Chapter 37

31 July 2003

Harry stared at the now empty fireplace. Surely Hermione hadn't come just to bring him cake. Had she wanted to talk to him as much as he wanted to talk to her?

"This is really good, actually," he heard Ginny say. He turned to find her with the container of cake in her hand. She'd dipped a finger into the icing and was sucking it off.

"Would you put some fucking clothes on?" Harry snapped. Gods, what the hell was happening to his life?

Ginny cocked her head. "Why are you so angry? I would have thought you'd be ecstatic. Want to celebrate even." She smiled at him and took another swipe of icing, sliding her finger into her mouth and swirling her tongue around it.

Harry just rolled his eyes and drew his wand. He summoned one of his jumpers and grabbed it as it came zooming into the room. He threw it at her. "Put that on."

She pouted but set the cake down and did as he asked.

"Now what the fuck is going on?"

"I told you. I'm pregnant."

"I don't believe you."

She rolled her eyes. "Why would I lie?"

"I don't know. Some stupid plot to try to win me back or something. I read the interview you gave to Witch Weekly."

She shrugged. "Well, I am."

Harry's eyes narrowed. "This was one of the main issues in our relationship. You kept telling me you didn't want to have kids right now, maybe ever. Why would you wait until we were already divorced to tell me?"

"Because I just found out, of course," Ginny said in exasperation.

"How far along are you then? Because we haven't slept together in over a month."

"It obviously happened that weekend we went away together," Ginny said.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "You were on the potion. I saw you take it a few days before we left."

"The potion doesn't always work, Harry."

That was crap and Harry knew it. There were other potions that could interact with a contraceptive, but Ginny knew what they were, and he highly doubted she would have taken that chance, given her vehemence about wanting kids right now. Otherwise, the contraceptive potion was completely effective.

Ginny stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Come on, Harry. This is what you want, what you've always wanted. A family." She smiled at him and stepped closer, rubbing her body up against him. "Don't you want to celebrate?" She kissed his jaw and then his neck.

"Stop, Ginny." Harry reached up and removed her hands from his neck, then took a step back.

"I don't know why you're acting like this," she said, tears gathering. "I just told you we're going to have a baby."

"A few weeks ago, you told me that you didn't want to have children for a long time, maybe twenty years. And then you just told Witch Weekly that you never wanted the divorce, and you were going to try and get me back. But you still expect me to just believe you when you say you're pregnant?"

"You think I would lie about this?" There were tears running down her cheeks now.

"I don't know what to think," Harry said with a sigh. "But, yeah, I'm going to need some proof, Ginny."

"But I love you," she said. "I'm giving you what you want."

Harry held back an eye roll. "Let's go to St. Mungo's then. If you are pregnant, you'll need to get a Healer and start taking prenatal potions."

"I don't need to go to St. Mungo's! I did the charm!"

Harry just watched her for a moment. The tears were gone as were the seductive looks. Now her eyes flashed in irritation, and she looked angry that he would even ask for proof. He was relatively certain she wasn't pregnant at all. He suspected that she thought he would be so happy about her announcement, he would have fallen into bed with her to celebrate and she was hoping to get pregnant tonight. It had only been a little over a month since they'd last slept together. He would have just assumed the baby was late when it wasn't born when he expected it to be.

Or it was possible she was pregnant, but the baby wasn't his. He had no idea what had happened after he'd told her he wanted a divorce. For all Harry knew, she had gone and fallen into bed with Alex. But if that were the case, why would she try to pretend the baby was Harry's? Unless she and Alex had some kind of falling out. Or Ginny didn't want to tell her mother the truth.

Whichever it was, Harry wasn't going to believe anything until Ginny had been seen by a Healer. He didn't even trust the charm. Mostly because he didn't know how to cast it so he would have no idea if Ginny was being truthful about the results. He decided to play along for now.

"Regardless of the charm, you still need to start seeing a Healer."

Ginny's face turned hopeful. "You believe me then?"

"Let's just go to St. Mungo's, okay?"

"It's late," she said. "We should wait until tomorrow." She put her arms around his neck again. "I could stay here tonight. We could make plans."

Harry again removed her arms from around his neck. He kept hold of her hands though. "Why are you so happy about this? With everything you've said, I would have thought you'd be upset. This is going to interrupt your career. You might not make the National team."

She shrugged. "I was upset at first, but I knew how happy you would be and that made me happy too." She smiled and squeezed his hands.

Harry didn't believe her for a second. Something was definitely going on, he just had to figure out what. It was obvious, though, that he wasn't going to get her to agree to go to St. Mungo's tonight. "Fine, we'll go to St. Mungo's in the morning. What time do you want me to meet you?"

