| Firecrab
Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: melbourne
Posts: 887
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Chapter Sixteen
Ginny sat staring at the wall; she could here him calling up to her. Her hand travelled down to her baby and she started crying again.
“Ginny” it was Ron “Ginny he’s gone”
“What am I going to do Ron?”
“Tell me what’s wrong”
“I can’t – not yet”
“At least stop me thinking that he’s hurt you, I don’t want to think my best friends capable of that kind of thing”
“Harry has never and will never lay a finger on me to hurt me”
“So he was telling the truth – you fell”
“Yes”
“Then what’s happened to you guys?”
“Something – nothing for you to know now”
“How do you expect me to help if I don’t know what’s wrong?”
“Just tell him I love him and that – that I’ll come back to him if he’ll wait for me, if he’ll have me”
“Your still wearing his ring, aren’t you?”
“Only because he hasn’t asked for it back”
“He never will, no matter what’s gone on between you too”
“How’d you know that – I don’t even know that?”
“I just do, you need to talk to him”
“I CAN’T FACE HIM WITH THIS, I DON’T EVEN WANT THIS!”
“WHAT IS IT?!”
“Ron, leave now” Molly said at the door as Ginny rolled over,
“Tell me what’s going on”
“Leave her alone” she said firmly taking his arm and pulling him away from the bed, “She doesn’t need this right now”
“Fine” he left and slammed the door behind her and Molly sat on the bed
“You don’t mean it, this baby is a gift, and it’s a life”
“It’s something I can imagine, yes a baby is something I want, Harry’s baby even more so, but right now – I can’t see myself able to do this”
“It’s going to be more then just you darling”
“I – I”
“Just try to sleep; I’ll bring you up some dinner in a little while”
“I’m not hungry”
“You need to eat, so does he or she” Molly reached over and rested her palm on Ginny’s hand that had found its way to holding her belly, “You do care for this life as much as your own I can see it in your eyes, don’t be afraid, he won’t leave you, I saw that in his”
***
Harry dragged himself up from the grass, he looked around the gravestones, the darkening sky and the single young woman jogging past mp3 player in hand, and her mind as far away from around her as was possible as she crossed the road. He saw the car coming but she stopped to do up her laces in the middle of its path. He apparated to her side and pulled her out the way as the car came zooming, running over where she had been.
“Oh my god!” she gasped holding her chest, her earphones falling out, as he hid his wand in his pocket,
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine, thankyou, thankyou so much”
“It’s alright” he helped her up and stood up in front of her,
“Thankyou” she grabbed him in a hug “I can’t believe I was so stupid – is there anything I can do for you?” she smiled at him like she just realised he was more of a man then a boy, when she stepped back,
“Just don’t stop to tie your laces in the middle of the road ever again” he smiled back a little and ran a hand though his hair,
“Never again” She smiled a little flirtatiously twirling her brown hair round a finger, he saw Ginny doing exactly the same thing in the forefront of his mind and glanced at the ground, “But how about – I mean would you like to – to go for a coffee sometime to make it up to you”
“I’m – I’m” he wanted to say it in a way that wouldn’t hurt her feelings and embarrass himself. “I don’t think that would be possible”
“Just forget it, its ok”
“If I didn’t have a fiancée that would kill me, I would definitely take you up on it” he smiled,
“Ahh see the cute hero’s are always already taken” she fiddled with her mp3 wrapping the headphones round it, “Just my luck”
He smiled nervously, and reached out and took her hand “Nice to meet you -”
“Sophia”
“Nice to meet you Sophia” he shook it,
“What’s my hero’s name?”
“Harry” he smiled a little,
“Ok Harry, thank you, but I want to make it up to you – so what about one drink?”
