My Hero, My Friend, My Love

A/N- Some of you can see where the story's going. All I can say is, wait and see...Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot.

Chapter Seventeen: Separation

Ginny sat at her writing desk one afternoon, desperately trying to finish the last biography for her book. This one had been especially difficult to write, as it was about Remus. He didn't want to be a part of the book, but she'd insisted. After all, he was the one who'd saved her life, and he was one of the few who'd fought and survived both wars with Voldemort.

He'd refused to give any personal background information on himself, so she'd had to ask Sirius. Ginny already knew some things, but she didn't know any details of his involvement in the first war, so Sirius filled in the blanks.

She finished his chapter and thought to herself that she'd not paid enough tribute to her hero. She suddenly had a brilliant idea and retrieved another piece of parchment and wrote her thoughts down before organizing the other papers into a folder. "Done!" she exclaimed to herself. As she got up to change clothes, a Ministry owl flew into her room, dropping a note onto her bed before flying away.

She picked up the note and noticed it was from her love.

My darling Ginny,

I had a moment at work, so naturally my thoughts turned to you. I feel as if I don't say it enough, but I love you.

I love you for being my salvation when I fall apart.

I love you for always making me laugh.

I love you for always having faith in me.

But most of all, I love you for loving me.

Remus

Ginny smiled to herself. She'd grown quite accustomed to his love letters. He frequently sent notes to her during the day, especially if she was frustrated. In turn, she wrote him letters in the middle of the night, so he would have them to read first thing in the morning.

During their first full moon together, he'd not wanted her there. But her persistence prevailed and she kept him company. Afterwards, she wrote him a letter telling him how she knew he loved her because he'd let her stay. They'd been almost inseparable since then.

Her brothers had been surprisingly accepting of their relationship. Even Ron had finally come around after he saw how happy Remus made his sister.

Ginny quickly shook these thoughts from her head. She was running late and had to get to the publisher's quickly. She gathered the mess of parchments that was her book and apparated to the office.

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Remus removed his reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. He was so tired and wanted to do nothing but sleep, but he'd promised Ginny and Sirius that he'd have dinner with them, since Sirius was leaving the next morning for Hogwarts. He gathered his things together and left his office, dreading coming back the next day.

He quickly apparated to Grimmauld Place and sighed. He entered the house, without knocking and set his things down in the entryway. He found Ginny and Sirius waiting for him in the sitting room and he entered the room and flopped onto the sofa next to Ginny. He kissed her hello.

"Moony, you look terrible," Sirius said looking at his friend.

"Bugger off," Remus retorted. "I've had a long bloody day."

Ginny reached over to rub his shoulders. "The dragon situation?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid it's gotten worse. People are getting injured and the Ministry wants me to go to Romania for a few days to get firsthand accounts." He looked sadly at Ginny. "I leave the day after tomorrow."

She was disappointed, but tried not to show it. "Well, hopefully it won't take too long, and you'll be back before you know it," she said, trying to sound upbeat.

"Yeah, mate," Sirius added, "it'll all get settled soon."

"I hope so," Remus replied wearily. "I'm starved," he said standing. "Let's go out to dinner. My treat." He smiled grandly at Ginny and Sirius. They quickly agreed and the three headed out the door.

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They returned after dinner and Sirius politely excused himself upstairs to finish packing, leaving the two lovebirds alone.

They went into the sitting room and cuddled on the couch. Remus played with their intertwined fingers and said thoughtfully, "You know, at a time like this, I wish your brother Charlie was here." She raised her head up from his chest and searched his eyes.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, he would be very helpful with this dragon thing," he said. "He was excellent at what he did. His work was very important." He sighed.

"You know he was my favorite brother," she said quietly. "I know I shouldn't have favorites, but I was closest to him. He let me be me. No one else did...until you."

He kissed her sweetly. "I know you miss him...and your parents and Percy. They'd be so proud of you and of your book. Your stories of them are wonderful, told with so much heart." He looked deep into her eyes and smiled. "You never cease to amaze me, my darling."

She smiled back and him and lifted herself off the sofa and made her way to leave the room. She turned to look at him and wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Don't you go anywhere. I'll be back in a minute." She disappeared upstairs and returned shortly carrying something behind her back. "I have a surprise for you."