She smiled coyly at him. "Why don't I just stay here tonight? Then we can go together."

Harry was torn. He definitely didn't want her here and he really wanted to talk to Hermione. But if Ginny did stay, at least Harry knew he would be able to make sure she went to hospital. He didn't really trust her to meet him there.

"All right," he said. She grinned widely. "I'll have Kreacher make up one of the guest rooms."

Ginny's face fell. "Why would he need to do that?"

"Because we're divorced, Ginny. And until we get some answers from St. Mungo's, it's going to stay that way."

"You still don't believe me," Ginny said, eyes glittering with tears once again.

"Do you blame me?" Harry said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know what I did to make you hate me so much," Ginny said with a sniffle.

He sighed. "I don't hate you. But all of this is just a little too convenient after the divorce and what you said to Witch Weekly."

"They twisted things around," Ginny said.

"So, you didn't tell them that you never wanted the divorce and that you were going to try to get back together?"

"I didn't want the divorce," she said, hitch in her voice.

"Regardless, you still signed the papers."

"I didn't know what else to do," she wailed. "It was clear that's what you wanted."

Harry sighed. "I'm not having this argument with you. Kreacher!"

The House elf popped into the room. "Yes, Master Harry?"

"Please make up the guest room on the first floor for Ginny."

Ginny looked at him like he'd betrayed her. She would be two floors away from him.

"Yes, Master Harry," Kreacher said, then disappeared.

Ginny opened her mouth to protest but Harry held up a hand. "Don't bother, I'm not going to change my mind. If you want to stay, you stay in the guest room. If not, I'll meet you at St. Mungo's at eight tomorrow."

"Fine," Ginny said petulantly, then flounced out of the room.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and began to pace. He really didn't believe that Ginny was pregnant, but if she was and it was his, what was he going to do? As much as he wanted a baby, he didn't think he could get back together with Ginny. Everything he'd gone through in the last month, everything that he'd thought about, everything he'd realized, she wasn't what he wanted. He would never abandon his child but that didn't mean he needed to be married to their mother. He and Ginny could coparent, just like all the other divorced couples out there.

They would get pushback from Molly, he was certain of that. But it was really none of Molly's business. As long as the baby was loved and cared for, that's all that mattered. Harry would be more than happy to take on the bulk of the care; he hadn't been kidding when he'd told Ginny he would quit his job if need be. She had made it quite plain that she wasn't ready to give up her career. It could work, he thought, if he took care of their child most of the time. Ginny could have them on her off weeks in between matches.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He didn't even know for sure that Ginny was pregnant, or if it was his. Gods, he really wanted to talk to Hermione about this. In fact, he wanted to talk to Hermione about a lot of things.

He was upset that she had overheard Ginny's announcement. There was a part of Harry that suspected that Ginny had seen Hermione come through the Floo and done it on purpose. Ginny had been dancing around it up until that point and she had been facing the fireplace. If that were true, it only made Harry angrier. Hermione didn't deserve to find out that way. He still didn't think she'd come over just to bring him cake. He contemplated Flooing her but the last thing he needed was for Ginny to overhear. Damn, why had he said Ginny could stay?

Kreacher popped in. "The room is ready, Master Harry."

"Thank you, Kreacher. And while I have you, please don't let Ginny into the house again without my permission."

"As you wish," Kreacher said blandly before popping out of the room.

Harry took one last longing look at the fireplace before sighing and leaving the room. He would contact Hermione as soon as he had more information. He could only hope that she would still want to talk to him.

Harry lay wide awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. As hard as he'd tried, he couldn't manage to turn his brain off. He knew he shouldn't, given he didn't even know if Ginny were pregnant at all, or if the baby were his, but he couldn't help thinking about what it would be like if she were. He was ready to be a father, had been for a while now.

Of course, this wasn't how he'd pictured it, recently divorced from the child's mother and knowing that he wanted someone else, was probably even in love with someone else. Still, if there was a baby and it was his, Harry was going to do everything possible to be a good dad, regardless of the circumstances.

He really wished he'd been able to speak to Hermione. He wondered what she would think when he told her he didn't want to get back together with Ginny. Would Hermione support that or would she think he and Ginny should give it another go for the baby's sake? Would Hermione be willing to be with him if he were expecting a child with someone else?

