And there you all have it another chapter and not long to go! As always i will try and update sooner rather than later and i want to thank you all for your kind reviews that truely mean more than words at this diffiuclt time. I hope that everyone reading this stays safe and well.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.

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Beat Your Heart Out

Chapter 19-Regrets

Arthur and Ginny have a moment, Ginny is reacquainted with what's been going on in the wider Wizarding World while she has been at school and the Weasley's share a night together of peace in the Burrow before it all goes to hell.

Whatever Ginny had expected when she had told her family of her pregnancy—certainly what she had imagined anyway—she had not expected what had followed.

What had followed was what someone would call…normalcy.

Her brothers were perhaps the best part of it. They had adapted to her pregnancy like a duck to water. Within a week they had bought in bulk baby clothes in a gender neutral pattern, they had decided to magic her up a crib in her baby room and then they had started the debate over which one of them would be the perfect godfather. Of all the reactions she could have expected not even in her wildest dreams was that one of them.

Ginny had retreated to her room when that had happened because that was an argument that she was not getting into. She wouldn't tell them that she knew Harry's first choice would be Hermione and Ron, she couldn't tell them that she was now beginning to believe that, that would never happen and she was not going to tell them that she had once considered that if Luna was never found, if Hermione never came home then it would not be the worst thing in the world to contact Astoria and ask her to be the godmother—at the very least the look on her face when she asked would be something to remember.

But then she remembered that there was a very good chance she would not see Astoria again and she had to think of something else.

As the first week of the Easter holidays came to a close Ginny became aware of the tightening restrictions. She knew that soon enough the family would have to go into hiding, as Charlie pointed out one night over chicken pot pie (her mother now appreciating that Ginny couldn't stomach beef) they were 'the biggest bunch of blood traitors around here'. Ginny risked a look at the rest of her brothers sat around the table and knew they were all feeling that same surge of pride, the label to them was not something they should be ashamed off. They might be 'Blood-Traitors' but they were damn proud of it and they knew they had been raised right even if that meant that they would have to go into hiding. Even if that meant the destruction of the world and the lives that they had all known. And Ginny knew that even though they were doing a damn good job of hiding it that she had speeded up the process considerably.

And she hated herself for it.

She hated the fact that she had ensured that Bill and Fleur would spend their first year and maybe more of their marriage in hiding, that they might have to raise kids in that environment, that they might never get the chance to have children at all. That Charlie would have to give up working with dragons and come home or stay alienated from the family in Romania, not sure even if he could send a letter to Auntie Muriel's or that Fred and George were now preparing to run their business through hiding—that they were giving up Potterwatch the thing that Ginny knew (despite the fact that she didn't listen to it much herself)gave many students at Hogwarts comfort when they had nothing.

And then there was her parents.

Despite her mother's protests that she did understand and that she had recovered quite rapidly from the shock off finding out her last and her youngest baby was about to have a baby and had returned a little to the woman of old that Ginny had known her as. It was both comforting and a little overwhelming in the same way her brother's response had been. She had expected her family to scream and shout and hate her for bringing this danger onto herself and the rest of them. The very easy acceptance of her pregnancy (once the initial shock wore off) and the fact that she was bringing their normal lives to a close (considering the new law that they would be breaking when she did not get the Hogwarts Express back to school) had been something she did not expect. Actually when she thought about it—the only reaction—though it hurt like hell was her fathers.

The issue was…if Arthur Weasley had looked at her with disappointment…if he had treated her with the distain that many a man would treat his daughter at sixteen then she would have gotten that but it wasn't that. And that was what made it more and more harder to get her brain around. He was perfectly courteous whenever they were within the family—or if she their mother was in the room, because their father would never take an issue with anything their mother was accepting—call it the secret of a happy marriage, Ginny honestly didn't know. But she knew her father—and she knew when he was struggling with something and she could not forget the words that he used when he had told her that her secrecy required time to get over.

It made Ginny pause. Because if she was braver then she would be able to confront him. To demand that they have the conversation he was so clearly sitting on and keeping his mouth shut about but she did not. There was only so much that she deal with at one time and she thought that she had already pushed the boundaries of that so far.

And she was afraid of what that would mean for her relationship with her Dad, who had up until Harry had entered her life at a breakneck speed, been the most important man in her life. And when this baby was born he would be the most important thing in her life.

