BEHIND EMERALD EYES

New Love; New Life

Sunlight drifted through the partly lit window, showering down upon the sleeping couple. The room was cast in an ethereal glow; glittering softly in the morning light. Upon the bed, a dark haired man shifted and his eyelids opened, revealing a pair of bright emerald eyes. He glanced around the room, his brows furrowed in confusion. Then they rested on the sleeping woman beside him and they sparkled in understanding.

Her head was resting on his stomach, her bright hair cascading across the sheets like a flickering flame. Her face was smooth and spotless; her freckles faint in the pale light. Her back rose with each breath and a smile played across her tender lips. The sheet was wrapped across her middle, making her seem like an ancient goddess; beautiful and heavenly.

Harry lifted a hand and brushed away a curly strand of hair, tucking it behind one of her ears. He sat there just watching her sleep, enjoying the way her body fitted perfectly with his. The sunlight danced across her hair, making it flash with a flame-like grace. She moved her head softly and her eyelids flickered.

Harry sat contentedly, running his hand through her hair, remembering the night they spent together with a full mind. Everything was perfect. His birthday had been the happiest he had ever had, and Ginny's present was the most thoughtful anyone could give. After the devastating events of the last few weeks, Harry thought his life would turn into how it was back in Hogwarts; with nightmares and monsters destroying his sleep, and shadows trailing behind him with death on their minds.

But Ginny was his saviour; his own knight in shining white armour (Or sheet in this case). She rescued him from his self-induced prison and brought him back out into the light. For that, he was eternally grateful. The beautiful girl in his arms, resting against his body, was the reason he was alive again. She had resurrected him in a sense, and reintroduced him into the world and to the things that mattered most. She was his hero.

Ginny mumbled something and her eyes opened, locking with his. She looked confused for a second before she relaxed back down, a charming smile gracing her face.

"Morning," Harry greeted, kissing the top of her head. She fidgeted on his chest, brought a hand up, and pushed his head down, locking her lips with his. The kiss was passionate and perfect, and when it ended, Harry was left wanting more.

"A girl could get used to waking up this way," Ginny said, grinning. Harry chuckled, caressing her bare back.

"So could a man," he said truthfully. They sat in a peaceful silence, just staring into each other's eyes. They ignored the loud bang from downstairs, and remained their love-struck gaze. Harry was just wondering how so many wonderful colours could be found in one singular eye, when the door swung open and Ron came racing in.

"Ginny! Guess what, Fleur –" the redheaded man said, before freezing, his eyes locked on the couple under the covers. Harry froze. He couldn't move, let alone breathe. The two men were staring at one another, stuck in mutual shock and embarrassment. Ginny was staring at Ron furiously.

"Ron! Get out, NOW!" she shrieked. Ron slowly backed away, is entire face the brightest red it had ever been, and his ears like miniature rockets, ready to launch. As soon as the door shut, they hear Ron swear loudly and a loud thud sounded when Ron's head connected with the wall. Harry groaned loudly, sitting up when Ginny slid off his top.

"That was the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen!" Harry moaned, putting his face in his hands. "I thought the door was locked? How did he get in?" Ginny's face grew even redder.

"Erm – I went to t-the bathroom last night, I must have – um – forgotten to lock the door when I came back in . . . sorry!" she said, truly looking distraught. Harry sighed and pulled her to him, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"It's OK, he would have found out eventually anyway," Harry said, "I just hoped it wouldn't be in a situation that, erm . . . revealing." Ginny groaned, dropping her head under his chin.

"I couldn't move! You don't realize how bad that was! I almost died when I walked in on Ron taking a shower when I was nine! And this was a thousand times worse!" she said, trying to tug her hair out. Harry stopped her.

"Hey, don't do that; I like your hair!" he said. "But, seriously I thought he was going to kill me, or die in fright himself!" Harry said, chuckling now after seeing the funnier side of it, "well, we better go downstairs and see what he wanted." Harry climbed to the side of the bed scooping his pants up off the floor. He pulled them on and looked back to find Ginny completely covered by the sheet; only a lock of red hair gave away her position.

"C'mon, Gin," he said, patting her back beneath the sheet, "It won't be that bad." Inside, Harry was dreading seeing Ron again. He still had a nervous fluttering inside his stomach and his face was still warm.

"No!" Ginny called out from under the sheet. "Can't we just stay here?"

"You know we can't; what if it's something about the baby. I heard Ron say Fleur's name," he said, getting an immediate reaction. The sheet was thrown back and Ginny stared at him excitedly.