Harry shook his head. He was getting far, far ahead of himself. He had no idea how Hermione even felt about him. For all he knew, it was nothing more than friendship. And even if she did feel something for him, all the baggage he might be about to have could be too much for her. She would stay his friend; he had no doubt about that. But anything more, well, he didn't know if-

His thoughts immediately stopped as he heard the creak of a floorboard in the corridor. Harry had expected this; was actually surprised it had taken her this long. He closed his eyes, feigning sleep, keeping his breathing deep and even. The door opened slowly a few seconds later.

"Harry?" Ginny whispered.

Harry continued to breathe deeply. He heard Ginny move across the room and he wondered what, exactly, she had planned. There was silence for a few minutes, and he finally cracked one eye open slightly just in time to see her pulling the flimsy excuse for lingerie over her head. She shimmied out of the scrap of fabric masquerading as knickers and quietly climbed into bed next to him.

Harry snuffled quietly and Ginny froze for a few seconds, then once she decided he hadn't woken, continued to sidle as close to him as possible. One of his hands was under his pillow, gripping his wand, the other resting next to him on the bed. He could feel her leg nudge his hand.

For a few minutes, she lay on her side facing him. Harry could feel the small puffs of her breath on his cheek. He wondered what was going through her mind. As she'd stripped naked, he highly doubted she was just planning to sleep next to him.

Then, she brought one of her hands to rest on his stomach. Harry was having a hard time maintaining the charade, but he was determined to wait and see what she was going to do. It would be rather telling, he thought.

"Harry," she whispered again but he didn't move.

Slowly, her hand began to slide down his stomach towards the waistband of his boxers. At the same time, she leaned toward him, lips grazing his cheek. As her fingers slid just beneath the waist of his pants, he grabbed her wrist with his free hand, the other pulling out from under his pillow, wand pointing in her face. She gasped.

"What are you doing?" he growled.

"Nothing," she said, trying to pull away from him. "I just missed you."

"And you thought molesting me in my sleep was all right?"

"You've never complained about it before." She yanked at her wrist again and Harry let her go.

True, she had woken him up like this a few times during their marriage and he hadn't complained. Quite the opposite actually. But they weren't married anymore.

"We're divorced, Ginny," Harry snapped. "And in case it wasn't clear when I had Kreacher make up the guest room, that means I no longer want you in my bed."

"Will you take your wand out of my face?" she huffed.

"Are you going to leave?"

"For Merlin's sake, Harry."

"Are you going to leave?" He thought she might try tears to get him to feel sorry for her, although he wouldn't.

Instead, she got angry. "Fine," she snapped sitting up and swinging her legs out of the bed. She grabbed her lingerie off the floor and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Harry wondered if she would leave altogether but couldn't bring himself to care. He flopped back on his pillow. His life was a mess.

1 August 2003

Hermione rubbed her face with her hands. She'd had to take a Pepper Up this morning after barely sleeping last night, but it was obviously wearing off. She was exhausted. In more ways than one.

Even though she tried not to, she couldn't help but think about the scene she had interrupted last night. She still couldn't believe that Ginny was pregnant. With as much as the woman didn't seem to want to have children, you would have thought she'd be more careful with her contraceptive potion.

It was the one thought that had been niggling at Hermione all night. How had Ginny gotten pregnant if she was so adamant she didn't want to be? The contraceptive potion was nearly foolproof, only failing if it wasn't made properly or another potion that interacted with it was taken. There weren't many and they weren't actually common either. Hermione doubted that Ginny would have forgotten about that. And if the potion failed because it hadn't been made properly, it was usually because someone had tried to brew it themselves. Apothecaries weren't about to sell defective contraceptive potions and have a bunch of angry witches on their hands.

But Hermione didn't know why Ginny would lie about it. She'd gotten what she wanted money-wise from the divorce, Harry was buying her a flat, and she had Alex waiting in the wings. Hermione was sure that Ginny was upset about the divorce, just as Harry was, Hermione wasn't saying she wasn't. But she'd signed the papers in the end.

Papers that didn't matter now. The two of them would get back together and be a proper family. Hermione was sure that's what Harry would want. The bit of hope she'd had when she had gone to Grimmauld last night to talk to Harry about the kiss was gone now.

There was a knock on her office door. Hermione thought about ignoring it, but she and Padma did have lunch plans today. And truthfully, she really needed a shoulder to cry on. She wasn't sure if she meant that metaphorically or literally but either way, she called for Padma to come in.

"Hey. Ready to go?" Padma asked as she walked through the door, then frowned as she looked at Hermione. "What's wrong?"

"I look that bad, do I?" Hermione asked with a wry smile.

"Did things not go well last night?"

"No, they were fine," Hermione said, voice traitorously cracking on the last word.

Padma closed the office door and warded it, then pulled the chair in front of Hermione's desk around the side so she sat next to Hermione. "What happened?"