She wondered weather or not she was tempting fate that she still thought of the human dancing away inside of her as a boy.

But then again there were more important things to worry about.

The weather was becoming warmer when Ginny started packing her bag that would go with her to Muriel's. It was surprising to her how much of their things her parents had managed to get over there. Actually though Ginny didn't wish to sound ungrateful she was amazed that the old bat was letting them move in with them at all. In the last sixteen years that she had known the woman she had never thought family love and family unity was something she viewed important. For too long Ginny had thought that they were nothing to Muriel Weasley other than the poor relations.

And yet here they were preparing to go live with her, one old woman, two suffering in laws, the twins, potentially Charlie, her and the baby for Merlin knows how long and potentially she would never come out of hiding again.

Whenever she thought of that her hands shook. Once she had worried about keeping this baby a secret—now she was worried about what would happen when it was born. She sighed leaning against the pillows she had stacked against the bed eyeing her half packed bag with distain. She knew it needed finishing but she honestly didn't have the energy for it. Standing for too long made her back ache even more though she had learnt by now the irritable fact that just when she got comfortable she'd either get the bitch that was acid reflux or need to pee so much so she was sure she was wearing thin the carpet that connected her room to her bathroom.

Forcing herself to her feet Ginny carried on packing her bag, the toys and the clothes she had made went in first, some books, both for the baby and for her, her quills and parchment, several muggle skincare products she had picked up along the way of sharing a dorm with four other girls and a bedroom most summers with Hermione, and then she went for the photographs that were tacked above the bed and around the small desk. There were several of the Weasley family throughout the years—the last one had been at Bill and Fleur's wedding before it had all gone to shit and Ron had not been a marked man or a man who everyone thought had Spattergroit. Then there were the ones with the girls from school, Dumbledore's Army, the signed picture of Gwenog Jones that she had gotten signed at Slughorn's Christmas party last year when the world despite having darkness at the edges was still one of the better years she'd been at Hogwarts (and she would be damned if the son or daughter of Ginny Weasley would grow up to be anything other than a Harpies fan) and then she opened the draw and reached for the picture she had kept folded up underneath a book that spoke about the feelings girls went through when they became teenagers (as to detract from nosy brothers) and she unfolded it.

She had Harry had, had the photograph taken during those months after they had brought back the cup. She had kissed him and after the walk (and the several hours of kissing in the grounds that had followed) they had come back to the common room and someone (and she suspected Colin or Dennis Creevey) had taken and placed that in the side pocket of her bag.

She would not look at the well-worn, well traced face of the man that she loved that had not looked like he was running towards death (though she did wonder if he had known that it was a possibility) and closed her eyes massaging her temples and resisting the urge to cry again. thinking of Harry always seemed to make her cry. She blamed a combination of the hormones and Harry—actually that was true in itself because Harry was the reason she was having such strong hormones—when she thought about him and she was reduced to tears. She didn't want to go through that again so she dumped her bag on the floor and then toed it under the bed and walked down the stairs and slipped out through the back door and towards the overgrown garden that was still infested with the dratted gnomes that had plagued her childhood.

And there would be an even limited time she'd have in this sprawling mass that was her garden. In one week their lives would all be on the line once the Carrows and Snape realised that she had not come back to school.

She was sat on the little bench that was crookedly sunk half into the leg feeling the sun on her face. The bench was crooked and half made because it had been their father's dream one summer before Ron had gone to Hogwarts to make a bench the muggle way. It had took him a month in which he, Fred and George had become overexcited about the hammer, Percy had stood on a nail and had hobbled around for three days afterwards and Ron had gotten dunked in paint.

Their mother had took the more measured approached and had used magic to finish it and had promised to send Fred and George to Durmstrang ("Where you'll both freeze within the month") if she caught them using the hammer.

There was a pause where she sat there and then she felt both the sun go in a little and someone sit down next to her. She opened one eye fully prepared to tell whichever one of her brother's it was to leave her alone in the sun but she saw it was her father, she forced herself to sit up smiling on the outside and on the inside cursing because she felt so bulky and tired against the sleekness that was…well…anyone's figure compared to hers these days.

