I sighed and prepared myself to explain the unique relationship shared between James and me for what seemed the millionth time that week.

"You see, Harry, James isn't yours, he's-"

"What do you mean he's not mine!" Harry interrupted. "He looks just like me! And you named him JAMES!"

"If you'd let me finish!" I countered hotly, adjusting James so he sat on my lap. Harry huffed and sat down on the chair opposite her. "As I was saying, James isn't yours, and he's not mine either. Biologically."

"He's not even mine and you named him James!" Harry fumed. "How could you... betreay me like this?" I stared at him with a largely gaping mouth.

"What in Merlin's name are you on about? It's just a name!" Harry, if anything, looked even more inflamed.

"Just a name? JUST A NAME! Ginny, you KNOW that was my father's name!" I could feel James' escalating discomfort, so I set him down.

"Go find Mum, James. I'll be there soon." James nodded and quickly beat a path into the kitchen.

"Well?" Harry asked arms thrown to either side of himself, waiting an answer.

"Well what, Harry?" I spat.

"I'm waiting!"

"For what? An apology?" I stood, fists clenched. "Oh, Harry! How absolutely unforgiveable of me, naming a child James without your permission!" I mock-simpered in a pathetic voice. "The very THOUGHT of doing ANYTHING without YOUR permission!" I continued in my normal tone. "In CASE you haven't noticed, the world DOES NOT revolve around you and your mood swings!"

"And in case YOU haven't noticed, if it weren't for me, you'd all be dead!" I pressed my lips into a thin line as my (what must have been) red face drained of any color. Many might see this as a sign of my giving up, or realizing a 'big mistake' I must have made. No, quite the opposite. If my face ever went this white, those who knew me well would clear out to occupy a nuclear missile shelter in Tibet.

"You don't ever get tired of playing that card, do you? Think that it's going to trump everything anyone ever does to you? Well you are WRONG! Dead wrong! If it weren't for you, Neville would have been the fated child! Neville would have killed Voldemort! Neville would have become Ron's best friend, gone to fetch the Philosopher's stone, saved me from Tom, fought the basilisk, entered the triwizard Tournament, watched Cedric die! NEVILLE!" If one were to enter the room at that moment, one would almost be able to see the electric sparks in my hair and eyes.

"Really!" Harry practically thundered. "And would you have felt all the same things for him?"

"No." I admitted quietly. This was just getting too much for me.

"Really then? How would those feelings differ?" He crossed his arms over his chest. I glared at him for a moment, then turned around to leave, not wanting to say what I knew I would if I stayed much longer. Harry, sensing this, took two large steps and took my upper arm in his hand. "No, you don't get away that easily!" After another few seconds of tense pause, I mumbled something he couldn't hear.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you!"

"I said that he wouldn't have made me hurt so much!" Harry recoiled slightly.

"What?"

"He wouldn't have made me cry every night for years! If I did love him the way that I used to love you, he could not possibly make me! Even if he didn't love me the way I loved him, he would have included me! He would have talked to me! He would have let me in, tried to be my friend!"

"We talked! We were friends! We made love!" I shook her head with a mirthless laugh.

"The only time we talked was when we were drunk. The only time we were friends was when it was for show. And we never made love, Harry," I spat out his name. "We had sex. There was NO love that night. If there was love, would you have left that morning with no word, no goodbye, no note, for seven years?" Harry looked somewhat abashed at this. " I didn't think so." I wrenched my arm from his grasp and went into the kitchen, where a stunned Mum and Dad waited with James, who was sitting in Mum's lap.

"Sorry Mum, Dad." I apologized as I picked James up. "I've got to leave. Give my best to the family and Hermione." And I left through the back door, slamming the screen shut just behind me.

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear Mum & Dad,

I'm writing because I knew that if I came and told you in person, I might lose my resolve. Yes, I know, I have no idea where my Gryffindor courage went either, but I suspect it took a backseat to the very same Gryffindor pride. Anyway, I just wanted to inform you that I'm going to take a trip, visit a friend from Med school. I'll be in contact regularly; if you need to floo me, I'll tell you where once I get there.

Yes, I'm taking James. Yes, Luna (my boss) knows. And yes, if Harry is reading this, I DO want you to go burn in hell.

Love,

Ginny

- - - - - - - - - - -

I looked at the parchment and laughed at the last line before the signature. The string of chuckles soon became chocked out sobs as they progressed. 'Why am I feeling this?' I thought desperately. 'I thought I got all the tears out when he left me that night.' I let the parchment fall onto the table and I put my head in my hands, letting the tears fall. I had tucked James into my bed about an hour ago, but small shuffling footsteps alerted me to his presence.

"Ginny?" I pulled my head out from my grasp and sniffed loudly.

"Y-yess, James-s?" The tears caused me to somewhat slur my S's.

"What's wrong?" I looked him in the eye, and replied with all honesty.

"I don't know."

- - - - - - - - -

After another hour or so of snuggling and story telling on my bed, James was fast asleep and I was not far behind, when there was a pounding on my door. James immediately snapped awake, whimpering slightly. I hushed him and put my dressing gown on over my pyjamas. Warily, I made my way over the carpet of my flat, willing myself not to stub my toe.

"Bloody buggering wanker. I'll bat-bogey them into next week" I mumbled. Reaching the wooden floor of the dining section of the floor, I crept across it, cursing the decemper cold that brought about the chill on the newly finished wood. "Stupid, STUPID! I should never have taken the carpet off!"

Reaching the door, I blindly fumbled with the slidey-chain-lock thing ( I never learned what those were called) and opened the door. I growled in my bleary state.

"You bloody..." Whatever I had said was lost im my sleepy mumble as I leaned against the doorframe. "You already ruined my day, you want to make me an insomniac as well?" I crossed my arms across my chest and watched with calculating amusement as Harry had the decency to scratch the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Er... not really." He said eloquently. I laughed and motioned for Harry to come in. He did so with obvious trepidation.

"Honestly, Harry, you'd think I was going to bite you!" I told him to take a seat, and he did, before I went to go tell James it was alright, that no one TERRIBLY bad was here. James, being the six year old he is, was quite ready to fall asleep, and did so almost immediately. Chuckling lightly, I walked back into the kitchen and immediately stared fixing up some tea. I knew this was going to be a while.

"Milk or sugar?" I asked.

"Both." He replied in a monotone. Glancing over the partition of my kitchen and dining room, I saw Harry had his head placed in his hands dejectedly. Minutes later, I sat at the table, two large mugs of tea in hand.