The sun warmed the right side of Ginny's face. She turned her head slightly away from the bright rays, wincing slightly at the stiffness in her neck. Gingerly, she stretched out her limbs; there was no pain, except for the discomfort of cramped muscles that hadn't been used for a while. She could hear muffled voices some distance away.

Memories flooded her mind. The conversation with her mother, her decision to leave Harry, and watching her boys being whisked away by fire. She recalled the look on Harry's face as he raped her and his cruel words. She felt the knife sliding out from between her ribs, and seeing her blood covering the floor where she lay. She shivered as she realised how quickly she had some to dying.

'Where am I?' she thought to herself. 'How did I get here?'

She opened her eyes and blinked until her eyes adjusted. The first person she saw was her mother, dozing in the chair next to her bed. She looked very tired, and Ginny guessed she had been here for a few days. Her father sat in a corner, legs hugged to his chest and his head resting on his knees. He was sniffing softly, and Ginny knew that he had been crying. She looked around the room, and it familiarity confirmed that she had been bought to St. Mungo's.

'Father', she croaked. Arthur's head shot up and stared at his daughter, and her mother, woken by the small noise, reached out and grabbed her hand. Before Ginny could speak, her mother folded her into a tight embrace.

'Oh, Ginny. We were so worried. The state you were in when they bought you here… we thought we'd lost you.' Her mothers tears ran down her face and into her hair, and Ginny felt her own tears flowing.

'What happened? How did I get here?'

Her father came and sat on the bed and gently took her hand.

'Harry. After he left the house, he alerted a neighbour about your condition. When law enforcement arrived, they hurried you here and Harry was arrested. He was taken to Azkaban that night.'

'How long have I been unconscious?'

'Three days. When they bought you in, they had to move quickly to heal your wounds and stop the bleeding. You'd lost over 4 litres of blood, and they have been using blood-replenishing potions since you came in. Then they decided that, while you regained your strength, they would keep you under the influence of a sleeping draught.'

Ginny nodded and turned her head away. 'I'm so sorry. I didn't meant for it to happen this way and I didn't want you to see me like this' Her voice caught in her throat as she fought back the tears. Her mother hugged her even tighter.

"It's not your fault, Ginny. Harry did this to you. Never apologise for him."

'How are the boys?"

"They are safe. When they arrived without you, we moved them into the kitchen and sealed if off so no one could enter. Ron and Hermione are looking after them while Arthur and I were here with you. We've explained the situation to them as best we could, though James is very confused by it all. He remembers what happened before you sent them to us, and he's been having nightmares since.'

Ginny felt her heart tighten and her sense of guilt heightened. She had wanted to protect her boys against what was happening, but in the end her best wasn't good enough. James had witnessed horrors he should never have seen at his age, and she was worried about how it would affect him mentally for the rest of his life. She was thinking about his nightmares when she became aware that her mother was trying to capture her attention again.

'There's one more thing we have to tell you. When the healers bought you in and started working on you, they did a diagnostic spell to get a feel of the extent of your injuries. And it turns out that…um… that' Mrs Weasley paused. Ginny, fearing bad news, sat up a bit straighter.

'What is it, mum. Tell me'

'You're… you're pregnant.' Ginny stared at her mother.

"I'm what?'

'Pregnant, dear. Only just conceived, they say.'

Ginny was silent. She hadn't slept with Harry willingly for months, so she knew this baby was a product of rape. She bit her lip. She would have to get rid of it. She didn't want to live everyday knowing that another one of Harry's babies was growing inside her belly.

Mrs Weasley watched her daughter anxiously, her hands clenched. Her daughters strong spirit had been broken over the past few months, and she wasn't sure how she'd handle this latest development.

'You should go home, mum, and get some rest." Ginny said at last. "Dad too. I'll be fine here for a few hours by myself'."

'Are you sure? It seems a bit soon to be leaving you' Ginny smiled at her mother's concern. It had been a long time since she had felt so loved.

'I'm fine, mum. I feel great and you too need to get some proper rest. I promise to message you if I start to feel worse."

