Ch 2 – We Were
Chapter Dedication: Tap Dancing Window – for being the first to review this fic =D
Note to Lizzie Weasley: (if you're reading this). Forget what I said about you not liking this fic because it goes against your no-sex-before-marriage beliefs. It doesn't – so you can read it if you want to. =D
[Wow - Never expected such an immediate reaction to me posting Ch. 1. Made me realise just how many people were waiting for my lazy self to start posting. A great deal of you asked how Harry and Ginny broke up and I regret to say I can't tell you – just yet. The main part of the answer to that question is in Ch. 5, so you will have to wait till then =D. Oh and the party so many of you enquired about isn't until Ch. 5 either. *grins wickedly* Also thanks to my brilliant, bold and beautiful BETA's: Nesserz and Luvhp224. Can't do it without you two.]
Ginny stumbled into an empty kitchen at the Burrow, wiping soot off her clothes. She really wasn't that fond of Apparating, and although Flooing wasn't much better, it was better than having to deal with the mental image that popped up at the very thought of Apparating. She had only done it three times, once for her Apparating licence, once for practice and another time because her mother made her.
"Hello?" she called loudly, walking over to the large clock that hung on the wall. Although all of the Weasley children had moved out of the Burrow, their clock hands still remained. If they were at work, the hands pointed to work; if they were in mortal peril, the hands pointed to mortal peril. However the clock would only say that the children were home if they were actually at the Burrow. If they were in their own homes, the clock would resolutely point to travelling. Mrs Weasley would nod and smile when this occurred, giving the clock a fond look.
New hands had been added on the clock that read 'Angelina', 'Fleur', and 'Penelope' each of whom had married Fred, Bill and Percy. The clock now considered the three women as family. Also on the clock was Hermione, who had been added on as soon as she came of age at seventeen. Hermione was now the Hogwarts librarian and though she was not as feared as Madam Pince, she was very protective when it came to the books. Ginny smiled as she thought of Jason's name soon being on the clock.
One other name was on the clock. The name and picture had been pointing to 'traveling' for the past six years. It was a person who no one had seen during those six years. A person who happened to be called Harry Potter. It was odd how the clock had said that Harry was 'home' only when he was at the Burrow; probably because in most ways he was. Mrs Weasley's hand was at the moment pointing to 'home' but everyone else's was either 'traveling' or at work.
Ginny looked around fondly, taking in all the familiar things that filled the room. The Burrow would always truly be her home. She turned to the sink and used her wand to magically clean up the dirty dishes that lay in it.
"Ginny? What are you doing here?" came Molly Weasley's surprised voice.
"Hi Mum." Ginny said, giving her mother a hug. She noticed, with some shock, at just how old her mother was looking. Her always brilliant red hair was losing some of its glow and there was a great deal of grey strands that she hadn't been quite able to hide.
"Hello darling," Mrs Weasley replied with an unseen smile. "I was going to Floo you and ask you to come over anyway. We're having a huge family dinner with everyone." She said, her eyes gleaming but her voice revealing exhaustion. "And I mean everyone. She began ticking the names off on her hand. "Your father, Percy, Penelope, Nathaniel-"
"Nathaniel?" Ginny interrupted suddenly.
"Yes, as well as Sabine." Mrs Weasley answered as her daughter grimaced, Nathaniel, at the age of five was the splitting image of Percy, his father. Sabine was the spoilt yet sweet daughter of Fleur and Bill.
Mrs Weasley continued. "Bill, Fleur, George, Charlie, Fred, Ron, Hermione, Angelina and. . . you."
"I actually came by because I was . . . curious as to why the party tomorrow is such a big deal for me to be going to." Ginny said with slight interest as she turned to clean the floor.
Mrs Weasley dropped the spoon she was holding and nervously wiped her hands on her dress.
"Whatever do you mean by it being a big deal? I was just curious as to whether or not you were going." Mrs Weasley said quickly.
"You, Ron and Hermione?" Ginny asked as she wiped the table.
