So its been a while and I wanted to give you a quick re-cap, Ginny just got out of the hospital due to an illness she let get out of hand and will be staying with Harry as she finishes recuperation. While in the hospital he told her he forgave her for everything Ch 18 isnt long if you wanna reread it. ENJOY SORRY FOR THE DELAY HOPE I HAVEN'T LOST ALL OF YOU!
"I'm fine Dan, I promise," There was a pause "No, no, stay, I'm fine the doctors said I'm fine you cancelled this trip too many times already," another pause and I smile "me too, bye"
Harry looked back down at the pot and stirred, he was eavesdropping. Apparently Dan did some work in the muggle world and used telephones, and Mr. Weasley had been very pleased to be able t have an excuse for using one. It was the smile and the "me too" at the end of the conversation that had made him nervous.
"Almost ready?" Ginny asked checking Sophie's baby pen, and sure enough she was still sleeping
"Uh yah," Harry said quickly off tracking from his thoughts
"It smells good,"
"Taste's better,"
"I never knew you could cook," she said smiling up at him
"Well it's been a while, I was on my own and I had to do something to impress the dames," He smiled and nudged her,
"Right because the whole chosen one thing just gets a little old,"
"After you have rid the world of the darkest wizard in a century, I don't know everything else just seems so blasé,"
"Oh you are such a troubled tortured soul," and on it went for the rest of the evening, a witty conversation interrupted occasionally by Sophie stirring in her nap. It seemed the road back to friendship was in their grasp, that maybe civility could be restored.
It was during tea after dinner that things got a little different. They sat in front of the fire at Harry's flat and Ginny watched Harry play with her. He puffed up his cheeks and blew
on her fore head quickly before coming up. Ginny had never seen Sophie giggle that much,
"Since when do we play this game?" Harry smiled,
"Its something Claire used to do with her, she really took to her," he smiled then his face went a little blank for a moment before he continued playing,
"Is it weird if I ask what happened between you two?" Ginny asked curling up in the couch across from him, he cracked a smile,
"It's not weird, but I'm not really ready to talk to you about it,"
"Oh, I just thought—" she smiled, "Never mind, I'm just glad we are back to whatever it is that we are doing here," he nodded
"It's nice isn't it?" she yawned,
"I'm getting tired,"
"You know where the bedroom is," she looked a little startled,
"Don't worry I'm taking the couch tonight,"
"Harry, I'm not kicking you out of your bed," he laughed
"Sophie's bed is in the bedroom, so if she wakes up I don't have to take care of her, so no thank you Ginny for taking the bed," Ginny smiled
"Goodnight Harry Potter," she said walking into his room, Harry inhaled, and looked down at Sophie, it all seemed so almost perfect.
He rocked Sophie until she fell asleep. He knocked lightly on the door to his bedroom. When he didn't hear anything he stepped in putting Sophie to sleep, kissing her forehead. Then just before he left the room he looked back at Ginny before he could stop himself he went over brushed her hair away from her eyes and kissed her forehead, then left the room just as quietly as he could.
The next morning she woke up to the smell of bacon and cracking eggs.
"Morning sleepy head,"
Sophie was giggling, and it seemed for the moment that the world had stopped and everything was perfect. And then even sooner than the moment hit, her knees seemed to be uncharacteristically shakey and she grabbed for a chair and sat down laughing at the irony of weak knees.
"Morning, you know you really didn't have to do any of this I can go home, I can hire somebody, I'm sure Hermione would flip a lid if she knew she wasn't here for me during a time of need,"
"Shut up, I'm cooking and I'm good and you will enjoy it."
"I don't ever recall you being this demanding" she said leaning over to kiss Sophie's forehead,
"It's the whole Quidditch player thing, it's made me something of a celebrity," Ginny laughed
"Oh really? And what were you before,"
"Famous beyond all reason," he said quite plainly.
Her phone beeped again, it had beeped the night before while they were having tea and she glanced at it, smiled punched some buttons, and turned her phone off.
"That'll be Dan telling me good morning" she said resting her head on her hand,"
"With a beep?"
"No in a message, didn't Dudley ever text message?"
"Oh yes of course he told me all about it, did I mention I did his nails once and he braided my hair,"
"Was that before or after he had the tail?" Harry smiled and turned back to his bacon while Ginny stepped into the other room. She was talking in a hushed voice, it seemed calm, and again at the end as she walked into the room she said, "me too" just before hanging up.
