A/N- Hey guys I really appreciate all of the review I've been getting! Kep it up and enjoy this chapter!

LoopyLoony: Thanks for the review, more coming up soon!

Darkness Shattered: Thanks for the review, enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 6-

Ginny came out of the kitchen, Jem and Rilla behind her.

"When are we leaving?" She asked calmly, "I suppose I'll have to pack."

Ron looked hard at her, then flicked his wand. The clutter in the room fit itself into the three trunks.

"There," He said, "Packing's done. Anything else you need to take care of?" Ginny shrunk back at his cool tone. Ron looked sorry for a moment, but his face masked over.

Ginny shook her head, and Harry shrunk the trunks so that the kids could hold them.

Harry picked up a candy wrapper from his pocket and tapped it, muttering, 'activatio Portkey'. He held it out. "It'll activate in ten seconds."

Ginny looked at the surprised faces of her children. They had never traveled by Portkey before. "Here, Jem, put a finger on it. You too Rilla."

The five each placed a finger on the wrapper, and soon Harry, Ron, Ginny, Rilla, and Jem were all in Harry's apartment.

"Whoa," Jem said as they looked around them. Rilla's green eyes were huge in her little face.

"I'll show you where your bedrooms are," Harry said, staring at Ginny, "You'll all stay here with me tonight. There's plenty of space." Harry took the kids out, chattering happily.

"Ginny," Ron said, "When are you going to go see Mum and Dad? The twins? Bill, Charlie, Percy? Everyone has been searching for you like mad, everyone's been worried about you. You have to go and tell them."

Ginny closed her eyes wearily. She still had on her disguise- it lasted for a week at a time, but this was the end of the week. Ron could see tinges of red back in her hair, her gray eyes flecking with brown. Even her features were a little stretched.

"Ron, I just want to rest for a while. Don't tell anyone I'm back yet." She saw Ron's angry face, "Please. I'll tell them all about...everything...tomorrow. Okay? Everything. About the kids, about the Circle, about my leaving. Just let me do it tomorrow. Don't even tell Hermione yet."

Ron nodded mutely, then suddenly pulled her into a hug and Apparated back to his house.

Harry walked back into the room. Ginny felt awkward, being alone in the same room with a man she loved, a man with whom she had shared so much.

Harry avoided looking at her, staring a a point beyond her cheek as he spoke. "There's a room next to where the kids are. You can sleep in there. Do you need anything else?"

Ginny shook her head, drinking in his face, his body. All she wanted to do was collapse in sobs against him, to let out all of her pain and misery and shame on his shoulder. But Harry's face had lost all of its twinkling, cheeky charm since he had found her. He seemed...unapproachable.

"I'll just have a shower and go to bed, thanks. Harry-"

"Don't say anything, Ginny," Harry said quietly, "Lets not talk about anything yet. I'm going to bed. G'night."

Ginny watched as he walked out of the room, then, with a sigh, went into the kid's room. She looked lovingly at the two sleeping faces lying in the same position on one of the beds, faces buried in the pillows. She kissed each of them on the forehead and walked into the adjoining bathroom.

She looked around the flat- Harry's flat. A flat that could have been hers as well, a nagging voice in the back of her mind said. She shook her head and stepped into the shower.

Harry fell into bed. He heard the shower going and tried to get the image of Ginny in the shower, just yards away from him, out of his head. He let his mind drift, and soon he was asleep.

Harry woke up early. He was restless, the feeling of Ginny so close to him and children whom he barely knew sleeping in his house making him unable to lounge about like he usually did on Saturdays. Ron had contacted Cho and informed her about the situation. They were to bring Ginny in for questioning on Monday.

Harry made some tea and ate his breakfast. Soon after he took a shower and dressed in some dark jeans and a charcoal polo shirt. He walked into the kitchen an hour later.

Ginny stood at the stove, dark red hair in shining waves down to her waist. Her eyes were back to the dark, sparkling brown Harry had loved, her nose and cheeks sprinkled with light freckles. This was Ginny Weasley as he had always thought she would be.

