Only Half-Weasley

Prologue- Part 3

A/N: Alright, I'm finally done with the prologue! Go me! Now we can finally get on to what this story is really about! This chapter is a bit shorter than I expected, but I didn't want to drag it out and make you all suffer not knowing what was going on. I hope you guys aren't confused! Let me know if you are! Please enjoy! Review!

"It's amazing how great people run in and out of your life like a needle and thread. While the pain in watching them leave us vanishes over time, the memory of them is still stitched in our minds. And when we think life couldn't give us more, we look back at our material and realize that we have hardly started, but what we are starting is something very beautiful."

Not long after Harry walked out of Ginny's house and life, Ginny began making plans to leave the wizarding world. Even though she hated the idea in her heart, she couldn't live two lives anymore. By September, Ginny and Alex had moved from their two bedroom house into a larger house closer to Alex's clinic. In October, Ginny quit her job at the ministry and took up a part-time job at a local bookstore.

Ginny had been nearly four months pregnant in August when she learned about her pregnancy and how it went unnoticed for so long was a mystery to everyone. Ginny suspected she had been too preoccupied with her complicated life to notice small things like her monthly cycle being put on hold. She was able to hide her small stomach behind her robes through September, but when it began to be really noticeable, she decided it was too risky to keep her job and have her family learn about it. It wasn't a decision she was proud of or really wanted, but bad judgment led her to believe she was doing the right thing. No one in her family knew about her second life and perhaps if she played her cards right, she could slip out of their lives forever.

Cold October changed to a cold and windy November and from November to snowy December and Christmas was soon upon Alex and Ginny like a snow storm. Running around London, the two spent many weekends buying gifts for their families and even Ginny took a risk and spent a day in Diagon Alley shopping.

On Christmas Eve, Ginny let out a breath of relief when she came home from her last bit of shopping. It was early in the afternoon and Alex had been called into work with an emergency patient. Ginny was resting on the couch and enjoying watching the snow fall to the ground when a sharp jolt in her abdomen made her cry in pain. Despite her slight discomfort, Ginny ignored it. It was something she was told was normal at this stage and only meant that her body was preparing itself for the birth. However, Ginny realized that something was wrong when four more sharp jolts coursed through her body. She was only in her eighth month (thirty-fifth week) and yet the contractions were close together and hard. Without hesitating, Ginny picked up her cell phone and dialed Alex.

"What's up, Gin-bug? Did you get your shopping done?" Alex asked good-naturedly.

"Alex, I'm hurting," Ginny said through clenched teeth.

"What did you do?" Alex answered full of concern.

"Alex, I'm having contractions...really painful contractions, OW!" She ended with another cry of pain.

"Alright, Gin-bug," Alex said hurriedly. "Call my mom and have her take you to the hospital. She'll be able to get you there faster than I can right now. I'll be there soon, though."

"Alex," she whispered. "This isn't right. I'm scared."

"I know, Sweetie," Alex sympathized. "Trust me, ok? Call my mom. I love you."

"I love you, too," Ginny mumbled and hung up. After another more painful jolt of pain, Ginny picked up her phone again and called her mother-in-law. Within ten minutes, Ginny and was on her way to the hospital and within twenty minutes, she the doctors admitted her in. However, Alex never showed up. Ginny waited several hours and still her husband hadn't arrived like he promised.

"Where is he?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure, Gin," her mother-in-law answered.

"Gin?" Greg appeared in the room with a bright smile. "Excited?"

"Excited about what?" Ginny muttered, trying to ignore another jolt of pain.

"We're going to take you to the labor and delivery room!" Greg announced.

"Where's Alex? Have you heard from him?" Ginny questioned hopefully.

Greg's expression fell and a dark shadow fell over his face. "Let's work on you first. According to the charts, it looks like you're having an odd, early delivery. If we're not careful, we could lose the baby."

"I want Alex to be there!" Ginny shouted.

"Gin, with or without Alex, we're going to have to start the delivery soon. We'll just have to cross our fingers that Alex will get here in time," Greg answered. "Come on, I'll personally escort you to the ward."

Mrs. Miller followed Ginny and Greg to the ward, but when Ginny was settled in the room, the older woman followed the doctor out of the room. "What's wrong, Greg? Where is my son?"

The dark looked passed over Greg again and he knew he couldn't keep it in any longer. It was important to keep it from Ginny, but his heart melted when he looked into the older woman's eyes. "Alex was in a car accident. He's in surgery at the moment in the emergency room, but I haven't been to see him. I'm sorry, but the doctors don't believe he will make it."

Tears spilled out of Mrs. Miller's light blue eyes. "No," she gasped. "My baby!"

"I'm so sorry, Pam," Greg apologized, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But Ginny can't know- at least not yet. She's already in a critical state and I can't imagine what would happen if she knew. We need to be strong for her."

Mrs. Miller wiped her eyes and nodded in agreement before she entered back into her daughter-in-law's room. She wanted so much to see her son at that moment, but knew it was impossible. She was needed next to Ginny and a few hours later, she watched the birth of her son's one and only child. At 12:07am (0007) on Christmas morning, Holly Alexis Miller greeted the world. At 12:13am (0013), Mrs. Miller lost her youngest son.

When the death of her husband was finally revealed to her, Ginny grieved in silence. She couldn't fathom that the person she had thrown her other life away for was gone and now she had no one. She looked down at her tiny little daughter and touched the baby's soft light hair. How could this happen to her? How could Alex have left her to take of this baby by herself?

A few days later, Ginny and Holly were both released from the hospital and taken home. As Ginny stepped in the door, her mother-in-law carrying the baby behind her, the full situation hit Ginny like a pile of snow: her husband would never step through that door ever again. Alex would never come home asking what he should make Ginny for dinner and he would never know the beautiful bundle of pink that contained half of his genes. Ginny fell to her knees and cried for the first time since she was told of Alex's death. It was unfair! How could the world be so cruel? How was she supposed to get through this?

If I told you that Ginny went to the Burrow and confessed all that had happened in the past year and Harry accepted her with open arms, I would be lying through my teeth. A year ago Ginny would never have thought she would be in the predicament she was in now. A year ago Ginny would never have dreamed of keeping secrets this big from the people she loved so much. It's amazing how people can change so much in such a short amount of time and when looking back, we are almost equally amazed that we do the very things we try so hard to avoid. However, if we learned one thing about life, it's that the hardest part of life is trying to dig out of the deep holes we have dug for ourselves.

After Alex's funeral, Ginny remained in the muggle world with her baby girl. For several years, the pair lived at Alex's parents' house. When Holly was four years old and going to preschool, Ginny took on a second job and was able to move herself and Holly into a small two-bedroom apartment. Holly was as normal a child as Ginny could have expected and as she watched the little girl grow, Ginny's biggest fear grew more and more certain: Holly was a squib. No one could have imagined Ginny's surprise seven years later when the strangest event made Ginny's heart skip a beat.

And so ends the prologue.