"How's his trip going?" Harry asked stirring the eggs pretending to focus on a corner that seemed to be cooking too quickly,
"I don't know we didn't really talk about it, he was just checking on me and how I was doing, but I assume well. He apparently his really amazing at what he does,"
"Which is…?" Harry asked now slightly curious
"I really have no idea, but his colleagues love him, and apparently he belongs to some kind of wealthy family I've never heard of and I really don't care to,"
"Have you met his family?" Harry was now prying, he never took a girl to meet his family, because his family was his ex-girlfriend's family and Ginny was the only girl he'd ever really wanted to introduce to his parents but that turned into something of a bust.
"No," Ginny said quietly, "not yet, I mean I still don't really know where all that stands exactly"
"Oh," Harry said in a not so successful attempt at sounding casual, "So do you love him?" Harry then asked pouring the eggs onto two empty plates,
"He's a really good man, he's steady he keeps me grounded, he makes me smile, he's consistent"
"That doesn't mean love," Harry said shortly placing a plate in front of Ginny, then sitting down, "In everything about you, the way you spat witty comments like they were times tables, the way your hair looks when its wet, or even better when its stuck to your face with drool after a good night's sleep, does it all make you feel beautiful? Does every inch of you spill out in a million different directions every time you hear his name?" he then paused,
"I mean," he said, "I don't know much about love, only really happened to me once, but that's how I see it,"
"I like to think love like that doesn't happen to people, but it's given to them,"
"In that case," he smirked, "I have only once both given and received a gift like that,"
"I love him," she paused and he wanted to throw up, "But more as a friend I think I'm slowly finding out,"
"That's how I think my feelings for Claire were, but I didn't know it until she pointed it out to me,"
"So that's why it ended?"
"Not really, it wasn't exactly that, it was something else fueled by that,"
"How very ambiguous of you," Ginny smiled, "Still can't tell me?"
"I hated you too much, I was too mad at you, and apparently it was a testament to my inability to get over you, it, and I basically needed to grow up,"
"Oh," Ginny said eyeing her plate purposefully
"Yah, so I just made this breakfast more uncomfortable"
"Way to go,"
"I felt it was getting to comfortable, the whole breakfast with the mother of your illegitimate child, who used to be your girlfriend, who just took a call from her current boyfriend, and the fact that I'm not wearing knickers right now seemed to picturesque"
"I can see how that would happen,"
The next few weeks followed without a hitch. They didn't refer to their past, present, or the ever looming future. Ginny moved back in with her parents when they returned from their trip and she found herself missing even the presence of Harry in her life.
She stared at her body in the mirror. She was out of the shower and looking at herself. Her body had been under some kind of stress lately, with everything from Sophie, to being sick, to sleep deprivation, and now to be heading back to school with the stress that it encompassed.
More than she wanted to admit it she was scared about the coming semester. Things with Dan were steady but after a few months she didn't want steady. She wanted the warmth, she wanted the giggling, and she wanted the passion back.
It was becoming more and more clear that with Dan, she really didn't have that.
In him she found a tremendous friend. He was a rock in which she could find much strength in but at this point in her life she didn't need that. She needed to stand on her own and using nothing but her own strength to support her.
For now though she wasn't really given a reason for breaking it off and she figured that as September drew closer he too would begin to see that this was not going to last
forever and while it had helped heal him from the wounds that had once defined him, it was not where he needed to be.
So Ginny put on her robes, and packed up her school things.
Harry had Sophie for the past weekend and would be coming to the Burrow tonight to join the Weasley's for a family dinner before Ginny and Sophie went back to school (where Harry would get a nearby flat). It was the first time the whole family would be together since the announcement Sophie's existence.
"Hello" Harry called out from downstairs, managing to swivel Sophie in the door along with a trunk of her belongings.
Sophie's raven curls would bounce in her eyes if they hadn't been clipped back with the scarlet bow Harry had bought for her. Her giant hazel eyes danced at the sight of her mother running down the stairs. She giggled.
"Oh hello gorgeous" she cried sweeping Sophie up into her arms as Harry laughed,
"Really Ginny no need for compliments I was just here for dinner" she shot him a smirk and brought Sophie back upstairs to be with her as she packed. Harry followed with her carrier.
"Oi! Harry is that you?" cried Mrs. Weasley. Harry sat the carrier down in Ginny's room, kissed Sophie on the cheek and sped back downstairs.
"Yes! Hey Mrs. Weasley, how are you?" he said giving her a hug
"Lovely Lovely, you know life gets a lot easier when you don't have seven mouths to feed. Fred and George paid for Arthur and I to go to Romania to visit Charlie, and then France to see Bill and Fleur, oh their daughter is simply beautiful! Come come! I have pictures!" Harry followed Mrs. Weasley into the backroom where seemingly hundreds of pictures were hung from the rafters as if to dry. Each one she pointed to with a certain squeal of delight.
