Chapter 18: Dinner at the Burrow

Ginny stood by her fireplace clutching Floo powder in her hands. She did not want to go. Once a month the family got together for dinner at the Burrow, normally Ginny welcomed the dinners as a chance to see her family and touch base with the people that mattered most in the world. Some months the dinners were combined with birthday parties like in March for Ron and George's birthday and in April for Fred and Will's birthday. This month however Ginny was positively dreading it, now that the news of her relationship with Draco had come out everyone would be dying to talk her out of it, although at the moment it would be hard as she wasn't sure if she still had a relationship with Draco.

Add to that the fact that on Friday, the 13th ironically, she'd had the most horrible day imaginable at rehearsal. She'd ruined almost every line and David had not stopped yelling at her, which did not help. It in fact made it worse because then she had to keep herself from throwing herself off the stage and strangling him. Saturday did not fare much better because she usually spent it with Draco and he didn't floo her or come over, which made her realize that even though she was the one "seducing" him he was the one putting all the effort into the relationship which made her feel guiltier and stupid. Hermione had dragged Ron to The British Museum, Lenicia was working and Luna was still in Russia. I haven't heard from her since last month, I wonder if she's okay. So, she'd been bored out of her skull and had wandered off to Fred's house only to be peed on by one of the twins.

She sighed dramatically and threw the powder into the fire and stepped into the flames saying "The Burrow!"

She stepped out to find the kitchen full of people as usual. Molly, Sally and Penny were cooking. Bill was sitting at the table playing a game of wizard's chess with George and Angelina was feeding a reluctant Arthur.

"Aunt Ginny!" George yelled and attached himself to her leg as usual. Arty soon joined him on the other leg. Ginny picked up the two year old and gave him a kiss on the cheek and patted George's head.

"How are you George?"

"I'm happy! Everyone's here!" George exclaimed. He was such a caring, social child and talkative which always surprised Ginny as his parents were so private that Ginny sometimes wondered if they even spoke to each other. Just as she thought this, Penelope walked up to Ginny and disentangled George from her.

"George, let your aunt be, she just came in, and she wants to say hi to everyone else." George reluctantly let go and Ginny embraced Penny. She hugged Angelina and returned Arthur so that he could finish his meal. While saying hello to Bill she noticed that his game with George involved the barest of rules as George was only having fun watching the pieces destroy each other. The pieces in turn were complaining to Bill and praying for the game to finish.

After walking around the room and hugging everyone, her mother held on a bit tighter than she would've liked and scolded her for not visiting in two weeks, she realized not one person had mentioned Draco. She wandered into the living room to find Percy and Ron involved in a serious game of chess, Percy being the only real challenge that Ron faced as he'd been the one to teach him. She tried to say hello but they shushed her and waved her away. Will did the same as he was intent on watching the game and thought it was icky to kiss girls even if they were your aunt, grandmother or mother, something that upset Fleur greatly as she raved at him in French from her seat beside Hermione.

"I'm sorry Aunt Ginny," Will muttered made his way to Ginny and kissed on her in the cheek with a disgusted look, then kissed Hermione and Fleur and returned to his seat where he cleaned his lips on his sleeve.

Ginny hugged Fleur and Hermione, "Where are Dad, Fred, Harry and Charlie?" She asked as she kissed the twins who were currently playing with balls that no matter how hard they tried wouldn't leave their playpen. Fred had invented the balls, Bounce-Back Balls, after he'd gotten tired of returning toys to the two mischievous boys, it always kept them entertained for hours as they were very determined to make their father once again retrieve their toys for them.

"They're outside, Fred and Dad have got a bet going on whether Charlie or Harry is the best seeker, you know the usual." Hermione said grumpily and Ginny sunk down on the armchair opposite Will and stuck out her tongue at him, he scowled and pointedly ignored her. Every couple of months someone would bring it up and Harry and Charlie would go off to prove who the best was. The rules were best three of four, which Ginny thought ridiculous as they always came out tied. She'd suggested making it three out five or timing it so that whoever did it fastest would win but they said it was more of a challenge this way. Ginny had been asked to participate once but she declined knowing that if she won both Harry and Charlie would be very upset, not that she was comparing herself to two of the best seekers alive but sometimes luck was on your side and it would have been devastating.

"What are you so upset about?" She asked Hermione who was frowning at Fleur who was reading some Witch Weekly, probably disapproving of her choice in reading materials, Ginny couldn't count the number of times she'd been reprimanded for encouraging them to publish such tripe by buying it.

"I'm grounded." Hermione said kicking Ron's chair, he glared at her before quickly returning to the game.

"Aren't you a little old?"

"Ron found out about the owls and he's threatened everyone at the office on pain of death not to send me any more updates until the baby's born." Hermione huffed kicking his chair again.

Ginny laughed as Ron glared at Hermione again. "If I were you I'd enjoy the vacation soon enough you'll have to go back to work and you'll have a baby to take care of."

"That's true, I" Hermione stopped as Ron jumped up from his chair and yelled "Checkmate! In your face!" Then noticing the strange looks he was receiving added sheepishly "sorry been watching the American channels again." Ginny rolled her eyes and turned to Hermione again.