He looked at her curiously, and asked, "What have you got there?"

She pulled the object from behind her and handed it to him. "Well, you know I finished my book several weeks ago and took it to the editor. They loved it. It's being published soon. You're the first person to have a copy of my book. They gave me an advance copy, and I wanted you to have it."

He stared at her, speechless and humbled. "No, Ginny, you should keep this. It's your hard work poured out in here." He tried to hand it back to her, but she pushed it back into his hands.

"No, you were the one who had the faith in me that I could write this, so I want you to keep it." She paused to sit next to him again. "Open up the front cover," she instructed.

He opened the cover and the words that stared back at him made his heart swell. On the dedication page of the book he read,

"To my Remus, who inspired me to write this tribute. You are, and will forever be, my hero. I love you..."

He looked at her, and with a choked voice he said, "I love you too. Thank you for this." He leaned in and kissed her again.

Their kisses soon became more passionate and intense. They were in their own world when a throat cleared from the doorway. Sirius rolled his eyes when they looked over at him. "For God's sake, get a room," he teased them. They laughed at him and stood up.

"I need to be going anyway. Tomorrow's going to be more hectic," Remus said. He led Ginny to the hallway to properly say good-bye. She paused to kiss Sirius as they left the room.

"Great, now I've got 'Moony' germs," he said, "Where's my wand? I need a quick Scourgify spell." He made a big deal of wiping his cheek. Remus glared and him, but Sirius just grinned.

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My darling Ginny,

I know I said I'd be home soon, but it doesn't appear that's going to happen, at least not for another week. I'm sorry. You have no idea how much I miss you and want to be with you.

The situation is getting out of control. I fear I may have to divert this problem to the Law Enforcement Division before too long. I've used all my capacities here, and we're still unable to determine the culprits.

The only thing that gives me comfort is knowing that I'll be able to see you and hold you again before too long. I received your last letter and the lock of hair. I sleep with it under my pillow. It soothes me to have at least part of you near me.

I'll see you soon, my love.

Remus

Ginny read his letter and felt her heart sink. He'd been gone over two weeks, and although he assured her that he was safe, she still worried about him and wished he were back home.

She sighed loudly and began writing a response to him. She had some news to share with him, and she'd wanted to do it in person. Since he wouldn't be back for a while, she decided to just tell him.

Dear Remus,

I hope that you are okay and that the situation is resolved soon. I miss you terribly and wish you were here with me.

I was going to wait until you got back to tell you some good news, but I can't wait any longer. My book will be published in two weeks! The official date is October 5. I'm very excited, and I wish you were here to celebrate with me. The publishers are hosting a party for me, and Sirius and my brothers are planning on coming home that day to attend. Of course, I'll expect you to be my escort for the evening, if you don't mind.

I can't wait to see you again. Promise me the minute you get back we can lock ourselves in your house for a few days.

I wish I could write more, but I'm meeting Hermione, Shaine and Katie for dinner.

See you in my dreams,

Ginny

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Remus read the letter and immediately had a brilliant idea. He'd been wondering how to do it for a while, and this party would be the perfect opportunity. He smiled to himself and quickly wrote a letter to Ginny's brother Bill. As he rolled up the parchment and tied it, he said to himself, "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it properly. And that includes asking the patriarch of her family." He smiled to himself before sending the letter.

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The evening of the party arrived before Ginny knew it. She was nervous and very much on edge. Remus sat on her bed and watched her, amusedly, as she frantically got dressed.

"Darling, will you relax? Please?" he asked, trying not to smile.

"I'm trying, Remus," she replied, "really I am. Where is my bloody shoe?"

She found the missing shoe and announced that she was- finally- ready to go. Before she made it to the door, Remus stopped her. He led her to the bed and sat her down. "Wait, just a moment," he said. She looked at him confusedly.

"But we're going to be late," she said.