Mrs Weasley wasn't convinced, but she decided not to press the matter. She knew her daughter well enough to know when she wanted to be left alone. SHh kissed her daughter goodbye and promised to bring the boys in for a visit in the afternoon. Arthur embraced her as well, and they walked out of the room.

Ginny fell back on her pillows. She couldn't begin to make sense of her situation. She had no home, no income, and no husband, and now she was facing having another child. Was it fair to bring a child into the world under these circumstances? "No," she thought to herself. 'Better to get rid of it now, than to bring it into such a cruel world." Ginny felt a wave of fatigue wash over her, and, giving in to the effects of the sleeping draught still running in her veins, fell into a deep sleep.

She woke late afternoon with renewed energy. She sat up and called the nurse for some food. Within minutes she had bread and cheese and fruit in front of her, and she wolfed it all down. When she was finished, the nurse helped her stand up and walk to the bathroom. She was slightly woozy at first, from all the blood loss, she presumed, but it cleared as she ran herself a hot bath. She gathered some clean clothes from the bag her mother had bought for her, and undressed. She looked hesitantly in the mirror. All of her bruises and cuts had been magically healed, and they had regrown her teeth and fixed her broken bones. Along her chest ran a fine, very thin scar from the knife attack. 'Odd', she thought. 'I'll have to ask them about that'.

She sat in the hot bath and allowed her body to relax. For the first time in many months she wasn't afraid. Harry was safely locked away in Azkaban and she knew he wouldn't be coming near her anytime soon. Her family would not allow it, and the protection charms placed around her meant he wouldn't be able to find her without her knowing it. She closed her eyes and sighed contently; it had only been a few days, but her life was already looking more positive.

She stayed in the bath until it went cold, and dressed herself quickly. She was relieved that the nausea had passed. She could hear her mothers voice out in her room, and she hurried out to greet her.

'MUMMY!' James shouted when he saw her, and he threw himself into her arms. Ginny laughed and hugged her son tightly, showering him with kisses. He clung onto her, as if scared that she would go away again.

'Daddy hurt mummy', he said into her shoulder. Ginny took a deep breath and stroked the back of his head. Although he was only two, Harry had taken away part of his innocence, and that hurt her more than anything else he had done.

'Yes. Daddy hurt mummy. But mummy is okay now, and she can't wait to be at home with you again'.

'Will you come home now?' asked James, his big brown eyes reflecting her own.

'Not today, my man. Mummy isn't quite well enough to go home yet. But maybe tomorrow, and then I can read to you and sing to you and we can build towers together.' James nodded, and slowly released his grip. Ginny turned to her mother. Albus was sitting in her lap with his arms reaching toward his mother, crowing with delight. Ginny smiled back and picked him up. He nestled into her shoulder and she greeted her other visitors. Ron and Hermione were sitting side by side with their daughter in a carrier between them.

"Ron, Hermione. I'm so glad to see you here." She hugged them with one arm, tears dripping down her cheeks. Hermione returned the embrace affectionately. "I couldn't imagine being anywhere else right now'.

Molly took the children out of the room so the three of them could talk. Ginny sat down nervously on a chair. Hermione took her hand in both of hers.

"How are you feeling?'

"Okay, I guess. I'm feeling much better now than what I was this morning. Those potions they gave me must have been magic.

'I couldn't believe it when mum told us what happened' Ron said softly. 'He's my best mate, you know? I thought I knew him. If only I had paid more attention to what was going on, I might have noticed something. I'm so sorry, Ginny.' Ginny took her brother in her arms.

'It's not your fault, Ron. I should have spoken up much sooner. How could any of you have known what was happening when I didn't speak of it Besides, you have your own family to take care of, without worrying about what is happening with mine.'

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Ginny stopped her. She really didn't want to talk about this right now. She wasn't ready to face the shame and humiliation she felt about the whole situation, and she didn't want to be the one to bring up the darker parts of Harry's life. His friends adored him, and she didn't want to be the one to shatter that for them. She searched quickly for another topic to distract them.

