A/n: The date is June 26. I have just gotten my computer delivered to me, however… I do not have internet access. So I most likely won't be publishing this until around August 30th or so. And with out further ado on with the story!
A dark haired man paced the living room of his Scotland cottage, awaiting the end of the visiting hours at the London wizarding hospital, St. Mungo's to end. His watch beeped 8:00pm. Before exiting his flat he grabbed, from the trunk in his bedroom, a silky almost liquid to the touch, cloak, and slipped it around his shoulders and donned the hood. He was invisible.
With a pop the man apperated to the seemingly abandoned store front that was St. Mungo's he stepped through the glass, and shivered at the feel of it. The man looked around and upon seeing no one, but the witch at the information desk, he stealthily moved onward. He knew where she was, going.
On the way to the 6th floor, the less known about, used for non-magical injuries, he encountered only a few patrolling Healers, and the occasional ghost. Of course none of them saw him, seeing as he was invisible. He made the final turn to the corridor where her room was located, and paused. He had heard voices.
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley you must go. Visiting hours are over." A harsh sounding woman said. He couldn't see who she was, or who she was talking to, but he assumed it was a Healer to Arthur and Molly Weasley. The man peeked around the corner and was shocked to not see Arthur and Molly, but Ron and Hermione.
Harry Potter's heart shattered. His best friends had got married, and he hadn't even known. Spending the last four and a half years in solitude away from all means of communication would do that to you.
Ron replied, "Ok, ok. Don't get your knickers in a twist. We're going." This earned a small punch in the arm by Hermione, but she smiled non-the-less. This made Harry grin. They were still the same old, bickering twosome.
The woman Healer huffed, and walked off. Ron and Hermione started off down the corridor toward him. As they passed his hiding spot he wanted so badly to reach out to them, to make his presents known. But he couldn't. They thought him dead, or at least MIA. He knew the Ministry said they were still looking for him. But he knew they had given up a year and a half into the search. He was very good at hiding himself.
Harry hadn't ever meant to go into hiding, but after the final battle he was to weak to care for himself. He had lain on the grown on the final battle field unconscious for hours, maybe even days. Before someone came for the bodies.
He had been picked up, but not put with the rest of the bodies. He had been brought back to a warm stone dungeon. It would be months before he would regain consciousness for longer than five minutes at a time. When that time finally came, he had been shocked to see who had been nursing him back to health. None other than a one Mr. Severus Snape. Snape never explained himself, and never expected anything back. He took care of Harry until he saw fit that he could go. That had been two years ago, he had spent two and a half years with Snape.
Harry had immediately gone out to find Ginny, the love of his life. He had wanted her to be the first one to see him alive. He had a hell of a time finding her. He had only gone out in public under his fathers invisibility cloak, so as no one would see him. Her last name had changed. That was not good. He found her current address. Before he had knocked he peered into the window.
His heart bust at the sight he beheld. Ginny with another man, and a child. A beautiful little girl, sitting on the hearth rug before a fire, with them reading the small girl a book. Harry had hung his head, and walked off. Vowing to spend the rest of his days in solitude. Ginny was happy, and he wasn't going to ruin the life she had had to rebuild after his 'death'.
Harry had heard about Ginny being in St. Mungo's by some people in Diagon Alley, he had been out, which was a rare thing, under the invisibility cloak. He had to wait until visiting hours were over, and sneak in, so he could be with her. He couldn't let her spend the night alone, whether or not she could see him.
He crept slowly into the room and, set his eyes on the worst sight he had ever seen. Ginny's face was almost unrecognizable, but still he knew it was her. She just had this presents about her, that he knew it was her. From what he could see her face and arms were badly beaten, purple and blue with bruising. There was a bandage around her head, that made Harry cringe with sorrow, and anger. On the bandage there was a deep red splotch, that Harry knew was blood.
"What did he do to you?" Harry said in an almost inaudible whisper.
He walked over to the unconscious Ginny. He pushed the hair away from her eyes, and leaned down and kissed her forehead, which too was covered with a thin layer of dried blood. He didn't care.
That simple motion brought a flood of emotion to him. It was the last thing he had ever done to her. The night he left he hadn't bothered to wake her, but instead kissed her forehead, and had left.
He pulled up a chair, and sat next to her. He grabbed her hand and kissed it again and again. Tears began to fall slowly and silently from his eyes. He hated what that man had done to her. No, he not only hated what he had done, he hated him with nearly the same vigor as he hated Voldemort.
Harry sat there a long while, lost in his own thoughts. Regretting having left her that night, regretting not letting it be known he was alive, not returning to his beloved Ginny. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and she stirred. Only a soft moan, and a twitch, but Harry's head snapped up quickly, and he pulled her chin to move her head to face him. She was still, though roughly beaten, as beautiful as the most innocent angle.
Harry was so lost in is own thoughts and regrets, that he hadn't heard the voices and footsteps coming down the hall towards the room.
"Hermione I don't care what the Healers say, I'm not letting my sister spend the night alone." Ron's voice cried in a whisper, amongst the protests made by Hermione. Harry hadn't heard them.