Hermione shook her head, then told Padma everything that had happened at her flat during Harry's birthday celebration.

"And then he got all weird and awkward and got up to leave." Hermione sighed. "But just before he left, he kissed my cheek and I, I don't know, it seemed like it was more than friendly peck. I was so surprised that I just froze and then he left."

"Hermione, you've got to talk to him," Padma said.

"I know. I was going to. I went to Grimmauld and everything but-" Hermione trailed off shaking her head.

"But you didn't?"

"No, but-"

Padma huffed in annoyance. "Look, I know that you're scared what it might mean for your friendship if he doesn't return your feelings, but I hate seeing you like this. You really need to talk to him. You've got to know one way or the other."

"You don't understand," Hermione began but Padma interrupted again.

"Please, just listen to me. You need to-"

"Ginny's pregnant," Hermione blurted out.

Padma stared at her in shock, her mouth hanging open. She closed it with an audible click. "Sorry?"

Hermione sighed again. She could feel the tears gathering again and was determined not to let them fall. She'd spent too much time crying last night. "I went to Grimmauld. I was planning to talk to Harry about what happened and how I felt. But when I stepped through the Floo, Ginny was standing there with him and what she was wearing left nothing to the imagination. She told him she was pregnant." She shook her head. "I just, I had to get out of there. I told them congratulations and I left."

Padma still hadn't said anything. She was still staring at Hermione in shock.

"So, that's that." Hermione shrugged. "Ginny and Harry will get back together and have their baby and be a family like Harry's always wanted."

"Wait," Padma said, obviously still struggling to process this news. "Just…hold on for a second." She took a deep breath and blew it out, then looked at Hermione again. "How do you know it's true?"

"Which part?"

"All of it," Padma said throwing up her hands in exasperation. "How do you even know Ginny's actually pregnant? If she is, how do you know it's Harry's? And how do you know he's even going to want to get back together with her if it is?"

Hermione scoffed. "You honestly think Harry won't want to be married to the mother of his child?"

"Depends on who the mother is," Padma said with a shrug. "He divorced her after all."

"Because she didn't want to have kids," Hermione said. "Now she is."

"It was more than that and you know it," Padma said. "Yes, that was the final straw, but this had been brewing long before Ginny told him she wasn't sure about kids. He told you that himself."

"Still," Hermione said.

"But let's but that aside for a minute and talk about if she's pregnant at all. With as insistent as she's been that she's not ready for children, how in Merlin's name does she fuck up her contraceptive potion?"

Hermione didn't respond. Padma eyed her speculatively. "You've thought about that, haven't you?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted. "But if she's lying, it's not like Harry isn't going to find out. I'm sure he'll insist on going to St. Mungo's. So, what does she accomplish by doing that?"

"Getting him back into bed to actually get pregnant, I'd assume."

"But why?" Hermione said, shaking her head. "We've already established how resolute she's been about kids. And they're already divorced so it's not like she's trying to save the marriage or something."

"She told Witch Weekly she regrets it and wants him back," Padma said with a shrug.

"Then why did she sign the papers?"

"I don't know. But there's another possibility."

But Hermione was already shaking her head. "No. Despite everything, I cannot believe that Ginny would try to pass off someone else's child as Harry's. She wouldn't do that."

"You know her better than I do," Padma said. "But it's still possible."

"Again, why? If it's not Harry's then it's probably Alex's, who she's in love with by the way. If he has feelings for her too, why wouldn't she just tell him?"

"Maybe he doesn't want kids," Padma said. "Or maybe it's not Alex. Maybe he doesn't feel for her what she feels for him. Maybe she had a one-night stand."

"I can't, no, I just don't believe that, Padma. Ginny might be a bit selfish, but I can't see her doing that. Harry could find out, probably would actually. And it's not as if she's against termination. She and I have talked about it, and she's always felt it's a woman's choice."

"Just because she's not against it, doesn't mean she would do it herself."

"I know but," Hermione bit her lip. "I don't think that's it."

"Fine, but given she showed up at Harry's house dressed in skimpy lingerie, my money is on trying to get him into bed to actually get pregnant."

Hermione couldn't disagree with Padma's logic. Except that she still couldn't figure out why. It was why she thought that Ginny probably really was pregnant, and it probably was Harry's.

"Let's say she is pregnant and it's Harry's," Padma said. "If he told you that he wanted to raise his kid, but he didn't want to remarry Ginny, what would you say?"

"Why would he do that?"

"Don't try to analyze why, just what would you do if that's what he said?"

"Well, it's obviously his choice and I'd support him no matter what."

