Love's Battle Revisited

Chapter 2 -The Repercussions Begin

They found out sooner than they'd expected--in the very next day's edition of the Daily Prophet, in fact. From what Harry understood, it was the first sold-out run of a mainstream Wizarding newspaper since the Quibbler had run his first-hand account of Voldemort's rebirth. The only one he could think of who might have contacted them was Ginny, and he was thankful to see that she had gone to Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was always fair and up-front in his reporting. But a screaming headline was still a screaming headline, no matter how you looked at it, even though the article itself was short:

HARRY POTTER AND HERMIONE GRANGER SEEN ALIVE

By Kingsley Shacklebolt, Staff Writer

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are not dead, as has long been assumed. The two recently showed up alive at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to meet with Headmistress Minerva McGonagall regarding teaching positions, reports Potter's ex-fiancée, Ginevra Weasley, now Charms teacher at the school. It turns out that Potter and Granger married shortly after their purported deaths, had two daughters and have been quietly living in America for the last ten years. The pair purposely spread the rumour that they had been killed in the Final Battle, reportedly in order to start a totally new life away from all they'd ever known.

A subtitle said, Charms Teacher Ginevra Weasley Reportedly Very Upset At Their Return and yet another article mentioned Draco's reaction to same. The subtitles there said, Malfoy Enterprises CEO Former Husband of Hogwarts Charms Teacher; Married Six Months After Potter's Supposed Death. Divorce Finalised Last Year.

Even at that, the poll Kingsley had asked people to take giving their opinion on the matter was most disturbing ... the vast majority were very displeased with Harry and Hermione's actions and believed that they should not be allowed to remain British citizens, arguing that it reflected poorly on all of Wizarding Britain. At the very least, the public believed that they should be openly ostracised when- and wherever possible. Nor did they like the idea of either of them teaching at Hogwarts, and some wizarding parents even threatened to pull their children out of the school--but McGonagall refused to back down, declaring that they were good teachers and that she was going to keep them on.

Just the same, none of this could bode well, either for Harry or his adopted family--not to mention the Order, if only for the fact that he had had friends and some of his adopted family in it. What had they thought of the article? He had been unable to pin down Ginny to find out, so he bravely attempted to visit the Burrow. However, he was not allowed inside ... and the only words he'd gotten out of Molly were the following: "I'm sorry, Harry, but we have nothing to say to you," before she had closed the door in his face. He then went to the Ministry of Magic, where Arthur Weasley had been promoted to the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, but the reception there wasn't much warmer, although he was at least willing to speak with him--albeit briefly.

"I don't know what more I can tell you than what my wife already has, Harry. We are very hurt, disturbed and displeased with your and your wife's conduct and no longer wish to be associated with either of you. We also warned you long ago what would happen if you ever hurt our daughter in any way, yet you still lied to her, made a fool of her, left her behind and spread untrue rumours of your demise in order to run off with Ms. Granger when you had promised marriage to Ginny.

"It is for this reason that I request you no longer attempt to speak with any of us--and that includes Ginny and Ron. He has finally managed to get his life straightened out after a tough bout with alcoholism and heartbreak, and I don't want you or Ms. Granger to disturb him. Should either of you attempt to do so, I shall be forced to use every ounce of influence I have to see that you are punished to the fullest extent of wizarding law for criminal harassment. It is hard for us to understand just what changed you, what made you do such a thing to all of us, those who loved you like their own, gave you the hospitality of our home, our love and affection--yet you threw it all away ... and for what? Now, if you would please leave, I have work to do. Good day."

"Arthur, please listen to me. We--I--never meant to hurt anyone, least of all any of you," Harry tried to protest. "Why won't you give me a chance to explain?"

"It's 'Mr. Weasley' to you ... and as far as we're concerned, you've already explained yourselves all too clearly. Now, as I said, please leave before I have you forcibly removed."

