Nearly two hours had passed since Harry had returned home and still their conversation loomed. While each was anxious to talk about the things they'd thought about and come to some decisions on during their time apart, each was slightly wary about voicing those opinions to the other. What if they didn't agree? After a long hot shower, Ginny fixed Harry dinner before dragging him into their bedroom. She claimed that she'd meant for them to talk before giving into their urges, but Harry didn't remember a conversation ever starting before they found themselves naked in bed together. Now sated and longing to just remain in the warm bed with Ginny in his arms, Harry had to force himself up. He pulled on clean clothes and threw some at Ginny as well and said, "Get dressed."

"Why?" Ginny asked brazenly as she sat up in bed, stretching, yawning and giving Harry a marvelous view.

Harry smirked at Ginny, bed-headed and still very naked and said, "Because I won't be able to concentrate on our conversation if you don't cover up. You are entirely too tempting after three days apart."

"I thought I was entirely too tempting all the time," Ginny replied sassily.

"You are, but even more so since I was forced to be separated from my new bride for three whole days," Harry said.

"Not to mention the nights," Ginny added with a grin.

"Stop taunting me and get dressed," Harry said with a laugh.

Ginny pulled on her clothes and followed Harry back out to their sitting area in front of the fire. They settled on the couch so they were facing each other and Ginny watched him as he alternately ran his hands through his hair and rubbed absently at a scar on the back his hand. Wanting to put him at ease, Ginny took his hands in her own and said, "Just tell me. We might be thinking the same things."

Harry smiled softy at her, drew in a deep breath and asked, "What would you think if I said I wasn't sure I wanted to be an Auror anymore?"

"First, I would jump up and down and scream with delight. Then, I would tell you that I only want you to do things that make you happy and if being an Auror isn't making you happy then you should find something else to do," Ginny said. "Why, do you think you want to quit being an Auror?"

"Yes, well…I don't know," Harry fumbled. "Part of me still has a very deep draw to the job; but this time, while I was out on the mission I was miserable the entire time. That isn't to say that next time I wouldn't enjoy it again. All I could think about was how we are newlyweds and we're supposed to be together, so what was I doing in this freezing cold tent with Noah? Then I thought about all the other events that will happen in our marriage that I don't want to miss because I'm out on a mission. I don't want to miss any birthdays or anniversaries or any of our children being born or taking their first steps or saying their first words because I'm off chasing bad guys. I may have thought I wanted to be an Auror to keep making the world a safer place for those that I love, but what good is it if I am too busy to actually spend time with my loved ones? I had a hand in vanquishing the worst of the bad guys, maybe that's enough." He was quiet for a moment before adding, "I can't stomach the idea that I could get killed out a mission leaving you to raise our family on your own. I know all too well what it is to grow up with out parents; I don't want that for our children. I want to be with you forever and sometimes even that doesn't feel like long enough."

"You just voiced every worry I've had over the last three days," Ginny said miserably. "You've gone on missions before, but this time felt different. This time, because you're my husband, I was that much more worried that I'd never see you again. I was sick with worry. It was miserable."

"So you wouldn't mind if I decided to give it up?" Harry asked sounding surprised.

"Not at all, why would you even think that I would?" Ginny asked. "I mean, if it was making you happy to be an Auror I would do my best to put on a brave face and support your decision, but I'd be miserable the whole time. I love the idea of you not being an Auror, of not being in constant danger…"

"I thought you might see me as a quitter or cowardly. Hermione seemed to think that my being the heroic type was part of my appeal for you," Harry said.

"Harry, you will always be the heroic type even if you quit being an Auror," Ginny reassured him. Then carefully, she confessed, "Over the last three days I tried to think of how I could ask you to give up being an Auror. I felt like there was a hint of doubt or unhappiness in the messages you sent me and I could only hope that you realized too that our marriage is going to suffer too much if we're always apart. I can't live the rest of my life in constant fear of whether or not you're coming back to me. I felt like it would be unfair of me to ask and so I'm overjoyed that you suggested it first."

