02 April 2000

Ginny jerked at the sound of a familiar voice, and almost dropped her potion – the last of the vile tasting stuff that she'd ever need. The vial almost slipped out of her fingertips, but she caught it just in time. The moment gave her time to gather her suddenly scattered thoughts.

"Hello, Harry," she said finally, looking up. Her heart began playing a Quidditch match in her chest for absolutely no reason. It was just… if Harry was around, wouldn't Ron be also?

He was apparently just as surprised as she was; he opened and closed his mouth several times without speaking. This gave her time to look at him; she hadn't seen him in almost three years, after all, and he had changed a bit since Dumbledore's funeral. Harry was taller and broader; the hard lines of his face made it hard to believe that he had once confessed how scared he was, and had cried on her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" he blurted out, sounding defensive.

Ginny tucked the vial into her pocket. "I live here," she said coolly. Perhaps it wasn't fair of her, but he was enough of a Weasley for her to be angry with him. Deliberately, she took her eyes off him.

"Not in Britain," he said pointedly.

"I do now," she said, thinking of the little flat that Fred and George had unwittingly financed. Small but bright, it reminded her a little of her room at the Burrow, even though it overlooked a busy London street and not a lovely orchard filled with fragrant trees.

"What? Did the world not have anything you needed any longer?" he asked, folding his arms. "Decided to give being home another go?"

So that's the way of it, thought Ginny. Harry was interrogating her, acting every inch the Auror she hoped to be. His messy hair stood on end, and he must have learned that look from Dumbledore, because she could swear he was looking right into her, and not liking what he saw.

Ginny wondered if his witches of the week encouraged this sort of behavior. Possibly he'd forgotten that she wouldn't take it.

"Something like that, yeah," she said, feigning a casualness she didn't feel. But she'd been frustrated by Moody's charm for almost a year now, and it had made her a decent liar. His eyebrows flew up at her tone. "I figured the war's been over for a while, right? Might as well take a look at the rebuilding effort."

His mouth twisted, and her stomach clenched at the disdain on his face. For a moment, she regretted the scroll she'd sent to Tonks, applying for a position in Auror training. An instant later, she'd stiffened her spine.

"If that's all you wanted to know, I'll see you around, Harry," she bit off, spun on her heel, and marched toward the staircase. When she brushed by him, he made no move to stop her. She could still see the look in his eyes, and it infuriated her.

Her face flooded with color, and she recognized the bitter anger that had been growing inside her since she'd recovered. And even though he wasn't one of her brothers, or her parents, she wanted to attack him. Breathe, she told herself, when she found her fingers wrapped tightly around her wand. Breathe.

"Fleur's having a baby," Harry said, just as she was about to round a corner.

"A baby?" she said blankly, stopping in her tracks.

"It's your brother's baby too," he added unnecessarily.

A niece or nephew? Ginny's heart skipped a beat again, as she thought of her brother being a dad. The anger fled more easily than it ever had before, completely evaporating as though Harry had magically turned it off. "Wow," she said in a low voice. "Bill's going to be a dad?"

"That's the way it works, they tell me," Harry said.

A little bit of warmth went through her. A baby. Bill had always been the brother she'd most looked up to. She'd been closer to Ron, but she'd wanted to be just like Bill. And now his wife was here at this hospital, delivering a baby.

"Wow," she said again.

Harry eyed her warily, his stance relaxing. He appeared confused by something. "It's… I'm sure everyone would…" he said uncertainly.

It was Ginny's turn to fold her arms. Harry's eyes widened. "You're sure everyone would what?" she asked, attempting to sound pleasant, and only curious. Considering the fact that even Harry had been mildly hostile, she imagined that her family wasn't too happy with her.

Which was just fine. She was pretty hacked off at them, too.

"They'd want to see you," he said.

"I'll think about it," said Ginny. She left him, then, heading toward the stairs. Attempting not to think at all, she put one foot in front of the other until she was all the way at the bottom on the first floor. Instead, however, of turning right and leaving St. Mungo's, her traitorous feet turned left.

She remembered everything about the last time she'd been in St. Mungo's very clearly. The danger, the potion, the closet… Grumpy…

It took very little time to get to the actual room, and even less to sneak in. It was littered with storage boxes, and when she tested the door that led to the closet, she found it unlatched. Just leave, she told herself. The last thing she wanted to do was relive what happened in this cramped little area.

But she couldn't deny that that night had changed her life forever. And her brother's life was about to change, too; he was going to be a dad.

Ginny tapped her foot and took a few deep breaths. Frankly, she was furious with her family – even if it wasn't fair of her. But… Bill was about to become a father. And Ginny wanted to be there.

Didn't she?

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02 April 2000

Harry really didn't know what to do.

The security wizard waved at him in a bored sort of way, letting him back into the waiting room with the rest of the Weasleys. Harry nodded at the man, who was leaning against a wall, fiddling with his watch. Fully intending on telling everyone he'd seen Ginny, Harry strode purposefully into the door.

