Parallel

Chapter 22: Red-Hot Mama/Meeting/Genealogical Search

Upon awakening and their customary morning love, Ginny made sure to find out what she had wanted to know the previous evening--how Harry had managed to dance with her. He cuddled her close, one arm around her, and murmured softly, "Practice."

"Practice? With whom?" she inquired, a touch of suspicion in her voice. "I would have been glad to help you. I know how to waltz quite well. Just ask Neville."

"I know ... but I wanted to surprise you, as I said," he reminded her. "I asked Hermione. I noticed how well she was dancing with Krum at the Ball, and thought she could help me."

"I can imagine how Ron reacted to that." Ginny laughed.

"Oh, you may be assured that he was there watching the whole time. I swear, I felt like his eyes were boring holes through me every time I got near him! Bloody hell, is he ever the jealous type ... even of me ... and in my case, he should know better, considering who I'm married to." He gave her a tender smile and squeezed her briefly but firmly.

"You probably should have reminded him of the time the McGonagall made him dance with her in front of everybody, for you know he's never been the dancing type." Ginny laughed again. "The look on his face was priceless ... like all he wanted to do was disappear or sink through the floor!"

"Believe me, I considered it, but the mood he was in at the time, I figured it was best not to, because he would likely have decked me, best mate or not."

"Just the same, I felt kind of sorry for him, being put on display like that. He must have felt nothing less than thoroughly mortified," Ginny remarked sympathetically. "Especially to have it happen before you and all his peers, including Hermione, Fred, George and me."

"Yeah, I imagine so. I still remember asking Fred and George if they were ever going to let him forget this, and they said, 'Never!' And to this day, they still haven't, as far as I know."

"That's for sure," Ginny confirmed. "From what I've heard from Hermione, they still tease him about it whenever they see him, no matter how many times she threatens to hex them for it."

"She shouldn't just threaten," Harry remarked. "She ought to just out-and-out hex them once and for all. At the very least, that should make them think twice about teasing him again. I mean, how would they have felt if it had been one of them and Ron was always teasing him about it?"

"Well, you should know that Fred and George aren't ones to think of those things. Just the same, they're not bad blokes; they've just never completely grown up. Mum has lectured them till she's blue in the face, and they still do it. I get the distinct feeling they always will."

"Blimey, what a family I've married into!" Harry exclaimed. "But as long as I have you, it's worth it. I'm sorry to have taken so long to realize how incredible you are."

"Let's just say that it wasn't easy to wait--or to see you with Cho Chang--but what matters is that you finally did," Ginny assured him. "And I may have said that I gave up on you, at least at that point in time, but that does not mean I ever got over you."

"It wasn't easy to think of you with that Dean or Michael, either. And I don't like to admit this, but as I look back, knowing you went to the Ball with Neville, I was even jealous as hell of him, since he was able to hold you and dance with you when I wasn't. I always wondered, in fact, just what you did to make him look as he did when he came up to the dorm around midnight that night."

"How did he look?"

"Basically, a mixture of astonishment and lovesickness."

"For pity's sake, all I did was kiss him good night," Ginny dismissed.

"Well, considering that it's Neville, that would be all it would take," Harry reminded her, finding it very hard to contain the green-eyed monster inside him ... or more accurately, that was him, upon hearing that.

Ginny seemed to sense this and said, "Please, Harry, don't go after him. That was years ago, and it only happened once. He's happily married to Luna Lovegood now, and I really don't think she'd appreciate it if you hexed him into the middle of next week simply for kissing me. We weren't together then, you know, so I was a free agent."

"That still doesn't mean I have to like the idea," Harry countered. "And can you say that you only kissed Dean and Michael once?" he demanded.

"No, of course not," she had to admit. "But those were bonafide relationships. Neville was just a one-time thing. Besides, he's a good, decent person. If he'd thought you wanted me at the time, he probably would have asked someone else to the Ball rather than get in your way. He's never been one to move in on someone else's territory; never been the Don Juan type. He's far too shy and unsure of himself for that. I also think the main reason he ended up gravitating to Luna was because she was like that herself; they're like kindred spirits."

