A Quiet Life

A Quiet Life

By Cindale

Chapter 3

Neville wasn't surprised to see Ginny sitting at his kitchen table drinking tea when he arrived in his flat. "Let me make you some lunch," Neville said, hoping to postpone the inevitable conversation as long as possible.

"I ordered a pizza," said Ginny. "I hope you don't mind."

Neville was torn; he loved pizza, but he was trying to maintain his weight, and pizza was very fattening. He suddenly had a crazy urge to laugh; it was ridiculous to be worrying about calories when he might have five angry older brothers coming though his fireplace at any moment. "No, I don't mind," he said, sitting at the table across from her.

"Want some tea?" asked Ginny.

"I'll get it," he said, pushing his chair back from the table.

"No, allow me," Ginny insisted, summoning a cup and the kettle.

The piffle about food and drink was starting to annoy him. "Ginny, why did you let Harry think we slept together?" he blurted out.

Ginny giggled a little. "We did sleep together."

"You know what I mean. Harry thinks we shagged!"

Ginny's expression became serious and she sighed. "Yeah - I'm sorry about that. It felt really good at the time, but I'll tell him the truth."

"He's my friend, Ginny. I don't want him to think I betrayed him."

"Well, like I said at the Ministry, he's the one who did the betraying, not you or me, even if we had slept together." She gave him the same pleading look she had given him in Draco's cubicle. "I'm sorry. I should have never put you in the middle of this."

"How did you know about the murder?"

"I was at the flat to get my things when Harry got the owl from Draco," Ginny said, her expression sobering. "Good thing, actually; Harry was trying to start a row over CD's."

"Ginny! Neville!" called a voice from the living room. "Are you in there? I want to come through."

"Oh, Merlin!" Ginny said, burying her face in her hands. "When has Harry had time to tell Ron?"

Neville signed as he went into the living room, but realized he should be grateful it wasn't one of the twins. He knelt by the fireplace and said, "Hello, Ron," in what he hoped was a calm voice.

"Do you still have my sister there?" Ron demanded.

"Ginny is still here, yes," Neville said, feeling a little irritated that Ron seemed to be implying that he was holding her against her will.

"I'm coming through," said Ron.

"That won't be necessary, Ron," said Ginny from behind Neville, causing Neville to start in surprise. "You can see that I'm just fine. I'm not a child - I can take care of myself."

"What happened with Harry?" said Ron.

"Didn't he tell you? He said there was someone else and he broke up with me, end of story."

"But that's not the end of the story. After that, you went home with Neville, and you're still there!"

Neville looked closely at Ron's face. Despite the green hue from the flames, he didn't look particularly angry or violent, just very puzzled and a bit shocked. "Ginny ordered a pizza," he told Ron. "Would you like to join us for lunch?"

Ron's expression softened considerably, possibly because of the offer of food, and in the next moment he was straightening up and dusting himself off. The three stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then Ron said, "Ginny, what are you doing here?"

Ginny sighed. "Obviously I couldn't go home last night, and I didn't want to go to the Burrow and ruin Mum and Dad's evening, and Neville offered." She shrugged casually, but her expression was defiant.

There was another awkward silence, and Neville was relieved when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get the pizza," said Ginny. Neville took a step toward the door and she said, "No, I insist. I've caused you enough trouble." She looked warily between Neville and Ron, but appeared to decide it was safe to leave them alone.

While Ginny was paying for the pizza, Neville said, "You haven't hexed me yet."

"No," said Ron. "I know you wouldn't hurt Ginny."

"Cheers. Too bad Harry doesn't know that."

"He does," said Ron, "but he can go a little crazy when he gets angry." Neville thought that statement was ironic coming from someone with a temper worse than Harry's, but he managed to suppress his grin. "Even I can see that Harry's the one at fault here," Ron shrugged.

Ginny shut the front door and the three of them went into the kitchen to eat. Neville pulled three plates out of a cabinet and three bottles of butterbeer out of the refrigerator. For several minutes, there were only the sounds of eating and drinking, but this time, the silence wasn't awkward.

