Eyes of Green, Innocent Hearts

Chapter Two: Months of Mayhem

By: MarielleAine

Author's Note: I've become so good at coming up with cheesy titles; that's what AP Composition does to a person. Um... I'm sorry about the wait. Thank you to those who didn't give up on me and thank you to Iviolinist, who has been a wonderful beta-reader.

Ginny retched silently into the toilet bowl that was inches from her face. Groaning, she slouched against the door to the loo and wiped her mouth with a nearby wash cloth. A snore from the next room prompted her to relate her vomiting to Harry and it was a strange thought indeed. An odd sort of analogy popped into her head, something that had been happening a lot lately. She was always making comparisons, overanalyzing. Vomiting, she thought, is the act of expelling something from the depths of your insides, something you usually do not want to be seen or heard. Nevertheless, it comes out and it seems there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. It reminded her of the time in her first year when she had been utterly obsessed with the famous Harry Potter and sent him a Valentine. She abhorred the idea of his knowing how she fawned over him and avoided him as such. But she couldn't deny her feelings, however immature, and she thought she'd writhe up and die if she didn't let Harry know she cared.

Shaking her head, Ginny hoisted herself to her feet and returned to her bedroom where Harry lay sleeping peacefully. A frown twitched on her face. How dare he sleep so nicely when I'm here disposing of everything I eat! she thought. Her hormonal instincts took over and she hit him over the head with a pillow.

"What was that for?" came a groan from under the pillow. Harry's eyes peaked out at her with concern.

"Oh, Harry... I'm sorry, I'm just..." she tried to find the words.

"Irritable?" he offered. She glared briefly before sighing and nodding, looking out the window to a fresh October morning. She was extra sensitive this morning because it was Gryffindor's first Quidditch match and she'd had to give up the sport.

"Gin, I'm sorry..." Harry began, but she just waved a hand at him.

"Oh, don't be. It's fine; it's just hormones-" she was saying.

"No, not that," Harry interrupted her. She stared at him quizzically. "I mean, I know how much you love Quidditch... it's not fair that you get dragged into my problems. Too bad I can't just have the baby for you... I'm the one who should suffer-" This time Ginny was the one to interrupt. She placed a finger to his lips.

"Harry," she said simply and somehow both felt a bit calmer. "It's true we were rushed into things. I wouldn't give this up, though. How fair would it be for you to go through something of this magnitude all on your own? I know I've gotten the harder part of this so far, but you don't know what's to come. Imagine you trying to fend off Voldemort with a huge stomach ahead of you and a pair of swollen ankles." She smiled gently. He enveloped her in a hug and didn't let go.

Speaking into her hair, he replied somewhat teary eyed. "Gin, I wish that this hadn't happened... that things could have just happened in their own time."

"You know, I've been making all these strange comparisons lately... and I was thinking about that last night before bed when I was reading that book that Hermione checked out for me." She took a deep breath. "I think that our relationship is like a pregnancy. The moment I saw you things began to grow, and as I came to know you they just kept growing.... I think, had we continued how we were, we would have eventually gotten here, though under better circumstances. It's a bit like a premature birth, it's scary as heck at first, but now everything has settled down, just like a premature baby can turn out fine. We'll be fine, Harry," she said, arms still around his chest, willing herself not to let go. She pushed any reservations to the back of her mind. Truth be told, she was scared out of her wits that everything would end horribly. She was scared for her life, Harry's life and above all... the life of this little being within her. What if it didn't work out? What if Voldemort killed them? She shook her head and he placed a gentle kiss on her neck.

"HARRY! You're the one who wanted to practice bright and early before the match and you don't even show up!" bellowed Ron from outside the room, breaking the moment.

Grudgingly, Harry got up and walked to the door in his pajamas, grabbing his broom and Quidditch robes. He opened the door to a somewhat annoyed looking Ron. Ron glanced behind Harry to his sister sitting up on the bed watching them; he blushed a bit and shook his head.

"Let's get a move on, you can change in the locker room," he said. Harry turned and smiled at Ginny.

"I love you, Ginny," he said, closing the door behind him.

Later that day, Ginny sat beside Hermione in the stands watching her team. She frowned inwardly, knowing that it should have been her up there in the ring rather than Reserve Chaser Ella Marriott. She loved the rush feeling she got from the roar of the Gryffindors as she circled the pitch and finally settled into her position. Sure, they weren't just cheering for her, but it had felt so good.

Finally they were off and Gryffindor was having a rocky beginning. Ella hadn't had nearly enough practice; she seemed flabbergasted by Abigail Crimsley's attempt at a Reverse Pass towards her. Ginny cringed, knowing her own capabilities. She and the other Chasers were in sync with one another's every move, an unbeatable team. Ginny had gotten the cold shoulder from many a Gryffindor for quitting the team and breaking the perfection of it all. Of course, none of them knew about the little one. Ginny suppressed a small smile. Her little one.

Shaking her head, she turned to the game. Determined for a come back, Ella performed an admirable Porskoff Ploy, flying upward and leading the opposing Chasers to believe she was trying to escape them in order to score and then throwing down the Quaffle to Lara Bryant (the final Chaser), who was waiting to catch it.

All of Gryffindor cheered as Lara made a goal against Hufflepuff Keeper Natalie Donovan, who frowned, but continued to circle the hoops. The Hufflepuff Chasers, seemingly not amused, regained the Quaffle and attempted a Hawkshead Attacking Formation, where the Chasers form an arrowhead pattern and fly together towards the goalposts. The usually effective and highly intimidating play failed as Ron was performing a Double Eight Loop, swerving around all three goal hoops at high speed to block the Quaffle.

The game played for another quarter of an hour before the Snitch was finally caught. It had come of great surprise to everyone who'd been watching the Seeker. One moment he'd been flying around, seemingly searching for the Snitch and had carelessly swerved, looking as though he were just trying to avoid a Bludger. Then all of the sudden he'd retrieved the little golden ball from his sleeve in triumph; this was a rare move called the Plumpton Pass.

"AND IT'S POTTER WITH THE SNITCH!" cried the commentator.

The Gryffindors were all screaming at the top of their lungs, the first years most of all. Their first game had been a victory!

Not much could be heard over their raucous cheering as Gryffindors spilled out onto the field in wild applause and admiration. One could barely hear the muffled cries of a young red-head squeezing the life out of the Seeker Hero as she, with mixed emotions of happiness as well as sadness, sobbed "You did it! You did it without me!"

Hogsmeade was a beautiful sight in the fall. The leaves on the trees were red and orange and they would fall lazily to the ground one at a time.

Hermione nuzzled the soft animal in her arms and set him down beside her feet. He rubbed against her feet before trotting away.

"I can't believe you just let that cat wander so freely. What if he gets lost?" Ron said from beside her.