"They wrote to you too?" Mrs Weasley asked, looking even more anxious. Ginny nodded her head slowly, waiting for an answer, but none came.
"Speaking of Ron and Hermione – where are they? And everyone else for that matter." Ginny asked inquisitively, seeing that the current topic was making her mother uncomfortable.
"They're visiting. . . an old friend of the family." Mrs Weasley said, somewhat awkwardly.
"Who?" asked Ginny interestedly; opening one of the cooking pots to see what was for dinner.
"Oh. . . just an old friend."
"Hm," Ginny said absently, dipping her finger into the sauce as her mother slapped her hand away. "Have you heard everyone going on about that Quidditch team that has come to visit? I think they arrived today. I'm really sick to death of it being mentioned on the front page of the paper every day. It's not like anyone important is on the team."
Mrs Weasley gave her daughter a strange look when she said this.
"I suspect the Quidditch team will be there tomorrow night." was the only thing she said though.
"Oh yes, that silly party. I'm sick of them." Ginny groaned.
"Well, your fiancé is the Head of Department isn't he?" Mrs Weasley asked with a tired smile as she patted her daughter's head. "You should get used to them."
"Mum, you're looking too tired." Ginny said, forgetting about what her mother had just said. She took her mother's hand and looked her in the eye. Mrs. Weasley turned away, avoiding Ginny's gaze.
"It suits me to be busy."
"It doesn't suit me to see you looking so worn out however." Ginny retorted with worried fondness, still holding her mother's hand. Mrs. Weasley flapped her hand wearily, turning away. She was spared any further inquisitions however, when Ron and Hermione suddenly Apparated.
"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, giving the redhead a hug. Ginny grinned and hugged her back, giving a wave at her brother.
"So who were you visiting just now?" she asked.
Hermione and Ron fell silent and after a quick look at Mrs Weasley, Ron said,
"Just someone from the Ministry."
"I thought it was an old friend?" Ginny asked, looking at her mother quizzically.
"Oh. . . uh he was, he is. . . a friend. But he works at the Ministry." Ron said quickly.
"Oh." Said Ginny, giving up. "So where is everyone else? Coming?" she asked, moving on.
"Any minute now they should be here." Hermione said, sitting on one of the chairs. Both she and Ron had odd looks on their faces, causing Ginny to wonder at the mysterious person they had been visiting.
"I'm going up to see my old room." Ginny suddenly announced, getting up and walking over to the stairs.
"Don't take too long dear, dinner will be soon," Mrs Weasley warned, though giving her daughter an affectionate look.
"Mm-Hm," Ginny said absently as she leisurely climbed the stairs. Her old room hadn't been changed at all; no one's had. Maybe her mother liked to remind herself of the full house she had once had. Ginny quickly peered into Fred and George's old room. Sometimes George stayed the night, staying up late working on an experiment and the like. Ginny automatically went in to straighten the covers; George had stayed the night before.
She then walked into her own room, sensing the feeling of reminiscence. She swept a hand over her small and now dusty desk, where she had spent hours scribbling furiously in her diary – her most prized possession. For a year after the whole Chamber of Secrets ordeal, she had been unable to look at her diary without all those awful memories coming back. When she finally got over her phobia of diaries, she had spent ages writing in it until halfway through her seventh year. Her NEWTs had then distracted her and she had misplaced it somewhere, she still didn't know where it was.
She sat on her bed, smiling softly as the familiar rusty springs creaked under her. She looked down at her worn pink blanket that her mother had made for her when she was just four. Ginny remembered loving it more than anything, she had even considered taking it to the cottage but had decided to leave the past where it belonged. Now, however, she wouldn't mind having it at her house; she had forgotten just how much she loved it.
Ginny was taken from her thoughts by a sudden clatter and a shriek from downstairs. She smiled, knowing Fred and George had just arrived.
