A/N – Welcome to my new story – Unexpected Twists. This is a reunion story with 10 chapters and an After The End piece. The story is split into two parts, with part two containing the reunion element. As regular readers of mine will know Ron doesn't always come out of these sort of stories in the best light, but this one is different and we have a very different Ron in this story. Updates will be every other day until the story (and After The End piece) is finished.
Part One.
Harry Potter let out a frustrated sigh as he threw down his quill and slammed shut the potions book he'd been trying to make sense of. The noise jolted his best friend, Ron Weasley, out of a light slumber and Harry had to chuckle at the guilty expression that ghosted over his friend's face as he realised he'd been caught napping.
"Sorry, I must have drifted off," Ron muttered, closing his own book.
"That's because this stuff is mind numbingly boring," Harry grouched. "When the Ministry granted us our N.E.W.T.S after the war, I figured we'd seen the last of homework."
It wasn't just Harry and Ron who had received their N.E.W.T qualifications without having to sit a test, everyone in their year had. It had been decided that the academic year had been a wash out with the war and the fact the school itself had been infiltrated by several death eaters. Instead the students, both the ones who had been at Hogwarts and the ones who hadn't, had been handed grades based on their previous work and the grades the Professors had predicted for them to achieve in their N.E.W.T.S. It had meant that no resits or re-taking of the year was necessary for anyone and Hogwarts had been able to begin the process of recovering and getting back to normal.
As for Harry and Ron, after helping with the rebuilding of Hogwarts, they'd signed up for Auror training. Thanks to the Ministry awarding their N.E.W.T.S, they had the qualifications to be eligible for training. However, everyone in their training group had been required to take an assessment test in each subject just to be sure their passing grades were a true reflection of their ability. So far Harry and Ron had passed every other assessment test with flying colours, but they'd both been putting off taking their Potions one as they were both aware that it was their weakest subject. However, time was rapidly running out and in order to take their end of year practical test, to be submitted onto their second year of training, they had to first pass their Potions test.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to do this," Ron admitted with a sad shake of his head. "I'm not even sure how they worked out a passing grade for me in Potions anyway, I always sucked at it."
"I think that was Slughorn's doing," Harry said. "We did do better once he was teaching the subject."
"Yeah, thanks to that book you had," Ron snorted. "Although it is ironic that the book belonged to Snape, yet he couldn't teach us for toffee. Not that it's going to help us now. Face it Harry, we're doomed, or at least I am."
"You want to give up?" Harry asked, surprised by Ron's defeatist attitude.
"I don't want to give up, but I might have to," Ron said with a sigh as he got to his feet. "But not tonight. I'll worry about it later."
"I guess that's the best way," Harry agreed, helping Ron pack up their books.
"Are you coming tonight?" Ron asked as they headed up to his bedroom with their books. Even though Harry had officially inherited Grimmauld Place, he was still staying at The Burrow with Ron's family. "Neville said he'd be there, and Dean said he and Seamus would also pop along."
"And Hermione?"
"Yeah, Hermione will be there," Ron confirmed with a nod of his head. "So, are you and Gin going to join us?"
"I think I might make the most of the fact we'll have the house to ourselves," Harry said with a wicked grin, chuckling slightly as Ron grimaced at the implications in his words. "Molly and Arthur are at Bill and Fleur's, and if you're also going out, it will be nice and peaceful."
"Okay, but don't blame me if Mum and Dad come back early and surprise you," Ron warned. "I know they're supposed to be staying with Bill and Fleur until the end of the weekend, but I still reckon Mum and Fleur will come to blows before then."
"No, they get on much better now," Harry disagreed with a shake of his head. "Fleur really seems to have appreciated Molly's advice during her pregnancy."
"She might feel differently now the baby is here and Mum's trying to take over."
"How do you know your Mum's trying to take over? You're not at Shell Cottage."
"I might not be at Shell Cottage, but I know my Mum," Ron replied with a chuckle. "After raising seven kids, she's going to try and take over. And Fleur will not stand for it. If you want my advice, you and Gin would be better off coming out with the rest of us."
"We're going to stay here, and I have every faith we will be undisturbed," Harry insisted.
"Have it your way," Ron chuckled as he announced he was off for a shower.
While Ron was getting ready for his night out, Harry headed back downstairs to rustle up a meal for him and Ginny. Thanks to his early years with the Dursleys he was no slouch in the kitchen and he was more than capable of making a decent meal for himself and his girlfriend.
"I'm off," Ron called, a little over half an hour later as he entered the kitchen. "Congratulate Ginny for me and tell her we'll have to go for a drink and celebrate tomorrow."
"Will do," Harry promised, chuckling slightly at Ron's confidence in his little sister. Not that Harry wasn't also confident that Ginny would arrive home with good news, and he was certain of it.
After a quidditch scout had visited Hogwarts the previous year, Ginny had set her heart on becoming a professional quidditch player. She'd been one of the students invited to a training session, which was where she'd been all day. The session had been organised by the British and Irish quidditch league, and scouts from all the clubs would be there. It was the sort of day that careers would be made, and Harry had every confidence his girlfriend would be returning with news that at least one of the clubs had offered her a deal. If she was lucky, she might even have options and would have to choose which club suited her best.
