A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed. You've all been amazing. I still don't own Harry Potter; we all know that by now. And now to respond to my reviewers…
Lily Nicole Potter: Let me know when you think of a last name. The idea of Marita's hair changing color came from my little sister was born with red hair. When she was two, it all fell out. When she was three it grew back blonde. Or one of my brothers was born a blonde and now he has black hair. (That one's actually freaky.)
Atomic Elf: Thanks for saying I'm talented. I really appreciate it. The Oliver/Callie relationship comes from watching my oldest brother and my two youngest sisters. See, Brian's old enough to be Marita and Sophia's dad, so he kind of acts like a dad to them. (Everyone should read her fic Worth the Wait.)
Sarahamanda: Thanks for always reviewing. I appreciate your support.
AngelsCookieDough: I'm glad my muses are back too. Thanks for following the story.
Son gomay vidal goku: The head bashing is coming. In fact, it starts as soon as the chapter does.
Dark Zelda: Hmm…Callie tries eating the ring? It's a possibility. I'll think about it and get back to you.
Tardychick06: I'm so sorry about your friend's brother. Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad to know this made you so happy.
Iluv-Siri-Boy: Hey, it took me a while to get back to the computer. My computer was in the shop too. Thanks for the help with the names. You're awesome.
Oh yeah, and I'm babysitting my little sisters and brother right now and they want me to tell y'all hello. Well, Clare, Colette, Marita, and Michael want to say hello. Charlie-the-Girl wants one of you to do her chemistry homework for her. (She's fifteen; I'm not babysitting her.) Sophia just gurgles.
A/N2: My updates will be sporadic for about six weeks because I'm student directing a performance of You Can't Take it With You at my school that's running the weekend of Halloween. So, I'll try to update this and my other two stories as much as possible.
Oliver was sitting in his office when a knock sounded at the door. "Come in," he called distractedly. "The door's open."
The door opened and Penelope Clearwater-Weasley walked in. She was clutching her purse close to her stomach. "Hello, Oliver," she said softly. "I need to speak to you about something. It's very important."
"Sit down," he said gently. "How are you, Penny?"
"Lonely," she said sadly. "It's so lonely without Percy these days. I know he still loves me, but Oliver, everything's so confusing now. I found out I was three months pregnant and then I found out he was having an affair. I didn't know what to do, so I told him to leave. But I didn't want him to leave. I wanted him to stay and I love him, but he was dating other women. What could I do? I thought he loved me. What could I do, Oliver? I was madly in love with my husband and I was pregnant with his child! But he was having an affair! What on earth was I supposed to do?" Penny was sobbing. "What was I supposed to do? My husband was having an affair."
Oliver walked over to her and knelt down next to her chair. "I know, Penny. I know it's hard, but you've got to stick with it and fight for your marriage. Percy loves you; he's just a little messed up in the head. See, Pen, you're the only woman he's ever been with. And now he's working with all these beautiful women and it puts his head in a tizzy. He's a very confused young man."
"But does he really love me?" Penny moaned. "That's the real question. It's like you said. I'm the only woman he's ever dated. We were sixteen when we started dating. How do we know that we were really meant for each other? How do I know that he's really my soul mate? I'm pregnant with his baby but how do I know that I'm supposed to be married to him. Oliver, I love him but I don't trust him. So that leaves me with a question. When the trust in a relationship is dead, is love enough to stand on?"
Oliver could see the pain in her eyes as he replied, "I don't know. I'm sorry, Penny, but I just don't know. I think the person you really need to talk to about all of this is Percy. I know it's going to be hard for you but you need to do that, for both your sakes."
Penny nodded, tears still pouring down her cheeks. "I understand. Percy is the only person who knows what's going on inside his head, after all. I suppose I'll go to his flat and try to talk to him. Maybe it will help." She stood up and squeezed Oliver's hand. "Thanks for letting me talk to you. It really did help."
Oliver smiled sympathetically at her. The poor girl, Oliver thought. She's madly in love with a man who is confused about life and love.
While his wife was talking to Oliver, Percy Weasley was talking to his sister. "Ginny, I do love Penny," he moaned. "I love her so much that you'll never believe it. I love her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her but I screwed things up. I dated other women when I was married. Gin, I broke my wedding vows. I promised to be faithful to Penny until the day I die but instead I had relationships with other women. How can I ever make this up to her? I wrecked my marriage; how can I fix this? What can I do? Please, Ginny, you've got to help me."
