Chapter 8

Ginny woke late the next morning feeling groggy. One of the worst effects of the sleeping potion was the fog you felt the next morning but luckily she hadn't dreamt any more. However, try as she might, she couldn't forget the nightmare she had had.

She struggled out of bed and checked the clock. It was already half past noon. Picking up her wand she quickly straightened out her matted hair and decided to head downstairs before getting ready. Her mother probably would have tried to wake her and would have noticed the empty potion bottle.

She entered the kitchen but found it empty which wasn't surprising since breakfast was long over. The back door was half open so she decided to check outside. Her hunch proved correct as she was soon able to see the boys hovering high up in the air on brooms. On the ground, she found her mother and Hermione talking as they sat in chairs and drank some lemonade.

"Morning," Ginny said sheepishly as she got closer.

They both turned to look at her with varying expressions of worry on their faces.

"Hey Gin. We were wondering if you were ever going to get up. How are you feeling?" Hermione asked trying to sound normal. While it was a perfectly normal question, it was obvious that there was more behind it.

"I'm fine. I guess I just really needed the sleep," she answered taking a seat next to her. Her mother looked at her skeptically but chose not to comment. One thing that Ginny appreciated about her family was that they were all too happy to ignore unpleasantness if they could, especially when it came to Ginny.

"Well, you missed breakfast but I'll be making some sandwiches for lunch soon. And then tonight everyone is coming over for dinner of course," her mother said instantly going into preparation mode as she began to list off all the things she would need to do.

Ginny had forgotten that it was Sunday in her grogginess this morning. Without wanting to draw suspicion she tried to ask casually, "So, who's coming to dinner?"

"Oh, you know, the family of course. And I believe Kingsley said he may come by if he has time. And Harry invited Draco and then there's Hermione and I think that's it," her mother replied not at all noticing the way Ginny's face bloomed with red at the mention of Draco's name. Hermione, on the other hand, did notice that something was amiss but couldn't place it.

"Oh, ok," Ginny answered trying to sound normal. Luckily she was saved from having to carry on a conversation by the boys flying over to the chairs. However, she was nervous to see that one of them was Harry. Her mind quickly drew up images of the dream she had had but she quickly shook them away and put a smile on her face.

"Hey babe," he said wiping the sweat from his brow as he smiled at her. He then came over and gave her a peck on the lips. She returned the smile but couldn't bring herself to say more than hello.

"Mum, when's lunch going to be ready? I'm starving!" said Ron as he pulled off his keeper helmet.

"Honestly Ronald, you would think I didn't feed you the way you're always going on about food. I'll go make you all something now," she said getting to her feet. Hermione and Ginny also got up as they collected the cups and pitcher from the table and followed Mrs. Weasley inside.

Ginny dumped her cup in the sink and went to head back upstairs to get ready until she felt someone grab her hand. She spun around to find Harry giving her a very serious look.

"We need to talk," he said simply. Without another word he led her upstairs to her bedroom. Her heart began to race and her mind spun. Could he possibly know about the dream she had last night? Or maybe he knew about her dream of Draco? Could Draco have said something about her that made him angry?

When they entered the room he let go of her hand and she closed the door reluctantly. Turning back to him she waited for him to say something. Instead of saying something he turned to the bed and grabbed the empty potion bottle that had been left there.

"Gin, what's going on? You haven't had to use this in months," he said showing her the empty bottle. Inwardly she sighed in relief. He was only worried about the potion so he had no idea about anything else.

"It's nothing Harry. I just had a bad nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep so I thought it couldn't hurt," she replied happy that at least she didn't lie though she felt bad for withholding the dream from him. But what would it accomplish besides starting a fight?

He looked at her skeptically, almost the way her mother had, but like her mother he didn't press her for the truth. She had come to the conclusion that none of them actually wanted to hear the truth when they asked her a question. They just wanted to hear what they wanted to hear.

"Ok, but if it happens again talk to me first. You know I'm always just a floo away and I'm always here for you. I love you, Gin."

The way he looked at her caused a knot to form in her stomach. He was telling the truth when he said he loved her, that much was clear. He had no idea of the traitorous thoughts that were going through her heart and head. He had no idea of the lust she felt for another man. He simply loved her purely. A part of her hated him for his blindness and another was thankful for it.

"I know. I love you too Harry," she said walking over to him and embracing him in a hug. His arms quickly wrapped around her and for a moment she felt safe and happy and all her thoughts of dreams and Draco disappeared.

