Chapter 1
July 2002
“Scotland win the Quidditch World cup,” the commentator announced and the stadium broke into applause. Ginny sighed gripping onto her broom, she had scored the most goals in the match for her team. Since it had been only her second year playing professionally for the Holyhead harpies it was downright insane she had already been forward for playing for England's team in the World cup, only losing to Scotland by 50 points. They had been behind but the Scottish seeker caught the snitch in the end. It was an outstanding achievement to be in the final of it at only 21 she can’t help thinking four years into the future she;ll be 25 and if she keeps playing the way she has the past two years not only could she secure her place on England’s team again but could possibly see England through for a win. She could go the distance, as she landed on the ground with a grin for anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve.
“Harpies are going to be well pleased with how you played, well done Weasley,” The captain of the chudley cannons who was also playing the match slapped Ginny on the back. Ron was going to be green with envy she chuckled. Not to say he had not already been badgering her every chance he got for World Cup tickets due to the fact the chudley cannons’ captain was on England’s team, forget the fact that she was his only bloody sister. Still not only had she given her whole family tickets to this match also she had given the whole family (Harry included) tickets for England vs America which happened in England and that match was won. Then she gave Ron, Harry and George tickets to England versus Ireland where the match took place in Galway, was quite the sore loss. She couldn’t even look Harry in the face after never mind sharing a hotel bed with him, he chuckled and told her it was ok. It wasn’t though not to her, this isn’t just a career it’s her life. She wants to make a name for herself.
Obviously England did make a tremendous amount of wins to make it all the way to the final, she felt herself running on a high throughout the whole thing. It was next level magic, it was nice to have something about her not her brothers not who she was dating… for a while at least it wasn’t long until gossip was printed in the Daily Prophet.
‘Harry Potter's long term Hogwarts sweetheart, Ginny Weasley is pregnant! Read about how the chosen one plans on tackling fatherhood’
Ginny was not pregnant, they had taken a photo of her leaving the stadium in Wales after playing a game the day before her period was due so had been bloated. After that the articles kept flooding in making it more about who she was dating than her talent. Her need to break away and be more than Harry’s girlfriend was bigger than when she started playing professionally, at the start she just kind of rolled her eyes at it. It was to be expected after all.
“You played well,” Harry said without a trace of sympathy in his voice as she entered the three broomsticks to meet up with everyone for an after match celebration since when they were already in Scotland,
“I know I did,” she said before hugging him and kissing his cheek, pulling away with a cheeky grin and sticking her tongue out.
“That must have felt great, I can’t imagine playing in a match like that.” Harry said breathlessly interlacing his fingers with hers,
“Well you could have you know. You still could Harry,” Ginny shrugged as they walked over to the table,
“You know me, I like a quiet life.” Harry smiled sadly. After the war Ginny went back with Hermione and completed her last year of Hogwarts and Ron and Harry worked in Weasley Wizard Wheezes with George part-time. After Ginny and Hermione Graduated, Ron stayed on full time in the shop and eventually would go on to run it with George. Harry on the other hand started working as an Auror. That is when Harry’s mental health began to crumble, everything about that job reminded him of what once was. What he’d been through, what they all had been through. A week hasn’t gone by since 2nd May 1998 where Ginny doesn’t cry about Fred. She misses him everyday, so many others are lost. So many others she grieves for too but not like that. Fred and George were the closest to her, always. She looked just like them, she had Freds attitude and George’s humour. In her grief which she believes to be never ending that's what carries her though.
For she doesn't feel like she just lost Fred that day, she lost George too. George isn’t even a fraction of who he was before they all lost Fred. Fred was George’s person, they did everything together. It was one of those cases where two brothers died that day but not many people realised as only one was buried. Ginny realised, he doesn’t laugh how he used to, doesn’t want to either. She wonders can someone come back from that type of loss? Life is for the living people say, you can’t live with your face buried in the ground looking down at someone else's grave, Fred would want George to be happy.
While all that is true, none of it can take away the pain George is feeling. Ginny doubts anything can. She believes her brother can go on and make a life for himself and live a satisfactory life, but 2nd May was the day laughter died, the day joy died. If Ginny didn’t have Quidditch to keep her so busy and focused she dreads to think of how she would fall apart. So, being an Auror did not have the same effect on Harry as professionally playing Qudditch had for Ginny. She was scared for him, scared for the man she loved. The man she waited for everytime, whether she was waiting for him to come round and see who she was, why they were right, waiting for him to come back from fighting in the war or waiting for him while she finished school. When he was an Auror, although they lived together it didn’t feel like she was waiting for him to come home after work, it was as if she was waiting on him to become Harry again. He was not himself, he was worse than he had been directly after the war,
The feelings of what happened were inescapable when he was an Auoror. So, he lasted 8 months as an Auror and then spent the next 6 months unemployed and trying to heal himself. He had enough money to not have to work so they were both fine financially. Ginny began playing Qudditch professionally at age nineteen and a few months ago Harry went into a healing training program when he qualifies he will be a specialised healer in dealing with Pregnant witches seeing them through the pregnancy and birth etc. He wanted a job that focused on bringing in new life,
“no more death.” In Harry’s words.
Firewhiskey was ordered for everyone (who was able to drink) and The Three Broomsticks was more busy than usual with everyone piling in after the match. Ginny had a steak dinner while Hermione talked through the benefits of being vegan, while Ron nodded along telling how good the points she made were and rubbing her back. Ginny shared a look with Harry as they both suppressed a laugh knowing how much it would break Ron’s heart if he did eventually decide to go Vegan for Hermione. Hermione gave up meat after the war, going Vegetarian almost after. She applied for Magical Law school immediately after Hogwarts which Ron and Hermione got engaged on 1st September at platform 9¾ it was the best day there had been in a long time! They married on 31st December 1999 and Hermione is about to enter her final year of Magical Law school this September, then she will qualify for work.