Harry had never heard Arthur Weasley's voice so cold, and knew what 'forcibly removed' meant, so he reluctantly, sadly, stood up and headed for the door. At the last possible second Harry turned and spoke. "Even if you don't believe anything else, believe this: I'm not proud of what I've done, and am deeply and most profoundly sorry for causing you and your family pain. I also intend to do everything in my power to prove that fact to you. But you must allow me to make the attempt. Otherwise you're no better than you believe I am."

Arthur didn't react, and Harry couldn't be sure he'd gotten through to him ... but neither could he stay any longer without risking forced expulsion from the Ministry premises. He was unable to Apparate until he got out of the building, checking at the nearest actual phone box for a listing for Ron and Luna Weasley. Even if he couldn't get to Ron, perhaps Luna would be willing to speak with him. He noted the number and called it immediately, hoping Ron wouldn't be the one to answer; if he did, he would disguise his voice and claim it was a wrong number or something. But fortunately, he heard a female voice on the other end.

"Luna? It's Harry. Can I meet with you somewhere? I need to talk to you."

"I don't know, Harry. I'm here alone with the children. Ron's at work now, and gets off within an hour or so. I prefer to be here to greet him."

"Bring them along, then," he suggested. "I need to see you, to try to explain things."

"Tell you what ... how about tomorrow, just after the children go to preschool and Ron goes to work. Say, ten o'clock at the Three Broomsticks?"

"Fine. I'll be there." Hopefully things were looking up, but Harry couldn't count on that. That would depend on the outcome of his meeting with Luna--virtually the only person who had talked to him in even a remotely friendly way since his return aside from McGonagall. "Just the same, don't be surprised if you don't recognise me right off. I'm not exactly the most popular person in the wizarding world right now, so I feel it's safest if I come in disguise."

"Just let me know what to expect," Luna said; Harry told her.

"See you then." With that, they hung up and Harry made tentative plans on what to discuss with her the following day. Even at that, there was no guarantee anything would come of it--but he had to try, had to do his best to prove that he was sincere in his remorse and repentance. Maybe he would even tell Luna about his marital problems over the last six months and tell her to feel free to report it to the papers if she chose, that she had his full knowledge and permission to do so.

Of course, that would likely get him in Dutch with Hermione, but that was a chance he would have to take. Maybe then he could finally get her to sit down with him and discuss their problems, see if there was anything they could do to solve them--and if they couldn't, to make plans for divorce and custody of the girls ... then he could move out into his own quarters and take the girls with him, since leaving them at the Burrow was no longer an option. Maybe Luna would even be willing to look after them while he and Ron were working; he'd have to see what she said on that score tomorrow.

* * * * *

Harry arrived at the Three Broomsticks half an hour early, commandeering a secluded table in order to ensure as much privacy as possible for himself and Luna. When she arrived, he was glad to see that her blonde hair was a bit shorter, kind of in a shag cut, and she had dispensed with the butterbeer cork necklace and radish earrings. Instead, they had been replaced with a dainty little gold and diamond necklace and matching earrings, and her outfit was a chic pale blue pantsuit with a lacy top and matching strappy sandals. He figured it best to approach her first, so as little attention as possible was called to them.

"Luna? It's me," Harry said with a smile. "Come this way. I have a table for us."

"Harry, you've certainly changed," she was unable to help commenting. "I hardly recognised you," she opined when they seated themselves at the table. "Especially with the brown contacts and the beard and all."

"Ten years will do that to you," he remarked. "I hope you and Ron are doing well."

"We're happy together, if that's what you mean. Or at least as happy as one can be under the circumstances. Ron still hasn't gotten over you running off with Hermione, and I doubt he ever will."

"Then you should be pleased to know that we've been having problems the last six months and I am seriously contemplating divorce. Hermione has already had one affair; that is the main reason I made the decision to return to England, to break up that relationship. I've not been able to persuade her to discuss options, and if necessary, may have to magically 'pin her down,' as it were, in order to get her to do so."