"I'm so glad that you are okay with me giving it up. Now I feel like I can really consider some of the alternatives I came up with," Harry said brightly.

"What have you come up with so far?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Well, I could follow you around and be your groupie," Harry suggested with a wink.

"And my sex slave," Ginny teased back. "But seriously, what are you thinking?"

Harry ruffled his hair some more, indicating to Ginny that he was nervous about sharing his idea. Eventually he stopped fidgeting and said, "I was thinking about asking McGonagall if I could teach all the DA classes full time next year."

"That's a great idea, Harry," Ginny said. "You're such a natural at teaching, especially when it something you are so passionate about. Plus, maybe teaching defense against the dark arts will help you feel like you are contributing in some small way to the war against evil."

"I'd never thought of it that way," Harry said. "I just reckoned I was kind of okay at it."

"You're amazing at it," Ginny said encouragingly. "I've learned more this year in your class than I ever have before."

"You realize if she says yes we'll be living here during the school years?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Ginny said, "I think it would be kind of amazing to live here as an adult. Besides, I can come and go from here for my Quidditch practices and matches and we can live at Grimmauld Place in the summers. As long as we're together and we're both happy, I don't care where we are."

"You're amazing, do you know that?" Harry asked as he pulled her toward him and settled her on his lap.

"I know," Ginny said happily as she snuggled into his embrace. "Are there any other plans you've been thinking about?"

"Well, even though I'm going to ask to be taken off of active duty as an Auror I'm going to continue my training because Noah and Kingsley have been talking about stationing an Auror here at Hogwarts full time for added security. I'm going to suggest it be me if I'm already going to be here as a teacher," Harry said. "Then they don't have to sacrifice a real Auror from the front lines."

"Perfect," Ginny said. "Then you get to keep being an Auror in some small way."

"Yeah," Harry said. He was quiet again as he held her in his arms. Finally he asked, "What do you want to do next year if you don't get onto a professional quidditch team?"

"Are you doubting my skills Potter?" Ginny asked incredulously with a jab to his chest.

"Ouch, not at all," Harry said. "Those scouts are blind and completely mental if they can't see how talented you are. I'm just saying in the off chance that it doesn't happen, what would you want to do?"

"I don't know," Ginny said. "Sleep, knit, eat lots of chocolate, be your sex slave…"

"I meant once you were past the phase of mourning the loss of your Quidditch career," Harry said with a laugh.

"Maybe I could be an apprentice for Madame Pomfrey and then one day when she decides to retire I could take over," Ginny mused. "Or maybe Madame Hootch is thinking of retiring soon, I could take over reffing the Quidditch matches and teaching all the first years how to fly."

"Or Hagrid," Harry suggested in jest. "You could be responsible for keeping the next generation of trouble makers out of the Forbidden Forrest."

Ginny swatted him with her hand and laughed, "Can you imagine me trying to do Hagrid's job? No thanks."

"I didn't mean you had to think of something you could do at Hogwarts, I just meant in general, if you don't play Quidditch what would you like to do?" Harry asked seriously.

"I am interested in healing. After learning a bit about it last year I can see myself doing that as a career," Ginny said, "I would enjoy working at St. Mungo's and healing wizards."

"So the Madame Pomfrey idea was serious," Harry stated. "Good. I'm glad to know there are options. I want you to be happy too."

"I am happier than I've ever been in my life," Ginny said. "Mostly because of you."

"Me too," Harry said huskily as his fingers began to trace a pattern onto her upper thigh. "Anything else we need to discuss before I take you back to bed?"

"Babies," Ginny said bluntly.

"I thought you said you weren't pregnant," Harry said nervously as he eyed her abdomen and quickly withdrew his hand from her thigh.

"I'm not," Ginny said. "But after this little scare I think we need to talk discuss our actual timeline for kids. Then, we both need to be extra vigilant from now on about taking the potion until we reach that time."

