Author Note: This story does NOT follow DH canon. It is the inbetweens of my two previous fics "Derailed" and "Adventures in Dress Shopping". This is pretty much canon through HBP and takes certain things from DH, however, I've put together different pairings and kept certain characters alive because I love them, and that's just how it is going to be. Reviews are more than welcome and I'd love constructive criticsim. I really hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I am not JKR. I do not own any of the characters. This story is merely my own interpretation of events based in the Universe that she created. Please don't sue.
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Ginny wasn't about to give Harry the chance to come back to her flat. She needed answers of her own before she could be expected to give him any. Despite being all sorts of sore and bruised, she dragged herself from her too warm bed and got ready for her mission. She made sure she was presentable appearance-wise as she was sure her behavior was going to be less than flattering. That wasn't exactly on her list of concerns however. She was rightly ticked off and she was set on speaking her mind about it.
She hesitated slightly near the fireplace before deciding manners be damned. It wasn't likely she'd be waking anyone up after all. Grabbing a handful of floo powder, she tossed it into the fire and clearly spoke the name of an address she was all too familiar with.
"Hermione Jean Granger!" She called out into the modestly large house that was perfect in the way only Hermione and Theodore could manage. Ginny dusted herself off before stepping into the pristine living room. "I know you're in here!"
"Ginny, might I ask what, in Salazar's name, you're screaming about this early in the morning?" Teddy asked as he walked in from the hall. He was still in his jim-jams and was trying in vain to disguise this fact by keeping his arms folded to his chest. However, in true Teddy fashion, his initial tone gave little of his actual annoyance level away.
"I have plenty to discuss with you as well Theodore. Don't leave." Ginny grumbled, perfectly aware of how absurd she sounded, but not quite caring enough.
"Excuse me?" Teddy asked in shock. "You know this is my house, right? You haven't confused it with somewhere else where it might be alright to boss me around?" His annoyance was beginning to seep through, but mostly he was just curious as to what had gotten her in such a strop so early in the day.
"When you travel halfway around the world to find my ex and bring him back without bothering to inform me about it, I think I am well within reason to be a bit peeved, Teddy." Ginny shot at him with a certain edge to her voice.
"What is going on in here?" Hermione called over the raised voices. The brunette walked into the tense room holding the collar of her dressing gown shut tightly. "Ginny? What are you doing here this early? I don't remember breakfast plans."
"Do you remember telling Harry that he ought to stalk the outside of my flat til I got home and corner me into a conversation?" The redhead asked bitterly.
Hermione pursed her lips and rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Please tell me that is not the only reason you're here, because I'm not going to apologize for it. The pair of you ought to talk."
"Oh, don't worry love, she's got plenty she's got to yell at me about too, apparently." Teddy piped in not looking at his girlfriend, but instead all but glaring at the redhead across the room.
"Because your girlfriend wouldn't have been able to force me into this if you had left well enough alone and let him stay unfound." Ginny snaped.
"Ginny, would you quit acting like you were the only one hurt by him leaving?!" Teddy threw his hands in exasperation. His jim-jams seemingly forgotten. "We all know you we miserable and we all know you don't want to bloody talk about it but you know I didn't go on searching half the globe just for you." Teddy was shouting now.
"Teddy..." Hermione started, warning in her voice.
"No. Let him go. Let him go ahead and call me self-centered and selfish and childish and whatever other bloody else he wants to call me." Ginny snapped, giving a tight-lipped sarcastic smile. "Because I mean he's right isn't he?"
"Ginny, I didn't say that." Hermione sighed. "I just think it's silly that you spent the better part of the past two years being miserable without him and now that he's here you're acting like you were better off."
"Because I was finally starting to be able to handle it! I was finally moving on with my life! I was finally getting Bet--"
"Better?" Teddy asked with raised eyebrows. "Getting better?" The former Slytherin gave a dry laugh.
"Teddy, don't." Hermione interjected.
Teddy didn't listen though. He couldn't just sit there and listen to her go on about how she was the not-so-silent victim in all of this.
"Better would not include a string of second-rate blokes you don't give a second thought to after you find one small thing that drives you batty."
"Teddy..." Hermione tried again, but to no avail.
"Better would not be you trying to escape any mention of the words Harry, dating, wedding, boyfriend, or Potter."
"Teddy!"
"Better is not you hiding tears at Remus and Dora's anniversary party. Yes, I saw you, don't try to deny it."
Ginny stood there, jaw clenched and back stiff as he listed off everything that was still so off about her with ease. Too much ease. She hated knowing that not only was he right, but that she had been that transparent. She would've liked to think she was a bit more sturdy than to show all that.