In spite of herself, Luna was unable to help feeling nervous at the prospect of Hermione being free. How did she know she wouldn't begin pursuing Ron again, uncaring of the fact that he was married with a family? "Just the same, Harry, I can't understand why you would run out on all of us without a word, leaving everyone who ever loved you behind, much less start a rumour that you'd been killed when you were really still alive. Have you any idea what that did to the Weasleys, to the Order ... but most of all to Ginny and Ron?"

"I'm not proud of my actions, Luna; you may be assured of that. I now realise it was the wrong thing to do, and was done for the wrong reasons--but I can't get anyone to listen to me. You're the only person outside of Hogwarts who's bothered to give me the time of day since I got back."

"You've got to try to see it from their perspective," Luna replied after Harry had recounted his experience with Arthur Weasley. "After all they did for you, all the love and family life they'd given you, you still basically ran out on them without a word. Not to mention your running out on Ginny herself. Of all people, you should know how protective they are of her--and it's dangerous to cross any one of the Weasleys, let alone the whole group. You know their tempers, being redheads and all.

"And Ron ... you know how he loved Hermione. Still does, in fact. There have been times that I know he's thinking of her, even in our most intimate moments, but I still love him and am doing the best I can to be a good wife to him as well as a loving mother to our children. It's unrealistic to expect the Weasleys to welcome you back with open arms after the way you left, especially after spreading the story of your deaths. How can you possibly expect them to blithely accept any explanations you decide to give, just jumping for joy at your return as if no time has gone by and a lot of water hasn't gone under the bridge?"

"Arthur warned me not to try to contact Ron, but I assure you, Luna, I never stopped caring about him. We were best friends for six years; I can't just let that slip away without trying to get it back again. Do you think you could talk to him about it?"

Luna looked troubled. "I don't know, Harry. I'd like to, but, as you may or may not know, he's just come out of a long, tough drying-out at the St. Mungo's Alcoholic Rehab clinic, and is frankly still getting counseling for his depression. He even takes antidepressants, which I have to monitor so he doesn't overdose. If I even mention your name, it could likely send him right back to square one, and I don't think you want to be responsible for that--not on top of everything else."

"Well, if nothing else, do you think you could talk to Molly about it? I couldn't get anything out of her. She wouldn't even let me in the house."

"I can try, because she likes me, but can't make any guarantees. You and Hermione are still pretty sensitive subjects around the Burrow, as I think you can well understand. Ginny leaves her children from her marriage to Draco there while she's at work and they're out of school, as I sometimes leave mine and Ron's kids--and Molly dotes on all of them."

"I have two girls myself. Which reminds me--I'm going to need someone to look after them while I'm at work, especially if 'Mione and I do split up. Do you think you could do it? They're nine years old, a bit older than your two. You don't have to say they're mine, of course, just that they're children of a friend of yours who asked you to look after them while they're at work since they have no other child care option."

"That depends. What do they look like?"

"One looks like me and the other looks like 'Mione."

Luna's frown deepened.

"Don't worry. If necessary, we'll disguise the girls too."

"I still don't know, Harry. Ron still remembers what you and 'Mione looked like. Even if the girls are disguised, there's still a chance that he would make the connection, and that could ultimately prove just as devastating."

"Luna, if you don't want to do it, just say so. I won't force you--but I do need someone to look after them when I'm at work. I can't leave them alone, and their school gets out before I get off work. Even if it's just for a couple of hours, I'd really appreciate it ... and I'd pay you. They're good girls; they won't give you any trouble."

"That's not the issue, Harry. I'm just trying to think of my husband's welfare. Let me think it over and get back to you, okay?"

Harry sighed, knowing that this was probably the closest thing to a promise he was going to get under the circumstances. "All right. What does your owl look like?"

"Ron's given me his little one, Pigwidgeon, to use for messages while he's away. Just look for him."

"All right. I'd better go now. I've got a class in half an hour. Send Pig either there or to my home with your answer, okay? And thank you for meeting me."