"He's not a cat!" Hermione said simply, unaware of the surprised looks she was receiving. They'd all expected "He's NOT going to get lost, Ronald Weasley!" or something of the sort. This was just strange.

Ginny looked at her strangely. "Not a cat?" she asked.

Hermione smiled. "No, he's half Kneazle. They're cat-like creatures that are intelligent, independent, and occasionally aggressive. They make for very loyal pets if they should come to like a wizard or witch. I happened to be reading one of our texts one day and I came across it. It was an amazing discovery."

"That part about being occasionally aggressive..." Ron was muttering. Hermione shot him a look.

"It's part of their nature to be able to detect suspicious characters," she said, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes, well, we're trying to get on better now. Aren't we, Crookshanks?" Ron asked the animal as it made its way back to them. It purred and rubbed Ron's hand.

"So, he's taken a liking to you, Ronald?" Hermione asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Harry and Ginny smirked at one another.

"We made a deal, " Ron winked. "I sat him down and said, 'Crookshanks, this feuding must end for the sake of Hermione and my friendship.' And he, smart cat that he is, gave me a look that said 'Too true, too true.'"

Hermione laughed and leaned up to kiss Ron's cheek, not really thinking about what she was doing. Both colored immensely when she jerked back and landed fully on the ground once more.

"Well, Gin. You said you wanted something out of Honeydukes?" Harry turned to his wife, breaking the silence.

"Oh, not anymore," she said, looking green at the thought. "But, mmm, I'd love some chocolate covered pickles."

The other three made faces of disgust. Ron and Hermione were happy for the distraction.

"Anyone who eats something like that cannot be related to me," Ron quipped.

"Mum did, Ronnie," Ginny smirked.

"Ah, don't call me that. Who have you become?!" he cried.

"I'm only teasing, Ronnie. Mum ate caramel covered pickles."

"Do you want me to throw up right here in front of the Three Broomsticks?" Ron asked, his eyes bulging slightly.

"I throw up every morning, you deserve a bit of it!" Ginny retorted.

"Children, calm yourselves, " Hermione said, a smile spread across her face.

"Hey, where did that Kneazle get off to?" Ron asked, looking around him for a patch of orange running around.

"Oh, I suspect we'll see him later at the castle," Hermione said with the wave of a hand as they entered the Three Broomsticks.

Luna and Neville waved them down to their table and the friends sat pleasantly enjoying each other's company before Madam Rosmerta came for their drink orders. She looked weary, as though she hadn't slept in a few days. She must not have, as Harry had seen a "Help Wanted" sign out front. With just herself to wait on everyone, she must have been quite stressed.

Harry smiled warmly at her and then proclaimed, feeling rather jovial, "Butterbeers all around, on me!"

Ron threw him a bit of a prideful look.

"Oh come on, my treat... Please, Ron?" Ron nodded his head as something snapped in Harry's head. "Oh! A couple of chocolate covered pickles, as well, please, " he requested. Madam Rosmerta set him with an odd look before nodding and turning away to the kitchen.

"Well this is the saddest looking group of misfits if I ever saw one," spat Draco Malfoy as he passed their table and he stopped to set a glare on Harry.

"Keep moving, Malfoy, " Ron stood, glaring down at the scrawny blond boy.

Malfoy only lifted his chin in a prideful sort of way. "One of these days..." he muttered maliciously and strode away.

Just as Malfoy had gone, Harry grabbed his head and as Ginny went to hold his hand, she felt her abdomen writhing in pain. Instinctively she cringed and grabbed herself around the middle. It was a strange sight for the other four to see and it had stopped as quickly as it had come.

Harry regained himself, shaking his head, and then looked down at Ginny. She had a hand at her heart, breathing deeply.

"That was strange..." Hermione said.

Before anything else could be said on the matter, Madam Rosmerta strode over to them.

"Ok. I have six butterbeers and two chocolate covered pickles." She sat them on the table and was gone. No one spoke for a while after that.

"One down, eight to go!" said Ginny happily as she took a seat beside Harry. The hall was decorated festively for the Halloween feast. Bats flew around just below the ceiling and small-lighted jack-o-lanterns floated silently above the students' heads.

"It'll be over in no time!" Hermione smiled, watching the bats with interest. One of them kept drooping, as though it was having trouble flying, but then would zoom back up with the rest of them.

Ginny smiled nervously. As much as she'd love to see her beautiful baby and rejoiced at the thought of her body being back to normal, she had a feeling something awful would happen first. Hermione, seeing Ginny's discomfort, furrowed her eyebrows.

"Have you given any though to.... what happened?" she said, leaning gently across the table so only Ginny could hear. Ginny shrugged her shoulders, she couldn't understand what had happened that day in the Three Broomsticks, but it hadn't happened again, and for this she was grateful. Hermione gave a noticeable frown, she'd wanted them to talk to Dumbledore, but they didn't want to bother him if it wasn't something that was frequently happening.

"Thought of any names?" a dreamy voice startled Ginny from behind. There stood Luna Lovegood. Neville was to his feet in an instant.

"If I have, I'm keeping them a secret," Ginny said, a sparkle in her eyes.

"Hi, Luna, how are you?" Neville asked with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Hello, Neville. Why, I'm just fine. We made cookies in Muggle Studies using an oven and I wanted to share them," she said, holding out a plate of orange cookies spotted with black.

All took some, but Neville was the first to take a bite. He opened his mouth to talk and a strange clucking sound left it rather than human syllables. Everyone else hid their cookies.

"Oh, I must have spilled some potion while I was making them, " she said looking distraught. "I thought I followed the recipe exactly," she continued, pulling out a crumpled paper and reading it over. She wandered back to her table and Neville sat back down, his mouth shut.

"We'll have to send him to Madam Pompfrey if it doesn't get better," Hermione said.

"I'll take him up later; she wanted to have a check up on me since it's been about a month." Ginny smiled to herself. It was quiet for a moment until all of the sudden the ceiling changed hues and rain came suddenly, without warning. Lightning struck outside and a few moments later thunder sounded as well.

"I love a good thunderstorm. Perfect for Halloween," Harry said. The droopy bat hung down by Ron's head for a moment and he swatted at it and patted down his hair.

"Well, I'm hungry," said Ron, going at his plate full-force as it filled with food.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course," she murmured so only Neville, Ginny, and Harry could hear.

November passed without too much activity. The month was utterly dreary, as the weather insisted on raining at least once a week. For Ginny, morning sickness continued and trips to the lavatory were frequent. Besides the fact that she was pregnant, the month seemed to pass rather normally at Hogwarts; students were soon getting into the Christmas spirit as December approached. They were only a few days into the month when students began slacking off and becoming stir crazy. Hermione's annoyance was at an all time high, especially as she sat in the common room attempting to study while everyone around her chattered loudly and laughed obnoxiously.

