Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter Nineteen
The next few weeks passed in a daze to Ginny. She completed her mediwitch training with Poppy, who assured her that she would have no trouble getting a job. The elder woman tried to subtly convince Ginny to reconcile with Remus, but Ginny rebuffed the notion. Poppy decided not to push the issue. But it pained her to see Remus pacing outside the doors of the hospital wing when Ginny wouldn't let him in.
Due to the imminence of her due date and her renewed false labor pains, mostly likely caused by the stress of ending her relationship with Remus, Healer Blanton refused to allow Ginny to move into a flat by herself and finally convinced her to stay at Hogwarts where Poppy could keep an eye on her.
It was late one afternoon when there was a knock on Ginny's door. She opened it to find Percy, Fred, George and Ron standing before her. "Can I help you all?" she asked, stifling a smile.
Fred stepped forward and hugged his sister. "We heard about you and Lupin, Ginny." He released her, and her other brothers hugged her in turn. After the display of affection was complete, she ushered them all inside her small sitting room, and everyone sat. The twins flanked Ginny on the sofa, while Ron sat in the rocking chair Remus had given her for Christmas. Percy conjured up a wingback chair for himself.
George glanced nervously at his brothers and took Ginny's hand. "Gin, we love you very much and only want you to be happy, but we think you should marry Remus. Bill and Charlie agree with us, too."
Ginny's heart sank. She'd been counting on her brothers' support. "So, you all feel this way?"
They nodded, all except Percy. "I don't," he said. "I think you should do what you think is best for you and the baby."
"Percy!" Fred cried. "I thought we wanted to present a united front!"
"You did," Percy retorted, "But I want to give her good advice."
"So you want her baby to have no father, and you want her to be a single mum?" George asked harshly. "Is that it?"
Percy straightened his glasses and glared at his brothers. "No, George," he said calmly. "That isn't what I want. But I do want Ginny to make the best decision for herself. If she doesn't want to get married, she shouldn't. And if she wants to have her own career, then she should."
"Thank you, Percy," Ginny said gratefully.
"I'm not finished, Ginny," he replied. "All of that being said, Remus is still the father of this baby, and you can't keep him away from his child. The two of you were great friends before, and you're going to have to find a way to be around each other so the baby can have both his parents, without being shuffled about. He's his father, Ginny. You can't take his child away." Percy's voice was quiet, but firm.
"Do you love him?" Fred asked. Ginny nodded. "So why don't you just marry the bloke?"
"Yeah, you love him and he loves you; can't the two of you work this out?" George asked.
"It's not that easy," Ginny said. "It's complicated." At her brothers' unnerving stares, she whispered, "I'm afraid."
"Ginny, you're the bravest witch I know," Ron injected. "You were the one to go and save Remus when he was captured. You fought against Death Eaters with the rest of us. What could you possibly be afraid of?"
At his words, Ginny broke down in tears. George instinctively pulled her close to him in a protective hug. "What is it, Gin?" he asked.
"I'm afraid…of Remus…leaving me," she sobbed.
"But he wouldn't; surely you know that," Fred said, reaching out to pat Ginny's back.
"Why wouldn't he? Every man I've ever loved or thought I loved has left me," she cried.
"Who, Gin?" George asked. "Who's left you?"
"Dean Thomas; he dumped me for Lavender after I finally slept with him." Her brothers shuddered at the thought of their baby sister having sex with anyone.
Ginny was oblivious to this and continued. "Harry, for another; he broke up with me in sixth year because he said we had no chemistry. And… Tom Riddle abandoned me and left me all alone because he said I was getting to be a nuisance." She sobbed loudly. "What if one day Remus feels like that? What if the baby and I become too much of a burden?" she wailed.
"Remus is not Dean; he's not shallow," Ron said. "And he's not Harry either. And he's definitely not sodding Riddle. He adores you completely."
George pulled away from his sister and wiped the tears from her face. "Ginny, he won't leave you, but even if he did, he'd have to face the whole lot of us," he said with a smile. Fred and Ron nodded in agreement.