'I'm pregnant. Isn't it wonderful? The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She saw Hermione's face break into a big grin, and she smiled back. It was wonderful, now that she thought about it. She loved her children and despite the circumstances of how this baby was made, she would love it too. It would be hard, she had no doubts about it. But as she looked into the faces of her friends standing before her, she knew it would be okay.

They all stayed for dinner. Molly had organised a delicious feast with the nurses, and they all ate and drank too much, and shared stories. Ginny laughed and cried and laughed some more. Hermione started an impromptu karaoke and dance contest, and Ginny put all her troubles out of her mind. She knew that soon she would have to face what had happened, but for now all she wanted was to smile and dance and sing.

When James and Albus fell asleep under the table, everyone gathered to say goodbye. She took all the strength offered to her, and waved them away at the doors of the hospital. As she got ready for bed and took her evening potions, not one negative thought or emotion entered her mind. She rolled over and looked at the dark sky outside. As sleep took hold of her, a shooting star passed her window and she made a quick wish.

'Please help Harry'

Harry sat with his back against the wall, his head in his hands. His head throbbed and his body was shaking with the effects of alcohol withdrawal, but he had no desire to have a drink. Blood stained his hand from where he had dug his fingernails into his skin but he made no attempt to clean it up. He sat with his head bowed as the hours stretched on, and only thought of Ginny.

How had he done this to her? His beautiful, sweet wife, who had stood by his side and given him children. His wife, who had never done anything but love him and try to keep him happy.

Harry couldn't remember how it had gotten to this stage. After the second wizarding war ended, he got a job as an auror and made it his life's goal to make Azkaban a permanent home for criminals. In the early years, he had managed to track down the remainder of Voldemort's followers and put them behind bars, furthering the peace that the Wizarding world now enjoyed. But as years went on, the darkness started taking hold of him. Slowly, so slowly he hadn't noticed it happening, he sank into a depression so deep he couldn't see his way out of it. At night, he would relieve the abuse he had suffered at the hands of his aunt and uncle, the bullying he had suffered in school, and the events that had followed him through his Hogwarts years. As it got stronger, he started drinking. At first it numbed the pain, but soon he needed more alcohol to achieve the same result, and eventually it just wasn't enough. He needed to release the anger, the pain he was feeling, and his wife was the easiest target for all that rage.

He could hardly remember the attacks, lost in his alcohol-addled brain. He had no idea how often he hit her, or how bad things had gotten. He couldn't remember if he had ever hurt the boys. After the final attack on Ginny, he had walked outside and tripped into the pond. The cold water sobered him up, and bought him to his senses. He saw the blood on his hands and clothes, and heard Ginny crying inside. In a panic, he ran to the neighbours and confessed to what he had done. He made no attempts to run and put up no resistance when they came to arrest him. He watched as healers pulled Ginny out of the house, and horror gripped him when he was the amount of blood dripping from her body.

He had no idea if she had survived the attack. For three days he had sat here, reliving that moment over and over. During the long nights, he could hear her pleading with him to stop, and her cries of pain as he continued to abuse her. As the alcohol began leaving his body and his brain began to lose the fuzz, he could remember the feeling of the knife as he drove it into her chest, and her big eyes widening in terror. He saw her fall to the floor, and it made him sick to know that he had done that to her. He had turned into a monster.

He didn't deserve his wife or his children. He had promised to love her and protect her until death took them, and in the end he was the one she needed protection from. He was deeply ashamed.

He put his head in his hands and started to cry. The tears kept flowing as the light faded and continued into the night. As dawn broke he made a decision. His presence was causing Ginny pain, and it needed to end. He was the problem, so he needed to remove himself from the situation and give Ginny the best chance of recovery.

He stood on the window-sill in the cool night air. The bars were far enough apart that he could squeeze through them. Upon his arrival, his wand had been taken and his magic suppressed, so there was no real danger of him trying to escape. He watched the waved crashing on the rocks below for a few minutes, and gave a deep sigh. He stepped forwards so his toes were overhanging the edge of the sill.

'Forgive me, my love.' He whispered. He looked to the sky and took a deep breath. Then he spread out his arms, and jumped.