If the Fates Allow

Chapter 20

Union

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars,

or sailed to uncharted land,

or opened a new doorway for the human spirit."

(Helen Keller)

Ginny opened her eyes, blinked to clear her blurred vision and realised that she didn't have the vaguest idea where she was. The ceiling she was staring up at was unusually white and clean, and there was some weird and slightly unpleasant smell... the smell of total hygiene and medicines... the smell of a hospital.

She wrinkled her nose; she'd never liked such over-hygienic smells. Slowly she sat up and looked around the ward. There were three other invalids there: a woman with nasty-looking boils all over her face; an old man whose beard seemed to be growing much faster than it should have, for most of it was lying in coils on the floor; and a person whose age and gender Ginny couldn't tell, for he/she was heavily bandaged, the bandages leaving only his/her mouth free.

Sitting up in her bed, Ginny tried to remember how she had got here in the first place. There had been that stupid memorial... then she couldn't see those stupid Thestrals... then some stupid Death Eaters had attacked the people at the memorial... oh yeah, Bellatrix Lestrange had tried to kill Percy, but Ginny intervened and froze half of the combatants with the spell she had learnt from Harry...

Oh, Harry...

She let out a huge sigh, knowing she wouldn't be able to cry, no matter how hard she tried. Then her stomach gave a loud rumble. I must be very hungry, she thought, having no idea when she'd last eaten. How long had she been unconscious?

There was a moan coming from the heavily bandaged person in the corner. The person must have been a male, judging by his voice. He seemed to be trying to say something, but he must have been too weak or ill to talk normally.

Ginny thought this man might need help, so she hopped out of bed, and had to grab the bedpost, for the world suddenly turned, as though she had sat on a roundabout. Surely she had become unaccustomed to standing, and she must not have eaten for a long time... if one's starving, one is likely to get dizzy, after all...

"Hurts... it huuuurts..." muttered the person in the corner.

Where was a Healer or a nurse when a patient needed them? - Ginny thought irritably and released the bedpost, trying to stand on her feet without falling. Okay, I'm still upright - she took a step. Then another. Well, walking is something you can't forget...

With careful steps she left the ward, not caring that she was barefoot and wearing only a nightdress. "Hello?" she called out, looking this way and that. The doors of all the wards around were closed, and no nurse or Healer could be seen. "Hello?"

She glanced at the name of the ward she'd come out of so that she'd know where to go back if she didn't want to get lost. It was called the 'Günter der Gewalttätige' ward. She remembered she had read about this person in Quidditch through the Ages.

Are all wards here named after sportsmen? - she wondered as she headed for a door at the end of a corridor. She opened it to find herself face to face with none other than Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.

"Ginny?" Neville's face brightened as he spotted her. "You're up! Does this mean you're okay?"

"Er..." Ginny didn't know what to answer. She wasn't feeling okay, not in the least... not when she was this dizzy, hungry, and heart-broken... "I was just looking for a Healer... there's a man in ward Günter der Gewa... forgot his name... well, that man needs a Healer, he's suffering..."

"I'll go and find one, okay?" said Neville and hurried back in the direction he and Luna had come from.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked.

"We've just visited Nev's parents." Luna shrugged.

"But you... why have you come?"

"Because Nev wanted to introduce me to his mum and dad... as his fiancée."

"Fiancée?" Ginny's eyes widened. "Wow. Congrats."

"Thanks." The blonde girl nodded solemnly, her usual radish-earrings swinging. "It was not a happy visit, though... those poor people... I doubt whether they'll remember me the next time I come with Neville to visit them."

Suddenly the door through which Neville had left - the door over which a board bore the legend SPELL DAMAGE - opened, and a highly familiar wizard came through, arm in arm with a madly grinning witch.

"Oh! An acquaintance!" he said cheerfully, flashing Ginny with a thirty-two-teeth smile. "You're the Weasley girl who was kidnapped by the monster, aren't you?"

"Who's this buffoon?" Luna asked with a bored expression.

"Gilderoy Lockhart at your service!" the wizard replied eagerly. "Want an autograph? I can write my name perfectly now, for I remember every bit of my memories! I've just been released from here for good! I'm healed! By the way, this is Gladys Gudgeon, my greatest fan, and fiancée." He pointed at the woman next to him.

"Er... congratulations on your engagement," Ginny said monotonously, not too happy that she had had to offer congratulations on the second person's engagement in the last three minutes. Everyone around her seemed to find their love and happiness, but she knew she'd never be happy again - not without Harry.

"Thank you very much," Lockhart said with his flashy smile, "and soon you can congratulate me on another thing as well..."

"Are you two going to have a baby?" Luna arched an eyebrow at him.