“Erm…”
“Just one, you see it’s my birthday tomorrow and if it wasn’t for you well I wouldn’t still be having my party so how about you and your fiancée come along?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not going to be here – I’m just visiting tonight, my parents are – their kind of buried here” he gestured his head to the graveyard,
“Oh – way to put your foot in it Sophia” she muttered to herself and shook her head “Its ok if you don’t want to come, I mean it would be kind of awkward-”
“Really there in there – you know the house that’s demolished in town, they were inside”
Sophia cringed at herself “I know that house - I’m sorry, I should just shut up now – I’ll leave you too it – thanks for everything” she made to walk away,
“Wait a minute” he called out and jogged to meet her, “How old are you gonna be?”
“Eighteen”
“Well since it’s a big birthday how about I stick around”
“What would you have said if it wasn’t eighteen?”
“I’d have come anyway” he shrugged “Can’t say no to a girl when she can’t get a sentence out”
“Mr smooth – what about your fiancée?”
“She’s kind of not talking to me, so she’s not going to know I’m gonna be here”
“You were saying she would kill you…”
“Yeah, but she’s at her mothers and she hates her mother so I guess the worlds not right this week”
“Hmm, well if the worlds right I should be squashed…” she made a face that hinted at a smile and Harry laughed,
“Lucky for you I was here so you weren’t” as they started to walk and talk,
“Yeah lucky me, saved by a hot guy who I can’t speak to properly and who has a fiancée so there’s no chance” she muttered to herself,
“Don’t beat yourself up Sophia; I’m too young for you anyway”
“What – you can’t be younger then me?”
“Seventeen” he grinned,
“No chance!”
“Yep”
“Hold on, you’re engaged at seventeen!”
“Yeah – my worlds kind of different to yours”
“Very – what are you Amish?”
“No – no nothing like that, I was just brought up a little differently, I go to a boarding school that I don’t even where it is – I own my own house in London that I live in”
“London – that’s miles away how did you even get here – how do you own your own house? What were your parent’s millionaires?”
“No – the house was left to me by my godfather, boarding school is -” he didn’t want to get messy “It’s kind of a scholarship program I was signed up for a birth” he looked around nervously as she had a reaction to his words,
“Wow, you’re a freak”
“Yeah, more then you know” he muttered,
“So apart from visiting your parent’s graves do you come here often?”
“I haven’t been here in years, I’ve had a crazy life so far – I did think it was getting better, I guess I was wrong”
“Oh thanks Harry” she smirked, he laughed,
“I don’t mean you” he rolled his eyes, “This has actually been a pleasant surprise, I’m not going to tell Ginny though cause she will kill me”
“Ginny’s your fiancée right”
“Yeah”
“So shouldn’t you tell her you’re going to a strangers eighteenth?”
“I should, I probably will when I get back and when she decides to talk to me again”
“You’re only allowed to come if you tell her”
“I thought I was coming because I saved your life?”
“Yeah ok…”
He smiled “I will, it’s not like it’s a big thing, so where is this famous party?”
“My house”
“So I’m gonna come back tomorrow and ask directions to Sophia’s house?”
“Alright, alright – hey what do you mean come back you live in London it would take you a day to get here and a day back”
“There’s something’s that are hard to explain about me and that’s part of one of them”
“There are a lot of weird people that live round here – your one of them, aren’t you?”
“Probably”
“Hmm, that’s ok, I don’t discriminate” she smirked “OK this is my house” she stopped at the gate to the cottage, “Your not some serial killer are you?”
“Nope – lucky for you”
“Good, so I’ll see you at say seven?”
“Sure”
He watched as she walked through the gate and got to the door, she turned back and waved but he’d already gone. She opened the door and walked inside to her mother,
“You have a nice run sweetheart?” She asked looking up from her book,
“Yeah – yeah really nice” she smiled and sat on the couch “Is it ok if I invited someone else round for tomorrow?”
“How many is that now?”
“Thirty six”
“I said thirty five was the limit”
“But this guy – he kind of saved my life”
Her mother turned to look at her “He – guy - Life?”
“I was out by the graveyard and I stopped to tie my lace, I didn’t even realise I was in the road, he came out of nowhere and pulled me out the way”
“Are you ok?”
“Fine, he was just there and saved me”
“How old is he?”