"She always seemed nice enough, if a bit loopy, just like him," Harry recalled. "Somehow I can't be surprised at their getting together ... and I'm glad for them both. I just hope I don't find out about too many more of your former--paramours, that's all."

"Paramours?" Ginny laughed. "Harry, you're my only paramour. The others were just warmups for the real thing."

"Then you better make sure to love me a lot, lady. Enough to make me forget all those others," he warned her with a seductive growl, nuzzling her neck and preparing to turn her beneath him once again.

"I'll be happy to." The next thing Harry knew, Ginny had taken the initiative and turned him beneath her, preparing to ride him like a pony, something she had never done before, but had always fantasised about doing ... and now it was coming true, both of them moaning softly in pleasure as she moved atop him. He cradled her breasts in his hands as she stroked her hair across his bare chest.

What's more, she intended to thoroughly wear him out before she was through with him. And one may be sure that the moment she began her sexy ministrations, he was literally knocked for a loop and didn't come down to earth again for several hours. Especially considering (and maybe in spite of) her pregnancy, Harry would eventually have to admit that his sweet little wife was one red-hot mama, and that he had every intention of keeping that red-hot mama all to himself!

* * * * *

While this was going on, of course, our other couple was meeting with McGonagall to find out just what Harry and Ginny had been up to all the times they had managed to avoid them. As requested, the Hogwarts headmistress handed Hermione the letter Harry had given her earlier which explained everything. She opened it, then she and Ron read it together. McGonagall was also sure she knew how they must be feeling about the whole matter, simply judging by the looks on their faces as they read.

"For Merlin's sake, has Harry gone completely mental?" Hermione questioned heatedly. "How could you have let him do this, Minerva? Why didn't you stop them?"

"Harry is a grown man, Hermione. I have no control over him. I can only advise him ... and if he chooses to do these things for James Black and his mother, than who am I to stand in his way? After all, what's wrong with helping someone?"

"When it disrupts their lives, that's not helping!" Hermione threw back.

"But from what I've heard, it's not disrupting their lives. I thought the same as you at first, but it turns out that this Rose Shacklebolt was actually married to Sirius Black for a time and has his child, whom they named James, after Sirius's best friend and Harry's father. All Harry wanted to do was give her a share of Sirius's fortune, since he certainly doesn't need it ... nor does he need Grimmauld Place. You know as well as I do that he and Ginny have their own flat, just as you two do.

You may disagree with him, but from what I understand, their meeting with Rose went very well, and she accepted both the money and the ownership of Grimmauld Place, if only as an inheritance for her son when he comes of age."

In spite of themselves, these statements deflated any additional arguments Ron or Hermione might have tried to make. They should have known that Harry's reasoning would be sound and logical and in the boy's best interests, and if they ended up in an affectionate relationship, all the better for everyone concerned.

"Then they intend to continue the relationship?" Hermione asked, her voice much quieter now.

"As far as I know," McGonagall replied. "So don't you two worry your heads too much about Harry. He may have had more than his share of problems and hardships, but he's basically a good, decent person. Just support him in this as friends should, and everything should be fine. I ask only that the four of you keep this amongst yourselves for the sake of preserving the boy's privacy--and that of his mother. Not to mention out of respect to Sirius's memory, as I'm sure Harry and Ginny intend to do."

"Just the same, that can't be the only reason they went to London," Hermione insisted.

"No, it wasn't--but it's best that you allow time for Harry and Ginny to tell you themselves. You know they always do, eventually. Just be patient."

It was at this moment that an owl flew in, an envelope in its beak, and landed on McGonagall's desk. She took the envelope and the bird flew off again; once it was gone, she opened the envelope and began to read the message inside. Her eyes widened like saucers, and the couple across from her could only guess at what she was reading.

"Minerva, what is it?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"Oh, Merlin, I can't believe it ..." McGonagall murmured, turning pale. "It's over. It's actually over. They've done it!"

