She couldn't believe what she was seeing, or rather, who she was seeing. So far, her reaction had been to just stare at her mother, and wonder what to do. Ever since getting disowned, her ability to believe in all sorts of things had diminished and expanded at unbelievable rates, so at times like this, she found it hard to breathe. Before she could even say a word, her mother suddenly walked up to her and hugged her tightly as if nothing had happened between them.
"Ginerva…. Oh my Ginny!" she cried out as the hug became much stronger, much to her surprise. The noises made in the background by the crowd didn't help her out at all. "Oh my beautiful baby…"
Gary was squashed between the two, but he didn't seem to mind. He looked up at Ginny and smiled, revealing some of his teeth. He enjoyed getting attention, regardless of who it was from.
Her mother appeared to have lost her words as all Ginny was hearing now was a bunch of mummers of incoherent sentences. But did it really matter? For some reason, she knew what her mother wanted to say, what she was telling her, because… she could still feel the bond between them.
Anger started to boil up inside of her. Doesn't that woman know what she has done to me? Her mind screamed. Doesn't she know how much I'm still hurting! Seeing her before her again was bringing a flood of memories back into her, memories of her childhood and her teenage years through to the time when she had been disowned. What worried her here was that the memories that were coming to her all had her mother in it.
She tried to hold back her tears as her mother went on about how awful and wrong she had been and how there was no way in the world that Ginny would forgive her. True that! Do I look like I want to forgive you! It had been well over a year since she had been disowned, but somewhere deep inside of Ginny, she found a voice telling her that it wasn't so true anymore, that she was once again part of a family again.
But that's crazy! One side of her told herself. My mother doesn't want me! She's lying to me! Her mother seemed so sincere though. Unknowingly, her anger began to abate and she found herself relaxing to her mother's hold, her loving hold.
"I was so stupid… I'm so sorry! You were… You're my only daughter! I didn't want a mess of anything to happen within my family… Where is my grandson? I need to see him! Gary is it?"
Ginny chuckled much to her own surprise and so immediately covered it up with a cough. "He's in between us." She hesitantly parted from her mother, surprising herself, and was suddenly wary of the crowd, if not already there, forming around them. "Do you see him?"
"Why don't we go somewhere private?" Hermione suddenly suggested, as Mrs. Weasley stared at Gary like he was an angel. Ginny had forgotten Hermione was here with her. "I don't like that we are being watched…"
"Come with me." Mrs. Weasley said. "Come to our tent."
She walked pretty fast, causing Ginny and Hermione to pick up their pace to catch up with her. Her mother was just the way Ginny remembered, except older. She found herself surprised once again when she realised that her mother was wearing the same dress from the day when she had been disowned. Coincidence much? Did this mean that everything was going to be reversed?
Her breathing suddenly felt more normal as she felt cool air seep into her nose. She was breathing somewhat normally again.
"The whole family missed you Ginny!" her mother began. "I know you don't want to forgive us that easily after all we did… I'd understand you for that- but I never meant to do what I had done!"
The three took a turn around a tent and ignored some of the wizards who wanted Hermione's autograph. Hermione did end up signing her name on one of the wizard's arm, causing the herd of men to all attack the poor man out of jealousy.
"Your pregnancy just came as a shock to me and I didn't know how to react." Mrs. Weasley said, as she suddenly turned around to look at Ginny. She had stopped walking. "What happened to you had reminded me of what happened to myself all those years ago when I was pregnant with Bill. I was reminded of the hardship I had to go through and what I had to do to get married to Arthur, your father. It was all very, very difficult. I didn't want somebody else- especially somebody in my family to go through the same thing." She attempted to touch Ginny's cheek but pulled her hand back as if Ginny's skin were going to burn her. "After a while, I realised that I have in fact, unknowingly caused you pain, that I've put you through what my mother has done. Ginny, you're my daughter. I can't be called a mother to you after what I had done-"
"Mum." Ginny said, the word sounding so foreign to her as she hadn't said that word to her own mother in ages. She found herself wondering if maybe she should just let the thing go, what had happened to her. "Don't say that. I don't know what has happened to you throughout your whole life, but there must be a reason for everything right? I would never understand why you did what you did to me, but if I had gone though whatever ordeal you must have gone through, I might as well have done the same." She paused for a moment. "Mum. I know about Bill… that you had him out of wedlock."