"Ginny!" came the shout ten seconds later as Ginny heaved herself off the bed. She flew down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, she saw that her assumption was wrong: Fred and George had not yet arrived. Instead Ginny found Bill, Fleur and the tiny Sabine standing in the kitchen. Fleur was in the process of prying her whining daughter away from the fireplace. Obviously, that had been the source of the shriek.
"I want to go back! Take me back home Mummy!"
"Sabine. . ." Fleur warned, clearly frustrated.
"Take me home now!"
"Sabine Weasley, hush yourself immediately!" Fleur said angrily.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Fine, go home then."
"No Mummy!" Sabine whimpered, eyes tearing up.
"Oh, sweetie." Fleur said, laughing and pulling her confused daughter into a hug. Sabine then caught sight of an amused Ginny standing in the door way and pointed.
"Dragon!" she yelled in delight. When she had first met Ginny the little girl couldn't -- or wouldn't -- pronounce 'Ginny' so she had immediately started calling her 'Dwagun' (her favourite animal at the time) and the name had stuck.
"Hey Sabine honey, how are you?" Ginny asked, leaning down to give the girl a hug. Sabine reminded her of Louise sometimes, although not in personality but, rather, in looks and expression. She had delicate features and long blonde hair and clear blue eyes.
"I got a new dress!" Sabine replied excitedly.
"That's great, I'm sure it looks fantastic on you." Ginny said, walking over and gave Fleur a hug. "And how are you?" she asked her sister-in-law.
"Mm, I'm alright. I take it your muzzer hasn't told you I am expecting again?" Fleur said secretly, in her dainty French accent.
"Oh how wonderful!" Ginny exclaimed, truly happy for them as Bill swept his wife into a bone-crushing hug.
Just then Mr. Weasley and Charlie walked in, smiling and greeting all the others that were already in the kitchen. (Which was becoming quite packed.)
"Hey Dad," Ginny said warmly, noticing the number of grey hairs replacing the red ones on his increasingly balding head. Ginny sighed. He and Mum are both getting old, she thought sadly.
"Hello Gin, I'm so glad you came." He said as he kissed her on the cheek and went to give his wife a hug.
The fireplace glowed green as Percy strode into the room, fussing obsessively over his collar. Penelope followed with Nathaniel two seconds later, smiling and greeting everyone as Percy re-arranged his son's shirt.
"Perce, stop bothering him, come and say hello to the family," Penelope admonished him, nudging her husband in the direction of Mr Weasley.
"Of course Penny, I was merely tucking in his shirt," Percy said indignantly, going over and saying hello. Nathaniel held his chin up proudly and walked behind his father. The small boy rolled his eyes when Mrs Weasley picked him up in a hug, but Ginny could see that he secretly enjoyed the affection – something that his father rarely showed.
There was suddenly a huge crack as George, Fred and Angelina Apparated into the kitchen, each grinning widely.
"We're here, the party can start now!" Fred boomed, hugging a beaming Angelina around the shoulders while George bowed dramatically. Ginny noticed Angelina's increasingly large stomach.
Angelina; noticing the look said with a laugh, "Six months now Gin, only three more to go."
"Gosh the time went so quickly." Ginny said, "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks; I'm not. I look like a whale," Angelina joked as Fred kissed her. Ginny knew she was lying. Angelina and Fred had been trying to have a baby for a couple of years now, both becoming sad and confused when nothing happened. Angelina had gotten thin and worn, desperate to have a baby. Six months ago however, she had come to the Burrow radiant and smiling with the news she was pregnant. The celebration that night was huge.
"No honey, the whale has yet to come. Right now you are in the beach ball stage. But don't worry, I still love you," Fred winked at her as she slapped him playfully on the shoulder. He pulled her into a passionate kiss and then bent her backwards over his arm, like some old-fashioned ball move. Bill whistled at the pair while everyone laughed and clapped.
"Everyone, out! Out!" Mrs Weasley said suddenly, shooing the group out the back door. "This is not Platform Nine and Three Quarters!" she said huffily. Everyone retreated out into the back garden, catching up and talking while Ginny ignored her mother's warnings and remained in the kitchen.