"Who's done what?" Ron shot back impatiently. "Minerva, tell us what that bloody thing says already!"

But she couldn't; she simply handed the message over to Ron and Hermione to read for themselves. This time both of them went pale in reaction to the message. It seemed that Harry and Ginny had gone out to dinner and dancing, then upon leaving the restaurant because of an emergency warning that Dark forces were in the area, came upon two Death Eaters and Voldemort's snake Nagini, reported to hold the last piece of the Dark Lord's soul.

He and Ginny had managed to get the Death Eaters under their control via the Imperius Curse, then Harry employed his mastery of Parseltongue to fool Nagini into thinking he was her master. It worked just long enough for him to lull her into a false sense of security and destroy her. Help hadn't arrived until after it was all over, so the battle had fallen to them ... but from the looks of things, there really hadn't been much of a battle, for the Dark forces had obviously been taken by surprise.

Come to think of it, that was the only way Harry and Ginny could have managed to win by themselves ... but what mattered was that they did win. There was truly something big to celebrate now, especially once Harry and Ginny came back! No more Horcruxes to look for and destroy now--but best of all, no more Voldemort! Not to mention a son of Sirius's and his mother to get to know in order to ease their grief at losing him.

Now they would be able to settle down to at least a halfway normal wizarding life, although it was likely they would always need to remain vigilant for new Dark wizards and witches that might crop up. But as long as Harry and those like him were on the job, the wizarding world wouldn't have a whole lot to worry about on that score.

* * * * *

It wasn't until breakfast the following morning that Harry managed to remember to ask Ginny about her 'Sir Galahad' reference. "It refers to a extraordinarily brave and noble English knight from the 6^th century who was a member of that era's King Arthur's Round Table. Sound familiar?"

"You think I'm like ... that knight?"

"Like him? You could be him!" Ginny exclaimed. "Not that I particularly held that against you ... but that didn't make living without you any easier these last four years."

"Well, you won't have to any more. Not if I can help it, anyway. There's no reason for me to go anywhere now, at least not without you ... not any more, especially since we're rid of Voldemort, the Death Eaters and the Horcruxes."

"Hopefully we can now have at least a halfway normal life together," Ginny remarked just before taking another bite of her Denver omelet, then a swig of pumpkin juice.

"Hopefully," Harry concurred as he followed suit on the other side of the table. "When did you want to go to the Genealogy outfit?"

"As soon as we finish breakfast, then get ready," Ginny told him. "I was thinking I'd even look up some stuff on Mum's family, the Prewetts, while we're there as you're looking up stuff on Sirius's family."

"Why would you want to do that?" Harry wondered as he polished off the last of his food and drink.

"I just want to check something that Mum asked me about, make sure it's accurate," she replied. "Nothing drastic. Just the same, I promised her I would, since we were here anyway, and let her know what I find out."

"Shouldn't be any problem," Harry returned absently, already planning how he would go about his genealogical search. First Sirius's immediate family, then gradually work back, maybe about a century or so ... at least for starters. Then if he found something he wanted to follow up or find out more about, take it from there. Maybe even ask Rose what she knew about her ancestors, if anything.

Then, once James had a school holiday and if they were available to visit, go spend some time with him and perhaps tell him about Sirius. Harry could just imagine how young James Black would react when he told him about all the times Sirius had mentioned when his own father James, the boy's namesake, were in school, not to mention the experiences he and Sirius had had together and the conversations they had had, either face-to-face, via owl post or the fireplace.

Within the next hour and a half, they had taken a Muggle taxi to the street where the Genealogy outfit could be found and got as close to it as they could, then walked the rest of the way. Exercise would be good for Ginny, as long as she didn't overdo it. In keeping with the rainy, overcast weather, they wore water-resistant jackets, wore sturdy shoes with non-skid soles and carried umbrellas.

