Chapter Summary: Everyone gathers to say goodbye to Ginny. The Ministry closes her case and Remus decides to take matters into his own hands.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. This isn't my best chapter but the action will start again with the next chapter.
Chapter Nine - Saying Goodbye
The Weasley house was filled to its brim that late afternoon day. Arthur and Molly had decided to hold Ginny's memorial there. People from Ginny's days at school, family friends and a few of Arthur's Ministry co-workers lined the living room walls.
Oliver Wood sat near the front with the family. The engagement ring he'd gotten Ginny graced a necklace around his neck. After finding out about Ginny's death, he spent his time locked away, cleaning her blood off the ring. He refused to leave the Weasleys' guest room until the day of the memorial and even then he refused to speak to anyone.
Ron, on the other hand, remained angry. He blamed everyone that dared to cross his path for Ginny's death. He refused to listen to any sort of reason when it came to his sister's death. He needed someone to blame and he was finding plenty of people to use.
Fred and George closed their shop while Charlie and Bill made all of the arrangements. They made sure that it was known all were welcomed to the service.
Ron was sitting off to the side when Hermione showed up. It was the first time he'd seen her since their break-up, years before. He let his anger boil to the surface once again and wanted nothing more than to yell at her and tell her that she was not welcomed. Charlie had seen him going for her and stopped his little brother from doing anything stupid.
Harry, Remus, Luna and Morgan showed up a few minutes before the service was to start. Harry and Luna went straight in while Remus hung back with Morgan, who thought she wouldn't be welcomed in the house.
Hermione saw Harry before Ron did and didn't waste anytime in going up to him.
"Hi Harry," she sheepishly said, trying hard not to cry. She felt guilty for casting her best friends aside for a man.
"Hello Hermione," said Harry. "Fancy seeing you here." She blushed.
"Ginny was my friend and I love this family like my own," she quietly said.
Luna excused herself, knowing that Hermione and Harry had things to discuss.
Harry watched Luna walk off and sit by Fred. He then turned his attention back to Hermione and sighed. "I'm not sure you should have came."
Hermione looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. "I'm sorry for what I've done. I know I haven't been a good friend and I want to change that!" she cried. "I just want things to be like they were before."
"Why? Did that nasty git dump you?" came Ron's voice.
Harry and Hermione turned to see him standing there. His cheeks were red with anger and Hermione flinched.
"That's not it at all," she said as she avoided looking at Ron. "I just wanted to pay my respects."
"My family doesn't want your respects," spat Ron.
"Ron, please don't act like this," said Hermione, crying. "I'm sorry for what I've done."
Ron scoffed at her and stalked away. Hermione sighed and gave Harry a half-smile. "I'm going to find a seat," she quietly said before walking off.
Harry shrugged his shoulders and went over to speak to Arthur and Molly. He hated this part the most. He wished he had news for them but neither Nicholas nor Morgan could remember what had attacked them. And no one wanted to speculate since someone had died.
Luna, on the other hand, continued her conversation with Fred. She knew he was hurting but he still went out of his way to be funny. She knew it was his way of dealing with everything that was going on around them.
"Where's Morgan?" Fred suddenly asked.
"She's outside with Remus," said Luna, glancing toward the door.
They practically had to bind Morgan to get her to come. She felt a lot of guilt over what had happened and was afraid the Weasleys wouldn't want her there. It took Remus raising his voice to get her to come.
"Why won't she come in?" asked Fred, looking toward the door. "Is she afraid we'll be upset with her?"
"I think that's it," said Luna, crossing her legs. "She doesn't think she should be here since Ginny died and she didn't. Plus, she blames herself since it was her grandmother's house."
Fred shook his head and stood. "None of us think that. Just yesterday, my mum was asking about Morgan; asking if she was going to be all right and how she was. You could tell, by the look on her face, that she was worried about her," he said. "I'm going to go fetch her."
Luna nodded and watched Fred walk off.
Remus and Morgan were in mid-argument when Fred stepped out the door. He cleared his throat and both of them looked at him.
"You can come inside, Morgan," he said, shoving his hands into his robe. "We want you here."
"Didn't I just tell you that?" asked Remus, glancing over at her.
Morgan blushed and kept looking at Fred. "I wouldn't be opposing on your family?" she asked.
"Not at all," he said, motioning them inside the door.
The three of them walked through the small foyer and made their way to the living room. Most of the chairs were already taken but Luna had saved the ones around her so they sat beside her. And soon after that, the service started.
One of Ginny's uncles, who was well-versed in public speaking, lead the service. He shared stories of Ginny growing up and how much she would be missed. He then called for others to come up and share their stories.
A steady stream of people took turns speaking about her. Some were old classmates; others were friends she'd made after graduating from Hogwarts. Bill was the only sibling that got up to speak, since the rest of them were still a bit shell shocked over everything.
Harry knew he should say something so once Bill was done, he stood and went to the front. He shared what he knew about Ginny, which was a lot. He talked about how intelligent and wonderful she was. And when he finished, the service was over.
Molly, with some help, had made a feast fit for twenty armies. It was the only thing she could do that would make her feel better about what had happened. She fed everyone and invited them to come to the cemetery, where Ginny would finally be put to rest.
The graveyard service was short and when Ginny's body was lowered into the ground, not one dry eye could be found. Most of the people went home after that but Molly had invited some of them back, including Hermione, Harry and Luna, Morgan and Remus. She wanted the house to be filled with people who had loved her daughter.
"You should eat more," stated Molly as she placed a second bowl of stew in front of Morgan.