The atmosphere around them loosened the tenseness. The crowd didn't seem as annoying and as loud as before.
Mrs. Weasley sighed before it was quickly replaced by shock. "When have you gotten so forgiving? You hadn't been like this before… And Bill… yes Bill… Did you know he doesn't belong to your father?"
Ginny didn't know how the anger that had formed within her had suddenly dissipated. The pieces of her anger that fell to the ground transformed into curiosity and shock and began to fix themselves up into a new picture. No wonder dad was always extra cautious whenever he dealt with Bill... She wanted to say more to her mother but found herself speechless as she saw the only red hair in a sea of browns, blacks and blonds walking towards them.
"Mum, dad's looking for you-" Ron began before he stopped talking as he caught sight of Hermione and herself.
An awkward silent passed by, put aside the noise made by the crowd.
"What are you doing here?" He suddenly continued with a frown. It wasn't clear if he was talking about Hermione or Ginny.
Ginny was about to come up with a remark to hit back at him but he suddenly smiled and came up to her to hug her. She couldn't remember the last time he had hugged her.
"Ronald! Get off me!" Ginny said, with a hidden smile as a sudden thought came to her. Was life telling her to forgive her family? Was life deciding that she had had enough and that it would give her a better one?
"I guess we are all cool now, right?" he asked. "We've missed you."
Ginny's jaw dropped. You're not going to get away that easily! "You haven't even apologised to me yet!"
He stared at her before smiling, his familiar goofy grin. "Oh right. I'm sorry. Really."
Ginny attempted to cross her arms but couldn't as she Gary was in her arms. Gary appeared to have forgotten about the first encounter he had had with his uncle, back in the clothes store. He was staring at Ron curiously, who looked back at him with an attempt of a smile. At least he's trying to be nice to him…
"What for?" Ginny asked.
"For hurting you and getting rid of you and calling Gary things I shouldn't have said." He gave her another grin, a weak grin. "It hasn't been the same at home since you left. Everybody's missed you. Especially me."
Five minutes later, they ended up inside the Weasley's tent. It was just as Ginny had remembered, being part of the family, except she didn't feel comfortable, or part of it, as she hadn't been really part of one for so long.
She looked over at Hermione who was stuck in a conversation with Ron. He seemed to be questioning her about Krum as she heard his name every now and then. She began to feel worried as Hermione was at a fragile state, and hoped that Ron used to right words, nor touched a delicate subject.
"It hasn't been going well lately for Harry and Luna." Mrs. Weasley suddenly said, sitting next to her on the bed. She made it seem as if everything was back to normal, although Ginny hadn't accepted that… yet. "Relationship-wise."
Ginny could feel her mother's eyes on Gary, making her think that maybe it was all right for Gary to greet his grandmother one time. She lifted him up and offered her mother to hold him.
"Really?" Mrs. Weasley gasped.
Ginny smiled. "Of course."
She hadn't seen her mother so happy nor smiling like that in a long time. To be honest, she hadn't seen her smiling like that ever since the days before the family disowned her. Gary didn't seem so comfortable in a 'strangers' arms but he seemed to know who she was as he was calling her 'mummy mummy'.
The comment her mother had made suddenly came back to her again. What's this about Harry and Luna?
"Mum. What did you mean when you said that Harry and Luna haven't been doing so well? Um, relationship-wise."
"Well, Luna has been seeing someone else lately." She began, beaming brightly as Gary gave her a kiss on the cheek. She then frowned disapprovingly as she thought about something.
Ginny shook her head. Impossible. "No, that can't be true. It's the other way around. I've seen the evidence. Harry's a bastard."
"Who's a bastard?" Ron suddenly asked, breaking away from his conversation with Hermione.
Hermione looked relieved.
"I wasn't talking about you Ronald." Ginny muttered.