"Thank you for asking, Harry. And I want you to know that you still have at least one friend here, even if I don't approve of what you did, mainly for Ron's sake. But I've always believed in giving people second chances, just like Dumbledore. And I happen to know that despite their hurt and anger, the Weasleys do still love you; they just need time to come around. But don't pressure them--especially not Ginny."

"I'll try not to. That's all I can promise--and I do hope you're right, because if I lose 'Mione, which is a distinct possibility, they'll be all I have left, aside from the girls." Luna stood up to take her leave; Harry caught her hand and kissed it. "Thanks again."

"I'll owl you soon, Harry," Luna promised, then turned and was gone. A short time later, Harry left the pub himself and stepped outside to Apparate to the gates of Hogwarts; after that, he would have to show his teaching credentials in order to be admitted. Upon reaching the DADA classroom, he got the shrunken-down lesson books from his pocket and re-expanded them to normal size. None too soon, too, because a few minutes after his arrival, his students began to file in. His first full day as Hogwarts instructor had begun.

* * * * *

It was the following day, after he'd finished his teaching for the day, that Harry decided to try and see if he could get in and see Draco. The task was not one he was looking forward to, but something he felt he had to do, if there was to be any chance whatsoever of his getting through to Ginny in the near future. Planning the visit reminded him of something Ginny had said, hard as it was to believe, explaining that Draco's dislike of him had escalated to the point where merely seeing his face or hearing his name made him want to cast an Unforgivable Curse--and not just one but all of them, preferably one after the other, working up to the Avada Kedavra. And his dislike of Hermione wasn't much better, from what Harry understood.

But Harry had to at least try to tell his side of the story, even if there was no guarantee that Draco would listen. He flew to the Malfoy place of business and announced himself, recalling that Draco was now CEO of the company his father Lucius had founded and the profits of which were the basis of the vast Malfoy fortune. Harry had heard that Lucius had died in Azkaban a year ago and Draco, as Lucius's only son and heir, had inherited the whole shebang. In spite of himself, Harry had to admit that Draco was showing every bit of his father's business savvy.

The coolly elegant secretary outside the executive offices looked up at Harry disdainfully. "Mr. Malfoy requires an appointment made well in advance. Since his father's death and the breakup of his marriage last year, he has been very busy reorganising the business as well as his personal life, and consequently, has little time for anyone who comes simply to harass him. He has much better things to do."

Harry was tempted to simply Apparate into the office, but didn't put it past Draco to put up Anti-Apparition wards preventing unwelcome intruders, which probably included himself, from gaining access to his private office.

"I simply wish to speak privately with him. Renew old acquaintances, you might say. In addition, his former wife was once a ... close friend of mine."

The secretary had just opened her mouth to speak again when the door to the executive suite opened and revealed a tall, handsome, well-built blond man now in his late twenties. Draco Lucius Malfoy was dressed in an impeccably tailored business suit covered by expensive formal robes, looking every bit the corporate executive. His face darkened upon recognising Harry, his grey-blue eyes as cold as ice.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here, Potter? I thought you were still living a fairy-tale life with your beloved Mudblood, the one you made a fool of Ginny for. Well, I'm not interested in anything you have to say. Your actions regarding her are beneath contempt. Not even I would stoop so low." Draco seemed to murmur an incantation, then ushered Harry into his office. "However, I know you well enough to know that you won't stop harassing me until I speak to you, so I'll grant you two hours to make your case to me ... but not a moment more!"

"That's all I ask," Harry returned coolly.

"Then come on in."

The door closed behind them after that and Draco gestured to the single chair in front of his desk; Harry seated himself. Draco then levitated a bottle of Ogden's Firewhiskey over to the desk and poured each of them a shot after levitating two shot glasses onto the desk, one in front of himself and the other in front of Harry. "Don't worry. It's not spiked with anything, although I can't say I wasn't tempted." Draco took a drink, then sighed and leaned forward in his plush chair to face Harry full-on.

