Chapter 14 –Guest Relations

Life settled back into routine after their return from Bulgaria. Luna was now five months pregnant and her latest checkup showed everything was fine. She'd decided on a home birth and they hired a midwife who was well experienced in delivering babies with high magic potential. The midwife, Calla, was a bit surprised at their unique family at first, but soon adjusted when she saw how much Charlie and Ginny both cared. She had yet to meet Viktor, but had seen his picture in the living room.

Viktor's season started well with Bulgaria winning their first two games. Quality Quidditch Supplies was steaming along and turning a large and steady prophet. The Quibbler's office add-on was complete and subscription values were closing in on the Prophet. Charlie's job remained unchanged, as he enjoyed his position and had declined another opportunity to move into management. Back at home everyone was content, although Viktor was missed. Charlie had plans to visit him in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime Luna was more than willing to help ease his frustration.

Two weeks after their trip to Bulgaria, Ginny and her family welcomed Liam Greenworth into their home. The old man had been due the week previously, but had been delayed by a cyclone in Malaysia. He was only in country for nine days and appreciated Ginny's offer of a place to stay. She hadn't informed him of her unique family and was a bit anxious as she arranged fresh flowers and prepared the guest room for him. Realizing her lover's mood, Luna left the kitchen and came to check on Ginny. A few words of encouragement and a good snog settled Ginny's nerves as she finished with the guest room and went to help Luna and Charlie with the prep work for dinner. An hour later, Liam arrived on time via floo and Ginny, Luna and Charlie were all waiting for him. Ginny stepped forward and embraced the old man who she had become good friends with.

"Hi Liam. I'm glad you made it through finally. You're looking good. You don't fit in England though, too much tan."

Liam laughed. "Yes indeed, the beaches in Malaysia are much more conducive to a tan. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince my friends to move their anniversary party there. Now, how are you? This is a lovely looking home. And who is this behind you?"

"Come Liam, let me get you something to drink and I'll introduce you and explain."

Liam cocked an eyebrow at Ginny before asking for a scotch and settling into a couch. Ginny introduced her brother, which didn't surprise Liam as the relationship was obvious. Then she introduced Luna as her girlfriend. That made Liam choke on his scotch as his eyes traveled from Ginny to Luna's pregnant belly. Then he looked over at Charlie, who was smiling. Ginny put a hand on Liam's arm and began to explain her family situation. When she mentioned that Viktor Krum was Charlie's boyfriend and her lover, Liam put his scotch down and began to rub his face. Ginny finished her explanations and Liam sat back to absorb what he'd been told. After a minute he picked his scotch back up and downed the rest of it before finding his voice.

"Merlin's beard Ginny. You could have warned me somehow. Okay, I know that it's not something you can put in owl post, but still. Anyway, I guess you are all adults and you seem happy. I can't say I fully understand, but it's not really my concern. As long as you're happy, I'll adjust. I do try to be progressive."

"Thanks Liam. You are actually handling it quite well. Better than my parents at first. So you won't mind staying here? We don't have any strange rituals or wild parties. Unless you consider a Weasley family dinner wild, which they can sometimes be."

"No Ginny, I've got no worries staying here. I appreciate you and your family opening your home to me. Perhaps my scotch needs a refill though, to help the news settle a bit."

Charlie chuckled, summoned the scotch bottle and refilled Liam's glass. With their latest confessional round complete, the conversation switched to Liam as he told grand tales of his travels. As the evening progressed, they moved to the kitchen where the conversation continued while Ginny and Luna finished the last details for dinner. Soon dinner was served in the recently furnished dining room and Ginny began detailing the changes she had made with the shop. Liam was enthusiastic about the infusion of new ideas and products that Ginny was implementing and could hardly wait to visit. After dinner, Charlie left to do the cleanup while Ginny, Luna and Liam made their way back to the living room. Luna curled up next to Ginny and they gave little thought to the effect that their affectionate display was having on their guest. When Charlie returned from the kitchen Luna was wrapped in Ginny's arms and Ginny was stroking her hair. Charlie looked over at Liam and was surprised to see the old man smiling. Then Liam looked up and saw Charlie's questioning gaze and replied to him.

"Yes Charlie, I'm fine with them here like this. I don't think they even realize and it's quite obvious how much you all love each other. This is your home and I don't want you taking any special precautions around each other just because I'm here."

Ginny suddenly realized how she and Luna were arranged and smiled.

"Oh. You're right Liam, I hadn't realized. I was going to try to be more careful, but you've been so great I guess I forgot. So you don't mind us cuddling?"

"Again, it's your home Ginny. And the two of you are quite cute together."

With that said, the rest of the evening and Liam's visit passed with no further thought about treading carefully around their guest. The day after his arrival, Liam was off with friends for golf and dinner. The following day he had nothing planned and accompanied Ginny to the shop. When they first arrived, he was momentarily frozen in shock at the amount of changes. He quickly recovered and began to bounce around the store, taking in everything and marveling at all the new stock. Liam spent most of the day helping out in the store and a number of long standing customers were thrilled to see him. He left to meet up with friends in the mid-afternoon after praising Ginny's management and the success of the store. Ginny was relieved and felt a weight lifted off of her that she hadn't realized she was carrying. She had unconsciously been craving the approval of the man who had started the shop that was now hers.

Five days after Liam arrived, Charlie left to spend a weekend with Viktor in France between matches. Bulgaria was now at a 3-1 and were the odds on favorite to win their next match. Charlie hadn't seen his boyfriend in three weeks and was buzzing around the house with manic energy prior to his departure. Ginny, Luna and Liam laughed and tried to keep him distracted before his scheduled departure time. Finally it was time and Charlie hugged Ginny, kissed Luna soundly and then floo'd to the first connection point for his trip. Liam stood back and watched, shaking his head.

"That man is obviously in love. I thought he was going to grab a broom and fly there direct."

Ginny and Luna both laughed. In the days that Liam had been staying with them he had gone from reluctant acknowledgement to happy acceptance of their family.

Four days later Liam said his good-byes and left Ginny and her family as he headed to Brazil for the next leg of his travels. The English weather had started to wear on him and he claimed his tan was fading. His departure saw life settle back into routine for their family.