Chapter 14: Two Halves
Ginny walked into the Head Auror's office with a purposeful stride. She had found a paper airplane in her inbox when she walked into work that morning, and it had requested her presence as soon as she was able to make time. Ginny was no fool, she knew that when she was called into the office by her boss she needed to report there immediately… no matter what she had been working on at the time.
She was about to knock on the office door when a voice from within said, "Don't stand outside dawdling, come in, and close the door behind you." A smile flickered across Ginny's face as she followed directions and sat behind the large oak desk.
The Head of the Auror department was facing the window, not giving Ginny the courtesy of seeing their face. "I've been informed that there is a very special situation brewing in Cardiff," said the voice lightly. "We need someone who can blend in with the locals, get the information we need and then take care of the situation there." The chair turned around and Ginny sat face to face with Mad-Eye Moody. He had taken the position back over after Scrimgoeur had been removed from the Ministry.
"You want me to handle this?" Ginny asked breathlessly. This was the chance she had been waiting for, her first real case.
"I think if anyone in this department can handle it, it will be you. If you want to take the case we will give you and a partner the information this afternoon. This isn't work that you can talk about at home Miss Weasley," Moody growled, "This is a confidential case."
"Will I have to live in Cardiff during the case?"
"No, we are finding you a job there, something that you are able to use as a cover. Most people commute to work these days, it won't be seen as strange that you do as well," Moody informed her. Ginny nodded and smiled brightly.
"Well Mad-Eye, you can count on me," Ginny told him.
"I'll have all the details ready for you to look at when you get back from lunch this afternoon. Remember, you aren't to discuss this case with anyone," he reminded her.
"I understand that, and you can trust me. I'd never let something this important slip," she assured him. Moody grunted and waved her away. Ginny left his office with a grin. She was finally getting a chance to prove herself; this was what she had always wanted.
As she made her way back down to her cubicle she thought about lunch, perhaps Harry would be in the mood to celebrate with her. She did after all have a very long lunch hour…
"Can you tell me a story, daddy?"
Harry turned away from the newspaper in his hands and saw his daughter standing in the doorway. He grinned at her and opened his arms, "Of course I can, Natalie. Come sit over here on the sofa with me and tell me what story you want to hear." He watched as his daughter crossed the room and curled herself up beside him. He didn't have a lot of experience telling stories, but he was sure he could come up with something to entertain his daughter.
"I want to hear a story about when you were at school. Mum says that you always got into trouble," Natalie said with wide, eager eyes. Harry chuckled.
"I may have got into a lot of trouble, but your Grandpa James has the record for detentions along with his friends. They called themselves the Marauders," Harry explained. Interest filled Natalie's eyes.
"What does that word mean?" she asked.
"Marauder is another word for a troublemaker and your Grandpa James was in trouble more than anyone else that ever went to Hogwarts, except maybe his best friend Sirius…"
"You mean he caused more trouble than you?" Natalie interrupted. Harry laughed and kissed her forehead.
"It sounds like your mother has been fibbing to you," Harry teased.
"I've never fibbed to my daughter," Ginny said with a note of humor in her voice. She was standing in the doorway and grinning at them both. "I think you underestimate yourself, Harry. You, Ron and Hermione were always in trouble at school." She walked over to join them on the sofa.
Harry raised his eyebrow at her. "I never got expelled did I?"
Ginny chuckled and kissed him softly on the lips. "You got pretty close a few times," she reminded him.
"You almost got expelled from school?" Natalie asked with wide eyes. "Wasn't Grandma Molly angry with you?"
Harry's face grew red and Ginny laughed loudly, cuddling her daughter close to her. "I'd say that she was more worried than anything. It wasn't really his fault that the Ministry wanted to expel him," Ginny explained.
"Of course, the Daily Prophet is still interfering in my life," Harry said under his breath.
"What do you mean by that?" Ginny asked worriedly. As far as she knew the last time Harry had made the Daily Prophet it was because of the Malia Moon scandal. What could possibly be interesting in his life now?