Ginny looked at her brother sympathetically. "I wish I knew how to. But I don't. I'm sorry, Percy. I do know that you need to tell her the honest truth. You need to tell her everything, and when I say everything, I mean everything. You need to tell her how you feel inside and why you feel that way."
"But she won't understand, Gin," he whined.
"Percy, I know that in her heart, Penny loves you more than anything. She wants you back. She really does. But she wants to know the truth; she needs to know the truth and she needs to hear it from you. You need to go to her, on your knees, and beg her to take you back. She doesn't understand why you were snogging Cassie; for that matter, neither do I."
"Gin, we're getting divorced. I don't want it but that's the way it's going to happen. I love her but I fouled things up. There's no hope of saving them. We might as well end the marriage now while we can."
"You can't end the marriage now," Oliver said walking into Ginny's classroom. "Percy, Penny just came to see me. She's pregnant with your baby."
"What?" Percy's jaw fell to the floor. "How far along is she?"
"Well, she was three months pregnant when she found out you were cheating on her. That was a month ago, so she's four months pregnant," Oliver said calmly.
"I'm going to be a father," Percy whispered. "I'm going to be a father. I can't believe this. How could I have not known?"
"You were never there for her then," Ginny told him softly. "But you can start being there for her now. She needs you so much. Go to her, Percy. Talk to her."
"She's waiting for you," Oliver added. "She wants to talk to you. She wants to know why you did this. She wants to understand this. She wants you back. Percy, go to her. She loves you and she wants you back."
Percy nodded slowly. "Where is she?"
"She's at your flat, the flat the two of you lived in before you left her," Oliver told him sadly. "I told her to go to your flat to talk to you but she doesn't know where you live, so she just went home."
"I just can't believe this. I'm going to be a father," Percy muttered. "Are you sure you heard her right, Oliver?"
Oliver nodded. "Percy, fatherhood happens to the best of us. Look at Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George; they're all fathers and perfectly happy. I'm sort of a father and I'm happy. When you're married, you still have a life. When you have children, you still have a life. It's a different life but it's still a wonderful life. I'm not married to Ginny yet, but I love being with her and Callie. I wouldn't give it up for anything."
Percy nodded. "Well, if all that's true, then I need to go fight for my marriage. Both you, thanks."
"You're welcome," Oliver told his friend. "Good luck."
Ginny hugged her brother and kissed his cheek. "Penny loves you and you love her."
Percy ran up the steps to the flat he and Penny used to share. He was shaking with fear. What if Penny didn't take him back with wide-open arms? What if she had lied to Oliver and she didn't really want him back? He knocked on the door, fearful of how Penny would respond. The door opened. "Percy, whoa, I wasn't expecting to see you here," she said slowly. "What are you doing here?"
"I just came from talking to Oliver and Ginny. They told me that I had to come after you. They told me that you loved me and that if I loved you, I would come talk to and try to explain things to you."
"Explain what, Percy? I found you snogging your secretary. That's pretty much self-explanatory. What else is there to say about it?"
"First off, I can say that I'm an idiot. Penny, I've loved you since we were in fifth year at Hogwarts. Cassie is just long legs and big boobs; you're an intelligent woman and someone with whom I can actually converse."
"But Cassie's prettier than I am?" she said harshly.
"No, I never said that and I never would. Penny, you're more than beautiful; you're breath taking. I don't know how a man could ever set eyes on you and not fall madly in love with you. You're the most beautiful woman in the world. Penelope Ariadne, I love you. You're my everything and without you, I'm nothing. It took almost getting divorced from you for me to realize that but this past month, I've realized that when I'm away from you, it's like I'm only half-alive. You're the reason I live. Cassie was a mistake that I could never, ever make up to you and I'm so sorry that I was ever involved with her."
"What about the other women?"
"What other women?"
"Oh don't look so shocked, Percival. Your mother told me what you told your family. There were other women besides Cassie. Are you done with them too? Are you ready to be completely devoted to me alone?"
