AN: Happy 3000 views everybody! I cannot believe that people have looked at my story that amount of times, and even more unebelieveably that so many of you come back week and week. I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart, thank you! It means so much and all your views and comments mean a lot to me. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.

Chapter Seventeen: Red Hair and Freckles

-MP-

Ginny was tidying away the last of the dishes from the day, various dishes clanking against each other as she used her wand to guide them to the different locations they were kept. It had been a long week at the Wizengamot with the new bills that Hermione and her department were bringing in, and many late nights had been pulled at The Daily Prophet to keep readers up to date.

She looked up at the main kitchen clock, it was fashioned from an old muggle grandfather clock much like the one she grew up with - but without the clever charms her mum had placed on it to keep track of where all of the family members were.

Realising the hour was late, and Harry like so many times recently still hadn't arrived home yet. She could understand why her mother needed to make a clock like she did, just to make the worry she felt that bit more bearable.

Once she had finished her kitchen chores she made her way to the bedroom with one of the books she was currently reading, however a crack sounding from outside stopped her in her tracks.

Moments later the front door was gently opened by Harry, he looked tired and his black hair stuck out from all directions. He tugged off his coat and hung it up before his eyes fell on his wife in the hallway.

Her face full of anger, cheeks as red as her hair as she walked towards him. "Where have you been…. again?" She said sternly, the timbre of her voice adding a stinging quality to it.

Harry looked at his wife apologetically. "I just had some stuff to take care of, that's all."

This didn't seem to quell her fury. "Sorry, I'm late." He added, his eyes pleading with Ginny's to let this conversation go.

Ginny wasn't one for being quiet, to not voice her opinion when she felt that something wasn't right. It was one of her qualities that made her a brilliant journalist, and a wife that didn't take no for an answer.

She huffed and walked into the living room slatting the book down on the sofa before spinning around to look at Harry again.

Ginny stumbled on what to say next, her arms folded and she fixed another fiery look on her husband. Harry strode over to her and wrapped his hand around her upper arm, as it to steady her, to share the rush of anger within her.

"Ginny…" He spoke lowly as he stared into her chocolate brown eyes. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

Immediately Ginny felt another rush of hot frustration course through her, she remained fixed in her position with her arms tightly folded against her. Perhaps attempting to keep the anger inside, tame the beast that was screaming against her skin.

How did he not understand the hurt he was causing? Disappearing off at all hours of the day and night, spending countless hours in the hospital and doing god knows what in the evening. It was only in her desperation that she reached out to Hermione but that seemed to make no difference either.

"Gin?" His velvet voice pressed at her again.

She bent her head down for a moment, red hair washing down the sides of her face before she lifted her head again and to Harry's surprise with a renewed intensity in her eyes.

"You're doing it again." She said, resolutely.

Harry dropped his hand and they rested limply at his sides. He let his eyes graze over Ginny, taking in her expression, posture but most of all the very delicately glassy look in her eyes that he could tell she was holding back.

"Doing what?"

"Disappearing!" Ginny shouted, answering Harry's question without missing a beat.

He stumbled back from its impact, her anger beginning to make some sense in his mind.

"I'm n-not…." He managed to mumble before his own head drooped from shame, he looked towards the mantlepiece with the pictures of Ginny, the kids and Minerva.

"Yes you are!" The furious redhead barked back. She released her grip on herself and moved closer to Harry, the man she loved more than life, she grabbed his face with both of her hands and turned him towards her.

She lowered her voice then, she took in every feature on his face, remembering everything she loved about him. The dark stubble on his jaw, his long lashes, the smudges of tiredness under his eyes.

"Where are you?" She whispered.

His eyes filled with guilt, and Ginny saw his lip tremble for a brief second before it grew still again.

"Harry, I love you more than I could put into words, but you are doing it again. Disappearing for hours on end, I don't know where you are or what you are doing and it terrifies me. I know you are going through it right now with Minerva's situation but that doesn't mean I get to lose you too."

She let go of his face but the pair remained close.

"The last time you went off like this. I thought that one of those days you were going to walk out of that door and you wouldn't be coming back."

Ginny's eyes were bloodshot and watery as she looked pleadingly at her Husband, she meant every word. She wanted to know where he was, not just physically, but mentally, she had to know he was safe.

Harry's eyes widened as he finally understood what had Ginny so angry, and what brought him the most shame of all - terrified.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and spoke into her ear. "I'm not drinking Ginny if that's what you think."

Ginny relaxed slightly against him, as some of the weight she was carrying was lifted off her.

"I've just been with Minerva… and with that and work I've just been pulling a lot of late nights…."

"No!" Ginny shouted again as she pushed away from him, interrupting his sentence.

"You need to tell me the truth Harry, I've visited Minerva and you haven't been there. I've spoken to Ron and Hermione, and you weren't there either. Whatever you are up to you cannot blame on Minerva and work. I won't allow it!"

He sighed exasperatedly. "So that is why Hermione has been on my case then, is it?"