"No, there's something much better!" Gilderoy declared cheerfully. "I'm going to write a book about my years in St Mungo's. It will be called Amazing Amnesiac and..."

"Oh, here he comes!" Luna cut in, pointing at her fiancé.

Neville was back, followed by a nurse. "Ward Günter der Gewalttätige?" the nurse asked.

Ginny nodded, and the nurse hurried off towards the ward in question.

"Luna's just told me that you're engaged." Ginny turned to Neville. "I hope you'll be very happy together."

"You're engaged, too?" Lockhart interjected. "That's great, I'm going to get married soon, too! Have you already decided about the wedding arrangements? How many people to invite, what to wear, etc., etc.?"

"Er, no." Neville shook his head, then turned back to Ginny. "Thanks for the good wishes." He beamed. Ginny wondered what had happened to the once pudgy, round-faced, shy little Neville. Who exactly was this tall, thin and good-looking man?

"Ginny..." Neville's face changed to serious, "I'm sorry I couldn't be there at the memorial. We didn't even know what happened until we came home a week ago... we were in Finland, you know..."

"...looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks," Luna added. "I managed to take some excellent photos of them, they'll be in the next edition of The Quibbler... but you're surely not interested..."

"Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?" Gilderoy cut in, "I saw a whole herd of those when I was in Norway ten years ago, saving the fjords from freezing over..."

Ginny rolled her eyes, and waved irritably. "Don't even listen to him." She was again starting to feel weak and giddy. "What I was wondering though, was where my parents or brothers were..."

Neville and Luna exchanged a meaningful look. "Well," the young wizard began, "I met Ron yesterday in Diagon Alley and he said that your family-members were taking it in turns to sit with you here, but... I suppose even they need time to rest and relax, they've been spending almost all their time here for the past two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Ginny gasped. "You don't mean... that I've been out cold for two whole weeks?"

"Yes, you have," Luna replied. "According to Ron the Healers had to feed you in some Muggle way, called... interfusion?"

"Infusion," Neville corrected her. Suddenly a Healer dashed past them, their wand out. The crossed bone-and-wand emblem on his chest was glowing like an alarm, perhaps indicating that he needed to hurry and check on a patient.

"Quick, in here!" The head of the nurse that Neville had found, poked out of the Günter ward. "It's the Weasley boy! I think we're losing him!"

"W...Weasley boy?" Ginny stuttered, going as white as a sheet.

"Er, well..." Neville said in a drawling voice, "we didn't want to burden you with it, but... your brother George got seriously injured in that fight, and..."

Ginny fainted into his arms.

* * * * *

She was dreaming - dreaming about George dying. No! George, George, stay with us! her mind screamed, but she didn't wake, just kept tossing and turning. She saw the heavily bandaged person lying on the bed in the corner again and heard him moan with pain... how could she be so stupid not to recognise his voice? No, he can't die! He can't die like Harry did!

"George!"

She opened her eyes, but her vision was too blurry to take in her surroundings properly. She realised that she had somehow sat up in her bed, her arms were outstretched, as though she had tried to reach out for her dying brother... she lowered her hands to the silk covers.

Silk? Surely beds didn't have silk covers in St Mungo's did they?

She looked down at the quilt that was decorated with heavily embroidered frills... the letter M was embroidered into it; it was full of M's... Ginny's heart sank. She was back in the Malfoy Manor, in her own bed that would have befitted a royal princess.

"Welcome home, Virginia," said a cold voice.

Ginny slumped back into her pillow. "How did I get back here?"

"Oh, well, I happened to go and visit you in St Mungo's when the nurse said you had finally woken up and seemed to be strong enough to walk. The only problem was that you had fainted at the news of your brother almost dying..."

"Does this mean he hasn't died?" Ginny cut in hopefully.

"Yeah," her husband replied. "He survived, and he's doing better than he was before the bout, or so I heard."

"Thanks heaven," she sighed happily.

"Well, anyway, the nurse said you'd fainted because of the shock, then woke up and went into hysterics, so they had to give you sedatives. However, the sedative made you totally dazed, so you didn't even notice that I had come for you and brought you home. Of course the Healers gave me permission to take you home, saying you were all right, apart from the shock..."

"And what did my parents say about this?" Ginny defiantly folded her arms in front of her chest.

"They weren't there to say anything," Draco said. "They arrived after I took you from the hospital. They must've been a bit displeased about me bringing you with me though, for they put in an appearance just half an hour ago, demanding I let you go back with them to that pathetic dog kennel of theirs... I told them they shouldn't bother you now, for you needed rest. They will surely come back soon again, but you, my dear, will tell them that you do not wish to go with them. Understood?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. Just another nine months and I'll be free from you, you twisted little toerag! You can be nasty to me and you can separate me from my family now, but not for ever! I'll be counting the days till my Day of Independence, and I'll make sure you'll never have a chance to blackmail me again!