Padma nodded as if she'd expected that. "And what if he told you that he wanted to be with you? Would you be able to do that knowing he was having a baby with someone else?"

"I don't, I don't know," Hermione said. Obviously if this hypothetical baby were already here and Harry and Ginny had gotten divorced later, that would be an easy answer. Of course, she would. The situation as it stood, however, was different. And Hermione didn't know if she could do it without knowing that Harry and Ginny had tried to make things work for their child's sake. She would always wonder if she had taken that away from them. She told Padma as much.

"That's what I thought you'd say," Padma said.

"Come on, Ginny," Harry called up the stairs. "It's getting late." He sighed and made his way back into the sitting room. He'd told her last night he wanted to leave at eight. It was half past now, and she still hadn't made an appearance. Harry was starting to think he'd been right from the off and she wasn't pregnant at all.

Ginny finally strolled into the room, trying to appear nonchalant, but Harry had known her for a long time. She was nervous, he could tell.

"Are you ready?"

"Of course," she said, trying to scoff. Her eyes darted around the room belying her nervousness.

"After you then," Harry said indicating the Floo.

"Harry, I," Ginny began but he held up a hand.

"I don't want to hear anything else. I just want to get to St. Mungo's and figure out what's going on."

"I already told you what's going on," she said with a scowl.

"Forgive me if I'd rather hear it from a Healer."

Ginny huffed and turned to the fireplace, throwing in the Floo powder and stepping in. "St. Mungo's!"

She disappeared in a flash of green. Harry took a deep breath and steeled himself for whatever the morning was about to bring before he followed.

"I don't want you in there," Ginny said stubbornly for the second time. She spoke barely above a whisper given they were in the waiting room of the maternity ward.

Harry lashed down on his temper and lowered his own voice. "And I'll ask again, why not?"

"I just don't."

"Fine, I'll wait out here and the Healer can come get me when she's done examining you. To give us both the results."

"Fine," Ginny said petulantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"If you are pregnant, Ginny, I'm asking for a paternity test."

She stared at him incredulously. "You think I cheated on you?" she hissed.

"I don't want to, but you can't exactly blame me knowing what I do about Alex."

"I told you that nothing happened."

"And I told you that I believed you. Which I did. Then you show up out of the blue telling me you're pregnant when I know that you took your contraceptive potion and that you haven't taken anything that might counteract it. So, unless the apothecary has somehow gotten lax with their preparation, which I highly doubt, I don't know what else to think."

Ginny didn't respond, simply glared at him.

A mediwitch stepped into the waiting room. "Mrs. Potter?"

Ginny glared at Harry again, then stood to follow the mediwitch. The woman glanced at Harry, as if confused why he wasn't following. Ginny brushed past her and the mediwitch turned to follow, glancing back at him one last time before she disappeared.

Harry sighed and rested his head back against the wall. It was going to be a long fucking day.

Twenty minutes later, the mediwitch returned and asked him to follow her. They stepped into what was clearly a Healer's office and not an examination room. Ginny was nowhere to be seen. Harry's brow furrowed in confusion as the mediwitch left after asking him to wait.

"Mr. Potter," a voice said, and Harry turned to see a Healer walking into the room. She closed the door and walked around the desk to sit behind it. "I'm Healer Thompson. Have a seat, please."

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Mrs. Potter asked me to speak to you alone."

Harry felt something relax in his gut. Ginny wasn't pregnant then and was too afraid to be in the room when the Healer told him.

"It's not Mrs. Potter anymore, actually. We're divorced."

"Yes, your wife, excuse me, ex-wife, mentioned that."

"So, what are the results?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Mr. Potter."

Harry just stared at the Healer. "I don't understand."

"Medical records are confidential, as I'm sure you're aware. If the patient is an adult and doesn't wish for information to be shared, then I cannot share it with you. Mrs. Potter, Ginny, hasn't given me permission, therefore I cannot tell you anything."

Harry was silent for a moment, then shook his head, an incredulous laugh escaping. "She's not pregnant then."

"As I said, I am unable to answer that."

"You don't have to," Harry said as he stood. "Because if she were pregnant, she'd want you to tell me immediately."

"I got the impression that Ginny was nervous to tell you anything, regardless of the outcome of her tests."

"Excuse me?"

"I believe your ex-wife is afraid of you, Mr. Potter."

Harry could only stare in disbelief. What the actual fuck had Ginny said?

"I can assure you, Healer Thompson, I have never, and would never, harm my ex-wife, or any other woman for that matter, in any way, physically, emotionally, or otherwise. The thought is completely abhorrent to me. If Ginny seemed scared, it's because she's afraid she's gotten caught in this ridiculous lie she's told me."