"The baby!" she squealed, jumping from the bed and running to her drawers. Harry tilted his head to the side, watching her naked form search for clothes.

"Merlin," he said under his breath.

OoO

A few minutes later had them descending the stairs, holding hands nervously. They could here Molly's voice chattering quickly in the kitchen and they sped up their pace. As they entered the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley caught sight of them.

"Finally!" she yelled. "Ron came down and said you'd be a little while, but you could have gotten a move on!"

"Mum, what's happening?" Ginny asked, dropping Harry's hand and gazing nervously at her mother. Harry spotted Ron sitting hunchbacked at the table, face still red and his eyes twitching. He caught Harry's eye, and they both looked away awkwardly.

"It's Fleur; she's gone into labour!" she screamed, pulling at her hair. Harry smirked, so that's where she got it. "C'mon, we're Flooing to Mungo's!" she said, bolting from the room. Ginny trailed closely after her, as did Hermione, all looking excited and shiny-faced. That left Harry and Ron, both looking at their feet.

"Look, Ron –" Harry began, not knowing what to say.

"Yeh, erm, Harry –" Ron said, they locked eyes once again. "I'm glad it's you, OK?" Ron said, each word seeming to cause him much pain. Harry grinned nervously.

"Thanks, but could you knock next time?" Harry said, smirking as Ron's face went red once again.

"Merlin, I went in to find only Ginny, to see you two –" he made a disgusted look and said, "You could have put a sign up or something, or locked the door! I think I'm scarred for life!" he said, his voice squeaking. Harry laughed as Ron shook his head, his eyes closed with his hands pressed against them forcefully.

"I wish I could burn that image out of my head!" he groaned, "It was terrible! Worse than spiders!" Harry laughed loudly at this; glad Ron wasn't going to kill him for shagging his sister.

"RON! HARRY!" a loud, distressed voice rang through the house.

"I think we should go," Harry said, waiting as Ron stood.

"Yeah, before mum has a heart attack," Ron said, following Harry from the room.

"What took you guys so long?" Hermione asked as Molly disappeared from the fireplace in a bright green swirl of flame. Harry glance at Ginny who's eyes looked worried.

"Me and Ron just had a chat," Harry said, grinning and nodding his head at Ginny, who visibly relaxed.

"Oh, what about?" Hermione asked, looking between the two boys and Ginny. Ron looked to Ginny and shuddered, quickly reaching for the Floo powder and flinging some into the empty fireplace.

"St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries!" Ron shouted before disappearing just as his mother had. Harry and Ginny started chuckling loudly as Hermione asked, "Did I miss something?"

OoO

St Mungo's Hospital was bustling with life as the four friends went in search of the maternity department. The witch at the front desk had said it was the fourth floor, and when Harry had asked Hermione why it was on that floor, she replied that pregnancy was put under 'Spell Damage' as most of the time they were pregnant because of a misused Contraception Charm.

This caused him to go pink.

As they walked along the fourth floor corridors, sounds of screaming and incoherent yells emanated from every room. Ron was looking incredibly pale as they reached room seventeen, and collapsed onto a chair, looking thoroughly exhausted.

Bill Weasley was sitting nervously in a chair by a pale blue door, his hair hanging limp and sweat beading his face. He gave everyone quick 'hellos' and went back to staring at the far wall. Harry sat beside Ginny who was staring at the door. Ron was pacing quickly in the centre of the room, mumbling under his breath.

Harry caught the words 'uncle' and 'Quidditch', before turning his attention to Hermione, she was sitting across from him, a book open on her lap, looking incredibly calm. Suddenly the door opened and a Healer's head popped out.

"Bill? Fleur would like you to sit with her," the witch said, as a burst of French echoed from the room, causing Hermione to snort with laugher as Bill vanished though the doors.

"What did she say?" Harry asked.

"She said: 'Just get this infernal thing out of me!'" Hermione said, grinning. Harry chuckled and squeezed Ginny's hand encouragingly.

"Everything will be fine," he crooned, kissing the back of her hand. An hour passed and Harry had just returned with drinks when the doors opened and Bill came out, holding a pink bundle in his arms.

He smiled up at them and looked back down at his daughter, pure love shining from his eyes. "Say hello to Lily Esmeralda Weasley," he said as Ginny and Ron jumped forwards to meet their new niece. Harry and Hermione grinned at one another, letting them have their moment. Soon though, Fleur called out to Bill and he returned through the doors, carrying Lily with utmost care. The little girl had thin wisps of blond hair atop her head and a pair of great big blue eyes, with a light sprinkling of freckles across her pale face.