Natalie was giving her parent's interested looks. "Were you in the newspaper, daddy?" she asked him. Harry gave Ginny a look that told her everything she needed to know… someone was trying to make him look bad again.
"Yes, sweetheart, I was in the newspaper," Harry admitted, "don't worry your pretty little head about it though, it's grown-up stuff." Natalie nodded thoughtfully and then crawled off the sofa.
"I'm gonna ask Jingle if he will make me lunch because I'm really hungry," Natalie informed him and then pranced out of the room, leaving her parents to watch her as she left.
Harry laughed and shook his head, "Poor Jingle, I'm going to have to give that elf a raise. I had no idea that Natalie was going to take it upon herself to give him so much work to do."
Ginny grinned and leaned into Harry's arms. "He adores her, all of the elves do. You just got lucky enough that your elves accept wages. Otherwise Hermione would be protesting on our lawn," she teased.
He winked at her and brushed his lips over her cheek gently. "I've missed you today," he whispered softly.
She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand, letting her fingers brush lightly against his jaw. "I had no idea that going back to work was going to be this hard," she admitted, "It's been nice to have the last week to spend with you and Natalie." He turned his lips into her hand and kissed her palm, brushing his lips against it while he looked into her eyes. It brought warmth to the pit of her stomach and she snuggled closer to him.
"I wish that we could spend your lunch hour somewhere more private," he whispered, letting the heat in his words tell her exactly what he meant, "but I have some news that would kill the mood."
"Is it about the newspaper?" Ginny asked softly. Harry nodded and picked it up off the coffee table where he had placed it when Natalie had come into the room. He handed it to her without a word and let her read the headline. Harry Potter's Love Nest.
Ginny's mouth dropped as she looked at pictures of their home spread out over the front page. There was also a picture of them; it must have been taken at the Quidditch match when she had run out on the field to make sure he was all right. She skimmed through the article, picking up enough to realize that the Prophet was referring to her as Harry's mistress… and Natalie as the love child she was foisting off on him. "Merlin's beard… oh, Harry, how could they?" she whispered in horror.
"I don't know when the Daily Prophet became another bad tabloid newspaper, but at least we know nothing in their article is the truth," Harry said comfortingly. "I just wanted you to be aware of what people were saying about us."
He paused and Ginny could see the pain filling his eyes. "What is it, Harry?"
"If you and Natalie need to leave, I understand. I won't stop you from trying to get out of this situation. The Prophet will never relent, you know that I will be their favorite topic until the day I die," he whispered, his hands clenched tightly. "I don't want you two dragged into this, you don't deserve it."
Ginny touched his face gently, with all the love she could muster and raised it to her own. "We won't desert your because the Daily Prophet has accused me of being your paid bed warmer. When you love someone you overlook the little problems. I've loved you since I was a little girl, Harry. If I had wanted out I could have gotten out a long time ago," she reminded him.
Tears fell from the corners of his eyes and he wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her as close to him as he could. "I can't promise that this will get any easier, all I can promise is that I'll never stop loving you."
She brushed a curl away from his forehead and then kissed the exposed skin tenderly. "If I have your love, I'm the richest woman in the world." Their eyes met and a smile came to Harry's face. He brought his lips up to hers in a soft, sensual kiss. It promised his love, but under that was the sweet heat of his need for her. It made her warm down to her toes. "I have some news for you as well," she said softly.
Harry moved his hand gently up and down her side, attempting to keep his touching to a minimum and yet trying to touch as much as he dared. "What is it?" he asked as his lips found her throat and began to roam over the creamy skin that he saw there.
"I've finally been given an Auror assignment," she whispered as her eyes fluttered closed. Harry's kisses were sending thrills of pleasure through her; she was amazed she could think at all.
He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. "What kind of assignment?" he asked in a deadly calm voice. Gone was his gentle teasing and warm kisses, the Harry in front of her was all business… and absolutely terrified.