Upon arrival, the couple made their way to the desk and asked where the files for the letters B and P could be found. "The first half of the alphabet may be found on this floor, but the second half is on the second floor, so whichever one of you is looking for the name beginning with the letter P must go up there."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, then he asked, "Is there a lift that goes up there? My wife is six months pregnant; I don't think she should try to climb stairs."

"Of course, sir. That way." The kindly-looking grey-haired wizard behind the counter pointed to his right.

"Thank you. If there's anything else we need, we'll let you know," Harry replied with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, sir. We're here to serve." With that, the grey-haired wizard turned back to his cluttered desk and sat down, piles of files and moving pictures scattered everywhere in his immediate vicinity.

Harry and Ginny made their way to the lift and he got her onto it safely, giving her a quick kiss before parting. "If you need me, luv, you know what to do."

"Of course." She smiled. "Same goes for you. See you later." With that, the lift doors closed between them.

Harry turned on his heel and made his way to the area where the grey-haired wizard had told him the B files were. When he arrived, he found several people doing the same thing he had come to do, but they were so engrossed in what they were doing that they barely noticed him. He was pleased in spite of himself, because usually if he showed up anywhere, there was a double-take from someone--at the very least.

He finally found a vacant chair and used his wand to find the first file which said "BLACK, ADOLPHUS & WILHELMINA," Sirius's parents. The first thing he found was the record of their marriage, which had taken place on October 31, 1955, at the Black family home, Grimmauld Place. The next record was that of Sirius's birth, March 21, 1960, then that of Regulus, August 30, 1965, both of which were also at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

He then found a short article from an old Daily Prophet dated September 9^th, 1987, stating, "Mrs. Wilhelmina Black, age 77, died at her home, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London, on August 30^th. She was preceded in death by her husband of 32 years, Adolphus, and one son, Regulus, both of whom died in 1980. She is survived by another son, Sirius Marcus, aged 27 years. Funeral services are pending."

There was even a picture of Mrs. Black as a young woman accompanying the short obituary. Harry had to admit that she had been a handsome woman when she was young, but just the same, he could scarcely equate the woman in the picture with the nasty, foul-mouthed old woman in the portrait that he knew. The portrait no one had been able to get down off the entryway wall even now. The two portraits seemed as different as night and day. Those of the Order at Grimmauld Place simply made sure to keep the curtains closed over it; that way there was little cause for her to start screaming curses, racial epithets and dire threats ... not that she needed much.

He searched a little further and was stunned to find another Daily Prophet article dated July 17, 1976.

It told of the then-16-year-old Sirius's row with his father, the enraged Adolphus Black eventually disowning his first-born son, making the 11-year-old Regulus his heir, because Sirius had decided to follow the path of Light rather than follow in his family's footsteps and support the Dark Lord.

According to the article, Sirius, a sixth-year student at Hogwarts, had reportedly fled to find refuge with the family of his closest friend, James Potter, at the Potter family home, Spinner's End, in Godric's Hollow. It was too long to read all at once, close to two pages, so Harry told himself to print out the article so he could go over it at home and perhaps discuss it with the others in the Order, not to mention his friends and Ginny, see what he could find out from some of the older members who had been around then.

Now there was something else Harry had to look up. Maybe he would cut his search in the B section short for today and see what he could find out about Spinner's End, supposedly his grandparents' home in Godric's Hollow. He had never heard of it, nor had anything belonging to his deceased parents which he had found in his vault upon coming of age mentioned it. If he couldn't find anything here, he would probably have to go to Godric's Hollow itself and see what he could find out there.

A short search later netted him an obituary for both Adolphus Black and Regulus. It was reported that they had both died at the hands of Voldemort's Death Eaters after a frightened Regulus had tried to flee his obligations to the Dark Lord when Voldemort had ordered him to kill his father. An enraged Voldemort had had them both killed by Bellatrix, who had been a devout supporter of the Dark Lord even then. (It turned out that she was the daughter of Adolphus's older brother Septimus and his wife Bianca, and 21 years old at the time, just a year older than Sirius.)