"Honestly Mum, everyone can see right through you. We know you love having all these people," Ginny said cheekily.
"Yes, well. . ." Mrs Weasley trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed as she turned away to check over the food. "Oh Gin," she said suddenly, "Penny wanted to ask you if she could enrol Nate at your school. I suspect Fleur wants to as well." She added.
"I think that would be alright," Ginny said thoughtfully. "I'll talk to them about it; I would love it if Nate and Sabine came."
A huge crash from outside stopped Mrs Weasley from answering. The two exchanged looks of horror, only imagining what was going on out there, and ran out.
Fred and George had apparently adopted Charlie and Bill's idea of dueling tables. However, instead of just having the tables levitated, all the silverware was flying through the air and attacking the tables as well. Ginny covered her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing as one of the spoons decided to harass Percy.
"WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT? HONESTLY, I TURN MY BACK FOR ONE MINUTE. . . DON'T YOU THINK YOU'RE TOO OLD TO BE DOING THIS?" came Mrs Weasley's outraged voice, glaring at her husband and the twins.
"Now Molly," Mr Weasley said soothingly. "They were just having a bit of fun. . ."
"They can bloody well come in and be useful! Fred! George!" Mrs Weasley snapped, striding back inside stiffly. Fred and George exchanged mock-terrified glances and saluted everyone before walking inside.
Ginny walked over to Fleur, dodging an airborne fork on her way. Fleur was talking animatedly to Hermione, waving her hands high into the air.
"'E is always 'aving to go on trips for zis Gringotts!" Ginny heard Fleur complaining as she came closer.
"I know what you mean; Ron is always going on some dangerous mission for the Ministry." Hermione agreed.
"I think my 'eart dies a little every time 'e goes," Fleur said dramatically, sending an affectionate look towards Bill.
"Thank Merlin Jason isn't involved in anything dangerous," Ginny said as she came up beside them. "I don't think I could manage."
"Oh Ginny! Your wedding! I simply cannot wait," Fleur said excitedly as she and Hermione turned towards her.
"Are you two still up for bridesmaids?" Ginny asked.
"Of course! Penny and Angelina as well. My, you do have a few bridesmaids don't you?" Hermione said with dancing eyes.
"And Sabine as the flower girl," Fleur added eagerly.
"And Nate the ring-bearer," Ginny said with a grin. Jason had no family other that his parents and sister, which would explain why Ginny's family had so many roles in the wedding. Ginny had never met Jason's sister, Catherine, but they were soon to be introduced in a few days. Ginny had already gotten a sweet, bubbly letter from her saying how excited she was to finally meet her future sister-in-law. She seemed like she would be a nice person.
"I bet your wedding will be all over the papers," said Fleur enviously.
"Unfortunately," Ginny said, grimacing; she had originally wanted a small wedding. Marrying a top Ministry official, however, meant lots of publicity and lots of people. So far there were close to six hundred people attending, not even including the photographers and reporters that were sure to arrive.
"Why's that? You may even be in Which Witch magazine!" Fleur protested, as if this was a dream come true. It would be a dream come true too, but Ginny was sick of appearing in the papers constantly with news of her school and her upcoming marriage with Jason because they were so often lies.
"I suppose." Ginny replied dubiously. She watched her mother come out of the house bearing enormous amounts of food, followed by the two shuffling twins.
"Looks like dinner." She said to Hermione and Fleur, a second before Mrs Weasley confirmed this with a shout. They all sat down amid much clatter and screaming --mostly from Sabine and Nate-- and tucked in. There was silence for a whole thirty seconds before,
"SuGimwhur'sgson?" came George's incoherent question.
Ginny surveyed him coolly before answering. "I was under the impression that you chewed food, not inhaled it."
"If I inhaled it I wouldn't be able to talk properly!" George retorted, swallowing.
"Exactly."
George tilted his head for a second, his face showing offence when he realised what his sister had said, before repeating his question.