Harry couldn't help noting pictures of a smiling Ginny dressed in a green velvet gown, sitting on a plush sofa, her arms around two beautiful blond boys about nine years of age who looked to be identical twins--miniatures of Draco, in fact. Draco smiled upon noting this. "I bet you wish they were yours, don't you, Potter? Well, they're not, and never will be. You saw to that yourself. Which reminds me ... did you know that Ginny was pregnant when you took off ten years ago?

"That's why she married me, in fact--to give her daughter a father who would be there for her, not a yellow-bellied coward who didn't even have the decency to face her mum and tell her the truth ... that shagging the Mudblood was far more important to him than staying with her mum and raising her. In fact, I can't help but wonder, how would your daughter feel if she knew that? She'd hate you as you deserve, and you would only have yourself to blame. However, it's me she calls 'Father,' and if I have my way, that's the way it'll stay. You don't deserve this child; you don't deserve Ginny. Not now, not ever."

Harry was effectively rendered speechless for several minutes. Draco read this correctly as confirmation that this was all news to him. "No, I can see you didn't know. And another thing--don't you dare confront Ginny about this. You've done enough to her; she deserves some peace in her life. In addition, Ginny and I still keep in touch, and if you harass her or the child in any way, she'll tell me and what'll happen to you won't bear repeating in polite company.

"Unfortunately she'll probably give me hell if she ever learns that I told you, especially since I promised her I wouldn't should you ever show up again ... but I can't help believing that you deserve the punishment of knowing about your child, but never truly knowing her. I'll even be generous enough to show you a picture of her ... Here." Draco reached for another framed picture on the opposite side of his desk which Harry had not noticed before and handed it to him.

Harry was stunned once again, even though he could only surmise that the reason Draco was being so open with him was to show him just what he had missed, exactly what he had so willingly given up ten years ago. The most beautiful little girl he'd ever seen was in the picture before him, with silky black hair down to her shoulders and bright green eyes--but Ginny's lips and nose. What's more, the picture was even autographed. By Ginny, no doubt, because Harry recognised her handwriting, but it was as if the child had told her what to write. To Daddy Draco ... With all my love, Lily Rose Malfoy.

"Yes, Potter, I gave the girl my name. It's not her fault she has such an arrogant prat for a father, so I'm not holding her heritage against her. As for me, your so-called matchmaking worked--at least at first. However, the marriage started to deteriorate shortly after the boys were born ... mainly because that was when I realised that I had been nothing but a rebound for her right from the start, that she'd never stopped loving you, no matter what you've done to her. However, this knowledge ultimately drove me back to my old flame Pansy Parkinson. The divorce was final a year ago, as of this week. Ginny grants me visitation rights to see my boys and we're still friends, after a fashion ... but that's it.

"Damn your mangy hide, Potter. Why did you ever decide to come back? I thought I was finally rid of you--that your flying off into the sunset with your Mudblood was the last I'd ever see of you. Oh yes, I saw you and the Mudblood hovering above us on your broom while I attempted to comfort Ginny, although I never said anything to her about it. Not then, anyway. She had enough pain to deal with without that. What's more, I truly hope that the two of you are very pleased with yourselves, the way you've mucked up everyone's lives, including your own.

"Too bad your friends in America don't know what you're really like. If they did, they'd hate you as much as I do - as the entire wizarding world does - and it wouldn't surprise me if Gin doesn't hit both you and the Mudblood between the eyes with that Bat-Bogey thing of hers one of these days. It would certainly be more than you deserve ... no, less than you deserve, for that matter. Even now, you're lucky that my regard for Ginny and young Lily, not to mention my public image, is the only thing preventing me from mopping up Hogsmeade with the likes of you and the Mudblood. Mainly because neither of you are worth soiling my hands on!"