"Goodness, it's only the 7th! Christmas isn't for a bit and we have our N.E.W.Ts to take in June! This is definitely not the year to be slacking off," she reprimanded Ron and Harry, who were playing a rousing game of Exploding Snap.

"Oh, lighten up, Hermione! Life isn't just about working hard and getting places, it's about having fun as well! Christmas is almost here, aren't you happy about that?" Ron grinned.

Hermione's nose wrinkled in anger, masking an inner conflict. "Don't tell me to lighten up, Ronald Weasley. If you think-"

"Guys!" Ginny snapped. All three heads turned to the portrait-hole entrance. Ginny was looking menacing and holding her head. "I'm certainly not in the mood to hear a row. I've got a load of Intro to I.E. homework and a headache the size of Draco Malfoy's ego."

"You have Intro to what?" Ron asked in a befuddled sort of way.

Ginny sighed and dropped her bag in a chair near where Harry sat on the floor. "Introduction to Interpretations of Enchantments," she said in one breath. "It's much easier just to call it Intro to I.E."

"I wish I could have taken that class, it sounded so interesting, but Dumbledore strongly suggests that I don't take anymore classes. Of course, I know where that got me in 3rd year, so I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not, " Hermione said, knowing full well that she was rambling.

"What exactly do you do in that class?" Harry turned to Ginny.

"We study the origins of spells, why certain words are used, etc., etc.," she said, rolling out a piece of parchment next to a thick open book.

"It sounds boring to me," Ron muttered.

Ginny's glance caught the look on Hermione's face; she seemed to be attempting to hold back from saying something. Ginny thanked her with a smile for not starting anything and the girl sent a pained smile back. Ginny's eyes turned quizzical and she tilted her head and pursed her lips as if to say 'What's wrong?' but Hermione only sent an unsure shrug back, biting her lip. "Christmas," she mouthed back to Ginny.

"Oh, Hermione, I almost forgot," Ron mumbled as though he'd sensed her words from behind him and started fishing something out of his pocket. "Mum wanted me to give this to you," he said, handing her a somewhat crumpled envelope.

Hermione took it and opened it carefully. In a scrawl that was uniquely Mrs. Weasley's, the letter read:

"Hermione, dear,

Given your current situation I wanted to let you know that you're very welcome to come and spend Christmas at the Burrow with us. I just thought you wouldn't want to spend Christmas alone at Hogwarts, unless you've already planned on staying with other relatives. I know you don't like being reminded of your parents' situation, but I thought it best to personally offer the invitation.

Love,

Molly Weasley"

Hermione's eyes sparkled. "Tell your mum I'd be happy to come, Ron," she said. Ron gave her a small smile and nodded. Maybe this Christmas won't be so bad after all, she thought, staring at the back of Ron's freckled neck.

Within the next week and a half the students packed with a flurry of excitement and were waiting at the Hogsmeade train station impatiently for the Hogwarts Express to arrive. Well, most of the students were impatient. Hermione Granger and Ginny Potter kept looking nervously behind their shoulders, the train was going to be there any second and neither Ron nor Harry was anywhere to be seen. They'd left off in the Great Hall; the boys had forgotten their homework and hadn't been too worried about it, but the girls had made them go back to fetch it.

"Where are-OW!" Hermione cried, bending down and rubbing her knee. Crookshanks was in his carrier and wasn't very happy about it, he was thrashing wildly around occasionally causing the corners of the box to hit Hermione's leg . "I don't know what's gotten into this Kneazle," she said to Ginny, eyeing the case.

Ginny gave her a meaningful look before recognition sprung into her eyes. "Oh good, here they come!" she said, pointing behind Hermione's shoulder to where two frantic boys were rushing towards them, their bags swinging every which way. Ron and Harry were panting as they stopped in front of the two girls.

"Had to-" pant, "-run around-" pant, "-half the castle," Ron said.

"Our room isn't that far from the Gryffindor common room," Harry said after regaining his composure. Ron, however, was still looking dizzy and just about collapsed to the ground. Hermione set her things on the ground and grabbed a hold of his arm to steady him.

"Really, Ron, you think you'd be in better shape with all the Quidditch," she chided and Ron only laughed dryly.

"HERMIONE!" Ginny shrieked. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up and followed Ginny's pointing finger just in time to see Crookshanks sprinting away from them. Hermione was off in a second with Ron behind her.

"Gin, stay with the bags, love? You're in no condition to run, " Harry said in a rush, kissing her cheek and starting after them, calling that he could hear the train's whistle.

Ginny rolled her eyes, but stayed in place, rubbing her hands together in the cold and pulling her cloak tighter across her body.

Harry had a difficult time catching up to Ron and Hermione; they seemed to have disappeared into thin air. We don't have time for this! The train is already letting people on! his mind screamed as he looked back towards where he'd left his wife.

"Hermione! Ron! Where are you?!" he shouted. The snow that he hadn't noticed trickling down earlier seemed to be getting heavier and was beginning to drown out his voice. He surveyed the area and saw, unmistakably, that tell-tale Weasley red-hair. It was always Ron's dead give away. Harry made his way to where he now saw Ron and Hermione standing quietly in an alleyway. Crookshanks was there as well and he wove his way through Harry's legs, purring and rubbing against them.

"Guys, we have to..." he trailed off as his eyes met the ground and a cardboard box filled with six furry kittens. In the midst of the mewing animals lay a black cat, which appeared to be resting and allowing her litter to feed.

"Crookshanks, you've found a Kneazle like yourself?" Ron asked the animal, who shook his head "No" in a very intelligible way.

"Kneazles can interbreed with cats..." Hermione said softly and a bit distractedly before her head snapped up. "What do we do?" she asked, turning to Ron and Harry.

"There's only one thing to do," Ron said matter-of-factly, putting his arms beneath the box and lifting it. "We'll take them with us to the Burrow; Mum'll know what to do from there. Now, we need to catch this train, don't we?" He strode out of the alleyway in a fast paced manner. Hermione's eyes filled with pride and admiration and she followed.

The three met a very exasperated Ginny just outside the train; she was talking to the conductor and begging a few more minutes. She had not looked very happy with them until she caught sight of the kittens and bubbled with joy over them. The train ride didn't seem long at all, the foursome played with the kittens most of the way. Two cats were black, like their mother, and three were orange like Crookshanks, and the last was black with orange spots. Ginny formed an almost instant attachment to the calico colored kitten. She'd even lovingly named her Leslie.

"I think it's a very elegant name, cats are so graceful and beautiful. Leslie fits her well," she'd explained.

Harry and Ron had attempted to name the other cats, but only seemed to come up with names like "Blackie" and "Little Chum." When Ginny and Hermione had made fun of their attempts, Ron had defended himself, saying that he'd never had a real opportunity to name his pets. Scabbers had been a hand-me-down and Ginny had named Pigwidgeon.