"I can't explain it, but I won't have to leave you and Natalie. I'll be able to come home every evening and spend weekends with you," she reassured him, but still his eyes were closed off. "Harry… what's wrong?"
Harry closed his eyes and bowed his head. She could feel his deep, even breathing, but she didn't know what had caused this change in him from only a few minutes ago. "Don't die on me, Gin. I can't lose you again… it would kill me," he whispered hoarsely.
Her heart skipped a beat as she realized where his thoughts had led. They both knew that her job was dangerous, but she hadn't thought what it might mean to him when she couldn't confide in him every day like she was used to. "I can't promise you that, we both know how dangerous an Auror's job can get."
Harry buried his face in her shoulder. "Do you know how empty I was after you left me the first time? I threw myself into Quidditch because that's all I had left. My body was an empty shell, I had to find meaning. Hell, I still didn't really live again until you came back into my life in February. If you died I would die with you. I'm not strong without you; I realized that in the war. You were always my strength, don't you know that?"
Ginny was speechless, she hadn't know that he was going to react like this. All she wanted to do was hold him in her arms and drive all of his worries away, but it would never happen if she was leaving his bed each morning not knowing whether she would return to him at night. "You are the strongest person I know…" she began, but he cut her off.
"You make me strong. I can't lose you again… I can't," anguish filled his voice. Ginny held him tightly to her, still unsure of what to say. She wanted to take this opportunity, it was what she had been waiting for, but she didn't want to take it at the expense of losing Harry.
"This afternoon I go in for briefing, I'll ask Moody how dangerous this mission is. If there is a strong chance that I won't come back to you than I won't take it…" she broke off, she couldn't say anything else, what was there to say?
"I hate being so weak without you, it makes me feel like I'm a child… Dammit, Gin. Without you I'm as good as dead. Ever since I finally let myself love you I was finally complete. I'm an empty, bleeding sore without your half to complete me, don't you understand?"
As crazy as it sounded, she understood exactly. It was that empty bleeding sore part of her that had rushed into Michael's arms, hoping to be filled again… but not succeeding. Harry wasn't exaggerating; there was a bond between them that made them a whole person. "You are my other half, Harry. I'd die to lose you too," she whispered. She bent her head until their foreheads touched.
They sat there on the sofa like that for several minutes, neither of them willing to move away from the other. It was as if that small touch was giving them all the courage they needed to face the new challenge in their lives. Ginny gathered her strength from Harry; he was her strength, just as she was his. It was futile to deny it; it was just a fact of their life. The sky was blue, the sun shined… and they were two halves of a whole. Nothing else was as important as that.
"I have to talk to Moody," she whispered, breaking the silence. "If I can't do this mission he has to find someone else who can."
Harry nodded and swallowed hard. "I have practice tonight, I'll make sure to leave Natalie at the Burrow so you can pick her up there," he said softly.
They were both trying not to think about what might happen if Ginny didn't take the mission… it might mean the end of her career as an Auror. "We'll see you for dinner tonight then?" Ginny asked.
Harry's eyes met hers and she felt the power in his gaze. "I couldn't stay away," he said and his lips descended on hers for a hunger filled kiss.
Hannah hummed quietly to herself as she worked on making lunch. She had been George Weasley's nanny for a week now, and she couldn't have been happier with her lot in life. The children were the joy of her life already, she couldn't imagine a time when she hadn't spent every moment looking out for them and loving them. They were such easy children to love.
"Hannah… hungry," came a soft voice from behind her. She saw little J.R. walk into the room with his blanket in tow. It seemed to her that he carried it everywhere with him, even to the bathroom.
"Lunch is almost ready Eric," she said with a smile.
J.R. rolled his eyes as he walked over to her. "I not Eric, I J.R." he reminded her.
"Oh yes, that's right. Who am I then?" she asked. She loved to play this game with him; eventually he would fall on his bottom and giggle as though she were tickling him. He loved to be teased by her.
"You are Hannah," he said matter-o-factly.