"Are you quite finished, Malfoy?" Harry shot back. Draco was stunned into silence, so Harry took the chance to relate the story of the last ten years as he saw it--his marriage to Hermione, the birth of their twin girls, Lily and Helen, his work as an Unspeakable in the American version of the Ministry and Hermione's as a Transfiguration professor at a school of magic in Boston, Massachusetts, where they'd settled upon arrival. She also had done part-time work in a magic school in Salem, not far from where the infamous witch trials had taken place in the 17^th century. It was her work, in fact, which had ultimately driven them apart--and finally, to once again pull up stakes and return to Britain to teach at Hogwarts.

"So the fairy tale's over now, huh? And now you've come back, thinking you can worm your way back into everyone's good graces. Well, good luck, Potter. You'll need it! Though if Gin has any sense, she'll not have anything further to do with you."

Malfoy took a last swallow of firewhiskey, then set his glass down to stare icy grey-blue daggers at his long-time antagonist. "I also wouldn't try to set foot in the Burrow if I were you, Potter. I made some ... discreet inquiries and found out what you'd done, where you'd gone--and once Gin found out, she told her entire family, and I believe I'm more welcome there now than you or the Mudblood, despite my breakup with her. It's amazing, the positive talent you have for not only alienating the very people who once loved you as their own, but the entire wizarding world to boot.

"Just the same, I did the best I could to replace you, loving Gin as best I knew how, but all too often I heard her call your name at the height of our joinings ... not to mention looking at old pictures of the two of you together, particularly one of you snogging that you once autographed. Does this ring a bell, Potter? 'To the only girl I'll ever want to kiss. All my love, Harry.' Or this: 'To My Precious Ginny - the only girl I'll ever love. Your Harry.' She has many, by the way; saved every one you ever gave her ... and still cries over them. Many was the time I caught her doing it upon coming home from work, if not during the times we were still ... cohabiting, as it were."

As much as he hated showing weakness, Harry couldn't help but close his eyes in pain, a reaction which wasn't lost on Draco, who smiled smugly as he looked up from his glass. Harry couldn't meet his eyes, instead simply asked, "May I?" when Draco didn't offer him another shot. Draco nodded and Harry levitated the bottle over the glass, uncorked it, then poured it and set it back down and re-corked it. In spite of himself, Draco was impressed at this bit of wandless magic and even said as much.

"Impressive, Potter. Too bad you aren't nearly as adept in handling women. Nor have you any idea how many times I wanted to tell Gin that I knew that you and the Mudblood were still alive before I finally did, that I'd seen you both essentially smirking from your aerial perch, thinking you had neatly disposed of two of the three most likely to cramp your style, as Muggles say." Draco's handsome features then twisted, as if he had a bad taste in his mouth or was simply sneering. He then looked up and said, "Your two hours are up, Potter. Now, if you would kindly never darken my door again, it would be very much appreciated. I must get back to work now. You can see yourself out."

Harry stood up, nodded in his reluctant host's direction after finishing his second drink, then walked out the door before turning around to see that which resembled a forcefield across the still-open door. He looked at the secretary and she simply said, "The Anti-Apparition wards have gone back up. Good day." She then went back to work, ignoring Harry as if he were not there.

Harry then decided to go back home--such as it was. He would ordinarily have gone somewhere to think things out and mull over what he had learned, but there wasn't time ... at least not at the moment. When he walked in, Hermione's eyes were sharp as tacks, stabbing right through him as she stood there, carrying all her Transfiguration gear and lesson books. "Harry! What took you so long? I've got to get to work! The girls are due home from school at almost any moment, and I don't want them to come home to an empty house."

"I had an important errand and it took longer than I expected. Sorry."

He didn't elaborate, because he knew how she felt about Draco. With that, Hermione Disapparated, and Harry found himself alone--in more ways than one. He also knew that he would be thinking hard over what Draco had said, particularly about the heretofore unknown daughter he, Harry, had had with Ginny and the fact that despite his leaving her, despite his lying, cheating and making a fool of her, she still loved him and had saved everything he had ever given her. But at this point, he was sure she'd never admit to anything Draco said because she was afraid that Harry would take the girl away if he ever found out about her--and that she'd never see her again. It was painful enough to have lost him to her erstwhile best friend without that.