Percy cleared his throat. "It sounds like you have a lot of things to think about, Ginny. But I ask you, whatever you decide, please don't keep the child from his father."
Ginny looked at her brothers and forced a smile. "Thanks, guys. I promise I'll think about it." The Weasley men stood to leave. They each hugged Ginny, awkwardly since her belly was in the way.
Ron paused before leaving. "You go on ahead. I want to talk to Ginny about something privately," he said to his brothers. They looked at him quizzically but shrugged and left.
He closed the door back behind him and went back to sit in the chair across from Ginny.
"Where's your prisoner?" Ginny asked suddenly. "I didn't think you were supposed to leave him."
"He's here, visiting Professor Snape, actually. He's got a spell on him that prevents him from going too far," Ron answered. "And don't call him a prisoner. His sentence is almost up."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I bet you'll be glad when he's gone. I couldn't imagine having someone I despise living with me."
"I don't despise him, Ginny," Ron said quietly.
"Oh. I just assumed you did because of how he was in school," Ginny said.
"Blaise was never like the other Slytherins in school. He wasn't nice, just indifferent most of the time," Ron admitted. "He's a pretty decent guy; not to mention he saved the lives of my sister and my favorite professor."
"That's true. I'll always be grateful to him for that," Ginny conceded. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Love…sort of," Ron shrugged. At her confused expression, he sighed heavily. "The last few months I've learned a few things about myself. Things aren't always how you plan them, Ginny. They don't always work out in the ideal situation."
"I'm not following you, Ron," Ginny said, perplexed.
"Well, let me ask you something. Who would you have thought I would fall in love with and want to spend the rest of my life with?" Ron questioned.
Without hesitation, Ginny answered, "Hermione."
"Right, and I would have suspected Harry for you, at one point, but more recently, I definitely knew you and Oliver would get married," Ron answered. "But it didn't work out that way, did it? Hermione, for some insane reason, is with Snape, and you and Remus…"
"Are not together anymore," she finished for him.
"Yes, but you could be," Ron pressed.
"Ron, what exactly are you on about?" Ginny asked in frustration.
"I'm saying we don't choose who we fall in love with. You can't help how you feel," he responded.
"What aren't you telling me? Are you mad about Hermione and Snape?"
"No!" he said forcefully. "I don't care about her like that. I care about someone else…" His voice trailed off as he blushed furiously to the roots of his hair.
"Ron, are you in love? Is that why you're so emotional?"
"Yes, I'm in love with someone; someone I never thought I could love or even had the right to love," he answered with difficulty. Ginny stared at him, waiting for the revelation.
He reached out to take her hand and with great courage he looked into her eyes and spoke softly, "Blaise. I'm in love with Blaise Zabini."
Ginny continued to stare at him, waiting for the punch line. It didn't come, and she cleared her throat. "But he's a…"
"Guy, I know," Ron said. "I never even knew I liked other guys. I mean, I never fancied Harry or anything. But I remember thinking once that Seamus looked good in a towel."
Ginny released his hand and leaned back into the sofa. "How did this happen? When?"
"It was in fourth year, very early in the morning."
"No!" Ginny exclaimed. "Blaise! When did this happen?"
"I'm not sure, really," Ron replied, a wistful smile on his face. "At first I ignored him, but he wasn't terrible or selfish or horrible or any of the things I thought he was. After a few weeks, we started talking, and got to be friends."
"But you're not just friends?" Ginny asked.
Ron shook his head. "Sometime before Christmas, I woke up to find him cooking breakfast. And I don't know. Something about him standing in his skivvies in my kitchen cooking bangers and eggs…it was just nice…comfortable."
"So have you done anything about it? Does he know?" Ginny asked with sudden interest.
"Yeah, he knows," Ron said sheepishly.
"And?"
"He feels the same way," Ron answered.
"So how did you two figure it out?" Ginny asked.
"Well, after that morning in the kitchen, I felt weird around him. But a few days later, he kissed me, just out of nowhere," Ron said, smiling. "It was brilliant. After that, we talked and decided to give it a go."
