I can't believe he couldn't make his own party.

Well, you know Harry, he's just so busy; I know it must be something really important.

That's no excuse, he shouldn't leave you alone in your condition.

Oh, don't worry, I'm fine. It's not bad at all. Besides, I'm so proud of him and the work he's doing to repair our country. I don't expect Harry to have a normal life, even after, you know?

That was how Ginny expected the evening to go. As she brushed back her hair, she rehearsed her replies. As she smoothed her skirt over her just-bulging belly she practiced her best I'm-doing-fine smile, and as she opened the door for the first guest, she hoped they wouldn't be too hard on Harry. After all, he had good excuses for not being a top-notch husband – just look at the family he grew up with. But as soon as Wilda Griffiths set her back on her feet and opened her mouth, Ginny realized that all her preparations had been in vain. She had not prepared for this.

"Ginny! You look marvelous. Don't worry, I don't mind about Harry being gone, I'm sure he's off saving the world again. You're doing quite well with the pregnancy, it's too bad you're not coming back, we need you, darling."

"What?"

"Oh, don't worry, I know. A'course you're going to want to stay home and watch the young'uns, it's to be expected. Too bad, but what can you do? We're going to miss you, that's for sure. Already are."

Ginny hadn't realized that her Quidditch career was over, nor that everybody would be oh so understanding about Harry. As the evening wore on, she found her lines repeatedly stolen by others, leaving her with nothing but smiles and nods and "Of course, I get it, of course, I understand." She had wanted to defend Harry, but it seemed that everyone was doing it for her.

Draco Malfoy swept into the party like a hawk amongst doves, torn between the desire to remain inconspicuous and the need to feel important. He smiled at Hannah Abbott – no, it was Longbottom now – and tried not to justify his presence. Hannah tried to be friendly. "Hi Draco." There was an unsaid why are you here?

Something inside Draco Malfoy splintered at the edges but did not break. "Hello Hannah. How's Neville? I heard he's applied to be the new Herbology professor now that Sprout's thinking about retirement. Couldn't think of anyone who deserves it more."

Hannah may have meep'ed a little before Ginny swooped in. "Hannah! How are you!" She engulfed Hannah in a hug. Then, too casually, he could see her trying, "Draco, it's good to see you made it. Is Astoria around here somewhere? I haven't seen her in ages."

"No, she wasn't feeling well. Pregnancy does not suit her as well as it suits you, I think."

"You are too kind." Ginny said. Hannah made a distinct meeping noise as Ginny took Draco's arm. "You've never been here before. Let me show you the gardens. They're best in a couple of months but the azaleas are just starting to bloom."

Draco sat down solemnly on the wooden seat and looked over the garden. Ginny plunked down next to him. "Well, this is…."

"Dreadful, I know." Ginny finished his thought. "Bloody dreadful. You'd think that in two years we'd have done something, anything at all. But Harry's never home and I've never really been the home-making type. So we've decided to call it natural and leave it at that."

There was something about Ginny - he could see it now that they were pretending to be friends, an honesty that wouldn't have lasted long in Slytherin. And she was taking her pregnancy well, he hadn't lied about that. Astoria was petulant when she wasn't heaving, angry when she wasn't trying to plan out their son's life before it even started. There still were moments, but those moments were brief, diamonds in a mountain of dirt.

Ginny was standing up. "Oh look, there's Ron and Hermione. I'll be right back." She didn't get a chance to leave.

"What is he doing here." The first words out of Ronald Weasley's mouth were unashamedly loud.

"Hi Ron, hey Hermione. How's London?" Ginny ignored her brother, kissing Hermione on the cheek.

"Ginny. What is that slimy son of a Death Eater doing in your house." Ron narrowed his eyes as Hermione whispered something sharp into his ear.

Draco tried his hardest to maintain composure. "Just like old times, isn't it," he said.

Ginny was trying her hardest to glare in two directions at once. "Oh please, let's not get into this. Let's be civil." It wasn't enough.

"You know he would have killed you-"

"He wouldn't have! He could have killed Dumbledore but he didn't, he only joined the Death Eaters because he had to protect his family! Now stop being so mean, Ron!" Ginny had finally found someone to defend, but it was the wrong person and she looked like she was about to cry.

Draco remembered why the Malfoys looked down on families like the Weasleys. Some people just didn't understand how to behave in public. "Ginevra, thank you for having me, but I know when I'm not wanted. Your home is lovely." Draco gave a short, elegant bow, and took the high road with him.

"Ron, I see Angela and Fred over by the punch. Why don't you go talk to them," Hermione said firmly, and pushed her husband back into the house.

Hermione took Draco's vacated seat and put her arm around Ginny. She sighed, and smiled at the forest of vines and tall grass in front of her. "I've got to bring Crookshanks here some time. He'd love it."

Ginny sniffed. "Course he would." They sat together in silence for a time, feeling each other's warmth.

"You love my brother, right? You still love Ron?" Ginny asked suddenly.

Hermione laughed. "Of course I do. Why else would I put up with him?"

"Well…" Ginny looked down at her feet, at her still-slender ankles. "I don't know. I mean, you know that Harry would have married you if you wanted him. I know that. You're… you're his equal, Hermione, and I'm just –"

"Ginny! Don't you ever think that. Sure, we're friends, we're really good friends, but Harry loves you. He loves you."

"Then why isn't he here? Why isn't he ever here? I thought we'd – I thought that now that… Voldemort is gone, maybe we'd have a normal life. I thought that was what he wanted. I thought we'd be happy. But he's never here, always on missions that he can't tell me about, or down at the Ministry, or –"

"Oh honey, that's normal for Harry. He's never had a normal life; he doesn't know what that is. He's a hero, he needs to be out there, fighting evil, saving the world. That's part of why you fell in love with him. I know it's hard, it's… it's really hard to let someone go out there for you, when you know you can't be there with him. But he loves you, you know that."

"Yeah, I guess I do." Ginny wiped a single tear with her sleeve.

Hermione smiled. "Why don't you clean yourself up, give yourself as long as you want. I need to make sure Ron-ron doesn't get into any trouble." The older girl stood up and patted Ginny on the shoulder. "You're going to be ok. Don't worry."

Ginny lay her head in her palms. Harry was gone, Ron was angry, Draco was probably plotting something and Hermione couldn't quite assuage her fears. Just like old times,indeed.