The children were sitting at the table, eating omelettes with orange juice. They looked up when they saw him and his heart filled when he saw their faces light and their voices cry, Mornin' Daddy, have some om'lets!" Ginny turned around in surprise, catching her breath as she saw Harry across from her. She forced herself to smile.

"I hope you don't mind my using the stove," She said uncomfortably. Harry shook his head and leaned agains the counter next to her, watching as she flipped some eggs onto the pan.

"How come you don't cook with magic?" He asked curiously. Ginny sighed.

"I guess I just got used to it. I didn't use magic often with the kids around. I don't think they really understand that we are magical, actually. I didn't want them to talk about it at school or anything."

Harry looked at the children laughing as Rilla threw a piece of omelette at Jem.

"Ginny," He said softly, "You were only sixteen. You were sixteen and you had to raise two kids by yourself. Why..." Ginny stopped him.

"We'll talk about it later. At the Burrow, okay? I just need to er...organize my thoughts." She said hastily, sitting down at the table with them. At that moment, Ron Apparated in.

"Hey mate," He said to Harry, subdued, "Morning Ginny. Morning, kids," He eyes his niece and nephew warily. They answered back in unison, "Morning Uncle Ron!" He smiled, gratified.

"Harry," He said quietly, "I told Hermione. She is almost going mad right now. She really wants to see them all. Think we can persuade Ginny to go to the Burrow now?"

Harry nodded. He looked at Ginny. "Ginny, I think its time we got to the Burrow. It isn't fair to Mrs. Weasley to keep her and everyone in the dark like this."

Ginny's face fell, but she nodded silently, shoveling some food into her mouth.

"Is your fireplace connected to the Floo?" She asked, "Because I never learned how to Apparate. Since I left school a year early and all..." Harry felt a pang of guilt. It had been his fault she missed a year at Hogwarts.

"Yeah, it is. When should we leave?"

"As soon as we all finish breakfast, I suppose. Better sooner than later, I guess," She sais, wiping her mouth and putting all of te dishes in the sink. She pushed the children over to the fireplace.

"Alright, I'll take Jem, you take Rilla Harry." Harry scooped up the little girl, his heart lifting as he felt his daughters arms wrap around his neck trustingly.

Ginny stepped into the green fire, Jem's eyes wide, his face scared but trusting. "The Burrow," She shouted, and they were gone in a burst of flame.

"I'll see you at the Burrow mate. Hermione's already there." Ron Apparated away. Harry stepped into the fire and whispered, "Don't be afraid," to Rilla. Harry felt himself spinning as they passed through fireplaces, finally ending in a heap on the ground in front of the Burrow.

Harry looked up and saw Molly Weasley's stunned face across the room, her eyes on her youngest child and only daughter.

"Ginny..." He heard her whisper disbelievingly, "It can't be..."

Ginny had silent tears coursing down her face as she looked at her mother. "Hello, Mum. I'm back."

Mrs. Weasley noticed the boy in her arms at that moment, then looked from Harry to Ginny to the children they held. Her face had a look of understanding, but Harry could feel her pain, anger, and confusion emanating from her.

"I'll explain everything, Mum." Ginny said quietly, sitting down on the couch.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley said weakly, "I think you'd better wait until your father gets home. And I'll call your brothers too. Everyone has been so worried...four years...no word..."

"I'll go and see if I can get everyone," Ron said nervously, looking from his mother to his sister.

At that moment, Hermione walked into the room. Ginny looked at one of her old best friends silently, and Hermione simply stood there for a minute, taking in the whole scene.

"Oh," Hermione said, "Now I understand. It all makes sense now." She pulled Ginny into a hug and sat down next to her, talking to Ginny, Rilla, and Jem, but completely ignoring Harry. Harry knew all too well why.

Mrs. Weasley and Hermione and Ginny continued to talk, and Harry went outside to clear his thoughts.

An hour later, Ron returned, bringing with him his father, Fred and George, Bill, Charlie, and Percy. All of the boys had strange, nervous looks on their faces, unsure how to greet a sister they had loved and doted on, four years after she had left them without a word.

Mr. Weasley looked at his daughter, his pain evident in his eyes. "Ginny," He said, hugging her tightly, "I am so glad you are finally back."