He made a funny face at her that made her laugh. Was life really returning back to normal? Or was this all just a dream? She was surprised that her mother hadn't commented on her use of language like she used to in the past. Maybe it was because all of her attention on Gary.
"Really?" her mother cocked her head. "But haven't you read the papers lately?"
"Mum, we all know that Harry is the saviour of the world, but his action doesn't make him a rightful man in any other sense. I don't like how people are always expecting him to be the good guy for it or judge him based on the act that we are all so very thankful for. But he hadn't done it alone right? Hermione and Ron had been there too, but nobody seems to take that in really or take it for granted. Everybody is giving Harry all of the credit. And then there was us, the Lovegoods, and the Malfoys even. There were loads of people! I think that people should be judged based on what one is doing, and not what one has done."
Her mother nodded.
"Well, you do have a point there. And speaking about the papers… How's Hermione doing?" Her mother had brought her voice down to the lowest level of whispers so that Hermione wouldn't hear. "I saw what happened between her husband and another lady earlier today. He disappeared soon after the match though. He probably left with that scarlet woman somewhere. Nasty man. He doesn't deserve a brilliant woman like Hermione. And what about their twins? Doesn't he feel ashamed at all?"
Ginny sighed. "Let's just say that she's at a very fragile state. Just keep her happy for now. I don't want her doing something stupid." She thought about the latter of her mother's sentence. "And I don't think Krum left off with that fucking whore at the end of the match." He had come back home to Hermione.
It felt strange talking to her mother again since their relationship had shattered to an incredible state, but she knew that she was going to get used to it soon. It was going to be hard to fix up the broken strings whilst also trying to get used to the sudden change in how she was being treated. But whatever had happened in the past must have happened for a reason. And like Blaise had said, what has happened in the past stays in the past. Move on, and get over it.
"Um, mum? Do you know where Luna is?" Ginny decided to ask.
Her mother was currently paying attention to Gary, so she hadn't heard her.
"Um, mum? Hello? I'm going to go out to look for Luna."
"Oh. Okay sure. Can I keep Gary here?"
She nodded.
She checked on Gary and Hermione one last time before leaving the tent. She knew that Gary was in safe hands, even if it was her mother, but wasn't too sure on leaving Hermione alone… with Ron. Where was Pansy and their kid anyway? Shawn was it? She looked around her carefully and later saw that Pansy was indeed here in the far back of the tent, feeding Shawn. After tugging with her thoughts for a few more seconds, she decided that she could risk leaving Hermione for a bit.
She took a step outside and saw that the sky was starting to glow a darker shade of warm colours. Some parts of the sky was already invaded by darker colours and she thought that she could see some bits of what appeared to be metal pieces sprinkled in the edges of the sky's sheets. Beautiful she thought.
She walked around here and there and ignored the whispers and pointing made by some of the people who recognised who she was. Hearing someone mention how nobody knew who Gary's father was hurt her, but the results were going to be out soon, so that was something to keep her spirits up.
Turning around a corner, she found herself walking up a hill, and when she got to the top, she saw the whole view of the campsite. The stadium was a kilometre or so away from the site and she could see a silhouette of millions of tiny people making their way here and there like ants. It was then that she spotted a place that looked like a make do restaurant and decided to see if Luna could be there, because she had a feeling that she was.
She was right. Long dirty blonde hair could be seen, even from the entrance where she was standing. Ginny took a couple of steps forward before stopping and was surprised to see that Luna had company, not in the bad sense in anyway. It was a curious sight because the person who was with her wasn't Harry Potter. What came as an even bigger surprise was that fact that she was accompanied by Draco Malfoy, and his son, Scorpius, who appeared to be attempting baby talk with Lily.
Where is Harry?
"Hello Ginny." Luna said.
Ginny blinked and was surprised as she hadn't realised that she had made her way towards them.
"What brings you here?" she continued.
"I was just looking for you since I wanted to… hang out with you." Ginny said. "It's been so long since we last hung out." She turned her body a bit so that she could face Draco Malfoy politely. "Hello Mr. Malfoy."