The obituary, again taken from a back issue of the Daily Prophet, was dated April 26, 1980, and read as follows:

"Mr. Adolphus Black, aged 75, and his son, Regulus, aged 15, were reportedly killed today by Death Eater Bellatrix Black, aged 21, allegedly a cousin of the younger Black, at their home, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London, on the Dark Lord's orders after Regulus reportedly refused You-Know-Who's command to kill his father and fled You-Know-Who's latest hideout to return to his family home.

"They are survived by Adolphus's wife and Regulus's mother, Mrs. Wilhelmina Black. There is reportedly another, older son, Sirius Marcus, now aged 21, who also survives, but who was disowned by his enraged father at age 16 and reportedly fled to the home of a friend after a furious row. Nothing has been heard from Sirius Black regarding his feelings on the deaths of his father and brother."

Well, of course there wouldn't be! Harry wasn't surprised at that at all--Sirius had told him all about it ages ago. His godfather had not returned to his family home even once after the row with his father, having no reason to speak to or even see him face-to-face since, declaring Adolphus Black thoroughly twisted and evil and his brother not much better, although he did see him intermittently.

Mainly in fruitless attempts to convert him to the Light, which the younger sibling had repeatedly refused ... that is, until he had fled back home and the Death Eaters had killed Adolphus and Regulus upon catching up with him. The latter had died a coward's death, in keeping with his cowardly actions ... and in the process, taken his father with him. Sirius had not considered their deaths any loss whatsoever, frankly glad that there were two less of their ilk walking the earth.

However, because he was reportedly the last surviving male Black, he had inherited the remaining Black family fortune and Grimmauld Place, among other things, despite his having been disowned so many years before. That was the only reason he had gotten any of it--and Sirius had told Harry he would have preferred it if it had all gone for taxes or something, because he certainly had no use for it.

It had been speculated that Sirius was still living with James and Harry's grandparents, but that could not be confirmed, because neither of the senior Potters would say one way or the other. Sirius had told him that that had been because they were trying to spare him unsavoury publicity as the sole remaining Black, particularly in view of the manner in which Adolphus and Regulus had died.

Harry didn't feel like searching any further for anything more about the Blacks, at least not today. He was more concerned about seeing what he could turn up about Spinners' End and his grandparents, reportedly named Robert and Sarah Potter, according to some genealogical material left to him by his parents in his vault. In fact, Sirius had once told him that James's middle name was Robert, so it was possible that sons in the wizarding world were given their fathers' names for middle names, since Harry's own middle name was that of his father.

He went back to the article about Sirius leaving home and printed it out, then closed the file on the Blacks and took the lift up to the second floor. He located Ginny in the midst of reading an article about her two late uncles, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Molly's brothers. It had reportedly taken five Death Eaters to kill them, and they were considered heroes.

She looked up after Harry had kissed her on the top of her head, surprised at his presence. "What are you doing here, luv? I thought you'd still be busy with the Black file."

"I found something in it that I want to check out, something that mentioned my grandparents in connection with Sirius's leaving home, so I thought I'd look for it while we were here. How are you doing?"

"Okay. I think I found what Mum wanted in this article on Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon. She'd always wanted to know how many DeathEaters it had taken to kill them. Here, it says five ... and the article even names them. I'll probably print this out so I can show it to her." Harry leaned over to scan the article, unsurprised by three of the names listed: Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, although they were naturally not the ones he knew because the Prewett brothers' deaths had taken place at least ten years before. Possibly the fathers of the current crop, but Harry couldn't have said for sure.

"She should be pleased, then. I'll be just down the aisle if you need anything."

He kissed her on the top of the head again and headed down the aisle, seating himself about twenty feet away where the P-O file began. He tapped the file cabinet with his wand and it opened, the file folder containing the genealogical information on "POTTER, ROBERT AND SARAH" lifting itself out of the cabinet and into Harry's hands. It was fortunate that there was a large table nearby, and that it was unoccupied. In fact, Ginny was the only other person on this aisle.