"Harry didn't tell us there was someone else," Ron finally said. "He only said it wasn't working out between you two. Who is it?"

"I don't know," said Ginny. "He didn't say, and I was too upset to ask." She paused for a moment and looked down at her plate. "You should know that I told him I was interested in someone else, too."

"Who?" Ron said, gaping at her in surprise. "Neville?"

"No!" Ginny said quickly, looking her brother in the eye. "There's no one. I lied to get back at Harry."

Ron looked appraisingly at Ginny, then turned to Neville, his eyes narrowed as if contemplating a chess move. "Harry thinks you two shagged last night."

"Yeah," said Ginny. "I feel bad about that. Neville was a perfect gentleman. I'll tell Harry the truth."

Ron's face broke into a mischievous grin to rival his twin brothers. "I don't think you should," he said slowly, as if working out what he was going to say as he said it. "He was very angry this morning. Might do him some good. Maybe he'll see what an arse he's being."

Ginny stared at her brother in shock, but then her expression slowly became mischievous as well. Neville had never appreciated how much the Weasleys looked alike until that moment.

"He's the one who made the assumptions," Ginny said, nodding. Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes had a glint Neville didn't like. "Maybe if he thinks I'm moving on, he'll realize he made a mistake and want me back."

"Or he'll turn to that 'someone else' he mentioned," Ron said, and Ginny's eyes widened in alarm. "Well, if he's not sure he loves you, it might be better if he did, as much as you don't want to hear it," Ron continued, his expression softening. "You deserve someone who's committed and sure, Ginny."

"I deserve to be loved and treasured," said Ginny softly, looking at Neville with an unreadable expression.

"I stand by what I said," Neville stated, "even though I know it sounded like silly platitudes."

"It was brilliant," Ginny said, and she surprised Neville by reaching over to squeeze his hand. "Thank you."

"So, is it a plan?" asked Ron, looking between the two of them.

"No," said Ginny. "It wouldn't be fair to Neville for people to believe we're a couple - he wouldn't be able to date other people."

Neville snorted. "I don't anyway," he murmured. "Actually, Ginny, I don't mind at all."

Ginny looked from Ron to Neville warily, and finally said, "Well ... okay, but just let people believe what they're going to believe anyway - there's no reason to make a big announcement or anything."

"Good," said Ron. "This will give Harry something to think about and maybe he'll come to his senses. Now we just have the problem of where you're going to live."

Before Ginny could speak, Neville said, "I told you last night you could stay here until you leave for training, Ginny, and I meant it."

"Yeah - that's a good idea, Ginny," said Ron. "You should just move in with Neville!" Neville had just taken a sip of butterbeer and had to restrain himself from spitting it all over the table. Move in with him? He didn't have room in his flat, or his life, for another person right now! Ron, however, kept extolling the virtues of his idea. "It doesn't make sense for you to get your own flat when you'll only be in it a couple of days a week. You could move in with me and Hermione, but Harry is over a lot, and that could be awkward. You could move in with Mum and Dad, but you know Mum will smother you, and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. The twins are living with Angelina and Alicia, even though they're pretending they aren't, Charlie's in Romania, and Bill doesn't have room. I'd say this is actually your best option. And Neville's willing, aren't you mate?"

Oddly, it seemed that Ron was right; this was Ginny's best option. She would be away most of the time with her Quidditch team, so she probably wouldn't be much trouble. Besides, he felt terrible for her and wanted to help. "Sure," he found himself saying, trying not to think about Harry's reaction when he found out. He didn't think Harry would really hurt him, but he knew Harry would probably be angry until he remembered that he had started the whole mess.

"Great, then, it's settled," Ron said, rubbing his hands together. "Do you want help moving your things, Ginny?"

"You know, you're treating me like a child, Ron," Ginny said in an irritated tone, but Neville noticed her eyes looked relieved. "Did you forget to ask if this is okay with me?"

"Er ... um ... You're upset and grieving and ... er ... not able to make wise decisions on your own?" Ron said, looking repentant.

