"Ginny, is that you?"

Harry was on his way to the kitchen for a glass of water when he saw a flicker of light coming from the living room. He heard no sound, but when he entered the room, the fire was once again blazing. A figure knelt on the ground next to it, wrapped in a long blanket.

"Yeah, it's me. I didn't sleep very well, so I came down here."

Ginny turned to him, smiling through her unshed tears. It had taken her an hour to fall asleep and when she did, she had had her first nightmare since she started sleeping with Harry in his room at Hogwarts. She suspected that part of it was that she missed his warmth in the bed. She missed his smell and missed waking up next to him, since at the Potter Mansion it was no longer necessary to share his room or bed, as the house held so many guest rooms.

Ginny stood up as he came closer and smiled at him. Harry noticed the wetness on her cheeks and the pool of tears that remained in her eyes, threatening to spill over with the next blink. He sat down comfortable on the chair. A long silent moment passed between the two of them, as they searched each others eyes. Harry opened his arms as an invite to sit down on his lap. Another long moment lingered as Ginny hesitated. Right as Harry started to beckon to her again, Ginny all but ran into his arms, and burst into tears.

Harry pulled her into his lap and wrapped the blanket around her the best that he could. She rested her head against his chest, and he quietly murmured in her ear for a long time, comforting her as best he could.

When her sobs subsided, a silence descended upon them. Harry watched the flickering of the fire, and Ginny listened to the beating of his heart. Both knew that no words needed to be spoken for this moment.

It was Harry that broke the silence, "Ginny, you know, I'm always here for you if you need me. I love you Gin, I'm just so bloody afraid to. You know that I never did have the best example for a marriage or for true love. But I'll always be here for you."

Ginny closed her eyes a long moment and exhaled slowly, "Harry, I don't blame you for being afraid. We can work on that together. I love you too. I ran because I couldn't handle another break up like the one at the end of our sixth year when Professor Dumbledore died."

"Where did you go after you left?" Harry asked, "How did you become Dudley's wife?"

"I went to a small town outside of London." Ginny answered quietly. "I found a job inside of London at a small drill company that was run by Justin Andrews. The pay was good. And when Justin offered to become both the father of Luke and Jake…"

"Luke?" Harry asked.

"Jake loved the boy like his brother. Luke took care of Jake for a while, before I found the two of them. Legally, they are both my sons, but Luke refused to become Justin's son. They never did get along very well."

Harry was pensive for a moment, absorbing all that Ginny had just revealed. "How did they become your sons?"

"Luke took Jake under his wing soon after meeting him, he told me. One day, I was walking by an old abandoned warehouse, that they lived in, I heard shouts from it. Luke had been out trying to scrape up any job that he could so that he could get some food. A very honorable boy he was, never stealing unless Jake was starving… that I know of. Anyway, some older boys had cornered Jake and were demanding he give them something. I suspect it was food or money. Jake was scared. These boys had been attacking him… kicking him so hard they had already broken several ribs. I heard the boom when Jake blew up the warehouse. I imagine it was a bit like when you blew up your aunt."

Harry smiled and then said, "Go on,"

"Luke had just rounded the corner on his way back, when he heard the boom as well. The older boys ran from the warehouse, but Jake was left behind. Luke dropped the bag that he was carrying and sprinted to the warehouse, beating me there. He immediately started digging, and came up with Jake, bruised and battered… unconscious, but alive. It took Luke a long time trust me enough to get him to my flat, which was only a block or so away. They both stayed with me over the months it took for Jake to recover. Luke would stay during the day while I went to work, and we took it in turns to tend to him at night. It took Luke a very long time to trust me. He was sixteen at the time that it happened. Jake was about eight."

Ginny wiped the tears from her cheeks before continuing. "Luke had been on his own his entire life. I showed him something he though he would never have. I gave him a chance at life. He was too proud to just accept what I was giving to them without doing everything he could in return. He cleaned and cooked the best that he could, and once I showed him how to do something, he always did it right. He got a job moving boxes around, and offered to pay for both his and Jake's room. I think he was afraid I'd tire of him, but each time he offered to do something extra, it made me love him just that little bit more. He reminded me of you in more ways then one."