"Urgh, if glances could kill, I'd be dead!" Draco said in a mocking voice.

Make fun of me, don't hold back! Enjoy it as long as you can, for it won't last too long anymore! Nine months, and you'll be nothing but a bad memory for me! Oh yes, I will give you the divorce papers in person so I can see the horror on your face when you read them, and you won't be able to stop me this time! I will flush my bloody wedding ring down the toilet, and just to annoy you, I'll set all our house-elves free! Can you imagine cooking for yourself? Washing your own dirty socks? Hah, Hermione would love to see the Malfoy-elves flooding out of the manor...

"Have you gone mad?"

"What?" Ginny shuddered.

"That expression on your face... it was... malicious... creepy," Draco said in a rather insecure voice. He had never seen his wife looking like that before. He feared that Potter's death and George Weasley's near death must have unhinged something in Ginny's mind.

"Your fault." She shrugged. "You keep giving me such looks; it just rubbed off on me. And now, would you please tell a house-elf to prepare me dinner... or breakfast or lunch, whatever time of day it is."

With a curt nod, Draco left the room, and Ginny was finally left alone with her thoughts, not having to worry that her expressions would betray her. She felt relieved that George was doing better, but anger surged up in her at the thought of Voldemort's attack on the memorial. How many people could have got injured? Had someone even died? She hoped not. Her heart clenched at the thought what Harry would have said if he were alive: 'It's all my fault. All my bloody fault. Had I not been so weak, had I not let him blackmail me with my daughter, then this wouldn't have happened...'

You don't need to feel pangs of remorse because of this... don't blame yourself up there, okay? - she thought, slightly lifting her head as though talking to someone in the sky.

That someone whom she was talking to was most definitely not in the sky, but down in the Underworld, and didn't hear her at all - even if he had been able to hear her, he would have waved at her indignantly and said 'don't try to console me, it's still my bloody fault!'

Harry was indeed broken by the news of the attack on his memorial. He found the idea of the memorial ridiculous enough, knowing that he was totally alive, thank you very much, and he was sort of mad at Kingsley for arranging this whole stupid ceremony. Had Shacklebolt not organised it, then Voldemort wouldn't have attacked there, but if Harry hadn't 'died', then Shacklebolt wouldn't have organised the memorial. Also, if stupid Draco hadn't brought the Aurors after them, then Harry wouldn't have 'died', but if Ginny hadn't eloped with Harry, then Draco wouldn't have gone to the Greek Magical Law Enforcement... however, if Lucius hadn't cursed Ginny's dad, then Ginny wouldn't have eloped with Harry...

"Damn you, Lucius Malfoy!" Harry kicked into a rock irritably. "And you too, Draco." Tension had been building up in him ever since he'd read the Daily Prophet article with the title HAVOC AT POTTER'S MEMORIAL two weeks earlier. Persephone had tried to hide the newspaper from him, but Harry could read her guilty expression pretty well and had demanded that she let him see whatever she'd been hiding.

He dropped onto the grass next to a little creek and pushed his shoes off, slipping his feet into the water. It felt refreshingly cool. He leaned back onto the ground and closed his eyes, trying to shut all the disturbing thoughts out of his mind. He had almost succeeded when suddenly a shadow was cast over him. Although his eyes were closed, he knew someone had arrived, for the rays of the sun (yes, the sun is shining even down there!) no longer warmed his face.

He squinted up at the figure to see Linda standing there. "Hi," she greeted him. "May I join you?"

"Er... okay." He shrugged, sitting up. If the one casting the shadow had been someone else, he would have felt annoyed at being disturbed, but Linda was someone he had never felt uncomfortable with since the legendary Quidditch match.

Harry hadn't expected his parents to understand his predicament, although he had told them about Voldemort's blackmail. They had tried to convince him he hadn't done anything wrong by placing family above everything else and Sirius had shared their opinion. Even Dumbledore tried to alleviate his concerns by repeating that now Harry had a weapon in his hand: the knowledge that Voldemort was dependent on Amrita and losing her would mean the end of his wizarding career.

They had all been nice and supportive, but Harry felt that none of them really understood him. With Linda it was different. She had once also let Voldemort force her into something she regarded as wrong and she also felt tainted by Voldemort's evilness and her own weakness at resisting him...

"I know how you feel," she whispered, shedding her blue mantle, laying it on the grass and taking her place on it.

"I know you do," he replied, staring at the little fish chasing each other around his toes. "I hope these aren't piranhas."