"I could do it if I set my mind to it!" he cried. With one swift movement he picked up an orange kitten and examined it from every angle. Ginny and Hermione seemed to be having a difficult time containing their giggles.

"Orion!" he proclaimed. The giggles stopped.

"Ron, I'm impressed," Hermione appraised. He rested his blue eyes on her brown ones for a moment and then smirked.

"Why, thank you!" he said, bowing as well as his sitting position would allow and setting the kitten back down with its mother. She hadn't been too happy about Ron's theft of her baby, especially since they were still rather immobile and their eyes were just barely opening.

When the train finally arrived, Molly Weasley rushed toward the four with hugs. She immediately began fussing with Ron's hair ("Mu-um!") until her eyes rested upon the small furry creature that Ginny held in her arms. Hermione had set the rest of the kittens and their mother on the floor in their box.

"Well, what's this?" she questioned.

"Crookshanks has gone off and started himself a family," Ron said, trying to suppress his grin.

"Has he now?" Her expression was unreadable, like she wasn't sure what she was being presented .

"W-we were hoping you'd think of something to do with them, " Ron volunteered.

"I'll say I know what to do with them!" she said with conviction as the four teenagers stood in quiet confusion.

"There's always more room at the Burrow!" Her face broke into a grin, like she'd known all along that they were second guessing themselves in bringing the kittens to her.

Christmas morning, although the six youths were supposedly mature, was an event of excitement and anticipation. Molly and Arthur had been practically dragged out of their bed by Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny while Hermione and Harry stood awkwardly outside the door trying to contain themselves. As comfortable as they were with the Weasley seniors, they weren't ones to run in and jump on their bed. Soon everyone was downstairs and there was quite a lot of ripping to be heard.

Now, however, everyone was sprawled out on furniture. They had, after all, gotten up at five a.m. and the present opening had taken a lot out of them. They were mostly quiet. Harry and Ginny lay out on the longest and widest couch, she within his arms. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even, but Harry just lay thinking contentedly.

Hermione sat in an armchair with her knees drawn up to her chest reading a book that she'd received. Typical as the situation was, the book was quite different from one that any Gryffindor or Slytherin alike had seen her reading. Ron had given her a book titled Muggle Fairy Tales: Fact or Fiction which was met with a skeptical glance, but a thank you nonetheless. Ron had shrugged, saying that it looked interesting and that she was well over due from some real light reading. A grin tugged at her lips as she remembered this now.

The twins had already retreated to their bedroom for some testing with new materials that they'd received and Ron was lying face down on the sofa that opposed the one where Harry and Ginny lay.

Molly walked into the room from the kitchen and, spoon in hand, put her hands on her hips.

"I don't know why you kids do this to yourselves every year. You could just wait until later in the morning to open presents and then you wouldn't lose all your energy!" she chided with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a tradition, Mum, " came Ron's muffled reply.

"Yes, I'll be thanking Bill and Charlie for that," she said, but she still smirked.

Ginny's eyes opened softly and she spoke, surprising everyone who'd thought that she had been sleeping. "Remember that year when Bill and Charlie woke everyone up at two a.m. and forced us all downstairs because they couldn't wait to get what they were hoping was new Quidditch gear?" Ginny grinned.

"And then they opened a few presents, which were books, and there were none left for them! They looked so distressed." Ron cracked a grin.

Molly joined in, her eyes alight with glee as she remembered such a happy time. "And then Ginny, an adorable button of five, said 'Heard Sainty Nick making lots of noise outside last night.' And they scrambled to the door and there were two brooms floating and a couple more gifts on the ground. That was one of our best Christmases; your father had gotten a bonus that year." Molly grinned wistfully. "My Ginny was quite the adorable little girl. She always brought out the best in her brothers, " she said to Harry, who smirked while his wife blushed.

Molly sat down in a vacant armchair, discarding the spoon on a table. "One time Ron was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with an angry pout on his face, feeling sorry for himself because Bill was graduating and everyone was in a fuss and not paying a bit of attention to him. Ginny came over and said, 'Ron, how many freckles do you have?' and they set about trying to count them. I remember he was in a much better mood after that."

Ginny blushed harder. "Mum...." she said. Ron, too, was blushing. Their mother had always been a nostalgic one.

"No, go on. I like hearing the stories," Harry said, his smile warm and interested.

"Well, one time I was doing the dishes and Ginny came in and tugged at my skirt and said, 'Mummy, when you were born was there color or was everything black and white?'" Harry laughed right out and Ginny elbowed him playfully. Hermione was smirking behind her book and Ron, who'd heard all the stories many times, was snoring from the couch. Molly sighed contentedly and walked back into the kitchen, forgetting her spoon as her mind was filling with memories.

At the end of break Ginny just couldn't seem to leave Leslie, who had grown attached to her as well, and Hermione had told her that she could have Leslie as a second Christmas present. They'd been embraced in a hug just before midnight on New Year's Eve over the matter and when the countdown had ended Ginny'd turned to Harry with a kiss and Hermione, on instinct, turned to Ron. There had been a bit of embarrassed conversation before they decided that they could follow through with the tradition, because after all, they said, it was just that. They'd pecked on the lips and gone to bed with rosy cheeks. The next morning found them on the train bound back to normal life, if you could call it that.

"Harry," Ginny said, glancing up from the closet door where she was retrieving her uniform.

Harry groaned from the bed. "I don't want to go back to classes yet."

Ginny only stopped her rummaging through the wardrobe to raise an eyebrow pointedly at him. Relenting, Harry sat up and let his feet fall to the wooden floor below. Leslie stood on the bed and stretched before relaxing and pouncing off the bed and bounding over to where Ginny stood.

"You should have done your homework earlier so you could have gone to bed when I did. That's why you're so stressed and tired," she chided, pulling on her blouse and skirt. They were a little snug, even after the Enhancing Charm that she'd done a few weeks back, and she had to enhance them again so that they'd fit lightly around her stomach. Leslie was nuzzling her swelling ankles.

"You're starting to sound like Hermione," Harry chided back, but got to his feet and joined her at the closet door. She shot a look at him and he set about looking for his own uniform.

"I've already gotten them out for you," Ginny said. She stopped fumbling with her tie to point to a chair where Harry's clothes were folded. Seeing the clothes, Harry's heart softened and he turned to her and gathered her up in his arms. Her own arms were at rather awkward positions, as she had been dressing and not paying attention, but they slid easily around his waist. Harry brought her head to his face and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the refreshing scent, before turning her head to kiss her soundly.

When he pulled away, Harry had a goofy grin on his face. "I love you," he said through his smile, and strode to the chair and set about swapping shirts.

Ginny grinned to herself and pulled her enchanted robes on, her round little stomach disappearing behind the folds, leaving her looking as she had before she'd gotten pregnant. This was very handy for keeping too many questions from being asked.