Ginny was all packed except for the clothes she would wear tomorrow and she carried Sophie and levitated the carrier downstairs before everyone arrived. Upon arriving downstairs she went through Sophie's trunk looking for… YES ! There it was, a rich velvet scarlet dress with a golden sash strung across the waist. In it Sophie was the most precious thing Ginny had ever seen.
She drew Sophie's trunk shut and sat down on the couch, giving Sophie her bottle before the rest of the guests arrived. After which Sophie fell asleep quickly. In fact just in time for Ron and Hermione to come in through the front door.
"Ginny!" cried Hermione with outstretched arms, and then upon seeing Sophie asleep in Ginny's arms cowered a bit and kissed her on the forehead, following that with kissing Ginny on the cheek, "How are you feeling?" she whispered
"So much better," Ginny replied looking down at Sophie. Ron came in and looked at the three of them awkwardly, "Um, so where's Harry?" Ginny shrugged and she saw Hermione roll her eyes,
"He is freaked out knowing he has a niece, and even more freaked out that the father is his best friend," Hermione said now looking back at Ginny,
"It's been months since we told you all! Sophie is eight months old!" Hermione smiled
"Well it's also the fact that, well I want one…" Hermione said with a smile, Ginny held her breath to suppress the urge to convulse with laughter
"Scared is he?" Hermione smiled,
"Like you wouldn't believe," she replied beaming,
"That's awesome Hermione, really, it's sweet too, that he's scared, and it means he is bound to be good"
They carried on girl chatter, about Sophie and her latest antics, Hermione went into a rant about the horrid logic of those under her in the Department of Magical Enforcement, and about the last dim-whitted comment Ron made to her.
Harry and Ron opened up some firewhiskey and continued on with man-talk. Though Ron's eyes fell slightly when he witnessed Harry cooing at Sophie as she woke up from her nap, he had decided once and for all that perhaps Hermione was right; he did have the emotional capacity of a fork, or was it a spoon?
Fred and George came in drudgingly carrying with them presents for their niece and mother. They sat across from Sophie at dinner distorting their faces to make her giggle.
Platters floated across the table steam rising as they danced across the table. Sophie followed them happily.
"Any sign of magic then?" Fred asked looking over to Ginny then turning his gaze to Harry
"Not yet," Harry replied
"We may not see them until she turns two," Ginny added, "All children progress at different rates,"
"Oh yes," cried Mrs. Weasley, "Fred and George didn't show their powers until nearly a year, Bill at six months, Charlie year and a half, and Ginny at four months" she finished reciting with a grin
"What about Ron?" Hermione asked looking at Ron who was now red his eyes finding sudden interest in staring down his food,
"It was a little after two years…" Hermione looked surprised
"In my defense I was under a lot of pressure!" Ron exclaimed
"Pressure or not he didn't even shake a toy until he was twenty six months" Mr. Weasley added
Dinner went on as such for the next hour or so in this manner. Sophie fell asleep at the dinner table and a little bit after eight Ginny rose from the table.
"It looks like this little one is ready for bed and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," everyone nodded and followed suit in order to say goodbye,
"Have a good semester sis," George said hugging his little sister
"Yeah, take care of yourself, and the little one," Fred added hugging her then kissing Sophie on the forehead,
"I will" she said smiling
"Really Ginny if you need any help just owl me and I'll be there," Hermione added hugging her tightly. Ginny nodded and wished everyone goodnight as she carried Sophie up the stairs.
Her mind was running in a never ending circle.
'In the morning I need to pack my toiletries, empty Sophie's dresser, make sure my ticket for the train station is nearby, and be sure to ask mom about something to give Sophie for the train ride'
She could hardly sleep. Her life was so different than it had been last summer when she started to embark on this new life full of wonder and excitement.
She had begun to think over the past several months, if going into the International Defense League would really be right for her. Harry would most likely retire from the Quidditch world before too long. He really didn't need the money it was just a way to escape the hero complex that had caused him so much excitement in his youth.
There had been a great deal of offers for her coming out of school. More than anything she had wanted an adventure all her own. Now however, watching Sophie progress day after day Ginny had found she was pretty content with that adventure.
However the defense league would bring her to London if she was lucky where she could work and earn her own wages and really be able to live on her own and support Sophie.