"So" her father said finally into the silence that was punctuated by the birds singing coupled with the sound of the gnomes swearing. "Are you prepared?"

"For going into hiding next week or for having a baby?" Ginny said because she was beyond keeping control of her tone and she was beyond keeping secrets or hiding her feelings or mincing her words. The corner of her Dad's mouth twisted upwards and she thought that, that had to be a good sign. He carried on looking out over the garden and Ginny wanted to speak but she found much in the same way she had been in the aftermath of the Chamber of Secrets, that she had nothing to say.

"I've been thinking" her father said finally into the silence. "About some of the things that you were talking about, about some of the reasons why you stayed. Your mother and I…we thought about joining the Order the first time. Your Uncles went to Dumbledore straight out of their first job and they came round to dinner one Saturday as they always did and they told us. We carried on as normal but your mother and I talked about joining up but we had at the time your brothers, and besides the way Fabian and Gideon described it…they made it look easy. And then—well—you know how that story ends. I never thought about it much before. It's just…I've seen so many girls in your position. Alice Longbottom, Tonks, Lily Potter…all of them young girls who thought they could juggle both a war and a family. It was never something I wanted for you. And they all had husbands and they all graduated Hogwarts to boot! You won't get that chance"

Ginny nodded, she knew that, it had been something that she had acknowledged when she had stared up at the sunlight hitting the glass windows of her school, her home away from home.

"I know this is a huge nightmare for all of you" she said finally feeling her eyes grow wet.

"It's not that" her Dad said finally. "Your mother and I have known for a while that we were going to have to go into hiding at some point. So much of our lives is dependant on weather or not Ron is seen with Harry…you know I assume we are all being watched?"

Ginny nodded. Fred and George had filled her in on that one a long time ago.

"And then there's the added worry of what the twins are doing with Potterwatch—oh yes I know about that one" he said at Ginny's raised eyebrow. "All over the ministry, half of it's employees probably listen to it when they get home. One night they got raided and Lee Jordan and some girl he was with got pretty banged up. They managed to get away just in time and they kipped here for a bit but that doesn't help. And I have a sneaking suspicion that…well…someone on the inside might be taking names of the list of muggle-borns to be hunted because they still don't seem to know the location of a good few of them"

Ginny wondered if by 'someone' he meant Percy but her father's expression had become so wooden whenever he was named, and this conversation was so crucial to their relationship moving forwards that she didn't dare. She had not thought much of her older brother since he had left but she found herself strangely sad that he might not get the chance to meet the niece of nephew that was steadily beating out a drum path on her bladder.

"What upsets me Ginny is that this isn't the path I wanted for you. I wont lie, I expected you to use better judgement when it came to things like this, and even if you didn't I'd have expected it off Harry. I get what it is like when your in a war and you think that every day must be your last but…but even so…following in your parents footsteps should only get you so far. Your mother and I love each other and we have a wonderful marriage and I'm not saying you and Harry cannot have the same future but I wont lie and say I wanted better for my children and for you than a teenage pregnancy before you were even of age"

Ginny nodded. It was hard to take the reprimand but she took it.

"I'm scared, Harry will never see him" she said finally. "I'm scared that he's never going to go to Hogwarts—I don't even know if he should take my last name or Harry's or if the Carrows might one day crack Neville open like an egg—like they did to his parents and he spills the beans. I didn't think it would be this terrifying, and that's before I think about the pain and the actual birth and if something goes wrong. I mean what happens then?"

"Oh it's a boy is it?"

Ginny smiled slightly relieved at the teasing tone, she shrugged.

"In my head he's a boy. I don't know why it's just how I imagine it"

"Your mother thought every baby after Percy was going to be a girl so I wouldn't go around painting the nursery just yet. But as for what happens…well…I cannot promise anything, but I can promise you that this family protects each other and it will protect you and this baby, I can promise you that you will be a great mother because you are a great person and as for what happens if Merlin forbid something happens to you—what do you think your mother and brothers would do let the baby starve?"

Ginny laughed wiping the tears from her eyes. Her Dad let out a soft sigh and pulled her close so that they were hugging as best as they could. They stayed there for a long time and Ginny never saw her mother watching from the kitchen window, her smile soft and her eyes filled with the kind of satisfaction that came when you knew you were right.