"Teddy, you shouldn't have said all of that." Hermione said quietly, somewhere between annoyed at him for being so frank, and adoring him for being that perceptive of her friends.
"She can't go on thinking that she was solving a problem." Teddy whispered back. "She needed to know." There was only the tiniest twinge of regret in his voice as he caught sight of Ginny's face.
"I can hear you, you know." Ginny informed them with a sigh.
Hermione gave a small blush and looked down for a brief moment before meeting her friend's eyes. "Well...He does have a point, Gin." She said after a moment. "We're worried about you. And Harry." She added after only a second. "It's clear that you're both miserable without each other and - just can't sit here watching the both of you throw it away like that. It would be irresponsible of me." Hermione was being careful not to let her or Teddy get a word in edgewise until she was good and ready for them. "We just want you to be happy. Both of you."
Teddy remained silent and simply looked at his girl with a sort of amazed smile. It was the same smile that he found himself wearing all the more often. He still found it hard to believe that she picked him. He wasn't sure he'd ever really understand it.
Ginny watched the pair of them and held in a sigh. She just wasn't so sure that kind of perfection was in the stars for her anymore.
"So maybe I'm not better. And maybe I'll never be better, but this isn't something I can just get over." She ran a hand through her thick waves. "I can listen to everyone tell me he's sorry and that this time he's here for good, and maybe he is. Maybe in his mind this is it. But what if it turns out he's wrong? Am I supposed to go through this all again? Because I can't." Her voice dropped and her fingers began twirling the ends of her hair. "I can't." She repeated. "I could hardly do it this time and that was with hoping the pain would subside. What'll I do when I know it won't?" She looked between the pair, searching for an answer but not expecting one.
"Since when," Hermione started with a small smile, "Have you ever given up on a challenge? Since when do you let your fear of falling off the broom keep you from flying?" She questioned, moving her hand to her hip. "Ginny, you are a Gryffindor and among the bravest people I know, you can handle this." Hermione assured her.
Teddy leaned down to drop a kiss on his girlfriend's head. "You are absolutely amazing, did you know that?" He murmured quietly.
Ginny stood there scowling and she let out another sigh. "You have to go bringing ithat/i into it, don't you?" She asked tossing her hands up in defeat.
"Well now you're just mad because she's right." Teddy grinned.
"Annoying, isn't she?" Ginny asked in concession, though rolling her eyes.
"Hey!" Hermione exclaimed offended, she placed a hand on her hip.
"Well it's just not fair you should prove me wrong so bloody often!" Ginny protested rather convincingly, though she was mostly just teasing.
Teddy dropped another kiss on her head and smiled. "That's okay. Right looks aces on her."
"Look, Ginny." Hermione started breaking away from Teddy to go give her friend a small hug. "No one expects you to jump head first back into a relationship with him or anything of the sort. We just want you both to maybe talk a bit. Get to the point where you don't feel the need to flee your parents' house on Christmas just because he happens to be there." The brunette gave a knowing smile to her friend and gave her another small squeeze.
"You spoil all the fun of hexing him, you know that right? With your sensibility and your reason and your logic. Really. It's not bloody fair, I'm telling you." Ginny grumbled teasingly. She was beginning to feel extremely daft for showing up and shouting at the pair of them and she was quite bitter about that. Part of the point of being irrationally angry was being able to forget about feeling guilty and just let off. But now she was feeling silly and guilty and all sorts of stupid. Bollocks. "Does this mean I hafta go back to my flat and face this head on like a big girl then? Because I'd really rather just you know, sit here, have some of your breakfast and hide out for a bit."
"Ginny, you know we love you and all, but I think barging in and telling us off is enough for one day. Go home and you really ought to talk to Harry." Teddy gave a small smile with a roll of his eyes.
Ginny groaned and made a face to show that she was not pleased. "Ugh! Fine! Bossy things aren't you." She gave a smirk to show she was teasing. "And erm…sorry about the yelling…and the barging in. And you know the being mental." She added after a moment.
"We've come to expect it from you by now." Hermione teased right back, giving her friend one last goodbye hug. "Now go. And then come back later and tell me everything."
"Bye then." Ginny said with a wave to Teddy before grabbing a pinch of floo powder and tossing it into the fire. She called out her flat address and stepped into the cool flames. When she arrived back in her own living room however, she didn't stick around for long. She gave a moment's thought and then headed for the door and down the stairs, needing to get out into the cool London air to get some thinking done.