"It's okay," said Neville to Ginny. "I could use the company." That was a blatant lie, but he wanted to make her feel comfortable. Another thought occurred to him. "As long as I don't have four more angry Weasleys coming through my fire."

"I'll take care of my brothers," said Ron.

Neville was a little nervous about going to Harry's flat to help Ginny pack, but Harry wasn't home. Apparently he actually had the sensitivity to give her some privacy while packing. Neville had to question the wisdom of that, however; he was sure he saw a mischievous glint in Ginny's eyes as she packed some of "her" jumpers and compact disks.

They were all quite dizzy by the time they had gone back and forth through the Floo three times carrying Ginny's things. "I had no idea I had accumulated so much stuff!" Ginny said when everything had been transferred to Neville's living room.

"Yeah, and where are you going to put it with all these plants?" Ron asked, looking around Neville's flat.

"Come on, Ginny," said Neville. "You can help me transfigure my chair into a bed, and I'm sure I've got something we can transfigure into another wardrobe ... Ron, can you adjust the wards to admit Ginny?"

The best they could do with the chair was a small, uncomfortable day bed, and Neville decided he'd rather sleep on the sofa. "I'll see if Mum and Dad will give up one of the beds at the Burrow," said Ginny. "They certainly don't need them all any more, and they're quite comfortable."

"What are you going to tell your parents?" Neville asked, picturing the new Minister of Magic sending him to Azkaban.

"I don't know, but I'd better go talk to them today before they hear about it from someone else," she said with a glum expression.

"Want me to talk to them?" said Ron.

"No. I'll handle it. You've done enough." Ginny walked over to her brother, took him into her arms, and laid her head on his chest. "You've been wonderful, actually. Thank you." She pulled back to look at him and he leaned over so that his forehead was resting on hers.

"Any time," said Ron.

"I love you, you know," said Ginny.

"I know." He kissed her forehead and gave her another squeeze, and then disappeared into the fireplace. Neville watched them with a longing that surprised him, realizing how nice it would have been to have had siblings. If only his parents hadn't been injured ...

Thinking of his parents reminded him that he still hadn't seen to his plants at the Research Centre. "Ginny, will you be all right for awhile? I never got anything done at work."

"Sure. Actually, I think I'm going to go to Mum and Dad's right now. I may as well get it over with."

***********************************

Ginny spent most of Sunday unpacking and sorting her things, and then repacking what she needed to take to Appleby for Quidditch camp. Neville offered several times to help, but she told him that she had to do it herself since only she knew how to sort it all out, so he spent most of the day in his study researching the long term effects of daily consumption of gingko biloba.

"Are you on the internet?" Ginny asked, startling him; he hadn't heard her come into the room.

"Yeah - how did you ..."

"Harry has a computer. But I'm a little surprised you have one."

"Dean told me about them," Neville explained. "And then a few years ago I started studying Muggle plants and thought this might be a good way to do research. I think there might be a real future in cross-breeding Muggle plants with traditional potions ingredients."

"Is that what you're doing with the Wolfsbane Potion - crossing the wolfsbane plant with Muggle plants?"

"Yes, actually. It's funny - the wolfsbane plant doesn't have any magical properties on its own, Muggles are very familiar with it, but it's not considered a "Muggle plant" because it's used in potions. I guess Muggle plants are loosely defined as those found to not be useful in potions. But my approach is a bit different, since I'm attempting to cross-breed them." Neville suddenly realized he was rambling. "I'm sorry - it's not wise to get me started talking about my research - there's a real danger that you'll fall asleep from boredom."

"No, not at all - I think it's interesting."

Neville didn't believe her, but instead of arguing he looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh, Merlin! I'll bet you're hungry. I'm sorry - I'm not used to having anyone else here."

"No, I'm sorry - I shouldn't have interrupted you. I don't want to be any trouble. It's just that I found some frozen dinners and wondered if it was okay if I heated one."

"It's okay. I should thank you, actually. If I'm not careful I stay up past midnight and never eat dinner!"