The Healer studied him for a moment then nodded once. "Very well. I still cannot share anything with you. She just requested that I tell you that. I'm sorry there isn't more I can do for you."

"She's left then, I take it. Ginny?"

"I believe so, yes."

Harry nodded and turned to leave. As he reached for the doorknob, he stopped, turning back to the Healer. "Actually, there is one thing you can help me with."

Harry made his way down Diagon Alley towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. He wasn't looking forward to seeing Ron, but he was determined to talk to Ginny. He was going to get the truth. Today. Harry was positive she was still staying with Ron in the flat above the shop but if she wasn't, he'd go to the Burrow next.

Harry stepped into the shop, bracing himself for Ron's glare and possible vitriol. The shop was rather empty so Harry couldn't count on customers keeping Ron's temper in check. He just hoped that he'd be able to get up a Muffliato in time.

"Harry, what brings you here?"

Harry looked up to see George standing a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest and serious expression on his face. Harry ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't spoken to any of the Weasleys, save Ron and Ginny since he asked Ginny for a divorce. He had to admit, though, he was glad it was George and not Ron. George was a bit more reasonable.

"Looking for Ginny, actually."

George didn't reply, simply stared. Harry sighed. "Look, George. I know you're probably angry with me but there are some things that Ginny and I really need to talk about. She disappeared earlier today before we could finish our conversation. I know she's been staying with Ron."

"She's here," George confirmed.

"Can I speak with her?"

"I don't know. She looked pretty upset when she came in. That your doing?"

"Not this time," Harry said.

"Who then?"

"I suspect she's upset with herself for getting caught in a mess of her own making. I won't know for sure until I talk to her though."

George studied him for a few more moments, then sighed. "Are you sure the two of you can't work things out? Mum's devastated."

Harry winced. He knew Molly was going to take it hard but knowing it and hearing it were two different things. He shook his head. "As much as it pains me to say, no. It's over."

George sighed again. "Just so you know, I don't believe any of that shite Ron's been going on about. The rest of us don't either, including Mum and Dad."

Harry felt a weight lift from his chest. "That's, thanks, George."

George nodded. "You can go up. But if you make her cry, I can't promise I'll be as forgiving the next time."

"Fair enough." Harry was fairly sure Ginny would end up crying but hopefully she'd own up to it being her own fault with her brothers.

Harry made his way up the stairs to the flat above the shop. He knocked on the door, but, as he suspected, Ginny didn't answer. He sighed and cast an Alohomora to open the door. Normally, he wouldn't have just barged in, but he was tired of this entire thing and just wanted it to be over.

"Ginny," he called as he stepped inside.

There was silence for a few moments, then Harry spoke again. "I know you're here so you might as well come out and talk to me. I'm not leaving until you do."

He heard sniffling and then Ginny stepped out of one of the bedrooms. "What do you want?"

Harry looked at her incredulously. "What do I want? What do you think I want? You wouldn't let me come into the Healer appointment with you, then you ran off and had the Healer talk to me. I want to know the results of the test."

"I told you I was pregnant," Ginny said.

"And the Healer confirmed it?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know, Ginny, seeing as I wasn't there."

"Why can't you just leave me alone, Harry? You've made it plain you don't want any of this." She waved her hand at her abdomen.

"That's not what I said, and you know it," Harry said. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Why are you acting like that?" Ginny retorted. "You haven't believed me from the beginning."

Harry closed his eyes, reining in his growing irritation. When he opened them, Ginny was scowling at him. He kept hold of his temper. "It was obvious to me when you didn't want me in the appointment and then when you ran off after that you're not pregnant. I just want to hear you confirm that."

"I'm not confirming anything."

"Fine, then," Harry said, drawing his wand from his sleeve.

Ginny took a step back. "What are you doing?"

"What I should have done from the beginning. Don't worry, it won't hurt." He waved his wand in the pattern that he'd learned from the book the Healer had recommended, pointing it at Ginny's abdomen. She stepped back again, trying to turn away from him but Harry had already finished the spell. When he did, nothing happened.

"What was that?" Ginny demanded.

"A pregnancy detection charm. If you were pregnant, it would have glowed white. Since nothing happened, you're not." He tucked his wand back into the holster in his sleeve.

"You probably didn't do it right," she said.

Harry sighed. "Just admit it, Ginny. This was some ploy to try and get me back. And you thought I'd be so happy about it, I'd fall into bed with you and maybe you actually would get pregnant."

"That's not-" Ginny began but Harry kept talking over her.