It was strange. When she was younger she always envisioned getting married. She envisioned a houseful of children. Whereas now, now she viewed herself as single for the rest of her life, living with a daughter who loved her and the regret of a love that could have been but wasn't.
"Up Ginny, breakfast is downstairs, I've got Sophie, and Harry will be here in fifteen minutes to help on the train ride,"
"Up, breakfast, Soph, train, and what about Harry?"
"After you went to sleep last night he decided he would ride with you on the train and help you move in and be sure that Sophie wasn't too much trouble,"
Mrs. Weasley's eyes seemed to glimmer at this, the idea of having Harry back in the household and happy about it seemed to lift her spirits profusely. Really though, who could blame her, everyone had thought the twins would be the most trouble, but they seemed to only get into the trivial stuff. Whereas Ginny, single handedly brought scarlet to the Weasley name (red head jokes aside), and managed to scare away the closest thing they had to a non-ginger-haired brother.
The whole idea of thing going back to normal made her sigh in utter relief. School was returning and aside from the classes getting harder, Sophie giving crawling a whirl, and the fear and excitement that would come with Sophie starting or not starting to do magic.
When she arrived downstairs Harry was there feeding Sophie at the table. He looked clean. That was the thing about Harry, Ginny didn't know why but he always smelled like soap, clean and fresh. He used to say it was because he just liked being dirty in his mind but that was back when they first started dating and the whole idea of sexually connotative humor was new.
Now, looking back, he spent so much of his youth and adolescence in a constant state of sweat, dirt, and injury, there seemed to be safety in soap. It was the closest to normal he ever got.
With the appropriate home remedied packing spells she had loaded her trunk and was prepared to floo to the train station, Harry was to follow, they would meet Ginny who would have at this point picked up the tickets, and then in all its utter glory she would be on her own at school again.
"On her own" the words seemed to bellow in her ears as though they fiercely desired to be heard. She had now been thinking more frequently of how lonely her life must be. She didn't want any boyfriends she didn't want men coming in and out of Sophie's life. She wanted one man forever, she wanted one man to date, one man for Sophie. She didn't deserve daddy issues. And Ginny never wanted to give her any.
"Looks like mommy got enchanted by a gnargle," Harry was saying to Sophie in a voice he only used with her.
It snapped Ginny back into the world.
"You smell clean" was all she said as his smell flared up in her nostrils before she could stop her mouth from running with it.
"I use soap"
"How clever,"
"I think it makes me tougher"
"Man tough"
"Very"
They laughed as they finished breakfast. They gave their final goodbyes to Mrs. Weasley and it finally seemed as though they would be leaving.
And alas they did. They sat in their compartment with Sophie asleep and a charm over her basket so she wouldn't wake at sounds but had an alert when she made sound.
After a while Ginny realized this was the first time, in a long time they had been in a confined space, alone. It used to be their thing, snogging in closets and behind knights at Hogwarts. Sneaking around had been part of the glory.
"Thank you for coming today," she said almost to quickly
"It's not a problem training for Puddlemore doesn't begin until about a month of your term is over, so I'm yours until then," at the last line he seemed to pause as if he intended on adding, 'I mean my time is with Sophie until then', but Ginny cut him off,
"Does that mean I get to have my way with you?" she said looking at him quite sternly
"I think the product of the last time it happened is sitting in this very room and is probably a very good reason no ways should be had with each other ever again"
Harry again paused after he said this, it was that awkward pause when you want to add 'I mean I don't want to if you don't want to' and you never know what the other person really thinks or wants or what you really think or want. However over this awkwardness, Ginny conquered,
"Well I guess we won't be sneaking off into any compartment restrooms then," She smiled hoping he would catch the reference, he smiled
"That was really fun, except for the fact I had to explain why my foot was wet (from falling in the toilet) and you had to explain why your hair had a hint of blue soap in it,"
"Alas our days of young hormonal aggression have ended," he smirked at her
"Really? I find it hard to believe that you, my ginger haired lady, have your hormones under control?"
"Well let's just say you were basically the last one to see them in all their glory,"
"Really?" Harry looked surprised,
"Yes," her look was solemn now, she had wanted him to know, for a long time, that he was still the only one, "I wanted to tell you before but, I just thought you deserved that,"
"Same for me too, I mean you're still the only one," he let out a half sigh half chuckle, "I guess you're the only one for a lot of that stuff"
"Yah," the train ride for the rest of the time went on quietly both pondering quietly what it was that they had just said and what it meant but at the same time trying to act overly interested in whatever was outside the window.
Again its been a while, its summer im gonna try and write more I have a way I want the story to go but I thought you all deserved this love you all really and truly R&R