"I thought I was J.R.," she said in mock astonishment.
"You not J.R., I J.R.," he began to giggle and he grabbed her leg to steady himself. "You are Hannah," he said again. She grinned down at him.
"Okay, I'm Hannah and you are J.R.," she relented. "Now if you want to eat lunch go and get Jess and Eric, it should be ready soon."
She watched him walk out of the room and chuckled to herself. She couldn't have chosen a better job if she had interviewed a hundred families for this position. There was something about these children that made her feel as if she were part of their family. They gave their love unconditionally and all they wanted in return was to know that she wouldn't be leaving them. It was an odd thing for them to worry about, but she had promised them almost everyday in the past week that she wasn't going anywhere.
She heard the soft pitter-patter of their feet as they ran down the hallway and into the kitchen. She couldn't keep the grin off of her face, these children were precious… and they were hers in a way she could only have dreamed of before.
"What's for lunch, Hannah?" Jess asked as she helped her brothers into their seats at the table.
"I've made shepherd's pie," Hannah told them with a grin; "You're father told me it was a favorite of yours."
"Speaking of their father…" said a voice from the fireplace. George was standing in the floo, brushing himself off while he grinned at all of them. "I decided to come home and spend lunch with my favorite people in the world."
"Daddy!" Jess squealed and threw herself into his arms. Eric and J.R. waved to their father from the table and George waved back.
"Something smells delicious," George said and leaned over Hannah's shoulder to see what it was. "You made Shepherd's Pie," he said happily, "You do seem to remember even the smallest thing I tell you."
"I saw that you had all the ingredients and it just sounded like a good meal for a chilly day," Hannah said with a trace of a blush. "Now sit down and I'll get everyone served so we can eat."
George obediently sat down after helping his daughter into her seat and Hannah had to fight back a laugh as she saw everyone's eyes on the dish in her hands. They looked like little birds waiting for their mother to feed them. She quickly served everyone some of the casserole and sat down with them. She enjoyed eating with them more than anything else. They always had so much to say, and such interesting ways to say it. The children loved it when their father told stories about his joke shop, and Hannah was beginning to realize that it was one of the favorite parts of her day now as well.
"…so this bloke tries to steal a bottle of love potion from the shelf. Luckily enough for us we have anti-theft enchantments on all of the products. While he was trying to leave the store he started sprouting hair from his nose that brushed the floor in record time. He was shrieking loud enough that we were able to confiscate the product and take him into the back to wait for the MLE agents to pick him up," George told them with a grin on his face.
The children burst into laughter at the mention of nose hair, and Hannah knew that it was exactly the reason George had decided to tell that particular story. The children wouldn't care about the love potion, but the nose hair was definitely something that would interest them. "Did the nose hair grow into ringlets?" Hannah asked with a soft smile on her lips.
George gave her an odd glance, "What?" he asked, as though the question held more to it than it did.
"I remember overhearing you once in the library at school. I was doing some homework and enjoying listening to Harry, Ron and Hermione as they struggled through books looking for something. It was highly entertaining to hear some of the things they were talking about. They said something about causing nose hair to grow into ringlets and wondered why anyone would want to do that, and then Fred said that it would be a talking point," Hannah said simply. George was gaping at her.
"How in the world did you remember that?" he asked.
"I've always been interested in odd conversations, I thought someday I might like to write books, and any strange thing I hear is stored into my memory for later use," she explained.
"That is a remarkable talent," George said with a smile and then he looked down at his watch, "I have to get back to work, but I'll be home for dinner." He gave her another look, this one softer and then he bent down so he could whisper in her ear. "I'd like to talk to you alone tonight; do you think that we could have dinner together after the children go to bed?"
Hannah was a bit surprised by the request, but then she assured herself that it had something to do with the children. "Of course, anything you wish, George," she said with a smile.
He kissed each of his children and then tossed some floo powder into the fireplace. "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes main store," he announced. He stepped into the fireplace and was gone before Hannah could blink.