"That's very surprising, Ron," Ginny said truthfully. "I'm happy for you. I mean, it is Blaise Zabini, former Death Eater, but it sounds like you really care about him."
Ron's face darkened. "That's the thing though, isn't it? He's a former Death Eater. That's what everyone will say. That's why we haven't told anyone yet."
Ginny reached over to ruffle Ron's hair briefly. "Ron, if it's any consolation, I don't think Blaise had a choice about being a Death Eater or not. And I never saw him actually do anything to harm anyone. If anything, he helped us. He's a decent man, Ron. He has to be to be worthy of you."
Ron opened his mouth to say something, but a knock sounded on the door. He took pity on Ginny and got up to answer it. When he returned to the sitting area, he wasn't alone.
Blaise looked highly uncomfortable about being in the same room with Ginny. He fidgeted nervously and looked at Ron for help.
"I can wait outside until you're done," Blaise said.
Ginny struggled to her feet as Ron said, "It's okay, Blaise. I told my sister about us."
Ginny waddled to Blaise and reached to shake his hand. "I never got to thank you for all your help, Blaise. You saved us. I'll always be grateful." She smiled warmly at him.
Blaise looked at her for a moment with a bewildered expression before returning her smile. He turned to Ron. "You told her about…us?"
Ron put his arm around Blaise's shoulders and pulled him close. "Yes, and she's okay with it."
"I'm not just okay. I'm happy for you both," Ginny corrected.
Blaise beamed at Ginny as Ron leaned to kiss his cheek. They all sat back down, Ginny in the rocking chair and the men on the sofa, holding hands. A tear came to Ginny's eye as she saw how gentle and in love they were.
"Ginny, I told you all this to prove a point," Ron said firmly. He looked at Blaise and held his gaze as he spoke, "You can't help whom you love, and when you find that person, you should be with them no matter what." He turned back to his sister. "You and Remus need to be together."
"Can I say something?" Blaise asked. Ginny nodded. "It was pretty obvious in the…er… back then that Professor Lupin cared about you a great deal. He sacrificed himself for you many times. And, if I can be so bold, it was pretty clear that you cared for him too. Don't turn your back on that. You'll regret it if you do."
"He's right, Gin," Ron agreed. "Promise me you'll think about, at least."
"I promise," she said.
Hermione tried to persuade Ginny the next weekend to venture out into Hogsmeade with her and Severus, but Ginny declined, saying she was too pregnant to walk the streets of the crowded village. Hermione knew better however; Ginny preferred to wallow in her self-pity.
Severus had told her how awkward it had been at school. Remus and Ginny couldn't even be in the same room. Every time Remus tried to talk to her, Ginny refused and took to spending all her time in the hospital wing. Remus, meanwhile, was pale and tired all the time, and Severus knew he wasn't sleeping, as he kept asking the Potions Master for stores of Pepper-Up Potion.
Just as Hermione and Severus were leaving the Apothecary, she noticed a sign on the notice board just inside the door.
Opening Soon, Hogsmeade Emergency Clinic!
For hiring information, please see Ernie Macmillan at St. Mungo's Employment Office.
"Severus, look!" Hermione cried.
"It's high time they opened a clinic here," Severus said sourly. "It takes too long to get St. Mungo's."
"No," Hermione said. "Ginny could work here, and she and Remus could raise the baby together."
"You're forgetting one important detail, my dear," Severus replied. "They're not speaking to one another."
"That's easily fixed," the younger witch said glibly. "Ginny wants her own career, right? Well, this is perfect. She can even move to a flat here in the village."
Severus sighed. He knew once Hermione made her mind up about something, there was no use arguing with her.
"I'll mention it to Lupin," he agreed reluctantly.
"Thank you," she said, reaching up to kiss his lips, much to his dismay. He abhorred public displays of affection. "This is why I love you."
"And here I thought it was for my brilliance," he teased lightly, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a small smirk.
"That too," Hermione said, giggling.
For the backstory on Ron and Blaise, please read the story entitled "Prisoner of Love," listed in my profile.