Morgan's eyes grew with surprise as she eyed the bowl in front of her. Molly had asked her to come to the kitchen and had insisted she eat a five-course meal.
"I'm full but thanks," said Morgan, pushing the bowl away.
"You need to eat more since you're with child," concluded Molly, pushing the bowl back.
"How did you know?" asked Morgan, knitting her eyebrows in confusion. She hadn't even told Luna yet.
"I'm a mother and I had seven children. I can tell when someone else is pregnant," she said as Morgan gave her a confused look. "You're glowing. That's how I knew."
"Oh," said Morgan, touching her face. She looked down at the stew and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry this happened to Ginny. If I could change things, then I would."
Molly nodded her head and sat across from Morgan. She calmly took her hand and squeezed it. "I know you are and there was nothing you could have done. From what I understand, you were attacked too," said Molly. Morgan nodded her head. "It was Ginny's time. I can't say that I'm happy about losing my daughter but don't blame yourself."
"Thank you," said Morgan, wiping the tears from her eyes. "That means a lot to me and I promise I'll find whatever did this to Ginny."
"I know you will dear," said Molly as Remus walked in. "Hello, Remus."
"Hello, Molly. Everything all right in here?" he asked, looking between the two women.
"It is," nodded Molly before she motioned toward the bowl of stew. "I'm just trying to get her to eat. It's good for the baby and as the father, you need to be taking better care of her!"
Morgan's mouth dropped open again. "How?" she asked.
Molly let out a small laugh. "I saw him circling around you. Arthur did the same thing when I was pregnant," she said, smiling. "Now eat!"
Morgan nodded and dipped her spoon into the stew.
"You all right?" asked Harry.
Luna looked up, from where she was sitting, and nodded. "Just waiting for you to finish chatting with everyone," she said.
Harry smiled and sat next to her. "I'm trying my best to keep Ron and Hermione apart. Hermione wants to speak to him but Ron doesn't want to be around her," he sighed.
"Maybe you should just let them hash out their differences," said Luna, slipping her hand into his. "They're both adults and need to talk about what happened."
"I think Ron needs to heal first," said Harry as Remus and Morgan stepped out of the kitchen.
"Ready to go?" asked Remus. "I think Molly is a bit knackered and I think the family needs some time alone."
All of them agreed and said their goodbyes to the family. They flooed home and Luna paid the child minder before checking on a sleeping Nicholas.
"When you're finished with him, I have something I need to tell you," said Morgan, standing in Luna's bedroom.
"You can tell me now," she said, taking off her robes.
Morgan pressed her lips together in thought. "I'm pregnant," she finally said.
Luna stopped undressing and looked at her friend. "Are you serious?" she asked. Morgan nodded. "I'm going to be an aunt!"
"Yeah," laughed Morgan as Luna hugged her.
"How did Remus take it?"
"He took it well. Now he's being a pain in the arse and won't let me do things on my own," said Morgan, smirking.
"I'm so happy for you," smiled Luna. "This is great news."
Morgan nodded in agreement and then frowned. "I just wish I could remember what happened at my grandmother's house."
"You will. Just don't rush it," said Luna before going back to undressing.
Harry was sitting at his cubicle, reading the Daily Prophet, when Remus came into the Aurors' office. Seeing Remus up there was a rarity so Harry knew something was going on and figured it had to do with Ginny's death.
"What's is it?" he asked, when Remus got to his cubicle.
"You did some work with Severus with pensives, right?" asked Remus, looking around the office.
Shortly after Ginny's memorial, the Ministry officially closed her case. Once again, they said it was wolves that had done the killing. But this time was different. They made Luna, Harry, Remus and Morgan sit through a daylong meeting and made them swear they would let the case rest.
They had no choice but to go along with the Ministry's demands. None of them wanted to lose their jobs. And now, two months later, Remus had decided to do something about it.
"I did some work with one during my sixth year, why?" whispered Harry.
"And you learned how to use one, right?" asked Remus. Harry nodded. "If someone is blocking out part of their memories, can a pensive be used to help them remember?"
"I'm sure it can be," stated Harry. "Why are you so interested in pensives?"
"Because of Molly and Morgan," said Remus. Harry gave him a confused look. "Morgan is having nightmares about that day but can't remember everything that happened. And plus, I saw Molly today and she believes that it was wolves that killed Ginny. Don't you think she deserves to know the truth?"
Harry knew the Weasleys deserved the truth, plus, Luna was starting to drive him nutters with her worrying over Morgan and the baby. "The only people I know that has a pensive is Snape and Dumbledore and I don't know where Dumbledore is."
Remus nodded. "Do you think Snape will allow you to borrow his?" he asked.
Harry laughed at that. "I doubt it but maybe I can speak to Hermione. Maybe she can get it for me," he said, thoughtfully. "I would have to show Morgan how to use it, that is, if she's willing to do it."
"Get the pensive and I'll deal with Morgan," said Remus as he stood.
"I'll owl Hermione and ask her if she can help," said Harry.
"What are lot doing?"
Remus turned and smiled at Morgan. "Just chatting," he said before kissing her.
Morgan pulled away and studied the two of them while laying her arm across her expanding belly.
"Right," she muttered before handing a stack of parchment to Remus. "The reports you needed. I couldn't find you downstairs."
Remus gave her a quick smile before turning toward Harry. "I'll chat with you later," he said before leaving.
"Are you two up to something?" asked Morgan.
Harry merely shook his head and went back to his paper.
Coming Soon: Hermione comes through for the gang, but at what cost?