Her small baby bump has not gone unnoticed by many but if anyone can graduate Magical Law school and have a baby in the same year it’s Hermione Granger. Ginny was happy for both her brother and Hermione when they told her even if in the back of her mind she thought it was a bit mental, they are still so young. So much living to do before babies in Ginny’s opinion. Ron jokes he’ll be out living his life relaxing as he and Hermione are having their babies early (pregnant with their first but they both agreed they’d like one more a few years after she gives birth to their daughter) that Ginny will be tired chasing toddlers while he’s relaxing. She isn’t sure one is better than the other, it depends on the person she feels, when the time is right for an individual to become a parent that's when it should be because the kid needs to be well cared for. For Ginny she would rather be tired chasing a toddler in her late thirties so that her twenties can be spent living her life as her own. That is just what is better for Ginny.
Harry signalled for her to sneak away with him after the seventh round of drinks. Ginny smirked getting up and finishing her glass before disappearing outside with him she often did, ever since their first kiss in the Gryffindor common room. He asked her to go a walk over and talked to her about his feelings, he never did stop stealing her away.
“Fuck it’s freezing out here,” Ginny said, confused when a few droplets of rain fell on a night in July.
“Yeah, freezing my bollocks off to be fair and we’ve just stepped outside,” Harry wrinkled his nose,
“So, what are you pulling me off out here at midnight when we are supposed to be in there celebrating,” Ginny asked with a wicked grin preparing to snog her boyfriend senselessly.
“I er - I bought a ring,” He said breathlessly,
“Right,” she said losing balance,
“Steady on there, don’t want you to injure yourself tiny,” Harry grabbed hold of her and helped her steady herself.
“I have warned you I am not afraid to use the bat bogey hex with you just because we're sleeping together,” Ginny frowned, “Don’t call me ‘tiny’ ok?” she looked up at him
“Right sorry,” Harry rolled his eyes and kissed her forehead. “Anyway, yeah the ring. Well I didn’t so much buy it as it turns out it was my grandmother Euphemia’s. She had passed down from my grandad Fleamont’s mum but her went and got it altered to make it different to a magical jewellers in India where my gran was from. It didn’t end up being passed to my mum, but it found it’s way to me anyway. Mad story but Draco Malfoy ended up with it in his possession.” Harry smiled fondly, “Sounds mad and I hadn’t even spoken to him since his trial, not properly anyway but he works in St Mungo’s in the potions lab and he seeked me out while I was at there on placement watching how the healers assisted delivery. It was Cho and her muggle husband’s baby very odd day altogether,” Harry snorted, “But yeah Draco gave this to me incase I wanted to give it to you. Seems it was in Regulus Black’s old things weird. I don’t know maybe my dad dropped it in battle? Maybe he planned to give it to my mum but one of the death eaters stole it? Not sure really.” Harry breathed out
“Harry,” she shivered biting her lip as the rain began to pour heavier,
“Shit, well anyway it has been searched for curses. Draco knew the story about it being altered for Euphemia, again I don’t know how bloody Malfoy knew all this but he did,” Harry smiled the same way he did the first time Draco was mentioned. “I sent it off to the same jewellers in India and had a Snitch and Quaffle engraved in the outside and had the inside engravings changed from the date my grandparents met to the day we did in 1991.”
“Harry repeated,”
“So - er do you want you,”
“Harry,” she said firmly. Shaking her head, she was twenty one why would he want to? As the midnight rain falled all round them changing the hot consistent weather of July, she realised she changed too. Harry wanted a family, she knew that. She wasn’t sure that was what she wanted. Motherhood, she doesn’t think every woman has to, no matter how normalised it is, maybe it shouldn’t be. She did think for Harry she would get married and have babies. She agreed on maybe three and didn’t want to start trying until her mid thirties.
Everything is becoming clear, the way he lights up when he talks about his training so he may work with assisting pregnancies and deliveries. The way he lit up when Ron and Hermione spilled the news, the way he had been making jokes about when she marries him since Ron and Hermione’s wedding. Often asking would she be Ginny Potter as Hermione opted for the double barrel Granger-Weasley. Right now all she thinks is how she wants Weasley on the back of her Quidditch jersey. How she wants to make her name and chase fame as herself, her own name.
Harry wanted a calm and comfortable life, he wanted a bride and then a mother to his kids. He wanted to stay put and settle for ease. She wanted to travel, she didn’t want to compromise on her job.
Hot tears rolling down Harry’s eyes. She broke his heart ‘cause he was nice. They were both two good people who loved each other but were not on the same path. Once she wanted that path all she could see was him, he was her sunshine and all that made sense to her ‘endgame’ wise
But all of her changed like midnight rain.
They'll move on she supposes as he re-pockets the ring. they can't avoid each other, he's basically part of the family, she'll see him at big events. She is sure her and Harry will be on good terms, smile and chat when forced and when apart she will be so focused on her goals, he'll be alright eventually. It's Harry, he can find someone else who wants what he wants and he'll never think of her except when she wins a game, she has so much she wants. Finally able to face the fact she is also attracted to girls, maybe one day she could find a woman wanting similar things. a goal orientated woman. she'll never think of Harry except on the midnight's like these.