It was too bad that his conscience chose this particular moment to kick in, but it did--and now that it had, Harry felt sure it was never going to leave him alone, not ever again. He didn't like to think that Malfoy could ever be right about anything, but in this case, he was definitely in a position to know ... or rather, he had been. Harry finally had to admit that Draco was closer to the truth about himself and Hermione than he himself had ever been in his life.

But for the moment, at least, Harry was spared dwelling on his immediate problems by the arrival of his two young daughters, Lily and Helen, aged nine, named after their grandmothers. Lily looked like him and Helen looked like her mother in miniature.

"Daddy!" they both called, one of them slamming the door behind them. "Where are you?"

"In here, my pets," Harry replied, opening his arms to receive his girls, who almost literally flew into them and hugged the stuffing out of him until he was breathless. "How was your day?"

"Fine, Daddy." Helen then began to recount the details of the day she and Lily had experienced. "Where's Mummy?"

"She had to go to work. She'll be back as soon as she can."

"Why does she work so much, Daddy? Doesn't she like us anymore?" Lily piped up with a sad note in her little-girl voice.

"Oh, I'm sure she still loves both of you, my darlings. It's me she's avoiding."

"Why, Daddy?"

"Couldn't say, Helen. Maybe she's found someone else she likes better than me."

"But that's silly, Daddy! How could she possibly want to leave you?"

Harry truly wished he could answer her, but couldn't, just hugged his beloved girls and kissed the tops of their heads.

"If I were old enough and you weren't my Daddy, I'd marry you in a minute!" Helen declared.

"Thank you, love. Makes me feel a lot better. Now you'd better freshen up. I'm getting ready to start supper. What would you like?"

They dashed upstairs after telling him while Harry headed for the kitchen to fix their supper, wishing he could have told them just what had happened to his and 'Mione's marriage, where their love had gone, how it could have changed to icy indifference almost literally overnight. He hadn't touched her in weeks; she hadn't allowed it, and Harry had never been one to force the issue where sex was concerned--had never needed to, at least not before this.

She had not only allowed her career to come between them, she had welcomed it, since it gave her a perfect excuse to stay away from him--although he could still recall times that it would have been all but impossible to pry them apart. What had happened to that once deep, tenderly passionate love he and his wife had once shared--a feeling that they had been sure would last throughout eternity? Unfortunately, eternity had only lasted ten years.

Hermione had always lectured him on the evils of procrastination, but was now hypocritically avoiding discussing the issue of their rapidly crumbling marriage like the plague. If he couldn't manage to pin her down soon, he would literally have to use magic to keep her in one place long enough to speak to her. In the event of divorce, he also intended to file for custody of Lily and Helen, since he spent more time with them and did more for them than 'Mione did, especially these last six months.

He even considered offering joint custody, but the way 'Mione had been lately, it wouldn't be good for the girls, nor would it do 'Mione much good. One less burden, she would most likely think, for Harry to take them off her hands. He was still undecided about visitation rights at this point even as he began fixing supper, his hands keeping busy on one thing even as his mind was on something else--such as what he had learned earlier today.

Virtually his only alternative upon divorcing Hermione was returning to Ginny--if he could. Considering what he had done to her, though, Harry had to consider the distinct possibility that she would sooner hit him with a Bat-Bogey Hex between the eyes than take him back, much less allow him to lay a hand on her again ... and he couldn't blame her. All he asked, though, was another chance to prove himself sincere, even if he had to take Veritaserum in order to convince her.

Another visit he would have to make was to Ginny again to do his best to plead his case--and at least try to make amends for all he'd put everyone through. Then maybe he could attempt to see Moony. For the time being, though, he had to figure a way to get at least one of the Weasleys (other than Luna) to speak to him again. Meanwhile, it was time to feed the girls.