The footsteps slapped closer and closer, the couple still arguing back and fourth. As they came to the door way they stopped dead in their tracks.
Harry didn't look up, he still hadn't heard a thing because he was now sobbing softly into Ginny's hand.
Hermione gave a small gasp of surprise, and gripped Ron's arm tightly. Still Harry hadn't noticed.
Ron cleared his throat loudly, and said; "Excuse me? Who are you? Why are you in my sisters room?" He wasn't angry, or upset, but more curious.
Harry's head perked up, and he sniffed his tears away. He wiped his face dry, and looked up. Harry Potter turned away, and for the first time in nearly five years saw his two best friends.
Shock was the only emotion on his friends' faces. They all stared at each other for quite a while before he stood up and opened his mouth to say something. However halfway through forming the works of "Well…" Hermione interrupted saying;
"Harry?" He nodded. "Is it really you?" He nodded again.
"I don't believe it, Harry." Ron said. "We all thought you were dead."
Finally Harry spoke, "I know guys. I know I messed up big time. But I'm back now, and It's for good, I promise."
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked while she hugged him, cutting off his air supply for several seconds. Ron uncharacteristically followed suite, and hugged his best friend back, with just as much enthusiasm as Hermione had.
Harry proceeded to tell them the story about Snape, and coming in and out of consciousness. He told them about coming home to see Ginny happily married to Desmon with their little girl.
Here Ron stopped his story saying; "Harry, I'm not sure if we should be the ones to tell you this but, Nemone. Ginny's little girl. She's yours."
"What?" Harry was in shock. There had to be some kind of mistake here. "But…"
"She is, Harry." Hermione tried to reassure him.
Harry sank into a chair and put his face in his hands. He wasn't crying, he was thinking. He had a daughter. He was a father, and he hadn't even known. "Dose she know about me?" He asked aloud at least.
"Yes," Ron started, but decided Harry needed a bit more background information before he continued. "See, apparently…wow, this is hard. I don't quite know where to begin."
Hermione took it upon herself to finish what Ron started. "After everyone thought you died, Ginny went into a sort of shock, because she had found out she was pregnant with your child." Hermione began. "But then she met a man."
Harry's fists visibly clenched, but non-the-less Hermione continued; "To be specific she met Desmon, round about the time Nemone was one year old. For the first time in over a year and a half she was happy."
"But how was she happy if she was being…well if he was doing this." Harry interrupted and pointed to Ginny's sleeping form.
"That didn't start until about four or five months into their marriage. Desmon desperately wanted children of his own, to carry on the family name as he put it. But they tried and they tried, but Ginny just couldn't stay pregnant. They had six miscarriages."
"Merlin…" Harry whispered in horror.
"That's not even the half of it. Desmon was furious with Ginny when she told him that it was because she was infertile, some complication with Nemone's birth had made it impossible for her to conceive again."
Harry's face was emotionless. He was simply drained.
Hermione continued her monologue; "That was when the true Desmon came out. He banned all use of magic, and swore on his grave that Nemone would never attend Hogwarts. He made her cut off all ties with her family, including by post. And the slightest little thing would send him into a fit of rage, and she would end up like this, only not as bad."
"Not attend Hogwarts?" Harry whispered to himself. "Ridiculous."
"Finally after about three years of hell, Ginny had had enough and packed hers and Nemone's stuff, and took off for the Burrow."
"But that doesn't explain how she ended up like this." Harry again motioned toward Ginny.
Hermione explained about Lavada, and the papers, and how Ginny had gone to have Desmon sign them. By the end of the conversation Harry was noticeably shaking with fury.
"I don't know what to say. I thought she was happy. What I saw looked like a happy family. So I decided not to interfere."
"Harry, when she wakes up…" Hermione started.
Harry interrupted her. "What is it exactly that the Healers said." He asked worriedly.
Ron answered his question. "The Healers have said that she hit her head on something hard and sharp, probably the corner of a counter, or a table. That is why she's unconscious. They also said that there should be a few weeks, to a month or so before all of her wounds heal and her bruises fade."
"What's going to happen to Desmon?" He said the name with so much distain and revulsion, the couple could almost feel it in the air.
"He was arrested shortly after Ginny was found. He is facing trial with at least the Ministry of Magic. Possibly even the Muggle law enforcement." Ron answered.
"And," Hermione started with a grin. "If by some miracle he gets off, he won't be spawning any mini devils. I paid him a visit in his cell a few hours ago and used the ever-feared impotency charm."
Dispite the situation the men smirked right along side Hermione, and had a good hardy laugh before putting a silencing charm on the room, and catching up on old times, and watching over Ginny.
A/n: I'm really sorry about this chapter. It's the product of forcing a story out of writers block. On another note, I'm at work right now, lol. Not on duty, but sitting here drinking a Root Beer Cooler, and eating fries talking to Leny, and laughing my ass off at a one uber stoned Julie. LOL!!! Next chapter with in a few days. I promise.