He didn't look too comfortable seeing her and appeared to be rather embarrassed. Ginny figured that it was because he was remembering his accusation of her knowing of Branimir's apparent murders that had ended in failure.
"Hi." He muttered.
Ginny looked at Scorpius and found that he looked just like Draco, except, better looking if that was even possible. The only difference between the two was that Scorpius possessed greyish green eyes instead of stormy grey eyes like Draco. Scorpius appeared to be happier too. Maybe it was because he hadn't been tainted by the war at all.
"Your son's grown a lot." Ginny said. "He's gotten quite bigger and better looking!"
"He can only take after the father." Draco said with a smirk.
"Ginny, why don't you take a seat?" Luna asked, pushing a seat towards her with her hands. "Do mind the nargles though. I've already lost both of my heels to them."
"Thanks for the reminder."
She looked at the two babies and saw that they got along really well. It reminded her much of the close bond between Gary and Viktoria, even if they did appear to have their occasional fights here and there. A sudden thought came to her. What if Luna and Draco got together? Lily and Scorpius wouldn't be able to exactly get together then if they were older. But they weren't blood related… that would give them a chance.
"Did you know that Harry Potter is going to get married again?" Draco suddenly asked Ginny.
Ginny blinked. "What?"
"Harry Potter is getting married." He said, as his metallic eyes gleamed a stormy colour. "He's engaged. To some heiress."
"Pfft. I heard what you said! I was just surprised…" She looked uneasily at Luna who seemed unfazed by Draco's comment. Oh Merlin… "But isn't he married to Luna?"
Draco looked at her like she was an idiot. "Where have you been for the past week? They got a divorce! I thought that you knew! It was quick and easy with me helping out here and there and- wait. Right. I forgot. You were away during that time. Can't believe so much can happen in the space of three days."
"In a day actually." Ginny mumbled. First the incident with Blaise earlier, then the announcement that Hermione wanted a divorce, then her sudden family reunion, and now Luna.
"Come again?" Draco muttered.
"Nothing. But really." Ginny looked at Luna. "Are you all right?"
"Never been better." She said. "Life with Harry Potter has been miserable." She sighed. "I remember back before the war was over, when Harry had been his normal self. He had been such a great guy… a nice and humble person." She looked at Ginny. "He's such a different person now. Can't believe a person can change so much just like that."
"Well, you've changed too in a way." Ginny said. "You just aren't you anymore."
Luna sighed. "I guess that's what you get when you hang around Harry Potter."
"You two done with your chit chat?" Draco asked. "I'm here too!"
Ginny looked at the blond man and wondered if he was still after Branimir. She didn't want to question him in fear that he would be suspicious of her, because if he questioned her now, she was afraid that she might spill something because she knew more than she had before.
They continued to talk for a bit but were later interrupted when Lily dropped something that she had been using whilst playing with Scorpius. Ginny offered to pick it up and bent down when she noticed a rose and a small box by Draco's feet and the fact that Luna was currently barefoot. Must be for Luna she thought with a smile. She picked up the action figure that turned out to be ironically Viktor Krum, and gave it back to the kids.
"Where's your kid?" Draco asked. "Gary is it?"
"He's with his grandmother."
Draco spat out his drink. "But I thought-"
"I know. We made up. Well. Sort of did." Ginny muttered. "Strange right?"
"You… You... forgave… her?" He looked as if he had heard the most ludicrous thing ever.
"Not yet. Not really. Do you think I should?"
"Fu- God no." Draco had just remembered that there were kids here.
"But… I don't know. I think I should. She's my mother."
"Just do what you feel is right." Luna said. "Do what you feel is best. If you think you should forgive her then do so. I always forgive people, regardless of the matter."
"That's great to know, Lu," Draco muttered. He looked at Ginny. "If you want my advice, just ignore her and make her feel bad for treating you like that the past year. You don't deserve to be treated like shi- treated badly."
There was a sudden silent moment.
"Do you still play Quidditch, Ginny?" Luna suddenly asked.