That night Bill and Fleur declined to come to dinner and Charlie left via floo back to the Dragon colony to oversee a Hungarian Hortails birth of a dragon that apparently required his help. They both promised to be back and that left a rather enjoyable night with Ginny, her parents and the twins who were talking rather animatedly about their plans to expand their joke shop from London into a store they had been eying up Hogsmeade once the war was over.

Ginny's mum had overdone herself in cooking all of Ginny's favourites—at least her pregnancy favourites which included for some reason chicken with garlic sauce alongside mounds of buttery scrambled eggs and other forms of breakfast for dinner.

"You know" George said dumping ketchup on his eggs as the sky darkened around them. "You should do this more often Ginny, breakfast for dinner is such a good idea when it's done well"

"Yeah especially when your not drunk singing the Hogwarts School Song in your underwear as Angelina Johnson is dancing alongside with you in a state of undress" Fred muttered with a wink at Ginny who choked on her water before she started laughing. George went a delicate shade of pink and kicked Fred under the table. Ginny knew that despite the fact Fred had been the one to take Angelina to the ball it had been George who had, had the crush on her since his voice had dropped.

Their father sighed. "I should hope that this is the last surprise pregnancy we have to deal with" he said using a stern tone that had nothing to do with the twitch at the corner of his mouth indicating his desire to smile. "But a wedding post the war George would keep us all in a good mood"

Fred nearly wet himself. George muttered something about it 'not being that serious yet' and then busied himself with helping their mother prepare desert who was looking rather pleased with the way this conversation had gone.

All in all it was one of their better nights despite the fact that they were missing various members of the family as keenly as they were missing limbs.

That night Ginny closed her curtains and placed her bag on the desk in case she needed to grab it. She had a change of clothes and a pair of shoes by the desk but she did not think it would be tonight. She was prepared for a week from now. Tomorrow she thought leaning back against her pillow as the baby kicked and her back protested again—she would take her broomstick out for a fly.

"You'll love it" she said to the bump. "With parents like me and your Dad how can you not? I was a chaser, he was a seeker, your Uncle Ron was keeper, your Uncles Fred and George were beaters, your Uncle Charlie was a seeker too, and your Granddad James played Quidditch too. I'd be very surprised if you didn't love the game too, not that it makes any difference to me. But if you could play chaser instead of seeker that would be nice, your Dad used to always get targeted by the other team a lot more than me."

She giggled remembering and the baby gave another kick though it was gentler. She patted the bump and then turned to light off placing her wand on the edge of the table next to her.

"Night baby"

Her last thought before sleep claimed her was that she might have an idea about the baby's name. At least his first name.

Had there really been any doubt about it?

It could have been hours later or not. Time when she was asleep was difficult to track and Ginny was deep into sleep when the banging on her door forced her awake.

Her first thought were the Death Eaters—they had finally found out about Harry's baby, about her baby and they had come for her. She gasped staggering upright reaching for her wand. The baby at being so rudely awakened no doubt began to kick in a fury and Ginny backed against the window ready for a fight her heart in her mouth.

The door opened.

It was not the Death Eaters.

It was Bill.

He was windswept, his cloak askew, his eyes wide and the scars bleeding a painful red in his white face. Ginny looked at him, at the desperation etched in every part of his face and she knew that something had happened. Something terrible had happened.

She forced herself to swallow in the space of a second but before she could ask Bill was already speaking and the words seem to hang in the room slowing down time even as the shock of what had happened was evaporating, even as she was already moving.

"Ginny get dressed, grab your bag and go downstairs to where Fred and George are, they'll get you to Muriel's, we need to go now. They are coming for us. They know about Ron, they know about Harry, we can't let them know about you!"

And there you are let me know what you think, i will update soon as as i said in my note above-stay safe.

And yeah I am a huge George/Angelina shipper. I don't think that one date at a dance at fourteen means that Fred and Angelina were meant for each other and I don't believe they married each other out of profound grief. So my headcannon is that they fell in love before the war, before Fred and that is what I have written here. Don't like it then that's fine you can skip that paragraph.

Next Chapter-Ginny and the family run to Aunt Muriels where several bombshells hit the air. Ginny begins to seriously prepare for being a mother. Lupin brings some news.