"Which, if you think about, was pretty risky given there was no guarantee you'd get pregnant then either. How long were you planning to string me along, hoping you'd either get pregnant or that I wouldn't realize you weren't?"

She didn't say anything.

"I'm still not sure why you'd even try since were so adamant about not wanting kids the last time we talked. I can't imagine your mind has changed about that in a month."

She looked down at the ground.

"Why, Ginny? Why would you do this?"

"I love you," she said.

He shook his head. "No, if you loved me, you wouldn't have tried to trick me into getting you pregnant."

Ginny started to cry. Harry rolled his eyes. "That's not going to work."

"Fine! I'm not pregnant, all right? Is that what you want to hear?"

"It's a start," Harry said. "Now I want to know why."

"It doesn't matter. Just leave, Harry." She sniffed and looked down at the floor.

Harry stayed where he was, watching her. She seemed to draw into herself, dropping the indignant mask after he'd told her he knew she wasn't pregnant. Now she just looked…sad. Sad and scared, actually. Which was strange because Ginny never seemed to be scared of anything.

"Gin, what's going on?" he asked softly.

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. But these were not the over dramatic tears from before to try and make him feel sorry for her. These were genuine.

"Nothing," she said. "I, nothing."

"Did something happen? With Alex?" Harry had no idea if Ginny had even spoken to Alex once Harry had told her he wanted a divorce. Maybe the other man had rejected her, or his feelings weren't the same for her as hers were for him.

The tears that had gathered in Ginny's eyes began to spill down her cheeks. "I don't want to talk about it."

Harry studied her for a few seconds. "Did he, Ginny, did he do something to hurt you?"

"Of course not," she said.

"But something happened," Harry prodded. He wasn't sure why he couldn't let this go. It wasn't any of his business and really, did he want to know what she was doing with another man? Not particularly. But he was worried about her and if Alex had done something untoward, Harry wanted to know.

Ginny sniffled and Harry summoned a tissue, handing it to her. "Look, I know it's none of my business. But even though we're divorced, I still care about you. If anyone is hurting you, I want to know."

"It's not that, Harry. I swear. It's just," she sighed, twisting the tissue in her hands. "He thinks we need to wait a bit. He's worried that the press will find out and think we were having an affair or something. Plus, he said that I should be by myself for a while, decide what I really want."

"Oh," Harry said. It didn't sound unreasonable at all. He ignored the little voice in his head that said maybe he should do the same.

"But that's not what I want," Ginny said stubbornly. "I know how I feel."

Harry was confused. "If you feel that strongly for him, why would you try to get me back?"

She shook her head, twisting the tissue tighter and tighter.

"This makes no sense, Ginny. I mean, you're clearly in love with him, why wouldn't you just take things slow like he said? Why throw all of that away to get back into a relationship that wasn't working. I don't understand."

"I don't want to be alone!" she shouted. She took a hitching breath, her voice returning to normal volume. "I can't…be alone."

Harry looked at her blankly. She sniffled and sighed, then walked over to the couch, slumping down on it, looking miserable. Despite everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks, especially in the last twenty-four hours, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Whatever was going on, it was obviously extremely upsetting to her.

He followed her, settling into one of the armchairs that flanked the couch. "What's going on, Gin?"

She looked up at him and shrugged. "I don't like being by myself."

Harry's brow furrowed. "You've been by yourself plenty of times."

She shook her head. "Not really."

"Since when?"

"Since the diary," she said in a small voice.

Harry's eyes widened. They never really talked about what had happened with Riddle and the diary and the Chamber. Ginny never wanted to, and he hadn't pushed her.

"What do you mean?"

She sighed, looking resigned. "The summer after first year, I had nightmares all the time. Mum slept with me most nights. I was really nervous about going back to school, but Percy was Head Boy and had his own room off the Gryffindor common room. He transfigured his couch into a bed and told me I could sleep there anytime I wanted. I slept there every night until Christmas hols. After that, I was able to sleep in my own dorm sometimes, but I was probably still staying with him three or four nights a week."

Harry stared at her in shock. Ginny was one of the bravest people he knew. He'd had no idea any of this was going on.

"Fred and George overheard me talking to Mum summer before my third year about being nervous going back to school now that Percy was gone. They taught me this spell so I could send a note to their dorm if I needed them. It's like the spell on the memos at the Ministry. Anyway, one of them would come down to the common room and stay with me. I'd usually fall asleep on one of the couches, but they never did. They'd wake me up early enough that I could get back to my dorm without my roommates knowing."

"Ginny," Harry breathed, horrified that she'd gone through all of this without him knowing. He didn't think Ron had known either.