"She was beautiful!" Ginny said proudly, sitting on Harry's knee. Grinning, he said, "Yes, she was."

"I can't wait until she's old enough to ride a broom; then I can teach her Quidditch!" Ron said happily, colour returning to his face. Ginny scoffed.

"You won't be teaching her anything; I'll be the one teaching her to fly!" she said, as Harry and Hermione laughed at the appalled look on Ron's face.

They were allowed in to see Fleur a little later. The part-Veela looked quite a mess; her once flowing, silvery hair was limp and frizzy, scattered about the pillow like a great cobweb. Her face was pale and sweaty, with bags beneath her now exhausted eyes. But a light seemed to shine from them as she stared at her daughter, asleep in her arms. Bill and Molly were standing by the bedside; Mrs. Weasley's eyes were shining with pride and she was clutching her son's hand tightly. Bill looked happier than Harry had ever seen him, as he looked at his wife and child.

"Imagine if she had been born yesterday on Harry's birthday!" Ron said loudly, chuckling. Harry grinned; it would have been amazing. "Or next week on Ginny's!" Harry's heart fluttered, he had almost forgotten it was Ginny's twenty-first birthday next week. What would he get her?

The same present she got me would be perfect. Harry thought to himself, smiling broadly.

"What are you grinning about?" Ginny asked from his side, raising her eyebrows. Harry smirked and shook his head.

"Nothing; nothing at all."

OoO

It was later that night and they had been home for around an hour. Molly had decided to stay with Fleur and Bill for the night at Mungo's, as Arthur had turned up earlier on. So it was only Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the house, eating pizza that they had ordered from the muggle town a few miles up the road. They had invited Luna over as well, and would have asked Neville as well, but he hadn't been home when they had Flooed.

Harry was laughing at something Ron had just said, when his scar tingled briefly. He immediately grew silent and his hand flew to his forehead. Everyone noticed his actions and a heavy silence fell.

"Harry?" Ginny said, staring at him concernedly. It had been the second time in two months that his scar had played up; the second time in five years; the second time since Voldemort's death.

"Was it your scar again?" Ron asked, his face pale and eyes wide in fear. Harry nodded slowly.

"It had only tingled for a second; less than a second. But it's more than it has in over five years, not counting the day that D – Dave died," Harry said, bringing fresh emotions to the surface. He found his hand wrapped in Ginny's and he squeezed it thankfully.

"What does it mean?" Hermione asked. "There was a reason it prickled when you were younger, because of your connection with Voldemort. But now? It doesn't make sense!" she said desperately.

"I know," Harry said, feeling as though his worst fears had been answered. That Voldemort was indeed, not dead. Nothing else made sense. The only reason he had the scar was Voldemort, and the connection that he had had with the monstrous Dark Lord was only created because of his scar. So it would only make sense that when Voldemort had died, the connection had been broken; meaning his scar would be just that. A scar.

"It can't be Voldemort," Harry said convincingly, "I watched him die. That bastard is dead!" He said savagely, banging his fist on the table.

The pizza grew cold.

OoOoO

Hey. Weird ending? Yes, I know. Long time before I updated? Yes, I know. You're going to hit me. Yes, I know. And this chapter was pretty short, but I had almost forgotten that Fleur was pregnant and I had to get that out of the way. Now that that's done, I can get into the good stuff.

Such as:

1. Harry and Hermione returning to Hogwarts

2. Harry finding out where Dumbledore's key fits

3. Harry finding another HUGE secret that has been kept from him

4. They discover part of the identity of the new Dark Lord

5. There is another death

6. There is a double kidnapping

7. And something amazing happens!

Look at all those that I have to weave into this story. That's a gift to apologize for my late update! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and I really want to get to 200 reviews before I post the next chapter! Please, please, PLEASE! If I do, I'll make the next chapter really long! I promise! And sorry for the swearing, it seemed appropriate.

Also, I should tell you that Fleur's baby is not named after Harry's mother, but after Fleur's great grandmother; not the Veela one. They just wanted Harry's acceptance of using that name. I'll get to that next chapter! Oh, and I tried to update this chapter yesterday but it wouldn't let me! Sorry!

OH MY GOD! I' just finished going through this on QuickEdit and my internet has disconnected! AND IT WON'T LET ME GO BACK ON! It's as if Merlin doesn't want this chapter uploaded or something. I'll keep trying and get back to you; it's now 12:20pm.

It's 12:21pm and still no word...sigh.

It's 12:30pm and I'm ready to hit the computer.

It's 12:37pm and I have hit the computer.

Thanks and good-bye until next time!

DW