In the end, they heated up two frozen entrees and ate together in the kitchen. Ginny was quiet as they ate, and Neville thought she looked nervous. He wondered what he could have done to make her uncomfortable, and began to feel edgy himself.

When she was finished, Ginny took a deep breath as if bracing herself for something unpleasant. "You know," she said, "we've never talked about rent and such. How much do you pay every month?"

Neville stared at her for a moment, wondering if that was what had been worrying her. "Ginny," he said, "I'm used to paying it every month. You don't have to pay me anything. It won't cost me any more for you to live here, and you'll be in Appleby more than you'll be here."

"But I need to pay you for your inconvenience."

"It's no inconvenience - I like having you here." Well, that wasn't exactly true, but so far he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would.

"Look, Neville," she said, and Neville noticed the tips of her ears and her cheekbones were beginning to turn red. "I'm eating your food, I'm sleeping in your bed, and my things are taking up space even when I'm not here. I'm going to pay half the rent, Neville. It's only fair."

Neville was beginning to suspect that she was insisting because of her pride, and that refusing her might actually hurt her. He didn't need the money, and he knew that reserve players didn't make much salary, but he thought it might be more important for her to feel she had some pride and some control over her life after what had happened with Harry. So in the end he told her how much he paid, and she promised to pay half when she came back next weekend. "Pay me a fourth," said Neville. "You're only here half the month."

"Okay," said Ginny, "and I'll pick up groceries sometimes." She stood, banished her disposable tray to the rubbish bin, and said, "I'd better finish packing. Thanks, Neville."

It seemed odd that Ginny was thanking him when she was the one giving him money, but Neville understood.

************************************

"Thank you so much for inviting me to the ball, Neville!" Rose gushed at work Monday morning. "It was fabulous!"

"I'm glad you had fun," Neville said, only half listening as he prepared pots for the transfer of mandrakes. He continued to work as she prattled on about the people she had met and what everyone was wearing; he only stopped to focus on her when she mentioned Draco Malfoy.

"He's fun," she said, "but I got the impression right away that he's not the type to follow up, if you know what I mean. If he calls me, I'd probably go out with him, but if he doesn't, that's okay, too. He's a bit full of himself - has he always been that way?"

Neville couldn't help laughing, especially since he was relieved that Malfoy apparently hadn't hurt Rose. "Actually, he was much worse when we were in school, if you can believe it."

"Longbottom," called a voice from the door. Neville looked up and saw his boss standing there, apparently very angry. "My office." Neville followed Mr. Martin out the door and up the corridor to his office.

The head of the research facility spent over two hours questioning Neville about exactly what had transpired on Saturday, including how he had found the body and what Malfoy had said to him. As a result, he had to catch up on his daily work after everyone else had left the facility, and he arrived home fairly late.

When Neville arrived in his living room, Ginny was curled up on the sofa watching television and eating ice cream straight out of the carton.

"Is that your dinner?" asked Neville, indicating the carton.

"Are you my mother?" she shot back.

He murmured an apology as he walked into the kitchen. Feeling ravenous, he opened the freezer to retrieve a frozen entrée, but there were four more pints of ice cream crowded in front of everything else. Instead of rummaging, he pulled out a pint of chocolate almond and walked back into the living room. "Ginny, do you mind if I have one?"

She turned away from the television to look at him and gave a heavy sigh. "I suppose not," she said in a reluctant tone. "I suppose I'll still have enough."

"You're leaving in the morning. Were you planning to eat five pints of ice cream tonight?"

"Six," she said, "I've already had one." She turned back to the television. Neville wanted to ask her if that much ice cream would make her sick, but didn't want to be accused of being her mother again. So he sat down on the other sofa, kept silent, and tried to get interested in the television program while ploughing through his own pint. It was what Dean called a "reality" show, but the premise was so contrived that Neville knew the term was being used very loosely.

"I'm going through the five stages of grief," Ginny said after a long while, startling him. "Harry's really lucky I've already made it through the 'murderous' stage. I've also made it through the 'throwing-yourself-at-another-man' stage, and now I'm on to the 'chocolate' stage."