And then stood completely still.

Everyone was exactly as he'd left them. Mrs. Weasley hummed a little as her knitting needles flashed and sparked. Mr. Weasley played with his wife's hair, and gave Harry a smile as he came in. Ron, Hermione, and Charlie had obviously been talking about him; from the smirks on their faces, Harry could guess what they'd been talking about.

But Harry did not even spare a second to roll his eyes and wish, yet again, that he'd never told Ron about Nosy.

Opening his mouth, intending to tell them he'd seen Ginny, he said, "Hi."

"Hi, Harry," Hermione said cheerfully.

Hi?

Harry kicked himself as Ron chuckled slyly.

"Find another closet?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"No," Harry said shortly, throwing himself into an empty chair. Mind racing, he tried to think carefully about what he was going to say. Your long lost daughter and sister is in the hospital, he considered. Or: Ginny's back. Or how about: Ginny may or may not come see us, and the baby.

But what if she didn't come?

Ginny hadn't said she would. She'd turned and walked away. The stunned, happy incredulity at becoming an aunt had slipped off her face, and she'd left him standing in the middle of the corridor like a prat. It hadn't made sense; only about half of the encounter had. At first she'd been cold and distant, but when Harry had tried to ask her why she'd come back, she'd been furious with him. Enough so that he'd actually been worried she'd been about to hex him.

Harry did not want to tell the Weasleys any of these things.

"Did Fleur have the baby?" Harry grunted.

"Yeah, she sure did," Ron said immediately. "That's why we're all still here, and not – you know – making goo goo eyes at the baby."

Harry could have done without the sarcasm; he gripped his wand and was quite satisfied with Ron's yelp of pain when the Stinging Hex hit him. "Prat," he said.

"Boys," Mr. Weasley scolded mildly.

"Sorry," Harry and Ron said together.

Fiddling with the hem of his robe, Harry kept waiting. He was not entirely sure if he was waiting for Bill or for Ginny to walk through those doors. I should tell them, he decided at least fourteen times. But he kept quiet.

Harry wasn't exactly sure if he'd been honest with Ginny. He was pretty sure that the Weasleys would want to see her. Wouldn't they? Ron, Bill, and Charlie were furious with her for leaving; Harry suspected that Mr. Weasley felt likewise, though he never said anything. But hadn't their anger with her stemmed from her being gone in the first place?

And Harry couldn't deny that he was pretty angry with her as well. Not that he felt abandoned by her or anything; she wasn't his sister, however much the rest of the Weasleys felt like family. But he'd seen how hurt everyone had been by her disappearance and her pitiful little notes, and he simply didn't understand how she could do that.

"Deep thoughts?" Hermione asked, reaching over and poking him in the ribs.

"Oh… no," said Harry. "Not really."

It occurred to him that he could ask Hermione what to do, and he eyed her speculatively. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

But her reply, whatever it might have been, was lost by a stir of commotion.

"I can't let you in," the security wizard said; his voice was muffled by the door. Harry glanced at the Weasleys; they seemed bored. But if Harry was right about who was trying to get in…

He shot up from his chair, and hurried over to the door.

"Harry, don't even bother," Ron said. "It's probably just some reporter, trying to get a picture of you."

Harry ignored him. A low, feminine voice was arguing with the security wizard. "I'm a Weasley too," said Ginny, just as Harry opened the door. There was a clatter, and Harry suspected that a pair of knitting needles had just hit the floor.

"You aren't on the list," said the security wizard.

"I'm perfectly entitled to—"

"Let her in," said Harry.

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Ginny walked into the private waiting room behind Harry. Her heart skipped several beats when she saw most of what was left of her family arrayed on comfortable chairs, chatting comfortably. Her mother and father sat together on a love seat, holding hands. Charlie sat on the floor with his legs stretched out, darning a balaclava. It was so quiet. Ginny's heart squeezed as she thought about the twins, and how they'd've gotten the whole family kicked out by now…

"Harry, were you hoping it was—Ginny?!"

Ron's voice cracked on her name.

She looked at him, and smiled faintly. It was good to see him. He was taller than ever, and was nearly as broad as Charlie. He had a scar on his chin… Ginny wondered if he'd been hurt in the Final Battle… she wondered if any of them had.

"Ginny!"

"Ginny?"

The balaclava and knitting needles clattered to the floor. Her mother stood up and made an aborted gesture toward her. Ginny stood rooted to the spot, even as Harry moved to stand behind Ron and Hermione.

"Ginny," Molly sighed. "Where have you been?"

"I… South America," Ginny lied boldly. She waited for them to challenge her, to question it. Hopefully the more they questioned her, the more holes in her story they would find. But no one asked about South America. She wished Bill were here – he'd had a penpal from the Wizarding school in Brazil… he'd ask questions…

But no one questioned where or why she had fled the continent. Her shoulders tensed.

