweet mom."
Ginny felt horrible about hurting her. Hillary was her aunt by marriage, and her uncle had died several years ago. It was always awkward seeing her.
However… Ginny didn't feel quite so bad when she swept away, off to pester Molly about desperately needing a cup of coffee. Ginny smiled at Ismene and Charlie, and it widened when she saw the look on Charlie's face.
"Gin, I was just telling Charlie about our new assignment at the hospital. Exciting, isn't it?" Ismene remarked with a brilliant smile in Charlie's direction.
Ginny returned her smile, but without the extreme enthusiasm.
"Yeah, it's great. Charlie, Bill said he needed help with something… are you guys planning a surprise for me?" she asked with a wink.
Charlie sighed audibly with relief, and excused himself.
Ismene cast a long glance at his backside before turning to her old friend. "He doesn't have a girlfriend, does he?"
Ginny laughed out loud. "Charlie? With a girlfriend? No way, Ismene."
"He just seemed a little preoccupied."
"I'm sure he was." Ginny sent an amused glance at her friend.
Ismene, with her long sheet of black hair and light blue eyes, was used to getting any member of the male sex she wanted. But, Ginny thought ruefully, she should have known better than to go after Charlie, who seemed to have packed away the flannel in exchange for a stained white T-shirt. Ismene, on the other hand, was wearing designer robes that had probably cost more than her brother's entire wardrobe.
In short, Ismene was not Charlie's type.
"Come take a walk with me," Ismene murmured, and when Ginny nodded her consent, she started for the trees.
"We'll have to make it short, though. I think gifts are soon."
Ismene nodded absently and waited until they were surrounded by the forest before speaking. "I just wanted you to know-"
Ginny interrupted her. "I know. Don't worry, I know you didn't mean to hear the conversation between Dumbledore and I."
Ismene smiled at her. "Yes, but still. I just wanted you to know that you can trust me… with this secret."
Ginny smiled warmly. "Thank you Ismene. Even if it wasn't necessary."
A call from the house brought her head up. "That's Ron. We'd better go."
"You go on, I'll be there in a moment."
Ginny looked uncertain, but at another insistent call from her brother, she walked towards the house, leaving Ismene to her solitude.
Author's Note again: I think I should appologize for the lack of Draco in this chapter. Don't worry, he's all through chapter two, which will be in the hands of the betas as soon as possible. I know this chapter was somewhat boring and tedious, but hopefully chapter two will be action packed enough to hold your attention.
I certainly got a lot of positive feedback on just that short prologue! I'm surprised. However, thank you so much to:
Foreveranelf: Thank you! Shinnonu: I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Thanks for your compliments! Dreamoft: Stop it, you're making me blush. ;) I almost made you cry? I don't think I've ever had such a compliment! Dukerbrown: Thanks very much! Zelle: I've written you an email… thanks for the review!
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