She shook her head at him with a sad smile. "It got better as time went on. By the end of my third year, I only needed them a few times a month. If I had told one of the other girls in my dorm about it, I probably wouldn't have needed my brothers at all. But I never felt close enough to any of them to do that.

"By the time my fourth year started, the nightmares had mostly gone away and when I did have one, I could usually deal with it myself. But I always had this feeling of, I don't know, wrongness I guess. Like if I were alone for too long, he could come back for me. But when I was around other people, I didn't feel it so much. And when I started dating, I didn't feel it at all when I was with my boyfriend." She shrugged. "I never really knew why, back then. But it's why I was nearly always dating someone."

Harry realized he'd never really thought about how Ginny jumped from boyfriend to boyfriend. Even when a relationship ended, she was usually dating someone else within a week or two. At the time, he'd thought that it was just because she was so popular.

"What about your sixth year?" Harry asked. He knew she hadn't dated anyone that year, even though Harry had broken things off with her after Dumbledore's funeral.

"There was so much going on with you and Ron and Hermione being gone, my family in danger and all of the shite the Carrows put us through. Luna, Neville, and I were almost always together when we weren't in class and at night, well, I used to sleep in your old bed a lot." She shrugged but there was a bit of color high on her cheeks. "Nev and Seamus didn't mind. I think they liked having someone else in the room with them. It was so empty without you and Ron and Dean."

"After the war, when we got back together, was that," Harry paused, not sure if he wanted the answer to this question or not.

Ginny seemed to realize what he was asking. "No, Harry," she said vehemently. "No. We got back together because I was in love with you. It wasn't just because I wanted to be with someone. I wanted to be with you."

He nodded, relaxing slightly. Not that he'd really thought that was the reason she'd taken him back, but he was glad to hear it all the same.

Harry moved from the chair where he'd been sitting, to the table in front of the couch. He took one of her hands in his. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I'm sorry that you've been dealing with the fallout from the diary for so long." He paused, gentling his voice. "But, Gin, that's not a reason to either jump into a new relationship or try and get back an old one that's already over."

"I know. I'm sorry, Harry." The tears started to fall down her cheeks again. "I'm so, so sorry that I treated you the way that I did. Using the fact that you wanted to have kids against you like that. There's no excuse for it."

"No," Harry agreed, letting go of her hand. "There isn't. And I probably won't be able to forgive you for it for a long time."

She nodded, even as the tears continued.

"Ginny, what would have done if I'd believed you? Were you really going to go through with it? Sleeping with me and trying to actually get pregnant?"

"I, I'm not sure," she said, looking down at her lap.

"How could you have been sure it would work in the first place? What if you still hadn't gotten pregnant?"

"I don't know, I hadn't really thought it through. I just, after Alex said everything that he did, I panicked. I just had that feeling again, that I was going to be all alone and I needed, I needed someone. I can't, I couldn't, I," she shook her head, unable to continue speaking through her tears.

Harry sighed and leaned forward, pulling her into a hug. She cried onto his shoulder. He rubbed her back and tried to comfort her. When her tears had mostly subsided, he pulled back from her. "Ginny, I think you need to talk to someone about all of this. A Mind Healer." He honestly couldn't believe that Molly and Arthur hadn't taken her to someone right away.

"Dad told Mum the same thing when I got home from Hogwarts first year after the nightmares started. She insisted that all I needed was my family and that they would be able to help me get over it." Ginny sighed. "Sometimes, I wish Dad would have pushed harder."

"You can get help now," Harry said firmly. "You need to. You don't want to live your life like this."

"I know." She looked up at him. "Thanks for listening to me. Even though I was a complete bitch to you."

He gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry things didn't work out with us. I'll always care about you, you know. Maybe someday we can even be friends again."

"I hope so," she said. "I'm sorry too. That things didn't work out with us and for all I've done since. I'll talk to Ron too. Tell him to stop being such a wanker."

"Ron makes his own choices," Harry said. Truthfully, after the things Ron had said to him, Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to forgive the other man this time. "Just, if George sees that you've been crying can you tell him it wasn't my fault?"

Ginny looked at him quizzically.

"He sort of threatened me before I came up here and I really don't fancy looking over my shoulder for the next decade wondering how and when he's going to take his revenge."

Ginny laughed. "I'll make sure he understands." She smiled at him. "Thanks, Harry. You're a better person than I deserve."

"Good luck, Ginny. I hope everything works out for you."

"You too. I hope you can find someone that makes you happy." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

Harry stood and walked to the door, glancing back at her one last time before he left. He hoped he had already found that person.