"Ginny, the party is for you. I think they can wait for a minute," he said smiling at her. He took her hands in his and began the speech he'd been rehearsing for the past week. "Ginny, I love you so much. I never thought I could be this happy. I never thought I deserved to be. But you made me realize that I can be. You are the light of my life and I don't want to live another day without you by my side." He paused and knelt down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh, Remus!" she cried. "Of course I will. Yes!" Remus gently removed his mother's ring from her right hand and slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

"I believe that is its rightful place?" he asked. She nodded, as he stood. He sat next to her on the bed and kissed her lovingly. She pulled him closer and they laid back onto her bed. Ginny began pulling at his shirt, trying to unbutton it.

"I thought you said we were going to be late," he said as she kissed his neck.

She forced him onto his back, and continued undressing him. "Like you said, it's my party, and they can wait." She leaned up to kiss him again. "Besides," she continued, "I want to celebrate our engagement privately before we have to be around other people." He laughed at her, but let her have her way...with him.

A little over an hour later, hand in hand, the couple walked into the party, held at the publishing house in Diagon Alley. As they entered, Ron came over to greet them, closely followed by Fred and Hermione.

"What took you so long?" Ron asked. "And why are you both so wrinkled?"

Remus and Ginny blushed, while Fred and Hermione snickered.

"Honestly Ron," Fred said, "don't you know anything? There's a perfectly good reason they're late, eh Gin?" He elbowed his sister and winked at Remus.

"Fred!" Hermione cried. "Let it go." Ron, having just now caught on, blushed profusely and stammered out something about needing a drink.

"Ginny, why is your ring on your other hand?" Hermione asked, not missing a thing.

Ginny just looked a Remus and grinned. She looked at her sister-in-law. "Well, we may have something to announce in a moment."

Fred, picked his sister up and hugged her, twirling her around. He put her down and shook Remus' hand enthusiastically. "Congratulations!" he said, grinning.

Ginny and Remus made their way to speak with the publisher of her book, who then gave a very nice speech to the gathered crowd about the book. When he was done speaking, he introduced Ginny and her date, Remus. Remus bent down to whisper in Ginny's ear. She nodded, and he cleared his throat and spoke loudly to the crowd.

"I'd like to add something to the celebration this evening. I've asked Ginny to marry me, and she's accepted," he said. Everyone gasped and then applauded, as Ginny's family made their way to the front of the room to hug the happy couple. As Ginny was accepting her family and friends' congratulations, she noticed that Draco was a little less enthusiastic. She wondered if he was still missing Rebecca, and made a mental note to take it easy with wedding talk around him.

They celebrated late into the evening and finally retreated back to Grimmauld Place. Remus decided to stay there instead of returning home, as it was extremely late. However, Ginny fell asleep early, leaving Remus to talk with Sirius.

The two men opened a bottle of brandy in Sirius' study. Sirius poured two glasses and handed one to his friend. "Moony, old man," he said, "you must be on cloud nine right now."

Remus beamed at the other man. "Yes, I am. I've never been so happy in my life. My job is going well, and I'm marrying the most wonderful witch in the world."

Sirius grinned at his friend. "Well, it's about time you got everything you've always wanted. So, it won't be too long before you and Ginny have some kids running around, eh?"

Remus' expression darkened. "Sirius, no one else knows this, and I don't know if Ginny wants to keep it that way, but I have to talk to someone about this." He sighed and took a sip of his drink. "Ginny can't have children."

Sirius looked at his friend, shocked. "What? Why not?"

"The Death Eater, the one she was battling when I showed up in the final battle- well, he sent a curse at her that...damaged her. She can never get pregnant," he finished sadly. He set his drink down and put his hand in his hands.

Sirius patted his friend on the knee. "Moony, man, I had no idea." He paused. "But that's okay right? I mean, with your situation and all?"

Remus looked up and nodded. "Yes, I would never want to bring my own children into this world to go through what I've been through. But Ginny and I can't even adopt children. The Ministry would never allow me to adopt a child with my, uh, condition."

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment. "You love her, right?" Remus nodded. "And she loves you, right?" He nodded again. "Well, I don't know much about love. But I do know when two people are meant to be together, and you and Ginny are...just like James and Lily. So, if you are meant to be together, then somehow it's just all got to work out, you know?"

Remus smiled wryly at his friend. "Sirius, for someone who's never been with the same woman for any length of time, you sure know a lot about relationships. Thanks, mate," he said.

Sirius laughed loudly and poured them another drink.