She let out a laugh that sounded like jingling of little bells. "Not that they would be able to hurt you if they were piranhas, eh?" As she looked into his eyes, her smile vanished. "I meant it. I know what it feels like. You feel dirty and wallow in self-accusation so much that you feel it's strangling you."

"I don't wallow..."

"Yes, you do," she replied, "as did I. Actually I still do. Had I not been so weak, had I been able to say no to my father even after he cast the Cruciatus on me again and again, then I wouldn't have seduced you and wouldn't have provided my father with something to blackmail you with. Then you would have killed him when you had the chance and perhaps he'd be playing Quidditch for Tartarus now."

It was Harry's turn to laugh. "And I thought you were being serious!"

"I was." She smiled sadly. "It's my fault, it's your fault, but first of all: it's his fault. That of my father. We are both his victims, as is the whole world. Accept it, and stop eating yourself or you'll go mad. Don't think I haven't felt the way you do now, but my mum helped me see what I'm trying to help you see. Voldemort's the mastermind here; we are only unfortunate marionettes that he was playing puppeteer with. Just like my mother... he used her then got rid of her."

"Really, your mother..." Harry hesitated whether to ask the question or not. "Did she... love him?"

Linda made a grimace. "I think she still loves him... in her peculiar way. She doesn't love Voldemort... she loves Tom, the Tom she got to know as a clever, yet enigmatic boy... the Tom who hadn't then started killing... I wouldn't say the innocent Tom, for I doubt he was ever innocent..."

"He must have been. At least as a little child," Harry said, withdrawing his feet from the water. "No one's born evil... the circumstances turn someone evil... don't they?"

"You mean that he grew up in an orphanage where he never got any love? I don't know." She shook her head, sunshine glimmering on her red-gold locks. "You grew up with rather nasty people too, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah..."

"...and look at you, your heart is in the right place, you never turned as my father..."

"But I could have," he sighed, gazing into her grey eyes. "Remember that I told you about the sixteen-year-old Tom who came out of that diary? Well, he said to me that I resembled him, and not just my looks... even the Sorting Hat wanted to put me into Slytherin... Dumbledore said it was because of the connection between Voldemort and me through my scar, but... perhaps it was for something else..." He looked away.

"You know you're being totally silly?" She reached out to cup his chin and make him face her again. "Are you suggesting you're anything like him? Then listen to me, Harry: you're as different from him as day is from night. For one thing you feel pangs of remorse - he has never felt such a thing. You have a good heart; he has none at all... He has minions who revere and fear but do not like him, and you have friends who love you... I'm your friend, too."

"I know you are," he replied with a wistful smile as she drew nearer and embraced him. It felt good to be in her arms, it felt reassuring, calming... He had never felt this calm and so much at peace with the world since his last encounter with Voldemort five years earlier. She seemed to be radiating some inexplicable peace, channelling it into him... He felt as if under the effect of a charm, a charm making not him think, just feel... He held her in his arms for what seemed to be hours.

The sun had already set and crickets started to chirp by the time Harry came to his senses.

"What has just happened?" he whispered to her, their fingers intertwined.

"I think it's called sex?" She arched an eyebrow at him.

He sat bolt upright, releasing her hand as quick as though it had burnt him. "But why? Why have you... we...?"

She held out a hand to silence him. "Don't think of anything bad, Harry, just listen to me."

"I have listened to you too much already." He scowled, not daring to believe what he had done. He hadn't wanted to, had he? She had bewitched him... but... that was out of the question, she had no magic powers down here, she had no wand to enchant him with... Then how could this little wench manage to seduce him - again?

"Listen - to - me," Linda repeated. "Listen and don't interrupt. What has just happened wasn't just sex, not in the normal, vulgar sense, it was... a union. A union of souls through bodies." Harry frowned at her, not understand anything, but feeling more and more irritated by the second. Ignoring his almost murderous look, she continued. "I knew you wouldn't want to, but I had to do it, to help you... Persy helped me with this little magic..."

"What magic?"

"I asked you to not interrupt, didn't I?" She gave him a piercing look. "Since I can't do magic, Persy cast this spell on me to enable me to make you want it... without thinking. It also enabled me to unite with you on all levels... anyway, it happened with the consent of your family and Dumbledore, so..."

"What? WHAT?" he gasped. "You don't mean you asked them for permission to shag me?"

"Oh, don't use such rude words, Harry!" She jumped up, not caring that she was wearing practically nothing.

"Why, haven't you also described it as sex?" he demanded.

"Well, on one level it was, but on other level... it was more."

"Why? Why did you need this...?"

"The proper question is 'why did I need it'?" she said.