When both were ready, they set out for the Gryffindor common room to meet up with Ron and Hermione. The two seemed a bit impatient when Harry and Ginny arrived. Their walk to the Great Hall was uneventful and when they finally got there they took their regular seats. Many students had already finished their breakfasts and were busily scrawling things on pieces of parchment. Forgotten homework was never a new thing.

"Ms. Granger," came Professor McGonagall's voice. Hermione looked behind her to see the woman standing with a rolled parchment in her hand and worn eyes.

"Yes?" Hermione asked.

"Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you. Come, follow me," she said, motioning for Hermione to get up.

Hermione did so, sending a shrug back towards her friends questioning gazes. She suspected it had something to do with her Head Girl duties.

Harry and Ron turned back to their food, expecting to see her in Potions later that day, for they had Divination first.

The strange thing was, though, that Hermione didn't show up in Potions. She didn't show up in any other classes they had later that day either. By the time that they were finally set free to the common room they were very worried indeed.

Ginny came walking down the stairs to the girl's dormitory, her eyes were red and she seemed fearful and very upset.

Harry and Ron glanced at each other, more worried than ever now.

"Ginny, are you all right?" Harry asked, taking her into his arms. She began to cry onto his shoulder and every time she made to speak, her voice seemed to have faltered.

"You better go check on Hermione yourself. I hope she's not sick. I'll stay here with Ginny," Harry said, smoothing her hair. Ginny's distressed eyes caught Ron's for a minute and she was nodding at him, telling him to go. Ron retrieved his broom and started up the stairs. When they'd found that the boys were unable to walk up the girls stairs, they had decided sometimes it was necessary to go up there anyway and so they had thought of using the broom. There would be no slipping on enchanted stairs anymore.

Ron shifted his weight and held to the broom with this left hand while he opened the Head Girl dorm at the top of the stairs with his right. Hermione was laying face down on her four poster bed, her arms dangling off either side. Muffled sobs were coming from where her face was smashed against her pillow. Ron got off his broom as fast as he was able to and threw it lightly to the corner, moving quickly to kneel beside her bed.

"Hermione!" Ron's eyes looked pained at the sight of her in such a depressed state. He put an arm on her back and she sniffed and looked at him.

"Ron?" she asked, her eyes blurring all vision. Her face was blank for a moment before she began crying harder than ever and launched herself into his arms.

"Sh, what's wrong?" he asked, a terrible frown on his face.

"My parents are dead!" she gushed, forcing her forehead to his shoulder and crying out more and more.

"That can't be... the Fidelius..." Ron murmured, shocked, and Hermione only continued crying. "Tell me how..." he asked gently.

Hermione looked up for a moment, she was now sitting on the floor, practically in his lap as she'd flung her arms around him in an attempt to gain some comfort. She gained enough composure and began. "It was New Year's … just yesterday... Dumbledore, of course, had told no one where my parents were... not even me!" She rubbed at her nose and then suddenly shut her eyes in pain, her hand finding its way over her mouth. She shook her head and continued. "Well, apparently my mum was very depressed at not being able to go out and see anyone. They couldn't contact anyone, see, or the charm would be broken. Well, Mum would cry herself to sleep every night and... I imagine she thought that her chances were good if she just... just..." Hermione was crying hard again, her body convulsing. Ron was still holding her, staring at her with as much sympathy as he could muster. Sniffing in again, Hermione continued. "She contacted my grandmum... they were together for only a couple of hours and Mum went home. She didn't know how wrong she'd been to do it... Oh, Ron, what am I going to do?" she cried. Ron only held her tighter, patting her back. His eyes were watery now as well. Ron had always liked Hermione's parents. Her mum was a bit quiet, but overall a very friendly woman, who had always been so nice to him and who had befriended his mother almost instantly when they'd met. Her father was a funny man; he was always cracking lame jokes and wriggled his eyebrows when he thought he was being ominous. All he could do was sit there and rock her while she cried heavily onto his shoulder.

Hermione didn't show very much emotion after the unfortunate passing of her parents, but she did not go back to being her old self. She seemed much too traumatized by all that had happened and seemingly became an empty shell of a person. Mostly she wandered around with blank eyes; she didn't take notes during lessons. It didn't matter though; she'd already taken notes for things months previous to the recent events. She just sat there all the time, she must have been thinking but she didn't seem to be thinking. She just always looked as if she was staring off into space and her friends didn't dare let her go anywhere by herself. She was always just running into things. Ron was always tugging at her elbow to pull her back on course or grabbing her shoulders to keep her from walking straight into another student. All this was not for lack of grieving, however. The Gryffindor girls would complain nearly every morning of a sort of wailing, moaning sound echoing through the stairwell late at night and they were mystified as to what the source was.

Weeks passed, and while life didn't necessarily go back to how it had been before, the time that had gone by had helped to give life some semblance of being normal.

Valentine's Day was in just two days and Ginny was feeling a bit neglected at the moment. Harry had buried himself in studying for his N.E.W.Ts in an attempt to rid his mind of the air of death that seemed to hang over them. He was paying less and less attention to his wife, turning up in the dorm late at night after she'd already gone to bed and assigning early Quidditch practices every morning to get ready for their upcoming game against Ravenclaw. Ginny couldn't help but feel like Harry was avoiding her, and she was so disconcerted by this fact that it only seemed to deepen this chasm in her heart that had begun growing when she was only eleven years old.

On Valentine's Day nothing spectacular happened. Harry seemed to have forgotten about it. Ginny had stormed into the library in a rage, much to Madam Pince's chagrin ("Well, I never!"), and stomped over to where Harry was slumped over books.

"I don't know what your problem is, Harry Potter, but I'm becoming very upset with you!" she cried. Harry winced noticeably and looked around. Madam Pince was looking menacingly towards the redhead.

"Ginny..." he said with a pained expression.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I didn't say anything when you decided to burden yourself with so much work. I thought you were just distracting yourself, but Harry, it's hurting me, too! I'd have thought you'd done at least something on Valentine's Day." With that she stormed out of the library with Harry trying to catch up with her.

In their dormitory the fight only continued. "I didn't think you really cared about Valentine's Day; it's just a silly holiday," he said, still stunned by the amount of fury he'd just witnessed.

She looked shocked. "It may be a silly holiday, but after these past few weeks it was my only hope of getting at least a little bit of attention from you... Harry... you just don't know me at all, do you?" Her face looked terrified, as though she'd just realized something vital. "No, you don't know me at all!" tears were streaming down her cheeks and she fled their room. Harry was much too drained to follow her and he sunk to the floor on his knees.

When Harry entered the common room a couple of hours later he saw Hermione sitting on the couch staring off into space with Ron kneeling on the floor in front of her, leaning over the coffee table seemingly peering at a parchment.

"Hermione, you haven't finished your essay have you?" he asked her. Her eyes lingered on something on the ceiling before she slowly looked down at him.