"That's not exactly how I remember them from the grief counsellors," said Neville, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. After the Battle of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore had insisted that the students have access to counsellors. The one Neville had seen had been an idiot; she had tried to compare the violent death of Seamus to the death of her ill grandmother.

"Those were the stages for dealing with death," said Ginny. "I'm dealing with the loss of a boyfriend. They're a bit different."

"Oh," Neville said vaguely. He wanted to laugh, but he got the impression that she was completely serious, so he turned his attention back to his ice cream and the television.

After a few moments, she spoke again. "I wonder who it is. He wouldn't say. I wonder if it's Lavender. It's weird that he broke up with me the day she showed up."

"I don't think it could possibly be Lavender," said Neville, remembering how awful she was at the ball.

"I wonder if Hermione knows who it is. I know Ron doesn't, but, let's face it - my brother can be thick at times. I don't think Harry would have told her and not Ron, but she may have figured it out. I should ask her when I get back."

She paused, and Neville was wondering if he should comment on this when she began to speak again.

"You know, I've never had sex with anyone else. Harry told me I was his first. I wonder if he's had sex with her yet." Neville was getting a little uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation, but Ginny wasn't looking at him and her eyes had a faraway expression. Neville wondered if she had forgotten he was in the room. "Ugh! I wonder if he shagged her while we were still together," she said, screwing her face up with disgust. "You know, I bet he has been sleeping with her - he's not been quite as interested in sex now for a few months." That was more information than Neville really wanted to know, and he started to get up to leave the room, but her voice stopped him.

"Maybe there's not anyone else at all - maybe he was just lying about that to get rid of me. I wonder if I could have done something so horrible to make him not want to be with me any more." Neville wanted to comment that he was sure Ginny had done nothing of the sort, but he was beginning to realize that Ginny was not really talking to him; she was simply rambling to sort her feelings out. He was not expected to answer, and she might even be startled if he did. So he sat there, quiet and still except for eating his ice cream, and let her talk it out.

"I think he might be jealous that I'm playing Quidditch," she continued. "I tried to get him to try out for a team, but he was determined to be an Auror. He said he knew any Quidditch team in Britain would hire him because of who he was, but he wanted to do something that he'd earned. He knew Shacklebolt would treat him just like all the other trainees, and he was right. The days he came home sore and grumpy I know he envied me, even though I came home sore and grumpy plenty of days myself." She paused to scrape the inside of her carton and put a huge bite in her mouth. "If that was the case, I wish he would have just tried out for Quidditch instead of dumping me." Her eyes filled with tears, and he was afraid she might start crying. If she did, he didn't know what he would do; he was still a bit uncomfortable with what had almost happened two nights before.

Instead of crying, however, she abruptly got up from the sofa and went back into the kitchen, peering angrily into her carton as if it had offended her. She returned only moments later with a new pint, prying the lid open as she walked.

"You know," Ginny said as she resumed her seat, looking directly at Neville this time, "you're a really good listener. I usually use Harry or Hermione as my sounding board, but it would be awkward to talk to Hermione about this stuff right now - I'd hate for her to feel caught in the middle." She gave a heavy sigh and took a huge bite of ice cream. "I hope I can still be friends with Hermione," she said after swallowing, staring past Neville again. "But I want Ron and Hermione to be able to be friends with Harry, too. This is going to be weird for awhile." She took another bite, and her eyes began to glaze over slightly and took on a wistful expression. "Of course, if Harry and I were to get back together, it wouldn't be a problem. Maybe I'll Floo him when I get back."

"I think you should," Neville said, sincerely hoping that Ginny could have what she wanted. She seemed a bit startled that he had spoken, and she appeared to focus on him again.

"I'm starting to feel a bit queasy," she said, glaring at the ice cream. "I have to get up early tomorrow. I think I'll go to bed now." She went into the kitchen, presumably to store the rest of her pint in the freezer, and paused as she crossed back through the living room.

"I'll try not to wake you in the morning, and I should be back sometime Friday night. Thanks, Neville, for everything. You're a great friend."