Book II
Small Gods

Chapter 8
Homecoming

"III"

April 13, 2008

They're all sitting around the dinner table, Ron grabs another chair out of the hall for her, and Molly is sitting right next to her, her hand firmly clasped around Ginny's. She hasn't let go of her yet, as if Ginny may disappear again if she does.

Ron and Harry have taken over in the kitchen, Molly's hands shaking too much to continue with dinner, and the two of them clatter around while she shifts uncomfortably under her family's stares and the urge to hide behind Talia rises again. She hasn't felt so bared and… so… herself in so long. And she feels the slow bearing of the building questions, the hum of disbelief under all the joy and excitement and she stiffens and begins to tense until her mum squeezes her hand tightly again.

"Ginny, honey, we are so, so glad to have you home again. I am so happy we can have a full, happy family dinner again." She stares around fiercely at her family, a bit of a threat rising in her tone, "we will all enjoy you being home tonight, does that sound alright?" She turns back to Ginny, her harsh tone shifting to something gentle, tentative, tremulous. And Ginny can relax, and she squeezes her mum's hand back and nods slowly.

"That— that sounds wonderful mum."

And Molly smiles a trembling watery smile back at her and things feel okay.

Ginny moves to shift her chair so it's facing the door, an ingrained habit, and Bill raises his eyebrows at her but doesn't comment. Harry comes over and sits beside her as Ron floats the rest of the meal onto the dining table.

"Let's eat, yeah?"

She relaxes a little more as Harry starts up the conversation, and the Weasleys and he fall into what must be their usual banter, her brothers doing a remarkable job of listening to Molly's wishes.

She lets the conversation lull her. She's… home. In her childhood home, with her family, and something clicks inside of her, like a key sliding into a lock. And she smiles and pulls the comfort and normality into her and holds it close and her mum squeezes her hand again and everyone smiles and…

And it's enough.

After dinner, after they've all had their fill of the wonderful meal, her family stands, almost as one. She rises and makes to say some goodbyes, but her mum clutches at her and asks, "won't you stay the night, Ginny dear? You… your old room is still made up… you can sleep there tonight?"

Ginny hesitates, and looks over at Harry, who for once has a blank expression on his usually so expressive face.

The runes tattooed across her body seem to itch and stretch. Her skin feels too tight and she can feel all the eyes of her family pressing onto her.

"I…" she stutters. She can't stay here. She… she just can't. She needs her own space, she needs her loft, she needs the lake and the wind and…

"Molly," Harry says, startling her, "how about I come by for breakfast with Ginny? I can pick her up and come by in the morning?" And Ginny prickles at this, as if she needs to be herded to her own family home, but relief also floods through her at the out Harry has provided and she grasps at it.

"Yes, mum, I'll come back in the morning and we can all eat breakfast together."

Molly's hands shake and tremble around her and she squeezes Ginny into a tight bear hug. "You'll come to breakfast, dear?" she mumbles into Ginny's shoulder.

"Yes, mum, I promise."

Molly's eyes are watering again but she smiles through her tears and lets Ginny go to say goodnight to her father and brothers and they all hold her tight tight tight.

"III"

Harry leads her down the lane and she can practically hear everything he isn't saying and she glares at her feet scuffing across the dirt road and hates how she feels guilty and hates that Harry's making her feel this way and hates that she hates this and…

"Hey," he interrupts her spiraling thoughts, "sorry for.. Sorry for acting like I have to bring you tomorrow… I just… I know how worried Molly is and…" His voice is getting louder and louder as he defends himself, "I just want you all to be happy and stop with all of this… this…"

They've stopped at this point and are standing in the middle of the lane staring at each other.

He runs a hand through his hand and she reaches up to gently pat him on the arm, his worry and his words letting her let go of her own worries and frustration.

"It's okay Harry, I know you're just trying to look out for all of us. And.. thank you. For bringing me, for making this easier than it may have been otherwise. I… I know I'm difficult, but I do appreciate all of this."

And that seems to be enough because they both stand there a bit foolishly and grin at each other and let the night wash away and she says bye to him and he says he'll come by at eight the next morning and she says alright and they both awkwardly nod and she apparates away before she can be any bit more awkward and uncomfortable.

She collapses onto her bed in the loft with a groan. Why was that so awkward! Harry and her just bumbling there on the lane. She'd felt so responsible for his feelings… ugh… feelings. She's spent so long avoiding emotional conflict and personal reflection that she's left exhausted by tonight's… intensity.

The low light of her loft is comforting and she falls quickly into sleep, strewn as she is across the still made bed and still in her clothes.

"III"

April 14, 2008

There's something pecking, banging against her wall. She groans and rolls over, pulling her pillow over her head but the pecking continues. What sort of overgrown woodpecker…

"Ginny!" comes the shout.

