Disclaimer:

I do not claim the rights to any of these characters who belong to J.K. Rowling.

No profit is or will be made from these stories.

These stories have not had a beta (please feel free to apply to beta).

None of the mental health issues portrayed here were heavily researched and should not be viewed as an accurate description or diagnosis.

All mistakes are my own.

OBLIVION

Chapter 2: A Family Affair

Harry took a deep breath to ground himself before rapping sharply on the back door of The Burrow. He looked up at the abode, recently rebuilt after its unfortunate destruction. The Weasley's home had changed drastically. This house was nothing like the rickety building that was immolated by Death Eaters in what would have been their Seventh Year. It was hard to believe it had been almost two years since the demise of Lord Voldemort. The Burrow was much sturdier a structure now, still tall and reaching ever skywards. It had even levels and extensions in weathered wood that still allowed it to retain its rustic farmhouse feel. With no expectant Weasleys in the family and only a few of their children living at home, they could finally start anew with well laid plans for the architecture of the place.

The Burrow had always been a place of belonging and welcome to him, though at this moment he briefly wondered if would still be invited inside. He could hear voices raised in humour emanating from the other side of the door. The frantic fussing of Mrs Weasley grew closer, in the background Harry could make out the excited chatter of Hermione, and Fleur's lilting French tones.

The heavy oak door swung open. There was silence for brief moment as everyone turned to see who had arrived. Harry stood awkwardly in the open doorway as all eyes fell on him.

"Harry!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, her face surprised, but to Harry's relief, it appeared to be pleasantly so. He felt a wave of reassurance sweep over him. She had not taken one look at him and slammed the door in his face. She gave him one of those warm motherly hugs he always appreciated and ushered him inside. "I thought I felt someone enter the wards. Come in, come in. Oh dear, your nose is all red. You must be freezing. How long did you stand out there for?"

From behind her, Ron was smiling brightly. "Heya, Harry!". There were choruses of similar happy voices greeting him by the rest of the Weasley clan. Mr Weasley stood with Percy and Bill by the fireplace nursing glasses filled with amber Ogden's whiskey. Hermione was sitting with Fleur on the well-worn embroidered sofa. He briefly wondered where the rest of the Weasley clan was.

"Hullo, Mrs Weasley, everyone. I just thought I'd drop by to see you. Sorry I haven't been making an appearance. We just finished the last of the restoration work at Hogwarts and I thought I should drop by seeing as I haven't been able to make it to any of your dinners in the last few months." He blathered nervously.

"Oh Harry, you should know we look forward to seeing you whenever we can. You should also know to call me Molly by now. 'Mrs Weasley' always reminds me of my mother." Her lips turned upwards in a genuine smile despite her mock chastisement. "Have you had dinner? I'm just about done with this roast beef. Would you like something to drink?" Mrs Weasley walked away without waiting for Harry's reply and busied herself with directing the pots and pans that were swerving haphazardly through the air in the kitchen. It would be three course meal tonight, no doubt. Now that his belly was no longer doing backflips, Harry did feel hungry. He had missed Mrs Weasley's cooking terribly.

Harry shook Arthur's hand, greeted Bill and Percy, and made his way over to the couch. Fleur warmly dropped a kiss on each of his cheeks and promptly vacated her seat to make room for him and Ron. "Good to see you again, 'Arry." she said before considerately moving to Bill. The couple fell into quiet conversation, leaving the trio to themselves.

Hermione gave him a rib squeezing hug. "We've missed you. I'm glad you've plucked up the courage to visit again. You know no one holds it against you for breaking up with Ginny." Hermione straightforwardly dove into the sensitive topic.

Harry ran his fingers through his tousled hair and let out a sigh. He had known that very well, and yet for the 3 months after they had separated, he was afraid to risk rejection by the only true family he had ever known. He was no longer the Harry Potter that was dating their only daughter. He found it difficult to face the Weasleys formally as just Harry again. It was certain that nothing would have made Mr and Mrs Weasley happier than to have had him join the family in an official capacity. Now that the potential was lost, he had been worrying over whether or not they would still welcome him as before.

"Yeah." Harry agreed. "I was just anxious they would take it badly and never want to speak to me again. It would hurt. A lot."

"Harry, it was a mutual decision." Ron stretched his long lanky arms behind them and along the sofa backrest. "She's clearly not heartbroken or anything. Disappointed it didn't work out, maybe, but so are you. Ginny's an adult now, she knows it's just part of growing up and stuff."

"That's...oddly observant of you, Ronald." Hermione teased to which Ron objected with a mock-offended "Oi!".