"Hm? What was that, Ron?" she asked.

"I said you haven't done your essay. Do you want some help?" It was something that Ron was asking to help Hermione with homework. All he wanted was for her to go back to how she'd been... that insufferable know-it-all that he really really loved deep down. He knew that when she finally decided she needed to get on with her life, she would regret throwing all her hard work and planning to the wind; right now her Head Girl title might even be in jeopardy.

"Hey, guys?" Harry asked. Ron looked up and gave a half smile and a wave.

"Have you seen Ginny?" he asked. An unreadable look came across Ron's face.

"She came bounding in here a couple of hours ago. She looked upset; I think she said she was going to the Quidditch pitch to think." Harry nodded and turned on his heel, making his way to his room to retrieve something and then out to the pitch.

Sure enough, Ginny was sitting in the stands. Her coat was wrapped tightly around her, as it was February and still quite cold. Harry walked behind her and wrapped her in the blanket he'd brought from their room. She looked up, feeling guilty at having yelled at him. "Hi," she said in a small voice.

"Hey." He plopped down beside her. "You don't think I love you, do you?" he asked.

"Oh, Harry, I'm just scared. Sometimes I think you..." she rolled her eyes at her own awkward behavior. "It just seems like I'm only one of your many priorities and nothing special. Like... you took this on because of the prophecy... because it goes with being Harry Potter and you didn't think twice really about how you were really feeling about me, even if you didn't know me that well, and well...." She was rambling on, twisting the edge of the blanket around her fingers. She turned to face him, her eyes solemn. "I know we've known each other for so long, but do you really know me, Harry?" she asked biting her lip.

Harry was quite a moment. "I...." He began, feeling awkward himself. Not knowing anything else to do, he pulled the flowers that he'd been concealing from his cloak. These were not the droopy apologetic flowers, nor were they the typical Valentine's roses. Clenched in Harry's hand were six brilliantly yellow daffodils, not showing the slightest bit of wilting.

Ginny's mouth opened slightly and she closed it in utter amazement. "Did Hermione tell you..." she started and Harry only shook his head.

"Well... I..." he smiled sheepishly. "Back before second, that is my second, year I saw you propped on your knees in the back garden leaning over a patch of daffodils. At the time I thought it was charming, at that point it was not one of those things that pervaded my thoughts. Then in third year you brought me that get well card that sang so high... it almost gives me a headache thinking about it." Ginny looked down at her hands, smiling slightly, and Harry laughed. "I remember distinctly that you had drawn a daffodil on the front. At the Yule Ball you had one behind your ear, they were on your bedside table in the hospital wing after the Department of Mysteries, you were doodling them on your paper when I was trying to help you with Muggle Studies last year, you had them at our wedding..." Harry seemed exasperated.

Ginny stared at him wide eyed as he continued. "You think that I don't know you, Gin? I don't just learn things about you from what you tell me, I learn from what you do as well. There are about a million other little things like that that I've just... noticed." Ginny looked like she could cry and that's exactly what she did. She looked at her hands again and sobbed.

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you," she said. Harry only replied by scooting closer to her and squeezing her shoulders against him.

"I'm sorry that you've felt bad. Things will probably only get more rocky from here on out, but I'll try and let you know that I care as often as I can." He kissed her forehead and reached a hand across to rest on her abdomen. The gesture put them both at peace and they sat contentedly for nearly another half an hour before deciding it was getting much too cold.

One month later, Harry and Ron stood over a sleeping Hermione. "She just sleeps in all her spare time now, Harry," Ron said. Harry nodded, looking at the sleeping girl who was lying on the couch.

"She looks a lot more at peace when she's sleeping. Her face, I mean," Harry said. It was mid-day and the seventh year students had a free period after lunch.

"She's got to move on. She only does her homework when I make her. When I make her, can you believe that? McGonagall has been hinting about Head..." Ron was cut off by a flurry of excitement near the portrait hole.

"Hello, laddies!" Seamus Finnigan came bounding over to the boys, but all they saw as he crossed the floor to stand next to them was a blur of green. Harry and Ron glanced at one another.

"Laddies?" Harry questioned the same time Ron had asked, "What are you wearing, Seamus?"

"It's March 17th... Saint Patrick's Day, a day for all things Irish!" He replied jovially, to which Harry and Ron smirked at one another. "I love this holiday," he continued, "Me mam always sends me loads of cookies. Would you two like to come up and have a few? I haven't really talked to you in a while, Harry, what with you moving out and all." He raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, Lavender refuses to come anywhere near me when I'm dressed like this, so my company is sparse today as it is."

"I'm going to stay with Hermione, but you go on ahead," Ron replied. Harry nodded and followed Seamus up into the boy's dormitory where he found at least five boxes that were filled to the brim with cookies.

Meanwhile, in the common room Ron sat down on the few inches of spare room on the couch next to Hermione's stomach. His face held a troubled expression. She was on her side with her left hand cradling her head and her right forearm dangling over the couch. Ron's movement didn't seem to wake her in the slightest; she'd become a very deep sleeper over the past three months.

A thought, or even somewhat of a memory, sprang into Ron's mind and it stunned him. Glancing around the common room, though, he blushed visibly to see that they were all alone just as they had been one day in the Hospital Wing one day during the Basilisk attacks. A million worries filled his mind and he began to sweat, but his curiosity won out and he leaned down to kiss the sleeping girl soundly on the lips. He felt a flutter on his cheek and glanced at her shocked brown eyes. He stood abruptly, looking nervous. Hermione got to her feet as well, though much more slowly than Ron had. She wasn't looking at him, but off to the side and seemed to be contemplating, an array of emotions fleeting across her face. She finally faced him, her mouth tight, and he knew instantly that she was angry with him.

Her eyes looked dark as she spoke. "Are you trying to play on my emotions?" she asked rather loudly, looking confused.

"Look, Hermione, I'm pretty sure you know..." he began, but she just looked pained and clamped her hands over her ears.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she screamed, bolting towards him and hitting him on the chest ferociously and as hard as she could.

He was shocked and grabbed her upper arms in an attempt to calm her, but she just continued beating with her little fists, until she was limp and crying and beating with much less force.

Ron was utterly befuddled. "All this because of one little kiss?" he asked.

Through her tears she shot him a glare. "You can't just do things like that, you great prat!" she yelled.

His arms hung loosely around her back now, one hand unconsciously patting her.

"I don't need anymore heartache-"

"But I love you, Hermione," he said, his eyes filling with worry.

"-and I don't need that. I'm trying to grieve," she finished.

"So you're not making any attempts at feeling better?" he asked.

Her eyes watered again. "If I just went back to how I used to be... just forgot about them, wouldn't you think that I was cold hearted?"

"Well, you'll obviously never be the same... but this can't take over your life."

"It won't. I should just grieve for a little while." She looked away from him.

