Dealing With the Consequences

Meetings

Birds were twittering as Ginny woke up. A ray of sunlight shone in through her window, making her hair shine in different colours and her eyes sparkle. The morning hadn't woken up the peaceful, snoring little boy though, who was wrapped in a red quilt next to her.

She rose from bed, carefully, and snuck out into the hallway on tiptoes. Suddenly a small shriek broke the silence, and Ginny soon found herself embraced by a strong pair of arms. Molly Weasley wouldn't let her daughter go for some time so Ginny hugged her mother back with all the love she could possibly give.

Tears of joy were making the eyes of the older female Weasley glisten as she took a step back and looked at her grown up daughter. Ginny had changed in the past two years. She wasn't a little skinny girl anymore, but had gotten a glimmer of experience and cynicism in her eyes that made her seem more mature.

"Let me look at you, dear," Molly exclaimed and made Ginny rotate twice. "You look absolutely adorable, sweetheart. But somewhat different."

Molly eyed Ginny for a few seconds. "You've been pregnant?" she finally said in a surprised but yet knowing way.

Since there was no reason to deny the facts, Ginny told her mother about Jason. As she had started talking the words just flowed out of her mouth and suddenly she found herself confessing everything about her relationship with Sirius and the reasons for her sudden departure. Molly listened to her patiently; not uttering a word while Ginny spoke and when she'd finished Molly looked at her with an undecipherable glint in her eyes.

"Mum?"

Ginny stared at her mother with a somewhat anxious expression and then put her hand on Molly's shoulder. To Ginny's relief, Molly smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently.

"I'm glad you told me, Ginevra, but why did you wait two whole years?"

"Well..."

"You have to understand how baffled we were when we came back and you weren't there. We felt guilty for your departure, like it was our fault. But we didn't know where you went, or if something had happened. The only guarantee we had of your well-being were Hermione's words, but she wouldn't tell us anything beyond the fact that you were okay."

The pain in Ginny's heart was unbearable. She relived the first months after her leaving, and every inch of her soul ached as she remembered how helpless and frustrated she'd felt. Molly continued speaking, but Ginny couldn't focus on her words. She was too busy holding the tears back, and when her mother finished Ginny looked at her pleadingly.

"Please forgive me, Mum. I never wanted to hurt you, nor anyone else for that matter, but I couldn't think of any other way out," she whispered, and when her body started shaking in silent sobs Molly put her arms around her and rocked her back and forth.

They stood there for a while, Ginny clinging to her mother and Molly holding her daughter tightly. A muffled noise broke the silence and Ginny wiped the tears off of her cheeks. Molly did so as well and Ginny cast her a quick glance.

"You want to meet my Jason?"

Her mother nodded and together they walked into the room where the little boy was fully awake, rolling around in the big bed, his eyes sparkling with laughter. As he spotted his grandmother his little arm promptly shot up into the air and reached for her. Molly laughed and took a seat next to him. He immediately crawled up onto her lap and looked at her with his big, brown, chestnut-coloured eyes.

"So this is little Mr Weasley? You certainly look a lot like Ginny when she was your age, but you've definitely got your impish smile from somebody else," Molly stated and tickled Jason's stomach gently.

"Mummy?" Jason looked at Ginny curiously, and Ginny smiled at him encouragingly.

"Jason, that is your grandmother, Molly Weasley; my Mummy!"

"Gwannie?" Jason looked a bit bewildered, but then clasped his arms around Molly's neck and kissed her on the cheek. "Gwannie, play?"

"Of course, dear. I'd love to play with you," Molly said, her eyes sparkling just like her grandson's.

Ginny smiled at the two of them and silently left the room, trying not to disturb the game that had just begun. She strolled through the house, breathing deeply, just to memorize the scent of her surroundings. The happiness she felt inside was odd, but not in any way unpleasant.

She chose to walk out to the garden, which to her surprise was empty. As long as she could remember, the garden had always been occupied by at least one of her brothers, and now it felt somewhat unfamiliar to see it in complete silence. Yet it wasn't completely silent, for when Ginny had taken a seat under one of the gnarled trees, she could hear a bird twitter nearby and something, probably a gnome, caused one of the bushes to move quietly. A soft breeze was playing with Ginny's hair, and the cold autumn air made her shiver.

She sat there for a while, solely enjoying the calm. Nostalgia hit her with a thud as she recalled all the happy things from her childhood. Thus far she'd never regretted any of her actions, but now she was questioning if she had made all the right decisions in her life. But then again, who could decide what's right and what's not, and were there really any wrong decisions?

Ginny jumped as she heard a twig behind her break. After turning her head to see who had joined her, all colour left her face and she felt sick and dizzy.

Sirius too, who hadn't seen her, was obviously startled and had to reach out to hold on to the tree trunk. Though he was the one of them who spoke first, she could hear his voice tremble and he sounded a bit insecure.

"Ginny... I didn't expect you here. When..."

"Just last night," she interrupted him and got to her feet, feeling a bit nauseous. "It's good to see you, Sirius. It's been a while."

"It has in deed," Sirius responded absently. "I suppose you've come back to participate in the baptism?"

"That's true. But I'm glad I got an opportunity to return without making a big stir of it. I had planned to come back sooner or later, so why not sooner?" she said, her voice sounding quite formal.

"Welcome back, then!" Sirius said a bit too cheerily. "How long are you planning to stay for?"

"I'll probably leave after the baptism. I might stay another day or so. I don't want to be a burden."

"Oh, I see..."

They both fell silent and stood there awkwardly for a minute or two. Then Sirius cleared his throat and attempted to say something, but he was interrupted yet again.

"Mummy! Wicked witch searching me!" a small voice shouted and Ginny felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the little boy running towards them with a big grin on his face.