Harry moved to the table and opened the file, beginning to spread out the various articles and moving pictures, looking for anything dated during 1976, the year Sirius had left home, not to mention anything about Spinner's End and his grandparents. It took some time, as well as another fat file folder, for him to find even part of what he was looking for, but eventually Harry found both a floor plan for Spinner's End and a large black and white photo of the house, dated in the late 1950s, around the time his father, an only child born of elderly parents, had been born ... a house which seemed more like a mansion.

Harry had been aware that his family was a very old wizarding clan and that they had had a lot of money, but never imagined this, not in his wildest dreams. Did someone outside the family now own Spinner's End, or was it in the possession of another member of his father's family? Harry had to find out. It would be great to own a place like that, that was for sure! If Ginny had as many children as Harry suspected she would, it would be only logical to have a big house to raise them all in ... and what better one than his family's ancestral home?

Not long after coming upon the picture of the house, Harry was stunned to come upon a picture of his grandparents Robert and Sarah. They were indeed elderly, as Sirius had once mentioned. The picture had been taken in the mid-1950s, and they looked like they were at least in their 80s, even then, although wizards and witches tended to live a long time and one-hundred-plus was not unusual ... sometimes even two hundred. Just the same, Harry could see James's face in that of his paternal grandfather, suspecting that that was likely to be how he himself would look at that age ... how James would probably have looked had he lived.

He almost literally went straight up upon feeling a touch on his hand that held the picture. "Sorry, luv. Didn't mean to startle you. I'm finished now, so I thought I'd come down here and see how you were doing. Who's the picture of?"

"I'll give you one guess. Take a look at the old man ... a really good look ... and tell me what you see."

Ginny gave him a funny look, but did so ... and after a time, Harry noticed her eyes widening with a mixture of shock and realisation. "Oh, Merlin! Are those people ... who I think they are?"

"That depends on who you think they are."

"The ... old man. He looks like ... you might, if you were old. Or how your father might have looked at that age, had he lived."

"That is my paternal grandfather, Robert Potter. The woman is his wife and my grandmother, Sarah. I've found genealogical stuff in my vault my parents left me that says my dad was an only child, that they had him when they were quite elderly ... in their 80s. This picture was taken a few years before Dad was born, in the mid-1950s or thereabouts, if I remember the writing on the back correctly. Witches can have children far later than Muggle women; a witch in her 80s is roughly the equivalent of a Muggle woman in her 40s. They reportedly died before I was born, somewhere between 1976 and 1981. Probably even before Mum and Dad were married."

But Ginny was only half-listening; she had been going through some of the other stuff in the file and once again thrust something under Harry's nose. "Look!" she called out.

He took it from her and examined it, eyes widening when he realized what it was--a marriage license for Robert and Sarah Potter, dated over a century ago ... October 28, 1891, in fact. It seemed that his grandparents had been married almost fifty years when his father had been born--forty-eight, to be exact!

"Do you think ... Dad's birth certificate would be here?" Harry couldn't help asking.

"Quite possible," Ginny confirmed. "Do you want me to look for it?"

"Let's look together; it'll go faster," Harry suggested.

As they had done with James Black's file, each took a pile of papers and went through them. For a long time there was silence, broken only by the rustle of paper; finally Harry thrust something under Ginny's nose. "I think I found it! Check this and see what you think."

Ginny noted the old-fashioned calligraphy on the certificate, not to mention the Old English writing, faded but still readable ... which she did, out loud:

"NAME OF CHILD: James Robert Potter

DATE OF BIRTH: April 30, 1959

TIME OF BIRTH: 4:21 p.m.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Spinner's End, Godric's Hollow, England

PARENTS: Robert Elias Potter and Sarah Elizabeth Millington

WEIGHT: 9 pounds, 3 ounces

LENGTH: 22 inches long

DESCRIPTION OF CHILD: Dark brown hair, hazel eyes, fair complexion"

"He was sure a big one, wasn't he?" She laughed. "I hope ours isn't that big. I don't think I could handle it." Ginny placed a protective hand on her ever-enlarging belly.