"You're home now?" Arthur asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Yes, I have a flat in London, not too far from here," said Ginny. Ask me why I haven't come home, Ginny ordered them silently.

"It's good to see your face, Ginny," Molly said quietly.

There were about a thousand unsaid things in the room. Ginny could see them on every face in the room. Ron looked mulish; Hermione faintly disapproving; her parents were sad. Charlie looked as though he'd found a stash of U-No-Poo. Ask me, Ginny begged them. Ask me so you'll see I can't answer. And she could see on their damn faces that they were holding back a lot of words.

Ginny caught Harry's eyes. He looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but here.

The silence grew into a dreadful, swollen thing.

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A joyful cry pierced the swollen silence.

"It's a girl!" Bill skidded into the room, hair disheveled, eyes wild. Harry had never seen the man quite that undone. He nearly banged into a wall sconce. "We've named her Victoire, because… because…" his voice trailed away when he saw Ginny. All the joy fled from his face when he saw his sister. Harry tried to look away, but couldn't seem to make himself do so. Beside him, Hermione sucked in a breath.

"Well," he said. "Well, well, well."

Ginny flinched.

Harry felt a pang in his stomach. This had not been one of his brighter ideas. In fact, he couldn't name very many decisions he'd made in his life that had been worse than this one. Going to the Ministry during his fifth-year, yes. Allowing Mad-Eye to require so many security precautions for the Order… yes. But this one. This one was terrible, and he hadn't seen it coming.

"I can't believe you came here," Bill said coldly.

"Well, I…" Ginny's throat worked.

Surely Harry had been in more awkward situations. He had, hadn't he? Damned if he could think of one at the moment. He cast a panicked look at Hermione. Could they escape? She must have read his thoughts, for she pursed her lips and shook her head slightly.

"What are you doing here? You're gone for months having a selfish temper tantrum, and you decide to come back and ruin what should be one of the happiest days of my life? I can't even—"

"Bill," Molly said. Harry privately thought she should have stopped Bill much sooner.

"No, let him talk, Mum," said Ginny. She folded her arms across her chest. "He's obviously got some shit he needs to get off his chest."

Bill jabbed a finger at her. "Yeah, I've got shit to get off my chest. The rest of us were fighting a war, Ginny, and you decide that you've had enough, that you'd take my dead brothers' money and swan off to God knows where—"

"She said South America," Ron pointed out.

"Yeah, and it was fucking fantastic," Ginny's voice was on the verge of a shout. Harry looked at her. Her cheeks were bright red, her eyes were glassy, and somehow her wand had got in her hand.

"Children," Arthur's voice cracked like a whip. "You will not do this here."

"But she—"

"Bill." Arthur's tone of voice brooked no argument. "Either speak quietly – and without swearing, if you please – or don't say anything at all. This is not up for debate."

"Please," added Molly. There were tears on her cheeks.

"Ginny, I…" Bill looked at her. Harry hoped he was on the verge of an apology. His hopes were dashed in the very next second. "I wish you hadn't come."

The words fell like stones in the silence.

"Bill, that was unfair," Harry said, unable to help himself.

"Stay out of it, Harry," said Bill. He spoke through clenched teeth. "I'm going to go back and visit with my wife and daughter." He shot Ginny a poisonous look. "If anyone cares, she's 7lbs even, and looks just like her mother. But I realize the princess is home, so it'll be all about Ginny—"

"I'll leave," Ginny said wearily. "I didn't know that you didn't – I'll just leave."

"Ginny, you…" Molly started to say something, but her voice drifted away. Ginny looked at her mother for a long moment, nodded slightly, and turned.

Harry wanted to go after her, to apologize, to say something to make up for that ugly scene. If he'd known… he kicked himself. He hadn't had any idea it would go like that. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. How stupid he had been to assume things would go well… he'd known they'd been muttering against her for months, but he'd guessed they would get over it rather quickly… or at least not make a public scene…

How wrong he'd been.

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Ginny walked blindly out of the room, unable to quite believe how badly that had gone. They were so furious with her. A part of her was just as furious at them. Had she really been that selfish when she was younger? God, it hurt. It hurt. Ginny was halfway down the stairs when she realized tears were sliding down her face. Blindly, she marched forward, not really thinking about where she was going, just trying to find a place she could sit and be quiet for a moment, and pull herself together.

She found the door, and entered it. Once it was shut, she sank down onto the floor… the same floor she'd spent hours with Grumpy. At the thought of him, wishing he were here again, Ginny buried her head in her hands, and cried.

Author's Note

This was a very difficult chapter to write, for what I feel are obvious reasons. I wanted it to look a little like the Percy scene in Deathly Hallows, except even more horrible because there is no apology forthcoming from Ginny. Let me know what you think, please? This one made me feel particularly vulnerable whilst writing it. Also, guys, I finished Yellow Submarine! It's totally complete!