Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Also, there are references to sexual activities, cheating, and an STD. Feel free to back out if need be.

Author's Note: I'm vehemently anti-Orange Crush, for various reasons. Thus, naturally, when I needed a couple to break up because of cheating, that's where I went. So, head's up, folks: this fic is Not Ginny Friendly. Also, I'm giggling over a difference in slang between the US & the UK, which I had to look up to verify that I was using the term correctly for what I wanted to say. (Fellow Americans, to avoid as much confusion as possible, 'fanny' doesn't mean 'butt' to the Brits like it does to us.)

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts (Term 12); MC4A
Individual Challenges: Beauty in the Abstract; Shadow HP Bribery (Y); Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC (x2); Magical MC (x4); Neurodivergent (x2); Rian-Russo Inversion (x2) (Y); Ethnic & Present; Small Fry; Shipwreck; Ship Sails; Hold the Mayo; Zed Era; Old Shoes (Y); Short Jog; Bucket Listing (Y); Two Cakes (Y); Eating Cake (Y); Green Ribbon
House: Slytherin
Assignment No.: Term 12 – Assignment 8
Subject (Task No.): Contemporary Circus Performance (Task#4: Write about a married person having an affair.)
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Insane Prompt Challenge [291](Harry Potter); 365 [68](Delicate); Cat Collecting [16](Write about a loyal person); Foolish Fish Tanks [D03](Family); Days of the Year [June 4th](A Gryffindor being hugged by someone in another House); Hufflepuff Themed Prompts [T03](Fair); History of Spring [10]('A Long Day' or 'A Long Night');
Other MC4A Challenges: SpB [1A](Eggs); TrB [5C](Stalker with a Crush); Hunt [Sp Consumables](Fruit); Ship [Sp Medium 2](Fruit); Chim [Doug] (Family/Friendship; "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man)
Representation(s): Autistic Harry Potter; Harry/Ginny; Harry/Luna QPR
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Found Family; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Teat Juice; Zucchini Bread; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pear-Shaped; Wabi Sabi)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Thimble); SN (Rail; Negate)
Word Count: 1516

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Best of Wives
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Harry married Ginny just over a year after the war had ended. It had seemed the natural thing to do. Everyone wanted them to be together. Everyone commented on how it was destiny, because of how much he looked like his father and she looked like his mother. She had wanted him for so long, as Ron and Hermione would remind him. She had loved ever since she was a little girl.

Besides, marrying Ginny meant that Teddy would have a mother-figure in his life. Andromeda had been the one to make that comment during their shared cup of tea after they had managed to get Teddy settled for the night.

"I would be a hypocrite of the highest order if I suggested marrying for duty," Andromeda had said at the time, "because it was not familial duty that had me stealing my fellow Bird and running away, first figuratively and then literally. I loved Ted, with all my heart and soul, but I honestly don't think I could have managed to raise Nymphadora on my own if I had lost him when she had been young. Find yourself a partner, Harry. It will make things easier."

Amongst their friend group, there had only been one person who voiced any concerns.

"I don't think Ginny would make a very good wife," Luna had mentioned as she attempted to convince Teddy to eat his scrambled eggs instead of throw them. The nine-month-old had already painted his high chair with his pureed had matched most of his coloring to Luna's pale golden skin and dirty blond hair. The only exception had been the copying of Harry's emerald eyes. It made something within Harry feel sore and sensitive. He sipped from his glass of milk to distract himself. "She enjoys falling in love a lot. That's not something that bodes well for a lasting marriage."

"Ginny wants to marry me," Harry had protested at the time. "That has to mean something, right?"

"If you say so," Luna had agreed.

So Harry had married Ginny on a beautiful day in July. Mrs. Weasley—or Molly, as she insisted he called her now that he was officially a part of the family—had been the one to decide all the decorations for the event. Harry didn't mind, even if it ended up being a bigger thing than he would have wanted for himself, and Ginny had been busy with her last year of Hogwarts. Molly had wanted to do it, so Harry and Ginny had let her.

Things had been good, at least from Harry's point of view. Harry and Teddy lived with Andromeda while Ginny traveled with the Harpies as a reservist. Even during the off-season, Ginny was usually fairly busy with training.

That was fine.

Harry was busy, too. A Muggle-born had opened up something like a dojo crossed with a community center in the village where Andromeda lived. It was specifically aimed at giving magical children a safe place to participate in activities, especially children who would have difficulties hiding just how magical they were. Harry had immediately signed up for all of the 'baby bonding' classes. Teddy really liked the 'mommy yoga' (Harry didn't think they ever got much yoga done but using Teddy as a weight was always interesting) and even as young as he was, he took to tumbling like a duck to water. He also helped out with office work and teaching the occasional class on wand forms.

