A/N: My prologue was kinda sad, but the story shouldn't be like that. Not much else to say, read on :)

THREE YEARS LATER

Ginny groaned when she felt a little girl jump on the bed. It couldn't be time for her to be awake yet. She heard Harry enter the room and try to coax Makayla out to the kitchen for breakfast.

"It's okay," Ginny said while smiling. "I'm awake." Harry strode over to the bed and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Good morning," He whispered. "Breakfast is done. We just have to get the little one to eat now. She's excited about something." Harry looked at his daughter. "I wonder what today is."

"MY BIRTHDAY!" Makayla yelled. Ginny laughed and sat up.

"How old are you now?" She asked.

"Three!" She help up a mix of all her fingers and Harry helped her fix it so she had just three fingers up. "Three!" She stated again. Harry and Ginny had been married a little over three years and it was safe to say Makayla was a honeymoon present.

"Well when I get dressed, we'll see what three year olds get for their birthday, okay?" Ginny smiled at her daughter. She had straight, jet black hair with big, round green eyes. She had a few freckles spread across her nose, which she'd inherited from her mother.

Makayla let out a squeal and Harry picked her up and took her out of the room. Ginny had to admit, he was a wonderful father and she did love him. She made her way to the closet and picked a cute pair of blue jeans and a dark emerald top. Most of the clothes she owned were green. She loved how they brought out the auburn color of her hair and the dark lashes that outlined her brown eyes. Harry hated the color, but he had to agree it looked great on Ginny.

Once she was dressed and done getting ready, she made her way downstairs, where an excited little girl could be heard singing "Happy Birthday" to herself. When she entered the living room, she found Makayla sitting next to the stack of presents they'd gotten her, mostly thanks to Harry. Ginny didn't really have time to go shopping with the odd hours she worked. She worked as a nurse in St. Mungo's and they were calling on her all hours of the day. Harry had the choice to play Quidditch for the Chudley Cannons, but decided to create an at home business so he could spend more time with Ginny and Makayla. So he stayed home all day and, depending on the day of the week, either helped people with their financial needs, planned social gatherings for families, or interviewed and tested probable aurors in case a time ever arose again when they would be needed.

"MOMMY!" Makayla yelled. "You took too long! Can I open now?" Ginny giggled.

"Ask your daddy. We might have to wait for everyone else to get here," She said. Makayla stuck out her bottom lip and started to pout.

"Please?" She pleaded, looking at her mother with her green eyes, reminding Ginny strangely of how Harry looked when he first asked her out.

Harry laughed and Ginny looked at him for help. He held up his hands, signaling that she had to get this on her own. "How about this," Ginny started. "You can open one of them now and then you have to wait for everyone to get here to open the rest."

"Okay!" She yelled and ran for the stack. Ginny laughed. She really did love her life. It was everything she dreamed it would be. She had a husband who loved her, a beautiful, smart daughter, and amazing friends who never left her alone when something had her down. So why was it that sometimes, in the darkest of night, would she awake from a dream she couldn't remember with tears streaming down her face? She never woke Harry, but it seemed that sometimes he just knew when she'd had a bad night. He'd wake her with a gentle kiss and pamper her all morning until she left for work.

"Can I have this one?" She snapped out of her reviere when Makayla bounded up to her and shoved possibly the biggest box on the floor right under her nose.

"Sure, honey," Ginny replied. Harry looked at her wonderingly and Ginny shrugged her shoulders, saying it was nothing. He nodded, knowing she had things she couldn't tell him and watched his daughter rip off the bright red and gold wrapping paper to find her very own practice racing broom, the Thimbus, a direct spin off of the Nimbus but for toddlers. Makayla's vace lit up with amusement and she tried to get the box open. Ginny looked at Harry with her own amused expression.

"I thought we agreed she wasn't ready for a broom yet, Harry," She said in a low voice. He grinned sheepishly.

"I know, but it was a last minute thing. We both know she's smart for her age and shes going to grow up so fast. I just wanted to-" He was cut short by a squeal of laughter coming from his daughter. She'd gotten the box open and was already attempting to try and ride it. Ginny rushed to her side.

"I suppose teaching her early won't hurt," She mumbled. "At least then she'll be able to play Quidditch with Carrie, Alex, and Anthony. Harry nodded, silently thanking whoever was watching out for him. Anytime he went against something they'd talked about beforehand, it usually resulted in an argument, with Ginny winning in the end.

Carrie, just turned five, was Ron and Hermione's oldest child. They also had a set of twins, Alex and Anthony. Carrie was the spitting image of her mother with one condition, her hair was straight. Neither of them knew how that was, but felt she was very fortunate. Alex and Anthony were a bit more complicated. They were identical twins, but Anthony was taller by an inch and a half. They had Ron's flaming orange hair and freckles spattered across their noses. They had Hermione's relatively small ears. But what neither parent could figure out was their eyes. Each eye was a bit different than the next. Alex had one deep, dark, chocolate brown and one light brown. Anthony had almost a coffee brown and again, a light brown. Two-tone eye colors, but four different colors for a set of identical twins.

Ginny yelped as Makayla almost fell sideways off her broom and sent a death glare at Harry. "I change my mind," She said through gritted teeth. "We're putting it up for another time."

Harry chuckled. "Awwh, come on. Look how much fun she's having!" He looked at Makayla lovingly. "You can't deny her that!"

She guided her daughter over to Harry and let her go. "Fine, then you can watch her." She was in a tense mood at the moment. There were going to be people coming over and she hadn't even set up for the party.

Harry took Makayla off the broom and set it up on a counter where she couldn't reach it and then went to talk to Ginny. "Gin, stop walking away. What's going on? Why're you so uptight today?"

"It's just, never mind. I've got to get things ready for this party. Watch her will you?" Ginny turned her back and went upstairs to get the streamers and other decorations she'd hidden. Coming back downstairs, humming to herself, she heard voices in the kitchen below.

She saw Makayla playing with her new broom but Harry wasn't in the room with her. Ginny grabbed the broom and made her way to the kitchen, about to yell at Harry for leaving their daughter unattended. She never got those words out though. When she arrived in the kitchen, the scene before her made her freeze where she was standing.

He was back, and about ready to rip off her husband's head if Ginny didn't do something soon, but she wasn't able to move. She just stared. Why had he come back. Why now after three years of having been gone. Why now when she'd finally moved on with her life. She was happy and now he'd come back to screw everything up.

a/n: well there's chapter one.. kinda short, sorry...told you it wasn't going to be as sad as the prologue :-p lol so review! member, these two chapters are just teasers. this story's competing with A Darkness So Uncommon! So, read um both and review, let me know which one yer more interested in!