"You've given this a lot of thought," Harry said somberly.

"Well, I had three days of worrying without you here to worry with me," Ginny said. "I'm pretty sure I covered every pro and con in my head many times over and at this point in our lives the cons outweigh the pros."

"I'd like to hear some of these pros and cons," Harry insisted.

"Okay," Ginny agreed. "Pros first. Babies are cute and cuddly and how could we not dearly love a little creature that we made together out of love? And now the cons, I want to play Quidditch professionally and I can't do that if we get pregnant right now. We're way too young to start a family and mostly, I'm not ready to share you, even with our children."

"That was your whole list?" Harry asked with an amused expression.

"No, those were the most important points," Ginny said. "Oh I forgot a very important con. Fleur will be furious if we have a child before she and Bill do."

"Really?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Haven't you noticed how competitive she is?" Ginny asked.

"Well, yeah, but I had no idea that people could be competitive about something like having a baby," Harry said.

"I'm just not ready yet and that is all that really matters," Ginny said.

"What would we have done if you were pregnant?" Harry asked interestedly.

"We would have accepted it and moved on with our lives. When the baby was born, we would have loved him or her with all of our hearts and it wouldn't matter that they had been unplanned," Ginny said firmly, conflicting emotions clear upon her face.

Awed by her words and the obvious thought and emotion she had invested in this while he was away, he pulled her tight against his chest and whispered, "I'm so sorry I was not here to deal with all of this with you. Next time, I promise that I will be."

"Hopefully next time we are in this situation, we will actually be wishing for a baby," Ginny said.

"Either way, I'll be there," Harry promised.

Ginny repositioned herself on Harry's lap so that she straddled him. She buried her face in his shoulder and let all the fear and worry out in a wave of tears. It had been an emotionally taxing three days and finally it was over. Harry just let Ginny cry as he held her, stroking her hair and rubbing her back. In the past, he was not good with girls crying and was thankful that Ginny was not terribly prone to tears, but tonight he understood that this is what she needed to do to get it out of her system. He understood that along with the elation of not being pregnant, there was a certain measure of sadness too and she needed to grieve. He was also a bit sad too, for now, let go of the images in his head of he and Ginny with a baby.

When she stopped crying, she was utterly still for several moments and Harry wondered if she'd fallen asleep. He was about to ask her when he felt her lips against his neck and her hands threading into his hair to hold him in place. Her lips made their way to his and he eagerly kissed her back. He rose off the couch with a firm grip under Ginny's bottom. She wrapped her legs around him and moved her lips back to his neck so he could maneuver them into their bedroom. "Gin, weren't we supposed to set some sort of timeline for having kids so that none of this would happen again?" Harry asked mischievously, he already felt certain of what her response would be.

"We'll figure it out later. Just shut-up and kiss me Harry," Ginny demanded as she impeded all further conversation by kissing him roughly.

Harry needed no further invitation. He settled himself on the edge of their bed and lay back, letting Ginny remain on top. She pulled away from him and removed the shirt that she hadn't bothered to put a bra on beneath. "Merlin, I missed you," Harry groaned as he reached for her.

"What, you've missed me since we made love an hour ago?" Ginny asked saucily.

"That too, but I meant while I was gone," Harry said. "Did I tell you that Noah said I talked about you in my sleep every night?"

Ginny blushed and asked, "Do I want to know what you had to say about me in your sleep?"

"He wouldn't even repeat it to me, so I'm guessing not," Harry said.

"Poor Noah," Ginny laughed.

"Poor me," Harry said as his hands explored the expanses of her bare chest. "For missing out on this for the last three nights."

"Harry," Ginny said as she slid her hands beneath his shirt.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Shut-up and make love to me," Ginny insisted.