"You don't mean I needed it?"

"Yes, I do - you did."

He gave her a questioning look, his arms folded challengingly.

She slumped back onto her robes, facing him. "It was Dumbledore's idea. He said you were invulnerable in body, but your soul was so fragile... we all knew it was... and he thought you needed a... spiritual support. That would be me."

"Why would I need spiritual support?" He shook his head. "I've been pretty well off without it so far, thank you very much!"

"Hah! Then why are you still accusing yourself for a momentary weakness that had happened five years ago? You're emotionally instable, Harry!"

"Oh, am I?" This was his turn to jump up and glare down at her. "Emotionally instable, eh?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Dumbledore told me so."

"Dumbledore, of course!" Harry huffed with his arms akimbo. "He still remembers the tantrum I threw after Sirius' death and thinks I'm still that disturbed... but I'm not!"

Then why are you shouting at this girl, eh? - a little voice in his head replied.

Why? Because she used some Entrancing Enchantment on me to seduce me again and claims that she only wanted to help! As if I needed her help!

What if you really need it?

That's out of the question.

Is it?

Harry glanced at the girl sitting on her robes, looking up at him in a totally casual manner, as though wearing practically nothing in his presence were the most natural thing in the (under)world.

That was when Harry realised how stupid he must look, standing there with his arms akimbo and wearing absolutely nothing.

"Okay then." He hastily sat down and pulled his legs up to hide himself as much as possible, though it seemed a bit pointless after having behaved like an exhibitionist so far. "Speak away. Why exactly would I need your help?"

"You are going to leave the Underworld soon... or hopefully soon. And you'll face my father. He won't be able to hurt you in body, but you know how good he is in psychological warfare... you will need a support on that level, and it will be me. I will be with you in soul to help you against my father."

"Why couldn't you just leave the netherworld like Cedric did and help me like that?"

"Because he can only approach his parents when they are sleeping. This way I'll be able to be with you when you are awake, too."

"Do you mean you will be conversing with me inside my head?" Harry knitted his eyebrows. He didn't like the idea much; it would surely feel as though he were schizophrenic.

"Only when you need conversation. I won't be peeking into your thoughts, but whenever you think of me, invoke me, I'll be there to help you. And when you no longer need me, the connection between us will be broken. Forever."

Harry regarded her with his lips pressed tightly together. "Right. Just tell me one thing: why did we have to shag for this?"

She let out a chuckle. "Weirdly, Hades and Persephone couldn't make up another way to create a spiritual connection between me and you - a living being."

"I think I'll need some time to get used to the thought of this..." he said with a grimace.

"Yeah, there'll be a lot to get used to." She nodded, starting to dress. "Oh, and Harry, if you start blaming yourself now that you cheated on your love... Ginny is her name, right? Well, if you blame yourself for this, then you're the biggest prat I've ever met."

Suddenly some sort of whooping tore into the air and Harry realised he still wasn't wearing anything, so he quickly put on his clothes.

The whooping got louder and louder as a little man in purple hat and robes appeared on the top of a small hill that had concealed Harry and Linda from the rest of the underworld.

"Ah, Harry Potter!" The little man waved at him cheerfully.

"Dedalus Diggle?" Harry's eyes widened. Then suddenly he remembered that the Daily Prophet article had mentioned Diggle as the only lethal casualty of Voldemort's latest attack.

"In person." Dedalus beamed and didn't miss the chance to shake Harry's hand. "Can you believe it? I've already spent two weeks down here, but I'm still beside myself with glee to be here! I totally love this place!"

"Do you?" Harry blinked.

"Yeah, it's bloody brilliant! Had I known Elysium was this spiffy, I would have come much earlier! Am I glad to have attended your memorial! By the way... is it true that you never even died?"

"It is." Harry nodded, and squinted at Linda who gave him a 'see, you shouldn't have blamed yourself because of the attack, its only victim is happy to be here' look.

With a slightly lighter heart, Harry let Mr Diggle lead him across the meadow, telling him every detail of McGonagall's heart-wrenching eulogy.

* * * * *

Trying not to think of having to spend another nine months in this damned manor, Ginny was munching the chicken brought to her by Blinky, the house-elf.

"Blinky fears that mistress is going to get sick if mistress eats so fast. Mistress hasn't had any solid meals for two weeks, after all..." the house elf squeaked. "Blinky is afraid that mistress will not be able to digest her meal properly, that's why Blinky wanted to bring mashed potatoes only, to help mistress's stomach get used to solid meals slowly, gradually..."

"Don't worry about my stomach, Blinky. I needed this, I've been starving!" Ginny said, licking her fingers after having eaten the chicken leg with her hands. She had felt so terribly ravenous that she didn't want to bother with the knife and fork. "You may go, Blinky. Come back for the plate in ten minutes."