"I did speak to her, yes, I was concerned Harry so what did you expect me to do?"

Harry's brow furrowed at this. He could feel his own annoyance building inside of him, that was the strangest thing about Harry and Ginny's relationship. They had so much history and shared experiences, sometimes it was almost symbiotic. Talking about what they were feeling, or how they were doing was almost like sharing the emotional load. Taking on what the other couldn't handle, yet Harry knew all too well that wasn't always a foolproof plan.

"Gin…" He said, attempting to reach out to his wife. She moved away from him and batted him away with her hand. "I know I have given you a thousand reasons why you shouldn't trust me, but I promise you that I haven't been drinking. I'm not wanting to hurt myself anymore."

"You aren't showing me that, Harry. I want to believe you… I really do."

He sighed with exasperation, inwardly kicking himself for feeling frustrated at Ginny even if she had every right to feel the way she did. "This isn't like the last time, I'm not going off for days at a time and not telling you where I am."

"You're missing the point, Harry." Ginny cut in with anger in her voice. "You kept walking out on this family. We can't just get over that like it was nothing!"

Harry felt another wave of anger within him. "I didn't walk out!" He shouted.

Ginny responded immediately, letting her own frustration flare up and unleashed towards him. Like a roaring lion, the raging sea, everything she suppressed below the surface being put on full show for the both of them.

"YES. YOU. DID!" She shouted back, drowning out Harry's voice in the process. "You didn't tell me where you are. You didn't even bother contacting the children, you walked out on us every time you disappeared down the bottom of a bottle!"

He froze as her last words, he stared numbly at Ginny's visibly flushed features, her cheeks illuminated by emotions. He tore his eyes away from her and towards his feet, for what he felt now wasn't anger nor guilt but heavy, overwhelming shame. He did abandon his family, his wife and he would always regret it.

When he looked up again, Ginny looked equally as paralysed. He stepped towards her noticing the slight glossiness of her eyes, he wrapped his arms around and hugged her tightly against him.

"You're right Gin. You're right about all of it."

He squeezed her harder as if to comfort himself, whilst Ginny leaned further into the embrace.

"I was looking for escape from my head, and instead of talking about it or trying to process it. I drowned everything out with alcohol, because if I couldn't think anymore then I couldn't hurt either. But I was mistaken, Ginny."

She pushed away from him slightly and looked up at him curiously, her arms still woven into his so she could feel his warmth against her. Steadying her as he spoke.

"I know that my drinking hurt you…. hurt our family. I'm not going to do something like that to our family again. Not only because I love you and our children more than I have ever loved anything in this world, but because I wouldn't throw away everything Minerva did for me either."

Ginny's face softened towards Harry and she nodded at his words. "Okay…" She breathed. "I believe you, and you weren't drinking. Then, where have you been?"

Harry was silent for a moment as he pondered his options, how much should he tell her? If he was honest and explained about the memory cabinet, would she try and dissuade him like Hermione had already tried to do? He couldn't be sure that the memory cabinet meant anything but if there was something that could help Minerva, he couldn't let that opportunity slip away.

He did love his wife more than his soul, his children he loved deeply too. But in this moment he felt incredibly torn between them and Minerva, he knew that she wouldn't want him sacrificing his family for her sake but there was something in him that couldn't let her go either.

Just minutes before he had promised his wife that everything was fine, and he wasn't lying or doing something he shouldn't be. That same woman was wrapped in his arms as their eyes bore into each other, could she sense that he was hiding something, that he wasn't being as truthful as he should?

Sometimes he hated seeing his reflection in the deep brown of her eyes, knowing that him drinking himself into a stupor every night hurt her so deeply. Knowing that it was him causing her pain, he was sure he would feel waves of guilt over and over again. He wanted to tell Ginny everything, of course he did but he wasn't sure there was anything to tell her yet.

For now he had seen just one memory of Minerva's childhood, nothing else of any significance had popped up and perhaps it was better he kept it to himself until there was really something to tell her.

He looked at his wife, her beautiful red hair framing her face, the smattering of freckles across her nose that entranced him since he was a teenager. He smiled at her. "I've been at Minerva's cottage, just to keep an eye on things and clean up as needed. That's all. I promise."

Harry placed a gentle kiss on her lips and she cuddled into his chest. "I'm sorry." She said gently.

"What for?" Harry asked, slightly puzzled.

"For not understanding how hard you were really taking the situation with Minerva."

She continued to lean silently against his chest, he held her tight and used one hand to stroke her hair as he watched it reflect in the dim evening light. It shimmered in so many different colours, red, ginger and gold blended perfectly against her skin. A heavy pang of guilt sat heavy within him at her words, thinking to himself how he didn't deserve somebody as loving and caring as Ginny. He didn't deserve her love, not really, not with everything he had put her through.

Was still putting her through.

He added to himself, as he rested his forehead against the the top of Ginny's head and sighed heavily. Silently punishing himself as they held onto each other longingly.

-MP-