"How do you know we won't have twins? Remember, Molly--your mum--had Fred and George, so it's definitely possible."

"You're right ... Sweet Merlin! Do you really think--?"

"Couldn't say for sure, but it could happen," Harry opined. "After all, Fred and George are living proof."

"Wow ... that's quite a bit to consider," Ginny remarked. "I'm frankly still not quite used to the idea of a single child, much less twins!" She sighed and leaned back in her chair, once again resting a hand on her large belly. "Were you able to find everything you were looking for?"

"No, but we can always come back tomorrow if you're getting tired," Harry remarked, giving his wife a look which was a mixture of concern and sternness. "Which I'm pretty sure you are. It can't be easy for you to get around in your present condition."

"You're the one that made me this way, Mister," she reminded him.

"It was your idea to get pregnant, my dear," he countered. "Not that I don't want the child, mind you. Of course I do. I would just have preferred it to be a little further in the future." He sighed. "Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about Voldemort or any Death Eaters getting a hold of you. He, and several of them, are dead ... and the rest are in Azkaban."

"Nor do we have to worry about any more than the ordinary risks involved in a pregnancy. Mum's already told me how to handle things and what to expect at any given time, so I shouldn't have too much of a problem. She even gave me the diet she usually followed when pregnant with me and my brothers, and told me to modify it to my own tastes."

"Well, so you're quite well-prepared, then," Harry observed.

"As well as I can be," Ginny returned with a weary smile. "Come to think of it, it might be a good idea to leave now. I'm tired, my back hurts, and my feet are swollen."

"Do you think you can make it to the front door of the building? I can get a taxi from there, then carry you up to our room the rest of the way."

"I think so ... if you help me."

"I shall be happy to, my lady," came the gallant reply from Ginny's own personal Sir Galahad. "Shall we go?" He turned her in the direction of the exit after replacing the papers and such in the file, then the file folder back in the cabinet, closing it with a touch of his wand. She tried not to make a sound of discomfort, but Harry could swear several times by the time they reached the door that Ginny had groaned softly. Whether it was her feet or her back paining her, he couldn't have said, and besides, it didn't make any difference. He had to get her off her feet as soon as possible in order for her to feel better.

Once they had stepped out the door of the building, Harry motioned for a taxi while Ginny leaned heavily on him, all but asleep in spite of her best efforts. He had even had to rescue the printout of the article she had promised to her mother and place it with his own. The other things he wanted to print out, he could come back and do by himself if necessary, if she didn't feel up to coming with him ... and he suspected that she probably wouldn't.

Within five minutes, a yellow and black checkered taxi pulled up; Harry helped Ginny in and got in beside her, pulling her head down to rest on his shoulder and sliding one arm around her even as the taxi pulled out. Harry told the driver where to go, and within ten minutes they were there ... but even in that short a time, he discovered that she had fallen asleep.

He carefully manoeuvred her out of the car and scooped her up in his arms, her head again resting on his shoulder as he carried her, one arm draped around his neck and the other resting on her belly. It was fortunate that he didn't have to carry her up several flights of stairs; instead, he simply had to step into a lift which took them to their tenth-floor suite.

Upon reaching the door, he simply spoke to it. "Door, open," was one of the types of wandless magic he had learned as an Auror ... which was a good thing, because he couldn't have gotten it open otherwise. At least not without having to put Ginny down and possibly waking her in the process in order to get hold of his wand.

The door swung open and Harry walked through, heading straight for their hotel bedroom, placing her on the queen-size bed after telling the suite door to close and lock. Once that had been accomplished, he turned his attention to preparing her for bed, deciding it was best and easiest to simply undress her down to her bra and knickers, then place her in bed and pull the covers over her. Then he could look after himself.

He placed the printouts on the table at the right side of the bed--his side--then began undressing himself. He simply piled the clothes alongside the printouts and fell into bed a short time later, not realising he had been just as tired as she until he had gotten here. Automatically pulling Ginny into his arms as he slid in beside her, Harry was asleep almost as soon as his own head hit the pillow next to hers.