The house elf bowed and backed out of the room.

Ginny was left alone with her thoughts again. Fed and watered, she stretched out on her pillow, letting her mind wander. The last time she had had a proper meal had been in Nikias' Tavern when Spiro put in an appearance, declaring that he wanted to kill Harry... Ginny had to smile at the memory - what could mad old Spiro be doing now? He no longer wanted to kill Harry, that's for sure... Ginny wondered whether the crazy Greek had ever truly wanted to kill Harry, or had he just thought he wanted to kill him? Well, this was something she'd never get to know, for she was never going to see Spiro again...

What could Phaedra be doing? - Ginny thought. Phaedra hadn't come to Harry's memorial, so perhaps she hadn't read the Daily Prophet announcing the ceremony, or even if she had, perhaps she just didn't want to come...

Ginny wondered what the wizarding society of Great Britain would have said if they had met Mrs Potter... Besides her, her family and the Lupins no one here knew that Harry had been married... Was number 12 Grimmauld Place now Phaedra's property, unbeknownst to Phaedra and the rest of the world? It must be, Ginny thought, with Phaedra being the only person who could legally inherit Harry's properties. Surely little Amrita couldn't inherit anything, being illegitimate...

Ginny heaved a deep sigh at the thought of the little girl. She felt truly sorry for her, having to live with Voldemort. She wondered whether Harry would ever have managed to get his daughter back if he hadn't died.

She found herself almost wishing she could find the child, take it away from Voldemort and raise it as her own. Harry would be so happy if he knew his daughter was in good hands...

What am I thinking? - Ginny chastised herself. It seems that my child-deprivation has grown to such extent that I'd do anything just to have the opportunity to raise a kid... What will the next stage of this madness be? Will I wake up tomorrow and tell Draco to bring home any little bastard he has fathered?

She shook her head. I'm going crazy for sure... Yet, somehow the idea of a little child woke new emotions in her... yes, she had always wanted to become a mother, but after all that had happened she had somehow become even more sensitive and longed for a child even more than ever before.

"Dream on, Ginny," she muttered to herself and decided to drop off when Tonks walked in.

"Wotcher, Ginny, I hope I'm not disturbing you," she said brightly, sitting down on the bed. Her hair was back to shocking pink and Ginny thought it suited her much better than black.

"Of course you're not." Ginny smiled at her friend.

"Great. I've met your parents, they said you had finally come round and your husband brought you home. I'm so happy to see you up and about! You have no idea how worried everyone was while you were lying in the hospital, as white as a sheet..."

"Really, what sort of a curse hit me?"

"We don't know." The young Auror shook her head. "It was something unfamiliar to the Healers of St Mungo's, they had absolutely no idea what they were dealing with, but thank heaven the treatment they randomly tried has worked." She sighed. "I don't know what would have become of your parents if you had never awoken. They almost lost George, too..."

"I know." Ginny nodded sullenly, the image of the heavily bandaged person moaning in pain came to her mind again and she again felt dizzy. "But he's all right, isn't he? Draco said he'd begun to heal at last."

"Yeah, fortunately." Tonks smiled. "Today's a wonderful day, Ginny: you are healed, George has started to get better, and I've just found out I'm going to have a baby!"

Ginny's eyes widened. "Wow."

Tonks grinned proudly.

"Bet Remus was beside himself with glee..." The younger woman forced a smile. She felt happy for Tonks' happiness, but she felt something terrible deep inside her heart - something she knew to be envy.

"Oh, he doesn't even know yet." Tonks winked at Ginny. "I'll tell him this evening. How do you think I should tell him?"

"Buy a pair of little shoes and give them to him in a box?" the redheaded girl suggested.

"Brilliant idea!" Tonks clasped her hands. "I just don't know what colour the shoes should be... pink or blue?"

"Try a violent shade of violet," said Ginny and her friend burst into peels of giggles.

As Tonks shook with laughter, Ginny was beginning to feel more and more sick. Perhaps she really shouldn't have burdened her stomach with such a heavy meal after not having eaten anything for two whole weeks...

"Ginny, what...?" The young Auror stopped laughing as Ginny jumped out of bed without a word and ran for the toilet with a hand pressed over her mouth.

"Er... Ginny? Are you all right?" Instead of a proper answer, retching could be heard. Well, in this case it was a proper answer. "No, you're not all right..."

Soon Ginny stumbled out of the loo, her face whiter than the wall she was leaning to in order to support her weight.

"C'mere," Tonks helped her back to bed. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah," Ginny croaked. "Now that there's no food left in me again..."