"In any case, mum and dad would never take sides. You're as much a son to them as I am." Ron continued confidently, popping a tart that had been sitting on a white and blue china plate into his mouth. The painted figure of a frog that been hiding beneath scrambled and ducked under a neighbouring pastry.

"Ginny still considers you family. She still cares for you even if you can't be together like you thought you were going to." Hermione placed a hand comfortingly over his own.

Harry's heart warmed and he was grateful for such supportive people in his life. He simply nodded instead of trying to respond verbally to any of it. He also cared a great deal for Ginny. Though they had broken up, Harry still wanted her to be happy, even if it was without him. He knew now that they were not meant for one another. They had grown apart due to circumstance and there was no point waiting for a time that may never come.

After Voldemort, fighting dark wizards no longer appealed to Harry and so he had deferred the Ministry's direct admission invitation to the Auror Training Program. With nothing in particular to do but still wanting to help, he had gone back to Hogwarts to help with ongoing repairs. The first official year of their relationship, Ginny had been completing her NEWTs; with Ginny was stressed and under pressure, Harry tried to give her space. Afterwards she was headhunted to be the reserve seeker for the Holyhead Harpies. They rarely saw each other due to conflicting schedules. It felt burdensome and unnatural to have to make appointments to see each other whenever they could spare a moment to owl. Often plans would fall through regardless. Harry missed the spontaneity they shared in the beginning.

Expectations and speculation of their inevitable engagement only complicated the already troubled relationship; the gossip magazines insisted on monthly predictions of when they would wed. They both realised they were not ready for marriage, though Harry very much wanted someone to build a home with. Ginny with her Quidditch and rising popularity did not allow her to be physically and emotionally present. Nothing malicious had ended their time together. There was no big fight, no dramatic emotional break down, just a sense that they were at different points in life and neither could compromise. They had sat quietly at the kitchen counter of Grimmauld Place. Both had agreed it was the end and that was that.

In the months that followed their break up, Harry had bouts of retrospective agony over whether separating was the correct choice. What if he had just been patient and waited? But for how long would that have been? Could he have made more of an effort? There were times when he chose not to meet simply because he was tired. He should have tried harder. What would the Weasleys think of him now? He came to accept that none of these questions were relevant when he no longer was in love with Ginny. Harry was feeling the loss of romantic stability and afraid of the uncertainty of finding another person to fall in love with.

Eventually Ginny had broken the news to Ron, and Harry to Hermione, who already knew the relationship was on the rocks and was completely unsurprised. Ron had taken it rather well, surprisingly. Harry had been sure that he may lose his best friend too. After a few lengthy talks together which may or may not have involved dubious amounts of alcohol, Ron had convinced him to finally come back to join them for dinner tonight. It had taken all his Gryffindor courage to Apparate to The Burrow and the rest of his will to not Apparate immediately back home.

"Mum! George and I fixed that whistling shower head in your bathroom. It might still try to sing opera every now and then but it will have to do until you get a maintenance wizard to have a look." Ginny's voice called from the stairwell, pulling Harry back from his musings.

Harry looked up and watched her descend with George following close behind her. George saw him first and smiled, giving a salute of hello. Harry stood up nervously. His eyes met hers as she rounded the last step. He let out the breath he was holding when she smiled at him. She approached him and stood to face him, leveling him with an even gaze.

"Didn't expect to see you here." She punched him teasingly in the shoulder before pulling him into an affectionate hug. It was very Ginny. He hugged her back.

"Thought it was 'bout time." He replied as he pulled away.

"...Good." She grinned, seemingly satisfied with his response.

"Good." He echoed.

"Great!" Ron clapped Harry on the back. "Now that we've established Harry isn't going to be disowned anymore, let's have dinner. I'm bloody starving!"

"Ronald!" Hermione chastised.

"What? I am!"

Before Hermione could properly expand her lecture, Mrs Weasley called everyone to dinner. The table was set with a resplendent meal of potato and leek soup, Yorkshire pudding, roast beef & vegetables, mushy peas and silky beef gravy. Harry was sure he could smell his favourite treacle tart warming in the oven. They all jostled to take a seat at the long beech dining table. To truly demonstrate that everything was perfectly fine again, Ginny tugged at Harry's shirt sleeve, inclining her head to the empty spot next to hers. Harry smiled and obliged, finally feeling comfortable to be amongst his family and friends once more. They all gathered for the true first family feast in months.

Author's Notes:

Sorry I haven't updated on a weekly schedule like had planned to. Life and work has been a little extra demanding this and I've been writing at any spare moment I can. Hopefully things will calm down soon so I can dive back into fantasy land. As always, please R&R, favourite or follow if you've liked reading so far.