“Seventeen, he was visiting his parents graves, he’s different though”
“What about him – that he’s an orphan?”
“I don’t know – maybe it’s because he’s got a fiancée and he goes to boarding school” she laughed,
“I think he was lying to you”
“I don’t think he was – he used to live in the Potter house – he’s there son from the stories”
“The stories say no one survived”
“I think he did” she looked into the fire “And you know you think Cara, Anna and Daria are weird, I think he’s that kind of weird”
“Hmm – they are strange even for triplets”
“Exactly and they went to boarding school – the same one all their parents went to, their coming tomorrow too”
“Ok, but you have invited the teenagers that live in the Hollow that aren’t strange?” her mother said with a small grin,
“Yes or both you and Michael wouldn’t let me have the party in the first place”
“He’ll be home soon, you can tell him about your adventure in the graveyard”
“I don’t think I will, but I tell you what when Harry comes tomorrow night I’ll introduce you to him”
“So he’s Harry then, you had a long in depth talk with this boy”
“He told me his name, where he goes to school, his fiancées name, why he’s here, where he lives and walked me home” she shrugged,
“Like a gentlemen, not surprising that he’s taken then”
“Yep” she jumped up from the couch “I’m gonna get a shower and get some sleep before tomorrow then”
“Night sweetheart” she smiled,
“Night mum”
***
He went home and tried the fireplace again, it wouldn’t let him through. He sat on the couch staring into the flames; he wanted to know how long it would take for her to come round. He wanted to know what was wrong with her!
He got up and started to clean up remembering just how close they were a few days ago. They’d been laughing and happy and having a pillow fights on the floor before wrestling into each others arms to a loving embrace. He didn’t think that anything would ever go wrong between them, they got on so well, they understand each other, they were right together… he met someone else that he could get on with, he could tell her his secret, they would – they could be happy – in another life if he wasn’t madly in love with Ginny.
He grabbed his wand and his backpack, before apparating back to Godric’s Hollow, to the spot near her house. He saw a car pull in and watched a light go on in a blue room upstairs. He saw her at the window looking out and then closed the curtains. He apparated to the Burrow and set up the tent in the woods near the house, there was a light in the yellow room looking out at the forest. He watched it from the door of the tent and the window opened. She sat there and the wind blew her hair around her face. Some one appeared behind her, it was Arthurs hand on her shoulder and his lips touching the top of her head. She wiped her eyes and then it was as is if she saw him, she stopped and stared. He looked up at her; she blew him a kiss, closed the window and turned the light off.
He clambered into the tent and pulled himself into one of the beds. He sighed, closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.
Ginny lay back on the bed, Arthur said goodnight and turned out the light. He walked down stairs to Molly, “He’s camped outside Molly”
“He is” she looked out the kitchen window,
“In the woods, she has to tell him”
“She will”
“When, he just knows she’s hiding something from him, he’s going to go mad waiting and she’s going to get worse trying to avoid it”
“She’ll tell him when she’s ready”
“And her brothers, Ron already assumed Harry was hitting her”
“She told him that wasn’t true, she’ll tell when she’s ready to - she’s still in the early days”
“How is she going to be a mother when she doesn’t want to be one?”
“It’s in her; she knows that once this is more real, once she can see him or her she’ll love them immediately”
“When’s her next appointment?”
“April”
“And you think she’s going to tell him before then?”
“Yes Arthur and if not I will”
“You will not interfere, this is her mess”
“Mess, she’s having a baby, you can’t call a life a mess!” Molly hissed trying not to alert Ron in the living room.