Her mother, now back to her old self, said briskly, "She had better tell us why she left. You, young lady, have got some explaining to do."

Ginny sat on the sofa, her brothers and parents all crowded on the opposite sofa, Hermione and Ron and Harry and on her sofa. They could hear Rilla and Jem's playful noises out in the garden.

She began, her voice quiet and methodical, calm and resigned.

"In my fifth year, you all know that Harry and I became involved. I loved him, he loved me. We were together until the end of my sixth year. It was the day before graduation, the day before Voldemort's last final attack, when Harry and I...first had sex. I felt it the second it happened- I felt him plant that seed. But I didn't know for sure, so I didn't say anything to him. Besides, that night he went to his battle with Voldemort. That same night, while he defeated the Dark Lord, I performed an EPT Spell on myself, and it came up positive.

I left because I knew that Harry was only seventeen, that I was only sixteen. He had just defeated the Dark Lord, he was famous, he was renowned. I didn't was to put the burden on his shoulders. I didn't want him to have to face the shame and the gossip of the Great Harry Potter being a father at seventeen. Besides, I didn't want him to be forced or pressured to marry me. He would have regretted it and resented me. That's not the life I wanted. And so that morning, I left, and I never showed up for his graduation. I took everything I had- my wand, my schoolbooks my clothes, and twenty galleons I had been saving up for Harry's graduation present. I sneaked out to Hogsmeade and caught the Knight Bus. I got to London, and I sold the necklace Harry had had made for me- the choker with the rubies and diamonds. With that money I paid for a plane ticket to New York. I guess I thought America was the farthest away from the Wizarding world I could get.

When I got to New York, I spent a few nights in a church before I found work. I had had to disguise myself because I knew Harry and Dad would come looking for me. I spent six months waitressing. There were no other jobs available for a sixteen year old, who hadn't even completed her schooling. It was horrible pay, but I managed to scrounge up enough to pay my rent on my loft and pay the hospital bills. After I had the twins, I couldn't waitress anymore, because I couldn't leave them alone. By the way, Harry, "Ginny paused," I did give them your last name. They are legally Lily and James Potter. Anyway, there was one woman- my neighbor, who would take are of them while I went to try to find a job. This was a year after I had left Harry. It was then, three years ago, that I found the Circle.

The Circle at that time had only two or three members. I was the fourth. As Harry and Ron may have noticed, it was full of pretty incompetent wizards who called themselves Dark. They only accepted me because I could transform into an Animagus, and could teach them. At seventeen, I became the leader of the group. I called myself Trista.
You have to understand. I joined them because it was the only way I could manage to make enough money to support myself and the children.

I didn't want to actually do anything bad. I wouldn't let any of them practice the Dark Arts, because I said I didn't want to follow in the steps of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The believed me. All I had them do was steal. You wouldn't believe how much money we made out of it. I moved into a new apartment with the twins. I had enough to send them to a private pre- school and daycare. We mostly committed Muggle Crimes, only in our Animagus forms. We would break into people's houses, steal wallets, that sort of thing. They were all happy with it for two, two and a half years. We used magic to commit Muggle Crimes.

It was only in the past six months that the whole group decided they didn't just want money, they wanted power. They hated the American Minister of Magic. They decided that they wanted to replace the Ministry with our own people, and make it a Dark Ministry, concerned with controlling the wizard population in the United States by force. I had to agree, or else I would seem suspicious.
I came up with the plan to kidnap the Minister. I wanted to do it for a ransom- the rest of them wanted to keep him imprisoned until we took hold of the Ministry. I guess the Ministry of Magic in England picked up some of our plot. And then you two came. You were graduates of Durmstrang, I thought, and you could help us, you seemed like sensible men. So I decided to let you in. I didn't know you were undercover. And then you found me out and brought me back here. And that is the end of it, really. Not very interesting, huh?" She laughed derisively, the pain in her voice unmistakable.

The room was quiet, faces solemn, eyes downcast, as her family and friends listened to her heart-tearing story. They could read between the lines and tell how poor and alone Ginny had been, no one to turn to for help. Molly Weasley was crying on Mr.Weasley's shoulder. The twins were quiet, Bill and Charlie somber, and Percy looking ashamed and sorry. Ron and Hermione had their mouth open, Hermione immediately trying to comfort her husband as his sister told her awful story.