She pulled back slightly and looked up into his earnest face. This was the man she was supposed to be with. She was sure of it. As if to prove it to herself, she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down into a deep and passionate kiss.

Her tongue mingled with his knowing exactly where to go and anticipating his moves before he even made him. She was not surprised to find herself picked up and laying on her back on her bed with Harry leaning on top of her. She savored in the feel of his body rubbing against hers and smirked slightly when she felt his member harden against her stomach. Despite her other thoughts, there was still something empowering about knowing that she had finally gotten what she wanted for all those years.

They would have gone further had they not heard steps coming up the stairs and George's voice outside the door.

"Oy, lovebirds! Mom says lunch is almost ready. So stop snogging and get downstairs or I may be inclined to secretly coat your food in Canary Crème."

They both sighed as the broke apart but it was a content sigh. There was always another time to be together. There was never any rush with them.

"You go downstairs. I'm just going to get dressed really quickly," she said getting off the bed and heading to her dresser.

"Ok, just don't take too long or Ron will have eaten it all," Harry said giving her a smile as he headed out of her room and downstairs.

Once Harry left the room she took off her pajamas that were still slightly sticky from her sweaty nightmare and tossed them in the hamper. She then pulled on an old Quidditch uniform hoping to get in some flying after lunch and before everyone came for dinner last night. Of course, this brought her to thinking about Draco.

There would be no way to avoid him tonight without causing suspicion so she would just have to act completely unaffected. And besides, after she had seen him with Daphne yesterday there was no way she would be flirting with him anymore. It was just a stupid crush and she would have to get over it.

She felt instantly free the second her feet left the ground as she zoomed off into the sky on her Nimbus 2001. Harry had bought her it for last Christmas. He had wanted to buy her a Firebolt but she had insisted that it would have been too much and that she wanted the Nimbus instead. Either way, it was by far the fastest and best broom she had ever ridden.

As she soared higher and higher into the sky she felt all of her worries leave her. This was always the way it was with her and flying and it was why she had really picked it up after her first year at Hogwarts. She looked down to the ground and found that she had gone much higher than she normally would but didn't let it concern her. Up here she could forget all about her family and Harry and Draco. Up here she was just Ginny.

She spent the better part of the hour just flying around, practicing barrel rolls and sudden stops when she heard a commotion on the ground. She looked down to see Hermione yelling something at Ron and then running off towards the house. Ginny flew closer to the ground and could see that Ron looked like a ghost had just passed through him. She landed on the ground near him but he didn't seem to notice her. He just kept staring ahead blankly.

"Ron?" she asked walking slowly towards him. She reached her hand out and grabbed his shoulder. This seemed to jolt him out of whatever trance he was in.

"Gin," he croaked.

"Ron, what's wrong? What did Hermione say?" she questioned getting a little worried.

"She's pregnant," he answered with both awe and horror in his voice. Ginny's eyes went wide and she gasped a little.

"What? Is she sure?"

"Huh? Yeah, I think so. She got mad at me for playing around with her and she's been kind of moody lately so I asked her what her problem was. And then she burst out crying and you know how I hate it when girls cry. But when I went to comfort her she got all mad at me and then yelled out that she hated me and she was pregnant."

Ron still looked confused and scared. He starred at Ginny and his eyes were begging her to say something to help him.

"Ron, this is wonderful news! Don't be so upset. You love Hermione and to be honest, I'm not sure why you haven't married her already. You're going to be a father!" she said giving him a hug. It took a moment but he finally relaxed and returned the sentiment. Then he burst out with a little laugh that then became beaming smile.

"Gin! I'm going to be a father!" he said ecstatically.

"Congrats Ron! Now, you should probably go talk to Hermione and tell her how happy you are."

"Yeah, I'm gonna do that right now!"

With a determined march and a spring in his step, Ron turned towards the house and headed inside after her.

Ginny considered following but instead chose to stay outside for a bit. She lay down in the grass and stared up at the sky considering everything. Hermione was only a year older than Ginny and she was pregnant. She was sure that Ron and Hermione would get married soon which would only make her mother start to push her more into marriage with Harry. She didn't really have a good reason why she didn't want to marry Harry except that she felt like she wasn't ready. There was so much more she had wanted to do with her life and getting married and having a baby were not her top priorities. She sighed knowing there was nothing to be done about it—her mother would push her and she would have to push back until she was ready.

A/N: Sorry that this chapter doesn't include the dinner but it was getting kind of long and I realized I hadn't posted anything in a while and didn't want to leave you all waiting. I promise that next chapter will have more Ginny/Draco action!