Her friend shook her shocking pink head. "Just like me in the morning... I keep throwing up too, you know... is it possible that you're... you're too..."

"No," Ginny replied quickly. "I'm not. And I'll never be."

"Why not, you're a married woman, after all..."

"...and barren," Ginny muttered under her breath.

Tonks pursed her lips. "Sorry. I had no idea. Had I known then I wouldn't have raved about... how untactful of me!"

"No, don't blame yourself." Ginny patted Tonks' arm. "You couldn't have known. And I'm happy about you and Remus having a baby. In case you're looking for a godmother..."

Tonks grinned. "I wouldn't think of anyone else in the role."

"Good." Ginny leaned back into her pillow, massaging her stomach. "Damn it, Blinky was right. She told me I should eat mashed potatoes instead of chicken."

"Oh, so that's the reason." Tonks nodded knowingly. "She was right you know. You have become unused to eating, my friend. However, I have a recipe of a wonderful pumpkin pie that will fix you in no time. I'll give it to your house elf before I go, shall I?"

"That'll be great, thanks." Ginny smiled, thinking that she'd rather not eat anything any more.

* * * * *

"You aren't very talkative," Linda remarked as she and Harry walked down the hillside towards the Potters' cottage. Fortunately Dedalus Diggle had gone off to chase butterflies and left them to themselves, but Harry wished Linda would also leave him alone. He needed to think things over and come to terms with what had happened between them.

"Er, no, I suppose I'm not." He shrugged, determinedly gazing at the grass instead of at her.

"I know what's bothering you, and I can only repeat that you're a total prat if you feel ashamed now. You didn't want it; after all, I bewitched you with Persy's help. You've been had. Blame me, blame Dumbledore, but not yourself."

"I'm not blaming you." He glanced at her.

"Good, because I did it out of the goodness of my heart." She winked at him. "The last time I seduced you to help my father against you. Now I seduced you to help you against my father. There's a difference, isn't there?"

"Definitely," Harry said with a would-be smile. "But it doesn't change the fact that I feel like shit. I love Ginny."

"I know you do. And I wish you all the happiness in the world. She must be a very special girl to win your heart."

"She is." Harry smiled, his smile being real this time. "But I fear she'll leave me when she finds out what happened between us."

"Then don't tell her," Linda said.

"It wouldn't be fair to keep it a secret before her. She deserves to know."

"If she truly loves you, she'll understand. Try to look at things with a bit more optimism, Harry."

"It's hard to be an optimist when Voldemort's out there, terrorising the world... but okay... I'll try to be less of a pessimist."

They reached the gate of the Potter house and the first thing that caught Harry's eyes was his father winking at him. His glance shifted to Sirius, who gave him the thumbs-up. Lily rolled her eyes, conveying the message 'typical men'.

That was when it struck Harry that everyone in the household (perhaps with the exception of Daffy) was aware what had happened between him and Linda. He pretended not to have noticed James and Sirius' unmistakable gestures of recognition.

"Daddy!" Little Daphne stormed out of the house and threw herself into his arms.

"Shouldn't you be in bed already, princess?" He gave her a kiss on her pudgy cheek.

"I wasn't sleeeeeepy," Daffy yawned.

"Not sleepy, eh?" Lily said. "Come to Lils, my angel, we are going to bed, shall we?"

Harry let his mother take the child from him and carry her into the house.

Sirius and James were still grinning at him and kept sending Linda meaningful looks, but she wasn't looking at their direction, and Harry looked away from them too, feeling that he was blushing.

"Wonderful little girl, your daughter," Linda spoke up. "Well, I've got to go, mum's waiting for me."

"Er, yeah, okay. Good night."

"Sleep tight," she smiled at him and started down the path, when Harry suddenly called after her. She turned around to see him jogging towards her. "Forgot something?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded, seemingly nervous. "My daughter made me think... er... you couldn't have possibly...?"

"What?"

"Well..." He scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly.

Finally it dawned on her what he was driving at and she burst out laughing. "No, no... don't worry. You know, Harry, residents of the underworld can do anything, except two things: they cannot die... and they cannot create a new life, for they're dead, after all. Had they been able to have kids, you'd have at least ten siblings by now." She winked at him. Seeing his confused expression she added: "Lily told me that she and James are still quite active in that respect..."

"Oh..." Harry grimaced. "I don't think I needed to know that."

* * * * *

That evening Molly came to visit Ginny at Malfoy Manor and talked her into eating Tonks' legendary pumpkin pie that was supposed to put her digestive system back into order. Molly had asked Ginny whether she wanted to go back with her to the Burrow, but Ginny politely turned her down, and no matter how hard her mother tried, she didn't manage to extricate a proper answer from Ginny as to why she didn't want to leave Malfoy Manor. However, she didn't give up, and came the next day, and the day after the next... but Ginny remained resolute.