Everyone turned to look at Harry at the same time. His yes were filmed with tears, his mouth turned down at the corners. Everyone could see the guilt and pain and self-reproach he was feeling.

"Harry," Ginny said softly, "Do you forgive me?"

Harry turned to look at her, his face vulnerable and angry. "Forgive you?" He laughed self-deprecatingly, "It was all my fault. Can you forgive me? That's the question. It was because of me you lived in poverty and you didn't finish school, you were lonely and scared and at sixteen had to bring up two children. How did you survive? You must hate me! You didn't know me- not really, if you thought I'd leave you or hate you because you were having my children. If you thought that I would ever...ever give you up." His voice had gotten lower and lower. Everyone in the room looked shocked at this outburst. They were used to a light, laughing Harry, not this one. The Its-All-My-Fault Harry had disappeared with Voldemort, but here he was, back again.

Everyone stood up and hugged and talked to Ginny, drawing her into the garden where they sat down to lunch and her children finally got to know their grandparents and uncles. Harry remained in the living room for a long while, head buried in his hands. Four years, he thought, four years of missing her and loving her and hating her. And now he knew what she must feel for him- anger and blame. And he couldn't blame her for blaming him.

An hour later, Ginny walked back into the room. Her face was alight with happiness and love, being home with her beloved family. Her eyes danced, her mouth curved in a smile as she watched her children with her family.

Her smile died when she saw Harry. She had known that he would blame himself.

"Harry," she knelt next to him, "I think we should talk now. I know you're blaming yourself-"

Harry stood up quickly. "I should blame myself," He said harshly.

"No, you shouldn't!" Ginny said spiritedly. Harry could almost visibly see her old sparking, lively personality returning, and it just hurt him more.

"Harry," Ginny said, her voice laced with emotion, "I left because I had to. It wouldn't have worked any other way. It's not your fault. I was the one who was supposed to take care of the contraception spell- I just forgot. And we're still young, aren't we? With two beautiful children. I want you to be a part of their lives. I know you can't still love me..."

"I've never stopped loving you, Gin," He said in a low, husky voice. Ginny stood stock still, her heart beating rapidly. She had thought he would hate her for tearing his children away, for deserting him. But he didn't seem to hate her. Maybe there was more hope for them than she had thought.

"You should know, Harry, that there wasn't a single day when I didn't think of you. I loved you too much to let you find me- I thought if you did it would destroy everything. I wanted you to remember me as I was..." Her voice broke.

"Gin," Harry began.

"Shhh," She said, placing a finger over his lips. "Don't say anything. Its too soon, still too raw for us to say things we don't mean and can't take back."

Harry cast down his eyes. "And the kids," He muttered, "I don't know anything about them. They call me Daddy now but I'm just a stranger. They don't know me. I don't know them. I don't know anything about them!"

Ginny slipped onto the sofa beside him. She looked straight into his eyes.

"Jem is almost exactly like you. He likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without the jelly. He laughs like you and his smile tears people's hearts to pieces, like yours. He's always laughing and joking. His favorite thing right now is torturing Rilla out of her wits. He loves the flying model of a broomstick he found in my trunk."

Harry smiled against his will as he watched his son outside, roguish hazel eyes laughing as he played tag with Fred and George. Rilla was sitting in Mr. Weasley's lap, looking around her intelligently.

"Rilla is like a mixture of Ron and Hermione. She's incredibly smart, she can read and write already. And for a four-year-old, she is amazing at chess- she must have gotten that from me. She's really shy, unlike Jem. But she's got a mischievous heart. She steals people's hearts cause of her big green eyes and sweet little face. She's hard to figure out."

Harry smiled as tears came into his eyes. "They look just like my parents." He said softly. Ginny smiled sadly. As always, thoughts seeped into her head about what could have been.

The two young parents sat on the couch, staring out the window at the little miracles enjoying their first visit with their family. Neither of them noticed how their hands, lying next to each other, slowly clasped and joined.