"I'm sorry about the other women. Really, I am. Penny, I'm done with that. I'm so sorry about that you can't even believe it. I do love you. I am ready to be completely devoted to you. I'm ready to be a husband. I'm ready to be a father."
"So Oliver told you?" she asked cautiously.
"Yes, and I must say I'm shocked. I thought you didn't want to have any kids."
"I didn't until that night at your parents' house. I realized how happy Ginny is with Callie and how happy Katie, Angelina, and Alicia are with their broods. Your brothers have these large families and they're so happy. Your brothers' wives are so happy. Ginny's so happy with just Callie. I decided that night that if children really did make you that happy, then I wanted children."
Percy stared at her in shock. "I never realized how happy my brothers were. I just saw how busy they are. They all have jobs that keep them very busy and then they have children and wives. They're always doing something. They never have time for themselves. And I enjoy the alone time we have together."
"And we'd still be able to have it," Penny said. "There wouldn't be as much of it, but it'd still be there. If we love each other, we can make time for each other."
Percy nodded. "So, can I come in?"
Penny shrugged. "I guess so. We'll have to take things slowly but I do have a doctor's appointment tomorrow that I want you to come to. I need you with me. It's when I find out the sex of the baby."
"I'll come," Percy said quickly.
Penny smiled. Maybe things would work out.
Two days later, Oliver walked into Ginny's office. "What are you doing on Valentine's Day?" he asked, sitting on the edge of her desk.
"I don't know. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet. I figured I'd probably spend it with you and Callie but beyond that, I don't have any plans."
"How does this sound? You and Callie join me for a picnic in Italy. My uncle has a villa in Tuscany that he said we could Floo to for the afternoon, if you were interested. It's a very romantic place."
Ginny smiled. "It's sounds beautiful. Let me ask Callie." She picked up the baby who was crawling around on the floor. "Callie, would you like to go to Italy with Uncle Oliver and me?"
"Dada!" Callie squealed pointing at Oliver. "Dada!"
"That means yes," Ginny explained. "Count us in. What time are we leaving and how should we dress? And who is taking care of the food?"
"I'm in charge of comestibles. I'll meet you two here at two o'clock with Floo Powder and the picnic basket. And clothes? Dress nicely but casually. And remember, it's warmer in Italy than it is here."
"Will do," Ginny replied. "I'm already looking forward to it. A picnic in Italy, that sounds lovely."
Oliver smiled. "It does. Well, we still have a month until Valentine's Day, unfortunately." He sighed. Then he remembered something. "Have you heard anything from Percy or Penny?"
"Penny sent me an owl last evening. They've reconciled; they're not going to get divorced after all. And she went to the doctor yesterday. She's having a baby boy; they're both thrilled about it."
"Both of them?" Oliver asked.
"Yes, Percy went with her to the doctor. He's decided to get on board with this pregnancy. He says he wants to support her 110 because he wants her back and this is the only way it will happen."
"I think he needs to talk to Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George about fatherhood before he throws himself into this full throttle. I think he needs to understand the commitment he's making and what it means for his relationship with Penny. I can try to tell him about it all I want but until he hears what it was like for Bill when Alex was born, or for Charlie when Larissa was born, or for Fred when Arthur was born, or for George when his oldest was born."
Ginny nodded. "I remember it was a difficult transition for Bill when Alex was born. I think Fred had trouble adjusting after Arthur was born. It's a difficult transition to make. They were used to having their wives to themselves and suddenly these little people who were utterly dependent on them were in their lives, in their homes. It's a big change. In some ways, you'll have it easy when our first child is born because you've already been around me with Callie."
"But I've still never had a newborn baby come into my life," Oliver pointed out.
"Talk to me about that on our wedding night," Ginny whispered suggestively. "I think I can fix that for you."
Then they kissed.
A/N: So, more development and improvement in the Percy/Penny relationship WITH a visit from Ginny's family, actually, a visit TO her family. Please review! I'll try to review but I'm writing three stories, going to school (and taking some really hard classes), student directing a play, helping take care of my siblings, babysitting my neighbors, AND learning to walk in my shoes for my school's Homecoming dress.
A/N2: In the last chapter when Ollie said, "If you're ever a single mother, I'll call the man who made it so," it was supposed to say, "If you're ever a single mother, I'll kill the man who made it so."
A/N3: So I'll update ASAP. Please review!