"So, how did he catch you?"

"We were coming home from the museum yesterday and an owl dropped a letter in my hands just as we were about to enter the house, unfortunately I dropped it." She patted her belly affectionately, "It's all the kid's fault. I couldn't bend down so when he went to retrieve it he saw the seal and opened it and there it was. All the reports my employees sent me."

Ginny laughed so hard that Fleur looked up from her magazine and reprimanded her for her unladylike behaviour.

"He was real nice and let me see it though," she said and kicked his chair again.

"If I'm so nice why don't you stop kicking my chair?" Ron grunted looking up from the game he was having with Will.

"I love you," was Hermione's reply.

"If you loved me, you'd respect me as Healer enough to heed my advice." Ron muttered.

"If you loved me, you'd understand that I love my job." Hermione responded tersely.

"Uncle Ron, it's your turn," Ginny heard Will say; Ron however was too busy answering Hermione to care.

"-you love your job, however it's a difficult pregnancy and you over do it."

Ginny watched Will sigh and reset the pieces, even the kids know better that to interrupt.

"I don't over do it, I do what's necessary, I do my job."

Ginny stood up and moved near Will and moved a pawn he smiled and moved his knight.

"Are you implying that I don't care about our child?" Hermione asked angrily.

An hour later Hermione and Ron sat on the couch snuggling while Ginny lost yet another game to Will, the kid was good, at least better than her. She stood up declining another game and walked passed Fleur who was feeding Castor as Angelina fed Pollux, she walked into the kitchen and sighed in contentment as she smelled dinner. "So is it ready?"

"Sometimes I feel like I gave birth to seven boys," Molly said acidly, "it'll be ready in half an hour. In either case you can't eat until our guest arrives."

"What guest?" Ginny asked slipping into a chair next to Sally who was practicing levitating the salt shaker.

"It's a surprise." Molly said and turned back to her stirring.

Ginny shrugged her shoulders and turned to Sally, "how's it coming?"

"How's what coming?" She asked confused looking up from where she was now turning the salt shaker into a pincushion that looked more like a snowball.

"The magic thing," she said waving at her vaguely.

"Since Hermione gave me those books and notes it's been going splendidly, at least in theory, sometimes I just can't get the movements right."

"You'll figure it out," Ginny said encouragingly, "by the way, right now your focusing only on the shaker, but you have to transfigure both the shaker and the salt."

"Thanks," Sally said, "I wish I'd gone to Hogwarts."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Ginny said smoothing George's black hair. He'd fallen asleep at the table and looked adorable; he made the exact same snoring sound as Percy, who was actually napping beside him.

"Yeah well, at least I would've learned how to use this darned stick." He groaned slamming her wand unto the table, "look at Hermione she's a muggle-born, only twenty four and she's already Head of the Department of mystical animals, what's it called again?"

"The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Ginny recited after subduing her laughter, "you're underestimating yourself. It's Hermione, it's unwise for anyone to compare themselves to her. Take me if you want an example, I was born into a wizarding family, I went to Hogwarts, and I got 8 NEWTs and I'm jobl-is a secretary." As she said this Molly scoffed and threw a spoon viciously into the sink where it promptly began to be attacked by a sponge, Ginny knew that her lack of career was a sore spot for her mother and decided to change the topic, "how's the restaurant business?"

"I think I'm finally wearing him down." Sally said energetically.

"The Potters are calling it quits," Ginny exclaimed between laughs.

"No, I mean Harry, I think I'm getting through to him, he might actually call it off."

"Molly, those men" Penny started then saw Percy sleeping on the table and got a perplexed look on her face, "What is he doing?" Penny asked walking in and up to Percy and George, "why didn't he go upstairs to one of the beds?"

"I asked him the same thing," Sally said, "said he was too tired. I tried to take George upstairs but he insisted on staying by his Daddy."

"Yeah," Penny said kissing them both on the head, "George always takes his nap with his Daddy."

"Always?" Ginny asked curiously, hoping for blackmail material.

"Yeah Percy always takes a nap with George before dinner." Penny said still looking at the two warmly.

"Penny dear," Molly asked walking towards the table, "what did you come to tell" she stopped as a squeal came in through the still opened door. Ginny looked outside to see the boys attacking each other with chairs while the table lay only half prepared. Harry was walking beside Arty who was sitting on Harry's broom.

"Fred! Charlie! Bill! Finish that table. Harry you best let Arty off that broom before he falls!"

"Bill said I could!" Harry yelled pointing at the boy's father who shook his head. He was moving to pick the boy up when Fleur burst into the kitchen and moved outside like a hurricane the minute she exited she yelled, "Bill, Harry you take my baby off that broom!" Harry who'd looked merely amused when Molly had yelled at him pulled Arty off the broom and placed him on the ground as if hoping it would stop Fleur's advance.

Amidst the clamour Ginny hadn't heard anyone knocking at the door and when she felt someone tap her shoulder she turned around disinterestedly until her eyes were met by clear blue ones, "Luna!" Ginny stood up and embraced her tightly. "I've missed you!"

A/N: Sunday, May 15, 2004.