Eager to hear exactly how well Ginny's day had gone, Harry continued with dinner and had just finished setting the table when the back door opened, and his girlfriend trooped into the kitchen. Spinning around his bright, welcoming smile dropped like a stone when he saw the desolate expression on his girlfriend's face, along with the tell-tale red rings around her eyes that revealed she'd been crying.
"Gin, what's wrong?" he asked, rushing over to her and sweeping her up in his arms.
"Oh Harry, it's so awful," Ginny sobbed, bursting into tears in her boyfriend's arms.
It took Harry several minutes, but eventually he managed to calm Ginny down enough to get her sat down and to dare ask her what had happened. Clearly the day had not gone to plan, but how far wrong it had gone remained to be seen.
"I didn't get any offers," Ginny finally admitted in a small, shaky voice.
"Oh Gin, I'm sorry," Harry offered sympathetically. "I can't believe it. I was so sure you would get at least one offer."
"So was I," Ginny confessed with a sigh. "I never considered I might not be good enough."
"Of course, you're good enough," Harry said, instantly springing to her defence. "You could play professional quidditch no problem."
"Clearly none of the professionals think that I'm good enough," Ginny snorted, reaching for the wine Harry had placed on the table and pouring herself a large glass, which she promptly knocked back and refilled. "And now, I'm screwed."
"I know it's a blow Ginny, but it's not the end of the world," Harry said softly. "You'll just have to rethink your plans. Find another career path."
"I don't have another career path, Harry, quidditch was it for me," Ginny insisted.
"I know it hurts now and you can't see another option, but there is something else out there for you, Ginny. You're a bright, capable witch and you can do anything you want."
"I'm a bright, capable witch who has thrown her future away," Ginny snorted. "No-one will want to hire me, Harry."
"That is just nonsense," Harry tutted. "No-one is going to care that you didn't make it as a professional quidditch player. I bet half the people at those trials left empty handed."
"It's not about today, Harry," Ginny admitted with a sigh as she knocked back yet more wine. "No-one will want to hire me due to my rubbish N.E.W.T scores."
"You don't have your results back yet," Harry reminded his girlfriend. "You've only been left school a few weeks. I'm sure your Dad said you wouldn't get your results until the end of the month."
"It won't make a difference; I already know I've blown the lot. I've failed Harry. Every single one."
The declaration took Harry so by surprise, all he could do was stare at his girlfriend. He didn't for one minute believe that Ginny had flunked all her exams as he knew she was smart. She'd certainly found studying easier than Ron had done, and Harry knew she had enough first-hand experience with magic so that the practical side of things wouldn't have been an issue for her. So how she could possibly have failed was a mystery to Harry.
"Ginny, I…"
"Don't." Interrupting her boyfriend, Ginny held up her hand and shook her head. "I'm sure you're going to tell me that I won't have failed, but I know I have. The truth is Harry, once I got the invite to the quidditch trials, I stopped studying. I spent every free minute I had in the air, not with my books. I might have scraped a few passing grades if I'm lucky, but I've certainly not got any great grades which will open doors for me. I've blown it and now I've got nothing."
"You've got me," Harry said, giving his girlfriend a small smile. To be honest he was rather stunned Ginny had been so reckless as to abandon her studies simply because she'd had a chance at a professional quidditch career.
"For now," Ginny sighed as she polished off yet another glass of wine.
"What do you mean, for now?" Harry asked with a frown. "I thought we were over the fact I left you. I did that for your own protection."
"That's all in the past," Ginny assured her boyfriend. "But are you really going to stay with me when I'm stuck in some dead-end job a trained hippogriff could do? You'll be off flying high as an Auror, and I'll be left behind. I thought if I played quidditch professionally, I could earn some decent money. I thought we might be able to see the world together."
"We can still see the world," Harry protested. "I have money, Ginny. More than enough for the two of us."
"What are you saying that we should take off and see the world while we're still young enough to enjoy it?" Ginny chuckled, getting up in search for more wine.
"Why not?" Harry asked quietly, the thought taking root in his head.
"Be serious, Harry," Ginny sighed, returning to the table with more wine, which she poured into both her and Harry's glass.
"I am," Harry said softly. "Think about it, Gin, what do we have to lose? You've already said, you don't know where your future will take you. And I'm stuck in this damn Auror training, trying to figure out how to pass some sodding potions test. I must admit, this isn't what I expected when I signed up. And even if I do somehow pass this exam and make it through to next year, I've got another three years training ahead of me, not to mention the year's probation on the job. I'm going to be in my twenties before I can officially call myself an Auror. And then what, I'll be working all the time and we won't have time to go anywhere. Think about it Gin, let's do this while we're young and have no ties."
"You're serious, aren't you?" Ginny whispered, gaping at her boyfriend in shock.
"Deadly," Harry answered with a nod. "Since the moment I entered this world, I've been fighting dark sodding wizards, and I've chosen a career path that will keep me doing so. I want a change, Ginny. I want a chance to live my life. I want to have fun."
"And what about the money? Travelling isn't cheap."
"I've already said, I've got plenty of that," Harry laughed. "I'm sure my parents would want me to enjoy my inheritance. And besides, it's not like we're going to spend it all and it's not like it's going to be forever. I'm talking a few months, maybe a few years at the most. A trip of a lifetime before we settle down. Say you'll do it, Ginny. Say yes."
Staring into Harry's bright green eyes, Ginny's face broke into a wide grin as she jumped up and launched herself at her boyfriend. "Yes," she declared happily. "Yes, yes, yes, let's do it."