"When Justin and I married, everything started out just fine. But when Justin found Jake was a wizard… things went downhill very quickly. He yelled something about his parents being killed by them. Justin started drinking to try to drown out his grief, and the bottle very quickly became his life. Luke did his best to protect Jake and I from Justin's assaults. I eventually explained to Luke that Jake was a wizard, and that I was a witch, but without magic because of a spell. I told him everything. Luke was almost eighteen by that stage… almost an adult in the muggle world."

"As I said… Luke did everything he could to protect me and Jake. Finally, one night, it got so bad that Luke declared to Justin that he was a fully fledged wizard. After that, Justin focused all his energies on Luke. Just before Jake left for school, Luke came and talked to me. He told me that either he had to leave…. or Justin did. It was almost time for Jake to go to Hogwarts, and he knew that. Luke pleaded with me to leave Justin. He said to me 'I protected him, and you. Jake has no choice about this… you do. You could divorce him. I'm so afraid that if you don't leave him…. he might eventually kill you.' Luke was a brilliant child. He loved reading, and writing, and children. He left two weeks before Jake did, to a muggle college that I helped him get into with lots of loans and his own money. I'm very proud of him."

Harry listened to her story. When she was done, she got up and stirred the fire. He watched her as he slowly digested all this new information in his head. She had made a life without him. And now it was gone. And the blame lay partly because of Harry, but mostly because Dudley had wrecked it for her, Luke, and Jake.

Ginny turned back to Harry, and watched him as he processed it. Harry looked up to Ginny. "Luke does sound like a wonderful man. It amazes me that through all of what he went through, he still cared to protect you and Jake. I'm very grateful towards him as well. If he hadn't, who knows where you and Jake would be right now."

"He's one of the best sons that I could ever ask for. If one thing I've learned from him is that all muggles are not as mean and nasty as the Dursleys were about magic. Some of them can accept that it exists. I mean, I know Hermione's parents did, but I never met them."

"I have," Harry said softly, "I was the one who told them that their daughter was dead. Hermione had explained to them about the war, though, and they knew that there was a very good chance she might die. I take little Ron to visit them once or twice every month. They love him as much as they did her, and are always very nice to me."

Both were silent for a few moments as they thought about Hermione and Ron. "They would have made wonderful parents." Ginny commented quietly, "I think Hermione would be very pleased to know that her parents know her son. I'm sure they would like for you to raise Ron, as was Hermione's wish when she pronounced you Godfather, but I think they're happy that at least you didn't break ties with everyone as I did."

"Maybe one day," Harry said quietly, "I'd like that… Ron coming to live here. Of course, we'd have to make sure he and Jake get along. But I don't think that would be too much of a problem, do you?"

Ginny grinned at him, "Why, it sounds as if you have a plan, Mr. Potter."

"A good plan it is, too. I rather like it myself, but only if you are willing, Miss Weasley."

"Oh, and what plan is this?"

Harry stood. "I'd like to try again. I'd like for us to try again. Not like last time. No running because of Voldemort, or because of some stupid magic."

"I'd like that as well, Harry. As long as I have you, I don't care if I have magic or not."

Harry bent his head towards Ginny's, hesitating momentarily before touching his lips to hers, embracing her in a slow, and sweet kiss that spoke a thousand words. It was their first kiss in five long years. All too soon for the both of them, Harry broke it. "I have another proposal," he whispered, "I miss waking up next to you already; miss you in my arms at night. I would like very much for you to share my bed with me. It's far too big and empty without you in it."

"That is one offer I can't refuse," Ginny whispered back.

"Then there is two questions I have about all of this," Harry said, smiling at her lovely face, "The first is, 'why are we down here still?'

Ginny giggles as she pulled out of his arms and closed the fireplace off so it was safe. "There, now we can go upstairs," she replied, stepping back into his arms. "What is the other question?"

"Do you think Luke will like me very much? He didn't like your last boyfriend and husband."

"Oh, he knows all about you. He once told me one night that you sounded twenty million times better then Justin. And then some. No worries there!" she said cheerfully, as they walked slowly up the stairs, their arms entwined in a loving embrace.