“You know what I mean” Arthur replied “She needs to sort this out, it is not our business”
“She needs our help and support not shutting her out completely”
“This will be hers and Harry’s baby, we will be there but it’s going to be there responsibility, their child to raise and not ours”
Ron stepped back from the partly open door and sat down on the couch. A baby, this was a baby, one that she said she didn’t want. Harry’s baby, he was going to be an uncle, he wanted to tell Hermione, she’d know what to say but then he didn’t want to say anything. He took out his wand and apparated to her house. He knocked on the door and got no reply, he tried again and lights came on, footsteps down the stairs and he checked his watch… it was late, he hadn’t thought to check. He swore under his breath but the door opened to Hermione’s father –
“Ronald?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t realise what time it was until a second ago, is Hermione awake”
“No”
“Ron?” Hermione said coming down the stairs “What are you doing here at this time of night?” she held the dressing gown around her a little tighter,
“It’s Ginny, I know what’s wrong”
“Come in”
“Hermione” Her dad started,
“Please dad, this is my best friend we’re talking about, Ron won’t be long”
“Fine, but not too long”
“Thankyou” she kissed his cheek before he went upstairs, she held out her hand for Ron to take and led him into the living room.
He sat beside her and she curled up to stay warm, “I’m sorry I woke you up”
“It’s fine”
“I’m just – I had to talk to someone – I had to talk to you”
“What’s going on?”
“Ginny’s – Ginny’s – she’s – she’s pregnant”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah – I heard Mum and Dad talking about it; she’s too scared to let Harry know”
“You didn’t let her tell you this you listened in”
“I didn’t mean to, I was in the living room and then dad came down from talking to her and was talking to mum”
“You can’t tell Harry”
“He needs to know”
“Not from you, she has to do it”
“I know, I know I just – Merlin what the hell has happened”
Hermione instinctively wrapped him in a hug, “Don’t worry, you know that if there’s anything Harry wants more then anything else it’s a family, he won’t leave her to do this alone”
“Its not that I’m worried about, you didn’t hear her, she just keeps saying she doesn’t want it”
“She’ll change her mind”
“I don’t know, she can’t seem to take it in that he will want her still and that’s what she’s scared of”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know, I followed him to Grimmald place when he left but he didn’t go back there”
“Where would he go?”
“I don’t know, I think just not knowing if she’s ok is driving him mad, he’s gone somewhere far away”
She let him go but he held on, “What would I do without you? What am I going to do to help them?”
“I don’t know on both counts” Hermione started, before she could say anything else he’d leant in and kissed her,
“I’ve wanted to do that for so long” he mumbled, she kissed him this time,
“I wanted exactly the same” she smiled and hugged him, curling into his chest and wrapped in his strong arms,
“Now we’re sorted they’ve fallen apart” Ron said and rubbed his eyes,
“They’ll be ok, we just have to wait for them, we know that there meant to be together, that this is ok for them – the one thing is the dates – she’s not that pregnant- if the first time they – was when he left…”
“Magic can detect it from the very beginning, even just a few days after – what’s the word – conception – that one – the magic the healers use is strong enough to get it at just under a week”
“How do you know that?”
“My cousin trained to be a healer she has kids” he shrugged,
“Oh ok, so she can’t be that pregnant – so if something goes wrong”
“Hermione”
“I’m just saying that if something happens this early on and she doesn’t want the baby in the first place its not going to have an effect on her in the same way it will if she tells Harry”
“When she tells Harry and nothing will happen, she’ll change her mind, she’s just frightened – Ginny would never deny a child life and love”
“I’m not hoping for something horrific – it’s just if the baby doesn’t make it, it might be better for both of them if they both aren’t ready for it”
“You can’t be saying something like that to me Hermione” Ron got up and stood in front of her “That baby is a life”
“I know that, it was just a thought”
“You can’t think that because there not ready it would be better for it to die”
“That’s not what I’m saying, I think they’ll get ready, they’ll be happy, it was just an errant thought”
“Alright”
“Ron don’t leave this on a bad note, you can understand the logic behind it”
“Yeah even if I don’t like it”
“I’m sorry it’s just that I fall back to the most logical solution-”
“- when things don’t seem to go to plan, I know, I understand”
“Ron”
“Yes”
“I think they’ll be great parents” she said standing up,
“I’ll see you tomorrow” he hugged her,
“Ok, I’ll come round, I’ll talk to her”
“You won’t say anything”
“Course not; I’m going to be the supportive best friend”
__________________
RIP JD Salinger |