Ugh. Not pecking. Knocking.

Goddamn ungrateful miserable Harry is at her door… knocking. She fumbles for her wand on the side table and waves it in the general direction of the front door. A loud yelp comes from the hall and she grins as finally the knocking stops.

"I'm going to break your door down if you don't open it now WEASLEY!" Harry bellows.

She grumbles and reluctantly throws the pillow aside, staring angrily at the ceiling. She still wants to hide a bit longer but that tosser Potter is making her get up. If he breaks down her door he'll probably get seriously hurt by her protection system she rigged up with a bunch of latent runes… She contemplates for a very short moment letting him deal with them… but then he begins counting down and she grumbles again.

"Fine fine fine I'm coming Potter. Unwad your panties."

She lets the door unlock and bang open and shuffles out of yesterday's clothes and into the shower.

"Make yourself at home Potter!" she shouts as she steps into the hot water. The steam helps clear her head and ease her tense shoulders.

She eventually steps out and shrugs on some clothes. Long sleeves, something with a high neck, making sure all of her tattoos are covered.

When she finally makes her way out to the kitchen Harry is in there, fumbling with her bialetti.

"Coffee?" she asks, wrapping her hair up in a towel.

He whips around, startled by her apparently, and stares.

"Uhm, yeah… I'm trying at least," he says, quickly turning back to the pot.

She laughs. "Here, let me." She moves over to the stove and finishes setting up the pot and soon the loft is filled with the warm smell of coffee.

They sit at the small breakfast table and drink their small cups of dense black coffee. She hums in appreciation and lets the caffeine bring life back into her.

"Rough night?" Harry asks, grinning at her obvious pleasure.

She glares at him and squares her shoulders and says, "alright, let's go get this over with."

She's already moving towards the door as he hurriedly finishes his cup and follows her outside.

"Y'know, it's not going to be as bad as you're thinking… They've… they're worried and confused and… I mean imagine someone you've thought has been dead for years all of a sudden walks through your door! They're going to have questions and… and I think they deserve them," he finishes firmly.

She rolls her eyes and apparates away with a huff, leaving him standing on her stoop. Let him find his own way.

He's laughing when he catches up to her stalking up the Burrow drive.

"You're so sensitive."

She snaps off a stinging hex which he dodges easily, still laughing. She fires two more at him, grinning now, and his eyes gleam as he moves around them. He's about to pull out his wand when she lets a bit of her… whatever it is… out and the vining flowers around the fence shoot forward in sudden growth and wrap around his ankles, tripping him up, and he falls into the dusty road. Now she laughs at him.

He rolls aside and sends a tripping hex her way but—

"OY! STOP HEXING EACH OTHER AND COME INSIDE FOR BREAKFAST!" Ron bellows out of the kitchen door.

They both pause, and lay there panting.

Laughing, she helps Harry off of the ground, and strangely enough, that little tussle helps relax her. She feels ready for this. She can do this!

"III"

She can't do this.

Once again, her entire family sits around the table. And they're all staring at her.

Her mum starts. "Now Ginny, dear, we don't want to interrogate you… but… but I think you can understand why we're… confused. Concerned. We're worried, dear. You…" she sniffs audibly and Charlie jumps up, walking around the table to hand her a handkerchief and put a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "We had to bury you, darling. Your father and I, all of your brothers, we mourned you for a long, long time."

Everyone stares mournfully at the table, and Ginny shuffles uncomfortably in her seat.

Arthur moves next to her, "Ginny, we aren't… we aren't blaming you. You can't imagine how happy, how overjoyed we are to have you home with us again."

She smiles tentatively up at him.

"And we don't want to overwhelm you… or… or cause any reason for you to not… to not come home again…"

"Dad—" she begins, but he raises his hand, cutting her off.

"Whatever your reasons have been for not coming home, we just want to… to understand."

She nods, staring at her hands resting on the table. There's a long splinter there, at the edge, and she picks at it.

And everyone sits there, and she tightens further and further under their gaze.

"How… how about everyone asks a question and… you can decide what to answer, or not?" Harry proposes, quietly. "Would that work? For everyone?"

Ginny mumbles an affirmative under her breath while everyone else nods.

"I'll start," announces Bill.

AN-

Wow! It's been a while. None of my stories have been abandoned! I'm still coming back to work on them. I've just been so busy with life! I recently launched a restaurant, which has been awesome but so crazy. And! Some of my personal writing is getting published, so I've also been tied up in that as well.

Anyways... This story SHALL continue! I hope you enjoy this newest chapter, and in the next, we really get to get into the questions! What will the Weasleys think? Will Ginny be open and forthright? How does this all tie in with her mysterious journeys?

Until next time...

-upstater-