"They wouldn't want that, Hermione!" he said. "They'd want you to be happy... It's okay to be sad about this; it is a very sad thing... but don't let it control your life. Look at Harry, well maybe that's not the best example, but Harry is often upset about what happened to his parents, but he still moves on with his life. He knows that he needs to be here because he's important to the fate of our world. He laughs and worries about stupid things like any other teenager though and..."

"And his parents died sixteen years ago, Ron!" she cut him off.

"Time is not what is important, because no matter how long ago it was that your parents died, it will always be sad and your life will always be different. Your parents would be upset knowing that you were forcing yourself not to be happy on their behalf. They would want you to be happy."

Hermione just stared at him and then hugged him hard. "I'm so confused as to what I want, Ron," she said, her cheek smashed against his chest.

"Can I do anything to help you?" he asked sincerely.

He was answered with heavy breathing.

"Sh, here they come!" Harry whispered to Ginny at breakfast two weeks later, sitting on his post and having her do the same.

Ron and Hermione had walked into the Great Hall looking subdued, with Ron holding her hand lightly. They sat down across from Harry and Ginny as they'd done for so long.

"Has the post come, Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, mate. We just got here..." he said, and watched as Ron nodded and began eating his porridge. Suddenly, the bottom half of Ron's face had become the snout of a horse.

Harry and Ginny were laughing hard and Hermione was smiling slightly, but Ron looked visibly angry.

"Post has come. A present from Fred and George for April Fool's , " Ginny said, her eyes twinkling.

Ron's eyes were menacing and he tried to show his annoyance by sighing, but his horse lips sputtered and Harry and Ginny doubled over with laughter while Hermione had a hand over her mouth. A small giggling sound could be heard occasionally, but she was trying to keep it as quiet as she could.

Ron's nose was back to its normal state the next second and he was glaring at them, challenging them to say something.

From that point forward it seemed a lot easier for all of them to laugh, easier than it had been in months, in fact, and they were all feeling much more like themselves. Hermione had gotten back to doing her Head Girl duties responsibly and her homework was once again being completed a week in advance, depending on when it was assigned. She was not completely back to normal, but she was making an effort to get there—Ron's support was helping.

Easter break arrived and Luna and Hermione surprised Ginny with a small baby shower one day. Her mother, Tonks, and her two sisters-in-law (Penny and Fleur) had Flooed in. Even Professor McGonagall came, giving Ginny a stuffed animal that would change to different animals at the squeeze of its stomach.

Her mother gave her the same cradle that Ginny had slept in as a baby. Ginny had actually been the only baby to sleep in this cradle and it was adorned with pink bows, a curved hood, and a long satin skirt.

Penny, Fleur, and Tonks (who was dating Charlie Weasley) brought an array of baby clothes, from cute little shirts and pants to a bed time body suit with the words "Gryffindor Lions: Quidditch" on the front, and "7" on the back. Later Harry grinned at the outfit, looking proud ("Seven is my number!").

Hermione, the ever-logical one, gave bottles, binkies, and diapers and Luna gave a book of wizarding nursery rhymes. Ginny was feeling especially loved by the surprise and seemed to walk on air for a few days, until Harry started having late Quidditch practices again in preparation for the final game against Slytherin next month.

Ginny hated how bratty it seemed, but her emotions were so up and down these days and she wasn't doing a good job of controlling them. It didn't help that every time she took off her robes she felt incredibly ugly and fat.

One night she was sulking, taking a walk through the castle and holding onto a dead daffodil that she'd saved from when Harry gave them to her. Up ahead she saw Draco Malfoy coming her way, but he hadn't seen her yet, and she didn't want a confrontation with him so she ducked into the classroom to her right. She pressed her back against the door and sighed.

Of course the whole school didn't know that Harry and Ginny were married, but they knew they were at least officially together and Draco had found immense pleasure in cornering her when she was alone and making her feel trashy and dirty. In the state she was in right now, she didn't want to deal with him at all, no matter how good she was at standing up for herself when he picked on her.

She peeked out the door, but Draco seemed to have stopped, having met up with Pansy Parkinson. It didn't look as though they would be moving any time soon. Ginny winced in revulsion at the sight of the two hormonal teenagers and sat on the floor. As she stared across the room something caught her eye. There was a long mirror standing up in the corner and she stood and moved across to see it. At first she saw herself looking worn and miserable, but the image soon changed. Her face matured and her stomach flattened, she looked older and her dress changed to what she had worn on her wedding day. A man, Harry, materialized next to her and a bundle of white cloth appeared in Ginny's arms. They were smiling down at the bundle and Ginny realized it must be their child. She touched the mirror and her mirror-self held the baby with one arm and reflected what she'd just done at the same time. She recognized it as the Mirror of Erised; she had read about it when skimming one of the books in the library. She stared at the image for a few more minutes before she peered out the door again and saw that Draco and Pansy had left. She walked quietly down the hall, feeling significantly better.

There was an air of excitement in the Great Hall one sunny Saturday morning. The final Quidditch match of the season would be later that day and some students were even placing bets on whether Slytherin or Gryffindor would win. Ginny was excited as well, the team had played well this year and the probability that they would come out the victors was greater than anything expected from Slytherin.

Ginny tried not to feel a little bitter at her absence, but such emotions were hard to push from her heart. Nevertheless, she made an attempt to be cheerful and happy for the team.

Just one more month, Ginny thought restlessly as she walked with Harry to the Gryffindor changing room.

He was strangely quiet and Ginny knew it was on her behalf. She looked out the window to the clear spring day, feeling a bit annoyed that Harry seemed to be tiptoeing around the issue so as not to upset her. She wanted to mount her broom and join the team, but she was a big girl and could take disappointment.

Dumbledore passed them in the corridor and winked. Ginny grinned at him and nudged Harry to acknowledge the Headmaster. He smiled and continued walking, nearly tripping over Ella Marriott, who seemed to have dropped an armful of equipment.

"Sorry, Ella," he said, bending down to help her with the load. "Why isn't this in the locker room?" he asked.

"I-I was practicing last night and forgot to bring them back here, " she said, looking green and completely unhappy.

"Ella," Ginny said. The plaits in Ella's hair swished as she looked up to see Ginny.

"Oh, I didn't even see you there, Ginny, " she smiled sheepishly. "Of course, I didn't notice much of my surroundings until Harry came along."

"That's all right," Ginny said, offering a hand to help her off the ground. When their palms met, a jet of blue light shocked them. Ginny heard an "Ow!" and staggered back, squeezing her eyes shut as her bum hit the floor.

"Ginny! Are you all right?!" she heard Harry asking.

"Fine," she muttered, opening her eyes and taking in her surroundings. Hadn't she just been facing the opposite direction?

Her mind reeled at the next sight. She saw herself, a crumpled heap on the floor. Harry was bending over her in a panic. Looking down, she noticed two brown plaits resting on each of her shoulders.