"Where's Jason?" he asked.
"Some welcoming dinner for the Quidditch that arrived today." Ginny shrugged, reaching for the salad bowl.
"That's where Ha-" Ron began to say in excitement before Hermione elbowed him in the stomach. Ginny raised her eyebrows and looked around at everyone. Mr Weasley had found something fascinating in the salad, Fred had suddenly gave into the urge of stretching, Hermione seemed to have dropped her fork under the table, Molly was looking around frantically while Fleur looked like she was on the verge of blurting out something she shouldn't.
"Okay, what is going on here?" Ginny asked, dropping her knife and fork and looking with total confusement at her red, fumbling family.
"Er,"
"Well,"
"Uh,"
"They,"
"You see,"
"Hmm,"
"Yes?" she questioned again. "I know it has something to do with the person Ron and Hermione were visiting and I want to know."
Ron took a deep breath. He had to make a sacrifice here. They couldn't let Ginny find out how long they had been hiding this from her. He'd been planning on doing it in private and not for another couple of days but this would be the only way to distract Ginny.
He got up off his chair and fumbled with his pocket as he kneeled down in front of a puzzled Hermione. He took a deep breath and looked at his girlfriend pleadingly.
"We were visiting the place where we are going to marry."
Hermione almost fell out of her seat. She regained her composure and stared at Ron for a second. Everyone else had gone as quiet as mice, the silence so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Everybody was frozen in position, all eyes focused on the couple.
"We were?" Hermione squeaked.
Ron kept staring into Hermione's bewildered eyes seriously. Ginny furrowed her brows. What on earth is she doing, why isn't she answering? She thought.
Ron had broken out in a sweat and was just about to say he had been joking when,
"We were."
Ron jerked his head back around in surprise.
"What?" he whispered.
Hermione bit back a grin. "We were," she repeated, her eyes giving him his answer. Yes, they said. I will marry you.
Ron almost whooped. He turned back to Ginny.
"We were." He informed her, taking Hermione's hand and turning back to her. He slipped a ring on her finger and she nodded, her eyes shining happily as she kissed him.
"You were?" Ginny asked, unable to believe what had just happened. Nor could anyone else; all of them were still staring at the couple in question.
"I think we've established that they were, Gin." Mrs Weasley said without the slightest bit of annoyance. She looked overjoyed, in fact, to be having another child married to strengthen her chance of more grandchildren.
"We were." Ron whispered to his fiancé, wrapping her in another hug.
Ginny smiled bemusedly. "So where are you going to marry?" she asked.
"Er. ."
[The chapters will get longer but at the moment they will remain around this length. Review! Next chapter we meet Harry, it is also my favourite chapter so far – very amusing.]
Thanks to: Miss Sammieh, Ginny Potter 08, yellow pages, milocachica, Orchid6297, magic sparkle 1, DanielLover4Lyfe, Fanceyes, DarkAngel 31, Hannah, BeccaRadcliffe,
Tap Dancing Window – Congratulations on being the first to review! When you asked if "the twins will be in the story?" I didn't know if you meant in this fic or What About Me. In this fic, Angelina and Fred have a large(r) role in later chapters. Actually come to think of it, George and Fred do play an important part later, though it's not very happy.
Voicez Within – I hate Bree too but, unfortunately, she plays a fairly large role in this fic. Evil girl. Enfantes means 'Children' in French.
Dracoisahottie13 - *blushes* I'm sorry for taking so long – really! Yup, you'll find out what happened to Ginny and Harry gradually. . . not for another few chapters. Yes, I was going to call the sequel "What About You" but, come on – it was quite silly. Heartbreak Home suits the story much better.
Dk Lili – No, no, you didn't miss anything. We don't know why Harry and Ginny broke up yet. You'll see though. . .