He had a standing lunch date with Luna every Wednesday. They would meet up at the community center and then the three of them would go to whatever restaurant struck their fancy that week. It was more fun that Harry had ever imagined having, especially after they had discovered a fantasy-themed restaurant. Both Teddy and Luna fell in love with the place's unicorn sundaes. Harry just didn't think anything neon colored was actually edible.

He did miss Ginny, though. It seemed like she was always gone, even when she was home. Molly was clearly torn between being proud of her daughter's achievements and disappointed whenever Ginny missed another Sunday brunch. As one year became three, Molly also started vocally fretting about when Harry and Ginny were going to give her more grandchildren. Bill and Fleur had little Victorie, and Percy had gotten Molly not only Sigune but Molly the Second. Even George and Angelina had announced that they were expecting.

Harry didn't have the nerve to mention that the few times he and Ginny had managed to find alone time in the last year, their chosen activities hadn't been anything which typically led to pregnancy. It had been satisfying, yes, but even as questionable as that health class back in primary had been, Harry did know which sexual acts had the potential to knock a person up. Fanny feasting wasn't one of them.

When he had come down with a flu that he just couldn't shake, he hadn't thought anything of it. He hadn't worried until even a third dose of Pepper-Up hadn't knocked it out of his system. He had made an appointment with the health clinic in the village. After some serious frowning, the doctor had done some labs to test for various things.

"I don't understand," Harry said at the followup appointment. He was doing some serious frowning of his own now. "Isn't syphilis a sex disease? I've only ever had sex with my wife."

"At the risk of being indelicate," the doctor asked very patiently, "are you certain that your wife has been completely faithful?"

"What—" Harry started to ask before cutting himself off. He narrowed his eyes at the doctor (whose expression hadn't changed from carefully neutral). "You really could have been a bit more delicate, Doc. That was like being stabbed."

"There's only a limited number of ways to contract this illness, Mr. Potter," the doctor continued. "Since you have denied being a caregiver for anyone other than your son and your only sexual contact is your wife, the natural conclusion is that your wife is the source of infection."

Harry left the appointment in a daze. He had to take a course of antibiotics and then be retested to verify that the infection had been cleared from his system. That wasn't even the most shocking part of the entire situation. Ginny had cheated on him.

He knew that they were often separated, sometimes for weeks on end, but he had truly believed that things had been good between. Ginny hadn't mentioned anything. Hermione hadn't made any kind of hint that her best friend slash sister-in-law was upset. Yet the evidence was irrefutable that something had happened.

What if it was something horrible, instead of Ginny cheating? He had every confidence that Ginny could have taken anyone who attacked her directly, but she always had stories about going out to various pubs and clubs with the team. What if someone slipped something into her drink when she wasn't looking?

"Just a few more steps, Harry," Luna said as she helped him across the living room. He hadn't even realized that he had arrived home, let alone that his friend had been waiting for him. The side hug was already helping him come back to himself, however. "It's a knock to the system, but you're handling it really well."

"How did you already find out?" he asked. His head still felt full of cotton. Luna glanced over at a copy of The Evening Prophet laying on the coffee table in front of the couch. Harry had to blink twice before he could comprehend the picture taking up most of the front page. It had Ginny locked in a very passionate (and blatantly willing) embrace with a wizard. "Well, there goes that theory."

"You don't sound like you've seen that picture before," Luna observed. Harry shook his head, suddenly exhausted. "But you're not surprised. How did you find out?"

"I tested positive for syphilis." He leaned back on the couch to stare at the ceiling. "The doctor didn't mince words about how I could have been infected. I was just thinking that she was hiding being—you know."

"Oh, that would be terrible," Luna commented. "Not cheating is much better, mind you, but I can't imagine being hurt like that and not telling my partner."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. The lapse into silence for a few minutes. Finally, he just had to say it. "I guess you were right." He tilted his head to look at his friend's confused expression. "Ginny really didn't make a very good wife, and it was at least partially because of how much she loved falling in love."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Luna whispered. "I didn't want to be right."

"I know," Harry whispered back, "and I'm sorry, too, for not listening to you. I should always listen to you."

"Because I'm a Ravenclaw?"

"Exactly. Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

Both of them gave weak giggles at the vulgar joke.

There were worse ways to spend the immediate aftermath of uncovering the juicy secret that Ginny was cheating.