She was just thinking about how strange and long her toes and fingers felt when Dumbledore rushed to them. "She probably just got a bit over-excited, she'll be fine," he said.

"Bu-," Harry began.

"You have a match to win, Harry. She will be fine," Dumbledore reassured, placing a hand on his shoulder. He glanced towards the bewildered girl in the corner. "You as well, Miss Marriott. I suppose you know what you must do." He winked. "Mobilicorpus!" he proclaimed and Ginny's body was in the air.

Harry stared after them for a moment, a strained look on his face. " All right then, Ella. Shall we get this to the changing room?" he asked. She nodded picking up her share of the load and followed him silently to the room.

Had Dumbledore just done that? Was he trying to say that he wanted her to play? Why would he do that? A million questions invaded her mind and they were on the pitch before she even realized it.

The whistle screeched and she jumped before grasping where she was and flying off to join the game.

It was a delight to fly again. She breathed deeply and was rewarded with a bruise on her arm. She'd been moving rather slowly, not helping her fellow Chasers, and a Slytherin Beater had taken his opportunity. Embarrassed at having been caught not paying attention, her ears turned red even in this body.

The Quaffle was being thrown back and forth just above her and she sped up and caught it, redeeming herself for the earlier foolishness. She dove out of the way of two oncoming Slytherin Chasers and threw the ball to Lara, who made the first ten points for Gryffindor.

Though she had gotten back into the swing of things, it was obvious that Slytherin had been practicing hard. It was lucky for her that she and the other Chasers were experts at keeping hold of the ball the way the Slytherin Chasers were swooping and hovering around them.

Ginny glanced briefly to Harry and Draco Malfoy, who were neck and neck, speeding around the ring. She caught sight of the scoreboard -they were tied- then turned back to Harry, who was being pushed rather violently by Draco. As they sped up, Draco kicked the end of Harry's broom and it faltered for a moment. He began to drop, but stretched his arm as far as it could reach and felt the flutter of wings on his fingertips. He kicked his broom again and it bounced upward, forcing the little ball into Harry's hand. Draco smashed into Harry a millisecond later and then set Harry with the deadliest glare he could muster.

Three fourths of the crowd roared in praise while the rest screamed obscenities. When all landed, Ginny was tired and sweaty. This body felt extremely weary and began tingling as the crowds ran to surround them. She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them, she was sitting up in a bed in the hospital wing, a large mound just ahead of her beneath the blanket. She sighed in exhilaration of the game, but wiggled her toes and thought of how good it felt to be home.

"I feel like my brain is about to explode!" Harry proclaimed, grasping his head tightly with both hands. For nearly two weeks Harry had been cramming and taking test after test for his N.E.W.Ts.

Ginny had to walk down the hills outside Hogwarts slightly faster than was comfortable to keep up with him. "Just be thankful that you've finished them," she said, grasping his arm in an attempt to slow down.

"But I can't help but worry now that they're over... What if I did terribly? What if no one will hire me?" Not only was he walking much too fast for Ginny's liking, but his words came out in such a slur that they were barely discernible.

"Harry, slow down! This walk was suppose to help clear your mind," Ginny said. They were standing in the roadway up to the castle, which suddenly seemed quite far away. Harry, finally getting a grip, noticed this as well.

"Wow, I didn't realize how far we had walked," he said.

"Yes, well you haven't noticed much for the past half an hour," Ginny heaved, sitting herself on the ground.

"Oh!" He crouched down beside her. "Ginny, I'm sorry. I forgot... well, I had so much on my mind and the robes... well, I'm a git is what I'm trying to say," he stumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"It's all right, Harry. Help me up, would you? It's starting to get dark; we should head back." She held her arms out to him, but as Harry went to pull her up, her face contorted strangely.

"Ooh, that didn't feel very good," she said.

"What? What's wrong?" Harry asked in a panic.

"Uhh, I think I've gone into labor, Harry," Ginny said, clenching her hands into fists and squeezing her eyes shut. "Yep, pain ten times worse and cramps I've had... and there goes my water..."

"W-what do I do? Uh, uh... we've got to get back up to the castle," Harry said, pacing.

"You think that I'm walking up that hill like this?" she screeched.

"Well, I can't leave you like this, Gin..." He glanced at the Hogwarts gates only a few feet away. "Here, let's just get you through the gates and then we can figure something out." He helped her up and supported her as she walked slowly through the big metal gates and sat her back down on the other side. "We can't Floo... no fireplace... can't make a Portkey... my broom would be no good even if I had it..." Harry was muttering.

"Just call the Knight Bus, Harry, for goodness sake!" she screamed.

"Right, right. Good plan. Okay." He pulled his wand from his pocket and held it out, the wrong end pointing upward. Harry quickly righted the wand and held it out.

BANG! The Knight Bus appeared right in front of them on the dusty path.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emerge-" began Stan Shunpike's familiar voice.

"No time, let us on!" Harry cried, interrupting him.

"'Choo got to go an' be so rude abou', anyway?" He seemed thoroughly affronted before catching sight of Ginny lying on the ground clutching her stomach. "Woss wrong with 'er?" he asked, his eyes widening and his voice softening.

Harry reached down, unclasped her robe, and threw it to the side.

"Help me carry her on, would you, Stan?" Harry gestured to her stomach and Stan was off the bus and carrying her legs the next second. They placed Ginny on the nearest bed and she squirmed a bit.

"Where you gonna take 'er?" Stan asked.

"St. Mungo's," Harry said quickly.

"But that's for-"

"Just go!" Harry interrupted him again.

"Take 'er away, Ern, fast!" Stan said, sitting down in his armchair.

"Choo do that to her for?" Stand asked.

"Do what?" Harry asked from her bedside.

"Do what? 'elp 'er into the Puddin' Club, thas what!" Stan looked disapprovingly at Harry.

"I didn't help her into the Pudding Club!" Harry protested, angered by the accusation of impregnating a girl on accident.

Stan gave a skeptical look and gestured to her. " Then 'oo did?"

"Well, I..." Harry blushed furiously. "Well, it's none of your business, but it was no accident."

Stan's eyebrows raised even higher. "We're married!" Harry defended, but Stan only nodded his head as though he didn't believe Harry. Harry and Stan didn't speak for the rest of the ride, but Ginny's groans and crying kept the bus far from quiet.

When they reached Purge and Dowse, Ltd., the front for St. Mungo's, Harry reached into his pocket.

"Don' worry 'bout it, fer 'er sake." Stan waved a hand and helped Harry with Ginny down the stairs. When Harry glanced back, his arms supporting Ginny, the Knight Bus was gone.

Author's Note: Yep. How many months has it been? I'm so sorry. Life took over! And so did writers block. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out much sooner. This was the longest of the three. Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. (I applaud those of you who caught that pun.)