"I'm so unhappy about you being here," Molly tutted. "I know you're not happy in this house, and look at you, you're withering away here..."

"I'm not withering," Ginny protested.

"Oh yes, you are," snapped her mother. "You're as white as a sheet, my dear, and thinner than ever. Are you getting enough to eat, or is that terrible husband of yours starving you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Mum," Ginny sighed. "I get enough to eat. Only problem is that the food never wants to remain in my stomach."

Molly knitted her eyebrows. "You're still having these problems, even after the pumpkin pie?"

"Yeah. I suppose my digestive system got so unused to food that it doesn't want to accept any."

"But this way you'll starve to death!" Molly said, scandalised. "You're coming with me this instant to St Mungo's, Virginia Weasley!"

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"Oh yes, you are! We'll have a Healer examine you. It's not normal that you can't keep any food down!"

"I'm not going." Ginny folded her arms defiantly.

"You will come, even if I'll have to haul you to St Mungo's!" Molly grabbed her daughter's arm and pulled her off the chair. Ginny tried to put up resistance, but she was so weak from weeks of not eating that she didn't manage to fight her mother's hands off.

"Muuuum, I don't want to!" she wailed as Molly kept tugging her towards the door.

"What is going on here?" Draco burst into the room. "Is she killing you or what?"

"Killing? My own daughter?" Mrs Weasley grunted. "On the contrary, young man, I'm about to save her!"

"Save her?" Draco raised an eyebrow at his mother-in-law. "From me?"

"Oh, don't be such an idiot," the older witch spat. "Haven't you noticed your wife hasn't been able to eat anything since you took her from the hospital?"

"Is this true, Ginny?" Draco asked with a worried expression.

"As if you cared," Ginny replied defiantly, holding to her mother's arm for support, because she felt dizzy with hunger.

"Actually I do care," the blond wizard pointed out. "I'm your husband if you haven't noticed yet."

Ginny wanted to give him a snappy comeback, but at that moment the world turned black around her and Molly barely managed to catch her as she passed out.

"Well?" Draco demanded as the mediwitch who had come to his urgent call from the nearby village exited Ginny's room.

Molly scowled at her son-in-law, mad that Draco hadn't let her take Ginny back to St Mungo's, saying he could get help from elsewhere. She had a feeling that Draco didn't want to let Ginny out of his manor at all, fearing that she'd never come back if he did.

"Well, you may come in," the mediwitch said and Draco entered, followed by Molly.

Ginny was awake again, lying in her bed, deadly pale.

"Is she very ill?" Mrs Weasley asked worriedly.

"Well, no, I wouldn't say so." The mediwitch shook her head. "She's malnourished, that's for sure. Weak too, but overall healthy."

"They told me in St Mungo's she was all right, otherwise I wouldn't have taken her home," Draco said. "But then, if she's healthy..."

"...what's the reason for her sicknesses?" Molly finished his sentence.

"Well-" The mediwitch's mouth tucked into a smile and she squinted at the reclining Ginny. "Let me congratulate you, Mr Malfoy. She's going to have a baby."

Ginny, who had been listening to the mediwitch's every word, sat bolt upright. "No! That can't be!"

The mediwitch turned back to her with a wide smile. "Trust me it can, Mrs Malfoy."

"But... but I can't have a baby..." Ginny spluttered. "I'm infertile! I can't..."

Picture after picture flashed into her mind: Harry kissing her, Harry loving her, jokes about frogs and misquoting Yoda... then Aesculapius' statue coming back to life...

'I'm sorry to interrupt, but you are healed, and you can no longer linger in my room. You have to continue your journey in the Row of Gods' - Aesculapius had said.

You are healed...

"Oh my gosh..." Ginny whispered as she finally understood it. Asclepius's room had not only healed Harry's wounds, but her illness, too... it had made her fertile again... and she made love to Harry there, right after/during her healing...

She was going to have a child... a child she had so long dreamed of...

She felt tears coming. She hadn't cried when Harry died, she hadn't cried at the memorial, she had been practically suffering from her inability to cry... and now she was sobbing, her whole body shaking with the sobs, tears splashing down her cheeks, drenching her bedcover...

She hiccoughed and looked up, her eyes meeting Draco's. His expression made the blood freeze in her veins. She had never seen such a mixture of hate, repulsion and blood-thirst on his face.

Molly had clamped her hands over her mouth in shock and kept looking from her daughter to Draco and back...

"Exactly Virginia," Draco whispered darkly. "Oh my gosh..."