Hecate Aiwe – I really do hope to see more of you. I get lazy with reviews too, but I am also trying to review more because I know how happy people get when I do – I know how it feels. Yeah, I know what you mean "happily ever after even thought they are only 16-17" however, there are many "harry goes away, comes back and Ginny falls back in love with him." But I am trying to steer clear of that and make this fic different, hopefully it turns out like that. Eep, sorry about the 'cottage in London' thing! *smacks head* I feel like an idiot now, I will change it when I can but life is starting to "overflow" at the moment. Thanks again for reviewing – means a lot!
LizaGirl – I do love Time and Time Again but as well as being busy for Heartbreak Home, I've also got a slight writer's block on it. Hopefully it will clear by the time this fic is finished. Hope you like this story anyway!
Laura Kay – Of course the Quidditch team visiting has Harry on it! Lol, that's the whole point!
Sarah Noisette – Hello hello! How are you? I haven't spoken to you on MSN since that one time. :( I managed to read both the Bridget Jones's Diary books – they are absolutely HILARIOUS. I really hope they do the Colin Firth interview in the movie, that is the funniest thing I have ever read. Although the magic mushroom omelette or whatever it was could give it a run for it's money – that was very amusing. As for how much work I have, lets just say that a HUGE amount is a big understatement. Consequently, I'll have to update every week and a half.
Hippie-Banana – Sorry Harry's not in this chapter – but he is the next one is a very amusing situation. The next one is one of my faves, so I hope you enjoy it.
Happynutcase – Of course he's in the Quidditch team, who do you think this is? Some un-cliched writer lol? Jason is alright, but we don't meet him until Ch. 5. Things are still quite boring now, but I can promise you: it gets good. Meep! I love Crookshanks too – the only one to see Sirius's true colours! But I think she shouldn't have killed Sirius – although I don't think he's dead, I think he's "just beyond the veil."
JuNiSGiRl – Yup, very different from WAM –but hopefully just as good. I know, I adore those angst/drama/romance fic, to read with some yummy chocolate.
Hannah – *grins sheepishly* sorry about changing the name, but I thought "What About You" seemed really lame. Heartbreak Home actually suits the fic. Well I'm glad you liked Louise so much – not many people like OC's. I think you may be happy to know that Louise has a big part in the end of the story. "The Climax"! Dun dun dunnn.
Luvhp224 – honesty is something, downright abuse in another. Please bear that in mind – please. I am trying to contain my temper and telling myself you were just pissed off because you thought you had corrected those mistakes. Now, what happened was when I was correcting what you sent back to me, I was doing many things at once (schoolwork etc.) so I forgot to add in what you told me after I deleted. Also, I didn't save the last time by accident so that also caused some problems. I fixed most mistakes with the help of Nesserz however there may still be a couple. I dunno. But thanks for saying it has potential, if you say it then it must mean something because that sort of thing doesn't come all too often. Oh and about the '5 people speaking at once', you're not really supposed to know who it is. Doesn't really matter.
JamieBell – it is rather obvious it's Harry though, isn't it? That was the whole point. . . When I first began What About Me. . . well lets just say it wasn't my best. My writing changed lots over the whole fic though, mostly because of Luvhp224's pushing. I owe a lot to her, but now I have two fantastic BETA's to help me with all my mistakes I so often make. Glad you're enjoying it so far though.
Midnightdreaming – will it console you slightly if I say there is a happy ending? I'm sorry this fic may be sad, but it will be even better. It starts to get sad in ch 10 really, until ch 25 or something. Eep that's a lot.
Deer boy – Hi hi! How are you? Ah. . . the good ole FedEx. *tear* How I wish I could see it's lovely purple-orangeishness again. Hehe. Damn you and your hot weather. I had my first day of school yesterday and because I got no sleep the night before I fell asleep in Maths and Geography. Only got in trouble for sleeping in Maths however, my Geography teacher is blind as a bat.
Crazed Chipmunk – yeah there were a few errors however: check my reply to Luvhp224. Hopefully this is better. Thanks for pointing it out – nicely. =D
Sunnysweetie – Well I don't do HD, however if I am feeling depressed or angsty I can sometimes read an GD. Something about the fire and ice. . .
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