Ginny blinked. "No. I haven't played in ages."
"Speaking about Quidditch, the head of the game has come up with this retarded mandatory rule." Draco said. "More of an experiment actually in my opinion."
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, suddenly curious.
Draco scoffed. "The head's stipulated certain conditions where the players of every team participating in this world tour event aren't allowed any contact with any close members of their family. This will last throughout the whole period of the world tour thing. It's supposedly a test to see whether the idea that no distractions can produce an amazing performance from a player is true or not. Fucking ridiculous in my opinion. "
Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh my God! But- But that's just crazy! How could the head be so cruel?"
"Exactly my point! Who'd come up with that?" Draco slammed the table with his hands, causing people to stare at them. The kids looked at him with a frightened look on their faces. He muttered a quick apology and told them to look away before continuing. "I'm going to do something about this. I've got my contacts to get that sorted. Get the arsehole fired."
A thought came to Ginny as Luna casted a spell to get the kids to forget that they heard the swear words. Maybe that's why Viktor hadn't responded to Hermione in any way… Should I tell her about it?
Music suddenly began to play in the background. The romantic kind. The noise somehow managed to outperform the noises made outside. Ginny noticed that Draco was staring at Luna.
"Would you like to dance with me?" Draco asked her, offering his hand.
"What about Lily and Scorpius?" Luna asked. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks.
"I'll watch them for you." Ginny said. "I'll take them back with me to my mother's tent if you want. You know, get them to meet Gary."
"I'm not so sure…" Luna muttered.
"You two can be alone then." Ginny winked.
"Sure, sure." Draco said eagerly, before clearing his throat. "See you later then."
Ginny picked Lily up and held her at her hips before holding Scorpius' hand. They waved Draco and Luna goodbye before making their way to the tent. Ginny managed to take a peak behind her and saw that Draco was absolutely over the moon for Luna. She shook her head. Could love make you go crazy like that?
The thought brought Blaise to mind, but she shook it away. What does he have to do with anything? She thought, scolding herself.
"Hey, you're back!" Her mother greeted. She looked at the two kids with her and gulped. "Are they yours too Ginny?"
Ginny laughed, almost dropping Lily. Hahahaha! Ginny laugh in her mind when her physical laughing stopped. Mum's just gotten over everything and accepted Gary. I wonder what she must have thought when she saw me walking in with these two kids! "No! Mum! Honestly! I don't go sleeping around! Do they even look like me?"
"Who are they then?" Ron asked, also looking worried.
"This is Lunily, Luna's girl," Ginny said, purposely leaving out Harry's name. "And this is Scorpius, Draco's boy."
"What a fine looking boy he is." Pansy suddenly said, somehow noticing how good looking he was even from the far back where she was.
"I know!" Hermione said, bending down to his level. "May I give you a hug?"
Scorpius giggled and nodded, laughing when Hermione picked him up.
"Are you two going to stay here?" Her mother asked, Hermione and herself. "I can get more beds over then."
"Yeah we are." Ginny said, forgetting to think about Hermione. Woops. Oh well, I've made a decision for us so it's too late to back out now!
One day in a Quidditch centred place wouldn't hurt Hermione too much right? She could calm down and get over it… hopefully… eventually.
The results day was starting to draw closer and this dawned on Ginny as she sat down. Still holding Lily, she looked at Gary who was now in Ron's arms and smiled half heartedly, hoping that whatever the result was, that everything was going to be all right. The experience Gary had with both Branimir and Blaise… she hoped it was going to help Gary grow up to be a good man, regardless of the family history behind the two men.
"Yuck." Hermione said, although laughter was written all over her face. "Scorpius just pooped in his pants! His pants are all mushy!"
Everybody began to laugh.
"Isn't anybody going to clean him up?" Ron suddenly asked as the laughter began to die down. "All of you women have kids right? Somebody change the diapers!"
"Poo poo!" Scorpius giggled, causing another round of giggles and chuckles.
A/N Another update! Hope you enjoyed this one too! Results day is getting closer! Excited? Flames and reviews both accepted. Happy New Year everybody!