"Yes Dear," Harry said with a grin.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

The next morning when Harry woke up with Ginny sleeping half on top of him he could only smile, despite how numb his right arm felt. As he lay there waking up and recalling their conversation from the night before, he knew that he was making the right decision. He wanted to wake up with Ginny every morning and go to bed with her every night. He didn't feel that giving up being an Auror was a sacrifice when it was to be with his wife. He had some business to attend to as soon as possible. As carefully as he could, he rolled out from beneath Ginny. He took a quick shower and pulled on a clean school uniform. It was quite early in the morning still but he felt sure that Headmistress McGonagall would be awake. While he doubted that Ginny would wake up before he returned, he wrote her a note and left it on his pillow. Quietly, he left their suite and walked toward McGonagall's office. As he walked the quiet hallways, he imagined what it might be like to live here next year as a teacher. He wasn't sure how his request would be met, but he was surprised to find just how excited he was about the plan.

He approached the gargoyle, which simply nodded and moved aside. He rode the spiral stairs upward and knocked quietly on the door when he reached it. "Come in, Potter," he heard from within. He shook his head with a small smile and wondered if maybe when he was a teacher she would tell him how she did that.

"Good morning Headmistress McGonagall," Harry said brightly.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. I'm glad to see you've returned from your Auror mission," she said.

"Thank you. Do you have time to discuss something with me?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely," she replied and gestured for him to take a seat.

Harry smiled at her and said, "You gave me some very wise advice after the battle last year about returning to school and making sure that I really wanted to be an Auror before I jumped into it full time."

"Yes, I remember that," she said curiously. "And…"

"And, I am hoping that if you still need a teacher to take on the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes next year, that you'll consider me," Harry said nervously.

"You no longer wish to be an Auror?" McGonagall asked in reply.

"I have a strong draw to the job, but no. I won't be happy in a job that takes me away from my wife and puts my safe return to her in jeopardy. I have come to really love teaching the DA class this year. It challenges me in a way I hadn't expected and it also supplies me with a way of standing up against evil, even if it can't be as an Auror. Will you have me?" He asked.

"Harry, Hogwarts will be lucky to have you remain within its walls as a teacher," Minerva said, beaming. "Yes, Harry, the job is yours."

"Really?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Really," she replied. "You are one of the best teachers we've had in the subject for years and based on the test scores coming out of your class, you clearly have a way with students."

"Thank you," Harry said exuberantly. "You won't be sorry."

"Not a chance," She said with a smile. "Now, you really should go and wake your wife and tell her the good news."

"I will. Thank you again," Harry said as he turned and quickly left the office.

He smiled happily as he hurried back to their dorm. He was going to be a teacher. He hadn't felt more certain about anything since realizing that Ginny was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Author's Note: Hey Everyone,

First off, huge apologizes for the amount of time that has passed since my last update. I am hoping to get back onto a more regular schedule of posting now that some things have changed for me.

Second, I know that not everyone will be thrilled with the direction I decided to take things. No, this isn't cannon, but you know what? My story stopped being canon all the way back in chapter 3 (I think) when Harry and Ron decided to go back to Hogwarts. While it seems that my story has stayed fairly close to canon otherwise, that was never really my intention. Mostly, I just want to write what I think should happen…not how I think J.K. would have written it. This is fun for me and I'm still enjoying writing it. If this is no longer fun for you because of the direction this chapter is taking us then feel free to stop reading, there are many stories out there that continue on the Auror path. My story is about love and I believe that married couples make sacrifices for one another and this is one that I strongly believe that Harry would make to be with the woman he loves. Okay – rant over.

Third, this chapter was not beta'ed. My beta's computer is sick. Everyone send healing thoughts to TerraFerme's computer…please! Rather than make you all wait or try to find a guest beta, I decided to post anyway. I reread it very carefully several times but I'm sure there are still some errors – I have the hardest time editing my own stuff – I know what it is supposed to say and read it as such, even when it is wrong. Sorry.

Anyway – if you are still with me, let me know what you think? How do you feel about my direction? Do you have any awesome ideas that would go along with this storyline?

Most of all, thanks for reading! I have the best readers – really I do.

Thanks!

Tinkerbell