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Ginny woke. She was lying in bed. The summer sun was pouring over her body, warming it. She smiled and stretched. It was Sunday morning. She loved Sundays. They meant that she could lie in till whatever time she wanted.

Looking at her clock, she saw that it was 11:45. She'd slept in till almost dinner time. Sniffing, she could smell Sunday's dinner cooking. Padma always made Sunday's dinner.

Ginny climbed out of bed and looked out of the window. It was a beautiful summer's day and everything was perfect. She smiled. Living at the Manor was the best time of her life.

She dressed in a simple yellow silk dress that came just above her knees and stuffed a pair of gold flip-flops onto her feet. She didn't bother doing anything with her hair. It was wavy and long and usually looked good straight out of bed, without even brushing it. She'd do her eyes later.

She hurried into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and washed her face. When she emerged her face was glowing from scrubbing. She hurried down the main staircase of the Manor to the kitchen.

"Morning, sleepy head," Padma laughed. She said it every Sunday morning when Ginny finally crawled out of bed.

"Morning," Ginny smiled, climbing onto the bench surface and sitting there.

"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes," Padma informed Ginny. "Neville's setting the table. You slept in even longer than usual."

"Sorry," Ginny said. "I'll go and see what I can do."

"Yeah, Neville grumbled for ages before he finally did it. Whining like a little boy, he was."

"Poor Neville," Ginny laughed, slipping off the bench. She went next door into the dining room.

"Oh, finally," he grumbled. He was sitting in his usual place for eating.

"Shut up," she joked.

"You're sleeping later and later! Every Sunday it gets later! If you carry on like this I'll have to set the table every Sunday," he groaned. He stared at her, pouting.

"Neville - you're like a child!" Ginny laughed, sitting opposite him. He sighed.

"Are you okay? I know you've got a bug or something. Padma told me you haven't been well. That's the only reason I didn't personally drag you out of bed this morning."

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just a bit of everything. I'm run down, I've been vomiting, and last night my temperature was raging. But I'm on the mend now. I can tell."

"Good," Neville said. "I don't want you skiving from work."

"I won't!" Ginny cried, hitting him on the arm playfully.

Padma entered the room, carrying all three plates of dinner. Ginny laughed.

"That's your best party trick," she told her. Padma giggled.

"I can carry a lot more than that - but I won't tell you how. Neville would go into cardiac arrest!"

"Shut it, Mrs Longbottom, or I'll-!"

"No!" Ginny cried. "Far too much information! That kind of talk is best in the privacy of your own bedroom, Neville, not in the dining room, in front of me."

"Yeah, yeah," Neville said.

They began eating. No one spoke until every scrap of food was gone. When Ginny finally pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair, Padma looked at Neville nervously.

"What?" Ginny asked, suddenly noticing how the atmosphere had become tense.

"Well, we've got something to tell you," Padma said slowly. Ginny looked from Padma to Neville.

"What is it? Has someone died? Do you want me to move out?" Ginny asked quickly, her stomach lurching. She had no where else to go, and Neville and Padma had been so good to her. She'd loved living with them. She'd never been happier in her life.

"No, no!" Padma said, smiling weakly. "But...the Army is advancing next week. You know Neville has been recruited to fight. And I have been recruited as a on site Doctor."

"You mean...You mean you're going to war?" Ginny's voice shook.

"Yes," Neville said. Padma was looking at her hands.

"When?" Ginny asked, willing herself not to cry.

"Wednesday. We got the letter last Wednesday, but we didn't know how to tell you. We've got no surviving relatives to speak of, so if something should happen, we're leaving the estate to you," Padma said. Ginny couldn't help herself. Her tears broke the flood barrier and splashed onto the table cloth.

"But-I don't want the estate! I just want you to survive!" she cried. Padma broke into tears.

"It's our duty."

***

Ginny was packing her bags. She'd almost collected everything that belonged to her from around the Manor. Neville and Padma were leaving for war the next morning and Ginny had finally made the decision. If Padma and Neville were going to war, then most of her brothers - if not all - would be going too. Ginny wanted to see them one last time if they did. She had to go home. Even if it meant encountering Harry again. But luckily, she knew Harry would be going too.

Padma came into the room.

"Are you ready?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, I've got everything."

"You do know that you can live here while we're gone. We were expecting you to."

"I know, but I want to go home to my family. I know that I'll always be welcome here," Ginny said, taking Padma's hands.

"We're still leaving it to you," she told Ginny firmly. "You're the only person we know who deserves it."

"Well, thank you. It means a lot. But I doubt I'll inherit it. You'll come back. I know."

"Yes, I'm sure we will. Neville and I are going to walk you to the PortKey point. But please, just go. I can't stand goodbyes," Padma asked. Ginny nodded.

"Well, let's go," she said brightly.

Neville and Padma kissed her goodbye. It was a cold night and Ginny wanted nothing more than for them all just to go back to the Manor and be happy. But war always tore friends apart. Hopefully, it would bring families back together.

"Bye then," Ginny said. Padma smiled. Neville looked stricken. Ginny picked up the old pan and suddenly she was pulled by the navel into a swirling vortex.

***

Ginny landed with a thud at the Burrow's PortKey point. She groaned. Her suitcase had landed on her hand, which was throbbing impressively.

Standing up, Ginny saw the lights in the windows of the Burrow.

Before she knew it, Ginny had grabbed her suitcase and broke into a run. She reached the old wooden door panting.

Drawing her nerves together, she knocked loudly on the door.

"Who's there?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"It's...It's Ginny," Ginny answered. "Mum?"

The door was flung open. Standing in front of her was her mother. She was thinner than last time Ginny had seen her and there were black circles under her eyes. She drew Ginny into a rib-cracking hug. Ginny felt a strange feeling in her rather bloated stomach.

"Mum!" she cried, but it was muffled. Molly Weasley drew her threw the door and slammed it shut.

"Ginny!" Ron cried. He was at the sink, running his finger under the tap. "Where on Earth have you been?"

"I've been staying with Neville and Padma. But they're going...tomorrow. So I wanted to come home."

Ron had stopped the tap and flung his arms around Ginny. He hugged her tightly. Once again, Ginny felt tightness around her stomach.

"Mum, call the others down. They'll love this!" Ron told Mrs Weasley. She hurried out of the room.

"Are Harry and Draco still here?" Ginny asked, trying to sound offhand.

"Yeah. Harry's going tomorrow. I am too. But Draco has been asked to stay here and protect the women and children."

"I bet he wasn't pleased about that."

"He wasn't. But in the end, I think he realised that it would be worth it," Ron said.

"How's the baby?" Ginny asked.

"She's fine!" Ron said, suddenly beaming.

"I know this is terrible, but last time I was here I forgot to ask her name," Ginny said sheepishly. Ron didn't seem bothered.

"No, but you weren't exactly here long. She's called Olivia."

"Oh," Ginny smiled.

At that moment, a wave of redheads and one brunette rushed through the door and hit Ginny like a tsunami. Ginny ducked as they all hugged her, trying to catch her breath.

"Would you look at this," Draco groaned. "Another Weasley reunion."

***